The Clare People Archive

KILRUSH Town Council will not be missed until it is gone.

That was the message from the members of the council at its November meeting, the first since the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan signed the council’s death warrant last month.

The town councillors felt that the loss of the council would leave a gaping hole in access to services and local people’s direct involvement in the development of the town, a fact that will not be recognised locally until it is too late.

Father of the council Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) proposed that the members meet with the councillors from the other three town councils whose time is also up according to the Government.

Former mayor of the town, Ian Lynch (FG) believes it is time to go to the people to see what they feel about the loss of the 126-year-old council by organising a survey or questionnaire.

Cllr Liam Williams (FG) said he was disappointed “especially as a long time member of the Fine Gael party to think local democracy has been damaged. I can’t see the town being better off because of it.”

Fellow Fine Gael councillor Marian McMahon Jones said she was equally disappointed and said the loss of the council will have a detrimental affect on local rates and parking costs.

Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) feared that any move to change things now was too little too late.

“I think we are waiting until the horse has bolted, we should have done something sooner. We knew it was coming down the line,” he said.

Cllr Prendeville even went as far as to compare the political situation to Germany in 1934, saying people were disillusioned with party poli- tics.

“If there was a vote in the morning to get rid or the Dáil there would be 100 per cent turn out to get rid of it. That is just how people are feeling.

“We could get rid of two of our four TDs in the morning and save a quarter of a million euro. We have a Sen- ate that Enda Kenny promised to get rid of but will we get the turkeys to vote for Christmas?” he asked.

“We have a great council going now, maybe the Senate will go next and then maybe the Dáil next and then we are in a 1939 situation.”

Mayor of Kilrush Mairead O’Brien (Ind) concluded with “this is a community blow. It is a blow for the community but I am not sure the community knows it yet.”

The councillors resolved to meet with other town councillors in the county to organise a protest or a way of highlighting their joint concerns.

OFFICIALS at Clare County Council remain confident that major flood relief works to protect homes and businesses in the south of Ennis will get the approval of An Bord Pleannála.

The Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme will see works carried out in Ballybeg and St Flannan’s College areas of the town.

A bank of the River Fergus from Doora Bridge to Clarecastle will also be strengthened as part of the works.

Councillors in the Ennis Electoral Area were given a progress report on the project yesterday.

Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan told the meetings that the council had submitted an Environmental Impact Survey (EIS) to An Bord Pleannála. He said a number of statutory bodies, including the Railway Safety Commission, had made submissions on the project.

He told the meeting that an issue had arisen regarding the cost of the embankment works.

Asked about a timeframe for the works, Mr Tiernan said the council hoped to receive a decision from An Board Pleannála in January.

He said that depending on the length of the tender process, work on the project could be complete by 2014.

The project forms part of a series of flood relief works to be carried out on a phased basis in Ennis.

Phase one of the € 26 million Ennis Flood Relief Scheme, which involved works at Parnell Street and Mill Road, is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.

Phase two will see improvements to river walls and other flood defenses on the Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. The work will include the construction of new structural embankments, preformed reinforced concrete walls and three storm water pumping stations.

Mr Tiernan said the tender process is nearing completion and that 2014 is a “realistic target for completion at this stage”.

ENGINEERS in Ennis may request that the speed limit be reduced in the town centre to ensure greater pedestrian safety.

Senior executive engineer Eamon O’Dea said yesterday that he may consult with gardaí over the speed limit. It comes after concerns were raised over the layout of pedestrian crossings.

Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) said elderly people are having difficulty crossing the street. At yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area, he called on the council to restore the pedestrian crossings at O’Connell Square. Mr O’Dea told the meeting that the council had been forced to alter the crossings to comply with the latest traffic signs rules.

Mr O’Dea stated, “The crossings are uncontrolled crossings and the road markings comply with the latest traffic signs manual. The provision of lines across the road at a pedestrian crossing can only be provided at controlled pedestrian crossings in accordance with the traffic signs manual.”

He continued, “Therefore a set of amber pedestrian lights would have to be provided at each crossing point which would both be very confusing to the drivers and would detract from the centre of the town. Ennis Town Council consulted with the road safety engineer of the NRA before the present markings were put in place.”

Mr O’Dea told the meeting that he is “not totally happy” with the current layout at the Square. He said one possible solution would be to request that gardaí consider reducing the speed limit in the town centre.

He said slight alterations could be made to the current layout but that a system of numerous lighted crossings would confuse drivers and detract from the visual amenity of the town.

Town Manager Ger Dollard said the council accepts there is an issue with the current layout.

The meeting also heard calls for pedestrianisation to be introduced on a trial basis in May, June and July. Cllr James Breen (Ind) called for the system to be put in place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during summer 2013.

He told the meeting that pedestrianisation had the potential to revitalise the town.

Mr Dollard said it remains the objective of the council to pedestrianise the town centre.

He said a bid to achieve Purple Flag status for the town’s nighttime economy and the opening of the inner relief road could boost plans for pedestrianisation.

“It’s [pedestrianisation] considered a matter of when it’s achieved and not if it is achieved,” added Mr Dollard.

A SECTION of the Tulla Road in Ennis has been described as the “most dangerous road” in Clare.

The comment came yesterday from councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) who pressed Clare County Council to introduce long mooted road safety measures at Oakleigh Woods and Corrovorrin.

In motions submitted to a meeting of councillors in the Ennis East electoral area, Cllr Flynn called on the council to “immediately plan and budget to construct the roundabout at Oakleigh Woods / Cappahard Junction in the interests of public safety”.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting that there had been an “abject failure” on behalf of the road authority to deal with traffic issue at Oakleigh Wood / Cappahard. He said 500 houses are located in an area served by what he called the “most dangerous road in the county”. Cllr Flynn said while there had been improvements carried out on rural sections of the road, little had been done by comparison in Ennis. He said a planned compulso ry purchase order of ground near the entrance of Cappahard had been held up over a “ransom strip of land”.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said a roundabout is “essential” for the area.

In response, Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan stated, “The potential cost of the roundabout which was previously designed is quite significant and the cost of a compulsory purchase order to facilitate this design is also a matter of some concern. Alternative options from a design point of view are presently being examined with a view to a reduction of costs and hopefully an earlier resolution on the ground.”

There were also renewed calls for a roundabout or traffic lighted junction to be installed at the entrance to Corrovorrin.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting that one resident had told him that it takes seven and a half minutes to exit Corrovorrin in the morning.

Committee Chairman, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said the motion had come before council meetings on numerous occasions. Cllr Daly said “something has to be done” at Corrovorrin.

In response to calls for improvements to the Corrovorrin / Tulla Road junction, Mr Tiernan stated, “A proposal under the Low Cost Safety Scheme has been submitted to the Department of Transport / NRA by Clare County Council for the provision of traffic lights at this location. Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council are proceeding with the design and public consultation processes for this scheme in anticaption of funding in 2013.”

LESS than a third of Clare’s voters went to the polls to vote on the Children Referendum on Saturday last, the lowest turn out in 11 years.

Despite the turnout being lower than the national average, the number in favour of changing the constitution was slightly higher, with 61.7 per cent voting yes.

As many as 79,905 Clare people were entitled to vote, 197 less than the last referendum. Just 25,808 people from the Banner chose to exercise their democratic right however.

As many as 15,868 people voted for the amendment, with 9,846 voting against. There were 94 invalid votes.

The county has a history of not going to the polls on questions that would affect the constitution in recent decades, but this weekend’s turnout was surpassed only by the weak showing during the first Nice Referendum, the abolition of the death penalty and the criminal courts referendum.

In June 2001 just 30.83 per cent of the people of Clare voted on those three referendums.

When 49.8 per cent of voters in the county turned out for the Stability Referendum at the end of May voter apathy and lack of information was criticised for what was then the lowest turn out in the county in almost a decade.

Six months later it would appear that apathy and lack of engagement has grown to the point where 17.8 per cent more of the county’s population decided not to vote.

The drop in voter turnout is significant when compared to June 1999 when 60.05 per cent of the Clare electorate turned out to vote for “Recognition for Local Government.”

In March 2002 just 39.29 per cent of the Clare electorate turned out to vote on the Protection of Human Life in Pregnancy, with 47.05 per cent voting on Nice 2 that October.

The largest turnout for a referen- dum in recent years in Clare was in June 2004, when 64.6 per cent voted on the Citizenship.

From then until the Stability Referendum the turnout remained over 50 per cent in the Banner county, with 52.48 per cent voting on Lisbon 1 in June 2008, 56.9 per cent voting on the second Lisbon referendum in October 2009, while 56.12 per cent voted on the House of the Oireachtais Inquiries and 57.95 per cent on Judges Remuneration during the Presidential election in October 2011.

While the turnout on Saturday was disappointing for the Government, it still considered it “a historic day for children”.

Speaking at the count centre at the Court House in Ennis after returning officer Pat Wallace declared the Clare result of the Children Referendum, Deputy Pat Breen (FG) said, “Today, it is a truly historic day for our children. This referendum was one of the most important ever put before the people, and while, I am disappointed with the low turnout, the overwhelming number of voters in Clare who did come out and vote, supported the referendum.

“The passage of the referendum is another major step in ensuring our legislative structure supports and protects our children. It ensures a more child-centred approach is taken, so that the best interests of the child are taken into account when decisions are being made about their welfare.”

NO FURTHER warning letter concerning payment of the Household Charge will be issued by Clare County Council until a complete and accurate list of those who have not paid is made available to the local authority.

That is following a motion put forward by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council. Standing orders were suspended last night to allow councillors to fully debate the recent issuing of 33,000 letter to people in Clare.

It has also emerged that County Manager Tom Coughlan contacted the Department of the Environment and asked that letters be issued by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and not by Clare County Council. According to Mr Coughlan, the Department of the Environment said that Clare County Council was required to issue the letters because it was the agency who the fee was payable to – despite the fact the the LGMA was tasked with collecting the payment.

Mr Coughlan also said that it would be the responsibilty of Clare Country Council and not the LGMA to take any legal action against home owners who do not pay the housing charge.

More than 33,000 letters were issues by Clare County Council to homeowners in Clare, despite the fact that less than 16,000 people still owe for the property charge. A large number of people in Clare received multiple letters, including many household who received letter for deceased relatives.

“This is totally counter productive. All this has done is convince the 30 per cent of people who have not paid that they should not pay. Because nobody has a clue who has paid and who hasn’t,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).

“I think at this point we should issue a letter of apology to those who received letters for relative who were deceased.”

Mr Coughlan said he was unhappy in the way the issue was handled. “I am unhappy as well. I am unhappy about the reputational damage which has been done to Clare County Council about this. I am unhappy about the time and resources that were spent on this and I am very unhappy that people got letter from this council which caused them upset.”

CONFUSION reigned at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council where the councillors appeared to be asked to vote twice on the same issue – with the result of the first vote being reversed on the second occasion.

The situation concerned two motions in which Clare County Council asked the elected members to allow the council to raise two loans to cover firstly, the costs of overspends on road projects – including more than € 3 million on the Gort Road distributor road in Ennis – and a second to cover the extra cost an affordable housing scheme at Glaise na Rinne.

An applications to approve a loan for overspends involving road was approved – but only after a motion put forward to Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) to defer the vote was defeated. Cllr Flynn requested that this vote was conducted on a roll-call basis, where the votes of each councillor would be recorded in the minutes of the meeting – but this motion was rejected by the Mayor of Clare Pat Daly (FF). The vote was then decided on a show of hands, with the way in which individual councillor voted not recorded on the minutes of the meeting.

The vote resulted in 13 councillors voting to defer the decision for a week to allow for more information to be presented with 17 voting to approve the motion as it stood.

A similar motion, which asked that a decision on taking out a loan to cover the extra costs of the afford- able housing scheme at Glaise na Rinne, was proposed by Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind).

A show of hands vote was called on this motion of deferral and 16 councillor votes in favour of deferring the decision – a majority of the 30 councillors in the chambers at the time.

This vote was not completed however, and the number of councillor who were against the proposal to defer the decision, and those who planned to abstain from vote was not recorded.

Following a heated debate, Mayor of Clare Pat Daly asked councillors to vote again on the motion and this time, with all 32 councillors present, they voted by a majority of 18 to 14 to approve the loan and not to defer a decision for a week.

SIX water and sewage projects have ended up costing Clare County Council almost € 8 million more than the tender price – according to figures release at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Councillors last night agreed to allow a loan to be taken out by the local authority to cover the costs of price increases to projects which were carried out by contractors. These price increases brought about as a result of “extras” – or unforeseen elements which were discovered during the process of the six developments.

According to County Manager Tom Coughlan, these discrepancies in the final cost of projects were brought about under an old contract system, which allowed developers to charge more than the tender prices for reasons such as an increased cost of labour and materials.

The total price discrepancy for the six projects amounted to € 7.7 million which represented € 2,325,000 for the Feakle/Scariff/Quilty Sewage Schemes, € 1.5 million for the Newmarket on Fergus Scheme, € 1.3 million for a scheme at Gillogue, € 1 million for the Ennis Water Treatment Scheme, € 848,000 for the Lisdoonvarna/Ballyvaughan Waste Water Scheme and € 627,000 for the Clareville Scheme.

“The balances are for work which have already been done. The problem is that the tender which was accepted was substantially lower than the final price of the projects,” said County Manager Tom Coughlan.

“This happens especially where there are conditions which were not anticipated at the planning stage such as ground conditions.”

A number of councillors raised concerns over why these projects cost more than the original tender.

“People will be asking questions why these contracts were not scrutinised better to make sure that there were no holes in them for this sort of thing. We need to look at contracts in the future to make sure that this does not happen again. There must be a way to ensure that contracts cannot be hiked up after the fact like this,” said Cllr Michael Kelly (FF).

County Manager Tom Coughlan reiterated that the overspend was for six historic projects which were entered into under an old system of contracts which is no longer used.

CLARE County Council is not so much wishing for a white as much as a green Christmas this year.

The local authority is urging members of the public to “think green” and spare a thought for the environment in the run-up to Christmas this year.

The council will launch its annual Green Christmas campaign at a special event in Áras Contae an Chláir on Thursday, November 22, during which food and crafts producers will illustrate the importance of purchasing goods locally and the knock-on positive effects for the environment. Talks on upcycling will also demonstrate to members of the public who attend the many benefits by providing new ideas for customised, sustainable Christmas gifts.”

The council’s Environment Section will also host an information stand promoting the importance of upcycling, recycling and waste prevention during the festive period.

The event coincides with European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), a European-wide project aimed at promoting sustainable waste reduction actions in Member States.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said the upcoming event will help to raise awareness about the benefits of supporting local producers for both the economy and the environment.

He said, “By shopping for locallyproduced food or fair trade labels, the people of Clare will be helping the environment by reducing the air miles required in sourcing such products.

“There are also many ways in which the public can help protect the environment in the lead up to, during and after Christmas. Each December and January the council sees a huge increase in activity at its recycling facilities and bring banks, which is testament to the public’s heightened awareness of the importance of protecting the environment around them. “This year, I would appeal to everyone to take heed of the ‘green’ tips being provided by the council to help reduce the amount of waste we produce.”

Pre-Christmas tips from the local authority include buying presents that do not require excessive packaging, wrapping presents with recycled paper, sending festive e-cards to cut down on packaging, supporting local and fair trade producers, recycling shopping bags and composting food waste. Householders are also being urged to recycle all packaging, and take empty bottles and tins to one of Clare’s many bring banks.

According to Joan Tarmey, Clare’s Environmental Awareness Officer, “One of the main objectives of the campaign is to inspire people to add a twist to their Christmas gifts this year by upcycling. Upcycling is the latest trend, and it’s all about being creative and reusing everyday items to make creative and truly original items. We all love customised gifts, so if you’re looking for original gift ideas, drop into the 30 minute upcycling talks starting at 1pm in Aras Contae an Chláir in Ennis. There will be some sample ideas there to inspire you.”

THE construction of the remaining section of the M18 north of Gort has hit a fresh snag and the National Roads Authority (NRA) are unable to sign contracts for the motorway, despite a preferred contractor being chosen.

It had been hoped that work on the € 530 million project might start early in 2013, but this now seem unlikely unless funding can be found in the coming weeks.

The Government announced in July that works on the motorway were back on track and the Gort to Tuam section was one of the only roads projects signalled to go ahead as part of the national stimulus package.

At the time, the Government announced that the Direct Route consortium had been awarded the contract to build the Public Private Partnership (PPP), but a contract still has not been signed as no Government funding has been put in place.

It had been thought that the Government would source funding from the European Investment Bank for states share of the PPP funding, but this has not happened to date.

It is understood that more than € 150 million has already been spent on the project – with the vast majority of this money spent on the acquisition of lands through compulsory purchase orders.

This is the second time that the Government has been unable to sign contracts with a consortium to complete the M18. In November of 2009, the BAM Balfour Beatty consortium declined to sign the contract for the M18 because they were themselves unable to secure funding for the construction work.

It is understood that the economic situation of Ireland at that time made many European banks unwilling to invest in the project.

The motorway will provide a major boost for the thousands of Clare people who commute to Galway for work and college every day. When built it is also expected to provide a major boost for Shannon Airport, with sections of Galway and Mayo provided with easy access to the airport.