Minutes of November 2024 Meeting of West Clare Municipal District
Location: Held in the Hub Ennistymon and online via MS Teams
On: Tuesday 19th November, 2024
Time: 3pm
Cllr. Rita McInerney Cathaoirleach
Cllr. Shane Talty
Cllr. Bill Slattery
Cllr. Joe Garrihy
Cllr. Joe Killeen
Cllr. Gabriel Keating
Cllr Michael Shannon
Present via MS Teams:
Cllr. Ian Lynch
Officials
Ms Siobhan McNulty Director of Service West Clare MD Kilrush LEA
Mr Jason Murphy Director of Service West Clare MD Ennistymon LEA
Mr John O’Malley Senior Executive Officer West Clare MD Kilrush & Meetings Administrator
Mr John Corry A/Senior Executive Officer West Clare MD Ennistymon LEA
Mr Alan Kenneally Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD Kilrush LEA
Mr Tony Neville Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD Kilrush LEA
Mr Steve Lahiffe Senior Staff Officer West Clare MD Kilrush LEA
Ms Carmel Carey Staff Officer West Clare MD Ennistymon LEA
Presiding
The Cathaoirleach, Cllr Rita McInerney presided. At the outset of the meeting Cllr. McInerney and the Members welcomed Siobhan McNulty to the meeting and congratulated her on her appointment as Director of Service.
Item 1: Minutes of September Meeting of West Clare MD held on the 17th September, 2024.
Ar moladh Cllr. Shane Talty Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
Item 2: Minutes of Adjourned September Meeting of West Clare MD held on the 23rd September, 2024
Ar moladh Cllr. Shane Talty Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
Item 3: Minutes of GMA Budget Meeting of West Clare MD held on the 11th November, 2024
Ar moladh Cllr. Joe Garrihy Cuidithe ag Cllr. Shane Talty agus glacadh leis
Item 4: Section 11 Roads Act 1993 – Declaration of a Public Road at Toberniddaun Lissycasey
Ar moladh Cllr. Michael Shannon Cuidithe ag Cllr. Dinny Gould agus glacadh leis
Item 5: Section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001 and Section 11 of the Planning and Development Act (as amended) 2000 – Proposed Disposal of Derelict Site at Main Street Lisdoonvarna Co Clare
Ar moladh Cllr. Michael Shannon Cuidithe ag Cllr. Dinny Gould agus glacadh leis
Item 6: Proposed lease of Kilkee Dive Centre Building at Dough Kilkee
Ar moladh Cllr. Rita McInerney Cuidithe ag Cllr. Gabriel Keating agus glacadh leis
Rural Development, Planning & Economic Development, Social, Tourism
Item 7: Notice of Motion Cllr. Joe Garrihy
Ar moladh Cllr. Joe Garrihy Cuidithe ag Cllr. Gabriel Keating agus glacadh leis
In the Interest of Sustainable Tourism , support for our towns and villages, increasing the footfall to help sustain and enable a future for our small and medium businesses therein I call on Clare Tourism and Key attractions wholly owned and operated by Clare County Council to implement a system of pre booking and shuttle services located from our Towns and Villages from 2025 onwards which will deliver a minimum preset number to boost footfall and economic activity in the MSEs and T&Vs.
Reply from Deirdre O’Shea, Senior Executive Officer, Tourism
As a leading authority in Ireland operating multiple Tourism Attractions within one County, now known collectively as the ‘Clare Collection’, the Tourism Directorate is committed to operating each visitor attraction on a pre-booking system in as much as possible, so that the dwell time of the visitors can be determined in advance and as such to lengthen visitors stay within the locality of the attraction.
The pre-booking systems offer a range of dynamic pricing incentivising the visitor to pre-book their visit. In addition and for the 2025 season, the Cliffs of Moher Experience will initiate a shuttle service by way of dispersing visitors throughout the North Clare area.
Clare County Council’s visitor attractions play a crucial role in strengthening Clare’s appeal as a destination and provide visitors with the opportunity to fully experience our county’s distinctive culture, heritage and history. By cultivating and promoting the ‘Clare Collection’ visitor attractions, this encourages visitors to explore further and to extend their trips beyond the visitor attractions and more importantly to within the neighbouring towns and villages throughout the county and throughout the year, as opposed to within a determined peak season.
In terms of sustaining the future for our small and medium businesses and aside from the visitor attractions under the remit of Clare County Council, there is a determined effort on a daily basis from the Visit Clare team to ensure that a buoyant marketing and promotional plan is sustained throughout the year, which encapsulates all that County Clare has to offer. This is delivered through digital marketing, social media marketing, regional and national advertising networks and marketing promotional collateral development, which reaches local, domestic and international targeted audiences.
It is important to mention that during the 2024 Strategic Marketing Plan for the County there were two significant programmes concentrated on with the intention to bolster local attractions, towns and villages and offer value to both residents and tourists:
"Be a Tourist in Your Own County Clare," engaged locals with the splendour and heritage of Clare. This initiative provided special incentives, encouraging residents to explore and appreciate the attractions their county has to offer. This presented a wonderful opportunity for locals to reconnect with Clare, fosters community pride, and supports local businesses. Additionally, it equipped residents to be ambassadors for their county and the diverse range of visitor attractions it boasts.
"Clare Funday Sundays" offered free to all who took part, a dynamic platform for local attractions to connect with both locals and visitors through creative and valuable offerings. Available through www.VisitClare.ie , Clare ‘Funday Sundays’ presented a unique and evolving platform that automatically refreshed every Sunday, showcasing a selection of imaginative offers from local attractions. These offers extended beyond discounts to include value-added experiences, one-of-a-kind events, and special happenings, all timed to coincide with when attractions are looking to boost business. This approach provided substantial flexibility for attractions, allowing them to put forward offers that are not only attractive but also creatively stimulating. This new platform guaranteed a fresh array of surprises and opportunities each Sunday, thus encouraging continuous exploration and enjoyment of Clare's abundant offerings. It was tailored to meet the business needs of attractions while also catering to the wide-ranging interests of our community and visitors.
Cllr. Garrihy thanked Deirdre O’Shea for her reply. He said that we were fortunate to have award winning tourist attractions in our county but more targeted measures were needed to bring footfall into our town and villages where these attractions are located to ensure that the small to medium size business can survive Cllr. Keating noted that Co Clare had been included in Conde Nast Traveller’s list of top places to visit in Europe in 2025.
Item 8: Notice of Motion Cllr. Joe Garrihy
Ar moladh Cllr. Joe Garrihy Cuidithe ag Cllr. Gabriel Keating agus glacadh leis
I call on Clare Tourism and Clare County Council working with Failte Ireland to refocus their strategy towards contributing to the success, survival and regeneration of our Small Towns and Villages through product development / SME support and proper dispersal of tourism visitors currently coming to our West Clare area including to Clare County Council fully owned and operated attractions with Cliffs of Moher being most visited natural attraction in the country at 1.3m in 2024.
Reply from Deirdre O’Shea, Senior Executive Officer, Tourism
The Clare Tourism Strategy 2030 – Guiding our Journey to a Vibrant New Future in Tourism is an evidence based, forward looking, innovative tourism strategy which is the roadmap and sets the direction for tourism product development, marketing / promotion and public and private investment for the remaining six years. The core objective of the widespread public engagement process was to maximise the potential of tourism to deliver net economic benefit to the communities across the county without negatively impacting the natural, social, cultural and environmental assets which provide the cornerstone of the tourism product in Clare. The implementation of this Strategy is well underway and through the work of both the Tourism Directorate and the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum and alongside the newly formed Tourism Development SPC, with key state agencies such as Fáilte Ireland, this strategy is focused on the concept of sustainability in a meaningful way.
Through the implementation of the 29 objectives within the strategy, specifically one which aims for Clare to become internationally certified as a destination to be recognised nationally and internationally for its commitment to responsible tourism and sustainability, the correlating data has now been collected. Through the formation of a cross-directorate and cross-industry GSTC Green Team working in partnership with ATU Sligo, widespread surveys have been conducted from Visitors, Residents and Tourism Businesses within Clare. This will form the development of the necessary Risk Register and Action Plan, from which will be the baseline data that will require actionable measures. All of this means that sustainability in terms of meaningful benefits to small towns and villages within Clare is being worked on and committed to from the Tourism Directorate through the implementation of the Clare Tourism Strategy 2030.
In addition and in particular for West Clare, Fáilte Ireland have heavily invested in the development of two Destination Experience Development Plans (DEDPs) – one for the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark and one for the Cliffs Coast, to take account of West Clare and North Kerry. Similar to the Clare Tourism Strategy, each of these plans involve dedicated structures to oversee, develop and deliver the key catalyst projects identified within, all with the intention of product development, enhancing assets and existing experiences so as to provide a solid base for differentiating County Clare and enhancing economic growth throughout.
In addition and for the 2025 season, the Cliffs of Moher Experience will initiate a shuttle service by way of dispersing visitors throughout the North Clare area.
A number of Members spoke in support of this motion agreeing that every effort needs to be made to support our small to medium size business and ensure their survival. Cllr. Garrihy said that we need to revisit supports packages like those put in place during Covid. Cllr. McInerney said that a cross directorate approach was needed with LEO, SMEs and the retail and hospitality sector. Cllr. Shannon suggested that the bigger centres could include towns/villages in their marketing campaigns. More investment is required from Tourism Ireland, Clare County Council and Wild Atlantic Way. Cllr. Talty suggested that the focus for this Council term could be on delivering measurable benefits for employment and sustain a future for our shops.
Item 9: Notice of Motion Cllr. Ian Lynch
Ar moladh Cllr. Ian Lynch Cuidithe ag Cllr. Rita McInerney agus glacadh leis
That the WCMD seek expressions of interest from interested bodies for the potential uses of the Community Centre at John Paul Estate to best meet the needs of the community.
Reply from John O’Malley, Senior Executive Officer, West Clare MD (Kilrush)
The West Clare MD will seek expressions of interest in relation to potential uses for the Community Centre as requested. The Municipal District would be supportive of any community support organisation that wish to operate from the Community Centre. Consideration will need to be given to existing facilities in the wider area and ensuring that there is a proper management structure set up to sustain the facility.
Cllr. Lynch is suggesting expressions of interest be sought as a first step to establish what interest there might be to operate and run the Community Centre at John Paul Estate before looking at funding for operational costs.
Item 10: Notice of Motion Cllr. Ian Lynch
Ar moladh Cllr. Ian Lynch Cuidithe ag Cllr. Rita McInerney agus glacadh leis
That the WCMD and Clare County Council Tourism would look to see how an "Avondale Beyond the Trees" experience and other tree top zip line adventures could be developed for Kilrush Woods.
Reply from Deirdre O’Shea, Senior Executive Officer, Tourism
Over the last number of years there has been substantial capital investment in Vandeleur Walled Gardens and Visitor Centre, with thanks throughout to the support of the elected members of West Clare Municipal District.
Now that this progress has been achieved, the Tourism Directorate and West Clare Municipal District will continue to engage with Coillte and in particular to establish the feasibility for a Masterplan for the wider area of Vandeleur Woods so that in partnership, the maximum potential of this significant asset of Kilrush can be realized.
Item 11: Notice of Motion Cllr. Shane Talty
Ar moladh Cllr. Shane Talty Cuidithe ag Cllr. Bill Slattery agus glacadh leis
That Clare County Council engage with the Residents of Kilcornan Housing Estate Ennistymon, with a view to disposing the wasteland to the rear of houses 1-10.
Reply from Carmel Greene, Senior Executive Officer, Property Management Unit
There are two areas of publicly owned lands to the rear of the Kilcornan Estate, on both sides of the estate. The lands to the rear of House No. 1 are not owned by Clare County Council.
The Property Management Unit will engage with the Housing Department to understand the current and future use potential of the lands in question. We will then engage with the Residents Association and the Estate Management Officer for the estate.
Cllr. Talty outlined that this site was a scene for anti-social behaviour during the Halloween period. He wondered if a possible solution might be for the adjoining landowner to take responsibility for it and fence off the area in question.
Item 12: Notice of Motion Cllr. Michael Shannon
Ar moladh Cllr. Michael Shannon Cuidithe ag Cllr. Rita McInerney agus glacadh leis
I call on West Clare MD go Identify a suitable location in Kilrush Town to place a New Bus Shelter and work with the relevant authorities to ensure this essential resource is erected as soon as possible.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
There are three designated bus stops in Kilrush, two on Frances Street (used by TFI) and one on the Square (Bus Éireann tend to stop outside Bourke’s shop). None of these designated bus stops has a bus shelter. West Clare MD & our colleagues in Road Design did try to identify a suitable location for a bus shelter some years ago, but we were unable to get agreement.
Hassett Ducatez Architects have been retained by Clare County Council to prepare the Kilrush Town Centre First Plan. I would hope that a suitable location for a bus stop with bus shelter will be identified in the plan.
A discussion was had with the need to provide bus shelters in our towns and villages. It was agreed that local link is a great service but noted that a number of stops had no bus shelters. John O’Malley advised that discussions so far had been unsuccessful in identifying a suitable site in Kilrush. Cllr. Talty pointed out that Ennistymon also lacked a bus shelter.
Physical Development
Item 13: Notice of Motion Cllr. Joe Garrihy
Ar moladh Cllr. Joe Garrihy Cuidithe ag Cllr. Bill Slattery agus glacadh leis
I call on West Clare MD and Ennistymon Area Office to review the condition of timber boundary fencing and road markings at North Clare junctions including but not limited to Benns Cross, Kilshanny School road with N67 and Doolin Church junctions with a view to replacing the decaying fencing and refreshing the line markings where necessary.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
This office will review each junction as requested and provide upgrades where required. Community Group input will be essential.
Item 14: Notice of Motion Cllr. Ian Lynch
Ar moladh Cllr. Ian Lynch Cuidithe ag Cllr. Rita McInerney agus glacadh leis
That road safety measures are included in the schedule of Municipal District Works for the approaches to Kilrush Community School, St Senan’s National School, the Gaelscoil Kilrush and Shragh National School.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
Any road safety measures incorporated into the public road network at school approaches will have to be approved and designed by our Road Design Section to ensure compliance with relevant road design standards. The Road Design Section may not have capacity at present to design multiple new safety corridors outside the schools referenced.
Much will depend upon the final design arrived at, but at present the West Clare MD does not have a budget for designing / constructing significant road safety measures / safe routes to school corridors. A funding source will have to be in place before works could be considered.
Cllr. Lynch referred to previous discussions on this and suggested that some low cost measures could be funded with GMA to provide road markings and additional signage at school locations. It was agreed that a separate meeting would take place to draw up costings and prioritise 10/12 schools in each LEA for works during the next 5 years.
Item 15: Notice of Motion Cllr. Gabriel Keating
Ar moladh Cllr. Gabriel Keating Cuidithe ag Cllr. Rita McInerney agus glacadh leis
To request Clare County Council to extend the sea wall at Rinevella Beach and strengthened with rock armour.
Reply from Steve Lahiffe, Senior Executive Engineer, Project Management Office
Clare County Council do not currently have proposals for the extension of the seawall at Rinevella. However, the Office of Public Works sometimes provide funding to Local Authorities for this type of work under a scheme called the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to enable Local Authorities to tackle flood and minor coastal protection issues, locally. Applications are assessed by the Offices of Public Works under strict criteria. The proposals must be technical and environmental viable and economically justifiable. Given the small number of dwellinghouses are risk it may be difficult to achieve the economic criteria in Rinevella. Having regard to the above Clare County Council will examine the possibility of funding a coastal protection scheme under the Minor Works Scheme.
Item 16: Notice of Motion Cllr. Gabriel Keating
Ar moladh Cllr. Gabriel Keating Cuidithe ag Cllr. Rita McInerney agus glacadh leis
To ask Clare County Council Design Team to provide an update on the provision of a footpath and surface overlay at Mount Charles Terrace Kilkee and the latest progress report at Minister’s Cross Kilkee.
Reply from Anne O’Sullivan, Senior Executive Engineer, Roads
The Road Design Office have prepared two design layout options for a footpath along Mount Charles Terrace for discussion purposes . A funding source has not been identified for these works.
A preliminary design report for Minsters Place Kilkee has been prepared and funding for the works is under discussion with TII.
Item 17: Notice of Motion Cllr. Gabriel Keating
Ar moladh Cllr. Gabriel Keating Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
To request Clare County Council for a report on the provision of a new footpath from Amigos Caravan Park to Carrigaholt village.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
Funding is in place for the proposed footpath between Amigo’s caravan park and Carrigaholt village. Some environmental reports will have to be prepared, and a public consultation process completed. Landowner consultation is required. All going well I would hope that the project will commence in 2025.
Motions No. 17 and 28 were taken together. It was noted that Carrigaholt is very dependent on tourism and should be presented at its best for visitors.
Item 18: Notice of Motion Cllr. Rita McInerney
Ar moladh Cllr. Rita McInerney Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
That Clare County Council West Clare Municipal District develop a traffic pull-in area on Council land close to Goulbourne Bridge on the N68. This is a necessity for road safety as long and wide slow-moving vehicles are required by law to pull-in after 2km of traffic buildup to avoid slowing traffic down and driver frustration.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
The N68 is a National Secondary Road and any alterations to the existing road layout will require the imprimatur of TII. A new traffic pull-in area will require a design in compliance with current road design standards (e.g. NRA Design Manual for Roads and Bridges) and a funding source. I will forward the request to our colleagues in Roads & Transportation, who liaise directly with TII.
It was agreed that this motion be put forward to a meeting of full Council. Cllr Lynch advised that this issue was raised with TII about 3 years ago but they had not given a commitment for the works. John O’Malley agreed to follow it up with the Roads Department.
Item 19: Notice of Motion Cllr. Rita McInerney
Ar moladh Cllr. Rita McInerney Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
That Clare County Council based on a request from the Residents Association in Drumquin for their road off the R473 (to the right of the Lios Ard Estate) with 10 houses to be Taken in Charge.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
I would refer the elected member to the Clare County Council Document “Taking in charge policy for private roads”, which sets out the procedure for taking private roads in charge, as defined in Section 11 (Declaration of Public Roads) of the Roads Act 1993.
Process Initiation.
Public consultation.
Consideration of submissions received.
Engineer’s report.
Municipal District Meeting.
Post consultation.
Responsibilities of the Council thereafter.
If this Motion is adopted by the elected members of the West Clare MD here today, the process will have been initiated and we can move to the public consultation stage.
Item 20: Notice of Motion Cllr. Rita McInerney
Ar moladh Cllr. Rita McInerney Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
That Clare County Council West Clare Municipal District conduct a traffic management study to survey the possibility of implementing a one-way traffic system on O'Dea's Road from the Kilkee Road to the Ennis Road. There are approximately 20 occupied properties on O'Dea's Road who are experiencing severe difficulty and damage to vehicles given the number of residents and high volume of traffic.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
Any change to the traffic flow of a public road (i.e. changing from two-way to one-way only) will have to go through a public consultation process. There would be significant changes to the road signs & road markings required in the vicinity of O’Dea’s road. O’Dea’s road connects the N67 Kilkee Road to the N68 Ennis Road. Changing the road to a one-way system will mean the loss of a significant link (in one direction) between two National Secondary Roads.
Significant changes to the public road network, such as the one proposed, will have to be approved and designed by our Road Design Section to ensure compliance with relevant road design standards. The Road Design Section may not have capacity at present to design a new one-way traffic system for O’Dea’s road.
Much will depend upon the final design arrived at, but at present the West Clare MD doesn’t have a budget for significant enhanced safety measures / traffic calming measures. A funding source will have to be in place before works could be considered.
It was agreed to review the Traffic Management Plan for the town
Item 21: Notice of Motion Cllr. Bill Slattery
Ar moladh Cllr. Bill Slattery Cuidithe ag Cllr. Shane Talty agus glacadh leis
That Clare Co Council provide a footpath from Woodmount housing estate Ennistymon down to the junction at the housing estate at Ardnaculla lower, in the interest of road safety for residents.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
The land required is in private ownership. Clare County Council will investigate if an agreement to dedicate the land can be reached. A suitable funding stream must also be sourced.
Item 22: Notice of Motion Cllr. Bill Slattery
Ar moladh Cllr. Bill Slattery Cuidithe ag Cllr. Shane Talty agus glacadh leis
I’m requesting that Clare Co Council extend the existing footpath from Greenfield estate at Dough Lahinch to join up to the existing footpath at the council estate on Station Road Lahinch.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
This worthwhile project cannot proceed any further until the land required is dedicated to Clare County Council. A suitable funding stream must also be sourced.
Item 23: Notice of Motion Cllr. Bill Slattery
Ar moladh Cllr. Bill Slattery Cuidithe ag Cllr. Shane Talty agus glacadh leis
That Clare Co Council, and the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) start consulting with the businesses and residents of Lahinch in providing a pedestrian crossing at the lower part of Main Street in the interest of road safety for pedestrians.
Reply from Anne O’Sullivan, Senior Executive Engineer, Roads Department
The RDO is progressing the design of suitable sites for pedestrian crossings at Lahinch Main Street. Site selection is based on a number of criteria including desire lines and sight distances. The Municipal District Engineers are consulted as part of this process as will impacted businesses. When TII approval is received to proceed further a Section 38 public will be advertised and an opportunity will be afforded to the public to make comments on the proposals.
The Members agreed to hold a separate meeting to identify a number of projects that that can be put forward for Active Travel funding in 2025.
Item 24: Notice of Motion Cllr. Dinny Gould
Enhanced road safety/Speed signage be put in place on the main N67 road between Lisdeen Waste Recycling Centre and the old Post Office.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
The N67 is narrow & traffic moves swiftly at this location. TII has previously examined the Lisdeen junction with a view to improving road safety, but funding has not been received to date. Any safety enhancement works on the N67 will have to be approved and funded by TII. I will discuss this Notice of Motion to our colleagues in the Roads and Transportation Department.
We are all concerned with improving Road & Traffic safety. The 2023 Speed Limit Review is being implemented. The Review recommends reducing default speed limits on a number of roads -
- default speed limit on national secondary roads to reduce from 100 kmh-1 to 80 kmh-1
- default speed limit for the network of local and rural roads throughout the country to reduce from 80 kmh-1 to 60 kmh-1
- default speed limit on urban roads, which include built up areas as well as housing estates and town centres, to reduce to 30 kmh-1
I believe that the Speed Limit Review process will reduce the speed limit on the N67 from 100 kmh-1 to 80 kmh-1. Hopefully the reduced speed limit will slow drivers down and thus improve Road & Traffic safety in the area.
During discussion, it transpired that the written reply related to another location and the motion was parked.
Item 25: Notice of Motion Cllr. Dinny Gould
Ar moladh Cllr. Dinny Gould Cuidithe ag Cllr. Michael Shannon agus glacadh leis
Enhanced Safety measures be put in place at the junction where the R484 road to Kilmihil leaves the R483.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
Any road safety measures incorporated into the public road network will have to be approved and designed by our Road Design Section to ensure compliance with relevant road design standards. The Road Design Section may not have capacity at present to design enhanced safety measures at the junction of the R483 & R484 at Ballynagun, outside Creegh.
Much will depend upon the final design arrived at, but at present the West Clare MD doesn’t have a budget for significant enhanced safety measures / traffic calming measures. A funding source will have to be in place before works could be considered.
Item 26: Notice of Motion Cllr. Shane Talty
Ar moladh Cllr. Shane Talty Cuidithe ag Cllr. Joe Garrihy agus glacadh leis
Ask Clare County Council to take in charge a road in Doolin serving approx. 20 houses, opposite McDermotts pub up past Killilagh Church ruins.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
I would refer the elected member to the Clare County Council Document “Taking in charge policy for private roads”, which sets out the procedure for taking private roads in charge, as defined in Section 11 (Declaration of Public Roads) of the Roads Act 1993.
Process Initiation.
Public consultation.
Consideration of submissions received.
Engineer’s report.
Municipal District Meeting.
Post consultation.
Responsibilities of the Council thereafter.
If this Motion is adopted by the elected members of the West Clare MD here today, the process will have been initiated and we can move to the public consultation stage.
Item 27: Notice of Motion Cllr. Shane Talty
Ar moladh Cllr. Shane Talty Cuidithe ag Cllr. Bill Slattery agus glacadh leis
Request that the roadside drain by Killaspuglonane Cemetery be piped & closed with stone to accommodate roadside parking at the cemetery on days of funerals & commemorations.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
Clare County Council will carry out some verge improvement works which will enable roadside parking for a number of cars but won’t hinder passing traffic.
Item 28: Notice of Motion Cllr. Michael Shannon
Ar moladh Cllr. Michael Shannon Cuidithe ag Cllr. Gabriel Keating agus glacadh leis
I Call on West Clare MD to Prioritise the Remedial Works on the Footpaths' in Carrigaholt Village.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
The West Clare MD carried out footpath repair and replacement works in Carrigaholt in recent years. Some of these works were funded by Active Travel, and some from Clare County Council own resources. As per Councillor Keating’s earlier Notice of Motion, we hope to install a significant section of new footpath in Carrigaholt in 2025. We will continue to repair & replace footpaths in Carrigaholt as funding becomes available.
Item 29: Notice of Motion Cllr. Michael Shannon
Ar moladh Cllr. Michael Shannon Cuidithe ag Cllr. Dinny Gould agus glacadh leis
I Call on West Clare MD to engage with the National Roads Authority to address an accident Black Spot in the Townland of Annagh on N 67.
Reply from Alan Kennelly, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Kilrush)
The West Clare MD is aware that there have been several accidents at the junction of the N67 with the L-2104 (Berry Lodge road). This Notice of Motion is similar to Councillor Gould’s previous motion, and my reply is along similar lines.
I will discuss this Notice of Motion to our colleagues in the Roads and Transportation Department. We are all concerned with improving Road & Traffic safety. The 2023 Speed Limit Review is being implemented. The Review recommends reducing default speed limits on a number of roads -
- default speed limit on national secondary roads to reduce from 100 kmh-1 to 80 kmh-1
- default speed limit for the network of local and rural roads throughout the country to reduce from 80 kmh-1 to 60 kmh-1
- default speed limit on urban roads, which include built up areas as well as housing estates and town centres, to reduce to 30 kmh-1
I believe that the Speed Limit Review process will reduce the speed limit on the N67 from 100 kmh-1 to 80 kmh-1. Hopefully the reduced speed limit will slow drivers down and thus improve Road & Traffic safety in the area.
Cllr. Gould advised that this location was the scene of a number of serious accidents in the last few years and safety works should be prioristied.
Item 30: Notice of Motion Cllr. Joe Killeen
Ar moladh Cllr. Joe Killeen Cuidithe ag Cllr. Joe Garrihy agus glacadh leis
We call on Clare County Council to erect an overhead barrier to restrict access for camper vans to Ballyvaughan Pier to allow fishermen access to carry out their work unaffected by traffic congestion.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
We can see the benefits an overhead barrier would bring so, subject to agreement reached with all stakeholders towards and on the pier, we will erect an overhead barrier along the access roadway.
Cllr Killeen welcomed the response and advised that the issue here was that Ballyvaughan Pier was becoming an unofficial campervan site preventing fishing crews accessing their place of work. It was agreed that Ballyvaughan does need an authorized campervan site and that could potentially be provided by the private sector.
Item 31: Notice of Motion Cllr. Joe Killeen
Ar moladh Cllr. Joe Killeen Cuidithe ag Cllr. Shane Talty agus glacadh leis
We call on Clare County Council to design a stop/go system for the Bridge in Corofin with lights that respond to oncoming vehicles while including a walkway section on the roadside.
Reply from Tony Neville, Senior Executive Engineer West Clare MD (Ennistymon)
I agree that the current traffic system at the bridge in Corofin needs to be re-considered and upgraded. We will liaise with our colleagues in Road Design with a view to advancing during 2025.
Cllr Killeen is proposing that a stop-go system be trialed in Corofin to alleviate traffic issues associated with the bridge no longer deemed to be fit for purpose.
Suspension of standing orders was proposed by Cllr. Talty and agreed, to allow the meeting to continue.
Item 32: Correspondence
Response from Irish Water to WCMD request for an update on Action Plans for Water in West Clare. visit WWTP's in North Clare (attached).
Item 33: Any Other Business
- 1. Cllr. Slattery informed the meeting that very serious and dangerous illegal activity is taking place over the last four to five months in Liscannor, Doonbeg and Loop Head area. He said families from Limerick and Cashel are coming into the area trespassing on farmers land with lurcher dogs terrorising landowners. He sought the support of his fellow Councillors to seek an urgent meeting with An Garda Siochana and the National Parks & Wildlife over illegal hunting of animals and alleged intimidation towards farmers which was agreed.
- Cllr Michael Shannon spoke about a number of recent breaks- ins in the Mullagh area where elderly people living alone were targeted and that this too should be raised with An Garda Siochana and the JPC.
- Cllr. Ian Lynch asked that whoever was responsible for the hedge cutting on the N68 be asked to come back and tidy up the hard shoulder in the Darragh area.
- Cllr. Ian Lynch said that local swimmers had brought to his attention a strong stench coming from the Kilrush Treatment Plant and asked if this could be referred to the Environment Section for investigation.
- The members wished Cllr. Rita McInerney well in her campaign to secure a seat in the General Election.
Conclusion
The meeting then concluded.
Signed: __________________________
Cllr. Rita McInerney
Cathaoirleach
Signed: __________________________
John O’Malley
Meetings Administrator
Date: _________________________
Page last reviewed: 19/11/24
Content managed by: West Clare Municipal District
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