This article is from page 19 of the 2005-09-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 19 JPG
CONCERNS have © been raised over the use of money raised from the sale of Ennis Information PC’s.
At a meeting of Ennis Town Council last Tuesday, mem- bers requested a review of the documentation of the agree- ment with Ennis Information Age Services.
According to Ennis Town Mayor Cllr Frankie Neylon the Council had been given assurances that as a share- holder in Ennis Information Services, no decision on the use of funding would be taken without consultation between EIS and the Council.
“When I was on the board of EIS I was told that €1.1m of the money raised from the sale of computers would be ringfenced for the commu- nity. There is now €750,000 left and I would like to know why decisions on spending were taken without the con- sent of the Council,” stated Seyler
He went on to add that he would be seeking legal clari- fication for his position on the
board after receiving a phone call from some one saying that he “could be destroyed” if he spoke to the press about matters pertaining to the work of the board.
“I don’t know whether it 1s going to be done by scud mis- Sile, or the biro, but I will be seeking legal advice on what exactly my position is,” said Mr Neylon when contacted ONY TAU Ke rh YA
Ennis Information Age Services ceased trading in August with the loss of six jobs after it emerged that fur- ther funding would be needed for it to continue.
While Cllr Neylon praised the work the company had done in making Ennis an attractive location for new businesses to set up, discus- sions about the closure of EIS should have been more inclusive. At the meeting on Tuesday Cllr Tommy Bren- nan (Ind) requested a copy of the agreement that was signed before any money is spent stating that the coun- cil had been the only body to invest money in the scheme and therefore had a duty to
the public. The issue of ob- taining an injunction against any planned expenditure was also raised. Cllr Johnny Flynn(FG) stated that he sup- ported the idea of seeking le- gal advice to halt any spend- PITSMMSBUMOMeesecvecLbNOBLATapesl@yelentA
As part of the Information Age project homes in En- nis were offered the chance to purchase computers at a reduced price when Ennis was named Irelands Infor- mation Age Town in 1997. Over 4,000 computers were installed in homes at a cost of 260 pounds each.
“There is a tremendous desire among community members for this money to be directed towards commu- nity projects and in particular towards young people” said Cllr Peter Considine (FF) on Tuesday.
A meeting of Ennis Age Information Age Task Force was expected to take place on Wednesday, but Ennis Town Manager Tom Coughlan has requested on behalf of the council that it be postponed in order for members to re- view documentation.