This article is from page 3 of the 2005-10-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
THE decreasing influence of the Town Council in the operation of Ennis Town has been criticised by the Town Mayor.
Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind) made his comments after the council withdrew from its loss-making refuse service and ahead of its handing over of responsibility for the town’s water sup- ply to Clare County Council to comply with Government policy, in January.
Mayor Neylon said this week, “It is very disappointing. All the council will be left with is collecting rates, car-park- ing and provision of roads and we will be reduced to a parish council or form part of a regional council.”
Last year, the cost of collecting and disposing of Ennis’s refuse accounted for 15 per cent of the town’s overall
budget of €12 million.
Explaining the council’s decision to withdraw from the service, Cllr Neylon said, “If the council kept on the service for the remainder of the year, we would have been looking at a loss of €300,000 and next year a loss of over €1 million.
He added, “I made my feelings known to management on the issue as I have been fighting for years to retain the service, but they pointed out to me that they don’t have the expertise to run a commercial operation and that is ac- cepted.”
In 2003, the council spent €35,000 to market its refuse collection, managing to attract 35 new customers. Later that year, councillors ignored pleas by man- agement to abandon the service.
Cllr Neylon said, “The council have decided to hand the service over to a
private contractor after the Ennis trad- ers didn’t support the service. It is very disappointing.”
Cllr Neylon added that the small number employed by the council in the refuse service are being offered vol- untary redundancy or redeployment to other sectors of the council.
Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) said this week, “Ennis Town council needs to re- invent itself.
“Otherwise we will become a talking shop with the power to give out commu- nity grants on a very limited budget.”
He said, “We have become a begging bowl establishment and are too depend- ent on national government.
The issue over the water is a prime example where we are relying on Gov- ernment funding to solve the problem,” said Councillor O’ Bearra.