This article is from page 6 of the 2007-03-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A CLARE County Council official has moved to dispel suggestions made by a Shannon councillor, alleg- ing misappropriation of money.
Last week, Councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind) alleged that money relating to a Neighbourhood scheme in Shannon, which involved the felling, removal and planting of trees, was “misap- propriated” or “wasted”.
At a Shannon area meeting last Tuesday, Cllr Flynn addressed Ger Dollard – who is the Shannon Town manager – and said, “You took your eye off the ball and money was wast- ed. The money was taken out of the town. It’s an absolute disgrace what you let happen to this town.”
However, Mr Dollard said he hadn’t a notion what the councillor was talking about and said he was “talk- ing absolute nonsense.”
In a subsequent statement issued by Clare County Council, the allega- tions were rejected as “wild.” It stat- ed that Cllr Flynn’s statements were
“misleading.”
Mr Dollard said the cost of the project increased from €59,000 to €97,000, because there were addi- tional works involved, which were sought by the local community.
‘The main area of additional cost arose from the removal of timber residues off site.
‘This was not proposed as part of the scheme, but following consulta- tion with residents and councillors, a separate tender process was under- taken,” he said.
Mr Dollard said that Cllr Flynn was fully aware of the reasons behind the difference and that it was “mischie- vous” and “misleading” of him to suggest that the council had handled the situation wastefully.
Development Officer in Shannon, Padraig Mac Cormaic, described the councillor’s attack as “over the top and inaccurate”’.
He said that Cllr Flynn’s claim that the council had not been forthcom- ing in progress reports on the scheme was completely unfounded.