This article is from page 14 of the 2012-07-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
A COMPROMISE appears to have been reached between Clare County Council and Minister Leo Varadkar over the involvement of the local authority responsible for Shannon in the decision making process for the Airport.
The main bone of contention between the two concerned Clare County Council’s lack of involvement in the three steering groups appointed to oversee the process.
Following a meeting between the two sides it would appear that a formal mechanism will now be put in place whereby there is communication between the Council and the three groups.
A Clare County Council delegation met with Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar on Thursday to discuss issues relating to Shannon Airport’s separation from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).
Following the meeting at the Department of Transport in Dublin, Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Daly announced that the Minister had committed to putting a formal proc- ess in place to facilitate input by the Mayor and Clare County Manager, on behalf of the Council, with the Chairs of the recently announced Steering Group and two Taskforces.
“Minister Varadkar listened to our views and accepted we have a valuable contribution to make to the process,” stated Mayor Daly.
He continued: “The Council accepted that if the Minister was to add additional members to the Taskforces that he would have to reopen the entire process and that could have delayed the work of the relevant Taskforces. Therefore, the Council did not request to be included on the Taskforces. We asked for a process that would facilitate the Council influencing, and participating in the decision making process. The Minister positively responded to that request.”
Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan confirmed he has already met with the Chairs of the Taskforces.
“The Chairs strongly indicated to me that the Council’s input to their deliberations would be essential to the process. The outcome of today’s meeting with the Minister is that a formal process is being put in place to facilitate that role.
“Clare County Council, as the Local Authority for Shannon and Clare, looks forward to playing a key role in devising a plan for the future development of Shannon Airport,” he added.
The Clare County Council delegation that met with Minister Varadkar included Mayor of Clare Cllr. Pat Daly, Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan, and Councillors Patricia McCarthy, Richard Nagle and John Crowe, each members of the Council’s Corporate Policy Group.