This article is from page 16 of the 2013-05-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
CLARE County Council has ruled out the possibility of allocating a caretaker specifically for Ballyalla Lake.
Speaking yesterday, Ennis Town Manager Ger Dollard said there is a much bigger council presence at Ballyalla Lake than was the case 18 months ago.
Mr Dollard was responding to motion tabled by Ennis councillor Tony Mulqueen (FG) at a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West electoral area.
Cllr Mulqueen called on the Ennis area engineer to provide a caretaker at Ballyalla Lake “as this amenity had a caretaker in the past who carried out excellent work”.
Cllr Mulqueen told the meeting that it might be beneficial to have a caretaker in the area during summer season.
In his reply, senior executive engineer Eamon O’Dea stated that the council is providing the services required from existing operation personnel in conjunction with the local residents.
He continued, “The litter bins are collected by Ennis Town Council, the grass cutting is done by the grass cutting contractor covering the Ennis town and environs area, the gardening section of the council maintain the hedges near the car parking and the council area staff maintain the walks. The council has carried out improvement works at Ballyalla amenity area under the Smarter Travel Funding in 2011 and are seeking funding for further works.”
Mr O’Dea told the meeting that he could not see the caretaker position being re-introduced. He said area staff have been allocated to carry out maintenance work around Ballyalla and the system is working “reasonably well”. Mr O’Dea said the council is aware of issues that arise in the area on weekends.
Mr Dollard said that given the current financial climate, it is hard to see a caretaker being allocated to Ballyalla.
The meeting heard that one major works scheme is planned for Ballyalla. However that has been delayed pending approval of funding under the LEADER scheme.
A working group comprising residents, councillors, businesses and wildlife services has been established to examine proposals in relation to Ballyalla.
The group, former following a public meeting in Ennis last month, are due to hold their first meeting in June.