This article is from page 4 of the 2014-03-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
EFFORTS to spend large sections of the € 16.9 million allocated to Clare following the unprecedented series of storms in January and February are being hampered because of delays in decisions being made by the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Clare Council Council cannot undertake any significant redevelopment of coastal infrastructure until the OPW clarifies which of the 15 coastal protection schemes planned for the North Clare area are to go ahead. The situation was described as “outrageous” at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting, with the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Brian Hayes (FG), coming in for particular criticism.
“He [Minister Hayes] said there would be no delays because of bureaucracy between one department and another. The phrase used was ‘joined up thinking’ so that the projects that needed to proceed urgently would be able to proceed urgently. We are now two months on and nobody seems to know what projects will be able to proceed and what projects cannot,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).
“For all the people who were battered by these storms, I think that this is not good enough. I think that it is outrageous. At this stage I would have expected that our senior engineer here [in Ennistymon] would have notifications from the department as to which projects would go ahead and which ones would not. I am at a loss to understand why we cannot proceed.”
Clare County Council has been able to complete temporary work at several North Clare sites, with access to severally damages areas such as The Flaggy Shore and the Lahinch Promenade being restored.
“We have money to do the work in places like the prom but we’re not yet sure what money we have for coastal erosion works, which has to be done first. We are waiting for clarification from the OPW. We are expecting that clarification from the OPW will be forthcoming shortly,” said a council spokesperson.
The OPW is currently processing 15 requests for coastal protection work from the North Clare area with a further 20 allocation coming from the West Clare area. Some of the request involving returning coastal protections to their previous levels while others involve further development.
Tom O’ROURKE
, Lissycasey, Clare. Reposing at his residence today (Tuesday) from 4.30pmwith removal at 7.30pmto Our Lady of theWayside Church. Funeral Mass onWednesday at 12.00. Burial in local cemetery. May he rest in peace.
Mary MCCARTHY (née Reidy)
, Lissane, Clarecastle. Formerly of Lissane, Clarecastle. Suddenly. Deeply regretted by her brother Damian, sister-in-lawBrid, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, relatives and friends. Due to unforeseen circumstances the funeral will be delayed by a number of days. See Rip.ie for details. May she rest in peace.
PJ COMMANE