This article is from page 37 of the 2007-12-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 37 JPG
WHEN former county councillor PJ Burke first proposed a sewerage scheme for Mullagh he did not ex- pect that more than 30 years would pass before the contract for the work would be signed.
The retired Mullagh man was in Scariff last week to see Clare County Council sign a €7 million contract with P&D Lydon Plant Hire Ltd of Gortacurra, Cross, County Mayo to provide a Bundled Sewerage Scheme for five villages and towns in Clare, one of which was Mullagh.
As far back as September 10, 1973 the members of Clare County Coun- cil approved a sewerage scheme for both Mullagh and Quilty.
On January 31, 1974 the then Coun- ty Manager, Joe Boland appointed
a consultant engineer to prepare a preliminary report and establish the cost of a new sewerage scheme for nine villages among them Mullagh, Quilty, Carrigaholt, Doonbeg and Cooraclare.
On December 12, 19774 the prelimi- nary report for Quilty was sent to the Department of Local Government for approval, with the Mullagh report to follow on September 10, 1974.
It would be the 1990s before the sewerage schemes would become a live issue again at which point Mul- lagh and Quilty were considered as oiler
During the early part of this decade the schemes were “bundled” with Scariff and Feakle for consultancy purposes and after much interaction with the Department of the Envi- ronment and Local Government the
scheme finally got the go ahead.
The civil engineering contract signed on Wednesday is the first of two major contracts associated with the scheme (Mullagh, Quilty, Feakle and Scariff) and involves the con- struction of over 20 kilometres of sewers and two kilometres of wa- ter mains, along with Stormwater (drainage) sewers and other ancil- lary works. The Bundled Sewerage Scheme is scheduled for completion in November 2008.
Speaking following the contract signing at Clare County Council’s re- cently opened area offices in Scariff, Mayor of Clare, Councillor Patricia McCarthy said, “This is a contract of major significance for the county and will provide vital infrastruc- ture for the people of east and west Clare. When completed, the scheme
will introduce significant scope for increased development and tourism potential in these important rural akon
“IT am particularly pleased to sign this contract given that I, along with many others, have had personal in- volvement going back over 30 years in campaigning for the advancement of the Quilty and Mullagh schemes,” added the mayor.
West Clare councillor Christy Cur- tin said “The intense campaign over the last decade has paid diffidence and I hope it will compensate for the frustration for the long wait since 1973 when it was first muted.”
Meanwhile Mr Burke said that it was great to see the contract signed finally. The council is currently con- structing a water supply improve- ment schemes in Kilkee.