This article is from page 4 of the 2008-08-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE Mayor of Clare has expressed disappointment that more wasn’t done by gardai to remove over 60 caravans that took over the main car park at Kilkee over the bank holiday weekend.
Up to 250 members of the Travel- ling community converged on the
west Clare resort late on Friday and many were still there on Monday night. The group took over the whole of the main seaside carpark, restrict- ing access to the slipway and local dive centre and reducing parking spaces in the town by up to half. Mayor Madeleine Taylor Quinn said that while the county council had done all in its power to have the
caravans removed, she was very dis- appointed that a personal commit- ment she received from senior gardai was not delivered on.
“What happened in Kilkee during one of the busiest holiday periods of the year is totally illegal and I thought it would be dealt with by the gardai accordingly. The council offered to cover the cost of the towing company
to remove the vehicles. Despite com- mitting to removing the caravans, the gardai have not done so.”
A garda spokesman confirmed that some of the Travellers moved on voluntarily but couldn’t comment on whether others would be moved forcibly.
“We have noted the registrations of the offending vehicles. We are pursu- ing the matter further and prosecu- tions may follow”.
While six families left on Sunday, they were quickly replaced by ten more caravans. On Monday, more vehicles left the town but as many as 60 remained despite threats from gardai of being forcibly removed and having their vehicles impounded.
Human and animal faeces, litter and broken glass have also made the area a health and safety risk, accord- ing to locals.
Kilkee Marine Rescue Service PRO Manuel DiLucia said they were very concerned about access to the slipway while business at the local dive centre was decimated and the operators were forced to close their café and juice bar.