This article is from page 4 of the 2011-07-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
CLARE County Council has been asked to provide information on an investigation into a fire that destroyed a house in the Ballymaley Traveller accommodation scheme last week.
At a meeting of councillors in the Ennis west electoral area, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) called on the council to provide an update on “what inves tigations are taking place and where the occupants have gone”.
A house at the site was burned out at around 4.30pm on Saturday, July 2. Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of the fire. The damage to a unit of Clare County Council’s Traveller accommodation stock follows incidents which took place in the Ennis area last year.
In May, two houses in the Ashline halting site on the Kilrush Road were burnt in an arson attack. One of the houses was extensively damaged, while the other was also damaged by the fire. In February (2010), houses at the Beechpark Traveller accommodation site were also badly damaged in an arson attack.
At the time, Clare County Council was forced to spend € 51,000 on repairs, while a further € 2,800 a week was spent on security arrangements at the site. Traveller families moved away from the site, which was built at a cost of two million euros.