This article is from page 2 of the 2011-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
EXACT DETAILS of Traveller accommodation costs along with costs of litigation relating to cases involving Travellers and the council will be outlined at next month’s meeting of Clare County Council.
That was the message delivered to councillors at their monthly meeting yesterday.
County Manager Tom Coughlan told the meeting that after a “difficult” first six months of this year, preparations for next year’s budget have commenced.
“It’s going to be a very difficult budget to draft. It’s going to be very challenging,” he said.
He said that expenditure in the area of Traveller accommodation “has been increasing year on year”.
“We can bring a report to the October meeting on policies and issues in relation to expenditure on Traveller accommodation,” he said.
Independent Councillor James Breen asked, “How many court cases have we taken against the Travelling community. How many have we lost? How many have we won? Who is paying for it? Have we recouped the costs?” he asked.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Richard Nagle said he was hopeful that a comprehensive report covering income and expenditure in this area would be presented. “I do think we need a full debate on it,” he said.
Mr Coughlan told the meeting that staffing at the council “is under constant review. In the next couple of months I expect we will see a number of resignations and a number of retirements. That will have an impact on services. What it will be I’m not sure, but I’m sure it will have a negative impact on services,” he said.