This article is from page 17 of the 2011-09-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
A PROPOSAL to impose strict limits on the number of motions that can be raised by councillors at local area meetings was proposed at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting in Ennistymon.
The proposal, which would see each councillor limited to just one motion per meeting, was suggested by Lahinch-based councillor Bill Slattery (FG).
Cllr Slattery says the measure would help staff members to deal better with individual enquiries.
According to Cllr Slattery, there is an increasing amount of repetition among the motions put forward by the elected members and the manpower is currently not there to deal effectively with requests.
“At the moment, we are allowed to put forward three motions each per meeting. Between the five of us, that amounts to 15 different motions every five or six weeks and we are all highlighting the same issues over and over again.
“I know that some councillors are waiting more than two years for some issues that have been highlighted to be resolved,” said Cllr Slattery.
“We all know that numbers have been reduced in the local offices all over the county and I think that their time could be better spent in dealing with a lower number of requests rather than a large numbers which contains a lot of repetition.
“I think that this should be done on a temporary basis, just until after the recession.
“If the money and the manpower was there I wouldn’t mind if we were putting in six or seven submissions each meeting.”
Meanwhile, a number of north Clare areas where flooding has taken place over the last two winters have been omitted from a National Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment being compiled by the Office of Public Works (OPW).
North Clare areas such as Doolin, Ballyvaughan and Miltown Malbay have not been included in the assessment, despite a number of unprecedented flooding events taking place in those areas in recent years.
The North Clare Area councillors will now make a submission to the OPW, requesting that these areas be included as part of the assessment.
This assessment, which is currently being conducted all over the country, is likely to inform the OPW’s strategy for tackling flooding for the next decade.