This article is from page 33 of the 2007-03-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 33 JPG
RESIDENTS in some of Shannon’s housing estates have sought a meet- ing with council officials, in an ef- fort to compile a plan to tackle a lit- MOIST
Parts of the town have been plagued by litterbugs and residents say they are no longer willing to put up with this. Some elderly residents, who have lived in the town all their lives, say they are forced to go out and clean areas near their homes.
Chairman of the Finian Park Resi- dents Association, Wayne Cluitt said some areas in Aidan and Finian Parks are constantly targeted by peo- ple dumping litter.
“Tt is particularly bad at the bottom end of Aidan Park and the bottom end of Finian Park. When people buy fast food, they eat it along the street and throw their fast food cartons and bottles around. They also do it near the hall as well, where people drink and throw their bottles and cans around,” said Mr Cluitt.
“A number of people are trying to keep their own areas clean, but the rubbish blows around,” he said.
He said there are bins located near the shops in the area, but people do not use them. Council staff carried out a clean-up in recent weeks, but locals believe this should be an on- going project.
‘“T have requested from the council
that more litter bins be put around the estate, but people dump their black bags of rubbish in those litter bins,’ he said.
The residents association has or- ganised a major clean-up. This will take place at the beginning of April and they are encouraging everyone to get involved.
Shannon Councillor Tony Mulcahy (FG) said the town was left “severely under-resourced” after the council took over its running, three years ago.
OW elo) komme D ice u no t10 Nam) @mmee) ED eLenD | workers, working on the ground, compared to at least 14, which was available when Shannon Develop- ment managed the town, he said.
“The council was never given the Same resources. That is the prob- lem,” said Councillor Mulcahy.
He said that while work on the roads and footpaths has been carried out, the litter problem 1s still preva- one
‘The problem is we were left short- changed by the Department of the Environment. We need a huge up- gerade of infrastructure, water, etc. That funding has to be provided to the town. Shannon Town Council should have been given full Town Council status, like Ennis. We rely on the County Council for funding, even though, 67 or 68 per cent of the rates in the whole county come from Shannon,” he said.