Search Results for 'Al McDonnell'

Minister for Community, Rural, and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív has announced that he has allocated CLÁR top-up funding of €1,381,995 to group water schemes in the county.

Four group water schemes in County Mayo are non compliant with regulations according to Mr Joe Beirne, Director of Services and Senior Engineer for Mayo County Council.

Lack of funding is delaying water and sewerage schemes being developed in the county, members of the Water and Sewage SPC were informed last week.

The rejection of two planning applications because of the variation of the County Development Plan by the Minister for Environment John Gormley sparked anger at the monthly meeting of the Castlebar Electoral Area committee this week. The debate led to one councillor calling the Minister a coward. Mr John McMyler, Senior Planner for the Council confirmed that he and the planning department were working off the amended plan because they were directed to do so. Both applications were turned down because they were in areas identified as rural areas under severe urban influence. Cllr Al McDonnell said that “this all sounds a bit ministerial”, while Cllr Johnny Mee stated that “it’s not like there are 1000 houses going up in Belcarra, I don’t think that one house will increase the urban influence of the village”. The possible removal of 30 metres of hedgerow was also cited as a reason for the refusal in the Keelouges case. Cllr Johnny Mee said, “I’m very fond of hedgerow myself, but 30 metres of hedgerow or giving someone the chance to start a home it seems easy to me. And to say that Keelouges is under strong urban pressure is madness, come on it’s Keelouges. Cllr Sean Burke told the meeting that, “I was born two miles away from there and to say that it’s under strong urban influence, well I don’t know what to say to that.”

The members of Castlebar electoral area committee paid tributes to the late Mr Tony Kenny, Castlebar at their meeting this week.

It would cost Mayo County Council in the region of €1 million a year to cut every hedge on roadsides in the county.

Fine Gael Councillor Paddy McGuinness took some time at the monthly meeting of the Castlebar Electoral Area meeting to clarify his position in relation to Traveller accommodation in private camp sites. Cllr McGuinness told the meeting, “At a meeting here previously, I spoke about the transient sites for Travellers. I put forward a number of ideas on this issue, one of these I suggest to be looked into is that private camp sites may be opened up to the Travelling community who stay for short periods of time during the summer in and around the Knock festival and Reek Sunday. I wasn’t calling on these camp sites to be opened up, it was only one suggestion of a number that I made that day, which was synopsised in the press and some people took up as me calling for these sites to be opened up.”

Fine Gael’s high hopes of Castlebar dominance

Councillors from Castlebar area expressed their disappointment at a Prime Time documentary which according to councillors was a “misleading” programme which misrepresented the volunteer FÁS worker Eddie Hoban.

The members of the committee paid tribute to the late Sean Dunleavy, who was a planning officer with Mayo County Council. Cllr Al McDonnell led the tributes, saying: “I found him a very strong and direct man. If he made his mind up that was it, he was very fair, though, and didn’t take long to make his mind up. He was able to give a very fair assessment of a situation very quickly.”