Pictured outside Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis, Co. Clare, to mark the launch of the Ennis 2040 economic and spatial strategy are: (front row, l-r) Cllr Ann Norton, Mayor of Ennis Municipal District; Cllr PJ Ryan, Cathaoirleach, Clare County Council; and (back row, l-r) Liam Conneally, Director of Economic Development, Clare County Council; Kevin Corrigan, Chief Operating Officer, Ennis 2040 DAC; and Pat Dowling, Chief Executive, Clare County Council. Photo: Eamon Ward.
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER of the Ennis 2040 DAC, Kevin Corrigan has been requested to come before elected members of Clare County Council.
A commitment had previously been given by senior officials in the Council that the COO would give regular reports to elected members regarding the Ennis 2040 strategy.
At the June 2021 Council meeting, Chief Executive of the Council, Pat Dowling said the COO would report directly to him and also report to elected members.
Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) has tabled a proposal for the Council’s April meeting asking that the COO attend “to allay members concerns and to provide a detailed report on all expenditure since the formation of the Designated Activity Company together with inter alia what steps are taken to protect the commercial footfall affecting existing retail units opposite both Abbey Street and Parnell Street carparks. In the interest of Compliance and Transparency please provide details the procedure used in appointing the current Board Of Directors”.
Elected members had flagged concern with The Clare Echo that the top brass of the local authority would organise a behind-closed-doors workshop with councillors and Corrigan which would preclude the attendance of the media.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Cllr O’Callaghan expressed confidence that the COO would come before the May meeting after his proposal is discussed next month. “I am simply coming back to the minutes where it clearly stated that the officer would be brought into the Chamber, I’m now asking for that to be brought to the fore, I’m also asking for a detailed breakdown of the €2.2m spent to date”. He said he could not see any reason why his proposal would not be put to the floor at next month’s meeting.
He added, “My concern from the very beginning has been on the lending, in a normal commercial sense you have to have some security and I don’t see that, if it’s a case where we default, I can’t see any income coming from any assets, if it is a default then it is on the hook of Clare County Council at a loss of €10m and could that be recouped by the people with increase an increase on the local property tax”.
O’Callaghan said, “The problem I keep coming back to that is it is a highly speculative company, there’s references to other DACs which are a different operation because they are operational companies but to me this is a highly speculative property development company which I believe is high risk”.
“We know the public are not in favour of taking over the civic space at Abbey Street but we are still driving forward with this. I’ve not seen any feedback from the public consultation for these plans and I think the public are entitled to get some of that feedback,” he concluded.
