*Overnight camping in Mountshannon.
“DRONE videos” are being sent from parts of East Clare in areas where camping is prohibited encouraging people to bring their tents and pitch up, a county councillor has claimed.
Frustration was voiced by Cllr Pat Burke (FG) at the September meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District on the failure to enforce no camping and overnight parking by-laws in parts of East Clare.
He asked Clare County Council to explain what ‘no camping or overnight parking by order’ signs “mean and why are they not enforced where they are erected in amenity areas”.
Declan Flanagan, acting senior executive engineer in the Killaloe MD explained, “Clare County Council have specific bye-laws in place for managing of Camping and No Overnight parking at our Blue Flag beaches. In the Killaloe MD, the specific bye-laws pertain to Mountshannon and Ballycuggaraun blue flag beaches. One such condition is the provision of no overnight parking within specific areas. Signage is in place to inform the public, QR codes are available with the beach byelaws also for visitors to our beaches”.
He added, “Enforcing of these bye-laws is a function of our Environmental Section, complaints can be made through the Killaloe MD office or through Environment if an issue arises”.
Under the 2021 beach laws, no person shall “drive, bring to, place on, leave or park any motor vehicle, motorcar, motorbike, van, trailer, campervan, caravan, mobile home, off-road vehicle, carriage, truck, wagon, lorry, all terrain vehicle, quad bike or other mechanically propelled vehicle on the beach or dune system appurtenant to the beach, with an exception provided for launching or retrieving of a craft at a designated launch area as identified on the individual maps in Schedule 3 of these bye-laws”.
These beach laws also state that a person cannot “encamp, place, erect or cause to be placed or erected on the beach, or dune system appurtenant to the beach, any tent, caravan, campervan or other temporary dwelling”.
Speaking at this month’s sitting, Cllr Burke admitted he was not “as familiar with what goes on at Ballycuggeran at night”. He lamented the anti-social behaviour and rubbish left behind by people not adhering to the by-laws in Mountshannon, “The place is full of tents and campervans”. He told the meeting he has provided members of the media with photographs at Dromaan Harbour “which are completely flouting the law”.
Lakeside Holiday Park in Mountshannon is “a fantastic facility but they won’t go there because they have to pay”.
In Mountshannon, he said “a black bag was put over the no parking sign to give the two fingers to the local authority. It is a big issue, the reply is fine but it doesn’t give me the satisfaction that it will be dealt with. The area is for boats to come in off the lake, not this. Someone from the Council put up the signs yet they are being ignored”.
According to Cllr Burke, the persons camping overnight are spending nothing locally “from my research” and “they are sending drone videos to their friends telling them to come here”.
Seconding the proposal, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) acknowledged the restrictions on the owners of campervans with the lack of places to stay in East Clare. “Genuine people are coming to these places and we need to be able to provide a site with dedicated services because organised chaos is not good”. He said the Council were missing a trick.
Responding to this, Cllr Burke told the meeting he has spoken with senior planner Brian McCarthy in the past on identifying suitable sites for campervans. “It is not easy for the local authority to come in and find a site. I would prefer to se a private landowner show some initiative”.
Exploring the possibility of a designated area was worthwhile, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) maintained. “We’d all like a designated site but it is a short-term season,” Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) commented to which O’Callaghan pointed out, “it is growing”.
