*Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG), Cllr Shane Talty (FF), Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) and Cllr Joe Killeen (FF). Photograph: Eamon Ward.
COUNTY COUNCILLORS have said they are finding it difficult to look North Clare constituents in the eye following the Council’s €8m land acquisition adjacent to the Cliffs of Moher.
Last month, an external audit of Clare County Council revealed that the Council paid €8m in 2023 to purchase two sites in Liscannor adjacent to the Cliffs of Moher.
The total area of the two sites is understood to be close to 55 acres meaning the local authority paid almost €147,000 per acre for the land. The Council also agreed to pay the vendors costs which exceeded €200,000.
At Monday’s meeting of the local authority, a joint question was submitted by twelve councillors regarding the deal, namely Cllr Shane Talty (FF), Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG), Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), Cllr Pat Burke (FG), Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF), Cllr Paul Murphy (FG), Cllr John Crowe (FG), Cllr Ian Lynch (IND), Cllr Mary Howard (FG), Cllr Rita McInerney (FF), Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) and Cllr Bill Slattery (FG).
They sought detail on the “the statutory basis, governance procedure and rationale underpinning” the deal along with the source of funding. A commitment on “future timely engagement” prior to strategic land and property purchases was requested.
Interim Chief Executive of the Council, Dr Carmel Kirby explained “Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1898 (as amended); Section 213 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) and Section 1 and Section 184 of Local Government Act 2001 (as amended) sets out the powers of a County Council as to acquisition of land or easements”.
She stated, “The Council on an ongoing basis acquire parcels of land for various strategic projects including infrastructure improvements such as road realignment, road widening, flood relief, housing development amongst others”. Land has been purchased at a cost of €34m by the Council in the last decade, €23m of which was forked out in the last five years.
Acquiring adjacent lands to the Cliffs of Moher was noted in the draft Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 “to future proof this national asset as a key part of the strategic infrastructure of the Cliffs of Moher,” she said.
Elected members had been briefed on the plans of this strategy, she reminded councillors. “The purchase of land can be commercially sensitive, and it would not be commercially prudent to declare our intention to purchase land/property in advance. That said land/property acquisition would in the main be supported by strategic plans and/or projects. In the case of the Cliffs of Moher, members were briefed in a range of engagements during the process of drafting the Cliffs of Moher Strategy”.
Councillors were aware of the intention to acquire lands, Cllr Talty noted. “Nobody is pretending we weren’t aware of the lands, the early drafts identified works on those lands, it was quite clear those lands would have to be acquired but I’d be slow to justify decisions based on any draft document. If I tried to get planning permission based on a draft County Development I’d be told to wait until the full report was published”.
Completed land deals only became aware to Cllr Garrihy when the external audit was published, he said, “It was extremely disappointing for me to hear of a completed land purchases by auditor for the first time last month and then to hear the dogs on the street knew about it”. He continued, “the Cliffs of Moher Strategy was a draft document, my understanding was it had to be approved by councillors, I am not saying the purchase of lands was the wrong thing to do”.
Elected members should have been given the right to pass or reject the strategy, Cllr Garrihy maintained, “We need to revisit how we are engaging on the DACs, we’re told the Cliffs of Moher is under our governance”.
In Lisdoonvarna land was acquired “three miles down the road from where I live and I only found out about it six months ago, it is very hard to walk down the street doing all the work I do for the community and to not know about that but be told the dogs on the street know about it. It is hard to look people in the eye down the street that we can’t fund works for a footpath when €8m is spent here,” he said.
Public consultation did take place prior to the deals, Cllr Killeen reminded his colleagues. “We had a public meeting in September 2023, the public and some councillors attended, the briefing was given by Haley Sharpe, I asked about a section of land adjacent to visitor centre and beside the car park, I asked if it was in private ownership and I was told the Council were actively working to acquire the lands”. He continued, “The message was transferred to us all the time, the strategy included land in private ownership which had to be put in public ownership for the plan”. He admitted, “I wasn’t aware of the purchase price” but that the land would be purchased.
Proper protocols need to be implemented with “real engagement,” Cllr Hayes believed. “We are the representatives for the public, we’ve to respond for them. It is about embracing us and bringing us in under the table and discussing as soon as possible a decision has been made. I don’t think it is good practice and it causes a degree of angst amongst us all”.
Cooperation was a buzzword during the tenure of previous Chief Executive, Pat Dowling, recalled Cllr Burke, “If I was Cllr Garrihy I’d be shocked and disappointed to think of Exec not trusting me, to hear back from other people ‘what are ye doing inside there’. A bit of trust is needed and it can be rewarded”. He told the meeting he pointed out potential property to be acquired in Mountshannon to the Executive for the Inis Cealtra Visitor Centre, “I didn’t know financial details nor did I want to know but I’d like to think I was helpful to both parties, I’d like to think myself as confidential”. He added, “I was aware of the Mountshannon lands, I understand it is commercially sensitive but it is down to trust”.
Money spent for the deal “is eye-watering,” Cllr O’Callaghan commented. “We have to be conscious that these are massive investments for long-term public gain and that is that they cover themselves going forward,” he said. “Transparency has to become key, we have to be trusted”.
Trust is lacking, Cllr Murphy noted. “It is about trust, if it was a parcel of land in my neck of the woods I’d like to know about. It is about respect too, if the Executive want ours then it should come in return”.
Making a decision on a draft document which did not have unanimous agreement is difficult to comprehend, Cllr Lynch felt. Councillors were engaged on the creation of Ennis 2040, the transfer of the Shannon Heritage sites and buying a land bank in Kilrush, he said, “I don’t see why weren’t fully engaged for this, if we applied for FOI we’d get all the information so I don’t know why this should be different”. The actions were “complete excluding and pushing us to one side,” he added.
Absence of consultation with councillors was very disappointing, Cllr Howard said. “We need to be seen as custodians of the county, honest and reliable and that people can come and speak to us. Both Clare Colleran Molloy and I have been aware of deals for Ennis 2040 and they have not been leaked to the press. When word get out, Council has deep pockets and price multiplies. This Chamber doesn’t run to the media, when we are aware that something is commercially sensitive it doesn’t get out”.
A formal commitment on a protocol going forward for higher land value deals or significant land acquisitions is needed, Cllr McInerney felt. “We are where we are but how do we move forward in terms of not having a repeat of this”.
At the time of the deal Cllr Slattery was not an elected member but a member of the Cliffs of Moher Board, he reminded the meeting. He said the bar has been raised for negotations with the landowners on the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk. “If word got out in 2023 that a certain individual would get €147,000 per acre. I wasn’t here in 2022 when a proposal came from North Clare councillors that €14m be borrowed for the development of the centre, that money was got, it has been paid back by the board and Cliffs of Moher, look what they have today, it is the biggest attraction in North Clare, people are saying the land paid was crazy but think of the value of the land over the next fifteen years”.
He continued, “I know the bar is raised for ongoing negotiations. I hope the 38 landowners will be compensated equally and pro-rate”. On the lack of trust he said, “the Tobin Report was leaked to the Champion before we knew about it”.
The Council were not working in a vacuum, Kirby informed elected members. “There was extensive engagement on the Cliffs of Moher Strategy which is still in draft stage, there was extensive engagement with councillors in 2022 and 2023”. The masterplan attached to the strategy “clearly outlines land had to be acquired,” she said.
Land acquisitions bring “commercial sensitives,” she emphasised. “The Executive needs to balance the responsibility of strategic expenditure versus day to day expenditure”.
Some transactions have a clause where the figure cannot be disclosed, Director of Tourism Development, Siobhán McNulty explained. “The over-arching ambition of the tourism directorate, it has always been set out as custodians of the Cliffs of Moher site and for further consolidation of lands that additional lands were required”. She said it was “always the intention” to bring the Strategy before members “for noting”. “When people see CoCo coming to purchase land there is expectation that pockets are deep, we’re bind by codes and we’re mindful of that”.
