*Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG). Photograph: John Mangan.
A SENSE of betrayal has been felt by elected members of Clare County Council after the local authority paid €8m for two plots of land adjacent to the Cliffs of Moher without consulting county councillors.
The Clare Echo reported last week that Clare County Council in 2023 acquired two separate sites adjacent to the Cliffs of Moher for a whopping €8m. 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.
On top of this, the Council also paid vendors cost which exceeded €200,000.
Elected members of the Council were shocked to uncover the information when an external audit of the local authority was published in the past fortnight.
At the April meeting of the Council, it was Cllr Shane Talty (FF) and Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) who were not shy in airing their views on the gross-overspend.
In a statement following the meeting, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) admitted he was “still in shock” over the external audit. “There are many questions left unanswered and as an elected representative I will work with colleagues to seek full transparency and information on all matters. it is deeply troubling that elected representatives were not informed and consulted on very significant decisions and expenditure”.
Lisdoonvarna native Garrihy confirmed he will not support the Cliffs of Moher Strategy as it stands. “I have a serious issue of the draft in progress Cliffs of Moher 2040 Strategy being cited as a back-up and basis for many actions and decisions as this strategy in development has not been approved by elected representatives and furthermore I have always held the position that I will not support a strategy which is almost totally focussed on the Cliffs of Moher site alone and does not currently have sufficient commitment to the wider North Clare area, towns and villages, community and SMEs located in our area along with major legacy issues of road conditions and infrastructure deficits in the area”.
He concluded, “In this context to see this level of spending, ignoring the other obvious and pressing needs of the area is beyond belief and requires major examination in how executive powers and engagement with elected representatives are carried out in Clare County Council”.
