*Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND). Photograph: Natasha Barton
HIRING CONTRACTORS instead of utilising internal staff of Clare County Council needs to be dealt with, a Shannon councillor has said.
An over-reliance on contractors is seeping into the local authority, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) believed.
Speaking at a meeting of the Shannon Municipal District on Tuesday morning, Cllr Flynn expressed his view that the Council can make better use of resources and public expenditure.
He stated, “I don’t think we’re getting value for money in relation to the contractors we are using, we’ve highly skilled people in Clare County Council and I can’t understand why we’re relying on contractors so much. If you sent the Chief Executive into a shed of spanners, he’d come out with a contractor”.
Meanwhile, the Schedule of Municipal District works has been adopted by each of the four MDs in the county.
Clare’s total funding allocation for the road network this year is €52,053,750, an overall increase in the region of €3m. The fund comprises of allocations from the Department of Transport (€38,784,600), Transport Infrastructure Ireland (€5,869,840), National Transport Authority (€4,500,000), own resources (€1,801,400), Department of Rural and Community Development (€597,910) and Irish Public Bodies (€500,000).
There is a 15.2% increase in the funding from own resources compared with 2022 however funds from IPB and the NTA have dropped by 17% and 15% respectively. Financial aid for non-national roads is up 15.2% but funding for national roads is down 2%.
Lahinch based Cllr Liam Grant (GP) felt inflation would have an impact, “the budget is greater but I’d worry the level of work done won’t be”. Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) gave a similar viewpoint, “It’s one thing to talk about the increase in money but every conversation I’ve had points to a decrease in the work being done”.
Anger was voiced by Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) over the fact that the West Clare MD was receiving eight percent of the €4.5m in Active Travel funding. “It is disgusting, it is just disgusting that this should happen, all of the investment well the greater part is in one part of the county, we’ve only got the pittance in West Clare, pay the diesel and we’ll pay for the potholes”. The Active Travel allocation left Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) “very disappointed”.
Challenges lay ahead, warned Cllr Shane Talty (FF), “We are welcoming the increase but the upkeep in maintenance of existing road network. Ennistymon is covering under 24km in 2023, in 2022 the same money was covering 20km, we can only spend under the headings and categories but the bread and butter issue of maintaining the existing road network is going to be a challenge”.
