PrintMinutes of July Monthly Meeting of Kilrush Town Council held on the 16th July 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the Vandeleur Walled Garden, Kilrush
Presiding:
Cllr. Tom Clyne, Méara.
Councillors present:
Tom Prendeville, Deirdre Culligan, Colie Sweeney, Marian McMahon-Jones, Liam O'Looney, Christy O'Malley, Jack Fennell, Stephen O’Gorman.
Officials present:
Ms. Bernadette Kinsella, Director of Service & Town Manager.
Ms. Fiona Mooney, Town Clerk.
Mr. Derek Troy, Executive Engineer.
Item No. 1: Adoption of Minutes of June Monthly Meeting of Kilrush Town Council held on the 14th June 2007 at 4:00 p.m.
Ar Moladh Cllr. McMahon Jones cuidithe ag Cllr. O’Malley :-
The Minutes of the June Monthly Meeting were duly adopted.
Item No. 2: Adoption of Minutes of Annual General Meeting held on the 27th June 2007 at 7.00pm.
Ar Moladh Cllr. Sweeney cuidithe ag Cllr. O’Gorman :-
The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting were duly adopted.
Item No. 3: Attendance of Sean Ward, Senior Engineer, Environment Section, Clare County Council
Mr Ward, Acting Director of Service for Environment and Emergency Services, was welcomed to the meeting by the mayor. Mr Ward thanked the members for their invitation and welcomed the opportunity to be present and to work with the Kilrush members.
Mr Ward presented a report dated 13th July 2007 which was in response to previous recent notices of motion:
Previous notice of motion from Cllr Colie Sweeney: "That this council, in view of the generous grants available from the DoEHLG, immediate application for funds to relocate and upgrade the recycling facilities currently available at Place de Plouzane as other towns in Ireland the same size as Kilrush have been successful in securing same."
Previous notice of motion from Cllr Liam O’Looney – "That this council would apply for a grant to the Dept. of Environment to upgrade the recycling facilities in Kilrush town."
The two notices of motion are similar in subject matter, and I wish to make a joint reply as follows.
National practice in provision of recycling facilities
Current national practice is to provide recycling facilities in two categories:
Small local bring centres – These provide containers for a limited range of materials – glass bottles, cans, and sometimes plastic bottles and textiles. They are generally available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and should be easily accessible to pedestrians as well as to people with cars. There are 54 of them in Clare.
Major recycling centres (sometimes called "civic amenity sites”) – These accept a wide range of materials, are open for limited hours, are fenced and secured while closed and staffed while open, and are situated in central locations. There are 4 in Clare at time of writing, and on 26th July next the new centre at Shannon will be opened. With the four existing centres plus Shannon, Clare is well ahead of the national average in terms of number of major recycling centres relative to population. National average (per 2005 EPA National Waste Report and 2006 Census) is 1 major recycling centre per 52,344 population. Clare’s figure is 1 per 22,190.
A major recycling centre is designed to serve not only the town in or near which it is located, but a large hinterland as well. The five centres in Clare are well placed for access from all parts of the county:
Ballyduff Beg, Inagh – Nearest centre to Inagh, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Milltown Malbay, Liscannor, Doolin, Lisdoonvarna, Fanore, Ballyvaughan, Belharbour, New Quay, Carron, Corofin, Kilfenora, Dysart, Kilmaley
Gort Road, Ennis – Nearest centre to Ennis, Clarecastle, Doora, Quin, Clooney, Crusheen, Ruan, Tubber, Inch, Lissycasey, Ballyea, Ballynacally, Kildysart
Feakle Road, Scariff – Nearest centre to Scariff, Mountshannon, Whitegate, Feakle, Killanena, Flagmount, Bodyke, Tulla, Tuamgraney, Ogonnelloe, Killaloe, Bridgetown, O’Brien’s Bridge, Broadford
Smithstown, Shannon (opening 26th July) – Nearest centre to Shannon, Newmarket, Sixmilebridge, Bunratty, Kilkishen, Cratloe, Meelick, Parteen, Clonlara, Limerick City Environs
Lisdeen, Kilkee – Nearest centre to Kilrush, Kilkee, Doonbeg, Loop Head Peninsula, Killimer, Knock, Kilmurry McMahon, Labasheeda, Cranny, Kilmihil, Cree, Cooraclare, Quilty, Mullagh
If there were currently no existing major recycling centre in south-west Clare, Clare Co Council might well be looking for a site in or close to Kilrush town to build one. However Lisdeen is the current centre for the area, and in my opinion there is no justifiable case for building a second centre in West Clare, or for replacement of the Lisdeen centre by a new centre nearer to Kilrush.
The Lisdeen centre was provided in its present location in 2000 & 2001. The site was chosen because:
- It was already in the Council’s ownership and occupation, being part of the curtilage of the landfill which was being closed under EPA licence
- It had infrastructure already on site
- It had adequate open space, not occupied by landfill, for provision of recycling facilities including expansion into the future – for instance, in 2005 it was able to accommodate, without significant difficulty, the acceptance of waste electrical and electronic equipment under the EU WEEE Directive
Existing recycling facilities in and near Kilrush
In my opinion the Place de Plouzané and Lisdeen facilities are both very well located for their types.
- As a local "24/7” facility Place de Plouzané is central to the town, is in a well-frequented area with public lighting, and has reasonably easy access from all parts of the town. In my opinion its relocation would be very difficult to justify unless any new site was also centrally located, capable of being lighted and serviced, and open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. However it is accepted that there is a clear case for upgrading the Place de Plouzané facility, in terms of:
- How it is presented – surfacing, signs, boundaries, lighting, security, etc
- Type & number of containers for current materials – glass & plastic bottles, aluminium cans
- Whether or not containers should be provided for additional materials
- Servicing and maintenance, including keeping it clean and free of litter and general waste.
- Lisdeen is centrally located within south-west Clare to serve as a major recycling facility for a big catchment area from Loop Head peninsula around to Kilmurry Ibrickane, Kilmihil and Clonderlaw Bay.
Capital funding for waste management facilities
The DEHLG operates a scheme under which waste management facilities other than landfills – including recycling and composting – can qualify for grant aid of up to 75% of capital cost of provision. There is no automatic entitlement to a grant. All applications are considered individually, there is a limited fund each year, and the final decision as to which applications to support rests with the Minister.
Clare Co Council has hitherto been allocated 75% construction grants for three major recycling centres (Ballyduff Beg (Inagh), Ennis and Shannon) and for the composting facility at Ballyduff Beg. Estimated cost of the Shannon centre is between €1.1 and €1.2 million (at 2006-2007 prices) – final account not yet received. The Ennis centre at Gort Road is on a much smaller site, with fewer and smaller buildings than in Shannon, and its cost was approx. €380,000 (at 2003-2004 prices).
In applying for a grant, a case has to be made to justify provision of the facility, and particularly how it will contribute to meeting the objectives of the Regional Waste Management Plan (the Clare-Limerick-Kerry plan in our case). With a major well-equipped centre already in place at Lisdeen serving south-west Clare, it would be extremely difficult to justify to the Department the provision of a new centre in or near Kilrush.
Operating costs for recycling
Local bring centres – Operation of local bring centres is relatively low-cost. The main cost is regular collection of the contents, which is put out to tender. There is also the cost of tidying and maintenance, which may vary from place to place, and the cost of enforcement by e.g. closed circuit TV at sites subject to misuse. Subsidies from Repak for domestic packaging waste collected, and a general operational subvention from the DEHLG, offset part of the cost. Clare County Council’s budget for general recycling (i.e. other than the major centres) for 2007 is €238,000, of which approx. 90% will be spent on operation of its 54 current local bring centres.
Major recycling centres – The first major cost to be met is the loan charge on capital costs – on 25% of the cost if a grant is allocated, and 100% if not – over the term of the loan. Recyclables collection, energy, communications, and maintenance and replacement of equipment must be paid for, as well as staff payroll. The 2007 budget for operation of the Ennis recycling centre is €250,230, excluding loan charges. The estimate for operating the Shannon centre in 2007, based on the second 6 months only, is €106,000, again excluding loan charges. The estimate for Lisdeen is €217,230, but this is not directly comparable with Shannon and Ennis as it also includes elements for reception of non-recyclable waste and for monitoring of the closed landfill. Part of the cost is defrayed by Repak subsidies and DEHLG operational subvention. Clare County Council does not currently impose a charge on recycling centre customers at point of use, but a number of other local authorities do so.
Provision of recycling facilities and application for capital grants by Town Councils
There is nothing in waste management law or policy precluding Town Councils from providing and/or operating recycling facilities, as long as these activities are compatible with the Regional Waste Management Plan and contribute towards achieving the plan’s targets. The Department’s circular letters on the capital grants scheme do not explicitly preclude Town Councils from making applications under the scheme. However any application by a Town Council would require the approval and support of the County Council, as the latter is the statutory waste management authority under the 1996 Waste Management Act, and is a party to the Regional Waste Management Plan.
Recommended course of action arising from this meeting
Subject to the members’ agreement, the Environment Section of Clare County Council will work with Kilrush Town Council to prepare a number of alternative designs for upgrading of the Place de Plouzané facility. Furthermore, if Kilrush Town Council wishes the Environment Section to explore other ideas and proposals for recycling facilities, whether within or outside current national practice, we will do so. Costings will be prepared for proposals, and it will be determined whether or not the costs are such as to warrant an application for grant aid. Given the demands on staff resources and the summer holiday period, proposals are unlikely to be ready before October next.
It is acknowledged that the placing of these two notices of motion is a clear indication of Kilrush Town Council’s interest in recycling, and the Environment Section looks forward to working with the Town Council in enhancing recycling facilities for the town.
S. Ward
Acting Director of Services
Environment and Emergency Directorate.
13th July 2007.
The mayor thanked Mr Ward for his report. There was discussion about the management challenges at the bottle banks at Place de Plouzane, in the context of the recent mixed development there. While the banks were at a very central location, abuse of them by illegal dumping was intolerable for the new businesses in Place de Plouzane. The problems at those banks were acknowledged by all. Following discussion about options for moving the banks out of Place de Plouzane altogether, it was agreed that a further report would be brought to the October meeting for improved management at Place de Plouzane and members were asked to come forward to the environment section with any ideas they had about alternative venues for the banks. Members raised the need for an expanded range of public recycling facilities for Kilrush, to include materials like cardboard and tin cans.
Members said they hoped that there would be positive outcomes both for Place de Plouzane and for expanded facilities arising in the near future.
Item No. 4: Arts Grant Scheme
Item No. 5: Community Grant Scheme.
These items were taken together. The town clerk distributed an information memo to members, showing the take up of both schemes in 2007 and showing the 18 listed beneficiary projects in 2007, which was an increase on the number of projects supported via the schemes in 2006. An additional €1,000 had been made available in 2007, increasing the fund for both schemes to €5,000 in total.
The members commented on the range of projects as being an example of the level of community activity in the town and the disbursement of the €5,000 , subject to the conditions of the scheme being met by each project relating to receipted vouched expenditure, was proposed by Cllr O’Looney and seconded by Cllr Sweeney.
Item No. 6: Ar Moladh Cllr. O’Gorman:-
"That this Council would ask the Manager for the start up date for the traffic calming in Stewart Street, Chapel Street, Lower Moore Street, Crawford St, St Senan’s Terrace , Wood Road and Wilson’s Road”.
Cllr Sweeney said that he would resign if the traffic calming wasn’t done. Cllr was directed to the response to the motion.
Response:
Signs are currently being priced and once the signage is in place, the Council will be going ahead with the installation of traffic calming. It is expected that the traffic calming works will be begin and be completed by September 2007.
Derek Troy, 16th July, 2007
Item No. 7: Ar Moladh Cllr. O’Gorman:-
"That this Council would tarmac the entrances to the new Shanakyle/All Saints graveyards as the roughness there is causing problems for the elderly, people with pushchairs and the disabled.”
Response:
Funding has recently been approved under National Disability Strategy Funding Allocation for the surface upgrade at the entrances to Shanakyle/All Saints graveyards. Works will proceed as soon as possible.
Derek Troy, Town Engineer, 16th July, 2007
Item No. 8: Ar Moladh Cllr. O'Gorman:-
"That this Council would seek to have a RAPID programme in Kilrush as this would be a benefit to the youth of Kilrush like the Lees Road complex and it would also integrate them in community and develop social skills."
The positive benefits of the funding accessible with RAPID designation for youth facilities was discussed and supported by the members who also supported the motion.
The town manager and clerk confirmed that this had been taken up with the previous Minister but that it had been confirmed that there were no plans to extend the RAPID programme at that time. The new programme for government would be examined to see whether there was any new opportunity arising that Kilrush could make a bid for.
Item No. 9: Ar Moladh Cllr. Prendeville:-
"To ask the Manager to prepare a preliminary report on the feasibility of seeking Ministerial approval for an extension to the town boundary."
Cllr Prendeville felt it was timely to consider the existing boundary in the context of the development underway in the town. The preparation of a preliminary discussion document was proposed. The town manager said that there was a considerable process involved in this and that she couldn’t commit immediately to it.
Item No. 10: Ar Moladh Cllr. Prendeville:-
"To ask the Manager to report to the members on the new criteria for procuring the prestigious EU Blue Flag for local amenities."
There was discussion on whether there was additional budget implications involved in meeting Blue Flag criteria. It was felt that many of the criteria were looked after in the existing maintenance budgets (like lifeguards and water quality) although there were some additional costs in new criteria for some facilities, such as recycling. A written response to the motion was also circulated:
Response:
The Blue Flag Programme is an international programme, with a worldwide coverage, to identify and give a mark of recognition to beaches that meet a number of criteria. Over the years since the programme began, the number and scope of the criteria have increased. Hereunder is a summary of the 2007 criteria, of which there are 29 no. (twenty-nine). Nos. 8 and 26 are not applicable in Europe, and nos. 9, 11 and 20 are guideline criteria in Europe. Thus there are currently 24 no. (twenty-four) imperative criteria to be met by European beaches which aspire to the Blue Flag award. Criterion no. 15, requiring the provision of recycling containers, was a significant new addition for 2006; Clare County Council was able to avail of a derogation from this criterion in 2006, but this would not be permitted for 2007.
- Display information on coastal zone ecosystems and sensitive areas
- Display information on bathing water
- Display information on the Blue Flag programme
- Display code of conduct for beach use, & inform beach users where they may get, on request, the laws governing beach use
- Offer the public at least 5 environmental ed’n activities at the beach during the bathing season
- Comply with the bathing water standards applicable in the area – in our case, those set out in the EU Bathing Water Directive of 1976
- No industrial or sewage discharges must affect the beach area
- Monitor coral reefs (not applicable in Europe)
- Comply with requirements for sewage treatment & effluent quality (guideline criterion)
- Leave seaweed to decay on beach unless it becomes a nuisance
- Establish a beach management committee (guideline criterion)
- Beach must comply with planning and coastal zone management laws
- Beach must be clean
- Suitable waste receptacles must be provided
- Receptacles for recyclables must be provided for at least 3 different streams of materials
- Adequate & clean toilets with controlled sewage disposal
- No dumping, & no unauthorised camping or driving, on beach
- Enforce national laws re dogs & other domestic animals on beach
- Beach buildings and equipment must be properly maintained
- Promote suitable means of transportation in beach area (guideline criterion)
- Provide adequate lifeguards and/or life saving equipment
- Provide first aid equipment on beach
- Manage different beach uses to avoid conflicts & accidents
- Have emergency plans in place to handle pollution safety risks
- Provide safe means of access to beach
- Beach must be patrolled (not applicable in Europe)
- Provide a supply of drinking water on the beach
- At least one Blue Flag beach in each municipality must have toilets accessible by disabled users
- Display a map showing all beach facilities
S. Ward, Acting Director of Services, Environment & Emergency Directorate
Item no. 11
11. Curtha faoi bhraid na Comhairle ag Cllr. Prendeville:-
"To ask the Manager to report to the members on progress to date in relation to the current review of the Kilrush Town Development Plan."
Response:
The review of the Kilrush Development Plan 2002 is well-advanced and nearing completion. However, the statutory requirement to undertake Strategic Environmental Assessment places an additional substantial workload in undertaking the process and preparing the required reports. The Scoping Report has been prepared and the appropriate environmental authorities have been consulted in this regard. The EPA now require a full SEA to accompany the Draft Kilrush Development Plan . Due to a loss of technical support staff directly involved with undertaking the SEA process, and the need to consult with a number of prescribed agencies, the preparation and completion of the SEA Report, and consequent finalisation of the Draft Development Plan has fallen behind the planned schedule. It is anticipated that the draft plan will be made available to the Kilrush Town Council in early September 2007 subject to the external agencies responding with their inputs by due date.
John Bradley, 16th July, 2007
Item no. 12
12. Curtha faoi bhraid na Comhairle ag Cllr. O'Malley:-
"That this Council undertakes an urgent appraisal of all water drainage systems and rectify as required."
Response:
Following recent flash flooding in the Kilrush area, Kilrush Town Council is undertaking investigation and repair works at the following locations: Fort Road / Soldiers Road junction, Crofton Street, Vandeleur Street / Ennis road, Stewart Street, Shannon Heights and Fahy’s Road.
These works are currently ongoing and a report on same will be available as soon as all investigations are complete.
Derek Troy, Town Engineer, 16th July, 2007
Item No. 13: Correspondence
- Letter dated 7th June 2007 from the Road Safety Authority re motor vehicle testing.
- Appreciation Card from the family of the late Mary and Patrick Maguire.
- Letter dated 20th June 2007 from Monaghan T. Council re. FÁS Job Initiative Scheme.
- Prelim Notice of Kilkee Waterworld Conference at the Kilkee Bay Hotel on 7/9/’07.
- Letter dated 21st June 2007 from Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment regarding FÁS Job Initiative Scheme.
- Letter dated 15th June 2007 from Tralee Town Council regarding sex trafficking of women and children in Ireland.
- Letter dated the 27th June 2007 from Monaghan T Council re children going missing.
- Letter dated 2nd July 2007 from Clones T Council regarding FÁS Job Initiative Scheme.
- Letter dated 3rd July 2007 from Clare County Council regarding parking of vehicles in disabled spaces.
Defibrillators
Mr Ian Lynch was permitted to address the members about debrillators, proposing one be located at the Garda station and one be moveable to attend at sporting and other events. Mr Lynch said the Red Cross would provide training at a discounted cost and that the Irish Heart Foundation supported the availability of defibrillators. It was proposed by Cllr Prendeville and seconded by Cllr O’Gorman to invite Mr Lynch to come to the September meeting.
Votes of Sympathy
It was agreed that a vote of sympathy should issue to the following :
Karoly & Csilla Torok, Carnanes, Kilrush on the death of Tibor Bardos, their nephew
Hilary Brassil, Stewart Street, on the death of her husband Kevin Brassil.
Teresa Kelly, 11 Griffin Road, on the death of her husband, Ollie Kelly.
The meeting then concluded.