7 minute read
Rural Development Directorate
Rural Development Strategy and Forum
The Clare Rural Development Strategy 2026 was launched on 7th September 2017 by Michael Ring, T.D., Minister for Rural and Community Development, at a ceremony hosted by the Clare Rural Development Forum in Kilmaley Community Day-Care Centre.
The 10-year blueprint targets the creation of 4,000 jobs over the lifetime of the plan, the development of community-run Multi-Service Centres, innovative rural transport initiatives such as a type of ‘Rural Uber’ and the employment by Clare County Council of Rural Community Development Officers, who will be supporting local and community groups in the county.
Local Community Development Committee
During 2017, the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) managed the delivery of the 3-year programme to a successful conclusion and also concluded a tender process for a new €5.2m five year programme up to 2022. A number of funding supports were also managed and approved by the LCDC during the year and these included the Communities Facilities Scheme, the RAPID Programme and the Healthy Ireland Fund. The LCDC also finalised a CRM for the tracking of the Local Economic and Community Plan Actions and continues to monitor implementation.
Public Participation Network (PPN)
A Service Level Agreement for 2017 was finalised between the PPN and Clare County Council and an annual work plan agreed for the year. The Secretariat supported by a Co-ordinator drives the work of the PPN.
The 2017 operational costs of the PPN were met from a department grant of €50,000 and a contribution from Clare County Council of €30,000.
Age-Friendly Strategy
Clare County Council co-ordinates the delivery of the County’s inter-agency Age-Friendly Strategy with eight agencies leading or supporting the delivery of the various actions. Clare County Council is committed to delivering its services in an age-friendly manner. The Age Friendly Alliance Board is supported by the work of the Older People’s Council and by the Implementation Team which is directly responsible for the delivery of the Action Plan. In 2017, work commenced on the development of the 2nd Age Friendly Strategy for Clare for the period 2018-2022.
Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2017
€944,000 was secured in funding to support the enhancement and economic potential of nine towns and villages in the county. These areas include Doonbeg, Kildysart, Kilrush/Kilkee, Miltown Malbay, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Tulla, Clarecastle, Ennistymon and Scariff/Tuamgraney.
CLÁR Initiative 2017
Nine projects benefitted from approved funding of €323,132 under the CLÁR Initiative 2017. Of the nine projects, six national schools (Ballyea, Connolly, Kilshanny, Lakyle, Iniscealtra and Broadford) were afforded the opportunity to develop additional play facilities and the remaining three projects addressed road safety issues in Kilnamona, Ballynacally and Ogonnelloe.
Lough Derg Blueway
With the assistance of a grant of €200,000 from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs under the REDZ initiative, the Lough Derg Blueway Marketing and Promotional Programme was delivered during 2017. A series of capacity building workshops were organised and marketing and promotional material produced, which included a number of guides, a promotional video and branded materials. This project was a collaboration between Clare, Tipperary and Galway County Councils and Waterways Ireland.
Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme
Six projects were approved funding of €55,917 under this national scheme. The projects included the following:-
Upgrade of a parking area at Vandeleur Walled Gardens
Development of an amenity area and walkway at Cappa
Installation of a Fartlek training system at Lees Road
Development of a river walk in Kilrush
Development of loop walks on the East Clare Way and
A cycling/mountain bike trail along parts of the existing Mid-Clare
Way
Public Area Enhancement Scheme
31 projects benefitted under the Public Area Enhancement Scheme 2017 with total funding of €160,000 allocated to various towns and villages across the county. This has been a very successful and positive scheme in County Clare. The groups were supported and assisted by council staff in the development of their projects.
Tidy Towns
Ennis was named Ireland's Tidiest Large Urban Centre in the 59th annual National Tidy Towns Competition, while Kilrush was awarded a Gold Medal in its category. Ennis was named overall winner of the ‘Gum Litter Task Force’ and ‘Can it’ awards and also picked up a County Award along with Kilrush and Mountshannon. Lisdoonvarna won an Endeavour Award, and Bronze Medals were awarded to Quin, Ballynacally, Ballyvaughan and Tuamgraney.
The council organised a briefing session for all Tidy Towns groups on the 6th December. The briefing featured a slideshow presentation and talks by guest speakers, giving advice to the groups on how they can strive to achieve higher marks in the annual competition. Guest speakers included Aileen Campion Birdhill Tidy Towns (winners of the 2017 Tidy Town’s competition), Janice
Fuller – National Tidy Towns adjudicator, Karen Foley - Environmental Awareness Officer, Congella McGuire – Heritage Officer.
Pride of Place and Clare in Bloom Competitions
Pride of Place Competition is an annual all-island competition run by Cooperation Ireland in conjunction with local authorities north and south of the border and Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurance. It aims to recognise and celebrate the vital contributions that communities make to society along with generating awareness, respect and inclusion for every facet of society.
Co. Clare was represented in the competition by An Garda Síochána in Category 6 (Community-Based Youth Initiative), and Cooraclare and Cree in Category 8 (Communities Reaching Out Initiative), with the latter project receiving a special award.
The Clare in Bloom Competition featured again in 2017 and recognises the valuable contribution that local groups make to the continuous improvement and visual presentation of their areas.
Burial grounds
40 priming grants were paid to voluntary committees to assist them in the maintenance of burial grounds throughout the county. The work of these voluntary groups is invaluable. An additional grant totalling €8,000 was paid towards the development of Kildysart Burial Ground extension. The council also purchased lands at Kildysart Road, Ballaghafadda, Ennis in an effort to progress the development of a new public graveyard to cater for the local community.
Community Playground Support Scheme
Clare County Council approved a Community Playground Support Scheme for 2017, which supports community groups who own and manage their own playgrounds. The funding assists with costs of insurance, maintenance, audit fees as well as annual health and safety inspections. 21 community playgrounds benefited from this scheme at a total cost of €28,400.
Clare Comhairle Na nÓg
Clare Comhairle Na nÓg is part of a national initiative from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Comhairle Na nÓg aims to provide an opportunity for young people, in the 12-18 age range, to identify the issues that are important to them, discuss some of the changes they would like to see and bring forward ideas and suggestions for bringing about change.
The members participated in a range of activities relating to mental health, public transport and cyber safety and hosted youths from Iceland on a return international exchange. Comhairle Na nÓg members presented their achievements to the Rural Development Strategic Policy Committee. The exchange with their Icelandic peers provided great learning from peer mentoring on cyber safety, to establish international best practice.
Clare County Council’s Broadband, Digital and Information Technology Department is responsible for the provision of Information Communications Technology (I.C.T.) services to all employees of Clare County Council. The council’s network now covers 15 different locations throughout the county, supporting 500 users. These sites include local area offices in Shannon, Kilrush and Ennistymon, where the provision of services locally is facilitated through the use of I.C.T. Services. Services delivered locally include: Motor tax
Bill payment and enquiry
The planning enquiry system
This department also facilitates the use of centrally hosted systems in the government hosting centre in Dublin. These systems include the Human Resources, Superannuation, Payroll System and the Higher Education Grants and Housing Systems.
In 2017 substantial investment was made in a number of our internal systems and network infrastructure. This included upgrading of our E-Mail and Data Archiving solutions, which has substantially increased the capacity of our systems.
Also following a procurement exercise, Clare County Council has selected the Arc G.I.S solution as its new Corporate Geographical Information Platform. This solution will provide the council with greater functionality and flexibility when utilising its organisational wide mapping solution.
The appointment of a County Broadband Officer in 2016 has also seen the commencement of a number of projects within the county. The role of the Broadband Officer is aimed at providing dedicated resources to promote and support the implementation of the National Broadband Plan and progress the rollout of Broadband throughout the county. The development of a Digital Strategy for the county has commenced with a view to being launched in early 2018. This strategy will identify the role that broadband can play in the future economic and social development of the county and also the role the local authorities can play to facilitate same. In tandem with this, a number of other programmes have commenced such as Wi-Fi enabling the public libraries of Kilrush, Ennistymon, Miltown Malbay, Sixmilebridge and Scariff, Wi-Fi enabling Ennis Town Centre and the establishment of Digital Hubs in Kilrush, Miltown Malbay and Feakle. The hub facilities will be available for the public in early 2018.
