Claims that there’s a new ‘Pale’ in County Clare are being disputed.
In light of figures, showing that 80% of all planning contribution money spent in the county in the last two years has gone to Ennis town, Cllr PJ Kelly has called on fellow rural representatives to ‘wake up’ and defend their areas.
It has been noted that the spending imbalance is largely due to the fact that higher contributions continue to be charged for developments in the area, which was formerly covered by the now defunct Ennis Town Council.
But Cllr Kelly insists that what’s collected in the county should be spent more equally across Clare.
The local authority has released figures showing nearly 1.2 million euro in planning contributions was spent throughout Clare in the last two years.
€943,000 of this was spent on projects in Ennis town.
Lissycasey Fianna Fáil Councillor PJ Kelly believes the money should be spent in a fairer way.
In response, Ennis Councillor Johnny Flynn insists that he too supports rural development.
However, the Fine Gael representative believes the rules of the development contribution scheme stipulate that charges generated in the former Town Council area must be spent there.
In a statement to Clare FM News, the Council says it seeks to maximise investment for all areas of the county.
It says the making of an investment in any particular project depends on a number of factors including government funding available.
It’s justified the amount of investment in Ennis, says it is important that the county town “can continue to drive activity for the county as a whole”.
