Clare County Council has pledged ‘significant investment’ in the management of this county’s coastal locations throughout the summer.
It comes after representatives in West Clare raised concerns about issues such as litter management, parking and beach law enforcement in what will be a mostly outdoor summer.
When crowds flocked to Clare’s beach during the good weather before the Bank Holiday period, concerns were raised that facilities in coastal regions of the Banner were not sufficient to cope with the crowds then, and for the rest of the summer.
That led to the local authority to open all public toilet facilities in Clare last weekend, with Council CEO Pat Dowling pledging that the sites would be managed to the best of the local authority’s ability.
At yesterday’s monthly meeting, West Clare representatives raised particular concerns about scenic spots in their area, and were told that resourcing areas in litter management, parking and beach law enforcement will cost 10 to 15,000 euro a week over the summer months.
Kilkee-based Fianna Fail councillor Cillian Murphy believes this investment is needed, even if it means visitors have to make a bigger contribution.
Businesses where food is sold are now able to apply for grants of up to 4,000 euro to transform their outdoor dining experience ahead of the summer.
However, there are further concerns being raised on Clare’s coastline about what that may mean for litter and rubbish issues, with a lack of bins at beaches also identified as a problem in the past number of weeks.
Miltown Malbay-based Green Party councillor Susan Crawford says resources for managing litter and maintaining the locations to a clean standard are needed to ensure businesses here that rely on tourism can continue to attract visitors this summer.
