The Mayor of Ennis claims voting to remove elements of the Draft Ennis Local Transport Plan before public consultation has concluded would be the equivalent of voting on a new President before the candidates have been announced.
Fiery exchanges were heard during this week’s meeting of Ennis Municipal District after calls for a vote on a major matter of contention were denied.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, July’s meeting of Ennis’s elected representatives was dominated by discussions concerning the Draft Ennis Local Transport Plan.
In front of a packed gallery of impassioned local residents and business owners, a number of motions were tabled seeking the removal of particularly controversial proposals from the 118-page document.
After Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom O’Callaghan’s request for plans for the reduction of two-lane access to Carmody Street, Mill Road, Clare Road, Clon Road, Lifford Road and Highfield Park to be struck off the document received unanimous support, the Clarecastle representative called for a vote on the matter.
With the backing of Senior Engineer Seán Lenihan and others, Mayor of Ennis, Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard, denied the request, insisting public consultation has to run its course.
Councillor O’Callaghan claims there’s too great an effort being made to accommodate cyclists.
Also during the meeting, Clarecastle Sinn Féin Councillor Tommy Guilfoyle asked for elements concerning the Mill Road, Post Office Field and Droichead na Gabhair to be scrapped from the document.
He says it’s madness that ideas with very little backing from public representatives have made it into the draft plan.
Councillor Mary Howard’s decision not to allow a vote as requested by Councillor O’Callaghan was met with vociferous opposition from the public gallery.
She insists a vote wouldn’t have been appropriate.
You can listen to the full interview here:
