Failure of residents of an Ennis illegal encampment to adhere to High Court rulings has been labelled “a total scam”.
Residents of an illegal encampment on the Kilrush Rd in Ennis have not complied with a notice to vacate the site. In November, the Court of Appeals supported a High Court decision to give Clare County Council powers to evict tenants of an illegal encampment in Ashline which has been in place since August 2018.
However officials within Clare County Council have advise the High Court of the non-compliance. Local authority officials “are waiting on a further court decision to take action to enforce the High Court Order. The Housing department continue to work with the households approved for social housing support to assist in securing accommodation,” senior executive engineer Siobhán McNulty stated.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) commented, “It is incredible the complete disregard given by residents of the encampment of the law and our local authority”. She claimed that when the notice was erected by the Council at the site, it was taken down within the space of an hour.
Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Ann Norton (IND) lamented the fact that the issue was becoming continuous, “they have defied the laws again”. She added, “It has already gone to the High Court, you would have to question if it could go any further” and said houses had been allocated and offered to the persons involved.
There is a “fear factor” associated with the encampment, Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) claimed. “It is very important the wider public know it is not being ignored by Clare County Council”.
As of last November, €150,000 had been spent by the Council on legal costs relating to the particular encampment. The huge financial cost was referenced by Cllr Pat Daly (FF) at Tuesday’s meeting, “the law is out the door on this one”. He added, “It is a total scam. If I parked my caravan outside I would be arrested straight away. This will never stop”.
A high expenditure during a pandemic on this issue was labelled as “shocking” by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) who called the residents “neighbours from hell”.
Government direction is needed on how local authorities can better deal with illegal encampments, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) stated, “whatever we’re trying to do is not working”. She continued, “Offers of housing have not been accepted and have been rejected”.
Seán Lenihan who deputised for Director Carmel Kirby at the meeting outlined that he had emailed the County Solicitor for an update during the discussion, “I will follow up with housing immediately after this meeting”.
“This is national Government pushing the problem down for local Government to take the brunt of it,” Colleran Molloy remarked. “This is a disgrace that national politicians are not interacting with the Traveller community to sort this out, it is a disgrace that our national politicians won’t touch it, it is as if it is toxic”.
