*Action from the Minor B hurling final which was referenced at Clare County Council level. Photograph: Ruth Griffin
POPULATION projections for the county as they stand “will be the end of rural Clare,” an elected representative has claimed.
Clare councillors have been vocal in their concern over population projections set out in the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) which was adopted by the Southern Regional Assembly.
Under the RSES, population projections estimate between 129,500 – 131,500 will live in Clare by 2026 and 134,000 – 137,000 by 2031. At present the county has a population of 119,000, between 2006 and 2016 there was an increase of 7,867 in individuals in Clare.
Legal advice on the “legality and constitutionality of proposed population allocations” in County Development Plans was sought by Cllr PJ Kelly (FF).
Director of Service, Liam Conneally in a written reply, explained that a core strategy must be included in the preparation of all County Development Plans which will have consistent objectives with the NPF and RSES. “This response has been collated following consultation with the County Solicitor who has advised that it is difficult to see how a quantitative based strategy for the spatial development of the county could be argued to be unconstitutional in a general sense,” he stated.
Absence of a legal response was disappointing, Cllr Kelly told a recent sitting of the Council. “I have no qualifications whatsoever in the legal world but I am aware that there are questions being asked on legal and constitutional issues”. Rather than cherishing “all the people of the nation equally, this discriminates,” he argued. The “huge” projection increases for urban areas according to Kelly “effectively this will be the end of rural Clare”.
He continued, “I am concerned that if it were in order, an allocation would cause unbelievable division, what would Kildysart, Ballyvaughan, Killanena get, it would be utterly completely unfair and complete discrimination to the people of Clare. I know none of the members would support discrimination”. The input of the County Solicitor could help offer “a solution which would be beneficial to all people of Clare,” the Lissycasey man affirmed.
A push to urbanisation is obvious in the plans, Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) maintained. He welcomed work on the Ennis 2040 Strategy which targets increased employment in the county town, “our difficulty is the projection for the rest of the county is very low”. Galway City’s projected increase is the same for the entire county of Clare, the Corofin man said, “It is like the loaves and fishes, a small number allowed for the rest of the county which has to be divvied out in the County Development Plan”.
Comparisons were drawn by Cllr Killeen between this scenario and that of rural primary schools fighting to retain teachers by having a set amount of pupils. “Services are normally directed towards the population and population growth areas, the continuation of a service can be justified by the numbers, a diminished population for North-West Clare will see banks and post offices close, the Department of Education will cut teachers, clubs won’t have numbers to put out underage teams”.
Inclusion of a letterhead with the County Solicitor’s legal opinion is required, said Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF). The qualified barrister felt answers were not being provided to “very important issues”. She added, “We need to know do we have any hook to hang our hat on for these figures that are causing great problems”.
Legality of the projections must be tested, Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) argued. “We have to put our money where our mouth is, if we want a County Development Plan that is fair to all towns and villages we can’t just accept a diktat from central Government. The world has changed and we have to change with it, it would be a dereliction of our duties not to force this as hard as we can”. He referenced the county’s social housing target of 800 new builds by 2026 and flagged that certain areas remain exempt from such development due to absence of adequate wastewater leading to a potential imbalance of social housing. “We’re bowing to a piece of paper which was delivered before COVID when the world changed”.
Former Chairman of Clare GAA, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) noted of the two teams involved in this year’s Minor B hurling final, they comprised of four parishes– Scariff/Ogonnelloe and Bodyke/O’Callaghans Mills, “if we go ahead with our new County Development Plan in March 2023 there will be three of those parishes not able to build any type of housing development during the lifetime of the County Development Plan which is a serious concern. None of the teams had big panels, in the Mills Bodyke team we had U15s playing”. He questioned if the legal advice would give any comfort but said all options must be explored. “In ten years time it will be six or eight parishes joining up to try put teams together in rural parts of our county”.
Continuing the sporting analogies, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) remarked, “as councillors we are obliged to leave everything out on the field”.
Ministers have been unable to definite ‘proper planning and sustainable development’, Cllr Kelly flagged. He questioned if the individual “who came up with population control was on the right tablets”.
Projections were “signed off by Government not by me,” Council Chief Executive, Pat Dowling stressed. “You can argue with me till the cows come home, I know Cllr Kelly has argued at a national forum, the future for rural Ireland rests with Government. We’ve been thumping the table for rural Clare for as long as I’ve been here. This isn’t bowing to a piece of paper, we’re implementing what we’re told to do by national legislation”.
Proving the projections are “unlawful won’t do anything for Co Clare,” he said. Specific targets need to be set for the county, Dowling emphasised. “The battle needs to be inside the ring and not firing stones from outside the ring. The population of Clare once was 300,000 people, I want Clare to grow, we’ve pointed that out in Ennis 2040, we need to set out our stall and be pragmatic and realistic, having another 100,000 people in Clare won’t happen”.
Clare’s seven Oireachtas members must be brought to task to sort the matter, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) believed. Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) commented, “I believe it is our plan, produce our plan to the way we want to and throw the ball in and see where it takes us, I’m up for that. I can’t go into a meeting and start arguing at a local level on projections, I’ve a concept on how East Clare should develop, that is why we were elected and if we didn’t argue the toss for our people then we shouldn’t be here. The County Development Plan has to be our plan, if you’re willing to accept our plan then we will throw in the ball”.
