Cll. Peter Ormond Welcomes Road improvements at Dunkerrin.

Cllr. Peter Ormond has welcomed an allocation from the Department of Transport to carry out improvement works at the junction of Clashagad on the old N7 in Dunkerrin. According to Cllr. Ormond this junction has been quite dangerous for some time and there has been many accidents in the past. There is poor visibility for people coming from Clashagad on to the old N7 and the new plan will eliminate that problem. Cllr. Ormond also stated that design plans are drawn up for the work and that he hoped once tenders are received that work will commence within the next couple of months.

Fianna Fail Councillors Support the Communities of Kilcormac, Cadamstown & Kinnity.

Fianna Fail Councillors in the Birr/Ferbane Electoral area, Cllr. Eamonn Dooley and Cllr. Michael Loughnane, Cllr. Sinead Moylan-Ryan and Cllr. Peter Ormond would like to reiterate their support for the communities of Kilcormac, Kinnity and Cadamstown areas in their efforts to prevent large-scale wind turbines being constructed in their respective areas. The councillors would like to congratulate the committee on organising the petition and carrying out surveys of the areas concerned. The message is clear from the surveys that was conducted that the areas of the Slieve Bloom and its hinterland is not suitable for wind energy development of any size.

In developing our Wind Energy Strategy back in 2008, we made it quite clear that this area was not suitable for wind energy development. We have again made it quite clear  in the Draft Development Plan 2014-2020 and we intend to uphold that at the next stage of the Development Plan. The area is protected through a number of ecological designations including Special Area of Conservation, Natural Heritage Area and Special Protection Area. These considerations make the region unsuitable for wind energy developments as is stated in the Development Plans.

Yet, we have companies looking to sign up landowners in this region that is not deemed suitable for Wind Energy development. This does not set a comforting precedent for future wind energy developments in the region. There must be a framework by which such developments must be checked and approved by local and national governmental bodies before they can proceed. We are calling on the Department to make compliance with the County Development Plan obligatory before a planning application can be made to An Bord Planaela.

The people of these areas have followed the correct process in making submissions to the County Development Plan and we will continue to work on behalf of the Communities to protect their areas from such Developments.

Cllr. Ormond Disappointed at Announcement of Birr Court House.

Cllr. Peter Ormond has expressed his disappointment that the Court House in Birr is to close. This is another blow to the town of

Birr and the surrounding areas. Last year, we witnessed the closure of Roscrea Court House and now with the imminent closure of Birr, there will be no court houses between Nenagh and Tullamore. If people of South Offaly need to avail of our Court Services, they will have to travel to Nenagh or Tullamore. 

We are regularly seeing these announcements right across the board in different sectors where we are seeing the reduction and merging of services. We have yet to hear what the total cost of these savings are. The closure of the Court house in Birr will result in officials and members of the Gardai travelling further to the new courts. 

This announcement will greatly effect the businesses in the town . During Court Sittings, there was a financial spin off in terms of restaurants, hotels, accommodation providers and retail. When the government were looking at these savings, the financial loss to the the town wasn't taken into consideration.

I am calling on the government parties to inject some capital funding into Birr and the surrounding areas. We have recently seen the closure of Shannon Development in the town, the tourist office is due to close at the beginning of August with no definite plans going forward, the Town  Council is to finish next June. These are all vital services that are important to a town like Birr and they're closing at an alarming rate.