Clare Fm - Podcasts

A Clarecastle councillor insists there's "no apology to be given" for comments he made in relation to fellow councillors' alleged conflicts of interest. It follows a discussion at yesterday's meeting of Ennis representatives, which centred on funding given by councillors to community and voluntary organisations. A seemingly trivial matter snowballed into a war of words between councillors at this week's Ennis Municipal District meeting, after Councillor Tom O'Callaghan suggested several members present should have withdrawn from a previous meeting due to undeclared conflicts of interest. The comments were in relation to General Municipal Allocation funding which some councillors had given to organisations in which they are personally involved. Each of the seven councillors in the Ennis area has this year been granted €49,000 in GMA funding which can be given to local charities, sports clubs, festivals or other organisations of their choosing. Since 2014, almost €2.5 million has been doled out by Ennis's