Taken from The Southern Star published Saturday, October 10th, 1998:

THE West Cork Technology Task Force has identified a site in Clonakilty for a proposed technology park.

The site at Shannonvale Cross is currently designated as an agricultural zone in the County Development Plan. But the Assistant County Manager, Mr. John Deasy, indicated at a recent Western Committee meeting, that it is likely to be re-designated as an industrial zone.

Clonakilty UDC Chairman, Mr. Seamus O'Brien, and Mrs. Nora Walsh, welcomed the Manager's comments during a joint meeting with the Western Committee members.

The project, which was born out of the West Cork Enterprise Board and LEADER job creation endeavours, has the support of IDA Ireland.

A £12,000 study to examine the feasibility of attracting companies to set up technology enterprises in park, has been commissioned.

At the Western Committee meeting, it was announced that Mr. Dan McSweeney, the Chief Executive of Carbery Milk Products, has been appointed head of the task force.

Meanwhile, during a discussion on the Council's waste management strategy, it emerged that the Dunmanway dump at Kilbarry Road will be the first of many West Cork refuse tips to be closed.

The Council's Senior Executive Engineer, Mr. Paddy Leahy, said that the Castletownbere dump, and possibly the Schull dump, will also have to be closed before March 1 next.

The Benduff dump, near Rosscarbery, was scheduled to close this month, but Mr. Leahy indicated that it will remain open if they get a licence to do so from the Environmental Protection Agency.

As a result of the closure of the other dumps, it is expected that all West Cork refuse will, as a temporary measure, have to be transported to Benduff.

The Council is currently working on a plan to develop a "Waste Transfer Station" in Bantry, and possibly another one in Clonakilty. At these stations rubbish would be collected, compacted, and then be brought to another more central site for recycling or disposal.

HELPED MARRIED PEOPLE

Meanwhile, during an examination of the committee's housing list, Mr. Michael Pat Murphy declared that "married people are being discriminated against."

"There are pressure groups for almost everything these days, but not for helping married couples getting houses," he said.

He said he was aware of one family where the husband went out to work, despite the fact that he is only getting marginally more than what his welfare entitlements would be. The family, who are paying rent on a house that is "ready to cave in" are doing their best and making a contribution, he maintained.

Mr. Murphy highlighted the fact that the four houses, which were given out in Ballydehob, were "nearly all outside people." If the family man stopped working and moved into a caravan, he said, it would improve his family's chances of getting a council house.

He maintained that the Council should be "rewarding genuine couples" instead of discriminating against them. Mr. Murphy suggested that a certain percentage of new houses should be allocated to couples with children.

According to a breakdown of the figures, which were presented at the Western Committee meeting, 41% of the people on the list are single. Lone-parent families account for 26%. Couples without children account for 13% and couples with children account for 20%.

After letting a house to a single person or lone-parent, Mr. Murphy asked: "Does anyone check afterwards to see if there is a partner?"

In some cases, Mr. Vivian O'Callaghan added, partners do move in. "That is not necessarily a condemnation of these people, but it's a case of them playing the system," he said. Another factor influencing the housing list, according to Mr. O'Callaghan, is the "big influx of non-nationals."

He said the housing crisis had gone to a stage where it is "impossible" for a single man to get a council house in West Cork. "This is a failing on our part," he added, "because then it falls on to the voluntary sector."

In West Cork the number of housing applicants has increased from 809 to 828 in less than a year and that list does not include the applicants that come under the Skibbereen and Clonakilty UDC jurisdiction.

LAND FOR HOUSING

Meanwhile, Mr. Jim O'Sullivan urged Cork County Council to "endeavour to acquire land for housing adjacent to Clonakilty." He said Clonakilty had become one of the most expensive places in West Cork to build or buy property. As a result, he said, more and more people have no option but to apply to the local authority for a local authority house.

In response, the Assistant County Manager, Mr. John Deasy, indicated that the Council was "close to acquiring land in the Clonakilty area."

Mrs. Maura McCarthy and Mr. Tom O'Neill also called on the council officials to proceed with the provision of private sites at Dunmanway. The Manager, Mr. John Deasy, said the Council was trying to help young people on to the property ladder by providing reasonably-priced sites. He said the Council was engaged in private site developments in Skibbereen, Clonakilty, Bantry, Schull and Dunmanway.

In response to Mr. Vivian O'Callaghan's suggestion that the Council consider in-fill developments, Mr. Deasy said: "They can often be more expensive, but where they improve the fabric of a town or village we will be happy to do so."

FOR RENT SUBSIDIES

Mr. Deasy maintained that a number of the families put themselves on the housing list in order to qualify for Health Board rent subsidies. He said the number of families who have "no interest in local authority housing" was "inflating" the housing list figures.

Experience has shown that some of the applicants have actually refused a council house when they were offered one. As well as distorting the housing statistics, Mr. Deasy said these applicants are also increasing the amount of work that has to be carried out by the Council's housing officers.

—Jackie Keogh

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