Clare Fm - Podcasts

Villages in west and north Clare are said to be "suffering" with no means of retaining their young population. An action plan is being sought following the publication of new data revealing two of the county's five local electoral areas aren't experiencing population growth. In the Ennistymon LEA, 176 births and 173 deaths were recorded in 2022, giving it an almost neutral increase rate of 0.2. The region is often purported to be at the coalface of construction constraints, with the lack of adequate wastewater infrastructure as well as prohibitive planning legislation creating obstacles to development in many settlements. Ennistymon Fianna Fáil Councillor Shane Talty claims it's especially difficult to build one-off homes along the Wild Atlantic Way.