Protest planned over project to demolish cottages in Ennis and build temporary car park

Tommy Guilfoyle from the Francis Street Alliance said: "Estimates provided by the councillors in favour of the demolition state it could cost upwards of €600,000 or more and campaigners argue that the funds could be better spent renovating these properties."

The Irish Examiner has seen interior images of the houses which show they are uninhabitable, but locals say some were lived in until recently. Photo: Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy

Residents in Ennis have criticised a decision by Clare County Council to demolish a row of six cottages and replace them with a temporary car park at the cost of €1m.

The dwellings on Francis Street are situated in the centre of the town and were purchased by the council in 2022 as part of the Ennis 2040 project for future development. The Irish Examiner has seen interior images of the houses which show they are uninhabitable, but locals say some were lived in until recently.

The issue of the proposed demolition was raised in the Dáil by Clare TD Michael McNamara who asked Tánaiste Micheál Martin if he agrees that it “is not the right thing to do with housing stock in a county town in the midst of a housing crisis?”.

The Tánaiste said he would ask Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to engage with Clare County Council on the matter. He said: “As part of the Housing For All plan we’ve made it very clear that all State agencies must be involved in resolving the housing crisis.

“I don’t know the background fully to this, and I don’t want to be unfair to the council or anybody else but, generally speaking, we should be making those houses fit for human habitation and we should be allocating them, in my view, because development of the kind that you’re talking about will take a long time to develop. The idea that we would demolish houses for a car park at first glance, I would have problems with”.

A protest is now planned by a newly formed group called 'The Francis Street Alliance' for Saturday, April 15, at 1pm starting at the Glor Cultural theatre.

Tommy Guilfoyle from the Francis Street Alliance told the Irish Examiner:  

This is a very bad idea and it’s really angered people. We are in the middle of a housing crisis. 

"The council wants to demolish six good homes to build a temporary car park. That’s what’s happening.

“We believe that estimates provided by the councillors in favour of the demolition state it could cost upwards of €600,000 or more and campaigners argue that the funds could be better spent renovating these properties, which could provide much-needed social housing for the local community.

“Furthermore, the space to the rear of the cottages provides an opportunity for even more houses to be built”.

However, local Fianna Fáil Councillor, Clare Colleran Molloy, who voted in favour of the development, told the Irish Examiner: “Nobody would condone the demolition of housing that is habitable in a housing crisis. These houses, five out of six, are not inhabitable and it would take a great deal of money to inhabit them. Moreover, you would need a lot more money to redevelop them.

“The funds to bring those properties to standard would be for five to six families whereas you could accommodate 45 to 50 families when that site is developed. To suggest that we are preparing to waste €1m on a temporary car park is untrue. It’s likely we would be breaking ground at the end of 2025.

“This site could end up giving social and affordable homes to a lot more people, there has been a lot of consultation and yes, we don’t have the plans available, I put my hands up to that, but they should be ready in six to eight weeks. There is a gap. I understand that, but it is being addressed by the County Council. Ennis and Shannon have petitioned for affordable housing.” 

Clare County Council have been asked for a statement.