Month: September 2007

THE people of Quin are being urged to oppose plans by Clare County Council to put a temporary footpath in place on the bridge in the village.

The council is proposing to put the footpath in place on a temporary ba- sis, with a view to possibly creating a permanent footpath at the same lo- cation.

However locals argue that this will see traffic reduced to one lane

and will create chaos for the village, where population levels are expand- ing on an ongoing basis.

Local councillor Sonny Scanlan (FG) is calling for local residents to join together and oppose the plan.

“€60,000 was allocated for the footbridge a couple of years ago. I thought it would be up and running by now. It is now proposed, instead, to put a temporary footpath in place on the bridge. As a result, there will only be one line of traffic at all times.

Trying to put traffic into a single lane is ridiculous,’ he said.

“I am completely opposed to this. I want a public meeting in Quin to discuss this,” he said.

“The population of Quin is in- creasing rapidly. More than 100 new houses have been built over the past year or two. There is no place to park in Quin at the moment. There is a huge number of children going to school, who need a footbridge. It was proposed that a footbridge would be

put in place to the right hand side of the bridge. That is still needed,’ he CrHOR

A meeting, involving council offi- cials, gardai and public representa- tives, will take place in the coming weeks, where the issue will be dis- cussed. Councillor Scanlan is ada- mant he is vehemently opposed to the idea.

“We are appealing for people to get behind us. We can’t allow it to go ahead,’ he said.

A WEST Clare man faces the possi- bility of having to demolish his home as constructed if he does not secure planning permission for the develop- ment.

Earlier this year, Thomas Sexton lodged plans to retain his home at Drumellihy, Cree.

However, neighbours Niall and Sheila Kampff, through Kilrush le- gal firm O’Kelly Moylan, lodged an objection against the proposal.

The original applicant in the case was Peter Roche.

The Kampffs claim in response to the latest planning application, “The boundaries were not as submitted in the planning application; the house was not constructed in the location advised in the application for which planning permission was granted; the percolation area was not con- structed in the location advised in the application and for which plan- ning permission was granted.”

It continues, “The planning per- mission required that the house be occupied by the then applicant Peter Roche as a place of permanent resi- dence for a minimum of five years. We are instructed that Peter Roche never resided at the property and the current resident is Thomas Sexton,

not Mr Roche.”

“Tt is our client’s contention that the retention planning process is now be- ing sought to be used by Mr Sexton to overcome the issues which arose in the lack of compliance with origi- nal planning permission. In fact, this is Mr Sexton’s second retention ap- plication in respect of the same prop- erty, the first being refused by the council.”

The Kampffs’s solicitors state that- the council recommended the appli- cant re-submit as application to “re- tain house”.

The letter states, “Our clients are most concerned that the council is providing such recommendations on a means of submitting retention ap- plications on properties the subject of ongoing Council Enforcement Proceedings.

“It is clear that the retention appli- cation seeks to retain the same non- compliant aspects of this develop- ment as retention application which the council refused, namely the house, the percolation area, the re- vised boundaries and the occupancy clause.”

The council’s website yesterday confirmed that Mr Sexton has with- drawn his application and in order to regularise the situation a fresh appli- cation 1s anticipated.

, moves to Sixmi- lebridge Library from the Sean Le- mass Library in Shannon where it has been on view for the past month.

The exhibition, which runs through- out September and has been ap- proved by Dr O’Regan, honours his many achievements and features text panels and photographic displays on his distininguished career.

These include the setting up the world’s first Duty Free Shop at Shan- non; the establishment of the Shan- non Development Company and the founding of Co-operation Ireland — the largest organisation working in the area of peace and reconciliation in the island of Ireland. The 90-year- old is also recognised as the driving force behind the opening up of the Shannon area to tourism.

Commenting on the exhibition, Clare Museum Curator John Rat- tigan said that since its launch by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in early Feb- ruary, it has attracted huge numbers.

“Dr O’Regan’s involvement in a vast number of different projects in Clare, the mid-west region and beyond is a source of pride for people all over

Ireland and I am sure his legacy will stand the test of time. I am especial- ly delighted that the exhibition has now been placed on public display in Ssixmilebridge, Dr O’Regan’s native village,” he said.

Speaking about the exhibition, Dr O’Regan said, “I am_ particularly proud to be a Clareman and to have been involved with the county and its people through Shannon and Bord Failte, now Failte Ireland, during the course of my career.”

“T am acutely aware that this exhi- bition not only acknowledges my role but the role of all the men and women who worked with great determination to ensure the success of Shannon Air- port and its contribution to the life of GUE TCSMA TATA elelutamdelesDamoseldeLbRcsE- Kim CemcbN Ore port, much of what has been achieved would not have happened and I owe them a debt of gratitude.”

A PROPOSAL to extend Ennis’ flag- ship entertainment venue received further backing last night.

At Monday’s monthly meeting of Ennis Town Council, members gave the thumbs up to plans for the ex- tensive re-development of Glor Irish Music Centre.

The proposal involves the construc- tion of an exhibition area, bar and reception areas, toilet facilities and storage space. There are also plans to construct a 200-person loose seating auditorium and alterations to park- ing areas with all associated works and signage. The proposed develop-

ment is seen to be consistent with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Objective 20 of the Ennis and En- virons Development plan 2003 states that it is the council’s aim to make appropriate provision for community facilities relating to health, educa- tion, arts, culture, sports, amenity and recreation in order to support ex- isting and future residential areas.

Recommending the proposal, town clerk Eddie Power said, “Gl6r is an important cultural facility…attract- ing residents and visitors to their full programme of events…. This contrib- utes greatly to the cultural life of the town, its ambience and attraction.”

PLANS by an east Clare-based com- pany for a wind-turbine have come under fire.

Last month, Olympus Diagnostica lodged plans for the turbine arising from a company initiative to meet 40-50 per cent of their electrical “base load” through using alternative Noe ATA

The height of the turbine will be 200 ft high which the company says is “half the size of the industry norm’.

The company stated that it would

consume all the energy from the wind-turbine and there was no need for a grid connection. It points out that the proposal doesn’t lie within any recognised flight path of the Whooper Swan and the Greenland White Fronted Goose.

In a submission lodged with the plan, the company stated: “The ra- tionale for this project has its roots in spiralling energy costs which are set by international markets and impact severely for two reasons: the wide fluctuation in energy costs which make financial planning more difficult and the underlying trend is

upwards.”

Stressing its adherence to a “Cor- porate Social Responsibility”, Ol- ympus points out that it has already reduced its greenhouse emissions by putting in place a wood chip burner instead of oil which also creates a locally-based market for wood-chip. The company also points out that the noise emissions from the wind-tur- bine will be lower than similar sized MUD MOY ESToE

According to Olympus, the Clare County Development Plan has deemed the location “a suitable are for wind energy” and doesn’t have

any scenic or environmentally sensi- tive designations.

However, Mr and Mrs JP Murphy and family have submitted concerns in relation to the turbine.

“We are local residents in the area for the past 60 years and we feel that the decision taken by Olympus to erect the turbine in the position in- dicated on the submitted site plan is inconsiderate to the local landscape and setting of Rosslara Lake and its woodland surroundings

“As highlighted in the council’s development plan, the site for the proposed wind turbine is within an

area specifically zoned as visually vulnerable and due to the mechani- cal nature of this machine this wind turbine would not be in keeping with the development plan.

“The proposed location of this wind turbine is visually intrusive to the scenic area of Rosslara Lake and if planning is granted, it will have a negative visual impact on the sur- rounding area.

“We feel that the proposed develop- ment should be located to a less vul- nerable/scenic area.”

A decision is due on the application later this year.

THE company that will operate the toll on the €810 million Shannon tunnel is expected to generate in ex- cess of €456 million from the route over a 35-year period.

However, the agreement struck be- tween the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the “Direct Route” con- sortium avoids a repeat of the mas- sive profits made by the operator of the toll on the M50 in Dublin.

Described by the National Roads Authority (NRA) as “the largest in- frastructural scheme in the west of Ireland that no one knows about’, work on the tunnel has been continu- ing for the past year. A large propor- tion of the work is taking place in Clare where the 67/5ft long tunnel is

being constructed in a dry basin on the north of the Shannon. It 1s due to open in 2010.

The road will link all national routes converging on Limerick from Dublin, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Wa- terford, Ennis and Shannon Airport and is expected to remove 40,000 vehicles per day from Limerick city. Along with the tunnel, the scheme involves the construction of 10km of road, 11 bridges and a 750m cause- way across Bunlicky Lake.

400 workers are employed in the contstruction which involves five separate 100m long elements.

In August of next year the contrac- tor will commence flooding the cast- ing basin before winching the com- pleted tunnel sections into a dredged section of the River Shannon.

The “immersed tube tunnel con- struction approach” is the same method used to construct the Jack Lynch tunnel in Cork.

The road, the first to be tolled in the west of Ireland, is being built through a Public Private Partner- ship (PPP) and as a result, the State’s spend on the scheme is €349 mil- lion. The contract for the scheme is 6,000 pages long.

The €810 million cost of the scheme includes the operational costs and maintenance of the route over the 35 year operation and the annual maintenance and operation- al costs amount to millions of euro TO SMA ore be

Direct Route is a consortium of companies made up of John Sisk & Son Holdings Ltd., Lagan Holdings

Ltd, Roadbridge Ltd and Strabag AG along with financial institutions.

General Manager of Direct Route, Tom King said: “The Public Private Partnership (PPP) won an award for the way the funding was set up.

“It is very unique and through Hali- fax Bank of Scotland, bonds are to be issued into the marketplace every month.”

Mr King believes that €100 million will be raised through the issuing of the bonds.

An NRA spokesman defended the PPP system saying it allowed the work to start sooner.

CLARE and Limerick landowners along the new route containing the Shannon tunnel are sharing in a €/0 million bonanza.

The National Roads Author- ity (NRA) yesterday confirmed that €70 million has been spent on the compulsory purchase of lands along the route.

The money has been paid out to 49 landowners for an estimated 566 acres in an area that straddles Lim- erick and Clare on both sides of the River Shannon.

One of the biggest landowners along the route is Irish Cement Ltd.

The company operates a plant and quarry adjacent to the route and had 43 acres of land compulsorily ac- quired by Limerick County Council.

Part of the Irish Cement Ltd land- holding includes Bunlicky Lake Where a causeway has been con- structed as part of the road scheme.

Limerick County Council has turned down a Freedom of Informa- tion request seeking details on the individual amounts paid out as part of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process.

Work has been continuing on the project for the past year. An NRA spokesman said that the contractor “resembles a giant walking on his tip-toes” in dealing the various envi- ronmental challenges on the scheme.

As part of the works, the Direct Route consortium has had to indi- vidually translocate 2,500 plants from the construction site and place a large proportion of them in water tanks recreating the tidal conditions on the River Shannon. The dredg- ing of the River Shannon next year will also be dictated by the salmon spawning season.

General manager of Direct Route, Tom King said: “The plants – you have to translocate them and you can’t do anything until that is done and they occur in copious amounts all over the route.”

Mr King says that the tanks ensure that the plants gets water and nutri- ent at the same time as the Shannon (elon

‘The NRA and their consultants did a mammoth amount of work in prep- aration for the project. The number of combination and permutations of routes and strategies considered was amazing actually,” he added.

FIGURES released from Trocaire this week show that the Killaloe diocese raised €334,859 during this year’s Lenten Campaign, almost €9.000 more than was raised last year.

Trocaire’s 2007 Lenten campaign tackled the issue of gender equal- ity in the devel- oping world and highlighted how equal rights for women and men Oe N cure Ma’s Les D am oy-bas in ending pov- ua

Clare man Ea- monn Meehan, leo) AY ebKster tor of ‘Trodcaire, thanked the clergy and people of Kil- laloe for their kindness and generos- ity for Trocaire’s Lenten campaign this year.

He said, “We are extremely grateful for the huge amount of money raised for developing countries through- out Killaloe diocese this year. This money could not have been raised without the loyal support of parish- ioners who back this campaign every

single year”’.

According to Mr Meehan, “the work that goes on behind the scenes by clergy, parish workers and teach- ers can never be underestimated. Their dedication and commitment is the key to the success of the Lenten

campaign and Trocaire is very erateful for their hard work again this year.” Trocaire’s 2007 Lenten campaign looked at the so- cial roles that men and women have been as- signed and how the two genders are often valued

differently. Trocaire also demanded Were

the Irish Government produce a na- tional action plan that would lead to full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which calls for the active participation of women in peacekeeping, the elimination of violence against women and the pro- tection of women and children in conflict.

CLARE County Council is on a col- lision course that is set to end up in court with a coach operator over the independent operators’ continu- ing refusal to use the car-park at the sem leoe

Since the centre opened in Febru- ary, independent coach operators have refused to pay the €60 to use the Cliffs car park and have instead set down their coaches at the road- side.

The actions by the coach operators have already cost the council an esti- mated €50,000 in lost revenues.

In a bid to end the practice of the coach operators setting down their buses at the roadside, the council last July deployed traffic wardens at the site.

Jackie Cronin of Glynn’s Coaches confirmed yesterday that his compa- ny has received a number of parking fines, but has so far refused to pay the fines in spite of reminders.

As a result, a court date is loom- ing for non-payment of fines and Mr Cronin said that he would welcome contesting the imposition of the fines in court.

He said, “Our legal advice is that we have a good case. These are parking fines, but the coaches are not park-

ing. They are setting down to allow the passengers get off the bus.”

Mr Cronin said, “The council is los- ing out financially, not just with the €60 charge that is not being paid, but we give our customers 50 minutes to do a tour and I’m sure that if they had more time, they would spend more in the shops in the centre.”

Mr Cronin said that the coach op- erators would be open to a coach charge of €20. He said, “I don’t know where this is going to go. It needs to be resolved but it is not costing us anything at the moment.”

Project Leader with the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre, Ger Dollard said yesterday that “the Cliffs have performed very well over the sum- mer and visitor numbers are certain- ly on a par with last year”.

He said, “The only negative aspect to the operation has been the actions of some coach operators of continu- ing to drop passengers on the road- side which remains a serious con- cern.

The council had discussions prior to the summer season and had made certain proposals in an effort to re- solve the situation. At this point we have not received a formal response. The council is of course available to further discuss the matter if request- ed to do so.”

ENNIS Town Council is calling on the Government to clarify the legal position of the controversial Heath- row landing slots.

They want to know who the slots belong to and are also requesting the continuation of a Heathrow service after January 14, when Aer Lingus plan to cease operating the service from Shannon.

The reaction of members of the O1- reachtas to the Aer Lingus decision also came in for criticism.

Fianna Fail councillor, Peter Con- sidine said “We have to ensure the long-term continuation of the Shan- non-Heathrow service. It is an issue that is going to involve everyone from councillors to people on the eround. It is disappointing that some of our Oireachtas members appear more concerned about their own fu- tures rather the concerns of people in the region.”

The long-serving councillor was equally critical of Bord Failte and Tourism Ireland.

He said, “I must express serious disappointment at the lack of any- thing to be said by Bord Failte and Tourism Ireland on the matter.”

Cllr Considine added that Shannon

Airport Authority was in negotia- tions with other airlines about filling the gap vacated by Aer Lingus.

Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Brennan (Ind), also questioned the commit- ment of politicians to resolving a sit- uation that mid-west business chiefs have described as a major blow to the Kesta (One

“From what I have heard on the ra- dio, I think it is treating the people of this country with contempt.”

Fianna Fail councillor, Tom Glynn, said the Government must use its 25 per cent shareholding to block the WED Kol a

‘An alternative airline is not the an- swer. The Government must use its 25 per cent and get involved. That is the only answer.”

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said, “We should be writing to Ian Paisley and Geoffrey Donald- son. I think we should be talking to them. We should appeal to people in the north to talk to the Government to show compassion to people in the mid-west.”

Town Manager, Tom Coughlan said early morning and late evening access to and from Heathrow had emerged as a key component in Clare County Council’s proposed en- terprise strategy.