Month: December 2008

AFTER much delay, this highly an- ticipated decider is finally down for decision this weekend. Newmarket and Kilmaley were both finished their group stages before the com- mencement of the championship but due to the involvement of girls on county teams, both Under 18 and Junior and then Kilmaley’s run of great results and the decision to play the Under 18 club championship, the league has waited until what is near- ly Christmas week to see the final I eNierem

Ironically, it is a repeat of the pair- ing which lined out against each oth-

er in the senior championship final, where Kilmaley emerged victorious. Kilmaley have since won the Mun- ster Junior Club final while losing the All-Ireland final and last week- end, the county U18 final as well. They will be hoping to win the dou- ble and have in doing so chose not to leave this final go until next year as they have a number of girls from the Under 18 panel in the senior team. It is yet to be seen whether or not they will have Claire McMahon available to them. Claire broke her wrist on the evening of the All-Ireland club final and has had it in cast since then. If missing she will be a big loss to the county champions.

Newmarket will be out to avenge that county final defeat and had a

narrow win over Kilnamona in the league semi-final where it took the game to extra time. They were also surprisingly beaten in the UI8A semi-final by eventual winners Sixmulebridge and they will not want to let the year go without adding to the UI4A title that was won in the parish during the year.

This should be a tight contest but with the recent run of games that Kilmaley have had if Claire Mc- Mahon is fit, they may just add the League title to the championship. A League title that they won just short of this time last season, and will not want to relinquish.

Buyers look to Internet for cars

FIVE students who returned to edu- cation in St. John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, have been award- ed Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) awards in business studies, computer applications and special needs assist- ant training.

The college offers the business studies course certified by the Fur- ther Education and Training Awards Council of Ireland (FETAC). Re- cipients of certificates were Patricia Kelly, Kildysart; Mary McMahon, Ballyea; Stephanie McNamara, Lis- sycasey; Karina Mescal, Cooraclare, and Lorna Wallace, Cranny.

The course is co-ordinated by Betty Culligan and her co-tutors are Marie O’Callaghan, Mona Garry and Mairéad Doohan.

FETAC is the statutory body set up in 2001 to create opportunities for all learners in further education to have their achievements recognised nationally and internationally.

Marion Coughlan Flynn, col- lege principal, said it was a huge achievement on everyone’s part. Being awarded a FETAC certificate indicated that one had reached the precise standard. She complimented the students on their hard work and co-operation despite also having responsibilities at home. She also thanked the four teachers for their commitment and dedication to the Fe) acter

The graduating students would be worthy ambassadors for the Kildysart

course in years to come, and she en- couraged them to encourage others to take on a PLC experience, since they themselves had enjoyed and benefited so much from one.

FETAC representative Donal Grif- fin presented the certificates and sug- gested that the mature students might consider as one option the setting up small business. Big business often started from small initiative. There was also the option of taking up modules in other FETAC opportuni- ties for further study and training.

FETAC awards were a relatively new element in Irish education and gave a framework to people to start back on a ladder and afforded step- ping stones to progress through education. It was a huge and very positive change for all involved and contrasted greatly with previous times when no way back into educa- tion was possible if one stopped at a particular point. He was delighted that the college had become involved in that change.

He also complimented the four teachers who managed and pro- gressed the course and said he hoped the students would have found an ap- petite for further learning, whether in St. John Bosco College or elsewhere, to build on what they had achieved.

THE number of Clare people who have sought help from the Govern- ment to help pay their mortgage in- terest this year has almost doubled on the numbers seeking assistance last year.

Statistics provided by the Minister for Social Welfare, Mary Hanafin show that 152 people have sought

supplementary welfare allowances for mortgage interest in Clare so far this year.

Highlighting the difficulty more families are experiencing in repaying their mortgages, the figures show the 152 people seeking help compares to 78 last year; 65 in 2006; 56 in 2005 and 51 in 2004.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) yes- terday called on the Government to

provide additional help to people having difficulty paying back their mortgages.

“It’s frightening what’s going on and this is only the beginning with people losing their jobs. The great- est fear people have is losing their homes. The Government has to show leadership and we all have to pull together in this. The taxpayer has already provided a guarantee to the

banks and they should not engage in any repossessions.”

“You can’t have banks coming along and repossessing homes and selling them in a depressed housing market at a fraction of the value. That is to the benefit of no one. The people who bought these homes couldn’t qualify for social or affordable housing. It is not their fault that they had to pur- chase these homes at inflated prices

— they had no choice.

“Enough profiteering has gone on. We had it with the price of houses and we had it with the price of land. It is time to say stop’, Cllr McCarthy declared.

The supplementary welfare al- lowance scheme, administered by the HSE, provides for a weekly or monthly supplement to be paid in re- spect of mortgage interest.

Tiondladh Foram Oige an Chlair

EOGHAN O’Sullivan of the Shan- non based UCB Group Schwarz Pharma Ltd was presented with the Excellence Award at the prestigious Engineers Ireland MEETA Awards ceremony last week.

The MEETA Awards, sponsored by PMI Software LTD, rewards ingenu- ity shown by employees in mainte- nance and asset management in pro- viding value to their companies.

Maintenance is a critical factor in an organisation’s ability to compete by increasing the availability of plant and equipment, improving produc- tion processes, producing additional capacity and ensuring resource man-

agement efficiency.

Engineers Ireland is one of the larg- est and oldest representative bodies in Ireland, with a membership which now totals over 23,000 covering all disciplines of the engineering pro- fession. MEETA 1s the national so- ciety within Engineers Ireland which represents the Irish maintenance and asset management community at na- tional and international level.

THE Hibernian insurance group’s Clare branch in Ennis 1s going green, following the decision to award a two year green energy supply contract to competitive electricity provider En- eae

In addition to enhanced environ- mental sustainability, the new supply deal will also reduce Hibernian’s en- Cea Ya OED ICE

The deal covers thirty sites nation- wide and the electricity requirement of 8.8 GWh (Gigawatt Hours) is the equivalent of supplying almost 1,900 homes.

The new green energy deal is an important element of Hibernian’s commitment towards _ sustainable practices and will represent an annu- al reduction of around 4,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the at- mosphere each year.

Commenting on the deal, Sheila Kelly, Manager of Hibernian’s Ennis branch said: “As well as looking out for the needs of our customers, Hi- bernian is also committed to looking out for the environment, by making our Operations as efficient and en- vironmentally friendly as possible, both in Clare and our other nation- wide branches.”

“Over the past year, Hibernian has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint and this deal with Energia is one more example of that commitment. It’s also an example of the benefit of shopping around as Hibernian has been able to reduce its energy costs while also removing 4,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum,’ said Ms Khe

Energia offers an energy efficiency programme to its customers which, if fully embraced, can reduce energy consumption by up to 20%.

Energia Sales and Marketing Di- rector Gary Ryan said they were working with companies and public sector organisations throughout the country to deliver cost effective en- ergy solutions that deliver real value iKo)upesleystente

Energia has a 25% market share of the business electricity market on an all—island basis with 40,000 custom- ase

The company also supplies one third of all gas consumed in Ireland by the country’s largest industrial and commercial gas users.

THE Diocese of Killaloe made its largest ever annual payout to vic- tims of clerical sex abuse last year, accounts published last night reveal. The Diocesan accounts for 2007 con- firmed that €619,717 was paid to vic- tims, bringing to over €1.4 million that has been paid out since 2003.

In a statement, the Bishop Willie Walsh pointed out: “The ongoing fallout from the tragedy of sexual abuse by a small number of clergy in

the distant past continues to demand time and resources for healing and reconciliation. €619,717 has been paid in 2007 for this purpose.”

The accounts show that the diocese funded the payout from the €1.5 mil- lion sale of six acres of land at the Dr Walsh’s Ennis residence in 2001.

The 2007 payout is the largest an- nual payment that the diocese has made and is three times the amount paid out in 2006.

The diocese paid out in €191,401 in 2006 and payments of €285,000,

€130,000 and €265,000 to victims of sex abuse by the diocese in 2005, 2004 and 2003 respectively.

The accounts also show that the diocese secured a net surplus of €165,517 last year. This follows the diocese’s income increasing by 24% to €1.043 million. The dio- cese increased its income from its investments in 2007 by 50% – from €290,000 to €437,000.

Dr Walsh also said that “a large portion of our income was derived through dividends from monies in-

vested over the years by the diocese Kom aUb ues mp LEMA\(O)u om

“The recent months of turmoil in financial markets will significantly reduce this particular income stream for 2009. The diocese will therefore have to depend more heavily on the income from parishes to meet its commitments in this climate,’ he SrHCGe

The accounts also show that the di- ocese’s salary bill showed a dramatic increase of 31% going from €141,793 to €186,167.

IF variety is the spice of life, then biodiversity is the very fabric of life and the Clare Biodiversity group of the county council is celebrating the Banners rich heritage of plants and animals with a new website.

The new Clare Biodiversity web- site, 1s a central information point for biodiversity in Clare, linking up other organisations working in biodi- versity, biodiversity events, projects and competition, and gives useful information on how to help the en- vironment.

Biodiversity is the variety of all life on earth from the largest whale to the smallest micro-organism, includ- ing human beings, along the way. The website incudes information on how we can help stop the decline of biodiversity, with good advice about avoiding insecticides and herbicides in the garden, having a compost heap, recycling, using public trans- port, walking or cycling to save on fuel, turning off sockets to save en- ergy, feeding birds in the winter and buying local and/or organic foods.

The website, which is also as Gaeilge, has information about the various biodiversity initiatives and projects in Clare as well as sections on habitats, competitions, video clips, action plans, news and events, biodiversity areas, and links to other organisations involved with environ- mental concerns.

The site is designed as a tool for schools, groups, individuals and families who want to know more about taking care of the rich variety of life in the county.

The new site can be found at www. clarebiodiversity.ie

Among the projects which the Bio- diversity group has carried out in Clare are the mapping of habitats in the county and a survey of the Clare wetlands.

Approximately a third of County Clare has been mapped on a field-by- field basis and put into digital format and a desktop survey to accumulate all the information available on the wetlands of County Clare was car- ried out in 2008. This information is now accessible in digital map for- jeatelm

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has dashed hopes that the Govern- ment may abandon its new air travel tax stating that the air sector already has preferential treatment.

In response to a series of Dail ques- tions on the new €10 tax, the minis- ter said he has tried to be as fair as possible in looking at areas for ad- ditional tax revenues. He said that fuel used by commercial airlines was

completely exempt from tax, so it al- ready had considerable preferential treatment. He said the new air travel tax will come into force from March 30 next year

“Ireland is not unique in regard to applying a tax on air travel. A number of countries within the EU apply similar taxes including the UK, France and the Netherlands, as do Australia and New Zealand. The proposed rates for the Irish air travel tax are not unreasonable both for

shorter and longer journeys, when compared to rates in other countries.

“It should be recognised that tour- ists will only be subject to the tax on their return journey. The additional €10 or €2 in the context of a much larger purchasing decision involv- ing travel, hotel expenditures etc. shouldn’t have much of an effect on tourist numbers.

“I appreciate the airline industry continues to go through a difficult period. However, this difficult trad-

ing period has, in addition to weak world economic activity, been largely driven by a massive spike in oil pric- es. Oil prices have now halved from the all-time high prices experienced earlier in the year.”

On his recent visit to Shannon, Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary described the new air travel tax “as an amazingly stupid and re- gressive measure’.

“By all means have €10 taxes in Dublin, but you are not going to

be able to support traffic at Knock, Shannon and Kerry with €10 flat tax particularly during winter. We don’t Oppose a visitor tax over the short term in principle, somewhere some- how we all are going to have to pay a little bit more tax.”

However, Mr O’Leary said that it 1s fundamentally wrong that a person flying business class paying €3,000 – €4,000 paying €10 tax and an or- dinary Joe paying the same out of Shannon.