Month: April 2009

A RACE night will be held in Morty’s Pub, Ruan, next month as part of the effort by local parents and the school board to fund the school extension which is nearing completion.

The new wing of the school is ex- pected to be ready for use at the end of May. It contains a modern new classroom, a Learning Support Room and a sports hall. This will provide for the growth of the school for many years to come as well as allowing for indoor physical exercise, drama and other activities.

Most of the funding has been pro- vided by the Department of Educa- tion and Science but a shortfall must be met by local fundraising.

School principal Cyril Lyons says “This is a most exciting time for the school with the putting in place of much-needed new facilities. The school board is very mindful of the expenses faced by local parents in these times. For this reason, the project has been deliberately struc- tured to require only one single fun- draising event as well as to ensure that the school does not carry debt forward in the current environment.

“We are therefore urging individu- als in the parish and businesses serv- ing the community to get behind this event — buy a horse or a dog for €20 or sponsor a race for €100. We are urging people to assist in whatever way they can but most especially to come out on May 2 and have a great

night out at the races in Morty Kel- acne

Horses and race sponsorship can be secured by contacting Joe Saunders

(087 2502550), Liza O’ Connor (086 8033810), Joe Arkins (087 2902552) Ol ME TON OMEN elem) NaN eONIAetoe

A NEW centre offering affordable office, meeting and training spaces has been established at the centrally located Clon Road Business Park in J Spay AvESe

Since it was set up in January, the Clare Training Resource Centre (CTRC) has attracted a wide range of user groups from across County OK

Currently running at the multi-pur- pose facility are employee training sessions, preparation for interview classes, a series of workshops fo- cusing on women and the economy and various local and national or- ganisation’s meetings. Users can also participate in classes in yoga, pilates, meditation, floral art, and a

range of other personal development programmes. Up-coming courses include exam revision for secondary students and interior design.

“Tightening budgets brought on by the economic recession have left many community organisations and businesses with little scope to invest in training space or meeting rooms,’ explained Lorraine Tracey, Training Centre Coordinator.

She continued, “We are offering an affordable and accessible, high qual- ity, multi-functional space. Our aim is to combine community values with a professional delivery. Rooms are set-up with equipment such as pro- jectors, flipcharts and whiteboards as needed and catering services can be arranged.”

Ms Tracey added that the new fa-

cility offered organisations and ind1- viduals the flexibility and opportu- nity to reserve space on a once-off or on a regular basis.

The CTRC is also currently pro- viding the space for the delivery of a range of courses on behalf of its parent company the Clare Family Resource Centre (CFRC).

The CFRC runs a FAS scheme with 21 Community Employment partici- pants providing a wide range of staff training including Basic Childcare Training, Highscope Training, Spe- cial Needs Training, Equal Oppor- tunities, First Aid, Arts and Crafts, Music and Drama, Manual Lifting and Handling and Health and Safety. Among the other courses delivered by the CTRC are Fire Prevention, Stay Safe Child Protection Pro-

gramme, HACCP food safety, and Personal and Social Development.

According to Maureen Keane, Manager of the Clare Family Re- source, “Staff training is a key ele- ment to the success and development of our staff and créche service.”

“We encourage and empower our Community Employment _partici- pants by providing these opportuni- ties leading to Certified Childcare Training Skills, personal develop- ment and employment. Providing a suitable training environment for staff is of utmost importance to us,” stated Ms Keane.

Trainers or groups interested in using the facilities may contact Lor- raine Tracey; Training Centre Coor- dinator; Tel: 065-6895458; Email: info @ctrc.ie.

STUDENTS from Clare Youth Serv- ices are hoping to clean up in more ways than one at a car wash in Ennis this Saturday.

The event is being organised by a group of students taking part in the service’s Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) programme.

All money raised from the car wash, which will be held in the erounds of Ennis National School, will go towards increasing the range of activities provided through the LCA programme.

Teacher Laura Griffin explained that the service is looking to expand

the programme throughout the sum- mer months.

“The LCA is a very activity based programme and this summer we are hoping to do a lot of different activi- ties like sailing and horse-riding. We actually had two reasons for doing this. Obviously we wanted to raise money for the LCA and also by do- ing this, the students are fulfilling the enterprise test of the programme. So, we’re looking to kill two birds with the one stone,” said Laura.

Local schools and businesses are also supporting the event. “Ennis National School are providing the car-park on the day and Jimmy’s Discount Store are giving us some

materials. They have been very help- ful,’ said Laura.

She continued, “We had looked at doing a few different things. We were going to do an Easter themed treasure hunt around the town or we had this idea for an Ebay shop, but the carwash was the cheapest op- tion. And we’re hoping, with it be- ing Easter Saturday, we’ll get a good crowd around town.”

There are currently 11 students enrolled in the LCA programe. The LCA is a recognised Leaving Certifi- cate from the Department of Educa- tion. It encourages students to apply their knowledge, skills and experi- ences acquired on the programme, in

preparation for future work, and/or further education. The programme is a full-time two-year course and is divided into four sessions over the two-year period. These sessions are sub-divided into periods of study known as modules.

“It involves the usual subjects like Maths and English but a lot of the work is project-based,” added Laura.

PLANS by the Health Services Ex- ecutive to downgrade services at Ennis General Hospital will cut pa- tient safety “to the bone and perhaps cut safety beyond”, according to the Chairman of the Clare branch of the Irish College of General Practition- use

Dr Michael Harty was speaking in Ennis last Saturday at a protest against the planned removal of serv- ices from Ennis General Hospital.

Dr Harty told an estimated crowd of 3000 people that the argument for the provision of medical services in TRAE MICRO oKcemO IM stom IEC m ie ices should be centralised or whether most acute services should be pro- vided in “peripheral hospitals like Ennis and Nenagh”.

Dr Harty said, “This tiered system has worked very well in the past. But over the years Ennis and Nenagh have been systematically downgraded and undermined by a failure to develop the hospital in terms of staff and equipment, while at the same time concentrating development services in Limerick almost exclusively.”

“To minimise errors and mistakes, one has to practice safe and sensible medicine. And systems would be in place where there is sufficient safety to allow as complete safe and sensible care as possible. What is being pro- posed, by the transformation team, 1s to cut safety to the bone and perhaps cut safety beyond”, he said.

Consultant geriatrician at Nenagh General Hospital Dr Christine O’Malley said the HSE was going to “lock” Ennis General Hospital at night, after 24 accident and emer- gency services are withdrawn.

She said the HSE had deliberately deceived the public on the issue of patient numbers. Dr O’Malley told the crowd that the real night time attendance of patients at Ennis Gen- eral Hospital is 5,500 and at Nenagh General Hospital is 4000.

She said, “I know it is not going

to work, it can’t work. They haven’t got the ambulances they don’t have the beds in Limerick. They are go- ing to take your doctors away and leave nothing behind here and they don’t want you in Limerick. I’m sor- ry; I don’t know what to say to you. It can’t work, its not going to work, they are going to do it anyway”. Gerry Byrnes, a retired surgeon who worked at Ennis General Hos- pital for 27 years also doubted the capacity of the Midwestern Regional Hospital, Limerick to cope with in-

creased numbers of patients.

He told the crowd “If this planned change of the A&E in Ennis goes through, followed in July by taking acute surgery out of the hospital, I’m not sure that the infrastructure is there for Limerick to cope.”

THE determined youngsters in the under 10s Mountshannon Celtic Soc- cer Team are back on track, having got themselves a mentor.

The club were delighted with the team, but were concerned that the mentor of another team was looking after the youngsters as well as his

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“We had a great bunch of lads playing at under 10 last season. Ow- ing to the dedication of Gary Dear, we managed to enter them in a few blitzes last season, but this was not entirely satisfactory as Gary has his own team to look after,’ a spokes- man for the club said.

But with the new season just start-

ed, the club sent out an appeal for help in the Scariff Newsletter and got a good response.

Now they are concentrating on the club’s ethos of player development above results, and are kicking off with a new season.

The under 11s and under 13s train on Tuesday while the under 15s take to the field on Wednesday, all ses-

sions at 6pm at the Scariff show- grounds.

The club is “delighted to have won the Fair Play Award for the behav- iour of our players and for the first time now we have four teams in the schoolboy soccer league,’ the spokesman said.

Last season, the club got to the fi- nals of the under 13s and under 14s

cup and came in as runners-up in the under 14 league.

They also now have several players with county teams.

Anyone who would like to know more or who thinks they might fan- cy a shot at ‘the beautiful game’ is welcome to come along and speak to mentors at the club training ses- sions.

ALREADY 100 people have signed up to take a stroll in aid of the first of two very good causes in east Clare on Easter Monday.

The second sponsored outing, this time around the Kilkishen area in May, will give participants a chance to walk, jog, run or cycle also in aid of a cancer charity.

The second annual Broadford 10k, planned for Easter Monday, will start from Broadford Community Hall and tour the beautiful scenic route through Kilbane and back to the valley, with musical entertain- ment en-route.

The proceeds of the day will be split between the Mid Western Can- cer Foundation and the Broadford Parish Funds.

On Saturday night, a draw in Vaughan’s Bar for a jersey signed by the Munster Team and a pair of tick- ets for the match on Saturday gave a further boost to the parish funds.

“We have given out all 100 sponsor- ship cards now, so that’s an improve- ment on our first walk last year.

“Even then we had eighty people but this time, we’ve gone all out and put up posters all over east Clare so that is paying off,’ said Joanne Moloney, one of the organisers of the event.

“But we still want to raise as much money as we can, so people can come on the day and pay the €20 registra- tion fee or just make a donation if they don’t want to do the walk.”

Registration will take place from lpm in the community hall with the VCO ea ev mB0 brome 14 O00 8

The Mid Western Cancer Founda- tion was established to streamline donations to the Mid Western Cancer Centre. The money received helps to Support and improve services and facilities for patients suffering from cancer and their families.

It also endorses research which ul- timately will help future treatments for patients with cancer in the mid- west.

Meanwhile, plans are going ahead for the East Clare 12k in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, which partici- pants can enjoy on-foot or astride a saddle.

The East Clare 12k starts at noon on May 4 from Kilkishen GAA Club and wends its way to Craggaunowen, Cullane Wood, Cullane House, by Cullane Lake and back to the club- house in Kilkishen via the Tulla INCer: Tee

There will be prizes for the first four four men and women in the run- ners section plus lots of spot prizes.

The main sponsors of the event, the first East Clare 12k, are Lenmac Services.

For sponsorship cards and further

queries call 087 9691415.

Entry Fee is €10 or €5 for students. Family entry is €20, plus there’s a free ride back for tired limbs.

aE Kom or-Du eter Mm nares since the start of the year, five people have been arrested in the town, on suspicion of the possession of a knife or implement.

Superintendent John Scanlan said gardai are “taking a very strong view in relation to people caught carrying knives.

He said that while gardai have not encountered many such incidents, nevertheless they treat any case they come across very seriously.

“Young people should not be carry- ing knives for whatever reason what- soever. People inadvertently have knives for innocent reasons like work but they should not find their way into a social circle,’ said Supt Scanlan.

“Vd hope that people would not get into a situation where they have knives at their disposal. It is a crimi- nal offence to carry a knife or weap- on of any description without lawful ep. CON oma OLomnsy2 BLOM

‘They need to be left at home. We are going to take a very strong line on people carrying weapons in pub- lic places,” he said.

Speaking after John McGovern was jailed for six years last week for the manslaughter of 14-year-old Mr Doherty, the victim’s uncle Tom Sherlock said there was “no need for” knife crime.

“The only thing we hope would come from this is that no-one goes around the streets carrying a knife. There’s no need for it. Life is too pre- cious,’ said Mr Sherlock.

As he handed down the sentence,

the trial judge Mr Justice Paul Car- ney said that it was the experience of his court that those who carried knives ended up using them, with fa- tal consequences.

‘Possession of the knife in this case was not sinister in itself. It was a gift from his grandparents, which would have been useful on a farm, and which had been used innocently earlier to open bottles,” he said.

However, he said there was delib- eration, however brief, in McGovern taking it out of his pocket, open- ing it and using it to inflict the fatal ZO) UN NTC E

SIX Clare solicitors, between them, received more than €650,000 through the criminal free legal aid scheme last year – and now a mem- ber of Clare County Council says the possibility of abolishing the scheme should be considered.

The six solicitors received €656,/58 in payments under the scheme in 2008. This was more than double the figure for the previous 12-month period, which was €295,859 for the same six solicitors who carry out a lot of work in the area of free legal aid.

However, Fine Gael councillor Tony Mulcahy said he feels very “strong- ly” about the scheme, through which more than €33 million was paid out to solicitors nationally last year.

He said that those who commit criminal offences should not be au- tomatically entitled to free legal aid.

“Tt should be stopped for once and for all. I think that by abolishing it, it may deter people from engaging in crime,’ said Cllr Mulcahy.

He said one possibility that could be considered is abolishing the scheme for courts higher than the district.

“We have people going to the dis- trict court, challenging it in the cir- cuit court and going all the way to the high court, all because they are on free legal aid,” he said.

“T’d have the free legal aid system limited to the district court and no access to the higher courts,’ he add-

ed.

However, he did accept that in some cases, criminal free legal aid was necessary. “You have to allow it for some form of justice to take place, but we have to call a halt. We have to stop this,’ he added.

Yet, he says that where huge amounts of evidence are available and a defendant is caught “red-hand- ed’, they should be denied free legal aid.

He said that where people are caught committing crime on CCTV cameras or where DNA has been proved, their cases should be dealt with by a means other than in court.

‘Some people are indefensible and

evidence is stacked against them. Going to court is costing the State millions. If there is massive evidence against a perpetrator but the case still has to go to court, why are we wasting so much time in court?” he asked.

“There could be a panel of judges to review a file, rather than waste so much time and balls of money and instead put the money into the reform of the prison system,” he added.

has learned that the EPA are currently preparing a number of files which they intend to send to the Director of Pub- lic Prosecutions (DPP) on the matter. This latest revelation comes just

a week after the local authority was found to have committed 14 breaches in relation to odour levels at the site during three days of EPA spot checks earlier this year.

“On October 1, 2008, in a case brought by the EPA against Clare County Council at Ennistymon Dis- trict Court, the judge refused jurisdic- tion. The EPA requested the court to have the proceedings struck out. The court therefore declared them with- drawn and struck out,” said an EPA spokesperson. “The EPA is continu- ing with its investigation and intends submitting a file to the DPP on the matter upon completion.”

Outgoing local County Council-

lor Flan Garvey (FG) has accused the EPA of showing a total lack of leadership on the issue of Bally- duffbeg. Garvey has challenged the Government’s environmental agency to show the council where they are going wrong in Ballyduffbeg.

“The EPA are full of negative talk but they have never given Clare County Council any direction on how to rectify the problems. They are the experts on this but they seem unable to provide us with any solu- tions,” he said.

“They have shown a total lack of leadership on this issue; of course they have. It’s easy to come in and point to the problems but they have

failed to come up with any solutions. I am challenging the EPA to come in and tell Clare County Council exact- ly where they are going wrong and what can be done.

“I know a former Director of Serv- ices at Clare County Council asked the EPA to show him an example of the best-run waste management facil- ity in the country and the EPA said it was our facility here. The EPA didn’t go on the record about this statement but it was said.”

The Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduffbeg just outside of Inagh has been controversial issue since it was first mooted in February of 1998.

Flynn in the firing line over ‘take over’