Month: December 2011

MEMBERS of Clare’s immigrant community have hit back at claims from a local councillor that non-nationals are responsible for the majority of discrimination in the county.

Independent councillor Frankie Neylon said last week that “about 60 per cent” of discrimination is carried out by non-nationals.

Cllr Neylon was speaking at the December meeting of Ennis Town Council, where members voted against a proposal that would call on the Government to provide mandatory equality training for all local representatives.

However the Clare Intercultural Network have criticised the comments, describing them as “disappointing”. In a statement, CIN Coordinator Alphonse Basogomba said, “When he refers to racism, Councillor Neylon claims 60 pe rcent of racism in Ennis is caused by non-national residents themselves. The CIN would like to make the point that all individuals have a nationality and should be addressed as non-Irish nationals instead of non-national.

“We are also unclear where the figure of 60 per cent came from but if Councillor Neylon believes this is factual and based on researched evidence, this indicates there is a clear and urgent problem which needs to be addressed and he as a public representative should welcome all tools which will enable him and his colleagues to deal with this effectively and efficiently before someone gets seriously hurt or injured.”

He continued, “It would appear that Councillor Neylon not only rejected the training which might assist in developing a strategy for change but did not propose an alternative measure to assist with the stark statistics he has referred to.”

Cllr Neylon said that he had no problem working with people from the 26 different nationalities who live in Ennis. He told last Monday’s meeting that Ennis had always welcomed people of different nationalities.

Mr Basogomba stated, “It is unclear as to why Councillor Neylon believed the training would assist him to deal with only 26 nationalities and not all members of the town, including Irish nationals.

“The Equality Legislation comprises of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004; the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2004; the National Disability Authority Act 1999. Is Councillor Neylon suggesting he doesn’t need training in any of the above areas?”

Mr Basogomba stated, “At CIN, we believe it is unfortunate that a vote needed to be taken at all on this motion, as it should be mandatory for public representatives to ensure they are aware and trained in all relevant legislation.

“This training and knowledge are legislative instruments, which assist elected representatives to fully represent their constituents.”

Orla Ni Eilí, coordinator of the Clare Immigrant Support Centre said, “It is disappointing and we hope this is the last time we hear that from our public representatives”.

CLARE schools are being encouraged to take part in an “innovative” new equality and diversity study, details of which were announced on Saturday.

University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College and the Clare Intercultural Network are collaborating on research that will examine the attitudes of students towards interculturalism and equality.

Coordinators are hoping to roll out the project in primary and post-primary schools around the county.

Dr Orla McCormack, lecturer in education at UL, explained, “The project is about trying to get the voice of young people and looking at their views on diversity and equality within their school and in the education system.

“We’re doing it at three levels – primary, post-primary and then with pre-service teachers at UL and Mary Immaculate College”.

She continued, “We’re going into schools and we’re conducting a number of workshops. It’s using quite innovative and participatory methods.

“ The young people are given cameras and they are given a set time to go around and get photos in their school of equality and diversity. It’s left quite and quite broad. It’s their interpretation. We’re not saying this is what it means.”

She said, “The next workshop after that they use their 15 images along with lyrics from songs and articles from newspapers to represent a scrapbook of their ideas of diversity and equality.”

The project was launched at a conference in Ennis on Saturday entitled – ‘I’m ok, you’re ok and that’s ok’.

It follows on from previous collaborations between Limerick’s universities and the Clare Intercultural Network. Dr McCormack explained that this is the first time that participatory research of this kind has been undertaken in the area of equality in Clare.

She said, “We’re hoping to start in January and hopefully have all that done in three months. The idea is that this time next year, at this conference again, we can present back the data. Based on findings from that, different directions for the project might evolve.

“We may continue using the same approach but another element may come along as well.”

Organisers are hoping for a good response from Clare schools. Dr McCormack said, “We organise everything and I suppose it’s ideal for transition-year students. It’s for workshops we could come in fully prepared and also, if teachers want to engage in it, it could be useful for teachers to gain experience.”

The research coordinators are Dr Orla McCormack, Lecturer Education (UL); Dr Eimear Enright, Lecturer Physical Education (UL); Deirdre O’Rourke, Lecturer Religious Education, Mary Immaculate College; and Maurice Harmon, Lecturer Religious Education, Mary Immaculate College.

AN Iranian man now living in Ennis has documented his 12-year struggle as a refugee in a new book launched on Saturday. Hassan Faramarz (42), author of The Flagless Ones , says he is “proud” to have told his story.

He adds, “I really wanted to tell everybody that this is happening to 70 million people. You don’t have to repeat my experience. You can learn from my experience. I wanted to share this is with everybody so people can learn what’s going on in Iran. We should learn from each other.”

Hassan was speaking in the West County Hotel on Saturday at a conference focusing on equality and diversity in Clare.

The book tells the story of the father of four’s upbringing in Iran, the oppression his family suffered at the hands of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime and his life as a refugee in India, China and Ireland. Hassan grew up in Iran at a time of political unrest in the late 1970s and ‘80s. Members of his family who opposed the ruling regime were imprisoned and executed.

He recalls, “I was not arrested but being a member of a family whose four brothers are involved in that movement, it’s not easy for you to have a normal life. I didn’t have a normal life. I couldn’t have a normal life.

“I graduated from high school and went to Open University and I learned some English. I married and I also did my military service. But after that I could not get a job, anything. They don’t arrest you but they don’t see you anymore. You are like a shadow in society. Nobody is listening to you. It’s a strange condition.”

Hassan left Iran for Indian in 1996 but found life as a refugee no better than his “shadow” existence at home.

“I spent three years in India as a refugee. In 1998, my wife joined me there. There we had our first son. We spent three years almost in India. The situation was hard. It was horrible. There are thousands of refugees there. You are struggling with your food, your clothing, shelter everything.”

Instead, with the help of a friend, Hassan and his family secured a visa to travel to Canada. However, the family encountered difficulties while travelling through China and ended up spending nine years living in refugee accommodation in Beijing.

The family moved to Ireland in 2008, eventually settling in Ennis. A former journalist and language teacher, Hassan is now studying theology and philosophy at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Of his life in Ennis, he says, “It’s great and my children are integrating very well. I have three children, two boys and one girl. Their English is improving very fast. They have already started criticising me, saying ‘Daddy, your English isn’t very good’. They are actually learning very, very fast. I’m very happy here and for Ireland accepting us.”

THE long wait finally ended for 10 Clare people who were granted Irish citizenship on Friday. The group were among a crowd of over 600 people who attended a citizenship ceremony in Cork.

The ceremony was organised by the Department of Justice and Equality and saw people from 77 different countries granted citizenship. Attendees took an oath of fidelity to the nation and received their certificate of naturalisation.

Husband and wife Leonardo Gonzalez and Aymara Ruiz were among the delighted group of people to be named as Ireland’s newest citizens. The Cuban natives, who have lived in Ennis for the past four years, say they are happy that the wait for citizenship is finally over.

“It was a great day for us,” said Aymara yesterday. Leonardo said the granting of Irish citizenship made him feel proud. “Today I am a free man” he said.

The Clare group comprised people mainly from Cuban, Chinese, Somali and Sudanese backgrounds, explained Orla Ni Eili, coordinator of the Clare Immigrant Support Centre. She said, “It’s a new feature that was brought in by Alan Shatter (Minister for Justice) to give the process of citizenship a bit more value, make it a bit more of an event.”

Ms Ni Eili explained that applicants must wait for a minimum of three years before receiving citizenship. However she said that, in some cases, people are waiting up to nine or 10 years.

“Some of the people from Clare who were in Cork on Saturday were waiting five years. There is a big backlog of applicant cases,” she added.

KILRUSH Town Council is set to spend € 32,870 in 2012 on providing a public toilet in the Martyrs Square in the town centre – this is despite the fact that the facility, which has been described as “the most expensive piece of retail property in Ireland”, only nets € 1,300 in revenue to the local authority.

The extent of the annual cost of the toilet, which is leased by Kilrush Town Council from Street Furniture Limited, is contained in the estimate of expenses that will go before the nine members of the local authority at this week’s budget meeting.

In light of these figures, it’s expected that Thursday night’s meeting in the Town Hall will hear renewed calls for the council executive to extricate itself from the leasing arrangement it has with Street Furniture Limited for the provision of the rarely used facility.

At the September meeting of Kilrush Town Council, it was revealed that the town authorities are tied to a 20-year contract with Street Fur- niture Limited for the toilet that was signed in 1999 and doesn’t run out until 2019.

The latest figures provided by the council have revealed that the provision of the toilet cost € 201,301.51 between 2005 and 2010, while over the course of the same six-year period, income to the council from the public’s use of the facility was just € 9,940.49.

Mayor of Kilrush, Ian Lynch has led calls for the council to try and extricate itself from this contract, which he has labeled “a huge drain on Kilrush Town Council’s resources at a time when we need every penny we can get”.

Mayor Lynch has also gone so far as to say “what can they do if we don’t pay it? They can’t get money off us that we don’t have”.

Town clerk John Corry has revealed that the council “would have to pay 25 per cent of the basic rent for each remaining year on the contract together with the costs of removing the universal superloo. As eight years remain in the contract, the current cost would be € 75,000”.

A JURY has returned a verdict of accidental death in the case of a Limerick woman who died following a single-vehicle accident at Hurler’s Cross earlier this year.

Aileen Page died when the silver Peugeot 206 she was driving left the road and collided with a tree on a section of the M18 near Shannon.

Ms Page (36), from Beverly Close, Raheen, Limerick, had been on her way to work when the accident occurred in the early hours of May 7.

An inquest into her death at Clare Coroner’s Court last week heard that neither road conditions nor excessive speed were factors in the accident.

Agnieska Kusko came upon the accident when returning from the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick. She rang the emergency services telling them that she thought someone was dead at the scene. Ms Kusko attempted to slow oncoming cars prior to the arrival of Gardaí.

A doctor confirmed Ms Page’s death at the scene.

Sgt Paul Slattery, who attended the scene, told the inquest that the “vehicle had apparently left the road and struck a tree before coming to rest on the road”.

Garda Michael Reddy, PSV investigator, stated that while the road surface was wet, it was not wet enough to collect surface water. He said the car sustained severe damage “due to multiple tree strikes on the driver’s side”.

Garda Reddy said there was no blow-out or tyre failure prior to the collision and no evidence was found of any fault with the car that could have contributed to the collision. He said Ms Page had worn a seatbelt. He explained that road conditions did not contribute to the collision; no defects were found with the car and there was no evidence of excessive speed.

Garda Reddy said it was not possible to establish the cause of the car going out of the driver’s control.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said the medical cause of death was acute cardio respiratory failure consistent with injuries caused by a road traffic accident.

She said the only appropriate verdict was accidental death or death consistent with a road traffic accident. A jury returned a verdict of accidental death in accordance with the medical evidence.

Ms O’Dea extended her sympathy to the parents and husband of Ms Page. She described the death as “sad and tragic loss” of a woman on her way to work.

Insp John Galvin extended sympathy to the family on behalf of the Gardaí.

LOCAL councillors have criticised comments from the Minister for Transport, Leo Vardakar, stating that Shannon Airport will make an € 8m loss this year.

Fianna Fáíl councillor Pat McMahon told yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council that there is widespread concern among staff at the airport about the statement.

The Newmarket-on-Fergus councillor described the figures as “highly debatable” and the product of “creative accounting”. He was speaking as councillors debated a motion tabled by Cllr McMahon and fellow Fianna Fáil councillor, Pat Daly.

The motion states, “We request the council to make contact with the Minister for Finance, Mr Michael Noonan TD, and urge him to set up an all-party forum of Oireachtas members and representatives of the councils from the West and MidWest, seeking the continuation of Shannon Airport as a top-class international airport”.

Some councillors expressed support for the proposal though some said a forum was not the best option.

Cllr Daly told the meeting that elected representatives should have a say in the future of Shannon Airport, which he said was suffering from the absence of a clear marketing strategy. He described Shannon as a “dying airport”.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said Shannon might not be making a loss at all when depreciation and loan charges are taken into account.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the problems at Shannon Airport stretch back 10 to 15 years. Cllr Cathal Crowe (FG) said the airport has “everything going for it” but a new management structure needs to be put in place. He said Shannon should be spoken about in positive and optimistic terms.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) urged all Clare TDs to put political differences aside and work together to secure the future of Shannon Airport. He said Fianna Fáíl TD, Timmy Dooley, should use his “years of experience in government” to help his counterparts in Labour and Fine Gael.

Concern was also raised over the number of US-bound flights using pre-clearance facilities at Shannon. Cllr McMahon tabled a motion stating that the council seek “detailed information from the Department of Transport on the potential for further development of pre-clearance type facilities at Shannon Airport.”

A STOCK of 35,000 sandbags is available to Clare County Council as the county braces itself for potential flooding. Heavy rainfall and increased river levels have heightened public anxiety over floods with the memory of the 2009 flood event still fresh in the minds of many homeowners and businesses.

In that instance, thousands of euros worth of damaged was caused and dozens of homes were evacuated as families saw their homes destroyed by rapidly rising floodwaters.

Clare County Council says the experience of 2009 has led to an improvement in the effectiveness of the implementation of contingency plans.

Yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council heard that there are people in rural parts of the county “that don’t sleep at night” because of a flood fears. The comment was made by Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) who said there is huge concern among people in Ruan over flash flooding.

Cllr John Crowe (FG), who tabled a motion on the Council’s plans for dealing with floods, said river levels around Sixmilebridge are “two foot” higher than they were in November 2009. He told the meeting that heavy floods are now a real concern. “The way the rain is falling we might not be too far away,” he said.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the council’s capacity to deal with emergency weather events had significantly improved since 2009. “We can’t predict what’s going to happen but we can plan,” he added.

In a report to councillors, Nora Kaye, acting Director of Services, Planning, Land Use and Transport, explained, “In total, the council has a stock of approximately 35,000 sandbags all of which are located strategically in the various area depots.

“The vast majority of these sandbags are stocked in a number of de- pots in the Ennis Area because of the continuing vulnerability of so many areas within Ennis Town and environs – notwithstanding the fact that some flood relief schemes are being planned or are under construction in relation to most of these areas.”

Ms Kaye continued, “Of the above total, approximately 8,000 sandbags are distributed across the various engineering areas outside Ennis. Approximately 3,000 bags in all are filled. Well over 2,000 tonnes of sand and other material is stocked strategically and more sandbags will be filled between now and Christmas.”

Ms Kaye said that 30 pumps are readily available at various locations throughout the county. She added, “Notwithstanding the fact that it is impossible to predict the characteristics or intensity of any particular flood event, the overall level of awareness, knowledge and response capacity in respect of such situations as improved significantly in recent years and this feeds in to out present contingency plans in a very strategic and significant manner.”

BUSINESS groups are calling for people to make submissions on a proposed retail development on the Clare Road.

Ennis Town Council has re-advertised changes to a planning application from Michael Lynch Ltd who are seeking permission to develop a new district centre on the outskirts of Ennis. The developers have submitted a number of reports to the council in response to a request for further information on the proposed development.

Businesses in Ennis have previously outlined their opposition to the proposal saying it would have a damaging effect on retail activity in the town centre and lead to the creation of “ghost” shopping units.

A statement from Ennis Chamber explained, “Members of Ennis Chamber, Ennis Development Forum and Ennis Street Associations met again recently to discuss the Further Information received by Ennis Town Council in relation to the proposed development on the Clare Road in Ennis”.

“Ennis Town Council has deemed the Further Information received by the developers as significant enough for a re-advertisement of the changes to the Planning Application. Therefore anyone is entitled to make a submission to Ennis Town Council in relation to the proposed development”.

Ennis Chamber, Ennis Development Forum and Ennis Street Association will be making additional submissions to the planning process prior to the closing date for receipt of submissions, which is Friday December 16.

The spokesperson added, “The organisations are encouraging anyone with an interest in this significant proposed development for Ennis to make their views known through the planning process by making a submission to Ennis Town Council by the closing date of Friday next”.

THE backers of a proposed fivehectare retail development on the outskirts of Ennis say it will have a “limited” impact on existing businesses in Ennis.

Michael Lynch Ltd are seeking planning permission for a large development on the Clare Road/Tobertascain, which it is claimed will create 300 construction jobs.

A retail impact assessment prepared by DPP on behalf of Michael lynch Ltd states that the projected retail turnover for the proposal is estimated to be of the order of € 46.4m.

It states, “In terms of convenience retail floorspace, it is likely that the proposed development will compete with existing Tesco and Aldi, both on Francis Street; Dunnes Stores on O’Connell Street; and Lidl which is located on the Gort Road.”

The report adds “There may be a small amount of diversion from other convenience outlets in the Ennis area but this would be limited. Aside from the big-name operators, most other existing provision is smallscale, local walk-in trade.”

The report was prepared as part of a response to a further information request from Ennis Town Council.

It states that the “proposed development at the Limerick Road, Ennis, consists of an urban development including a mix of retail and office use. The development represents one district centre format of which none currently exists in Ennis despite its status as; hub town….county town for Clare and a recognised need for additional floor space in Ennis in the Mid West Retail Strategy”.

Of the potential impact on town centre businesses, the authors state, “The assessment of retail impact or cumulative retail impact of the proposed development on Ennis Town Centre found that, whilst there would be a small diversion of trade to the proposed foodstore, this would be cushioned by capacity in the retail market and the retention of both Dunnes and Tesco in the town centre and limited competition with the higher-end comparison and specialist retail offer in Ennis town centre.”

The report, continues, “If permitted, the proposed development will contribute to the retail offer of the town and stem retail expenditure leakage to other urban centres.”

The report outlines the retail characteristics of the proposed development. It states that the proposal provides for a total gross retail floorspace of 7,834sqm; the hypermarket provides 3,000sqm net convenience floorspace and 2,411 sqm net comparison floorspace. The ancillary units provide for 481sqm gross retail floorspace.

The report continues, “It is envisaged that the majority of these (retail units and kiosks) would be used for services, restaurants and café and community uses as envisaged by the development plan and the RPG in light of the proposal’s district centre format. For the purposes of calculating retail impact, therefore, we are mainly concerned with the net retail figures for the proposed foodstore.

“However, in the interest of robustness, we estimate that approximately half of the additional floorspace (totaling 520m2) will be given over to small convenience and / or comparison uses and have factored in 130m2 space each to account for these potential occupiers.”

Citing figures from the 2010 retail strategy for the mid-west region, the report states, “The figures would sug- gest that there remains substantial capacity for another large foodstore in town in addition to this proposal and that the residual comparison would be more than sufficient to cater for further substantial higher order comparison floorspace in or close to the town centre on sites such as PS1.

“These results are not surprising when one considers the relative lack of growth in the town’s retail offer over the past 10 years and indeed the lack of any substantive pipeline development as illustrated by the MidWest Retail Strategy Review 2009.”

The authors state that they have received correspondence from Tesco Ireland that confirmed their intention to remain in the Ennis Shopping Centre.

“The letter also points out their own business view of much greater potential in the existing retail market space.”