Month: March 2012

KILRUSH area councillors have voted to extend the parking time of O’Curry Street in Kilkee to two hours.

The councillors were supporting a proposal by their Kilkee Town Council colleagues that asked for longer parking hours on the street and from opposite the convent to the roundabout on the Carrigaholt Road to the eastern side of Circular Road.

Shoppers and diners can now park in both these areas for two hours, where previously they were restricted to just one. It was also suggested by the Kilkee public representatives that these restrictions apply only during June, July and August from 10am to 6pm, seven days a week.

While the town council can propose such changes for the town, the county council must support them before they can be ratified and become law.

Mayor of Kilkee Elaine Haugh Hayes (FG) addressed the meeting of Kilrush area councillors on Wednesday and told them that one hour parking was insufficient for visitors and customers.

She also raised concerns about residents who live in the area and have to move their cars every day, while the parking byelaws are in place.

Cllr Pat Keane (FF) asked “Where do they go with their cars during the day?”

Director of Services Nora Kaye told the meeting that the byelaws determine the residential permits and they are not currently accommodated.

“We will look into it,” she said.

Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) suggested that a list of residents who would require a permit be drawn up before the May meting of the council and the issue be addressed again.

A CZECH man who smashed a downstairs window as a woman watched television at home alone has received a five-month prison sentence.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Michal Makula (36), with an address at 3 Churchview, Barefield, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage.

The charge relates to an incident at Cloneyogan, Lahinch, on September 9, 2011.

Inspector Tom Kennedy explained that on the night in question, a 26year-old woman was watching television at home on her own. The court heard that at around 10.30pm she heard a car pull into the drive. A man she did not recognise then got out of the car and started banging on the window and front door of the house, the court heard.

Insp Kennedy told the court that the man then went to the back of the house and broke a window. The woman came downstairs where she saw the man who then left the scene.

Insp Kennedy said the total value of the damage was € 100. He told the court that the accused has 19 previous convictions. The court heard that Makula is currently serving a sentence for burglary and assault offences.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that her client had committed the offence at a time when he and his young family were in “crisis” and were not in receipt of any social welfare payments. She said her client had become “desperate and wild” about how to provide for his children.

Ms Godfrey requested that sentencing be adjourned for two weeks to allow for payment of compensation to the injured party.

Judge Patrick Durcan noted that this incident had occurred as a young woman watched television in bed late at night. He said the house was in a rural part of the county. Judge Durcan said it was obvious, that by breaking the glass, Makula intended to gain access to the house. “I regard this as a very serious criminal damage charge,” he added.

Judge Durcan said the message must go out that people living in rural areas are entitled to the inviolability of their homes.

Noting Makula’s plea of guilty and family circumstances, he imposed a five-month sentence to be served consecutively to his current sentence. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

A CAR enthusiast who attempted to “drift” around a roundabout on the outskirts of Ennis last year has been described as being “all gearbox and no brain box”.

Judge Patrick Durcan was speaking as he ordered Ennis man Shane O’Sullivan (20) to pay € 350 to the disabled driver’s association.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, O’Sullivan, with an address at Rockmount Cross, Kilrush Road, Ennis, pleaded to a charge of driving without due care and attention.

Garda William Delaney of Ennis Garda Station told the court that on August 13, 2011, he observed the accused drive a car in an attempt to drift around a roundabout at Killoo West, Ennis.

Garda Delaney explained that drifting involved driving at speed and pulling the handbrake in order to manoeuvre the car in a 180-degree angle.

Garda Delaney said the road was quiet at the time. He told the court a “convoy” of around seven cars were present at the time.

The court heard that O’Sullivan has no previous convictions.

Solicitor Stephen Nicholas told the court that the incident occurred on a ring road on the outskirts of Ennis between 1am and 2am. He said there was no traffic on the road, which was lit. Mr Nicholas said there were no houses on or off the road.

Requesting that the court deal leniently with the matter, Mr Nicholas said his client was in the process of carrying out an interview that could set him on a career path.

Judge Durcan said, “It’s a good example of all gear box and no brain box, that’s how I would sum up this man.”

Noting O’Sullivan’s guilty plea, good record and age, Judge Durcan ordered that he pay € 350 to the disabled driver’s association on or before April 31.

He adjourned the matter until May 1. Judge Durcan said young people must understand that when they get behind the wheel of a car, “they take possession of the most dangerous weapon they will ever have”.

A 67-YEAR-OLD man who has pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault will be sentenced in May.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was due to be sentenced at Ennis Circuit Court yesterday. However Judge Caroll Moran said that given the “very serious nature of the abuse” he was not happy to pass sentence immediately.

He adjourned sentencing until May 14. “I will finalise it then,” he added.

The assaults occurred over a twoyear period in Clare in the late 1960s when the man was in his twenties and the victim was a young teenager.

The court heard that the man, who now suffers from health problems, was arrested by Gardaí in July 2009. His barrister, Mark Nicholas said his client had co-operated and owned up to the abuse. He said his client had expressed remorse about his crime to Gardaí during interviews. Mr Nicholas said that this was in no way meant to minimise the hurt suffered by the victim. He said, “What happened was despicable, disgraceful and should not have happened.”

Mr Nicholas paid tribute to the victim’s bravery in coming forward.

Mr Nicholas told the court that the man had received a very poor education, is illiterate and could be regarded as someone who is in a “lower intellectual bracket”.

He said he suffered from Jacobs Syndrome, a sex chromosome ab- normality. He said the man has been the care of the Clare Health Services since 1984. He said the man’s significant regime of monitoring and antitestosterone medication is closely supervised by medical professionals and the man’s family.

The court heard that the man has been placed on sex offender’s register. Mr Nicholas said the moniker of “pedophile” will forever be attached to the man.

The victim, who is now in his 50s, previously told the court that he twice tried to commit suicide to end what he called the “pain of my life”.

In a victim impact statement, the man said the accused had robbed him of his “innocence, childhood and my sanity”.

FIFTH Avenue may have been covered in green white and gold this St Patrick’s Day, but the mayor of Clare was determined to have saffron and blue on show as he led a delegation to promote business in the county.

Mayor, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) led the 150-strong Clare contingent in this year’s New York St Patrick’s Day Parade with more than two million people lining the streets and US broadcaster NBC beaming live images across the United States of the Clare contingent.

The TV station’s commentators spoke of Clare’s tourist attractions, including the Cliffs of Moher.

The New York visit also featured a number of one-to-one meetings with key business and tourism representatives aimed at showcasing County Clare’s attractiveness as an investment location. Over 120 key business leaders in the United States attended a networking event in New York aimed at showcasing Clare’s attractiveness as an investment location.

Organised by Clare County Council and hosted by the Consul General of Ireland in New York, the event was attended by senior representatives and CEO’s of leading American companies, including Novartis, Horizon Medical Group, Abbott, OCO Global, Jana Foods and Medicomp.

The financial sector was strongly represented with the managing director of Credit Suisse and a senior analyst with JP Morgan attending. Clay Constantinou, a US Ambassador during former President Bill Clinton’s second term of office, also attended the event.

Mayor Hayes said the event provided Clare County Council with a rare opportunity to make a presentation to some of the key business and tourism players in the United States.

“The evening allowed for one-toone interaction with representatives of leading companies in the US. Specially prepared promotional material on the airport, Shannon Estuary and the renewable energy sector were distributed. This material was prepared with the support and assistance of companies in the Shannon region.”

The Clare delegation also attended meetings with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, CIE Tours International and Tourism Ireland.

ONLY seven on-the-spot fines were issued to Clare anglers in 2011, despite reports of a major fish-poaching problem developing in the county.

According to new statistics obtained from Inland Fisheries Ireland, a total of 3,342 man-hours of river and lake searches were conducted by the organisation last year.

These searches resulted in just seven fines, meaning that each fine took, on average, 477 hours of searching to be identified.

This is despite reports of an increase of poaching taking place on some of Clare’s salmon and trout rivers. According to Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, West Clare has become a hot-spot for poaching during the summer months and the organisation has to draft in enforcement staff from other areas to combat the problem.

Anecdotal reports suggest that illegal angling is taking place on five Clare rivers which has been closed to legal fishing since 2007, to allow stocks of fish to recover.

Conservation measures were introduced on the Inagh, Annageeragh, Doonbeg, Aughyvacheen and Skivileen Rivers in 2007, following historically low stock levels in previous years.

Indeed, in the six years between 2001 and 2007, only 78 fish of 40cm or larger were caught on the rivers – or just more than 2.5 fish per river, per year.

“Protection of salmon and sea trout in West Clare has always, and continues to be, a major focus for staff in the lower Shannon area of Inland Fisheries Ireland and, while staff do encounter larger-scale episodes of illegal fishing, they do also come across individual anglers who are illegally fishing for salmon,” said Dr Byrne.

“During the summer months, staff work in teams and are frequently drafted from other areas to West Clare to assist officers with surveillance work, both on the Clare coastline for illegal drift net fishing, and inshore for illegal salmon fishing.”

A CLARE man is among 20 people to have made a complaint or query to the Data Protection Commission- er over requests on the household charge’s website for additional personal information. James Fahy, who paid the € 100 tax, wrote to the Department of the Environment saying he had no problem paying the tax, but objected to handing over his PPS number, telephone number and email address to an anonymous body that “does not even have an address”. The Household Charge Operations unit had told him they could not set up his account “due to insufficient information”, namely the lack of a PPS number. The household charge website asks for a PPS number and also for email and telephone numbers to provide annual reminders or “to notify property owners of potential liability for household charges”. While Mr Fahy had issues with providing personal information but was willing to pay the tax, more Clare people are refusing to make the € 100 payment before the March 31 deadline. A group based in West Clare took its campaign against the household charge to three of the county’s St Patrick’s Day parades at the weekend. The Enough Campaign’s West Clare branch manned “information desks” at the Kilkee and Kilrush parades on Saturday, while they handed out leaflets at Sunday’s Doonbeg parade. Karen McCormack of the group objecting to the household charge said the information desks were very busy. “The only negative response we got at the parade was from people thinking we were handing out information on how to pay the tax. Once these people realised we were objecting to the payment, they were fine,” she said. “This is a stealth tax and we know it is not paying for any local amenities, but to pay back bondholders. They (the Government) have already cut € 170 million for local government funds.”

CLAIMS by a nurse that she was verbally abused in Ennis Garda Station have been described as an “appalling attempt to muddy the waters” by a Judge. Judge Patrick Durcan was speaking at Ennis District Court on Wednesday as he disqualified mother of two Jane O’Leary (55) from driving for a period of four years.

O’Leary, formerly of 10 Main Street, Clarecastle, and now living in Cork, was charged with failing to provide two specimens of breath at Ennis Garda Station on August 2, 2010.

The court heard that on the day in question, the accused was arrested in the Kilrush Road area of Ennis on suspicion of drunk driving. Garda Val McCormack told the court that after stopping O’Leary’s car, he got a “very strong smell of alcohol from her breath”. He said, “She appeared to be very intoxicated and drunk”. Garda Shane O’Connell told the court that he operated the intoxalyser machine at Ennis Garda Station when O’Leary was conveyed there. He said that she twice failed to provide a breath specimen when asked to do so in the doctor’s room of the station.

Solicitor for O’Leary, Tara Godfrey, put it to Garda O’Connell that her client would say that he called her a “dirty c***” as she attempted to provide a breath specimen in the doctor’s room. This was instantly rejected by Garda O’Connell. He said, “I did not say that. I would never say something like that.” Judge Durcan said he was disregarding the accused’s allegation and accepting what Garda O’Connell said. He said, “It is totally not acceptable that this allegation is thrown out in criminal proceedings.”

The court heard that in the 18 months since the accused was arrested, no official complaint was made to any garda authority. O’Leary, a nurse and psychotherapist, told the court that she had been “really upset and anxious” at the time. She said she “felt under pressure” to provide the sample. “He was calling me names under his breath and that upset me greatly, she said. She told the court that when she left the room, she told another garda about the alleged incident. “He said he would put the complaint upstairs. I didn’t follow it up.”

Describing the allegation as “reprehensible”, Insp John Galvin said, “I feel this allegation was brought up to muddy the waters and to cast aspersions on the character of a guard.” Insp Galvin told the court there was “overwhelming evidence” heard that O’Leary failed to produce a breath specimen.

Judge Durcan said, “A most appalling and serious allegation was made in the privilege of this court.” He said he was satisfied that the accused was guilty. He continued, “I regard this as the most appalling attempt to muddy the waters and to bring into question the character of a garda.” Judge Durcan added, “I am totally satisfied that all gardaí conducted themselves properly in the matter of this case.”

Ms Godfrey said her client had gone through a difficult separation and her life had “fallen apart” at the time. She said O’Leary had not realised that she could make an official complaint.

Judge Durcan said this was not believable as O’Leary was a “highly trained and qualified person”. He said only for the accused’s personal circumstances, he would have imposed a fourmonth prison sentence. He disqualified her from driving for four years and imposed a fine of € 1,500. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

A GOVERNMENT TD has claimed that there is still hope for two Clare schools, which did not make the much-publicized five-year school building plan.

The Government was criticized for failing to include a new school for Sixmilebridge on its building plans.

Deputy Joe Carey (FG) said this week that the school would progress to final planning stages “in anticipa- tion of further funds being available to the Department of Education”, but for now the money for the school is not available.

“I welcome this clarification from the Minister and the job now is for us to continue to work with the school authorities and within Government to make a new school a reality. I have met with Minister Quinn to discuss Sixmilebridge National School and he has indicated to me today that he will meet with school authorities in the near future,” said Deputy Carey.

There is funding available for Quin National School to develop eight new classrooms as announced last November, according to the Fine Gael TD.

There was much concern locally last week when the school was not listed in the Government’s five-year plan.

Last November, the Department of Education and Skills informed school authorities of plans to provide eight additional classrooms at Quin National School in order to cater for current and future capacity needs of the school.

While the school was not part of the recently announced five-year school building plan, Deputy Carey said received assurances from the Department of Education that the school build will go ahead as planned.

“I have worked closely with Quin National School in recent years to ensure the school grows in line with the expected needs of the local area. I want to pay tribute to school principal Anne Fitzpatrick and the Board of Management for their tireless work on this issue,” he said.

“I can confirm that funding is secure for an additional eight classrooms, to allow Quin National School to develop into a 12-classroom school in accordance with the announcement of last November. A statement in response to my representations from the Minister for Education’s office confirms the project will be devolved and the technicalities of this are currently being worked through.”

A MAN alleged to have wasted Garda time in Ennis last summer has been returned for trial. Bernard Flaherty (37), with an address at 3 Lifford Lodge, Ennis, appeared at Ennis District Court last Wednesday.

It is alleged that on June 24, 2011, at Ennis Garda Station, Flaherty did knowingly make a false statement tending to show that he had information material to Garda enquiries and thereby causing the time of the Gardaí to be wastefully employed. It arose out of a three-week Garda search for a missing man in Ennis last June. The court previously heard that the person died of natural causes.

Sgt Catherine Houlihan told the court that she had served the book of evidence on Flaherty. Insp John Galvin said it was appropriate for this matter to be returned for trail to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Court. He said the State did not have any objection to bail. Judge Patrick Durcan remanded Flaherty on bail to appear at Ennis Circuit Court in May.