Month: February 2006

AN EAST CLARE man has hit out at claims by Clare County Council that a new electronic scanning system has speeded up the process of applying for planning permission.

The use of the new system has resulted in more than half of the planning applications received by the local authority in December being ruled invalid.

But the council has defended the system saying that it speeds up the process in the long run.

An angry Killaloe man, who has been trying to sell a site, told The Clare People that this had not been his experience.

“The people who want to buy my site applied for planning permission on it and were told 24 hours before the reply period expired that their application was invalid and they would have to start again. These people applied on December 14 and they were told on January 15 that there was a problem with the application and they would have to go back to the start. Even allowing for the holiday, that’s a whole month and just one day inside the period they had to have a site notice up. And that was just to tell them the applications wasn’t valid. If that’s speeding things up, I’d hate to see the council’s system on a go-slow”, the landowner said.

He asked not to be named so as not to identify the site in question, but added that he was “very frustrated not just because the site is being sold subject to planning permission, but also for the people who are trying to get a house built. I can’t see any reason for that kind of a delay.”

The planning office received 90 applications during the month of December . Of these 49 were ruled invalid.

Twenty five were deemed unacceptable due to mistakes in the newspaper advertisement, 14 site notices were inaccurate, 35 drawings were invalid, 18 had problems with maps and 17 other applications had miscellaneous problems.

December was the first month that all applications were scanned.

Previously, staff would phone the agent who applied on behalf of a client, to let them know if there were mistakes and this allowed the agent to resubmit a valid application.

But the scanning system automatically register applications and rejects as invalid any which have mistakes.

CLARE County Council have given up the fight for the land sought by Limerick City Council in the proposed boundary extension, just weeks before the issue is to be decided.

That is according to one Limerick city councillor who said the Clare local authority has been negligent in their responsibility for the south east of the county.

Limerick City Councillor John Ryan (Lab) told The Clare People that Clare County Council have given approval for planning permission for houses in the Corbally area with no consideration for infrastructure, schools, roads or child safety.

“It shows Clare County Council have given up the fight on this one,” he said.

“If they were interested in stopping an extension of boundary they would have invested in it (the area).”

Accusing the Clare council of having “no regard for people who are going to be living in that area”, he said that he had received numerous complaints from people about the state of the roads from outside Corbally, towards Clare.

Should the boundary be extended, the Limerick City councillor said that plans could be put in place to link the Dublin and Ennis roads, and therefore ease traffic through the city.

He said while Limerick has plans for such a link it would mean going through County Clare.

Members of Clare County Council remain defiant, however, that not an inch of Clare will be given over to Limerick City.

A decision on the Clare-Limerick boundary extension will be decided long before the first whistle is blown in this year’s Munster championship, and county jerseys bought for the coming season.

The Minister for the Environment and Local Government Dick Roche has promised to have a decision made within weeks on the controversial proposal to move the county line.

An application from Limerick City Council to extend its boundary into Clare and Limerick city is currently with the Minister. The Minister met with the Limerick Manager on Friday before meeting a deputation from Clare County Council.

“It is a matter of weeks before I issue the determination. I am going to make the determination. I am not going to play it safe politically and do the cute thing and kick it off to some commission. I don’t think that is the way to go,” he said.

“I understand fully the passion that people in this county have, as they do in other counties, about their place.”

A WORRYINGLY high number of women in the Mid West are still not availing of the Irish Cervical Screening Programme being piloted in the region.

According to the latest figures, almost 60 per cent of women did not respond to invitations offering free screening as part of the programme aimed at 25 to 60 year olds.

A total of 27 per cent of women had a smear taken some time during the six months following the issuing of the invitation letter. A further 13.6 per cent did not have a smear taken for a number of reasons, including reports of the woman having a hysterectomy, or having a smear prior to the letter being issued.

According to the figures 103,022 invitation letters and reminders were sent to 36,542 women in the Mid West including Clare from October 2000 to December 2004.

Of the 78,769 smears taken, the slides of 369 smears were either damaged or broken.

Some 83 per cent of smears were found to be normal, while around 10 per cent were inadequate and required repeating the test.

Two per cent were “abnormal” and required further examination of the patient.

The Government is now coming under pressure to roll out the pilot programme, which encourages young women to avail of free cervical screening at five-yearly intervals, to women in the rest of the country.

Cervical cancer affects the cells lining the neck of the womb and is most commonly found in the 40-60 age group, so the programme targets women aged 25 – 60 years.

The Health Service Executive Mid West Region is encouraging women to avail of the free test, which could save their lives.

Regular cervical screening can detect cell abnormalities, which if detected and treated early, can be prevented from developing into cancer.

A cervical smear is a screening test done to look for early changes in the cells of the cervix – neck of the womb, which if not found and treated could become cancer cells.

The earlier a change is found the easier it is to treat.

CLARE Fianna Fáil Senator Brendan Daly has confirmed he is one of a group of politicians who has changed hotels in Dublin, in the wake of revelations that the hotel he has stayed in for a number of years is at the centre of a major investigation.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) raided the well-known hotel last week, as part of an investigation into suspected paramilitary links to a €100 million property empire. It was one of 20 businesses and homes in Dublin and Meath searched by CAB last week.

At least two dozen politicians, including Defence Minister Willie O’Dea and Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Noel Treacy, were among the high-profile politicians who have stayed at this hotel during their midweek visits to Dublin.

Senator Daly has stayed at the hotel since he was elected to the Seanad in 2002. He checked out late last week and does not plan to return there, at least until after the CAB investigation is complete.

“I moved hotel when there was allegations made that the hotel was involved in moneylaundering. I was in the Council of Europe in Paris the week before last and I moved last week,” Senator Daly told The Clare People .

“A whole lot of others moved until the issue is clarified,” he said. “I won’t be going back there this week,” he said, adding that he was shocked to hear the hotel had been searched.

He stressed however that he made the decision on a personal basis and not on advice from party headquarters.

“Nobody from the party contacted me and said ‘You are in a place being investigated for money laundering.’ Word went around the hotel among the guests,” he pointed out.

Senator Daly previously stayed at this hotel in the 1980s and in between times had stayed at a variety of other hotels and guesthouses during his weekly visits to the capital.

“I have stayed there ten years or more, off and on, over the years,” he said.

He said his decision to move hotel is a “disaster from the point of view of convenience”, as he is moving to a hotel which is further away from Leinster House, where the Seanad sits.

He said while the news was difficult for staff, he didn’t “believe personally that CAB could take away all the records, unless they could justify it.”

THE Clare People has learned that a dying West Clare woman spent some of her last hours on a borrowed bed in the male medical ward at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Ennis.

The distraught woman’s family said the 90-year-old broke her hip early on Wednesday, January 18, and was taken from her home to the Ennis hospital by ambulance.

On arrival, they were told that there was no beds available in Limerick for the woman.

Her son-in-law, hospital activist, Peadar McNamara, said he was told that there were 36 people waiting for a bed at the Mid Western Regional hospital Limerick.

His mother-in-law was then put on a bed borrowed from St Joseph’s Elderly Care hospital. This bed was placed under the sink in the male medical ward, according to Mr McNamara, the chairman of the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee.

On Thursday morning at 8 0’clock, she was removed to the Regional hospital in Limerick, where 12 hours later a bed was found. She died in the early hours of Friday morning.

“While I am outraged on a personal level, I am equally outraged as a citizen of this state. How many more Clare people have gone through this and continue to go through it?,” asked Mr McNamara.

He praised the work of the medical and nursing staff who cared for his late mother-in-law. He said the problems were at a more senior level and with provisions.

Meanwhile, the hospital committee chairman claimed that the unavailability of a cat scan in the hospital made the future of 24 hour emergency services there more tentative.

Mr McNamara said he was aware of a private company willing to provide and man the scan, on site in the hospital, at a cost of €250,000 per annum. This would ensure that the 820 Clare patients going to Limerick for a scan could be treated in Ennis.

SHANNON Airport management are set to adopt an aggressive marketing approach in order minimise the adverse effects on to Mid West region of a potential 35 per cent loss in transatlantic traffic as a result of the Open Skies agreement.

Roisin Kelly, Marketing Executive for the Shannon Airport Authority revealed that the authority expected to lose 35 per cent of transatlantic traffic in light of the Open Skies agreement brokered between the European Union and the United States. It will see the Shannon stopover permanentley ended by April 2008. The first phase of this agreement is due to be phased in later this year.

“These figures are based on our traffic assumptions if nothing happens but we are working hard to reduce any potential loss,” she told a Shannon Development tourism briefing.

“There will be fallout but it is hard at this exact moment to determine the level of it,” said Ms Kelly yesterday.

“Shannon is already firmly established as a gateway to the west. There is real potential in attracting young backpackers from the US to stay in the Mid West before travelling on to Europe” she added

Shannon Airport is also pursuing a number of other specific tourism initiatives including joint initiatives with other European airports, developing new markets such as short term breaks and sports tourism, publishing new promotional literature and greater promotion through the airports website.

The move is part of an overall strategy that is to be implemented in the Mid West Region, designed to increase visitor numbers in the region.

Shannon Development has set a target of increasing tourism growth to the region by 5 per cent over the next year.

John King, Director of Heritage and Tourism at Shannon Development, said the strategy was designed to ensure a more evenly balanced spread of tourism revenue throughout the entire Mid West region.

Mr. King was also speaking at the Shannon Development tourism briefing.

“Increased traffic through Shannon International Airport with the introduction of new services from the UK and Europe operated by Ryanair, from Boston by American Airlines, and in more recent times from Warsaw, all had a positive impact on the Shannon Region tourism industry during 2005.

“For the first time ever, Shannon International Airport recorded 3.3 million visitors, and the Ryanair announcement of four new routes from its Shannon base to Manchester, Wroclaw, Rome and Murcia, will continue to impact positively during 2006,” he said.

THE Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has revealed that Shannon Development is to sell a prime 13-acre site in the centre of Shannon town, to allow Enterprise Ireland set up its new Shannon HQ.

However, in a Dáil response, Minister Michael Martin was unable to give a timescale for the decentralisation of 300 Enterprise Ireland jobs to Shannon.

Minister Martin revealed that so far, only 19 existing employees at Enterprise Ireland had indicated their willingness to transfer to Shannon, while an additional 33 public servants had also expressed an interest to move there, giving a total of 52.

“The most immediate implementation step for Enterprise Ireland is to provide for a new headquarters building designed to meet the business needs of the organisation.

“Enterprise Ireland, working closely with the Office of Public Works, OPW, has identified but not yet acquired a preferred site from the submissions received by the OPW in relation to the Shannon location.

“The preferred site is a 13-acre site owned by Shannon Development. In addition, and in cooperation with Shannon Development and OPW, the site was valued and a feasibility study carried out. The site occupies a prime position near the centre of Shannon and is considered suitable for a major landmark building or civic structure.

“It is too early to comment definitively on a timescale, or on the cost of the transfer of Enterprise Ireland’s headquarters to Shannon. The factors of significance in this regard, will be the acquisition of property and the level of interest in the Shannon location expressed by CAF applicants.

“My Department is corresponding with the Department of Finance regarding the acquisition of the preferred site.

In relation to the decentralisation of a section from the Revenue Commissioners to Kilrush, the Minister said that scheme was over-subscribed by 32 with 83 expressing an interest for 50 jobs. Minister Martin said that negotiations were continuing with a property owner to lease a building.

However, little or no progress appears to have been made in relation to the relocation of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to Shannon where 100 jobs are set to be decentralised. Only 16 people have expressed an interest.

CLARE’s “globetrotting” Oireachtas members ran up an expense bill of almost €300,000 in 2005, records released to The Clare People reveal.

Independent TD, James Breen, almost doubled his Dáil salary, receiving €75,121 in expenses, the highest amount received by any Clare Oireachtas member.

He was closely followed by Fine Gael’s Pat Breen, who received €73,054. Senator Brendan Daly (FF) received €56,259 and Senator Timmy Dooley (FF) received €44,088.

The records, released under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Junior Ministers, Tony Killeen and Sile de Valera, received €18,251 and €17,776 respectively. Their figures are lower as their expense funds are drawn from direct Government department funds.

It cost the taxpayer €2,369 to send James Breen on a week-long trip to Tokyo last May, where he was one of a number of TDs to accompany the President, Mary McAleese.

However, Clare’s most frequent flyer was Brendan Daly, who ran up travel bills of €9,965 through his membership of the Council of Europe.

Senator Daly’s travels took him on 10 separate trips to Bucharest, five to Strasbourg, and twice each to Geneva, Iceland, and Paris. The most expensive trip was a three day trip to Iceland last September, which cost €1,575.

“Ireland is one of the founder members of the Council of Europe and it is very important that Ireland is represented as the Council of Europe does very important work and its work on rendition has received a lot of publicity recently,” said Senator Daly.

“However, much of its other work does not receive much attention.”

At one time, Senator Daly led the Irish delegation to the Council of Europe.

Senator Daly confirmed that he stepped down as a Council of Europe representative on January 1. This is expected to result in a drop in Senator Daly’s expense bill this year.

Fine Gael’s Pat Breen ran up a travel expense bill of €8,409 on Council of Europe business. Deputy Breen’s seven separate trips took him to Strasbourg, Baku, Turkey, Paris and St Petersburg.

Deputy Breen’s most expensive trip was to St Petersburg for four days last April, which cost the taxpayer €1,620. A separate four day trip to Turkey last May cost the taxpayer €1,531.

The expenses records relating to Senator Timmy Dooley show that he went on no overseas trips paid by the taxpayer in 2005.