Month: March 2006

AN TAISCE has withdrawn its opposition to €1 million plans to transform the cottage of GAA founder Michael Cusack into a visitor attraction.

A spokeswoman for the Clare Association of An Taisce confirmed to The Clare People that An Taisce had now withdrawn its objection to the proposal after the developers made changes to the plan.

“We are happy that the plan is now more in keeping with the Burren and we have withdrawn our objection,” she said.

Last year, plans were lodged by Michael Cusack Development Co Ltd to develop an interpretative centre, including a multi-media interactive facility, a café, reception area and a resource room in the environs of the cottage.

However, An Taisce lodged a a strident objection against the plan.

“The locals have clearly shown that they do not want any obtrusive tourist development in the Burren Complex and the National Park and, as this lies in the middle of this unique landscape of the Burren, this would not be a welcome development”.

The National Trust pointed out that “no commercial development, including tourist development, is allowed under the zoning of this unique landscape, particularly land adjacent to the National Park and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) protected landscape.

Project leader, Martin O’Loghlen said that the promoters of the cottage were able to meet the concerns of An Taisce.

They are now racing to have the development in place for November of this year – the centenary of Michael Cusack’s death.

Carron man and chair of the Burren IFA, Michael Davoren said, “The people of Carron are 100 per cent behind the project.

“The design is not intrusive in any way and Michael Cusack is part of the heritage of Carron.”

Mr O’Loghlen said that the object of the plan was “to commemorate and celebrate a dynamic force in Irish society, create a unique and memorable participant experience for all and ensure a project that is distinct, sustainable and viable.”

Already, the bid to renovate the cottage has had a number of false starts over the years.

In 1976, Clare County Council adopted a motion to provide for the restoration of the Cusack homestead.

In association with the GAA and the Clare County Board, the council purchased the property for the purpose of commemorating the founder of the GAA in 1984.

A 17-YEAR-OLD youth who has been waiting several months to have a case against him heard in the District Court has opted to stay in jail for three weeks, rather than agree to strict bail terms.

The terms offered to the boy have led his solicitor to claim that Judge Joseph Mangan has attempted to limit “an individual’s behaviour under the guise the the Bail Act”.

The boy’s bail became an issue again last Wednesday after delays in other cases at Lisdoonvarna District Court meant the boy’s case was put back for another month. One prosecution took four hours.

The defendant’s solicitor and prosecuting Inspector Tom Kennedy agreed that the contested matter would take at least two and a half hours more.

They concurred that it would be too late in the day to begin the case last Wednesday.

When the youth reaappeared in court in Ennis earlier this month to have his case heard, the matter was further adjourned after other cases overran on the day.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded in custody at Kilrush District Court on February 13 after he appeared on charges of breaching bail conditions, which included a 10pm curfew.

He faces five charges in all including assault and breaches of the Public Order Act.

At that hearing in Kilrush, the youth’s solicitor expressed concern that the court was engaging in a policy of “regulating an individual’s behaviour under the guise of the Bail Act” by imposing strict curfews on defendants. Mr Pat Enright, of Lees Solicitors Listowel, told Judge Joseph Mangan “I fail to see the point of making such orders”.

Mr Enright said he had no doubt that the court was entitled to impose such conditions, but asked that it reflect on the effects of such conditions.

Last Wednesday, Mr Enright applied to the court to have his client released on bail and to have previous bail conditions relaxed.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said if the State was to consent to bail, it would be under the same terms as previously imposed.

After consulting with his client, Mr Enright informed the court that the teenager would not accept those terms and would prefer to remain in custody.

Judge Mangan remanded the accused in custody to appear again in court next month.

UNIONS have told the Polish subcontractor working on the €360 million retrofit at the power station in Moneypoint to consider hiring local workers.

General Secretary of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) Owen Wills said that ZRE Katowicz (Ireland) should consider employing locally to allay fears they were not playing fair.

Last week, the ESB uncovered alleged underpayments to 66 Polish workers working on the retrofit.

The TEEU said the welders and fitters who worked for the sub-contractor ZRE Katowice, received €5.20 per hour, just over a third of the agreed rate of €18.97 per hour.

While the company disputed the figures, it admitted during the week that limited underpayment had been discovered.

The pay irregularities were uncovered when the ESB carried out an internal audit of wages.

The ESB and TEEU have said they will now be keeping a close eye on the sub-contractor to ensure it carries out its commitments to back pay the employees, and continues to pay them the agreed wage.

A spokesperson for the ESB said the company would be re-auditing the payroll in Moneypoint again in the near future.

Meanwhile the union has said that with the continued expansion of the multi million euro retrofit, ZRE Katowice should be able to continue to employ Polish workers and local workers on the same wage.

According to the TEEU, there has been a tradition in West Clare to recruit suitably qualified local labour when refurbishment takes place at the power station.

The union also vowed to continue representing all Polish workers on the site fully.

A spokesperson for the ESB told The Clare People that the retrofit contract, like all contracts of its size, was required to be advertised in the EU journal and employees sought from across the EU.

Meanwhile, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Michéal Martin described last week’s revelation as “unacceptable”.

He said the underpayment of the Polish workers was a “straightforward breach of the law”.

The multi-million euro clean-up currently underway at Moneypoint is necessary to allow the station operate past 2008. The Environmental Protection Agency has set that deadline for the station to drastically cut its levels of pollution.

SAFE levels of smoke and grime in the air have been breached in Ennis eleven times in the last two months.

That’s according to the results of air quality testing which has been carried out by the mobile Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the town.

A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency agreed that the levels were “high by comparison to other similar sized towns” but the lack of a smoky fuel burning ban could account for this.

The EPA’s mobile unit has been carrying out testing in the town on a daily basis for the last eight weeks.

The testing is part of a national project and Ennis is the last of 20 towns visited over the last three years.

The mobile unit spends six months at a time in each town, testing for levels of gases and substances, including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, which is smoke, dust and other small particles suspended in the air.

A spokesman for the EPA said that so far, all tests for nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide in Ennis have come in way under the level which is considered safe.

The levels of smoke particles and other grime suspended in the air have been breached six times during the last month.

But the EPA spokesman said that this alone was not cause for alarm.

“The safety limits state that there can be 35 days in the year on which the limits can be exceeded.

“It is not believed to be a threat to health until there have been 35 days in excess of the safety levels.”

The fact that there have been so many in the first two months of the year does not mean that the town will be over the 35 instances limit for the year.

“This was a very cold period, so we would expect people to be lighting more fires and for there to be more smoke present.

“But if it was in excess on more than 35 days, then a decision would have to be taken on whether continuous monitoring is needed.

“The county council would have to decide what action to take” the spokesman said.

The issue of consistently high levels of dust and smoke in the air was raising concerns for public health and safety right across Europe, the spokesman said.

A SPOKESMAN for the Doolin residents group that opposed the taxdriven holiday homes for the area said that the battle “was in many ways the community fighting for its own survival”.

“If these applications had gone through, it would have resulted in 25 years development in one year. This would have represented overdevelopment and turned Doolin into a ghost town with empty homes all over”.

The spokesman conceded that the issue “divided the community to a certain extent, but we have to live as a community.”

He also criticised Clare County Council for breaching its own development plan to facilitate the development, by allowing the sewage treatment plant for the proposal to be built on unzoned land.

“The council should really abide by its own development plan and we shouldn’t have to rely on An Bord Pleanala to enforce the council’s own development plan.”

The spokesman said that it was a regret that the residents did not come together sooner to act, as a number of tax-driven holiday home developments were already granted or it was too late to object.

“A number of the holiday homes that did receive planning permission are selling for between the €350,000 and €450,000 and the total value of the homes would be €20 million.

“This wealth is being accumulated by people not from the area and the tax reliefs represents a massive loss to the Exchequer and still we can’t get the €4 million for a new pier at Doolin. The holiday homes are taxdriven and nothing to do with the market. The style of the houses was also not in keeping with the area.

“With the drawing up of the development plan, there was a great turnout in Doolin and the people’s views need to be listened to.”

The spokesman said that land in Doolin is now selling up for €1 million per acre.

A COMMUNITY-WIDE drive to prevent Doolin from being “overrun” by tax-driven holiday home developments has succeeded.

An Bord Pleanala has overturned a decision by Clare County Council and refused planning permission to Joe Garrihy, to develop 19 holiday homes and seven permanent homes at O’Connor’s Campsite in Doolin.

The application was the largest of the multiple applications for holiday homes, which formed part of a deluge of applications lodged with the council prior to the end of 2004, in order to take advantage of tax incentives.

In the face of community pressure last year, four separate developers withdrew their applications for 37 holiday homes and eight apartments.

Since then, local opposition has succeeded in preventing a hotel and eight other holiday homes from being developed. The only tax-driven application that remains “live”, are plans for eight holiday homes.

The Board inspector in the Garrihy case recommended that planning permission be granted on grounds including that the plan would not seriously injure the amenities of the area, or property in the vicinity.

However, the Board found that the proposal would be premature by reference to the existing deficiency in the provision of sewerage facilities in Doolin and the period within which the constraints involved might reasonably be expected to cease.

The Board also ruled that the layout of the proposal, due to its suburban style design and layout, and the proximity of dwellings numbered 11 to 18 to the River Aille, would fail to enhance the existing character and qualities of the settlement of Doolin.

It was stated that the plan would endanger the vegetation and structure of the riverbank and would seriously injure the amenities of the area.

The Board ruled that the plan, by reason of the inadequate provision of private open space for the permanent dwellings numbered would provide a substandard level of amenity for the future occupants.

It would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

“In deciding not to accept the Inspector’s recommendation to grant permission, the Board had fundamental concerns with the layout, which could not be overcome by condition.

Furthermore, the Board considered the location of the proposed temporary wastewater treatment system outside the settlement boundary of Doolin.

It was found not to be in accordance with the provisions of the current development plan for the area.

AN Bord Pleanála has overturned a decision by Clare County Council to prevent the further development of the residential retreat, the Boghill centre near Kilfenora.

The decision also offers the first clear evidence that the appeals board is implementing the “Government A 30-YEAR-OLD man who shouted at bouncers after being refused entry to a nightclub in Shannon has been ordered to stay away from alcohol.

Gerard Slattery, of Tradaree Court, Shannon, was charged with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour, on October 16, 2005.

Gda Michael Golden told Shannon District Court the accused was refused entry to the Shannon Knights, shortly after 1.30am.

“He was shouting at the bouncers. He was in a bit of a state of anger,” said the garda.

Defending solicitor, Tara Godfrey, said her client was extremely drunk and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the case and ordered that a probation report be carried out.

He ordered the accused to stay out of Shannon Town Centre between Sustainable Rural Guidelines On One-Off Housing” more generously than Clare County Council.

Last year, the council refused the Boghhill centre, planning permission to build two houses.

One of the homes refused was for centre manager, Sonja O’Brien, who had been living in a caravan since her home was destroyed by fire. 8pm and 7am, to abstain from alcohol and to sign on at Shannon Garda Station twice a week. A MAN has appeared in court, charged in connection with an incident in which a garda was knocked down, while directing traffic.

Garda Liam O’Haire was knocked down on the Gort Road in Ennis, as he directed traffic, at the scene of an accident.

He sustained serious injuries, including a broken wrist and hip and back injuries in the accident on October 20 last. He is still out on sick leave.

Gerald Kenny, of Girroga Heights, Gort Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to careless driving.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told the court that the accused was driving from the Gort Road, towards Ennis, when he struck the garda.

The council refused planning permission as it ruled that Ms O’Brien did not demonstrate that she was a local rural person, having a requirement to locate in the rural countryside, therefore materially contravening the objectives of the Clare County Development Plan.

In adjudicating on the decision, the Board Inspector upheld the views of He said like many motorists tended to do from time to time, the accused was watching the traffic accident and was not watching the road.

The accused’s solicitor said the night in question was bad and his client could not work full-time, due to a heart complaint. A fine of €300 was imposed. the council on the ‘locals-only’ rule and stated that the proposal would set an unwelcome precedent for similar development in the open countryside.

However, the Board of An Bord Pleanála overturned both the decision of the council and the council’s recommendation to grant planning for one of the homes, citing the Government’s “Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities.

The Boghill centre occupies 50 acres on poorly drained land north of Kilfenora. Facilities of the centre were expanded in 2003 with the development of a 120–seat hall, pottery workshop and two accommodation blocks.

THE chairman of Rural Resettlement Ireland has said Graham Webb, the former senior executive planner with Clare County Council, will be remembered in the West of the county for the unpopular zoning areas for development.

“I wish Graham Webb well in the future, but that said, in the experience of the people of Loop Head he was the figurehead representing the planning section of Clare County Council, who conducted public meetings where the total alien concept of zoning for the purpose of enforced villagisation of rural areas was rolled out.”

“In spite of being utterly rejected by the people culminating in a picket, which included local priests outside a council meeting, this enforced villagisation process was passed by council members to their eternal shame,” added the Kilbaha man.

During his five years in Clare, Mr Webb was the architect of Clare’s various Development Plans.

Speaking to The Clare People before he left his post, Mr Webb said, “All settlements are zoned which means we should be able to start making the arguments to have the infrastructure put in place to support growth in those settlements.”

The former senior planner felt, however, that the county council had been let down by the Department of the Environment and Local Government, as it did not provide the funding for infrasturutre to support such settlements.

Mr Connolly has argued against all zoning of lands for housing in the West.

“The West Clare Development Plan which excludes any housing developments outside of the zoned yellow areas, except in most restricted circumstances, to locals is a system of enforced “villagisaton” which will ensure the depopulation of the Loop Head area.

“It is totally at variance with the National Spatial Strategy and the Government policy of ensuring the survival and development of dispersed village communities. This applies especially in Clare areas such as Loop Head.”

Mr Connolly said that the Taoiseach had stated in the past that, “dispersed villages are as much a real village as any town of city.”

AFTER more than a decade of neglect and inaction, Clare County Council and other agencies have moved to rejuvenate the Burren in ambitious proposals lodged with Fáilte Ireland.

The €1.4m plan is a bid to significantly boost the Burren’s tourism potential and halt the environmental damage to the area.

The move arises from the absence of any visitor management plan for the area.

The council points out that the three reports published on the proper management of the Burren since proposals for a visitor centre at Mullaghmore in 1991, contained worthy suggestions and recommendations, “but unfortunately until recently very few actions have followed these recommendations.”

The document states that in the absence of any visitor management strategy, environmental damage has occurred through car parking and camping on fragile species-rich limestone grasslands.

Several favoured landscape viewing-points and major tourism routes have become traffic congested. Visitors constructing “mini-dolmens” have destroyed limestone pavement. Weathered limestone has been taken away for garden products. Graffiti has appeared on ancient monuments. Rare and endangered flora has been picked.

“From an economic and social viewpoint, the tourism industry of the Burren presents an unbalanced picture, with the majority of tourism infrastructure found along the western and northern coastline and less emphasis in the central and eastern areas.

“This leads to an unbalanced distribution of visitors and a resulting imbalance in the distribution of local economic benefit,” the document states.

Through the plan, the council, along with Shannon Development, Burrenbeo and others “is seeking to put in place an overall integrated management structure for the development of the local tourism product and the conservation of the environment in the Burren.”

It is intended to advance and integrate several existing community, nature conservation, archaeological and tourism initiatives that are operating in the Burren and combine these efforts with infrastructural improvements to be undertaken by the council.

The bodies involved will address the issue of carrying capacity at “honey-pot” destinations and address access issues with walking routes and monuments.

Council Director for Planning, Bernadette Kinsella, confirmed that the application to Fáilte Ireland for funding has the backing of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Heritage Council, the National Monuments Service of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Burren Centre in Kilfenora; north Clare councillors and Oireachtas members, Burren tourism service providers, farmers, local village communities and others.

The project will take three years to implement.

The developers of a €20 million plan to transform the Ennis skyline must go back to the drawing board if their plan is to receive the go-ahead.

Ennis Town Council has made a 10 page request for further information to applicants, Briarlane Developments Ltd.

Last December, the Galway-based company lodged plans with the council for a mixed use development on the banks of the River Fergus, which would connect to the town centre through the provision of a new pedestrian bridge at the Abbey St car park.

The new proposal – in common with a previous application by Briarlane turned down by An Bord Pleanala last July – seeks a sixstorey apartment block.

The building will be arranged around a central podium. The development also includes a plan to develop a 30-bedroom hotel, 58 apartments, eight commercial units and 238 carparking spaces along with one three-storey and one-two storey block.

However, consulting engineer, Paddy Coleman and Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) have expressed concerns over the project.

Now, the council has requested a raft of further information, though appears not to be opposed to the proposed development in principle, as it occupies zoned land adjacent to Ennis town centre.

The Town Council has told the developers that their plan “has the potential to negatively impact on the river ecology and wildlife in the surrounding area”.

In queries listed under ‘traffic’, the council states that visibility at all of the entrances – except one – are severely below the standard required from the National Roads Authority (NRA).

In relation to the impact that the developers have planned for the Harmony Row side of the development, the council says: “The proposal to build a three storey concrete structure on Harmony Row to replace the Protestant parochial single storey is not considered appropriate, owing to its height.

“The council also has serious reservations about the design of the proposed extension to the hotel where it faces Harmony Row as it is incongruous with the street-scape.

The council adds that the proposal to demolish a substantial part of the Abbey hostel, formerly the Club House, appears most inappropriate and will contravene policies pertaining to demolition of protected structures. Such an action would remove a significant portion of the historic fabric of the town.

A decision is expected to be made on the application later this year.