Month: April 2006

THE Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, has publicly apologised for the delay in improving classroom conditions at three Ennis primary schools.

Conditions at Ennis National School, Scoil Chríost Rí and Ennis CBS have been criticised for a number of years, for overcrowding and a chronic lack of suitable facilities.

Speaking at a Confirmation Mass at Ennis Cathedral on Saturday, Dr Walsh said teachers were working in school buildings that were “not appropriate for these times.”

Both Ennis National and Scoil Chríost Rí are to move to new buildings, while work is to be carried out on the existing CBS building on New Road, Ennis.

Ennis National School’s relocation to a site at Ashline, Ennis, is dependant on rezoning, while a site for Scoil Chríost Rí has been earmarked on the Lahinch Road, but has yet to be finalised.

He told The Clare People that he felt partly responsible for the delays.

“While some progress is being made towards providing new buildings, I expressed regret to the teachers, parents and pupils for any responsibility I may have had for the delay.

“I feel that I was responsible for some of that delay, partly because I made a commitment which I was unable to deliver on in relation to one site (near St Flannan’s College) a number of years ago,” he said.

“I accept as patron of the schools that part of my responsibility is to try to work towards having all school buildings up to a reasonable standard.

“I certainly have been most eager to have new schools. I am sensitive to the difficult conditions under which the teachers have to work,” said Dr Walsh.

“I would be hoping the site matters would be cleared up within the next couple of months,” he said.

He said the apology was made in the context of thanking the teachers for their good work.

“I felt it was appropriate for me to acknowledge the fact that I didn’t do as well as I should have done.”

Meanwhile, the rezoning issue central to Ennis National School’s relocation will come before both Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council next month.

A statement from the sub-committee of the Board of Management of Ennis National School issued to The Clare People said, “The Department of Education has been in contact with the Killaloe Diocesan Office, expressing their wish to progress the new building as soon as a site becomes available.”

BISHOP Willie Walsh said this week that people were in denial about child sex abuse being a society-wide issue.

“Blaming the church on the issue of child sex abuse is partly to avoid the fact that this is a serious societal issue,” said Dr Walsh, in an interview with The Clare People .

He said that he had argued previously that the issue of child sex abuse was a societal issue, “but nobody wants to hear that.”

“Society is very much in denial over the issue of sex abuse. I am wary about saying this, because it may be in some way be interpreted as a denial on my part. That is the difficulty saying this.

“It is an uncomfortable issue to face up to, as it is easy for someone to convince themselves that it is someone else’s problem.”

Dr Walsh said that “people are entitled to criticise the Church on the issue.”

He also responded to concerns raised recently by a senior Clare cleric, Canon Caimin O’Carroll, over the church guidelines requiring priests to step aside when an allegation was made against him.

“I believe that we need to listen to the fears expressed by priests while at the same time to ensure that children are not put at risk.

“It is an important issue between bishops and priests and I have discussed the issue with priests in the diocese.

“The issue of trust between bishops and priests is very important and I am prepared to listen to the views of priests.

“It is always necessary to strike a balance between the rights of natural justice both to the person that makes the allegation and the natural rights against whom the allegation is made.

“It is always important to find the right balance and ensure that children are not put at risk.”

Asked was the church striking the balance, Dr Walsh said, “I hope that that is the intention.”

Dr Walsh said that the priests were worried that, in other professions, there was a requirement to make the complaint in writing, which was not required if an allegation was made against a priest.

“All these issues can be resolved by sitting down with the priests and talking in an open and honest way and by reassuring them that they will be treated in a just fashion,” he said.

THE rate of burglaries in the Clare Garda Division increased last year, but there was a drop in the number of assaults, sexual offences and public order incidents, according to latest crime figures.

Statistics obtained from the Department of Justice show that overall, reported crime has dropped by 16 per cent in Clare since 2003.

Some, 530 headline offences were committed last year, compared with 1,651 in 2004. The figure for 2003 was 1,820.

Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn said the reduction over the past two years was “significant.”

“While you have reductions in crime over two years, 2003 was a bit of a high, with 1,820 offences,” he said.

“There have been across-the-board reductions in assaults and sexual offences. Certainly here in Ennis, the trend has been downwards in relation to public order,” he added.

“Burglary will always be a concern. We have had a number of incidents of arson and stabbings in Kilrush, which have largely been brought under control, as a result of operations in that area,” he said.

Approximately one-third of all headline crimes are detected in Clare every year, which is along the lines of the national average.

Clare TD James Breen (Ind) has expressed concerned at the increased availability of drugs in Clare.

He said a lack of hobbies for young people was at the root of the problem.

“The temptation to experiment is great. In Shannon, for instance, there is no cinema and no disco and Kilrush is the same way.

“If we are to address the problem, we have to put the facilities in place for young people.

“Young people have nothing, no pastimes.

“They are standing idly by corners with nothing to do,” he said.

He said ecstasy and cannabis resin were widely available and that young people as young as six, should be educated on the dangers of drugs.

“The gardaí are under-resourced. The sooner the Minister for Justice gives the extra resources to deal with drugs, the better,” he said.

CLARE women will have to wait until the end of 2007, before routine breast examinations are provided in the West. Seven years after the launch of the pilot programme in the east of the country, women in Clare will finally become part of Breastcheck.

Planning permission has been granted for a unit at the University Hospital, Galway, which will accommodate both the Breastcheck base for the West and the existing symptomatic breast disease service in UHG.

In addition to its base in Galway, Breastcheck will have three mobile screening vehicles covering counties Clare, Tipperary North, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. Almost 58,000 women in this region, aged between 50 to 64 years, will avail of this service on a two-year cycle.

Tendering is currently underway for construction, and according to Alan Moran, Hospital Network Manager, HSE West and Northwest, the project is on target to be completed by late 2007.

In the meantime, Breastcheck are recruiting the key staff, including radiographers and radiologists, to put the screening service for the West in place, and interviews for the post of clinical director in Galway have already been held.

Breastcheck screening commenced on a phased basis in 2000 and now covers the East, North East, South East and Midlands.

In March 2005, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney, gave Breastcheck the go-ahead for a €25 million programme to extend breast screening to the rest of the country.

Mr Moran expects a 70 per cent up take in Clare, with more rural than urban women taking part in the screening.

Approximately five per cent of the women screened will require further assessment, and approximately one per cent will require surgery.

At last Tuesday’s meeting of the regional Health Forum West, Galway County Councillor Fidelma Healy Eames (FG) warned that some women in Galway, Clare and North Tipperary would die while waiting for the programme to be rolled out.

She asked what were the options for women in the West in the interim.

The forum was told that systematic breast screening took place where there was concern about a woman’s health, and until 2007 this was the only option open to women in Clare and throughout the West of Ireland.

Mr Moran admitted however that there was a waiting time for mammograms for those referred by a doctor, and this issue needed to be addressed by the HSE.

VETERAN politician, Senator Brendan Daly and Clare County Counillor, Pat Hayes, are reassessing their political future, after they missed out on selection at last night’s party selection convention for next year’s general election.

Senator Timmy Dooley, who topped the poll, was elected on the first count, at the convention in the West County Hotel, Ennis.

Minister of State, Tony Killeen, had to wait until the third count, before he was elected to join Senator Dooley, on the Fianna Fáil ticket.

Following the convention, Senator Daly said the convention “made a decision and I will take it into account before making any further decisions.”

Councillor Hayes said he would be back and would support the Fianna Fáil team.

Earlier, chairman of the Clare Comhairle Dáil Cheantar, Denis Hayes, opened the selection process by making reference to a direction from headquarters, last week, that the convention select two candidates, one less than expected.

He appealed to the members to use their Comhairle Cheantar and Cumman to air any grievances and not to go “running to the media”.

The directive had set rumours in train that a third name was to be added by party chiefs in Dublin, much to the annoyance of some within the party in Clare.

Concerns were also expressed that the convention would follow the fate of the Galway West convention, overseen by Clare Minister for State, Tony Killeen. That convention was suspended when Galway delegates refused to follow headquarters’ directions.

But Clare was to handle its affairs differently according to Mr Hayes.

“The last few days have been traumatic and people have been understandably upset, including myself,” he said.

He admitted that “things could have been handled better”, but told the delegates that they were “going to handle things with dignity and decorum”.

After the four candidates agreed to the term of the convention, the four candidates, Senator Brendan Daly, Senator Timmy Dooley, Councillor Pat Hayes and Minister for State, Tony Killeen, were asked to leave the conference room, while their political futures were voted upon.

Visibly under pressure, the four left the podium and the room, knowing just two of them were going to be successful. Seconds before the election, seasoned delegates were still unable to call the result, adding to the tension.Delegates called by name to vote by secret ballot, did so without protest, debate or “running to the media”.

THE failure of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to create any new jobs in Clare or the midwest in 2005 was yesterday branded a disgrace.

Fine Gael deputy, Michael Noonan, said the IDA were doing “very badly in the Mid-West,” in terms of creating jobs.

The agency provided no grants for new jobs last year in Clare and the mid-west and only 25 the previous year.

There were 23 visits by potential overseas investors organised by the IDA to Clare and the Mid-west. In all, since 2002, there had been 97 visits.

Shannon Development organised 84 visits by potential investors to the Shannon Free Zone since 2002 with 22 visits last year.

The figures were revealed in the course of a Dáil reply by Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister, Micheal Martin, to a question tabled by Deputy Noonan.

Minister Martin said that the number of potential expansion jobs approved for assistance was 254 in existing companies last year and 332 the previous year.

“From 2002 to 2005 a total of 15 projects were approved for assistance by IDA Ireland in the Midwest. These projects had the potential to create over 1,900 jobs in both new and expanding enterprises.

“Also, in the period 2002 to 2005, a total of 1,950 jobs were created in IDA supported companies in the region,” he said.

However, Deputy Noonan said yesterday that the mid-west was not getting its fair share.

“The main economic Ministries are elsewhere and that is where a lot of the jobs are going,” he said.

“There needs to be more attention on the Midwest. To have created no new jobs last year and only 25 new jobs in 2004 is disgraceful.”

Deputy Noonan also claimed that the number of site visits by potential investors to Clare and the mid-west was “a problem.”

“Two site visits to date this year is very meagre. Inward investment has dried up in the mid-west and this should be acknowledged and it must become a political issue”.

Deputy Noonan said that the continuing uncertainty over Shannon Development was not helping the situation.

Last July, Minister Martin announced a new mandate for the company, but it has yet to be implemented due to union opposition.

“I thought it was a bad idea at the time, but in order to bring certainty to the situation, the new mandate should now be implemented,” said Mr Noonan.

FIVE months after being named the tidiest town in Ireland, Ennis was given the Presidential seal of approval on Saturday.

Flanked by the Ennis Brass Band and members of the Civil Defence, President Mary McAleese addressed the rain sodden crowd assembled outside the entrance of the Ennis Tourist Office.

She said they could feel justifiably proud of the massive community effort that had secured the town its fist ever Tidy Town’s crown.

Ennis scored 279 marks out of a possible 300 in the competition to take top prize last year, in addition to winning the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town.

“Only 32 towns can lay claim to the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Town since this competition was started way back almost 50 years ago in 1958, and now Ennis has joined this elite group.

“It is a huge achievement and a hard-earned one as anyone who ever competed in Tidy Towns will tell you.

“There are no short-cuts, no easy wins.

“Patience and persistence and a community effort worthy of a mobilised army are essential and Ennis has shown these qualities in abundance”.

President McAleese was welcomed on her arrival at the Ennis Tourist Office by a host of Clare’s political and community leaders, including Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind) and Donal Griffin, Chairman of Ennis Tidy Town’s Committee.

After meeting with councillors and senior staff of Ennis Town Council, Mrs McAleese unveiled a plaque at Place St Paul De Fenouilent museum plaza in Ennis to celebrate the Tidy Towns win.

Noel Crowley, treasurer of Ennis Tidy towns Committee said that the location of the President’s address held special historical significance to the town of Ennis.

“This was indeed an historic occasion for the people of Ennis and County Clare and was just a metres distance from the scenes and public meetings associated with both Daniel O’Connell and the 1828 election and de Valera and the 1917 elections.”

The man who masterminded Ennis’s triumph, Donal Griffin, praised the contributions of the town’s community organisations and businesses. Welcoming President McAleese, Mr Griffin reflected on the immense feeling of pride that engulfed the county in the wake of Ennis’s success.

“September was the culmination of 11 years’ work from many in the town and by many people and organisations.

“People who took responsibility for their environment and their town, people who wanted to make a difference and who took the first step to get involved.”