Month: June 2006

THE Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has done “nil” for Clare in the last number of years and only offers “lip service” to Clare County Council.

That’s the view of Fianna Fail councillor Peter Considine who launched a blistering attack on the IDA’s recent record in Clare where the Agency has created only seven jobs in new companies over the past five years.

At the Council’s Special Policy Committee on Economic Development on Monday, Cllr Considine said he didn’t believe what the IDA has to say anyone.

“They only pay lip service to the Council. Is there any evidence of what work they have done in Clare? No, there is not a thing.”

Cllr Nagle said that six IDA groups of foreign investors visited Clare in recent months and he hoped improved co-operation would result from the meeting between the IDA and the Council.

However, Cllr Considine said, “What has evolved from the contacts between the IDA and the Council? Nothing.”

He asked that any letter sent to the IDA by the SPC expressing concern over the IDA’s record in Clare be copied to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Michael Martin.

“We wrote before as the IDA’s contribution was nil and, since we wrote that letter, their contribution has been nil.

“When was the last IDA job created in Clare?

“Clare is too close to the Borders Midland Western (BMW) and it is Government policy that 50 per cent of new foreign investment must go into that region.

“That is a political decision and that is why the letter should be copied to the Minister.

“We are very, very low in the pecking order and no one can persuade me that it is any different.”

Cllr Considine was supported by party colleague Cllr Bernard Hanrahan who said the west coast and Ennis in particular was being neglected by the IDA. Cllr Hanrahan said the IDA doesn’t give a damn about Clare.

However, Clare Mayor Patrick Keane (FF) said it wasn’t good to be negative. “The past is the past and we should go forward from today,” he said.

He said the Council should zone more land for industry to make Clare more attractive for investors.

Cllr Nagle also expressed concern over the “extremely negative” attitude at the meeting and said the SPC would write to the new regional IDA boss to express concern over the lack of inward investment into Clare.

CLARE County Council is not happy for biodegradable nappies to go into compost bins.

Instead Director of Services Ger Dollard said the council was encouraging parents and child minders to use “real” nappies that could be washed and reused.

He was responding to Councillor Brian Meaney, who claimed at yesterday’s council meeting that one baby produced as much as 2.5 tonnes of nappies in 30 months. With an estimated 2,000 babies of that age in Clare, the councillor claimed that as much as 5,000 tonnes of nappies could be entering the county’s landfill, over that period. That is more than 300 truckloads of nappies and would require 4.5 trees to produce. According to Cllr Meaney, it takes 200 to 500 years for a standard nappy to degrade.

Mr Dollard told the councillor that the council checked with Galway City Council, who operated a mixed green and food waste composting facility.

“The advice to the council is that biodegradable nappies are not considered suitable for this process,” he said.

The best biological treatment for biodegradable nappies is vermincomposting, according to the Director of Services. This is the break down of biowaste by earthworms.

“At domestic level, householders can make their own vermincomposters, one of the main requirements for which is a large surface area. The advantage of vermincomposting over conventional home composting is the shorter time needed to produce the finished compost, which is a major consideration when used nappies are being added very frequently. The company’s nappies contain some plastics, but these are also claimed to be biodegradable,” he added.

Biodegradable nappies, apart from any plastic parts, constitute biological waste, which the EU landfill directive requires to be diverted as much as possible form landfill. Currently, there are no central vermincomposting facilities in the Clare- Limerick-Kerry waste management region.

“When further biological treatment facilities are being considered for this region, this waste stream will have to be included in the consideration,” said Mr Dollard.

TIME was that Clare’s male GAA stars were happy to be sporting hairy, manly chests. But some noughties GAA men are every bit as willing to dare to bare as trend-setting premiership soccer names, if a Limerick company’s experience is anything to go by.

The Otto Clinic in Limerick’s Barrington’s Street is offering a painless treatment that removes unwanted hair and rejuvenates the skin in 20 minutes. It’s proving a big draw with the men and women of Clare, according to Ita Murphy, Otto Clinic manager.

She says men are becoming more body-conscious and their role models are bare-chested leading sports stars, like Munster rugby players and Premiership footballers.

“It used to be only women who came in for hair-removal treatments, but now one in four of our clients are men. They come to us from all over Munster looking for both body contouring and for hair removal treatments.

“We get a lot of men coming in to have their backs and chests done. I have two lads from Clare. They are in their early 20s and they play a lot of sport and they have their chests, and backs done.”

Murphy says she has GAA players among her clients for chest hair removal.

“I have one family who come to me as a group, the father, the mother and two daughters. I even give them a group rate.

“The father doesn’t want a hairy back and shoulders on the beach and the mother and daughters come for facial hair removal.”

The Otto Clinic is associated with the Harley Clinic in London.

They have also launched a new non-surgical method of skin-tightening, called Radiofrequency.

The treatment uses heat and cold to contract collagen beneath the skin’s surface and to tighten the outer-layer of the skin.

PEOPLE have been urged to exercise caution in Clare resorts during the summer, in the wake of six drownings nationwide last week.

Clare County Council’s Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin is warning people travelling to the county’s beaches to exercise caution. There will be full-time lifeguard cover on Clare’s top 12 beaches, throughout July and August.

“Fanore, Lahinch, Spanish Point and Kilkee are four of the biggest beaches in the country and huge numbers of people go there every week,” said Mr Griffin.

He is warning people not to swim in unguarded locations, as these are the areas which present the most risks.

“I am getting calls that people are jumping into lakes all over the county and that is very dangerous. Make sure you don’t swim after eating and never go into water when you have alcohol consumed,” he warned.

He said people who bring children to the beach must ensure they are prepared to look out for their safety also.

“An average of 170 people drown in Ireland each year. When you compare that to the number of people who die on the roads, it is an unacceptably high figure, given that less people use the water than use the roads,” said Mr Griffin.

“There have been no drownings at any guarded beaches in Clare, so far as I can remember,” he said.

Weekend lifeguard cover is provided at the four main beaches in the county until the end of June, and this will convert into full-time cover at all beaches in July and August, where a team of 24 lifeguards will be on duty between 11am and 7pm.

“All of our lifeguards have qualifications. We feel that the beaches we have are big beaches, with huge volumes of people and we want the highest standards possible,” he said.

Clare’s beaches will attract thousands of surfers throughout the summer and Mr Griffin is advising surfers not to go beyond their depths.

He is also advising people of the dangers of swimming with dolphins, after a German tourist sustained serious injuries, after colliding with a dolphin, off White Strand beach, Miltown Malbay, last year.

“My worry is there is going to be a fatality if people don’t stop swimming with the dolphin.

“By their nature, they need deep water. You are in deep water if you swim with the dolphin,” he said.

A COURT has heard how the “bizarre and intimidating” behaviour of a man led to concern amongst his neighbours in Meelick.

The claims were made by a solicitor representing a man accused of a public order offence, arising out of an incident in the early hours of January 8 last.

Patrick Fitzgerald (50), of Kyleavogher, Meelick, was charged after an incident with his neighbour, Joseph Touchstone.

Mr Touchstone, a member of the army, said he saw the accused “kicking the hell” out of his front gate before 2am.

“He said he was going to run me out of the area. He said to me that I was a sick f*****. He offered me to come down and fight with him,” added Mr Touchstone. Patrick Fitzgerald denied this.

Mr Fitzgerald’s solicitor Daragh Hassett said the accused’s sister used to live beside Mr Touchstone, but sold her house because he made her life a misery.

“You are renowned in the area as a night owl, who doesn’t have curtains in the house, standing in the window late at night, staring out at people on the street. Do you accept that?” asked Mr Hassett.

“I do, with good reason,” replied Mr Touchstone, who also agreed that he played loud music late at night.

Referring to the incident, the solicitor said his client was walking home, when Mr Touchstone stared at him in a “menacing fashion” and started taking photographs of him.

Mr Touchstone denied this but admitted that he “occasionally” videotaped people on the street. He said the reason his light was on at 2am was “to see who might be trying to get me or get to my house. At one stage, I have had a brick thrown through my window.”

Mr Hassett said the witness’ behaviour was “bizarre, unusual and quite intimidating of young people” and that he stared at young girls on the street, calling them “slappers.”

Mr Touchstone said he used that expression on one occasion in the past and it has been held against him since.

Mr Hassett said concerns about Mr Touchstone’s behaviour prompted a special residents meeting to be held.

Garda Eugene Long said Mr Touchstone was hassled by children in the area, due to his “eccentric behaviour.”

Mr Hassett said his client’s behaviour was far short of what would constitute the charge he was facing.

Judge Joseph Mangan said he found the offence proven and adjourned the case for a year.

FOR 180 years, the McNamaras have been looking after the health of the people of Corofin.

This weekend marked the end of an era, with the retirement of the fourth generation of the family of GPs.

Dr Maccon MacNamara celebrated his retirement with his wife Finola, family, many friends and patients after dedicating 40 years of his life to the welfare of the North Clare village.

The towering, softly spoken doctor took over the Corofin practice from his father Donough, who was preceded by his father George.

The dynasty of doctors in Corofin began with Dr Maccon’s great grandfather Michael in 1826, with every generation there after providing a GP.

Dr Maccon joined the practice in 1966, having graduated from the University College in Galway in 1960. The popular GP had previously attended Corofin National School and later Castleknock College in Dublin, before studying medicine.

“I never considered anything else,” he said.

From a family of four, Maccon’s late eldest brother also chose a career in the medical field.

Maccon’s own six children have decided to carve out careers in other professions, but this is a fact the retiring GP is content about.

For 37 of his 40 years in the Corofin practice, Dr MacNamara ran the practice single-handedly.

“On the upside, patients had 24 hour access to you, 365 days a year,” he told The Clare People .

However, the GP admitted that the long and unpredictable hours meant family and social life could be quite restricted.

When Dr Maccon began practicing in the 1960s, the two surgeries in his dispensary area were primitive. Telecommunications and transport were not as advanced.

“The postman would come and tell you someone was out of medicine, or needed to see you,” explained Dr Maccon.

With the introduction of the public health nurse, a lot of pressure was taken off the local GP.

Three years ago, Dr Maccon purchased the medical centre in Corofin, and has since been joined by a new team of medical experts he describes as “a first division team”.

The doctor is full of praise for his practice nurse, Mary O’Brien, fellow GP Dr Fergus Glynn and secretary Geraldine Cahill.

The retiring GP will stay on in the practice in an advisory capacity.

“I can’t speak highly enough of the patients,” he said.

He is also proud of the camaraderie between the GPs in the county.

HOUSES in the Ballinruan area were left without running water for three days last week as temperatures soared.

Three homes in the experienced shortages due to areas in water pressure. Engineering officers from Clare County Council remedied the problem on Friday and running water has since been restored to the area. The three houses receive their water from a separate reservoir from to the one which supplies the Crusheen. The problem was eventually solved when engineers directed water from the Crusheen reservoir to the affected houses.

One local resident expressed anger at the length of time it took for the water to be switched back on.

“They were the three hottest days of the year, it was an awful time to be without water. We had no water from Tuesday to Friday.

“We were facing into the weekend without water. We were getting worried. I had to get water from my friends just to wash the dishes and fill the toilet. Luckily none of us had children.”

The person added that the same houses had experienced problems with water supply at Christmas.

Senior Executive Engineer with the Water Services, Walter Walsh, said that the line had experienced problems but that a running tap had exacerbated the problem.

“The area office didn’t know about the problem until late on Tuesday, so it was Wednesday before anyone could get out. The engineering staff thought they had the system in place on Thursday night, but an outdoor tap had been left running and that caused an extra nuisance. The tap added an extra drain on the water going down to them”

Other areas to be affected by water shortages were Shannon and Tulla. On Friday, households in Tulla experienced low pressure and were advised to conserve water supplies. The warm weather and dry conditions forced the council to switch off the water from 12am – 8am. The council

had also advised similar precaution ary measures in Shannon and its surrounding environs.

Mr Walsh said that households would have to limit water use in the event of further dry spells.

“The general picture now is reasonable. But we would advise people not to water their gardens or wash their walls, and especially not to use power washers and to avoid other misuses of the product. There was a response in the Shannon area to our advice.”

MORE than six and a half thousand concerned parents from Clare have signed a petition calling for an end to overcrowded classrooms in schools throughout the county.

There are more than 3,500 primary pupils in Clare still in classes of between 30 and 34 pupils with a further 2,700 pupils in classes of 29 pupils.

Secretary of the West Clare Branch INTO, Sean McMahon, who is also a member of the union’s Principal’s and Deputy Principal’s Committee, warned that the issue was not just an urban problem, but also an issue for all areas of the county.

“This is totally unacceptable to both parents and teachers and the petition shows the huge level of frustration experienced by parents on the issue,” he said.

“It is unbelievable that such figures could exist at the beginning of the 21st century. The four-year-olds who were in primary schools when the promise was made in the Programme for Government to reduce class size are now finishing second class. Will they have left primary school before any significant action is taken to ensure that they are no longer in large classes?” he asked.

INTO Central Executive Committee member for Clare, Declan Kelleher, said that the intention was to ask “our TDs and Senators to carry a clear message to the Minister for Education and to the Government generally, on primary class size. It is no longer acceptable to have primary school children in crowded classrooms. Children get one chance and one chance only at their education.

“They deserve a fair chance and shouldn’t be in the second highest class sizes in the entire European Union.

“The Government gave clear commitments to reduce primary class sizes in their Programme for Government but have failed to deliver on their promises. The slight adjustment made by the Minister to next year’s staffing figures is of minor benefit to large schools only and totally fails the needs of small schools.”

Dick O’ Connell, Secretary of the Ennis Branch, stated that the newly revised primary curriculum was based on small classes and couldn’t be implemented unless class sizes were radically reduced in a way that gave a clear focus to the child as an individual.

OVERCROWDING at Ennis General Hospital, as well as lengthy waiting lists at the National Rehabilitation Unit, is causing unnecessary distress for Clare families.

That’s the view of Clare Fine Gael TD Pat Breen (FG) who is lobbying for a Sixmilebridge mother-of-four who has just suffered a stroke to remain at Ennis General Hospital until a place becomes available at the National Rehabilitation Unit.

A sister of the woman said that moves by the Ennis hospital authorities to have her removed and cared for elsewhere had only added to her family’s distress.

Deputy Breen said the case highlighted the continuing overcrowding at Ennis General and the very long waiting lists at the National Rehabilitation Unit in Dun Laoighoire.

The 45-year-old mother was recently diagnosed with an aneurism of the brain and after surgery at Cork University Hospital, suffered a seizure and then a stroke.

In the last week of May, the woman was returned to Ennis Hospital to await a vacancy in the rehabilitation unit where there is currently a fourmonth waiting list.

The woman is now paralyzed down her right-hand side, is confused most of the time and has severe speech impairment.

Her sister told The Clare People, “She is a lone parent of 15 years and has six children from 27 to 15 and has no income whatsoever.

“She reared her family on her own and has always been an outstanding person.

“Her employer does not pay ‘sick pay’.

“There is no alternative but that she be cared for at Ennis General until a place in Dublin becomes available. Ennis General would prefer that she be transferred to a nursing home, where the family would be expected to pay the bill, but we are not in a position to do so.

“This case only serves to highlight the dire straits that our health service is in.

“The care for my sister from frontline staff has been second to none.

“However, the attitude of management has been very unhelpful and, only for the intervention of Pat Breen and Cllr John Crowe, I don’t know how we would have coped.”

Deputy Breen said that the Health Service Executive (HSE) is avoiding answering questions in cases like this, on the grounds that they cannot directly answer queries due to patient confidentiality.

“The bottom line is that there are not enough beds at Ennis General, adding to untold distress for families.”

THE VILLAGES of Flagmount and Scariff were in shock yesterday after a popular local man was found dead in the River Graney.

Local people joined gardaí from Scariff in a search of the river after the Flagmount man failed to return home from a fishing trip on Sunday night.

His body was located in shallow water near Caher this morning. Emergency search and rescue services were put on alert when the fisherman was reported missing but they were stood down after he was found.

He has been named locally as 56 year old Johnny Leonard, a father of four grown up children from Knockbeha in Flagmount.

A driver for the forestry service, he was married to Margaret and one of a large family. His brother, Michael Leonard, is a priest working with emigrants in Chicago. Other family members living abroad were being informed of the tragedy last night.

A post-mortem examination will be carried out today at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, but gardaí said they did not suspect any foul play.