Month: July 2006

ENTERPRISE Ireland staff are not falling over themselves to apply for decentralised positions in Shannon.

One year after it was announced that the State body would move to the mid-west, not one staff member has physically arrived and just 52 Government employees have applied for the 292 posts that need to be filled.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance, which is in charge of decentralisation applications, confirmed that 52 Government employees have nominated Shannon and Enterprise Ireland as their first choice destination under the decentralisation programme.

Of that 52, just 19 are existing Enterprise Ireland staff with the remaining applications coming from other Government Departments.

“ It is too early to comment definitively on a timescale for the transfer of Enterprise Ireland’s headquarters to Shannon.

“The timing of the major move of Enterprise Ireland staff to Shannon Town is dependent on having sufficient, suitably qualified and experienced people opting to transfer to Shannon, within the terms of the Government decision to undertake the work of the areas scheduled for location in Shannon,” the spokesman said.

He added that the State body, working closely with the Office of Public Works (OPW), “had identified but not yet acquired a preferred site in Shannon. The site occupies a prime position near the centre of Shannon and is considered suitable for a major landmark building or civic structure related to the town centre.”

CLARE women seeking mammograms will have to travel to Dublin for the foreseeable future, because offers to conduct the procedure at the Galway Clinic and Barrington’s Hospital in Limerick were turned down by BreastCheck Ireland last week.

Dr James Sheehan, founder of the Blackrock and Galway Clinics, has been attempting to instigate the screening procedure at the Galway hospital for the last two years. But his repeated attempts have been rejected by BreastCheck Ireland and the Department of Health.

This is believed to be the final attempt that the Galway Clinic will make to instigate the procedure before the planned roll-out of the facility by BreastCheck next year.

“We confirm that a number of different offers were proposed by the Galway Clinic. One of them includes the provision of breast screening facilities,” said a spokesperson from BreastCheck Ireland.

“The National Breast Screening Board considered the terms of the offer and concluded that it did not satisfy its quality assurance criteria. On this basis it will not proceed. We have no further comment to make on this matter.”

Plans were announced last year for two new BreastCheck facilities to be located at the Victoria University Hospital in Cork and University College Hospital in Galway (UCHG).

It is planned that the Galway facility will have two mobile screening units enabling it to offer tests to the estimated 60,000 women at risk in Clare, Sligo, Roscommon, Donegal, Mayo, Leitrim and parts of Tipperary.

It is projected that these new mammogram services would end the waiting list for screening in the west. However, they are not projected to be up and running until 2007 at the earliest. At present, Clare women have to wait for an average of nine months in order to obtain the mammogram service, with some women reported to be waiting in excess of two years. The service is readily available in Dublin and its surroundings. Mr Sheehan had proposed that the Galway Clinic would “fill the gap” until such a time as the service was up and running in the west.

The situation for the thousands of Clare women at risk from breast cancer was compounded last week with the announcement that Barrington’s Hospital in Limerick was also turned down by BreastCheck Ireland.

THE Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis was this week celebrating a huge turnaround in its hygiene standards, following the publication of the second National Hygiene Audit.

The hospital, which last year was rated as poor when it came to hygiene and cleanliness, was this year marked as good.

The report, published by the National Hospitals Office, recorded an increase of 21 per cent from 68 per cent to 89 per cent.

There was however one black spot on the county hospital’s impressive report.

The out-patients “ward/departmental kitchens” area received a poor reading at just 50 per cent of the set hygiene standard.

The required standard, as set out by the audit, asks that the kitchens be maintained to “reduce the risk of cross infection in accordance with legislation”.

Hand hygiene in the medical ward was also deemed poor by the report. While hand hygiene in the accident and emergency department was described as fair it was much improved from last year.

In 2005, the department had one of the poorest hygiene reports in the country and the worst in the Mid West Region at 32 per cent. It has jumped to 77 per cent in the last 12 months. Hand hygiene across the majority of departments was described as fair, with ICU getting a good review.

The handling and disposal of linen and the safe handling and disposal of sharp instruments was described as good in the in-depth report, receiving a 100 per cent rating in the majority of departments.

The hospital’s environment received an overall good rating with the medical and surgical wards receiving a fair rating.

The management of the patient’s equipment in these two wards was also described as fair, with a good rating overall for the hospital, in this category.

The report used the same methodology as used in the first audit. The team that carried out the second audit comprised of trained and experienced auditors who had been involved in the first audit. The Irish Nurses Organisation welcomed the report describing it as a “step in the right direction”.

The nurses union believes that more investment is needed to combat the prevalence of superbugs such as MRSA and Clostridium Difficile.

It pointed to problems with overcrowding and a lack of isolation units and called for more capacity to cope with a growing population. It also asked for dedicated infection control staff to be employed.

A WAR of words has begun between a Clare author and members of the clergy over how her first book was treated when it was published in 1960.

A priest in the parish of Scariff has rubbished claims that Edna O’Brien’s first novel, The Country Girls , was burned by the local priest.

The book caused a storm of controversy and it was banned by the censorship board for its depiction of sexuality as well as been condemned by the Archbishop of Dublin.

The burning of the book in the grounds of O’Brien’s local church has become part of the author’s legend and is regularly quoted by lecturers teaching her work.

But this week, Scariff Parish Priest, Fr Pat Sexton, threw doubt on the story. “My information is the thing about the burning is totally untrue. Obviously, I was not there at the time but I’ve checked with some people and no one else has ever heard of it.”

Literature expert and journalist, Dublin-based cleric Fr Tom Stack, said that the “reference in question in nothing more than an unhappy invention.”

But the author herself maintains that the incident did happen. O’Brien said there were three copies of the book in the village.

“The Parish Priest rounded them up, plus their owners, plus some other people and they burned them in the garden or grounds of the church. My mother reported to me two vital factors – that several of the women fainted and then the opinion was that I should be kicked naked through the town.”

O’Brien said that the incident caused her hurt and anger. “Ever since, I was made to feel very ashamed of what I had written. It didn’t stop me starting to write the next book.”

The Tuamgraney born author was under the spotlight of controversy again more recently, when she published a book based on the murder of Imelda Riney in Whitegate by Brendan O’Donnell in 1994.

Critics accused her of making money on the back of tragedy when she published In the Forest in 2002.

SHANNON Airport could find itself at the centre of a legal storm as US lawyers examine the possibility of suing the Irish Government over claims that it facilitated torture flights.

Ireland is one of a number of countries that human rights lawyers are threatening to sue.

The New York based Centre for Constitutional Rights, which is representing families of prisoners involved in the illegal CIA flights, is warning that action may be taken.

A spokesman for the centre has confirmed that it is “actively examining” the possibility of bringing Ireland before the European Court over its alleged compliance in the illegal transfer of prisoners.

A European Commission report, published last month, pointed the finger at Ireland as being one of 14 European countries suspected of colluding in the transfer of terrorism suspects to secret jails, where they could be tortured for information.

Military planes used to deliver prisoners are alleged to have stopped on their way back for refuelling at Shannon.

The CCR is investigating the possibility of taking action after the US Supreme Court ruled last week that the detention of the prisoners was contrary to both domestic US law and the Geneva Convention.

It ruled that the system of military commissions set up by the Bush administration violates the Geneva Convention’s edict that prescribes minimal rights for all detainees.

INTERNATIONAL law expert, Dr Jean Allain, told a trial of five antiwar protestors accused of damaging a US aeroplane at Shannon airport that the consensus among the international legal community was that the Iraq war was “clearly illegal.”

Dr Jean Allain, of Queen’s University, Belfast was giving evidence on day six of the trial, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

The five accused have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of causing damage without lawful excuse to a naval plane, property of the United States Government and to glass door panels, property of Aer Rianta at Shannon Airport, Clare on February 3, 2003.

The accused are Ciaran O’Reilly (46), an Australian national, Nuin Dunlop (34), a US citizen and counsellor, Damien Moran (26), Karen Fallon (35), a Scottish marine biologist, all of Rialto Cottages, Rialto; and Deirdre Clancy (36), a copy editor of Alverno Apartments, Clontarf.

Dr Allain was called to give evidence by the defence yesterday. He said there were only two situations in which a war would be legal: if the Security Council of the United Nations agreed to it, or if a country was acting in self defence.

He said that the general consensus of opinion among legal scholars was that the USA had acted in violation of those principles.

The jury has been told that Sergeant Michael O’Connell was on duty in the hangar at 3.45 am when he heard glass breaking and five people came running through a fire door, one of whom carried a large axe. Evidence was given that they were shouting “some words of God” and went to the front, side and rear of the aircraft using the items to hit the plane. They then knelt in a circle and prayed until gardaí arrived to arrest them. Copies of the Bible and Koran, Rosary and Islamic prayer beads, candles, flowers, St Bridget’s crosses and photographs of distressed children were among the items found at the scene in the form of a shrine at the doors to the hangar.

One of the accused, Ms Fallon, told the trial she believed her actions saved lives, while Ms Dunlop said her actions were political and calculated to draw attention to activities at Shannon. The case, before Judge Miriam Reynolds and a jury, is due to conclude this week.

THE Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC) has adopted a Dignity at Work charter.

The charter, formally launched by Chief Executive, George O’ Callaghan, states that staff commit themselves to “working together to maintain a workplace environment that encourages and supports the right to dignity at work. All who work within the committee’s ambit are expected to respect the right of each individual to dignity in their working life.”

The document states that all staff “will be treated equally and respected for their individuality and diversity. Bullying in any form is not accepted by us and will not be tolerated. Our policies and procedures will underpin the principles and objective of this charter.”

All individuals, whether directly employed or contracted by the committee, have a duty and responsibility to uphold the charter, the document also states.

School, college, education centre, office management and trade union representatives are given specific responsibility to promote the charter’s provisions.

A spokesman for VEC said that the adoption of the charter at the last bimonthly meeting of the committee’s Local Partnership Group demonstrates how the “process of internal partnership in County Clare Vocational Education Committee continues to grow and be the catalyst for many initiatives involving change and modernisation within vocational education in the county.”

The partnership group was established in 2001 under a requirement arising from the Social Partnership Agreement, “Sustaining Progress.”

Membership comprises representatives of Clare Vocational Education Committee and management, trade unions IMPACT and SIPTU, the schools and colleges of the committee and of its several adult education and outdoor education centres.

OUTRAGED parents of children with Autism met with public representatives in Kilrush last evening in an attempt to press upon them the necessity of the recently cancelled home tuition service.

The Department of Education withdrew the service from autistic children who attend mainstream education, without replacing it with any other service.

The service, according to parents, helped their children with communication skills, therefore allowing them to attend mainstream schools.

Last week, the Junior Minister for Education, Tim O’Malley said the department had a team working across the country to ensure that new services were put in place where needed.

“The decision to discontinue the home tuition grant was on the basis that the educational needs of these pupils can be best met in their individual schools,” he said.

This statement added to parent’s frustration. Also under discussion last evening was the newly sanctioned Autism Unit on the grounds of St Senan’s Primary School in Kilrush.

The unit, which is likely to receive planning permission for a prefab room at the end of August, is to provide education for six autistic children in the west Clare area.

To date, a primary school teacher and two special needs assistants have been sanctioned for the unit, which was the result of years of campaigning by stressed parents. Parents now fear, however, that the autism team required to provide the full service will not get the go ahead in time for September.

A CRIMINAL investigation is underway into claims that Clare road signs are being swiped and sold off to theme pubs in the States.

Gardai in Limerick have confirmed that a probe is being conducted after property, including various road direction signs, was found in the back of a van in Cratloe.

Shocked members of the Killaloe area committee of Clare County Council were told that officers made the find when they went to move a number of illegally parked vehicles in the Cratloe area.

It is alleged that a large number of signs found in the back of a van, parked close to the site where some Travelling families had been camped, may have been stolen from poles around the county.

Garda sources said they could confirm that a number of road signs and other property have been seized and an investigation is on-going.

“Gardai visited the scene in relation to complaints from residents and councillors concerning vehicles illegally parked. During the course of the visit, garda attention was drawn to a van and gardai recovered a mix of property, including road signs, which are now the subject of an investigation.”

Councillor Cathal Crowe told the meeting that as many as 40 road signs were recovered by gardai.

The garda source said he couldn’t comment further on the number as the investigation is ongoing.

Cllr Crowe asked officials to investigate whether it was possible for the county council to get the directional signs back and put them back up on their poles.

“If these signs were stolen, then they are not in situ and this is the height of the tourist season. We should try to have them put back up,” the councillor said.

Cllr Paschal Fitzgerald said that he had information that place-name signs are being stolen and shipped out of the country.

Councillors welcomed news that new signs, highlighting the various tourist attractions and scenic spots around South East Clare, have now been erected. Councillors also asked officials whether it would be possible to erect a sign at Longpavement, saying “Welcome to Clare”. Cllr Crowe said, “there is nothing to mark that boundary”.

THE parents of a Scariff GP, who were trapped in Beirut when the bombing started, are now recovering from their ordeal in Cyprus.

Tom and Mary McGee arrived in the city to begin a holiday on Tuesday and less than 24-hours later found themselves in a warzone with no way out.

Their son, Conor, confirmed yesterday that the couple had made it to safety but questioned “why Foreign Affairs only moved today to get people out – that’s a week after trouble started.”

Dr McGee said that his parents had contacted the Irish Consulate when the bombing started and were advised to hire a taxi to take them to Damascus.

“They planned to do that and then the road to Damascus was bombed. They contacted the consulate again and were told to stay put, but local people were telling them to get out.”

In the tense days of waiting, Conor said, he was in contact with his mother and father by phone and text. “They were trying to remain calm, but it was terrifying for them. One day they arrived on holiday and the next they woke up to find everything was being bombed.”

The couple eventually got together with a group of 50 people of various nationalities who hired a bus and made it to Damascus by various winding back roads.

“When they got to Damascus, it was chaos because 15,000 people flooded into the city. They had terrible trouble finding accommodation, but eventually, some members of the Irish Defence Forces helped organise accommodation for them and they got on a flight to Cyprus yesterday morning.”

The couple, who are living in Banagher, County Offaly, decided to go on holidays to Beirut after their son, Alan, who had served a year in the Defence Forces in the Lebanon, told them how wonderful the country was.

“That was how they had the Defence Forces connection and they really helped them,” said Conor.

He added that he did not feel the Irish authorities had moved quickly enough to protect any citizens who found themselves caught up in the fighting.

“It’s been going on for a week and considering eight Canadians were killed you might think Foreign Affairs might have moved faster. But we’re just relieved that our parents are out and safe,” the Scariff GP said.

The McGees are now taking a break in Cyprus to rest after their terrifying ordeal.

They will return home to Ireland later in the week.