Month: November 2006

RURAL Resettlement Ireland (RRI) is putting an end to its involvement in bringing new families to Clare.

The voluntary organisation, which has its base in Kilbaha in west Clare, lays the blame for the pull-out squarely with the planning section of Clare County Council.

Chairman of the organisation Jim Connolly said, “it has come to a very sticky end very quickly because of planning.”

He told The Clare People that RRI had not got planning permission in the county during the last 12 months for houses in areas of rural decline, making its role in the county impossible.

These homes had been earmarked for young families hoping to relocate to the county.

Rural Resettlement Ireland was set up 15 years ago to combat the dwindling population in the west of Ireland.

To date, the organisation has built 14 houses in rural Clare and bought and restored three more.

Mr Connolly said that receiving planning permission was proving more and more difficult.

He said RRI received “a 100 per cent refusal on its first five applications”.

The latest application for planning permission to build 11 houses was also refused at first he said, but the decision was changed in four of the cases.

As a result, the group has permission to build four houses in Tullycrine, an area suffering from population decline and where the school is fighting to keep its two teachers.

RRI had to buy the land for all 11 applications before it could apply for planning permission as a voluntary organisation.

The cost is then refunded by the Government, but only if the application is successful and the houses built. The cost of the refusals is therefore crippling the organisation according to its chairman.

Mr Connolly also maintains that his involvement in the rural planning lobby group – the Irish Dwellers Association – is also making him unpopular in planning circles.

A COMPROMISE has been reached between the two sides in the ongoing row over the siting of an ESB mast in Ennis.

But campaigners opposed to the ESB’s plans to erect a telecommunications mast in Clonroadmore could be hit with a heavy financial burden under the deal brokered.

Campaigners opposing plans by the ESB, have agreed to financially compensate the company for any costs resulting from legal proceedings should they be unsuccessful in their judicial review to overturn An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant planning permission.

In return the ESB have stated they will not proceed with construction work on the site until the outcome of the judicial review, which is currently waiting to be heard before the High Court.

The case is now expected to be heard in early 2007.

Lead campaigner Noel Mulhaire confirmed the group had agreed to pay costs.

“We have signed up the agreement that the ESB were looking for. In doing so we could be exposed to a massive financial cost”

As a result, a meeting between Senator Timmy Dooley and the Chairman of the ESB will now not go ahead.

However following last week’s well attended public meeting at the Eire Óg clubhouse, it is expected that a delegation of Clare’s Oireachtas members and local campaigners will meet with Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey.

At that public meeting, Mr Mulhaire called on elected representatives in attendance including Senator Timmy Dooley, Deputy James Breen, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) and Cllr Pat Daly (FF), to be more vocally supportive of the campaign.

“We are asking you to put aside your party political allegiances and fight for us and fight for your constituency. Failure is not an option, we have a constitutional right to live in safe homes”

Campaigner and health expert Michael O’Doherty said: “This mast would have huge health implications for our kids and they will never forgive us”

One mother of four said she was “viciously angry that the ESB were putting her children at risk”, while one resident criticised the perceived inaction of Clare’s junior ministers.

NORTH-WEST Area MEP Seán Ó Neachtain (FF) has called for agriculture to be removed from the remit of World Trade Organisation (WTO) following a meeting with Clare farmers in Ennis on Friday.

The meeting, which was hosted by the Clare branch of the IFA, was attended by Mr Ó Neachtain and his North West Area colleagues, Marian Harkin (Ind) and Jim Higgins (FG), as well as top-level officials from the IFA including the organisation’s top economist, Clareman Con Lucey.

“I believe that the World Trade Organisation is now the main threat to farming in general, but especially to the smaller farmers like you have in Clare,” said Mr Ó Neachtain.

“If the rate of tariff is dropped, there will be a substantial increase in beef coming in from the likes of Brazil and Argentina. Personally, I believe that agriculture should not form part of the overall WTO agreement because it is such a regional issue.”

Clare IFA president, Seamus Murphy, welcomed the proposal but commented that it would difficult to be brought about.

“If it was guaranteed that farmers would get a fair shout, then I think that it could be a good thing,” said Mr Murphy.

“Agriculture is used as a bargaining chip by developed countries when dealing with third-world nations in order to get their goods into the country. It would be good if agriculture could be taken on its own but I can’t see it happening.”

This is the fist time that the three MEPs representing Clare have met with the county’s farmers since the redrawing of the electoral boundaries ahead of the 2004 EU election.

MEP Ó Neachtain also painted a bleak future for the future of farmers with smaller holdings but added that the North Western Area MEPs put on a united front on farming issues in Europe and that Clare had “nothing to fear” following its grouping with Connaught and Ulster.

“Farming will not be sustainable for small units like those in many parts of Clare and there will have to be more developments in off-farm activities,” continued Mr Ó Neachtain.

“We present a united front for all the people of the western region and support each other.”

A 19 PER CENT increase in the amount of houses coming on the market in Clare during the third quarter of 2006 has contributed to a stagnation of house prices in the county.

According to a survey by Ireland’s largest property website, Daft.ie, there was no growth in house prices between June and October. The survey revealed that the average price actually fell during the summer months before rallying to pre-summer levels in September and October.

The average price for a two-bed property in Clare now stands at €220,390, while a three-bedroom house costs an average of €260,203.

“We are confident that over the next three months house prices will remain relatively static,” said Brian Fallon, Director of Daft.ie.

“The outlook for buyers is good as they will have more choice and a lower likelihood of getting caught in a bidding war.”

Meanwhile, a proposal providing for 40 affordable houses in Shannon, as well as additional units in Crusheen and Kilkee, was announced yesterday evening following the Housing and Social Services Strategic Policy Committee meeting of Clare County Council.

It was also revealed that more than one in every five applicants for affordable housing in Clare had been accommodated since 2004.

RESIDENTS concerned over the re-development of the historic Old Military Barracks in Ennis say the development will attract increased levels of anti-social behaviour.

In a statement, the Old Military Barracks Resident Group have called on local councillors to support their concerns, which also include a reduction in green space.

Following a meeting with Ennis Town Council officials last week, residents say their concerns over the development have not been fully considered and that the issue of antisocial behaviour has already been raised with the estate manager. Pointing out that five people with disabilities live in the area, the group say the level of development will negatively impact on residents’ quality of life.

Ennis Town Council hopes to redevelop the Old Military Barracks on the Kilrush Road as a three-storey building consisting of two twobedroomed apartments and two twobedroomed duplex units.

There are also plans to renovate the existing Guard House, a protected structure, which is attached to Avondale House, to incorporate three two-bedroomed terraced houses. Ancillary storage units, rear boundary walls, parking areas and pathways are also included in the plans.

However, residents have voiced their reservations over the scale of the development. In a submission to the council in September, the group outlined their concerns and called on the council to clarify who owned the legal deeds to the area.

“While we welcome the attention that Ennis Town Council is giving to the derelict site, we have strong reservations over the large development being proposed. Seven units is the large number being proposed, three of which are being built on the existing derelict site. Four of these units will be built on the only green space available to the residents.

“As there are seven units being proposed, this will bring extra traffic into the area. One can expect an increase of approximately 10 cars. This is adding to the current number in existence already. There are a number of single story houses in the estate and this new development will overshadow the homes of current residents.”

The issue is expected to be discussed at the December meeting of Ennis Town council.

THE chief executive of Shannon Development, Kevin Thompstone has confirmed that the agency’s new corporate plan will be published early in the New Year.

In recent weeks, staff at the semistate body have been briefed by management in relation to aspects of the plan.

Arising from the embargo by staff not to co-operate with the new mandate, they had no input into the formulation of the plan and it was drafted by the Shannon Development executives.

Speaking in Shannon last Thursday on the announcement of 350 new jobs for Shannon with the establishment of US e-commerce firm, Digital River, Mr Thompstone said: “We would hope that the new corporate plan would be published early in the new year.

“Minister Michael Martin has recently completed the clarification process and we are now in the middle of a change management process as part of the transition period.”

He added: “When we have that bedded down and gone through Human Resources, then we will be coming

into the public domain with the cor porate plan.”

Mr Thompstone welcomed Minister Martin’s decision to allow Shannon Development retain control of the Shannon Free Zone in the revised mandate announced in September.

He said: “The Shannon Free Zone is a product that we have developed since the early days of the company – it is something that has been reinvented and we see a bright future for the Free Zone as illustrated by our ability to attract companies like Digital River today

Mr Thompstone also sounded optimistic on additional jobs coming to Shannon.

“We have a pretty good pipeline of projects at the moment.

“There are other projects that we are negotiating at the moment,” he said.

THE Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen has confirmed that the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) intends to issue its recommendation on a ‘survival plan’ for Shannon later this month.

In response to a Dáil question from Green Party leader, Trevor Sargent, Minister Cullen said that the LRC had recently overseen an intense round of negotiations between unions and management.

Both unions and management declined to comment on the talks, which have taken place under an LRC-imposed blackout on press covAER ARANN is to abandon its link between Shannon and Dublin for the second time.

The decision leaves Shannon as the only national airport without a connection to the capital.

The pull-out comes days after Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, told a gathering of Clare business people that an early-morning link to Dublin was erage.

Minister Cullen said: “If Shannon Airport is to develop as a successful and sustainable business, it is clear that one of the issues that must be addressed in its business plan is the airport’s very high cost base.

“Negotiations with the unions at Shannon on the cost cutting changes that would be required to ensure the viability of the airport have been underway for some time now.

“In this, the parties have been helped by the Labour Relations Commission, the Labour Court and the National Implementation Body.”

The talks between unions and management have been ongoing for vital.

Now the Shannon Chamber of Commerce has called for the route to be subsidised, as is the case in Kerry, Cork and Galway. The airline has taken the decision because passenger numbers on the route are so low as to be uneconomical.

Changing the current flight time to earlier in the day wouldn’t work because an earlier time would be impossible under Aer Arann’s aircraft one year and in September, the offer of a €30 million ‘survival plan’ for Shannon was withdrawn by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) after unions failed to ballot members on the offer.

The move by both parties to accept the invitation of the chief executive of the LRC, Kieran Mulvey followed the intervention of the National Implementation Body (NIB).

The NIB has imposed a four week deadline for the talks to be completed. At the start of the talks, the DAA’s Director for Change, John Horgan confirmed that the €30 million was no longer on the table. The two sides have held over 50 meetings scheduling, according to the airline.

Speaking to the Shannon Chamber of Commerce dinner on Friday, Enda Kenny said that he would give every encouragement to any airline that would take on an early service from Shannon the Dublin.

“This is extremely important to facilitate business. This has been said to me time and again as I met people on this visit. Passengers need to be able to get to Dublin in time to do in the past year, with the DAA warning that large cost savings will have to be made to avoid Shannon losing €130 million over the next 10 years.

The DAA’s plan for Shannon includes cutting the workforce of 520 through 200 voluntary redundancies and to out-source work at a number of areas at the airport, including catering.

In the deal that was on the table, the workers who opted to remain in their jobs were to receive lump payments of up to €10,000. The voluntary redundancy package gives staff with over 24 years experience a €100,000 pay-off, while it also entitles workers to their company pensions at 55. business and get back the same day.”

Chamber Chief Executive, Triona McInerney said that there was still, “a real need for an alternative method of transport between this area and Dublin. This is evidenced by the number of Clare people who fly from Galway.”

Ms McInerney said that the chamber “would be happy to facilitate focus groups for any airline thinking of setting up a route. But it would have to be planned to be responsive to the needs of the business community, taking into account office hours and the time it takes to get from Dublin Airport into the city.”

She added that the route, “should be subsidised. This is the case in other airports under the Public Service Obligation.”

The Fine Gael leader also outlined his proposal to site a Transatlantic Foundation in Shannon to “draw together academia, politics and business with a view to conflict resolution.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, is to make a fresh bid to clinch a bi-lateral deal between Ireland and the US while the Open Skies agreement is on hold.

The deal would see the current practice of having one flight to or from Shannon for every flight to or from Dublin dropped in favour of one Shannon flight for every three Dublin flights and access for Aer Lingus to three new US gateways.

CLARE County Council needs to exercise its “green” buying power and count the environmental cost of where it spends its money, an elected member has said.

Cllr Brian Meaney’s comments came as an international conference in Ireland heard how local authorities had the spending power to make a serious environmental difference.

Junior Environment Minister, Batt O’ Keefe, opened last week’s “Buying Green” one-day workshop on Green Public Procurement in Ireland.

The seminar took place at the Enterprise Ireland Conference Centre in Glasnevin, Dublin, and was convened by ICLEI, the international association of local governments and regional and national government organisations that have made a commitment to sustainable development.

In his opening address, the minister noted that public authorities were one of the largest consumer blocks in Europe, spending some 16 per cent of the EU’s gross domestic product.

In Ireland, the total Government purchasing budget is between €8 billion and €10 billion per annum. This gives “significant leverage” to procurers in the public sector to “move the market” towards the competitive provision of greener products and services, he said.

The Minister added, “The extent to which we integrate the environmental, economic and social dimensions of our policies will determine our future prosperity and quality of life”.

Clare County Council had no representative at the conference and just three other Irish local authorities were represented.

Green Councillor Brian Meaney said that it was “very important that we as a council consider our public procurement policy. First, we need to ensure that we are only buying materials from suppliers who are operating within the planning laws.

“It has happened in the past that this has not been the case. And we must give serious consideration to the carbon dioxide impact of what we are buying.”

A spokeswoman for the County Council’s Environmental section said that Clare County Council’s Waste Minimisation Policy is “coordinated regionally by the Regional Waste Management Office”.

She added that the region was the first to appoint a Regional Industrial Waste Minimisation Advisor.

“The Replacement Waste Management Plan for the Limerick/Clare/ Kerry Region has incorporated clear policies and targets. Objectives include to implement green procurement of office stationery in each local authority, to increase waste prevention and recycling in each local authority, to investigate tendering for the purchase of consumables on a regional basis and to reduce and reuse construction and demolition waste.”

AFTER three years in existence, the position of full-time biodiversity officer at Clare County Council is to be scrapped later this week.

The position, which has been held by Elaine Keegan since its creation in October of 2003, will be down-sized to a part-time position following the failure of Clare County Council to meet the shortfall in budgeting created by the withdrawal of LEADER funding.

The project was funded for last year through a combination of LEADER, Clare County Council and Heritage Council funding. All LEADER funding has been suspended until the end of 2007. It had been hoped that the local authority would put forward what one council member described as the “very small amount of money” required to keep the position viable.

“I find it hard to reconcile this when we appear to have appointed our sixth Director of Services at Clare County Council,” said Clare’s Green Party general election candidate, Cllr Brian Meaney.

“From my understanding, a Director of Services salary would pay for three full-time biodiversity officers. I cannot even contemplate the loss, or even the scaling back, of the biodiversity brief at the council. We should look at the more grandiose and cosmopolitan functions of the council before we cut back on something like this.”

In recent times, Ms Keegan has been responsible for a number of Clare County Council’s most successful projects. These include the recent survey of the cuckoo population in the county, the creation of a CD-ROM for primary schools on Clare Biodiversity and the recently formed Clare Bat Group.

“It is unfortunate that the funding is not available and we will have to scale back,” commented Ms Keegan. “We will carry on and push for more funding in the future. These projects should be funded by the Department of the Environment through the Parks and Wildlife Service as they have stated in their own biodiversity plan that each local authority should have a biodiversity officer.”

The work of the biodiversity officer will be discontinued completely in the beginning of next year, but will be restored in a part-time capacity later in 2007. It is hoped that ongoing projects such as field trips for primary and secondary schools and the work of the Clare Bat group will be continued for the immediate future.

A PILOT scheme for third-level education in Ennis will be in place by February next, members of Clare County Council have been told.

Harriet Cotter, the new Director of the Clare Lifelong Learning project, was giving a presentation to a meeting of the local authority on the provision of third-level education in the county.

She told members that, to begin with, there would be two pilot projects, one in February of next year and one the following September.

The courses offered on these pilot projects would include community studies and foundation studies in various subjects.

One of the concepts behind the overall project is to establish a facility in Ennis enabling people from all parts of the county to access courses through distance learning, in association with the third-level institutions of neighbouring counties.

It is envisaged that the facility will prioritise courses relevant to the county’s economy in the areas of culture, tourism, forestry, maritime and agriculture and programmes for immigrants.

In the past seven weeks, Cotter told the meeting, she had been liaising with existing third-level facilities and the possible course providers.

“I have found a huge commitment to this. In addition, we have a growing population and a strong business, industry and commercial base as well as a traditionally high participation rate in third-level education.”

But she told the meeting of councillors that there was a major issue around fees.

“The fees issue is a significant inhibitor. It’s an inequity which allows full-time students to study free while part-time students have to pay for it.”

An awareness campaign is being planned to let people know what will be on offer, with a series of public meetings scheduled for around the county.