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AN ENNIS man taking a High Court case against Clare County Council over a contentious planning decision has secured planning permission for a €7.5 million housing development near Inagh.

Last year, Bernard Madigan in- stituted High Court judicial review proceedings against the council af- ter it refused planning permission to Mr Madigan and Mary Keane for 31 homes outside Inagh in April.

The case has been adjourned a number of times and 1s due back be- fore the High Court next week. The estimated cost to the council of the proceedings is €30,000.

Last April, the council refused the planning application on three erounds: that the proposed develop- ment would be premature due to the existing deficiency in the provision of sewage facilities; that the location of the site on the edge of Inagh failed to integrate and respect the existing character of the surrounding area and the proposal would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard.

The pair re-lodged plans for 31 homes on the same site after institut- ing the legal proceedings.

A letter lodged by consultants for

the two, states that the revised ap- plication was submitted following a pre-planning meeting with the coun- cil on July 27, 2006.

The consultants stated: “The scheme has been modified to take into account the council’s recom- mendations.

“This application is being made on consideration of the recent an- nouncement by the Department of the Environment approving the Serv- iced Land Initiative (SLI) for the ex- pansion of the Inagh Main Sewerage Scheme.

“My clients are showing good faith to the area by developing a site with consequential benefit to the townland of Ballyduffbeg where the council operates its central waste facility.”

The lands are zoned for housing and the couple has secured plan- ning permission for eight detached homes, 14 semi-detached homes and nine terraced homes.

The council has granted for the plan having regard to the zoning of the land, the intended use of the pro- posed land, the pattern of develop- ment in the area, concluding that it would not seriously injure the ameni- ties of the area and be in accordance with the proper planning and devel- opment of the area.

A REPORT published last week has highlighted the importance of local community action in responding to the challenges of social exclusion in today’s fast-changing rural Ireland.

The report, entitled “Making a Dif- ference: Social Inclusion in a Chang- ing Rural Ireland’, was published by Pobal and suggests that success- fully promoting social inclusion in rural Ireland will require engaging in joined-up thinking, in policy and planning as well as in implementa- tion.

As part of the National Develop- ment Plan, Pobal manages a number

of Government programmes that Support communities and commu- nity initiatives across Ireland.

“While rural areas have shared in the boom, they continue to experi- ence many deficits in economic and social infrastructure,” said ‘Tony Crooks, CEO of Pobal. “They are also facing new challenges, with the continuing decline in agriculture, new forms of social exclusion and a more diverse society,” he continued. “Community-based initiatives play an essential role in the promotion of social inclusion, complementing the work of statutory agencies.”

These community-based pro- grammes include the Rural Transport

Programme, the Rural Social Scheme, the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010, the Peace and Interreg programmes in the border counties, the Dormant Accounts Fund and the Local Development Social In- clusion Programme, which funds the local partnership companies.

“Many forms of social exclusion are complex and hard to address. Bottom-up approaches that are driv- en by community organisations allow the involvement of disadvantaged groups in the design and delivery of initiatives, and enable initiatives to reach the most socially excluded individuals and the most remote ar- eas, he continued.

The report states that more joined- up thinking is needed, at both national and local levels, if we are to address social exclusion in rural Ireland to- day, “Greater coordination between service providers, whether statutory, community-based or both, is needed in both planning and implementa- tion”, and says that coordination can help ensure that a full range of sup- ports is available to individuals and groups in need of assistance.

The report presents the key mes- sages from a conference, organised by Pobal, which brought together 220 participants, including policy makers as well as beneficiaries of the Pobal managed programmes.

CLARE farmers have nothing to fear from the Green Party in Gov- ernment. This was the message from Green Party leader, Trevor Sargent, who was in Clare on Thursday meet- ing Clare farming leaders.

Speaking in Ennis, Deputy Sar- gent said that Greens in Government would be good for farming and rural communities with CAP and GATT reforms creating a real danger of massive job losses in the future.

‘This happened under the watch of those parties that demonise Green Party policy clearly without actually reading it,’ said Cllr Brian Meaney,

the Green Party General Election candidate in Clare.

“Finding a convenient scapegoat for the present and previous govern- ment parties’ failures detracts atten- tion from their own failings.”

The Greens have placed emphasis on the importance of enhancing the flexibility and diversity of agricul- ture and sustaining the family farm and the importance of safeguard- ing the land for future generations and encouraging young people into evweeperee

SU tom Orcctorme- toilet Meese MO KealeNe ise farming by creating opportunities for fuel crops, green waste manage- ment and a new local focus on food

supply.

The Green Party claim that they will lobby for changes in the World Trade Organisation to protect do- mestic agriculture from being under- cut by imports that are not subject to the same quality, health and envi- ronmental standards and streamline the payment of money under grant schemes so that farmers do not have to pay all the costs up front before being refunded 40 per cent by the Department of Agriculture at a later stage, which often necessitates ex- pensive bridging loans.

They have also listed creating re- search strategies to maximise the economic value of agricultural pro-

duce through value-added food prod- ucts as well as the promotion of a clean green image of Ireland abroad, creating a ‘green Ireland’ brand for food products.

They have also given a commit- ment to fund the Irish Seed Savers Association in Scariff, ensure Ire- land becomes a GM-free zone and ban farming of cloned animals, pro- vide more direct sale from farmer to consumer through farmers’ mar- kets, require planning authorities to designate “market spaces’ within all towns, reduce the dependence on chemical inputs by the majority of farmers and support sustainable farming by favouring small farms.

KILRUSH estates are to get new stone-carved placename plaques where there are developments with- out name plaques.

The news was delivered to a meet- ing of Kilrush Town Council last week by marketing and development officer, Siobhan Garvey as part of her report on activities to improve the en- virons of the town. The stones would compliment the many activities and hard work being undertaken by the Tidy Towns supporters, she said.

Among the steps which the town council would be taking to support the Tidy Towns efforts this year was continued support of the town clean- up, which takes place this year on May 26, from 10am to noon. The town council will provide gloves, bags and skips for the effort.

“This year, we’re going for gold in the tidy towns,” said Ms Garvey.

The town council, in co-operation with the Tidy Towns committee and the chamber of commerce, 1s also producing a 10-step guide to con- serving this summer.

THE NEW Government policy of going for construction contracts that heap all risk of price over-runs onto the contracting company is going to elbow out medium and small build- ing firms and cost the taxpayer more in the long run, it has been claimed.

President of the Construction In- dustry Federation (CIF), Hank Foga- rty stated that the new public sector construction contracts would push up the price of building public infra- structure in Clare and damage small and medium contracting companies throughout the county.

The CIF president further criticised Government for ignoring the indus- try view on the changes and for aban- doning the principle of partnership that was the hallmark of successful construction contracts throughout the rest of the world.

Fogarty was speaking at a CIF In- ternational Conference titled “New Directions in Construction Procure- ment: International Best Practice’, held in the Davenport Hotel last week.

“In Ireland, a country in a unique period of infrastructure catch-up and one whose long-term sustainable

economic development depends on ST e-Ne BLOr-LBUNTSM sD. GR IBUNTSA-H OCG Moy pas) Uca DAMN ITE frastructure bottlenecks, it is critical that we get the contracting relation- ship right. This is particularly so as we embark on a new and ambitious National Development Plan that will run to 2013. However, any independ- ent examination of the new contracts will show that Government has got it wrong,’ he said.

The CIF president said that the principles of risk recognition, risk sharing and risk management and, more importantly, the principle of partnership had been abandoned by Government in favour of the princi- ple of risk transfer at any cost.

The experience elsewhere is that this type of contract simply leads to confrontation and conflict. He added that the adoption of such a model meant that smaller and medium com- panies, of which there are many in Clare, couldn’t compete for Govern- ment contracts.

‘The industry has asked Govern- ment on a number of occasions to look at the alternatives.

“Unfortunately, this had not been done and the negative consequences will become apparent over the com- ing years,” Mr Fogarty said.

STRONG wind failed to prevent Kinvara’s Michael Curtin from cap- turing the Ingle Memorial Angling Competition in Ballyreen on Sunday. The annual event, which is run each year by the Lisdoonvarna Fanore Sea Angling Club attracted a large turn- out of anglers from all over the west.

Curtin captured the senior title with a very good score of 150 points. He

was followed closely in second place by Tom Faley of Limerick on 137 points.

Ruan’s Michael Foudy was the lead- ing Clare fisherman claiming third place with 89 points while Clarecas- tle’s Joe Birney finished fourth on 45 points.

The juvenile category was domi- nated by Clarecastle anglers with Sean Copley (34 points), Joseph Bir- ney (22 points) and Liam Potter (10

points) rounding off a one, two, three for the town.

In total 33 fish were landed in choppy waters included Conger eel, Pollack, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Wrasse. The heaviest fish of the day was a Conger Eel weighing 8kg and was caught by Tom Faley from Lim- eee

FURTHER details have been an- nounced about the Clare league’s plans for summer soccer.

In a statement the CPSSL say that summer soccer will allow children to have a safer, more enjoyable and cer- tain sporting experience. The ben- efits of switching to summer soccer have also been outlined.

These include; increased playing Opportunities for all; more enjoy- ment for players, parents, volunteers, coaches, managers and referees; chil- dren and families have more enjoy-

able soccer experiences; designated fixture days and timetables; minimal fixture disruption; increase in over- all training and playing standards; increase in volunteers as playing sea- son will be shorter.

According to the league the bad weather experienced during October, November, December 2006 and Jan- uary 2007 influenced the decision.

“It 1s true that the weather experi- enced this winter has led to the can- cellation of most fixtures during this time. This has led to immense frus- tration amongst coaches, parents, and most importantly, the children,

but the decision to play summer soc- cer was made at an AGM in 2005. This decision was ratified at the 2006 AGM. Besides the cancella- tion of fixtures, one of the principle reasons to play in the summer is so that children can train and play in weather that will make it safer and more enjoyable.

“Playing in the summer will also mean that children no longer have to play in slippery mud baths. This will lead to improvement in playing conditions and improve safety and enjoyment.”

There is also full agreement be-

tween all parties on the joint sched- uling of soccer and Gaelic games.

“The fixtures programme has been drawn up and agreed by CPSSL, Bord nOg Peil and Iomaint, so that with local co-operation between the various sports, each code will have fixtures on designated days. It has been agreed not to arrange fixtures on days that have been allocated to other sports.

“It 1s hoped that local co-opera- tion will mirror this arrangement with regard to training and challenge matches.”

The statement continues, “It will be

up to clubs at local level to make ap- propriate arrangements.

“It is understood by those who are involved in management and coach- ing that a child’s sporting ability will improve by playing different sports and mutual respect will need to be given to the needs of all in the com- munity”.

Each club in the CPSSL will hold an information evening in it’s region to further inform players and par- OLE

They will also give a detailed out- line of the season structure and lo- cally agreed arrangement if any.

THE amount of litter on the prom- enade at Clare’s premier beach resort has been slammed as “an absolute disgrace”.

Green party election candidate, Cllr Brian Meaney was speaking at last week’s Special Policy Commit- tee (SPC) for the Environment.

“The amount of litter at Lahinch is really shocking and is an absolute disgrace.

“Great care and attention should be given towards ensuring that Lahinch has a positive image. The county council is charging a premium for people to park their cars in Lahinch and that money should ensure that the council keeps the resort clean,” he said.

Chair of the SPC, Cllr Patricia Mc- Carthy (Ind) said, “The issue of lit- ter is out of control right across the county.”

Cllr McCarthy said that the weath- er was particularly good over the past four weeks, but that the council’s summer staff were not in place.

Cllr Meaney said, “If we had clean streets, people would be less likely to throw litter on the streets.”

The council’s Director for the En- vironment, Ger Dollard said, “Clare County Council doesn’t put down lit- ter. It cleans it up and the community needs to take on the problem of lit-

os

Mr Dollard said that litter bins had been placed at all beaches in Clare now.

He also confirmed that the contro- versial ban on dogs at the county’s beaches would be re-introduced on Ait stou e

The council would not shy away from imposing fines on those found flouting the the ban. No fines were imposed throughout last summer.

Mr Dollard said that enforcement “will be up a bit higher” than last summer, although he stated that peo- ple wouldn’t be fined for the first of- fence.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said that continuous offenders would be fined.

Anyone found on a beach walk- ing their dogs on Clare’s beaches between llam and 6pm will face an on the spot fine of €125, or a fine of €1,270. The fines apply even where dogs are controlled on a leash.

yesterday. She emphasised that any

urgent problems would be addressed.

“If there is any emergency, we will deal with it. There will be night levels of staffing in areas such as accident and emergency. Work is already un- derway, in conjunction with the man- agement in Ennis, to ensure that all essential services will be maintained,” she said. “We are still hopeful, even at this late stage, that the strike can be averted. It is designed to put further pressure on the HSE but at the same time minimise the inconvenience to patents.”

Ms Fogarty criticised the HSE for extending its planned pay cut to in- clude fourth-year nursing students.

“This has been designed to scare us off. They are looking to break the un- ion,” she added.

Meanwhile, the INO yesterday an- nounced the suspension of all over- time by their nurses from this Friday in retaliation to the HSE pay cuts.

THE Clare Junior football team trav- el down to Dungarvan this weekend with limited optimism following dis- rupted preparations due to injury and club commitments.

Clare have been struggling to get players together to get good qual- ity challenge matches recently after been hampered by a long list of casu- alties. Injury to Thomas Madigan in

last Saturday’s O’Gorman cup add him to Clare’s treatment table which also includes Brian Troy, Eoin Cur- tin (finger), Danny Lynch (hand) and Brian Curtin who sustained an in- jury playing for Clare in last friday night’s challenge match against Cork. Cusack, Garry and O’Gorman cup games also limited Clare’s ability to assemble for training and challenges. Nevertheless, Clare managed to play Limerick twice as well as Shannon

gaels and Cork in the run up to this game and had a final challenge game against Eire Og last night in order to make final adjustments for the big game on Sunday.

Waterford on the other hand, look to be quietly confident ahead of Sun- day’s Munster championship game. Senior Manager John Kiely also manages the junior side and he has been preparing the two sides togeth- er in order to get the best out of his

players.

Waterford have a total panel of 30- 35 players and it is felt that the junior team will be made up of the second string of this squad. Asked about the challenge of Waterford, Clare junior manager Micheal McDermott reck- Oy iTere Mm Aer: MmOA WE: TKou CORO MMA OOM Olomm EDO UN fit and extremely competitive. I thnk they have won two junior all-Irelands in the last ten years and any match down in Dungarvan will be a diffi-

cult match but hopefully we’ll do it”.

McDermott judges Clare’s prepara- tions “in the could be better catego- ry’ but he is hoping that some of his injured list could be available.

He admitted, “We haven’t picked our team yet but we will sit down to pick a team on Wednesday or Thurs- day night and see who we have that are free from injury. But hopefully we ll have a team that will be good enough to beat Waterford.”