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ONE solution to the public order crisis in Lahinch is to close nightclubs earlier – that’s according to a judge, who spoke out on the issue last week.

Judge Joseph Mangan was commenting at Ennistymon District Court as one nightclub, at The Claremont Hotel, applied for an exemption until 2am. He granted it, having granted an exemption to Coast nightclub the previous week, but commented on the public order situation in the town.

Several public order cases in Lahinch were heard at the court, as was the case at the last court sitting in September.

“In the absence of any statistics, this court has seen today and last September that the public order situation in Lahinch has not improved and if anything it has disimproved in recent times,” said the judge.

“It seems to me the most prudent thing for the court to do is to shorten exemption times, in an attempt to address the problem,” he added.

The exemptions will take effect for a number of weeks and applications will be made for further exemptions next month.

In another, unrelated case, the judge fined three men involved in a row outside a nightclub in Lahinch, a total of €7,500.

Brothers John (32) and Kevin Darcy (30), of Mullagh Road, Miltown Malbay, and Gary O’Keefe (27), Mullagh, were before the court arising out of an incident in Lahinch, a year ago.

John Darcy pleaded guilty to assaulting a bouncer, damaging a shirt and with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour and was fined €3,000.

Kevin Darcy pleaded guilty to assaulting Sergeant Michael Gallery and with damaging an off-duty garda’s neck chain. He was fined €2,500.

Gary O’Keeffe was fined €2,000, after admitting assaulting a bouncer and engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour.

Judge Mangan said, “Even by the standards of Lahinch, this was a bad incident.”

He said he was taking their guilty pleas into account and was not going to impose jail sentences.

The comments by the judge came amid ongoing concerns among residents in Lahinch over public order.

Two years ago, locals objected to nightclub licences being granted. They have pledged to oppose exemptions, if public order issues continue to cause concern.

During the summer a petition outlining concerns on public order, was signed by residents in the town and send to Justice Minister Michael McDowell.

Garda management in Clare believe the situation is under control, as Garda manpower has increased in the town.

An additional garda has been stationed in Lahinch full-time, while more back-up is now provided from Ennistymon every Saturday night.

A LATVIAN man who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in a shop in Kilkee has been given a suspended jail term.

Valentins Gzibovskis (23), of Marine Apartments, Kilkee, pleaded guilty to sexual assault, at O’Curry Street, Kilkee, on January 14 last.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court yesterday (Monday) that the accused grabbed his victim between the legs, outside her clothes, after he followed her and another girl along the street.

The court heard the victim suffered bouts of anger and temper tantrums in the wake of the assault, which were connected with it.

Defending solicitor Eugene O’Kelly said the offence was committed on the accused’s birthday, after he had consumed a large amount of alcohol. Gzibovskis has lived in Kilkee for the past two years and works locally. His employer told the court he is a reliable, hard-working employee.

“He certainly has no recollection of the incident in the shop. He had not considered himself to have deviant sexual tendencies,” he said.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy noted that the assault was outside the girl’s clothes and said, “A sexual assault on a girl of that age is extremely serious. The courts have to take this seriously.”

He took the guilty plea into account and said the assault was “at the lower level” of the scale. He imposed a seven-month sentence and suspended it for two years. He placed the accused on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

CLARE is among the highest academically achieving counties in Ireland, according to the results of an independent survey released this weekend. The survey which examined the university placements of students from 720 second-level schools in the Republic pinpointed the highest ranking schools as well as the countries educational blackspots.

The survey found Clare to be the fourth best county for second-level education with 38 per cent of its students going on to university, above the national average of 32 per cent, and behind Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown (51.7 per cent), South City Dublin (40.8 per cent), and Limerick (39.2 per cent).

The Clare school to take the highest position was St Flannan’s College, Ennis, which in 39th position nationally and sixth in Munster saw 64.3 per cent of its students gaining a university place.

At 12th position was Seamount College, Kinvara, which climbed from eightieth position in 2005. Despite this, Seamount College is expected to be closing its doors to students over the next couple of years. Another Clare school to reach to top 100 was Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon which at 45th place made a massive jump from last year’s position of 145.

Among the rest of the 400 schools listed were Colaiste Mhuire, Ennis who dropped from seventy fourth in last year’s ranking to 140th this year and Meanscoil na mBraithire, Ennistymon, which at 148th rose from its 2005 ranking of 152nd.

RESULTS of a survey released last week show a massive demand from commuters for the section of the Western Rail Corridor linking Ennis, Athenry and Galway City.

The MRBI poll reveals that one quarter of the people surveyed would use this section of the line on a regular basis, while eight per cent said they would use it more than 2 or 3 times per week.

These figures are the highest passenger projections to date and according to the West on Track group would put the total passenger numbers well over 1 million journeys per year.

“These figures more than bear out the passenger demand projections of West on Track and are in line with ongoing research being conducted both north and south of Athenry,” said a group spokesperson.

“We welcome the fact that our passenger demand projections have now been independently verified and expect our projections of demand north of Galway to be accepted as equally accurate.”

Should the results of this survey be borne out in reality, they would place the Ennis to Galway section of the corridor almost on a par with the Dublin to Belfast line in terms of passenger numbers and ahead of well established lines such Westport to Dublin and Sligo to Dublin.

UNWIELDY and overcomplicated regulations are preventing Clare farmers from diversifying and forcing many out of farming altogether. This is one of the main topics up for discussion when the three Northwest area MEPs address a Clare IFA meeting this Friday, November 10.

Marian Harkin (IND), Jim Higgins (FG) and Seán Ó Neachtain (FF) will address a top level meeting of the IFA in Ennis and take part in a questions and answers session regarding issues of special interest to farmers in Clare.

“There must be a balance between rural development and farmers,” said the president of the IFA in Clare, Seamus Murphy. “These regulations could stifle development on farms. Farmers are free spirits and for them to make progress they need to be able to try different things.

“If everyone is forced to be the same then development will be stifled. We want there to be a future for farmers in the county and with so many regulations it is hard to move outside of them, they are very controlling.”

The meeting will begin with an address from the IFA’s economist, Clareman, Con Lucey. The Ballynacally native will outline the IFA’s position on a number of issues before the three MEPs take part in a question and answers session. This is the first occasion since the last EU election in 2004 that Clare farmers have the opportunity to meet their representatives in Brussels.

“With the changes in the last election we have been put in with a new region and this is a chance for the MEPs to learn a bit more about us and for us to learn a bit more about them,” continued Mr Murphy. “We feel that the MEP’s need to know what we want. We see this as an opportunity to put forward our views on a number of different matters.”

The meeting will be at the Auburn Lodge Hotel in Ennis at 8.30pm.

THE long tradition of drift net fishing for salmon in the Shannon estuary could be under threat as a result of the EU’s Habitat Directive been adopted by the Government.

Up to 70 drift net licences are issued by the fisheries board every year in the Clare and Limerick area to allow fishing on the Shannon estuary from Kilrush to Coonagh including Clarecastle.

A further 25 draft net licences are also issued in the area.

A spokesperson for the Minister for Communications Marine and Natural Resources told The Clare People that fishermen would not be allowed to fish in estuaries, if any of the rivers flowing into it were below the conservation limit.

The Government said however that it would implement the key recommendations of the report by the Independent Working Group on Salmon, including the creation of a hardship fund for those affected by the compulsory buyout of drift net fishermen.

As part of the hardship scheme, a €25 million fund will give each fishermen a payment equal to six times their average annual catch over the period 2001-2005, multiplied by the average price per salmon over the period (€23).

Each fisherman will also receive a payment equal to six times the current licence fee. Although the scheme is compulsory for drift net fishermen, the scheme will also be open to other commercial salmon fishermen who use nets such as snap and draft.

THE Shannon Regional Fisheries Authority has called on Clare fishermen to diversify their catch in the wake of last week’s landmark ban on salmon drift netting in Irish waters. With local quotas standing at 6,000 and the average cost per salmon nearing €25, the industry is worth some €150,000 to local fisherman each year.

While a spokesperson for the fishing authority broadly welcomed last week’s decision, he noted that there was a long standing tradition of drift-netting in the county, especially on the banks of the Shannon and the Fergus.

“I don’t believe that with the numbers being caught in the region that any fishermen could have been surviving on drift-netting alone, so I don’t think that this move is going to put anyone out of business,” commented the spokesperson.

“Those who would have been in the coastal situation would be into different types of fishing and the hope is that they will diversify further into these areas. Some fisherman’s groups have called for a licence to be put in place to allow a limited amount of drift netting to take place. We hope that it is gone for good, we are virtually the only country in the EU which allows it. Drift-netting was at its peak in the 1970s and 80s and that’s when the real damage was done. In those days, there were anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 salmon caught in the region each year. The quota was brought down to 6,000 for this year and while people might say that 6,000 is not a massive amount of fish, it is still 6,000 more who will reach the spawning grounds each year.”

CAMPAIGNERS are likely to seek an injunction preventing the ESB from pressing ahead with the construction of a controversial phone mast in Ennis.

The injunction was one course of action discussed at a public meeting held in the Eire Óg clubhouse last night. The meeting was organised by a group opposed to the siting of an 80 foot telecommunications mast at an ESB substation in Clonroadmore.

It now also seems likely that campaigners will have to compensate the ESB as a result of seeking a judicial review of An Bord Pleannala’s controversial decision to grant planning permission to the ESB.

According to campaigner Noel Mulhaire, the ESB had sought an agreement from residents that they would be compensated if the planning decision was found to be valid. The case is not expected to be heard before the High Court for another six months and the cost of pursuing the action is likely to cost residents upwards of €100,000

Last Wednesday the ESB served a seven day notice of its intention to commence construction work on the mast saying that concerns over the timescale of the legal action had forced them to move.

Speaking before last night’s meeting Mr Mulhaire said; “After what happened last week we’re going to up the ante”

ALTHOUGH the famous west Clare railway has been defunct for over 40 years, it is at the centre of Clare County Council’s refusal of planning permission for a holiday home development on the outskirts of Lahinch.

Two years ago, Tom O’Keeffe of Roslevan, Ennis lodged plans with the council to construct 20 holiday homes at Creg, Lahinch. This was later reduced to twelve.

However, the council has refused planning permission on three grounds , one of which is the number of the homes that would be built over the line of the west Clare railway. That would be in conflict with the North Clare Area Plan 2005.

The plan states that developments should only be allowed on or adjacent to the west Clare railway, which will not conflict with or restrict the recreational potential of the line.

However, developer, Tom O’Keeffe through his planning consultants, Corey Stevens and Associates has expressed incredulity at his plan being turned down due to the presence of the old west Clare railway line.

An appeal to An Bord Pleanala states: “It is hard to reason how this can occur as the railway line no longer exists from the bridge abutments at the subject into Lahinch.”

The appeal goes on: “ We also contend that it is meaningless to exclude the area of the railway line from the proposed development as the land cannot serve any other purpose.

Mr O’Keeffe has told the board that he is willing to forgo the development on one home that is located on the defunct railway line, if he is granted permission for the remainder of the development.

Folklorist and author of ‘Walking in the Tracks of the West Clare Railway’, Eddie Lenihan said: “A lot of damage has been done to the west Clare railway so why have anymore. It would be a disgrace to do so.

“I’m sure that ways will be found to overcome problems that seem insurmountable now in getting parts of the west Clare up and running again.

Mr Lenihan however expressed that the policy in the North Clare Area Plan to protect the west Clare has come too late. He said: “An awful lot of the line is gone already.”

The 27 mile line from Ennis to Miltown Malbay was closed in 1961, when it was making losses of £23,000 per annum.

A decision on the appeal is due next year.

MEMBERS of Clare County Council have expressed concern at the authority’s creation of a new job to accommodate a highly paid senior official returning early from a yearlong leave of absence.

In January of this year, County Manager, Alec Fleming signed an order allowing the council’s Director for Housing, David Timlin to take a year of unpaid leave, which is a frequent occurrence in local authorities.

However, the council has circulated councillors with a statement to state that Mr Timlin has now returned to the council and “has been assigned to a number of projects, cross-cutting in nature, which require special focus at a senior level over the next few months”.

Once he took the the year off, senior official, Josephine Cotter Coughlan was put in charge of housing. She will remain in place until early in the New Year when Mr Timlin will reassume responsibility for that area.

In the meantime, Mr Timlin’s responsibilities are to include “technical issues” relating to the council’s new €27 million HQ that is currently being constructed by Michael McNamara & Co. Mr Timlin will also be responsible for “the development and roll-out of risk management systems and processes as required by the council’s Insurers, IPBMI Ltd”.

However, senior council member, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said yesterday: “The council is supposed to have five Directors of Service. Does it now have six Directors arising from Mr Timlin coming back early?”

The salary scale for Directors of Service range from €84,465 to €99,823.

On Mr Timlin being employed to oversee “technical issues” in relation to the council HQ, Cllr McCarthy said: “If the council did not have the capacity to deal with these projects at the outset, they shouldn’t have taken them on.

“Why was this appointment made at the start of the new civic offices building, rather than in the middle of it. This is very unusual.”

“Is there provision for allowing employees return early from a yearlong leave of absence and if so, is this a one off or will everyone be catered for? I would be worried about the precedent that this appointment will set.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (Green) said: “I would be concerned that it appears that a job has been created for Mr Timlin before his year is up. Where will the funding for this come from and will it impact on other areas as the council is finding it difficult to even partly meet requests for funding?”