Author: admin

THE HSE is continuing to monitor the Ennis water supply, even though it has “generally” been within the statutory limits for drinking water since the installation of the temporary filtration system.

According to the HSE West, in order to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the system a heavy programme of monitoring and sampling is continuing.

This includes daily monitoring of raw and treated water for general coliform, E Coli, turbidity, colour and chlorine. Weekly monitoring is also carried out for Cryptosporidium.

All samples of treated water were negative for E Coli and Cryptosporidium. The chlorine dosage levels have also been reduced as a consequence of the installation and successful operation of the treatment system. However it was decided not to remove the limited precautionary boil notice just yet, as weather conditions had not varied enough since the installation to adequately test the system.

“Levels of cryptosporidium, clostridium perfringes and giardia tend to occur in the raw water to a much lesser degree in summer early autumn time of year. However, a seasonal escalation of concentration in this regard would be expected from now on,” the HSE said. The health service said it hoped that by the time the next meeting took place, confidence in the supply would be such that it would be possible to completely remove the boil notice.

Meanwhile, a boil notice had been issued for the first time ever in the 30-year history of the Kilmaley-Inagh Group water scheme, following the discovery of a small quantity of E-coli. The scheme caters for 1,800 households and is the largest group water scheme in the country. A new treatment works was due to replace the scheme on June 30 but was delayed. The group water scheme holders were informed that the scheme would “go to production” on the week beginning September 11. Last Thursday, the new system was not in place.

A MAN who indecently assaulted a young girl in west Clare over 30 years ago has been handed a two-year suspended sentence.

Handing down sentence at Ennis Circuit Court yesterday (Monday), Judge Carroll Moran said he would suspend the jail term for two years.

Stephen Hennessy (69), of Shanganagh, Kilkee, pleaded guilty to a number of charges, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the time, he was in his 30s and his victim was aged between 11 and 14.

The court heard that one of the incidents took place in a parked car, while another happened in a field.

On one occasion, the accused put his hand inside the girl’s panties and touched her vagina, while they were in a parked car.

On another occasion, while he was driving his car, he let her change gears and touched her between the legs.

Hennessy used to buy presents for his victim, including a watch, sweets and chocolate.

The court was told that Hennessy – who had no previous convictions – wrote a letter to his victim, apologising for his actions. He stated, in the letter, that he would “regret it all his life.”

“I hope you can put it behind you and get on with your life,” he added.

Judge Carroll Moran was told that the injured party made a statement in relation to the matter, three years ago.

Hennessy, who was immersed in the GAA, was described in court as an exemplary, well-respected man in his local community, a man who was very honest and truthful.

Judge Moran said the accused “committed a pretty heinous offence against a very young girl, albeit a long time ago.” He was told gardaí were not aware of any other complaints made about the accused.

HEALTH professionals and volunteers around Clare are busy preparing for a week of workshops, seminars and classes in aid of Mental Health Week.

The theme of the this year’s Mental Health Week according to Catriona Burke, a PR volunteer for the Kilrush Mental Health Association is mindfulness and the aim of the events being held around Clare is to promote the link between physical and mental health.

“Mindfulness is about teaching us how to pay attention to our experiences in life in the present moment. Whether we’re sitting in a car, struggling to meet some deadline, or facing some difficult challenge in our lives, mindfulness teaches us a way of being present to wherever we are and and to deal with it,” said Catriona.

Activities are taking place in venues around Limerick City, Tipperary and Clare where some high profile people are giving classes, seminars and workshops.

In Ennis, a series of laughter workshop and laughter yoga parties will be held at the Templegate Hotel from Monday, October 9.

Elsewhere in the county, a walk has been organised in the Burren with Dr Pat Wallace; a music workshop will be run by Archie Simpson and the Lismorahaun Singers at the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon and in Lisdoonvarna, an evening of poetry and reflection will take place at The Spa Wells.

In Kilrush, a series of workshops are being held throughout the week in Kilrush Library and an exhibition of art by local artists and people who have benefited from the services of Kilrush Mental Health Association will be on display at the library from October 9 to 13.

“The week has been designed to allow people to experience the wonder of mindfulness for themselves in a gentle and non-threatening way. We are trying to breakdown the barriers on what people think of mental health. Mental health is a wealth if we mind it,” she added.

We are constantly looking for volunteers to help us push forward the connection between the community and mental health. We will welcome anyone who would like to help the service.”

A CLARE woman has been recognised at the annual Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards 2006. Madeleine McAleer who’s project, Clare Community News, is a webbased information service for the community and voluntary sector, which aims to improve networking and the sharing of a wide range of information locally.

The Clare Community News website, which is currently being developed, will allow this sector to make more effective use of the advances in information technology.

Previously, Madeline has been involved in the setting up of Care Haven Services, a community based organisation which now provides a range of services for women who experience domestic abuse and was cofounder of Clare Family Resource Centre, the first community based childcare initiative in Clare.

This year is the second year of the awards which are led by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) and aim to encourage and support the development of social entrepreneurship in Ireland.

SEI offers a range of supports to leading social entrepreneurs including financial assistance, technical assistance, access to a network of fellow social entrepreneurs to share best practices and a connection to other innovators in the business, public and community sectors.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Managing Director of SEI, Sean Coughlan said that social entrepreneurs “deserve public recognition, acknowledgement and support, not just at award ceremonies such as this but also at local and national level throughout the year. “It is now time for all of us in Ireland to step up to the mark and provide the encouragement and practical support that social entrepreneurs need in order to grow and thrive,” he concluded.

The first move in what is likely to be a nine-month long game of strategising, planning and spin began in Clare this week.

Making the first move with a walk about in Clare, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern was working to keep all three of his pawns in play.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny believes that he needs to have just two of his four remaining pawns standing to secure victory.

He told The Clare People this week that the party hoped to gain two seats in Clare, despite claims that he is overloading the constituency with too many candidates.

“We have four exceptional candidates and as long as we work as a team and urge the voters to use their vote to change the Government, I’m confident we can take two seats.”

But who of the four candidates, Deputy Pat Breen, Cllrs Joe Carey, Tony Mulcahy and Madeleine Taylor Quinn he hopes to have left standing with him remains a mystery.

Meanwhile Mr Ahern is hoping to bring all three candidates, Deputy Tony Killeen, Senator Brendan Daly and Senator Timmy Dooley to the Dáil. Current political polls would suggest that such a move would require a lot of work however.

Speaking in Clare on Thursday the Taoiseach went so far as to suggest that the political games began with the leak of tribunal documents to a national paper.

“Who went to the trouble of such a motivated and scurrilous way of leaking what was a confidential session that I had with a tribunal and put it in the public domain?” he asked the gathered media in Kilrush after admitting the report was damaging.

“I don’t want to say it is politically motivated, but it is dirty (and) dishonest. I mean somebody went to a lot of trouble to place this in the public domain and it has been going on for the last few days,” he said.

Meanwhile Deputy Kenny is planning his strategy to call checkmate in the Banner County. The Mayoman outlined how the government has failed the people of Clare.

KILKEE has secured a massive coup by persuading Oscar-winning actor, Russell Crowe (left), to participate in the unveiling of a statue dedicated to the late Richard Harris.

The Hollywood star is to take a break from filming in New York to be in Kilkee next Saturday for the unveiling of the life-size statue.

Event organiser, Manuel di Lucia, confirmed yesterday that the star was to attend and sing a song that Crowe penned in memory of Richard Harris.

FURTHER concern has been expressed over the declining number of people living in the centre of Ennis.

The most recent census figures show that the population of Ennis grew by 7. 5 per cent in the period from 2002 to 2006, with the town now home to 10,305 people.

The areas of Ennis defined as rural also grew, in this case by 9.4 per cent.

However census figures also show that the core population has dropped by almost 20 per cent in the past 10 years with the town’s urban population now standing at 5,917 compared to 7,163 a decade ago.

According to Rita McInerney, Chief Executive Officer, Ennis Chamber of Commerce, the decline is a cause for concern.

“Certainly it is a concern and we have a committee together who are looking at the reasons why and seeing what recommendations can be made”.

Increased demand for commercial space is seen as one of the reasons for the fall in population and according to Mrs McInerney the town would benefit more from having an increased core population.

“The figures show there is a great demand for commercial space. It would certainly be better to have certain areas in the centre that were residential.

“The idea of having deserted streets is not ideal.

“ It is important there is a good mix of people in any town, and there are also benefits from a security point of view.”

Meanwhile, there have been calls to install a new lighting system near Clare Abbey.

Plans for a new link road to the Ennis bypass that would pass by the ancient abbey have been lodged with Clare County Council and at the September monthly Executive Meeting of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, one of the items discussed was the potential focus on Clare Abbey.

According to statement from the Chamber, “Clare Abbey will now be much more visible to motorists, both locals and visitors alike. Ennis Chamber believes this is an historic religious structure of high architectural value which should be revered.

“Therefore the chamber is calling on the Office of Public Works to develop a lighting plan in order to give Clare Abbey the attention it deserves.

This will ensure its role as a landmark symbol for Ennis, reflecting the rich heritage and culture the town has to offer.”

THE chairman of the Clare Association of An Taisce has warned that four large retail parks on the fringes of Ennis will have a negative impact on businesses in the town centre.

Plans for the retail parks are before Clare County Council and An Bord Pleanala. If approved, they could dramatically alter the town’s commercial landscape.

In a submission to Clare County Council, Oliver Moylan said that “if these out-of-town retail centres are allowed to continue, the town centre will be affected. What will happen in the end is the decline of retail shops on the streets and their places will be taken up by solicitors, finance houses, auctioneers and insurance companies”.

There are plans for a €50 million retail park on the Quin Road, a €25 million development at Claureen, Lahinch Road, another park as part of a €50 million development near Clarecastle and another €50 million park on the Clare Road.

“All these will bring about the decline of shopping in the town centre – the consumer choice will be gone. Note, there are five solicitors offices in Parnell Street – fatal for attracting shoppers,” said Mr Moylan, who also operates a business in Ennis town centre.

“In all honesty, do we need another retail park? Are we not overretailed?

“In the Ennis and environs plan 2003, it states that ‘no out-of-town centre retail developments will be allowed unless it can be demonstrated that no other suitable sites are available’. I put it to you that the Ennis area is amply covered in all aspects of retailing, especially with the existing seven centres.

“There are at present virtually seven retail parks in the Ennis area: town centre, Dunnes, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Roslevan and the Lynch proposal for the Limerick Road. I really must ask is there a need for another one?

“There is a population of 110,000 in Clare. Of that, only half come into Ennis to shop. The other half, especially those living in south Clare, go to Limerick to shop.

“That leaves roughly 55,000 to shop in the existing centres. It is an awfully small cake to share out. It is interesting to note that Dunnes Stores has 100,000 square feet of retail space, almost equal to the square footage of the small shops on the three main streets.”

Decisions are due on the retail park applications in the next number of weeks.

FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny has not ruled out the controversial Hanly Report for Clare, but has warned that the proposed centralisation of hospital services is not based on patients’ needs.

The alternative Taoiseach also warned that the capital development programme for Ennis General Hospital was “a smoke screen” to hide “the fact that the Government does not want to improve services” at the county hospital.

Deputy Kenny said he was concerned that the Government was planning to downgrade services there “in the long run”.

In an interview with The Clare People , the Leader of the Opposition said “no services should be removed from smaller hospitals until there is a genuine alternative in place that would not affect patient care.

“Many of the plans for centralisation of hospital services around the country do not focus on the needs of the patient, but rather appear to be based on cost containment.”

He said the infrastructure for routine transfer of patients over long distances between hospitals was not in place.

“The Government has consistently refused to give any commitment on the future status of Ennis hospital, and there is every reason to be concerned that Fianna Fáil and the PDs want to downgrade it to a local hospital.”

As the country’s politicians prepare to return to the Dáil after their long summer break, Deputy Kenny criticised the Government’s lack of commitment to the Banner County, which he said can be seen from its poor job-creation record.

“New jobs are being created across the country, but Ennis is being left behind. Ennis must not become a dormitory town, with its residents forced to travel elsewhere to work,” he warned.

“Job creation depends on good transport links, and Fine Gael believes the Western Rail Corridor should play an integral role in attracting new employers.”

He said his party sees Shannon Airport as vital to the future of the mid-West and the entire country.

He added that access to the airport was vital to making Shannon an attractive destination for any airline planning to avail of Open Skies, “and if this isn’t prioritised, we will have grass growing on the runway long before 2015.

“Any loss of access to the US will impact on critical US employment in the Shannon area and risks seeing big investors pull out of the West.

“Although discussion on Open Skies has been deferred, should it become a reality, Open Skies will present opportunities for every EU and US airport, including Shannon. Equally, Shannon will face competition from every well-placed European airport, most of which have excellent onward links to almost any other mainland destination. That is why domestic links to Shannon must be prioritised,” he said.

Deputy Kenny outlined how the people of Clare had suffered a decline in quality of life in the last decade.

“The Government has given lipservice to the rights of people to build houses in their own communities, while working against this through planning regulations,” he said.

“Average house prices are up from €69,000 in 1996 (the last full year Fine Gael was in office) to €245,000 at the end of last year making it impossible for many young couples to afford their own home,” he added.

“There are 3157 primary school children in classes of 30 or more, despite Fianna Fail promises.”

FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny is optimistically seeking two seats in the next elections, despite claims at grassroots level that he is overloading the constituency with too many candidates.

Deputy Kenny has told The Clare People that he expects a 50 per cent success rate in Clare next summer.

“I think that if the people want change and a Government that will work as hard as they do, they’ll vote Fine Gael and give us two seats here in Clare,” he said.

“We have four exceptional candidates and as long as we work as a team and urge the voters to use their vote to change the Government, I’m confident we can take two seats.”

But the team have to carve out the mostly rural constituency between them.

In an unprecedented move, the party’s Executive Council added Cllrs Joe Carey and Madeleine TaylorQuinn to the ticket, which already included Deputy Pat Breen and Cllr Tony Mulcahy following a contentious convention in May.

It was believed Mr Kenny had promised Cllr Taylor Quinn a place on the ticket if she ran in the European election, a promise that he kept.

A party poll at Christmas showed an increase in Fine Gael popularity in Clare and the possibility of securing the coveted second seat the leader now craves.

But the addition of the two names led to fears among local party members that its current seat was in danger. At a national conference in Athlone, Deputy Kenny tried to revert back to a selection process that would allow a number of delegates from each branch select the candidates.

He was narrowly defeated in a vote, which meant the one-person -one-vote method introduced six years ago remained. This week, he said he had no plans to change that selection process.

Meanwhile, he refused to speculate about the chances of a Clare minister in a Fine Gael-led government.

“Forming a Government and appointing ministers is a job for after the election,” he said.