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TWO Clare primary schools which follow the Steiner method of instruction have moved a step closer to achieving official recognition from the Department of Education and Science.

Raheen Wood School Tuamgraney, Scariff and Mol an Oige, Ennistymon both applied to County Clare VEC to act as patron of the schools so they could progress to stage two of a process that would see them gain official Departmental recognition. To finalise stage two the schools must agree to the curriculum as laid down by the Department. In the case of Mol an Oige recognition would allow them to pursue a permanent site.

The Board of Clare VEC last Thursday accepted a proposal that would see the VEC adopt the role of patron for both schools, provided the Department of Education and Science first grant recognition to both. The Raheen Wood School was established over 20 years ago and transferred to Tuamgraney in 1996. Like Mol an Oige, established in September 2005, it has followed the Steiner method of instruction.

The proposal was put forward by Cllr Peter Considine (FF) who said that stage two should go ahead on the basis that it imposed no financial impact on Clare VEC. He was supported by Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) who added that the Steiner system was a very advanced style of education and it shouldn’t be subject to suspicion.

“The Steiner system operates at secondary and primary and in some instances is probably more advanced than the system we espouse,” he said.

George O’Callaghan, CEO Clare VEC confirmed that any wage costs would be handled by the Department but that in the case of Mol an Oige official recognition may have implications for student and teacher numbers in schools in the Ennistymon area.

WORKERS at Shannon Development are “flabbergasted” over comments made by chairman, Liam McElligott that there is now alignment in thinking between the Board and staff over the future development of the company.

A spokesman for staff at Shannon Development told The Clare People this week, “The staff are flabbergasted by Mr McElligott’s comments and his lack of grasp of the situation. He obviously doesn’t appreciate the depth of feeling by staff at what is being done to the company. His comments have resulted in a further distance between Board and staff.”

Earlier this month, at a press briefing to mark the publication of Shannon Development’s end of year statement, Mr McElligott said: “I am quite confident now that there is alignment in our thinking,” when asked about ongoing tensions over the future role of the company.

The spokesman said, “Mr McElligott’s comments are demoralising for staff as they infer that there is now tacit approval by staff of the company’s new mandate, and give the impression that everything is sorted. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Currently, staff are refusing to co-operate with the implementation of the new mandate, pending the outcome of talks between SIPTU and the Department of the Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The mandate would see Shannon Development lose its core enterprise functions to Shannon Development and the IDA.

The spokesman added, “There is real anger and weariness at Mr McEliggott’s comments. This re-affirms SIPTU’s call for the present Board to resign en masse. They are not in touch with what is going on.”

Asked are staff confident that Shannon Development will hold onto the promotion of Shannon Free Zone in their talks with the Department, he said, “We are confident that we have made a very good argument. As to whether we will be successful, I don’t know.

“If it does proceed, it will lead to an impoverished situation for the company and drastically weaken its ability to do positive things for the region as Shannon Development has been a lynchpin in a lot of things.

“In practice, it will reduce Shannon Development to a property management company. And we are very disappointed over the lack of analysis behind the decision to revise the mandate.”

APPROXIMATELY 20 per cent of on-thespot litter fines went unpaid in the county last year.

While the number may seem quite high it is significantly less than the national average, where it is estimated that as many as two in every three litterbugs escape without paying any penalty.

Last year Clare County Council issued 228 litter fines.

Ennis Town Council was ensuring that the county town held its tidy town status and issued 363 offenders with litter fines, while Kilrush Town Council issued a total of 14 litter fines.

Of the on the spot fines issued though the county council, 97 were paid, 36 cancelled and nine ended up in the courts.

Less than half of the court cases were successful, with the council receiving a positive result in just four.

A total of 86 cases are pending further investigation, payment of fines or proceedings if the fines are not paid.

The county council made almost €14,000 in litter fines last year, more than €10,000 less than its urban counterpart.

Ennis Town Council secured €25,000 in the 200 fines paid. In total the town council issued 363 on the spot fines.

Seven of those cases went to court with the council winning six of the seven.

The two litter and environmental wardens in Ennis responded to 595 complaints in the 12 months of 2005.

Barry Keating, Staff Officer with the Environment Section of Ennis Town Council explained that any illegal dumping discovered in the urban area is referred to the county council’s waste management team.

He said that waste management is not a major issue in the towns and illegal dumping is more of a rural problem.

Kilrush Town Council likewise deals solely with one off litter fines. In 2005 it collected €1,000 from the eight fines paid.

Of its two prosecutions, it received a positive result in one, with a fine of €200 imposed.

Nicola Cullinan, Staff Officer with the Waste Enforcement Unit in the county said that imposing the fine can be difficult as people in rented accommodation move on and are difficult to relocate.

There is also a lot of investigation work for the three environmental wardens and the two engineers in the unit, who often have to go through rubbish bags to identify its owner.

Last year the waste enforcement unit issue 30 notices and fines for illegal advertising signage.

A further 70 notices were served under different sections of the waste management plan including notices to land owners for illegal dumping.

Nine prosecutions were successfully made under the waste management plan.

SHANNON industry has been dealt a hammer blow in the past week with the news that up to 105 jobs could be lost at the telephonic company Flextronics.

Employees at the Shannon Free Zone plant were rocked last Wednesday morning when Flextronics management announced that 65 jobs could be gone at the plant by April.

Flextronics management have refused to issue any statement on the potential job losses, but The Clare People has learned that the company could be moving part of their operation to Belfast in the near future.

And, a cloud of uncertainty now hangs over 40 more jobs at the Flextronics plant, with employees fearing the worst in the wake of a weeklong veil of silence by company management.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” one employee told The Clare People . “We have been told that 65 jobs are to go in the next two months, but the feeling is that this is only the start and that all the jobs could go,” he added.

Industry sources in Shannon have forecast that the Flextronics job losses could have a massive impact on freights services out of Shannon.

Flextronics was responsible for giving much business to freight operators in Shannon. It’s estimated that it transported 3.5 million kilos of freight by road and air through freight companies.

A worst-case scenario of the Flextronics job losses could be a domino affect of job cuts in the six freight companies that operate out of the airport free zone.

Shannon Development has revealed that it has been made aware Flextronics’ current difficulties. “We know that Flextronics are reviewing their Shannon operation,” Shannon Development spokesperson Dympna O’Callaghan told The Clare People .

“We are not aware of what the final outcome of the job losses will be. All we know is that they are restructuring and they will make us aware formally what the outcome of those deliberations will be,” added Ms O’Callaghan.

“Flextronics are not members of the Shannon Chamber, but we do know that they are having a number of operational difficulties,” said Shannon Chamber of Commerce, Tríona McInerney. “There hasn’t been an official announcement on job losses, but they have lost a major customer. We hope that they will be able to resolve their difficulties,” added Ms McInerney.

Last year, Shannon Devlopment’s annual report revealed that 739 jobs were lost in the Free Zone, while there were 450 new jobs created during the same period.

MEMBERS of Clare County Council ended a heated meeting on the budget by demanding an increase in funding from central government. The council are to bring their concerns about inequality in the allocations of funds to different counties to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Dick Roche.

Cllr Madeline Taylor Quinn received the support of her council colleagues when she proposed that a letter be sent to the Minister and the department expressing “the dismay of the council” at the funding received.

She told the meeting that the council received the 25th highest grant in the country at €14.65 million, and it is placed 30th if rated by the increase received.

The council agreed to tell the Minister that the inadequate funding places an unfair burden on the ratepayers who are then relied upon to fund services.

Agreeing with Cllr Taylor Quinn, her party colleague Cllr Joe Arkins said, “We have no chance of a third (Dail) seat (for the current government) so there is no need for us to be considered for extra funding.”

Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney further proposed that the Minister be asked to redress the inequality of the local funding bill and in the process increase the Clare allocation.

The County Manager asked the council members to approve a €12.5 million over draft for 2006, although he said he does not expect to have to use it. The council will spend €101 million this year – an increase of 8.4 per cent on last year’s spend of €93 million.

AS NEW York police continue to investigate the murder of John Kelly, his shell-shocked family say he was simply in the “wrong place at the wrong time”.

A medical report confirmed the electrician died as a result of a single bullet to the back of the head. Police say they do not have any definite leads into the enquiry at this stage.

John was taking down Christmas lights outside the apartment block where he lived when he was shot dead.

His sister, Linda O’Shea, last spoke to him at Christmas. She told The Clare People her brother was a well respected member of the community, both in Clare and New York, where a lot of his friends were police officers.

“Wrong place, wrong time. It’s just a trag-

HUNDREDS of mourners turned out to pay

their final respects to Sixmilebridge native John

Kelly, who was laid to rest in his native soil on

Saturday.

The mass in St Finnachta’s parish church

was concelebrated by Frs Louis Murphy, John

McGovern, Harry Bohan, Pat Mulcahy and Tom

Fitzpatrick.

A booklet, bearing a picture of John on the

front, was specially printed for the occasion,

while John’s body was flown home from the

States in a green casket. The casket was draped

with several hurling and soccer jerseys, which

he had donned over the years.

Among the gifts presented in his memory in-

cluded a hurl, soccer ball, set of darts and golf

club. A teddy was also presented, in recognition

of his attempts at hunting: he shot a teddy bear,

just weeks before his death. A guard of honour

– comprising members of sports clubs with who

he was involved, in Clare and New York – lined

up outside the church, before his coffin was car-

ried to the cemetery nearby.

Fr Louis Murphy told mourners there were no

answers why the father-of-three was shot dead

outside his New York home, six days earlier.

“The very natural question arises for all of us:

why? There is no answer that is likely to satisfy edy. We have no answers. It is just a nightmare,” she said.

John attended primary school in Sixmilebridge and secondary in Shannon, before training as an electrician and then moving to the States.

He played hurling with Wolfe Tones, Sixmilebridge and Cratloe, and soccer for Bridge United, before emigrating. While living abroad, he also developed a keen interest in golf and took part in the qualifiers of the US amateur open last year.

John, who hadn’t returned home in over a decade, worked in three jobs to pay for flights home for his family every year.

“He never stopped working. We used to call him a workaholic,” added Linda. “His three children idolised him and he idolised those kids. Everything he did was geared towards Ann and the kids.”

“John loved a sing-song. He was a brilliant singer. Growing up, he was a typical young fella. I never remember my parents being upset at anything he did. He saw American as an opportunity, after qualifying as an electrician,” she said.

John’s romance with Ann (Murphy, of Sixmilebridge) began in the ballroom in Sixmilebridge and blossomed over many years.

John’s father, also John, a native of Clarecastle, said his son was a “law-abiding citizen. The way in which he was killed was no reflection on the way he lived.

“We don’t know how it happened or why it happened. We just know it did happen. It was an accident, but why it was done, we just don’t know.

“We do trust the New York police department. They will find the answer,” he said. us, to help us to understand. “Words fail us, but we attempt to help each other with consolation, with comfort and support,” he told the congregation which had packed into the church.

“John was a very special person, known by so many, loved by so many and cherished by so many, as a great, wonderful friend,” added the priest, who said John was an “exceptional sportsman”.

John’s sister Geraldine said he was “a doting husband, wonderful dad, loving son and extremely loyal friend”.

She said he worked hard in New York for almost 20 years, during which time he provided for his wife Ann and three children – Lauren (15), Nicole (10) and Kevin (9).

Recalling her brother’s youth, she joked that he could go for 48 hours without sleep, but could then fall asleep anywhere, even on the kitchen table.

“God help the person who had to wake him up. “But now he is in his final sleep. Sleep with the angels, John. We can never wake you,” said Geraldine.

A friend of John’s in New York told mourners the deceased was a big fan of Johnny Cash, and was exceptionally passionate about hurling.

He said, as a barman, John took no nonsense: “If someone messed up in the bar, they were out.”

PEOPLE attending the Central Criminal Court sitting in Ennis today are being asked to bear in mind that there will not be enough parking for everybody. A panel of 300 people have been sent letters, to attend for jury selection, for a trial which is due to get underway on Wednesday.

Huge crowds are also expected to attend for today’s sentencing for Wayne O’Donoghue, of Midleton, Cork, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of 11-year-old schoolboy Robert Holohan last month. Gardai will be on duty to regulate traffic throughout the day.

“There will not be enough parking in the court grounds. There will be some limited parking on the Lifford road and in the roads and laneways around the courthouse,” said Inspector Tom Kennedy. “We will be regulating vehicles in the court grounds and persons in the courtroom itself. There will not be space for everybody.”

A WORKER who was made redundant, only to see his job advertised two weeks later, brought his former employers, Schwarz Pharma before the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

But the company is claiming that former operative, Johnny Purtill, should hand back the €16,800, which he was paid in redundancy money, before his case can be heard.

The Tribunal heard that Mr Purtill was one of 120 people made redundant from the Shannon plant between 2004 and 2005 as part of a rationalisation plan. The company offered a voluntary redundancy package but when they could not achieve enough cuts, a number of employees, including Mr Purtill, suffered compulsory redundancy.

He was paid a total of €16,800 in redundancy payments and signed a waiver, the solicitor for Schwarz Pharma told the Tribunal.

She told the members of the Tribunal that the company is contending that Mr Purtill has no claim “as he signed a waiver which specifically said that the payment was in full and final settlement, after having the benefit of the advice of his union representative.”

And should the Tribunal allow the claim to go ahead, Mr Purtill should hand back the money he was paid as redundancy, the solicitor told the hearing.

Mr Purtill’s solicitor said that his client’s job was advertised just two weeks after he was compelled to leave. “We contend that he was made redundant on the basis of a misrepresentation,” the solicitor said.

“My client’s position was advertised shortly after he was let go and the two people taken on to fill his position were congratulated in the company newsletter.”

Mr Purtill said that “no sooner was he out the door than two people were taken on shortterm contracts without benefits such as holiday or sick pay.”

Schwarz Pharma’s representative said that the two people were taken on “to fill a shortterm need. Mr Purtill himself was offered a similar short term contract later in the year, which he turned down.”

The legal representative asked the Tribunal members to hold that Mr Purtill had no case or, should they decide there was a prima facia case to adjourn the matter until he had returned the money paid to him in redundancy.

The member of the Tribunal said they would consider the matter and issue a written decision to both parties.

ONE of the busiest coastal rescue units in the country is set to become a family affair with the wives of two existing volunteers set to join in the coming days.

Confirming the move, Doolin Area Officer with the Irish Coastguard, Mattie Shannon said that the two new members would bring the number in the unit to 22.

Reviewing last year’s activities, Mr Shannon said that the Doolin unit was involved in the recovery of three bodies off the Clare coast last year and 24 call outs. This represented a decrease on the eight bodies recovered and 31 call outs in 2004.

The three bodies recovered were those of the three men, Joe O’Callaghan (34) Michael Doran (31) and Martin Griffin (24), who died after their jeep fell into the sea near Doolin on the October bank holiday weekend.

Last year was the first year in a number of years where no bodies were recovered as a result of people falling off the Cliffs of Moher.

Mr Shannon said that the lower number of call outs last year allowed the unit to carry out more training.

Mr Shannon said that the backbone of the unit were now over 40s: “There is always a need of bringing in new people. The backbone of the unit are 47-48 years old.”

Mr Shannon said that it would take two to three years to train volunteers into their job. The ideal candidate would be someone in their late 20s who was settled in the Doolin area, as the response time to call-outs was vital.

Mr Shannon also stated that he hoped to see progress in the Office of Public Works (OPW) providing a new station for the unit this year.

The existing building used by the unit has no toilet facilities.

TWO Ennistymon schools have warned Clare County Council that schoolchildrens’ health will be put at risk if a plan to convert the local Convent of Mercy building into an apartment complex proceeds.

The boards of management of both Scoil Mhuire, Convent of Mercy and the Ennistymon Convent Primary School have told the council if the plan proceeds, it will pose a safety threat to the children attending the schools.

In their objection, Scoil Mhuire’s board members state, “the heavy traffic involved at the construction stage of development and the volume of cars that will service the apartments, when occupied, could pose a serious threat to the safety of our students.”

The objection by Scoil Mhuire is supported by opposition from the school’s parent’s association.

“It is with extreme concern that we have learned of the application,” they state.

The parents point out that the school has a policy that children must walk and not be driven the narrow road to the school.

“The reason is safety. It is therefore inconceivable that this proposed development could be favourably considered, particularly with its inclusion of 30 car-park spaces and the inevitable traffic up and down this totally unsuitable access road that this development will generate…it will have extremely serious implications for the safety of all children attending the school.”

In their objection, the Board of Management of the Convent Primary School stress that “it is wonderful news that the Convent of Mercy – closed for eight years – is to be developed.

“However, we are very concerned about access to the building as it also the entrance to the primary school and this may create health and safety issues.

The application by Tomas Fitzgerald of Banna Developments was made in 2004. Last year the council stated that it had serious concerns that the proposal would exacerbate the traffic problems.

The council told the applicant: “You are strongly advised to investigate the possibility of providing an alternative access where conflict between cars and pedestrians is significantly reduced.”

The developers suggested an alternative access, however at a meeting towards the end of last year, the council’s road engineering staff stated that they would prefer the original access road.

The consultant has since asked for a meeting between the planner, engineer and the applicant to resolve the issue. A decision on the application is expected at the end of the month.