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CLAIMS that government support of Shannon Airport is in breach of EU competition laws have formally been brought to the attention of the European Commission by Fianna Fáil senator Marc Mac Sharry.

The Sligo senator who initially voiced his opposition to government plans for Shannon’s independence in December has pressed ahead with a threat to lodge a complaint to the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission, saying support for Clare’s international air- port is tantamount to “unfairly distorting airport competition”.

Senator Mac Sharry made his move as he hit out at what he describes as the Government’s breach of European Competition Laws, in the “manipulation of a process which will ensure the demise of Ireland West Airport” at Knock.

“I am a supporter of Shannon Airport and any measures that can possibly assist in its growth and performance. However, measures announced by Minister Varadkar will unfairly pitch Shannon Airport against Knock, as it stands to benefit from an estimated total investment of € 300million.

“There is no national strategy on aviation. The Government must take a strategic approach to our airports and empower both Knock and Shannon to perform to their potential, as drivers of growth in the economy.”

“In supporting Shannon, yet ignoring Knock, the Government is unfairly distorting airport competition, but also destroying the potential of the Northwest region to flourish. It is anti-competitive and simply unlawful. The Government must therefore immediately commit to support Knock Airport, acknowledge its strategic importance to the national ef- fort and take steps to provide similar proportionate measures to level the playing field with Shannon.”

The complaint over government support of Shannon has been lodged with the Commission under Article 107 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.”

“We must take a strategic and fair approach to Aviation Policy; Shannon must be supported, but we must also provide support equally to Knock, to enable both to perform to their potential without distorting the consumer-friendly competition that rightly exists between the two,” said Senator Mac Sharry.

SPECULATION is mounting over the future of one of the county’s bestknown hotels, the West County.

The Ennis hotel was listed for sale last July for between € 2.5 million to € 3 million.

Retail giant Tesco are thought to be interested in the site, which could see the area completely re-developed.

Tesco were put forward as the an- chor tenant for a proposed major retail development at Clare Road /Tobertascán.

Ennis Town Council has refused permission for the project put forward by Michael Lynch Ltd. That decision has been appealed to An Bord Pleannála.

Tesco did not respond to a request for a comment yesterday. A wellknown family-run hotel group in Leinster have also been linked with the West County, which could see substantial and much needed investment in the hotel. Staff at the West County will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of the sale.

Formerly the flagship hotel within the Lynch group of hotels, the West County was placed into receivership in February (2012).

It sits on a high-profile six-acre site on the southern approach road to Ennis town centre and its accommodation includes: 152 en-suite bedrooms; eight separate and interconnecting conference/ banqueting suites that can cater for up to 1,650 delegates; a modern leisure centre with a 20metre heated indoor pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.

The leisure club includes a gym with more than 1,000 local members. The bar and lounge has a capacity for around 500 people. The site can accommodate 450 parking spaces.

CBRE, the firm handling the sale of the hotel, has said there had been a lot of interest in the site.

THE prospect of Ennis General Hospital becoming a rudderless satellite of the Limerick-centred Health Service Executive has raised its head following the revelation that the flagship facility of Clare’s health service has no manager as of Monday of this week.

Frank Keane, who acted as the onsite manager of Ennis General over the past three years, has vacated the position to take up a new appointment as maternity and child health directorate manager in Limerick.

In bidding farewell to Ennis, Mr Keane admitted that staff at Ennis General were “unsure and concerned” with the situation at the hospital, with a slew of public representatives fearing the worst for a facility that has been severely downgraded over the last number of years.

“Look at what happened when we had absentee landlords in Ireland,” blasted former Mid Western Health Board member Cllr Joe Arkins, before adding that “management of Ennis General Hospital from Limerick will be a complete disaster and shows what the HSE thinks of health services in Clare”.

These words have been echoed by HSE Forum West member, Brian Meaney, on the back of confirmation that the high dependency unit at Ennis General has been removed because of staffing difficulties at the hospital.

“There has been no inter-action, explanation or any other communication informing the elected members on the HSE West Forum of what is proposed,” said Cllr Meaney. “Ennis will be out in limbo, its cause will not be fully articulated at corporate governance level within the HSE Mid West.

“Frank Keane has done a fantastic job in progressing a number of projects and Ennis benefitted from his time there, but now we have no indication of what process is going to be put in place to manage a hospital like Ennis.

“If a manager is not appointed to Ennis it will remain rudderless and will be a further downgrading of a hospital that has been completely denuded of its service, which we have accepted. The fear is that the hospital will simply morph by inaction and auto-pilot into a minor injuries unit,” he added.

Mr Keane has said that Ennis General Hospital “has a future, but a different future” and that services at the facility “are going to evolve in 2013”.

As part of this process, the Accident and Emergency Unit, which was downgraded from a 24-hour to 12-hour (8am to 8pm) service in 2011, is set to become a medical assessment and local injuries unit. Tue22January13

THE announcement that funding is finally to be granted for the construction of a rescue station for the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard brings to an end a campaign lasting more than two decades.

Over the years, the Doolin Unit has grown into Ireland’s busiest unit of the Coastguard, regularly responding to multiple call-outs during busy days.

Long delays were experienced securing the land needed for the facility and gaining planning permission only for funding, which had been “ringfenced” by previous administrations, failing to materialise.

The campaign for a new centre has gathered momentum over the last 10 years. Indeed, the tragic deaths of three Clare youths in the waters off Doolin in November of 2005, and the week-long search which ensued, inadvertently did much to raise the issue in the public and political consciousness.

It was reported in The Clare People at the time that facilities were so cramped at Doolin that bodies recovered from the sea had to sometimes be stored in a small 25 by 30 foot room, which could also be in use by up to 18 Coastguard volunteers at the same time.

“This facility was deemed necessary in the mid-90s. Even then, more than 20 years ago, it was clear that this was badly needed,” said North Clare Senator, Martin Conway (FG).

“It was obvious even then the location was primitive. There were no changing facilities, no shower facilities, no facilities to lay out a body that had been recovered from the sea. A lot of equipment had to be located in the homes of volunteers, boats had to be located in the back of Mattie Shannon’s house.

“It was totally unacceptable given how busy the unit is and how strong the need is to put together a wellequipped crew quickly in an emergency situation. It was appalling to think that the busiest unit in the country was also one of the worst equipped.”

Funding for the facility was first announced by the Department of Transport and the OPW in 1997 – but this projected failed to materialise. Funding was also said to be “ringfenced” by several TDs and ministers during the Celtic Tiger period but this funding was found to have escaped from the fencing when issues surrounding the site and planning were resolved a number of years ago.

A PROPOSAL to provide an annual award for budding scientists and a scholarship for postgraduates was declined at last night’s (Monday) meeting of Clare County Council. Instead it was agreed that the proposal be sent to Clare VEC and the two local universities for their considerations.

The three councillors that suggested the annual award of € 1,000 “to acknowledge creative proposals from Young Scientists” at Secondary School level and a € 3,000 scholarship, for postgraduate research into a previously undeveloped resource “which could lead to substantial employment within the county”, expressed their disappointment with the move.

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) said it was no “wonder people were despondent with politics” given the answer from the council executive. He added, “We have to show faith and hope in our young people.”

Cllr Tom McNamara (FF) was equally disappointed that the council did not come on board with the idea.

Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG), however, was willing to support Director of Services Ger Dollard’s suggestion that the idea be forwarded to other state bodies due to financial constraints.

Cllr Keating also proposed the issue be included in the 2014 budget.

Mr Dollard told the council members that the BT Young Scientists already played a role in encouraging scientific projects among second level students in the county.

“This offers an opportunity to secondary school students to progress creative ideas within a well established framework and structure,” he said. “It should be pointed out that no provision has been made for such schemes in the budget for 2013. It is suggested that the motion should be referred to the VEC in regard to secondary school involvement and to UL and NUIG with regard to third level input. These bodies have the appropriate expertise to progress any such scheme,” added the council official.

The council body agreed with Mr Dollard’s alternative proposal.

DOUBLE yellow lines outside a Kilrush primary school are one road marking too many for one member of the local council, who has vowed to quit the council in four weeks if they are not removed.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said that he would leave Kilrush Town Council if parts of the line were not removed to allow parents to park when they pick up and drop off their children to St Senan’s Primary School.

He believes that the council executive has crossed a line by not remov- ing the offending lines on the direction of the elected council members last September.

At Thursday’s meeting of the council, Cllr Prendeville asked why the lines had not already been removed.

“This is becoming farcical. Parents are being forced to park illegally. If it is not carried out, I will resign from the council in the next four weeks,” said the father of the council.

“It is making a farce of what is happening in this town council.

“Is there another school in Ireland where there are double-yellow lines for 300 yards either side of the school?” he asked.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) said there was no need for an emergency roads and traffic meeting on the lines as suggested by the town clerk, as the issue had already been decided.

“We have already agreed that there is a strip on either side of the pedestrian crossing where the double yellow lines can be removed,” she said.

Cllr Liam O’Looney (FF) added that legally under the Road Act the council could remove some of the yellow line.

“There should be minimum room for three spaces above and two spac- es below,” he said.

“My recollection of it was that the town engineer would go back and look at it,” Town Clerk John Corry told the councillors.

The councillors, however, expect the lines to be removed by the February meeting or they will be down their longest servicing member.

In the meantime, Cllr Prendeville has called for an amnesty for people parking on the double yellow lines outside the school.

“If anyone has a parking issue on that part of the road, they should be written off because a member of this council did not carry our instructions,” he said.

PARENTS in Shannon are invited to have their say on which of four patron bodies they would like to see running primary schools in their area.

The bodies, which have indicated they would like to become patrons of any divested schools in Shannon, include the County Clare VEC, An Foras Patrúnachta, Educate Together and the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Parents of children aged 0 to 12 years in 38 areas across Ireland are being asked by the Minister for Education and Skills what patrons they would like to see operating their local primary schools.

As part of this, parents in Shannon are being asked for their views.

The survey went live yesterday (Monday) on the Department of Education website and is an expansion of pilot surveys on primary school patronage which were conducted late last year in five towns.

The aim of the survey is to establish the level of demand from parents for diversity of school patronage in each of the towns. The current patrons of schools in Shannon are the Catholic Bishop of Killaloe and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert.

If parents indicate they would like a wider choice of patron, then the Department of Education and Skills (DES) will ask existing patrons to come up with a plan to transfer some schools to other patron bodies.

“This is an historic opportunity for parents in Shannon to have a real say in the type of school they wish to send their children to, be it denominational, multi-denominational, allIrish or other,” said Minister Ruairí Quinn.

“In Shannon, there is little prospect of any new schools opening as the population remains stable and there is enough capacity within existing schools. However, if parents demonstrate through this survey that they want a greater choice of primary school, then we will work with existing patrons to transfer patronage to ensure they can send their children to a school which best reflects their own ethos and beliefs.”

The survey can be accessed online via www.education.ie and parents or guardians of primary school going children and 0 to 5 year olds in the 38 towns and suburbs (list below) are also being urged to fill it in before February 8. They will need to have their PPS number in order to complete the survey – for verification purposes. Paper-based versions of the survey are also available.

IRISH Rail has been urged to improve accessibility at Ennis Rail Station after claims that passengers are sometimes forced to cross platforms through the doors of two stopped trains.

Irish Rail yesterday denied the claim that was made at yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area.

In a motion tabled at the meeting, Councillor Brian Meaney (GP) called on the committee to request Irish Rail provide seating and shelter on the Galway platform at Ennis Station. He said the absence of seating and shelter on the Galway platform is causing difficulty to elderly and disabled passengers. He said the new footbridge is still not accessible to disabled people.

Cllr Meaney added, “It is still quite frustrating to see elderly people moving across the footbridge and having nowhere to sit apart from the plinth of the Old Victorian footbridge.”

He called on the committee to write to Irish Rail to highlight these concerns.

Cllr James Breen (Ind) asked if Irish Rail is in compliance with Irish and European law on disability.

Cllr Breen said that as someone who has to use a crutch, he would have great difficulty catching a train on the Galway platform.

Cllr Meaney told the meeting that he had heard instances where passengers who are unable to use the footbridge are brought through the trains that are stopped side by side on the tracks.

He said in other circumstances, trains are switch tracks in order to collect passengers.

Councillors said this was not a satisfactory situation for passengers. They agreed to write to Irish Rail.

Cllr Meaney added that much of the recent criticism of the number of passengers using the Galway line was “unwarranted”.

Speaking yesterday, a spokesperson for Irish Rail denied that passengers are transferred across platforms through stopped trains.

She said, “We would never have a situation where passengers are brought through from train to train. As far as we are aware that has never happened in Ennis. There are situations where we bring trains into the other platform.”

The spokeswoman acknowledged there are issues around access for disabled people at the station.

A NEW face is expected in the council chamber in Kilrush next month with the inclusion of a new town councillor. The Kilrush citizen will take the seat, which has remained vacant since the passing of former mayor of the town, Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF).

At last Thursday’s meeting of Kilrush Town Council, Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said the Fianna Fáil party would begin the selection process shortly and the new member should be in situ for the next meeting of the council.

“Fianna Fáil will liaise with the family at first and then with the town clerk. The new councillor hopes to be in place at the February meeting,” he said.

Cllr O’Gorman died at home on December 14 following an illness. His passing left a vacant seat on the nine-person town council.

It is now the responsibility of the late councillor’s political party – Fi- anna Fáil – to co-opt someone to fill this seat. It is understood that the party will seek nominations for the position shortly, after consultation with the late councillor’s family.

The local Cumann will be tasked with selecting the candidate for the role, and the Cómhairle Dáil and Fianna Fáil will then ratify that choice. A spokesperson for Fianna Fáil in Kilrush said only, “The position will be filled in due course.”

Whoever is seconded to Cllr O’Gorman’s seat will likely serve one of the shortest ever terms on the 128-year-old council, as it is due to be dissolved during the summer of 2014.

Cllr O’Gorman served the council for more than 18 years, and was first elected in 1994. During his career, he served as mayor on two occasions.

Although he had been ill for a few months, his passing was considered sudden locally and was a shock to his loving family, friends, fellow councillors and constituents.

His colleagues described him as a “political colossus”.

CLARE County Council has acknowledged that there are still “major problems” with a sewerage plant in Quin.

It emerged yesterday that the council could not proceed with a planned € 800,000 upgrade of the Quin Gardens plant in 2012 due to a lack of funding.

In a report, the council stated that while € 130,000 was spent on improving some priority features of the plant, issues remained with capacity.

The issue was due to come before a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area yesterday. Quin councillor, Sonny Scanlan (FG), tabled a motion requesting an up to date position from the council on the sewerage system in Quin Gardens.

The project consists of the upgrading of the existing wastewater treatment plant including the provision of additional underground tanks and associated site works to increase capacity from 740 population equivalent (pe) to 1400 pe at Quin Gardens, Quin.

In his reply, Sean Ward, Senior Engineer, stated that it was not possible during 2012 to commence a full upgrade of the Quin wastewater treatment plant due to the non-availability of funding.

He continued, “However in August and September of 2012, Clare County Council applied to the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government’s rural water section for approval to divert Quin an amount approximately € 130,000 of our small schemes allocation which could not be spent at its original intended destination because of design issues. We succeeded in our application, and have spent this money on a number of the highest priority items of improvement at the existing plant – including screening, improved aeration and sludge tank. These works will be incorporated in any larger upgrade which we may be able to do in the future i.e. the money spent in 2012 won’t go to waste if we do the bigger job.”

Mr Ward added, “Already we are seeing an improvement in effluent results and a reduction in the costs of sludge management and are confident that odour problems will also be alleviated. We cannot however guarantee that the works done to date will solve all problems in the Quin sewerage system. These works do not add significantly to the spare capacity of the plant to cater for any future developments and there are still major problems of infiltration of stormwater and/or groundwater into the sewers. Furthermore when we receive a wastewater discharge license from the Environmental Protections Agency, we may have to comply with stringent conditions which the works done to date cannot in themselves achieve.

“Therefore we still intend to carry out a major upgrade if funding becomes available, and the works done to date can be regarded as an important advance element of such an upgrade,” he stated.

According to the council report, the proposed development will serve the needs of Quin village and its environs into the future. The report stated that Quin village will have a population of 789 persons by 2017.