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THE Employments Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found that a council foreman who allegedly threatened to set himself alight in a work van four years ago was unfairly dismissed.

Awarding Joseph Floyd Snr, Lower Main Street, Tulla, € 30,000 for unfair dismissal, the EAT also found that the Clare County Council employee was not given sufficient notice of his dismissal and awarded him just over € 4,000.

Clare County Council can appeal the finding to the Circuit Court.

While the EAT ordered the council to pay Mr Floyd compensation it ruled out his reinstatement.

On May 13, 2010, local gardaí assisted by the armed Garda Emergency Response Unit, and the Fire Service were called to the incident at Feakle during which Mr Floyd had a petrol can and lighter with him in his van, while he protested against the outsourcing of council work to sub-contractors.

In the course of the hearing, the council gave evidence that the fore- man threatened to set himself and council property alight, leading to a lot of concern for his, and others’, safety.

Mr Floyd challenged this later claim in the tribunal.

The tribunal also heard that a letter was given to Mr Floyd during the stand off ass“uring him his job was safe.

Clare County Council official Leonard Cleary said he issued a letter “under duress” and “this formula of words used worked to save a life”.

He added that a union official on site during the “difficult and volatile situation” had seen the letter and was aware of the situation.

The day after the incident Joseph Floyd presented to work at Clare County Council, but was placed on administrative leave “for health and safety reasons and for his own well being”.

Mr Floyd then spoke to the local radio station Clare FM. Later that day Mr Floyd was informed by letter that he was suspended from work and an internal council investigation got underway.

In September 2011, the council told Mr Floyd that he was dismissed after finding him guilty of three charges of gross misconduct.

Mr Floyd appealed the findings and an unfair dismissal hearing as well as a hearing into failure to give minimum notice was heard over four days during dates on June 2013, October 2013, February 2014 and May 2014.

The tribunal satisfied itself that the claimant’s employment ended on 6 September, 2011, when he was dismissed without notice but the tribunal was not satisfied that a dismissal without notice was justified.

“The claimant had more than the 15 years’ service required to seek the maximum minimum notice award of eight weeks’ gross pay,” the three-person tribunal found.

The tribunal also found it unfair that the council found Mr Floyd guilty of serious insubordination, as he had not been charged with that.

“There was a lack of evidence to substantiate the charge of bringing the name of the council into disrepute. The tribunal was not satisfied that this charge was sufficiently proven to warrant dismissal.”

THE Clare tourism sector is leading the economic recovery in the county with tourism providers from all over the county reporting significant increases in numbers this summer.

The Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience is set to shatter the 1 million visitor mark in 2014 – recording a nine per cent jump in tourist number so far this year. Coming on the back of a 14 per cent increase last year the North Clare tourist attraction is on course to take in 1,056,150 visitors this year, if current trends continue.

This massive increase could puts the Cliffs of Moher on course to become Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction – with Dublin Zoo and the Guinness Storehouse both likely to record similar visitor numbers for 2014.

Loophead Lighthouse has also seen a five per cent jump in tourism numbers with just under 17,879 people have visited the 19th century lighthouse since it was opened for the summer period in April.

According to figures compiled by Clare County Council, 57 per cent of these visitors were from Ireland, with North America, Germany and the United Kingdom accounting for 10 per cent, 9 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

The White Tailed Eagle Viewing and Information Point in Mountshannon has also proven a large draw this year with 7,626 tourists visiting the eagles between July 4 and August 21.

This facility is being operated by the Mountshannon Eagle Group, Mountshannon Community Council and the Golden Eagle Trust and was funded by Clare County Council.

Visitor increases at the Cliffs of Moher have been driven in part by the new routes servicing Shannon Airport.

“We noticed an immediate im- pact when the new European routes started to Shannon Airport in April, especially from the German market and additional ferry services from France to Cork have also added to French family self-drive numbers,” said Katherine Webster of the Cliffs of Moher.

“We’re also delighted to see that British holiday makers seem to have rediscovered the west of Ireland and after a lengthy absence are here in numbers. We are confident that the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience will exceed the symbolic one million figure before the end of 2014.”

The Wild Atlantic Way has been credited as one of the driving forces behind the increase.

“The launch of the Wild Atlantic Way, the development of new services at Shannon Airport, and the upgrading of visitor facilities at the lighthouse have been significant contributory factors to the growth in visitors. There is a noticeable increase in visitors from Germany and North America with the French and Italian markets also appearing particularly strong,” said Kathy Lordan of Clare County Council.

“The success of the Loophead Lighthouse visitor project is indicative of the wider Peninsula’s increasing popularity as a sustainable, visitor destination.”

THE people of Doolin have heralded the beginning of a new era following the opening of a new sea rescue centre in the village last week.

The € 1.8 million facility, which became operation last week but will not be officially opened for a number of months, has been the subject of intense local campaigning over the last 20 year.

Operator of Doolin Cave, John Browne, yesterday welcomed the new centre – describing the conditions in the old facility as “crazy”.

“It is such a necessary facility, the old situation that the coast guard was forced into was crazy – trying to get a boat down Fishers Street in an emergency,” he said.

“They [the coast guard volunteers] are such an important part of this community. It is important that they have the proper facilities to do their work.”

The new centre was also welcomed by Eugene Garrihy of Doolin2Aran Ferries.

“The facility is of huge importance to the work carried out by those brave men and women. In our ferries, it is a massive comfort to us to know that we have a back-up in the event that anything goes wrong,” he said.

“The coast guard have been waiting for this facility for some time now and any help that this could be for them and their work is very welcome. It brings to mind the great work that people like Mattie Shannon and Thomas Doherty have been doing for years, but also the men that came before them.”

A MAN has appeared in court charged in connection with a robbery in Ennis town centre last month.

James Connors (20), who is originally from the Shannon area, appeared before Ennis District Court yesterday.

Mr Connors, who is stated of being of no fixed abode, is accused of committing a robbery at Riverwalk, Woodquay, Ennis, on July 22. He is alleged to have robbed a HTC 1 mobile phone worth € 600 from a man.

He initially was brought before Ennis District Court earlier this month and the case came back before Judge Grainne O’Neill yesterday.

Garda Inspector John O’Sullivan told Judge O’Neill that an issue concerning an address for Mr Connors had to be resolved for bail to be finalised.

Judge O’Neill rose for a few minutes to allow gardaí check out the address supplied by Mr Connors.

When the case resumed, Insp O’Sullivan said the address – given in court as Caherdavin Meadows, Old Cratloe Road, Limerick – was acceptable to gardaí.

Mr Connors was granted bail sub- ject to a number of conditions.

He was ordered to reside at the stated address; sign on at Henry Street Garda Station in Limerick and observe a curfew between the hours of 12 midnight and 8am.

Mr Connors was ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim or witnesses in the case.

He was further ordered to stay out of Ennis except for court appearances and pre-arranged consultations with his solicitor.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey requested the conditions be amended to allow her client collect a social welfare payment in Ennis.

She said Mr Connors is currently in the process of transferring collection of his dole money from Ennis to Limerick.

Insp O’Sullivan said this was acceptable to the gardaí. Judge O’Neill granted bail and remanded Mr Connors on bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on September.

Addressing the accused, she told Mr Connors that any breach of bail would be treated by the court as a serious matter.

Judge O’Neill warned Mr Connors that if he were to breach the terms of his bail, he could be brought back to court and potentially be taken into custody.

PICKPOCKETS are targetting Ennis with up to three separate incidents reported to Ennis gardaí on Wednesday last alone.

On each occasion wallets were stolen from unsuspecting tourists, all from back pocket locations.

Gardaí are warning members of the public to be on the lookout for suspicious behaviour and to keep valuables in front pockets for safety.

The latest warning comes almost three weeks after a public announcement was issued to supporters at the Clare – Cork Munster U-21 hurling final in Cusack Park, alerting the large attendance to reports of pickpockets among the crowd. This was an unprecedented public announcement at a Clare GAA match.

It is suspected that a gang with pickpocket expertise are ‘dropping in and out of Ennis’, identifying targets and then leaving the town quickly.

Gardaí are understood to be examining street CCTV pictures from a number of locations throughout Ennis in a bid to identify the thieves.

However an American tourist who had his wallet stolen in Ennis last week has said the experience did not ruin his visit to the town.

Timothy Sweeney from Washington told The Clare People last week how his wallet was taken from a rear pants pocket near Parnell Street on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Sweeney explained that he turned and bumped into a young man.

He said it was only after the encounter that he noticed his wallet was missing. Mr Sweeney said the wallet contained € 110 and $200 and a number of credit cards.

“I was walking around with my camera out. It was obvious I was a tourist. I guess they thought I was an easy mark. It’s a lesson learned”, Mr Sweeney told The Clare People .

ENNIS has moved up the litter free league table by 10 places, retaining its “Clean to European Norm” status. The awarding body, Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL), said yesterday that it would prefer to see this town push on to a higher position on the table.

According to the report carried out by An Taisce for IBAL, “the top ranking sites in Ennis were not just clear of litter but well presented and maintained”.

The sites that made the A grade included Clare Leisure World, Garden of Remembrance and Recycle Facility at Ennis Shopping Centre.

St Patrick’s Terrace and the road from the town centre at Carmody Street out to square at Dalcassian Avenue were also given the top grade, as were Dalcassian Avenue and the N68 / N67 Kilrush – Kilkee Approach Road to Ennis.

The An Taisce inspector was less impressed with the Mill Road River Walk giving the area a poor C rating.

“This is an extensive site incorporating the river walk, hurling monument and Ennis Civic Trust Amenity Project at the Weir. It is a lovely environment, which has been poorly treated. The area beside the hurling monument was clean and tidy but across the road at Civic Trust Project garden was a different story – there were heavy levels of a wide variety of litter at the sluice gates. Throughout the rest of the area surveyed cigarette butts were very pronounced along the paving and there were several separate incidents of graffiti, including on one of the statues,” the report said.

Ennis Shopping Centre received a grade B. “This was a freshly presented and generally quite well maintained environment – car park surface / signage / markings were in good order and the interior was spot- less. However, cigarette butts and chewing gum were very prevalent throughout the exterior,” the inspector maintained.

The Clare County Council Recycle Bank at the Leisure Facility also got a B.

“This was a somewhat littered site but certainly much improved on previous IBAL Anti-Litter survey. The area to the base of the bins and surrounding shrubbery harboured a variety of food related litter and bottles tops. Two clothing recycle bins were overflowing. Extensive and colourful signage was very clear about not leaving items if bins were full,” the report said. MAUREENO’GORMAN(née O’ Shaughnessy) , Corbally, Kilkee. Peacefully. Reposing on Wednesday evening, August 20, at Lillis’Funeral Home in Kilkee from 6.30pm, with removal at 8pm to Kilkee Parish Church. RequeimMassonThursdayat 11.30amfollowed by burial in Lisdeen Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

GOOD news keeps landing at Shannon Airport as as new figures from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirm another impressive month of growth at the Clare Airport.

After passing out Cork Airport just last month, and reclaiming its position as Ireland’s second largest airport, Shannon begun to pull away from its Munster rival.

According to the new Air Traffic Figures for July, compiled by the IAA, Shannon Airport recorded an 18 per cent growth in the number of daily commercial flight coming through the airport compared to July of 2013.

More impressive than the percentage growth however is the number of commercial flights which are landing at the Clare airport each day.

An average of 74 daily commercial movements were recorded at Shannon Airport in July – the largest monthly average for more than four years. This compares to 66 daily commercial movement in Cork for the same period.

While commercial movement do not necessarily translate directly to passenger numbers, it is expected that Shannon Airport will also have passed out Cork Airport when those figures are released later this year.

This growth in traffic through Shannon Airport comes in the way of the decoupling of the airport from the Dublin Airport Authority. During 2012 Shannon Airport was close to being passed out by Knock Airport in Mayo as Ireland third busiest airport.

Meanwhile, the Central Statistic Office have compiled detailed figures for Shannon last year which show that the airport hosted 1,308,242 passengers last year – with four out of every ten passengers travelling to or from London.

The most popular route was Shannon to Heathrow which carried 258,000 passengers while Shannon-Stansted and Shannon-Gatwick hosted 183,000 and 104,000 respectively.

In the same year, more than 200,000 people travelled between Shannon and New York with 107,000 travelling from Shannon to Newark and 102 travelling from Shannon to JFK.

THE Clare construction industry is beginning to come back to life with a marked increase in the number of projects actually being commenced in the first half of this year.

The number of commencement orders issued in Clare has grown by a massive 53 per cent compared to last year. While these figures have been broadly welcomed, industry insiders have stressed that the growth is from a very low level and it will take a prolonged period of similar growth before the construction industry in Clare returns to a sustainable level.

There was further good news for the construction sector as the number of planning applications lodged in Clare during the first half of 2014 is up by more than 12 per cent when compared to the same period during 2013.

Commencement orders are considered to be a much more accurate way of mapping the health of the construction sector in a region as a large proportion of planning applications in recent years refer to the retention of historic planning applications, many of which may go forward to the construction stage.

Despite Clare’s positive showing in the National Housing Construction Index, the county is actually lagging behind the country as a whole with Ireland recording an overall increase of 66 per cent in commencements so far in 2014.

“The year on year increases for planning applications and project commencements bodes well for the construction sector in the short to medium term. The 66 per cent year on year increase in project commencements is incredibly positive, notwithstanding the slowdown in the rate of growth in project commencements since the start of the year,” said Danny O’Shea of Link2Plans who compile the National Housing Construction Index.

ENNIS is facing its worst ever rental property crisis – with prices set to rise by at least 10 per cent over the next 12 months.

The rental market in the county town is on the verge of grinding to a standstill – with just 29 properties available for rent in Ennis today, and only 12 three-bedroom, family style homes.

Rental property prices rose by 2.2 per cent in the the second quarter of this year – with the lions share of this rise being driven by Ennis.

A normally functioning rental market should see more than five per cent of the total property stock on the rent- al market at any time. Ennis requires a 1600 per cent increase on current stock levels to get close to that level.

“The last six months has seen a sharp decline on the number of properties available to rent in Ennis. We had a property last week which was rented after its first viewing for a increased rent, a lot of properties aren’t making it to the property websites they are going so fast,” said Mairead Carrig of Location Location in Ennis.

“Properties are being snapped up very quickly and there are very few new builds coming through. It would not be unrealistic if we saw price increases of 10 per cent of more in the year ahead. The powers that be need to make it easier for builders to get back to work in Ennis.”

The divisions between Clare’s two speed rental market also appears to be deepening with a large number of properties still available for rent outside of urban areas.

According to Ronan Lyons of Daft. ie, Ennis is just six months off a property shortage similar to those currently being experienced in Dublin and Cork.

Unlike Dublin and Cork however, there are few building projects planned for Ennis in the short and medium term.

“The figures for Ennis are really dramatic. A healthy market should have between 5 or 10 per cent of properties for sale at any one time but there is nothing close to that at the moment,” he said.

“Ennis is in the same boat as Cork and Dublin, there is just a lack of available accommodation, but it just on a small scale. Ultimately, this can only lead to large increases in rents.

“We have seen rent rises in four of the last five quarters in Clare and I could see rent rises significantly in the county over the next six months. It is very difficult to predict but I wouldn’t be surprising to see rents for the whole of the county rising by between 5 and 10 per cent in the year ahead.

“The places will see this the most is in Ennis and the parts of Clare which are close to Limerick and Galway. More and more now people want to be closer to jobs and services.”

THERE are more than 100 extra vacant commercial premises in Clare compared to this time last year – despite anecdotal evidence of improvement in the local economy.

The latest report from the Geo Directory tracker has found that the rate of vacant premises has risen from 11.4 per cent last year, to 12.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 – meaning that 904 of Clare’s 7,030 premises are now vacant, compared to 801 last year.

The chairperson of Ennis Cham- ber of Commerce, Rita McInerney, described the figures as disappointing but stressed that sections of the Clare economy are experiencing a recovery.

“I am disappointed that the rate has gone up because the general feeling within business is that things are broadly improving. I think it reflects the challenges that the retail sections are facing at the moment,” she said.

“This is indicative of the pressure that the retail trade is under. Retail is the sector that will always require premises when new businesses start.”

The Ennis Chamber is keen to forward new approaches to retail, such as the creation of a Business Improvement District, to allow businesses to win back customers from large retail parks and online shopping sites.

“The creation of a Business Improvement District is one of the weapons we can use to tackle vacant units in Ennis and other town centres. These districts strive to reenergise town centres and ensure that there is the right mix of shops and facilities to give customers what they want,” continued Rita.

“There is a real possibility of challenge online shopping by giving people a different sort of shopping experience. Online shopping is clinical, it’s unsocial and people are looking for that social kind of shopping experience.

“It’s about being able to offer people a complete experience. Online shopping serves a purpose, people are social by their nature and a lot of people are looking for an experience when they shop.”

Discussions on the creation of a Business Improvement District in Ennis are ongoing amongst businesses involved in the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.