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A SECTION of the Tulla Road in Ennis has been described as the “most dangerous road” in Clare.

The comment came yesterday from councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) who pressed Clare County Council to introduce long mooted road safety measures at Oakleigh Woods and Corrovorrin.

In motions submitted to a meeting of councillors in the Ennis East electoral area, Cllr Flynn called on the council to “immediately plan and budget to construct the roundabout at Oakleigh Woods / Cappahard Junction in the interests of public safety”.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting that there had been an “abject failure” on behalf of the road authority to deal with traffic issue at Oakleigh Wood / Cappahard. He said 500 houses are located in an area served by what he called the “most dangerous road in the county”. Cllr Flynn said while there had been improvements carried out on rural sections of the road, little had been done by comparison in Ennis. He said a planned compulso ry purchase order of ground near the entrance of Cappahard had been held up over a “ransom strip of land”.

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said a roundabout is “essential” for the area.

In response, Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan stated, “The potential cost of the roundabout which was previously designed is quite significant and the cost of a compulsory purchase order to facilitate this design is also a matter of some concern. Alternative options from a design point of view are presently being examined with a view to a reduction of costs and hopefully an earlier resolution on the ground.”

There were also renewed calls for a roundabout or traffic lighted junction to be installed at the entrance to Corrovorrin.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting that one resident had told him that it takes seven and a half minutes to exit Corrovorrin in the morning.

Committee Chairman, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said the motion had come before council meetings on numerous occasions. Cllr Daly said “something has to be done” at Corrovorrin.

In response to calls for improvements to the Corrovorrin / Tulla Road junction, Mr Tiernan stated, “A proposal under the Low Cost Safety Scheme has been submitted to the Department of Transport / NRA by Clare County Council for the provision of traffic lights at this location. Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council are proceeding with the design and public consultation processes for this scheme in anticaption of funding in 2013.”

OFFICIALS at Clare County Council remain confident that major flood relief works to protect homes and businesses in the south of Ennis will get the approval of An Bord Pleannála.

The Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme will see works carried out in Ballybeg and St Flannan’s College areas of the town.

A bank of the River Fergus from Doora Bridge to Clarecastle will also be strengthened as part of the works.

Councillors in the Ennis Electoral Area were given a progress report on the project yesterday.

Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan told the meetings that the council had submitted an Environmental Impact Survey (EIS) to An Bord Pleannála. He said a number of statutory bodies, including the Railway Safety Commission, had made submissions on the project.

He told the meeting that an issue had arisen regarding the cost of the embankment works.

Asked about a timeframe for the works, Mr Tiernan said the council hoped to receive a decision from An Board Pleannála in January.

He said that depending on the length of the tender process, work on the project could be complete by 2014.

The project forms part of a series of flood relief works to be carried out on a phased basis in Ennis.

Phase one of the € 26 million Ennis Flood Relief Scheme, which involved works at Parnell Street and Mill Road, is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.

Phase two will see improvements to river walls and other flood defenses on the Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. The work will include the construction of new structural embankments, preformed reinforced concrete walls and three storm water pumping stations.

Mr Tiernan said the tender process is nearing completion and that 2014 is a “realistic target for completion at this stage”.

THE construction of the remaining section of the M18 north of Gort has hit a fresh snag and the National Roads Authority (NRA) are unable to sign contracts for the motorway, despite a preferred contractor being chosen.

It had been hoped that work on the € 530 million project might start early in 2013, but this now seem unlikely unless funding can be found in the coming weeks.

The Government announced in July that works on the motorway were back on track and the Gort to Tuam section was one of the only roads projects signalled to go ahead as part of the national stimulus package.

At the time, the Government announced that the Direct Route consortium had been awarded the contract to build the Public Private Partnership (PPP), but a contract still has not been signed as no Government funding has been put in place.

It had been thought that the Government would source funding from the European Investment Bank for states share of the PPP funding, but this has not happened to date.

It is understood that more than € 150 million has already been spent on the project – with the vast majority of this money spent on the acquisition of lands through compulsory purchase orders.

This is the second time that the Government has been unable to sign contracts with a consortium to complete the M18. In November of 2009, the BAM Balfour Beatty consortium declined to sign the contract for the M18 because they were themselves unable to secure funding for the construction work.

It is understood that the economic situation of Ireland at that time made many European banks unwilling to invest in the project.

The motorway will provide a major boost for the thousands of Clare people who commute to Galway for work and college every day. When built it is also expected to provide a major boost for Shannon Airport, with sections of Galway and Mayo provided with easy access to the airport.

THE prospect of having fine weather for a long weekend could be greatly improved if the power to determine one bank holiday a year was granted to Met Eireann.

An Ennis councillor is calling for the likes of Jean Byrne to have the final say on when bank holidays take place, in order to ensure a greater chance of the sun coming out.

In a motion submitted to the November meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) called on the council to “request that the Minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation allow Ireland’s Meteorological Service decide the date of at least one public holiday every year”.

Cllr Meaney told the meeting that Ireland had been plagued by bad weather in recent years, adding that it seemed like every bank holiday weekend was “abysmally worse than the last”.

He said if climate change is going to have such a major impact on Ireland’s weather, the government was going to have to start “thinking outside the box” to ensure people enjoyed a decent standard of life.

Cllr Meaney said it was “nonsensical” to have bank holidays at a time of the year where you are guaranteed to have driving wind and rain.

“We are going to have to look at giving consideration to one floating bank holiday weekend which would be decided by the likes of Jean Byrne or Aidan Nulty to have some chance of having a bank holiday weekend with fine weather.”

Cllr Meaney’s proposal was supported by the Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Peter Considine (FF).

However, Deputy Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) quipped that it might not be best to leave it up to Met Eireann because even they did not always get the weather right.

WHILE questions may remain over the future management of Shannon Airport, business at the ailing airport got a boost yesterday with the announcement that daily transatlantic flights to Philadelphia will resume next year.

After a four-year absence, US Airways announced that it would begin the service on May 22, generating an additional 30,000 passengers through the airport next year.

The new flights to Philadelphia the sixth most populous city in the US – will operate on a daily basis with a two-class 176 seat Boeing 757 aircraft. The service will run until September 3, departing Shannon at 11.35am daily, and arriving in Philadelphia at 2.05pm local time. The return flight leaves Philadelphia at 9.05 p.m., arriving in Shannon at 8.40am the following day.

Welcoming the news, Mary Considine, Director of Shannon Airport said, “This is a great boost for Shannon as it adds another new transatlantic service for 2013. We are really pleased also to be welcoming US Airways back to Shannon and look forward to helping them build a strong base of business and leisure travellers to and from Philadelphia, as well as cities that they serve beyond the gateway.

“Philadelphia is a major hub for US Airways and offers onward connections to 175 destinations in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean so this opens up huge opportunities in terms of markets to and from Shannon through Philadelphia.”

Said Andrew Nocella, US Airways Senior Vice President, Marketing and Planning. “As a popular destination in Europe, US Airways is thrilled to return to Shannon with seasonal service from our international gateway at Philadelphia International Airport.

“Beginning next spring, our customers will again have non-stop access to both coasts of Ireland. Customers can begin their trip with the Cliffs of Moher outside of Shannon and end it with seeing all that Ireland has to offer. As an additional benefit, customers can clear U.S. customs and immigration before departing Shannon, allowing for a quick and efficient arrival experience at Philadelphia International Airport. Customers who receive pre-clearance at Shannon Airport arrive as domestic passengers, are able to check their baggage through to their final destination and ultimately reduce the amount of time needed to connect to their next flight.”

A FORMER Clare hurler has committed to look into the cause and affect of cyber bullying as he works with young people through the organisation Soar.

Tony Griffin co-director of the national youth outreach movement built on an early intervention preventative model for 10 to 18 years olds said it is something the group will be looking into in the coming years.

In the past few weeks two teenage girls took their own lives after been bullied on line.

Cyber bullying is one of the biggest concerns among teenagers according to Mr Griffin, who added that a recent survey of students at a rural secondary school showed it was the top worry among 83 per cent of those that replied.

“It is something we would be very, very interested in and absolutely a lot of the deeds of bullying arise out of low self esteem and self belief. So we will certainly be looking at that over the next number of years as an organisation that is interested in young people fulfilling their potential and being as happy as possible,” he said.

Mr Griffin added that the challenges facing teenagers today are very different to previous generations.

“We are living in a different world now. And our first responsibility, rather than try to understand it through our eyes of what we grew up with, is actually to see it through teenager’s eye. They are living in a much more challenging world than we did, because bullies can come into their living rooms and houses and bully them on there computer,” he said.

“People say why don’t they just turn off their computer but it is not that easy for them because that is there world. They live in a virtual world.”

The local HSE does not have a specific programme in place to deal with this relatively new issue affecting young people’s mental health.

A spokesperson for the organisation said that different health professionals are engaged in case work with various other agencies and schools in supporting children, families and young people where bullying is involved.

“CAMS (the Child and Adolescent Mental health Service) works with young people who have experienced bullying and their parents where it has had a direct detrimental effect on their mental health or has been a contributory factor. CAMS also works closely with schools to advise and support staff both in dealing with individual cases and in general within the school,” he said.

“A useful resource is the Anti Bullying Centre in TCD led by Professor Mona O’Moore. The centre provides resources and advice both to professional and families regarding bullying in all its forms including recent publications on cyber bullying.”

IRELAND’S two national fisheries organisations are at odds over plans to construct a large organic salmon farm off the Clare coast. Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) last week came out against the farm in its current form, saying that there has been a major lack of research into the impact that it would have on the local environment. The farm is being proposed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), who claim that the farm could create as many as 500 jobs for the local economy. BIM have launched a pe- riod of public consultation into the proposed farm, with agencies such as An Taisce and the Galway City Salmon Angling Association also coming out against the proposal. The IFI was formed in 2010 after the amalgamation of the Central Fisheries Board and the seven former Regional Fisheries Boards. While the IFI and the BIM are State bodies, the IFI is responsible for river fisheries, while the BIM is tasked with promoting offshore, sea fishing activities. The IFI last week claimed that the fish farm could cause a major infestation of the salmon smolts that currently spawn in rivers in North Clare and South Galway, including large wild salmon stocks on the River Corrib. In an official submission to the BIM proposal, the IFI claim that there is a “considerable risk” that sea lice from the proposed sea fish farm will affect salmon migrating to rivers in the area. The group also questioned the methodology used by BIM, saying that recent research into the salmon migration in the Galway Bay area had been overlooked. According to BIM, the proposed fish farm has the potential to produce 15,000 tonnes of organic-certified salmon, create more than 500 jobs and inject more than € 14.5 million into the local economy.

ALTHOUGH the 2014 local election is a year and a half away, the last ever mayor of Kilrush is already being tipped as Fianna Fáil’s most likely candidate from the town.

Independent councillor Paul Moroney is understood to be an early favourite among the party leadership, ahead of serving party members on the town council, to run in the crucial election.

It is accepted that with the dissolution of Kilrush Town Council, the town will need to elect a strong councillor to a new-look county council made up of four electoral areas.

There are currently three Fianna Fáil members serving on the town council, including former county councillor Tom Prendeville.

On Saturday last, Cllr Moroney attended a Fianna Fáil social gathering in Shannon and sat with party leader Michéal Martin at the top table.

The well-got councillor, who topped the poll in the town council election, said he has not fully made up his mind if he will run in the county council election as an independent councillor or otherwise.

“I haven’t been asked to run yet,” he told The Clare People , but admitted he would not be surprised if he were formally approached by Fianna Fáil in the future.

The father of three comes from a strong Fianna Fáil family and was first elected to the council in 2009 as an independent candidate.

The boundaries for the new Clare local electoral areas will not be published until March, but parties are already strategising about finding strong candidates in the main urban areas – Ennis, Shannon and Kilrush.

Fine Gael introduced new blood to Kilrush Town Council in 2009 in the form of councillors Liam Williams and Ian Lynch, both of whom are considered strong contenders should they put their names forward for the new county council election.

Cllr Moroney could have one slight advantage, however, as he will, if he is nominated and selected, enter the race as the last every mayor of Kilrush.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil are concentrating on finding a strong candidate in the Shannon urban area. Mr Martin was in the town on Friday to rally the troops as they attempt what many consider a political impossibility – to find a potential Fianna Fáil councillor in an urban area that traditionally votes for Labour, Sinn Féin and left wing independents.

Labour is also going to face challenges as it attempts to translate its strong Shannon Town Council holding to a county council seat in a new smaller council.

A LARGE amount of stone has reportedly been stolen from walls on sections of the Burren Way walking trail in Corofin. The stone has been removed from privately owned boundary walls in the Wood Road area of Corofin and the Vigo area of Kilnaboy in recent weeks.

Limestone pavement exported from the Burren is being sold for premium prices in parts of the UK and even countries in mainland Europe. While it is currently unclear if this stone was removed for sale abroad, the removal of limestone pavement from the Burren has become a growing problem in recent years.

It is currently illegal to remove limestone pavement from any area which falls within the Burren National Park.

“The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) police the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) inside the national park but there are other areas which are vulnerable,” said Burren-based geologist and member of the UK and Ireland Limestone Pavement Biodiversity group, Stephen Ward.

“This Burren limestone certainly does end up in garden centres in parts of the UK and I would suspect that it also goes as far away as Holland and Germany. There is a European-wide market for it.

“It is estimated that as much as 8,000 tonnes of this stone are ex- ported every year form Ireland. So there certainly is a market for it. The Burren National Park is protected and limestone pavement is considered to be a priority habitat for conservation in these areas.”

Limestone pavement has been offered to sale in many garden centres in the UK for the last 40 years. The spread of modern machinery coupled with the rising cost of the decorative stones themselves has made it easier for people to excavate and export the stone for sale.

A WEST Clare community is rallying around a shocked family to rebuild their home after it was struck by lightning at the weekend.

A gaping hole was blown open on the roof of the home of Barbara and Martin Haugh in Farrihy, Kilkee, shortly after 4.15pm on Saturday.

The lightening also blew out the electricity in the family home and the ceilings in two bedrooms collapsed. A nearby mobile home belonging to their daughter and her family was also hit, but no one was injured in the incident.

Ms Haugh, who was inside the house with her son Martin Jnr (23) and her six-year-old grandchild, was blown off her feet when the lightning struck the house, and although she was extremely shocked, she was unhurt.

Martin Snr was stranding outside when the freak incident occurred.

“It was very frightening but at least no one was hurt.

“The lightning came in through the phone line and my wife, who was standing at the front door, got blown down the hall. She wasn’t hurt at all but she was very shocked by it,” said Mr Haugh.

“All the electrical appliances just blew up.”

Mr Haugh admitted that he did not have insurance but said he did not think it would have covered this act of God.

The local community has already begun to rally around the family, with the power restored on Sunday by a local electrician.

The hole in the roof was also patched up, and a major clean-up began yesterday (Monday).

Local people described the Saturday afternoon weather in Kilkee, which included hailstones and lightening, as “horrific”.