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FIANNA Fáil in Clare has been accused of cynical political opportunism as it launched an amendment to the State Airport Act.

Leading the charge was Labour TD Michael McNamara who said, “Fianna Fáil had their chance over many years to secure Shannon and they blew it. The party has no credibility on Shannon or on Aer Lingus. The State Airports Act 2004, a piece of Fianna Fáil legislation, enabled the transfer of Aer Rianta International (ARI) to the Dublin Airport Authority, and the establishment of a Shannon Airport Authority to run the airport without Aer Rianta International.

“All Clare’s Fianna Fáil TDs and senators at the time voted for it, including the current transport spokesman. It’s easy to talk the talk in opposition. Walking the walk when they were in government was a different matter. Why did Fianna Fáil use the power they once had to transfer ownership and control of ARI from Shannon? And why are they now singing a different tune?” he asked.

“The Fianna Fáil leader and the Transport spokesman need to recognise that this Government proposes to leave Shannon debt-free, this is an enormous contribution at a time of harsh economic conditions. Making Shannon debt-free and leaving the international travel retail company with the airport, is a phoney suggestion from the party which contributed so much to landing us in the mess we are in.

“I am confident that there will be a turnaround at Shannon. There is growing optimism that flight numbers will increase in the coming year. A new structure and good marketing will create a new dynamic at Shannon, which we all hope will generate new business and employment in the region. Something new and positive is being done by this Government following years of neglect by others,” he said.

THE Killaloe Diocese is facing a “crisis” of holy orders, with the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) predicting that the entire diocese will be serviced by a handful of “ShannonDoc priests” in as little as a decades time.

The organisation, which now represents more than 1,000 parish priests in Ireland, says that massive changes are required by all the Irish Bishops and the Vatican if this doomsday scenario is to be avoided.

According to Fr Tony Flannery of the ACP, the priesthood is set to become a transient profession in Ire- land, with a much reduced number of priest delivering sacrament across many parishes – without having the time to be based in any individual community.

A spokesperson from the Killaloe Diocese told The Clare People yesterday, that there have been active moves to engage with lay community in the diocese over the last 12 months – there are some issues which can only be changed at Vatican level.

“Priests in the Killaloe Diocese are already doing the work that three priests would have been doing ten years ago, and this is going to get much worse, very quickly. This is a crisis, no questions about it. In 10 or 20 years time there will be only a handful of priests and they will be just saying mass in an area and moving on – they will be like ShannonDoc priests,” said Fr Tony Flannery.

“The ACP now have more than 1,000 priests in our organisation and it is growing all the time. This is in spite the feeling that priests are being actively discouraged by the powers that be to join. So it shows you that there is a real desire among the priests for change.”

According to Fr Brendan Quinlavin, spokesperson for the Killaloe Diocese, Bishop Kieran O’Reilly has been engaged in a “listening” process over the last 12 months designed to allow lay people to have more say in the diocese.

“The ACP is concerned that there is not a proper dialogue between lay people and the church hierarchy but that has been happening in this diocese for more than a year. The Bishop [O’Reilly] has been fully involved in this process so I would reject any suggestion that we are not interested in taking the opinions of the people of the parish on board.

“There are issues of Church doctrine that cannot be dealt with at a diocesan level and would need the input of the Vatican, the Curia and indeed the Pope to change. But that is not to say that we in the Killaloe Diocese can not do everything we can to empower people to become active members of the Church.” Wh ile t h e re wo n’t b e t o o m u c h ra in t h is we e k (3/ 4 m m s), it w ill b e c h illy, g e t t in g w in t e r c o ld by t h e we e ke n d , wra p u p !

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.

THERE have been calls for Ennis Town Council to drop a controversial charge for use of facilities at the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Complex.

Last February members of Ennis Town Council voted through byelaws which allowed for the introduction of a new € 40 charge to be levied on clubs for the use of facilities at Lees Road.

It followed a number of meetings where strong opposition was expressed to the charge. According to the council the charge is needed to cover the high costs of maintaining Lees Road.

The area charged for relates to a section of re-developed track that borders woodland at the rear of the facility’s synthetic running track and all weather soccer pitch.

The November meeting of Ennis Town Council heard calls for the charge to be dropped.

The meeting was attended by representatives of local athletics clubs.

In a motion, Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind) proposed that the byelaws be amended “with regard to the charging of fees for the cross country track”.

Cllr O’Shea said the charges for a 600 metre section of cross-country track is unfair. He said clubs are being “victimized” as individuals and other groups are not being charged for the use of the same section of ground.

“This is a nonsense. That charge needs to be dropped,” he added.

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said athletics groups are being “charged on the double” for the use of the synthetic track and the cross-country track.

She said athletic clubs had already paid € 2,000 to Lees Road in the past five months. Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) also called for the byelaws to be amended.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said, “It’s unfair, this particular byelaw, it should be amended.”

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind), who is chairman of the Lees Road management committee, said the matter should be raised at the council’s budget meeting.

He added, “There has to be a reasonable charge for Lees Road. I would hate to see a situation where Lees Road has to close for two or three days because of a lack of finances.”

Cllr Neylon said the committee had never received a complaint from any of the clubs using Lees Road.

Yesterday’s discussion followed a recent meeting between sports clubs and some councillors in the Auburn Lodge Hotel.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said the council should proceed with a promised review of byelaws and also hear from Lees Road general manager Tim Forde.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said he agreed with Cllr Meaney’s suggestion that the byelaws be reviewed.

Town Clerk Leonard Cleary acknowledged the effort of voluntary organisations.

He said it was not “procedurally possible” for the council to change the byelaws immediately. Mr Cleary added, “The Lees Road facility is a significant cost to the council…there are significant ongoing maintenance costs there.”

The matter is to be discussed at the next meeting of the Lees Road management committee.

ENNIS Town Council needs to work towards a long-term policy of increased pedestrianisation in Ennis, a meeting has heard.

The message came as the council announced details of its Christmas pedestrianisation programme.

O’Connell Street and the lower part of O’Connell Square will be closed to traffic from 12 noon to 6pm on December 15, 22, 23 and 24.

Abbey Street and the upper part of O’Connell Square will remain open to traffic during the festival period.

In a report, Town Clerk Leonard Cleary said the council must consider “the signal that these intermittent pedestrianisation pilot periods are sending to customers and visitors to Ennis”.

Mr Cleary stated that while there are “historical objections to full pedestrianisation of Abbey Street, The Square and O’Connell Street are acknowledged, the feedback from customers is that pedestrianisation is a preferable experience in some new areas of the town.”

He added, “Ennis Town Council needs to be working towards a longterm solution regarding some increased level of pedestrianisation or indeed a compromise that presents a continuous trial in at least one of the three additional proposed areas.”

Mr Cleary stated that pedestriani- sation remains an objective of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

Mr Cleary stated that imminent opening of the Inner Relief Road would offer improved access to a town centre pedestrianised area.

Town Manager Ger Dollard said the road is expected to open in November.

Mr Dollard said the council’s place names committee would bring for ward suggestions for the name of the road next month.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said ‘Bothar na Rince’ had been suggested as one possible name.

Free parking will be in place during December up to 12 noon daily as part of the Christmas Pedestrianisation Initiative.

Mayor of Ennis Peter Considine (FF) said it was important that staff of shops are encouraged to free up parking spaces for shoppers.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said every space taken up a staff member represents a loss to business of € 250 per space.

Mr Cleary said the council had received a submission on pedestrianisation from Ennis Chamber of Commerce. He said Gardaí had no objection to pedestrianisation.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) urged the council to write to businesses in Abbey Street and Parnell Street as historically they had not been represented by the Chamber.

A MAN alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in his car during a Valentine’s Day journey last year has had the charge against him dismissed.

The man, with an address in Clare, had been accused of assaulting the woman who was a passenger in his car on a country road of the main N18 between Ennis and Limerick on February 14 (2011).

The man denied the charge, saying that what he happened between them was consensual.

At the end of a near five hour hearing, Judge Aeneas McCarthy said that he had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman did not consent to the overall activity.

He said, “I have a doubt and I have to give that doubt to the accused, accordingly I dismiss.” Details of the case were heard during an in-camera sitting of Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

The court heard that the woman travelled to Limerick and back in the defendant’s car.

She said that on the journey back, the driver told her she was a “stunning looking woman.” She said that he kissed her and put his hand up her top.

She said, “I was in dread of my life. I was never in a situation like this before in my life.”

The woman, who is in her forties, said that just before they arrived back in Shannon, the driver pulled off the main road.

She alleged that the man started “mauling” her when the car stopped. “He was doing his best to get into my pants,” she added.

The woman said she resisted his efforts and told him she would meet him the following week as a way of stopping the ordeal.

The woman, who cried during her evidence, said, “I thought he was going to kill me down there.”

Asked about the effect the incident has had on her life, the woman said, “This has turned my whole life upside down.

“I’m not the same person I was. My marriage is nearly over.” The court heard that moments after being dropped back to her car, the woman phoned her boss and her husband to tell them what happened.

Defence solicitor Patrick Moylan put it to the woman that her evidence in court was “completely at odds” to the statement she had made to gardaí at the time.

He said what had between both parties was consensual.

The parties did not know each other before meeting on the day, the court heard.

The man, who is in his fifties, told the court that the conversation between the pair had “got very flirty” on the journey back to Clare. He said they had shown each other “saucy” text messages and ringtones. The man said they held hands.

He admitted kissing the woman and putting his hand on her breast. “I assumed everything was consensual at that stage,” he added. He said, “She wasn’t terrified. She was laughing and joking all the way.”

Garda Donna Egan of Shannon Garda Station said the woman was “extremely distressed” when she spoke to gardaí.

The man was subsequently interviewed by gardaí. He said he asked the woman’s permission before kissing her.

He told gardaí that he hadn’t stopped on the N18 because someone he knew could have seen him.

Under cross examination from Mr Moylan, Garda Egan said there were some variances in the woman’s evidence in court and her original statement to gardaí. Inspector Tom Kennedy said the State conceded that there were “inconsistencies” in the woman’s evidence.

Mr Moylan said, “This is a case of consent.”

Judge McCarthy said it was “very evident” that there was some sort of sexual activity between these two individuals.

He said it was for him to decide if what had happened had been consensual. He dismissed the charge.

AMERICAN football is being credited as the unlikely saviour of the tourism season in Clare this year, with the recent Notre Dame versus Navy Homecoming Game providing a much-needed visitors boost for the county.

This year’s London Olympics had a negative effect on the number of foreign tourists numbers visiting Clare, contrary to what many tourism organisations had predicted before the games.

According to year-to-date visitor numbers recorded at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Centre, the Olympics and Euro 2012 dampened down the number of individual tourists, both from Ireland and abroad, coming to the Cliffs.

According to Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, package or bus tours have saved the Cliffs from a large slump in individual tourists brought about by the large numbers visiting London for the Olympics and the number of Irish people who travelled to Poland for the Euro 2012.

The visitors centre, which is by far Clare’s most visited tourist site, is used by many in the industry as a barometer for the overall health of the tourism sector in county.

Year-to-date visitor numbers for the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience are slightly ahead of 2011 figures.

Group tours have been performing well this year, especially in the autumn period, but individual visitors have not been quite as strong, according to Ms Webster.

“The Notre Dame versus Navy American football match at the start of September really helped pull up the numbers after a pretty poor summer. We saw a decline in numbers around the time of the Euro 2012 campaign and the Olympics.”

An estimated 35,000 American football fans travelled to Ireland for the Homecoming Game which took place in early September, a massive increase on the 10,000 who travelled to Ireland the last time a seasoned American football game was staged here.

The estimated boost to the country from the match was estimated at around € 70 million. The event was also seen as a major point to advertise The Gathering to Americans who may decide to visit Ireland in 2013.

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”.

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.

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.