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THE number of Clare homes that have registered their septic tanks has doubled over the past week as the deadline for the reduced € 5 registration charged passed on Friday.

According to figures obtained from the Local Government Management Agency yesterday, a total of 7,603 septic tanks have now been registered in Clare. This is an increase of more than 100 per cent, 3,534 of which had been registered in the county on the same day last week.

In addition to the 7,603 online registrations, the Local Government Management Agency found that there are an estimated 70,000 registration forms which have been processed at local authority offices around the country and have yet to be added to the current figure.

When processed, these registrations could bump up the numbers signed in Clare by more than 2,000 and bring overall registration close to the 10,000 mark.

It is still unclear exactly how many septic tanks currently exist in Clare. Last year, the former Director of Services, David Timlin, put the number at close to 19,000. However, more recent research has estimated that there could be as many as 31,000 septic tanks in the county, with 11,700 in the River Fergus catchment area, 8,400 in the West and North Clare area, 7,600 in the Lough Derg area and 3,400 in South Clare.

The registration fee for the septic tanks had been set at € 5 by the Minister for Environment, Phil Hogan (FG), until last Friday, September 28. Anyone who wises to register their septic tank from now on will have to pay € 50 and homeowners could also face a fine of € 5,000 if they fail to register their tank before February 1, 2013.

Clare currently has one of the highest registration rates in the country with only Wexford, Galway, Meath and Mayo reporting more registered septic tanks.

A NUMBER of strategic sites in Clare were identified as being key to Nazi Germany’s plan to invade and occupy neutral Ireland during World War II, a new top-secret dossier has revealed this week.

The document, which went under the hammer at an auction in England last Thursday for € 2,961 – almost four times the reserve price – was compiled by Nazi spies in Ireland and graphically illustrates that Clare would have been given a crucial part to play in any German war effort conducted from Ireland.

In all, seven Clare sites were singled out by Nazi intelligence as having a role to play in German’s invasion plans in a document that clearly showed that neutral Ireland and the constituency of Taoiseach Eamon de Valera was viewed of strategic importance by the fascist regime.

The detailed document, which includes maps and analysis of the Irish countryside compiled by Nazi spies, shows how under Operation Green/ Sealion, Hitler planned to overthrow the State and turn it into one of six regional hubs for Britain and Ireland.

Ardnacrusha Power Station – which had been constructed by the pride of German engineering, SiemensSchuckert in the 1920s, at the cost of £5.2m, and at that time the biggest hydro-electrical plant in Europe – was circled as being a vital component in the German rule in Ireland. Other key Clare sites included former capital of Ireland Killaloe, probably because of Lough Derg’s potential to cater for flyingboats, while the key coastal areas targetted by the Nazi regime were the Cliffs of Moher and Blackhead/Ballvaughan area. The document entitled Militärgeographische Angaben über Irland contains detailed maps and postcards, with a number of images of Ardnacrusha highlighting it importance to the state. These key places were numbered by military officials before being plotted on a series of eight fold-out maps, which would have been used during ‘Operation Sealion’. However, on September 17, 1940, Hitler was forced to scrap Operation Sealion because of the Luftwaffe’s failure to gain air supremacy over England during the Battle of Britain. The Nazi offensive never took place after the German defeat in the skies, but experts believe the book reveals what could have happened if the Nazi’s had conquered Britain.

THE daughter of controversial revolutionary figure Che Guevara was in West Clare this weekend to attend the Che do Bheatha festival in Kilkee and pay a visit to the Loop Head Lighthouse.

Aleida Guevara March, a doctor based in Havana, was one of the guests of honour at the three-day long Che do Bheatha festival which was held to mark the 51st anniversary of Che Guevara’s visit to Kilkee in September of 1961.

Celebrations to mark Guevara’s connections to Clare and Galway have come in for heavy criticism in America – where he is seen as a murderous dictator by some high profile politicians.

Dr March was also one of the final guests to visit the 19th century Loophead Lighthouse before it was closed for the winter. Figures released today show that 17,423 people visited the lighthouse during the opening period up to Sunday, September 30.

Preliminary estimates indicate that 71 per cent of the total visitor figure was represented by domestic visitors, of which approximately 50 per cent were holidaymakers and 35 per cent were day trippers, with local visitors accounting for the remainder. Overseas visitors accounted for 29 per cent of the total figure.

It is estimated that the 18-week opening period was worth approximately € 650,000 to the local economy.

“It was an honour to have accompanied Dr Guevara and the Cuban ambassador, Teresita Trujillo, on their visit to the lighthouse which they both enjoyed immensely. Dr Guevara was very impressed with the new ex- hibition and particularly enjoyed the tour of the tower and the superb views from the top,” said Cillian Murphy, Chairman of Loop Head Tourism.

“The closure of the lighthouse brings to an end another great season which saw huge benefits to the local tourism operators. The figures reflect a high concentration of family business and this is the marketplace Loop Head Tourism is keen to be targeting and produce growth in the industry into the future. This in turn will make the whole community on the peninsula more sustainable in the long term. Once again, this project shows the benefits of local community and statutory agencies working in partnership.”

Ruairi Deane of Shannon Development said that Loophead Lighthouse was an effort to establish an anchor visitor attraction in West Clare with strong overseas appeal.

“Loop Head Lighthouse is now a wonderful success story that highlights what true partnership between state agencies and community bodies can achieve,” he said.

UNPRECEDENTED cuts to services will be inflicted on Clare County Council this winter unless an unlikely change of heart is forthcoming from the Department of the Environment over the next seven days.

Following a mix-up concerning Clare Fine Gael deputies Joe Carey and Pat Breen and the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan (FG), the council is now faced with cutting € 243,000 more from its budget, over just three months.

County Manager, Tom Coughlan, declined to go into detail over how these cuts could be achieved as he doesn’t want to create alarm in the county.

A proposal to use an overdraft facility to carry the quarter of a million debt to next year’s budget was also turned down by Mr Coughlan.

“To be honest, I am slow to give an answer to what the impact of this will be. I don’t want to be alarmist. If there is not a positive response from the meeting [a proposed meeting between Minister Hogan and Clare Fine Gael deputies], we are really running out of time,” he said.

“I have not brought proposals to you today for reducing the budget, but the longer we wait, the more difficult it is going to be. The council has an obligation to operate within its budget.

“Any move to operate outside the budget would put Clare County Council in a very difficult position and would store up this problem for another day. If we wait for two weeks, that is two weeks gone – and that will make this much more difficult.

“As of now, we are just over 68 per cent compliance rate. Collecting every 0.01 per cent is getting increasingly difficult. Without the cut of € 240,000, it would already be extremely difficult to balance this budget.”

Former Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes (FF), said that the cuts could result in basic services such as street lights being turned off.

“Ultimately, this is not our fault and we are going to pay in cuts to frontline services. I am very disappointed by the tactic here, especially that there are no government representatives here today.

“This is bad politics. There will be lights that will be turned off, roads that won’t be repaired and services that will be cut,” he said.

BUSKERS could soon have to go through X-Factor-style auditions in order to perform on the streets of Ennis. Ennis Town Council will today discuss a proposal to introduce new on-street entertainment byelaws.

In a notice of motion, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) is calling on Ennis Town Council to “draw up street entertainment bye-laws to deal with busking and the provision of small street public performance spaces (spotaí ceol) to enable performers book a targeted time”.

Cllr Flynn says similar byelaws have been introduced to much success in several other towns around Ireland.

He explains. “It’s about bringing opportunities to quality young performers and to people who have busked in certain locations in town. It’s to try and enhance the experience on the streets, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays from 4pm on. It would provide opportunities for local groups to perform in areas like the Temple Gate or up in the Square, or in Abbey Street.

“There are one or two corners that could be developed to suit bands playing from around 4pm to 7pm on Saturday afternoons. It’s trying to bring a bit of music and culture to the streets of Ennis, a bit like there is in Galway.”

Cllr Flynn says the byelaws would be aimed at improving the on-street experience of customers and businesses alike.

He says the byelaws could include a requirement for buskers to audition in order to a secure a designated performance space.

He explains. “You can see the huge improvements that are happening in coach parking where we are trying to make the town a more go-to place for coach tours. It’s taken a number of years to get agreement and provide facilities. Once you provide facilities, you have to manage them.

“Likewise, if you make the streets of Ennis more open and available for street performers, you have to manage them in a way to ensure there is high-quality busking. Some businesses might not want buskers outside their premises, blaring music all the time. You would have to manage that and see how different towns and cities manage them.”

Cllr Flynn continues, “You could have an X-Factor-style audition process for busking in Ennis. You can’t very well have somebody pelting away poor quality music and driving people off the streets. It’s to improve the experience in and around the street of Ennis, both for businesses and the customers coming.

“It would give an opportunity for prime busking locations or prime performance spaces for young as well as experienced performers.”

FINE Gael deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey were nowhere to be seen at yesterday’s emergency meeting of Clare County Council where councillors and officials discussed ways to cut the € 243,000 hole which has emerged in the council’s budget.

The Fine Gael deputies were accused of being sold a pup by the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan (FG) – a pup that could result in drastic cuts to services in Clare over the next three months.

Deputies Breen and Carey assured members of Clare County Council at a meeting earlier this year that the € 243,000 deducted from the council’s budget, because of the low payment rates of the household tax, would be refunded if the rate in Clare reached 65 per cent.

With the collection rate in Clare currently standing at 68 per cent, the Department of the Environment is sued a circular last week stating that the money would not be refunded.

Deputies Breen and Carey, Sena- tors Tony Mulcahy (FG) and Martin Conway (FG) as well as Labour Deputy Michael McNamara all sent their apologies to the meeting, with only Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley in attendance.

“When these promises were made, I rang the Department of the Environment the very next day and they hadn’t heard about it. It was just a yarn passed down to Deputy Breen and Deputy Carey to fool the people of Clare,” said Cllr James Breen (IND).

“I challenged Deputy Carey and Deputy Breen to clarify the position. I asked the [County Manager] Tom Coughlan to clarify with the Department if this arrangement was ever made. I don’t believe that it was.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) accused the Minister for the Environment of using the issue as a way of cutting budgets by the back door.

“We have a problem. It is clear that whatever promises were made, there was no foundation for it. I am finding it extremely difficult not to believe that the Department and the Department’s head [Phil Hogan] haven’t pulled a fast one in relation to this,” she said.

The council adopted a proposal to allow the Fine Gael deputies another week to secure a meeting with Minister Hogan before immediate cuts to services were introduced.

A motion put forward by the Fine Gael councillors to ask for the full refund from the Department of the Environment should Clare reach a 75 per cent sign-up rate for the household charge was defeated by nine votes to 13.

THE Diocese of Killaloe yesterday moved to dampen speculation that the Bishop Kieran O’Reilly is being lined up to replace Seán Brady as the Primate of All Ireland. Bishop O’Reilly will attend a special synod or meeting of top-ranking bishops in Rome this Sunday, in the place of Cardinal Brady. This is the first synod not attended by Cardinal Brady in his time as Primate of All Ireland and it has been seen by some as an indication that he soon intends to step down. Cardinal Brady has faced a number of calls for his resignation over the last 12 months and, while Bishop O’Reilly is one of the newest bish- ops in Ireland, it is thought in some circles that he would be the ideal candidate for the position – should it become available. Spokesperson for the Killaloe Diocese, Fr Brendan Quinlivan said yesterday that while his elevation is “not beyond the bounds of possibility” it is more likely that he is being asked to attend because of his missionary experience. “While it is true that Cardinal Brady would have attended all of these meetings in the past, I’m not sure we can draw too much from that. “The theme of this meeting is the new evangelisation of the faithful and I think Bishop O’Reilly’s experience in the missions makes him a perfect candidate to attend,” said Fr Quinlivan. “He is very happy in Killaloe. He has really thrown himself into the role and has been travelling the diocese, meeting and getting to know all the clergy here and getting into the work of the diocese. That said, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility.” Bishop O’Reilly will be joined in Rome on Sunday by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin who, as Cardinal Brady’s number two, also attends all of the synods. Archbishop Martin is considered by some to be too radical – given his previously stated opinions in support of gay priests – to be acceptable to the powers that be at the Vatican.

GORT mother and son team, Gina and Cathal Casey, made their own piece of history last week when they both won bronze medals at the World Kickboxing Championships on Florida. The pair, who are both students of Lisa Connolly, at the Gort Taekwon-do Academy returned home over the weekend with their unique set of medals.

Gina, who is a special needs assistant at Gort Community School, and Cathal, a second year pupil at the school, both won the medals for Ireland competing in the ‘Light Contact Sparring’ category.

Fourteen-year-old Cathal is a black belt in Taekwondo, while Gina has a red/blue striped belt. The pair began Taekwondo three years ago and are now leading members of the Gort Taekwondo Academy. After making it past the initial elimination rounds, both were delighted to take home bronze medals from their first ever WKA World Championships.

The pair’s trip to America was made possible, in part, because of € 500 in fundraising conducted by Gort Community College.

According to their instructor, Lisa Connolly, who is herself a European Taekwon-do Champion and fourth degree black belt, Taekwon-do has many benefits for those who practice it. “The main things that people learn concentration, discipline and respect. Respect is a very big thing in Taekwon-do,” said Lisa.

“People’s concentration can improve because there is a lot of repetition, and if you don’t get something right you have to do it over and over.”

To find out more about the Gort Taekwon-do Academy call Lisa on 087 2070583.

THE awards continue to pour in for North Clare food producers and restaurants with four new accolades being won over the weekend.

St Tola’s Inagh Farmhouse Cheese was the toast of the 2012 Irish Cheese Awards winning a gold medal for the “St Tola Organic Log” and a silver medal for the “St Tola Ash Log”.

There was also celebration for two Ballyvaughan restaurants who both won gold medals at the prestigious Hotel and Catering Review Awards. L’Arco Italian Restaurant, operated by the Quinn Family in Ballyvaughan, picked up the Best Ethnic Restaurant award, while Stephen Spielberg’s favourite Irish restaurant, An Fear Gorta received the Gold Medal Award for Cafés and Tearooms.

Speaking after the cheese awards, Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith of St Tola said she was delighted that their cheeses were recognised.

“We are very happy to have won two Irish Cheese awards this year. It’s great that our classic log, now over 30 years in production, is still recognised as one of the finest cheeses in the country,” she said.

“We are also thrilled that our new cheese, St Tola with Ash, which has only been developed this year, is winning awards already! It’s a great boost for all the team back in Inagh and reflects that hard work and high standards of the whole company.”

The Irish Cheese Awards 2012 were judged by a panel that included Michelin starred chef Ross Lewis and celebrity chef Rozanne Steven. It was held with the support and assistance of Cáis and Sheridans Cheesemongers.

ENNIS Town Council will today announce details of plans to pedestrianise parts of the town centre in the run up to Christmas.

The council has been urged to follows last year’s system, which saw O’Connell Street closed to vehicular traffic from 12 noon to 6pm.

Parking charges were also suspended for certain days, a move credited with helping to attract more shoppers to Ennis.

Free parking was applicable to the town’s 759 off-street and 783 on- street public car parking spaces up to 12pm daily on Saturdays during the festive period.

Councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) believes the council should adopt a similar approach to pedestrianisation again this year.

He said, “Last year, it seemed to have been very successful where they pedestrianised only O’Connell Street and only from 12 noon to 6pm and offered free parking for that period. Hopefully it will be a similar approach.

“I believe pedestrianisation of Abbey Street is a total failure. It closes off the town. It gives the impression to people that the town is closed down.”

Cllr Flynn continued, “You need to bring people to the Square. You need to be able to bring people into the middle of the town to do their shopping. In the morning time, you have people from the suburbs and the outlying areas of Ennis coming in to do their shopping before 12. I think last year’s solution was very successful, just O’Connell Street until 6pm. I would hope that they bring that in again, along with the free parking.”

Rita McInerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber, said pedestrianisation on Saturday should be again introduced along with free parking.

She added, “It was a real benefit in terms of bringing people into town. It was nice to be able to come into Ennis and relax and not have to worry about paying for parking.

“The Christmas lights went on a week earlier as well, which helped. I think that they should even be switched on a week earlier this time. It gets people into the spirit that bit earlier.

“For businesses, Christmas is the most important time of the year. They can do up to 50 to 60 per cent of their business in December so it really is a crucial time for businesses.”

Ennis Town Council members are also expected to discuss an updated report on efforts to develop the town’s night-time economy.

The council is working with the local business community, Gardaí and Promote Ennis on plans that could see part of the town receive a Purple Flag status.

The Purple Flag is run by the Association of Town Centre Management (UK) and is awarded to towns based on the quality of its nightlife and the types facilities and services in place at night.