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A TIPPERARY woman has been warned she faces a prison sentence if she wastes the time of the emergency services again.

Rachel Fogarty (21) with an address at Boher Road, Emly, Tippperary was charged with sending by means of a telecommunications systems, a message for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another.

A probation report in respect of Ms Fogarty was handed into Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

The incident took place on August 30 (2011) at a place unknown in the district area of Ennis District No. 12.

The court previously heard between 4.24am and 5.44am on the date in question, Ennis Garda Station received a total of eight 999 emergency calls.

Gardaí were requested to attend a house in Hermitage though it was not clear why they were directed to do so.

The court previously heard gardaí discovered that the calls were made by Ms. Fogarty.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that a psychologist has recommended that Ms Fogarty undergo a course of behavioural therapy. She said a court in Tipperary has adjourned her client’s case until completion of the course. She urged the court to consider placing Ms Fogarty on a nine-month period of probation.

Ms Godfrey said, “My client understands the gravity of the offence.”

Judge Patrick Durcan said that he takes a very serious view of people who make hoax telephone calls. He said such calls cause distress and waste an incredible amount of police time.

He said he fully accepted Ms Fogarty’s difficulties as outlined by the probation services and the psychologist.

Judge Durcan said that Ms Fogarty had been convicted of a similar offence in January 2011.

He said, “If she troubles me again with matters of this nature, I will consider a four month prison sentence.” He adjourned the case until September 18 (2013) and granted the State liberty to re-enter at 24 hours notice. Judge Durcan added, “This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.”

THE State has been granted a further week to serve a book of evidence on an Ennis man charged with having heroin for sale or supply.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Patrick Durcan agreed to adjourn the case of David Joyce (23) for another week.

Mr Joyce, with an address at 85 Dun na hInse, is charged with unlawful possession of diamorphine at 90 Dun na hInse, Ennis on May 30 (2012).

He is also charged with having diamorphine for purposes of sale or supply at the same location and date.

Inspector Michael Gallagher requested that the State be granted an additional week for service of the book of evidence.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client had appeared in court on a number of occasions in relation to the charges.

Judge Durcan agreed to adjourn the case to tomorrow.

Acknowledging Ms Godfrey’s comments, Judge Durcan said they should be interpreted as “a warning to the State to get its act together.”

He remanded Mr Joyce on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on September 26.

CLARE-GROWN lemons will be on the menu for this year’s charity Clare Harvest Banquet, which takes place this weekend in Ennis.

Now in its fifth year, the annual banquet made up exclusively of food sources in County Clare, will include a number of new-found foods.

Due to the poor weather this summer, bread will once again be off the menu for the banquet as no Claregrown wheat could be obtained. The weather did not dampen the growth of some more exotic foods, however, and the organisers have been able to source locally-grown lemons for the first time ever.

“We’re very excited this year to find two different sources of Clare lemons, from Barrtra and from Fanore,” said organiser Sinead Garvey.

“The night will start off with some Clare-made wine and music from the Ennis Brass Band on the lawn of the Old Ground Hotel.

“We have found some Clare hazelnuts this year, which is another new food for us, and we will be harvesting salt from seawater and making our own butter as usual.

“We haven’t been able to source Clare flour this year so we will be using some Clare-grown cucumber as the crackers for the cheese board.

“This year, the two chefs from the Old Ground Hotel, Freddy Rynne and Frank Landy, are cooking the meal and they have really got into the event.”

All proceeds from the Clare Harvest Banquet will go to the Asral Charity, which helps to support some of the most needy families in Mongolia.

“Every ticket sold will get a Mongo- lian family through the winter, which otherwise they would not survive, so this is a feel-good event for everyone who comes,” continued Sinead.

“The charity is still supporting groups in Mongolia to export beautiful textiles which are on sale now in Ireland. It is all about creating sustainability for the people in Mongolia.”

The Clare Harvest Banquet will take place at the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis on Friday, October 5 at 8pm.

For ticket information, contact the Old Ground Hotel on 065 6828127 or, more information on the Clar eHarvest Banquet and the specifically local foods it features, visit www. clareharvestbanquet.com.

A MAN alleged to have had cannabis for sale or supply in Shannon last year has been returned for trial.

Danny Harty (38), with an address at 60 Inis Eagla, Shannon appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

He is charged with having cannabis for purposes of sale or supply at Smithstown, Shannon on November 12 (2011).

He also charged with unlawful possession of cannabis at the same location on the same date.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented for the accused to be returned for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

Garda Irene O’Flynn of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of having served the book of evidence on the accused.

Legal aid was approved for defence solicitor Jenny Fitzgibbon and one junior counsel.

Judge Patrick Durcan delivered the alibi warning.

He made the order returned Mr Harty for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on October 16.

AS REGARDS the majority in County Clare, it’s the women that hold sway over the men for the first time since the 1871 population returns, but the men are still in the majority in one department the latest bulletin report of the 2011 National Census of Population has revealed.

That’s when it comes to married v single folk. There are more singletons amongst men than there are amongst women. This statistic was among the latest set of facts and figures to be released by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday that have been taken from the census that was taken in April 2011.

The figures show that there are now 60, 565 single people living in the county, which represents just over 50 per cent of Clare’s record 110-year high of a 117,196 population. Of this figure, 31,716 are single men as they outnumber their opposite sex by just under 3,000 as there are 28,849 single women now in the county.

The number of females in Clare grew substantially in the five years between the 2006 and 2011 population returns, a growth that was reflected in the breakdown of female numbers growing by 4,098 as against male numbers growing by 2,298 in the same period.

The figures also show that there are now more single people living in the county than there are married, with the breakdown showing that there are nearly 25,000 more singletons in the county that there are married people.

The number for married people stands at 46,241, with the females in the slight majority with the census figures shows that there are 23,137 married women in the county as against 23, 104 men.

The breakdown of women and men in the county from the overall population of 117,196 is 58,898 females to 58,298 males.

CYBER-bullying is more common in rural areas of North Clare than in Dublin City, according to digital media expert Brendan Smith.

The proliferation of online- or cyber-bullying in rural Clare is also a contributing factor in the rise of youth suicides in the county.

Mr Smith, who is the outreach education officer at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute at NUI, Galway, will address groups of parents in Ennistymon next week to educate them of the warning signs for cyberbullying.

He also says that high-profile cases, such as the tragic death of Fanore teenager Phoebe Prince, demonstrate just how serious cyber-bullying is for young Clare people.

“This is a hidden world for a lot of parents who are not familiar with Facebook and other social networks. Children in rural areas are being harassed more than ever before. Before, the bullying would stop at school or on the street; now it can follow them into their homes,” he said.

“The home used to be a sanctuary but that is no longer the case. The bullying can take place right in the bedroom if they have a laptop or a smartphone.

“We have been talking to guards and they say that this is now a bigger problem in rural areas than in cities. If you live in North Clare, there is a much bigger chance that you talk to your friends online rather than meeting up with them, as people can do in the cities,” continued Brendan.

“Phoebe Prince is one of the most famous incidents of cyber-bullying but, trust me, every village and every townland in Clare has some form of cyber-bullying going on. It is difficult to say exactly what the level is but I have never come across an area where it wasn’t a problem.”

Brendan is one of a number of speakers who will address teachers and parents at the North West Clare Family Resource Centre in the coming weeks. There will also be free talks about teen mental health, teen use of drugs and alcohol and teen choices – which is about encouraging teens to make positive choices for themselves.

Each talk is free and will take place at two different times, to allow as many parents as possible to attend. For more information, including the exact times of all the talks, contact Barbara Ó Conchúir, Community Development Worker with the North West Clare Family Resource Centre on 065 7071144 or email info@northwestclarefrc.ie.

ANTI-HOUSEHOLD tax campaigners in Clare are claiming a victory today after Clare County Council decided to stop asking grant applicants for proof of payment of the house- hold charge. This is despite Clare County Council’s insistence that the letters were discontinued because they had worked – and allowed the local authority to reach the 65 per cent compliance rate demanded by the Department of the Environment.

“At the beginning of the week, Clare County Council implicitly threatened to withhold or delay student grants to those boycotting the unjust household tax, but following a protest by the Clare CAHWT, we have secured in writing a commitment from the council that they will not discriminate in any way against such students,” said Paul Whitmore of the Clare Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes.

“We marched into the council offices to demand a clear written promise from them that they would not in anyway discriminate against non-payers, and would stop sending these threatening forms to grant applicants.

“As a sign of the huge impact of people power, we have now received these guarantees in writing. This is a huge victory for our campaign. Hopefully in the future, the council will think twice before attempting such scare tactics.”

Students form NUI, Galway, GMIT, UL and LIT also staged a protest again the warning letters at the of fices of Clare County Council last week.

“The decision of Clare County Council is short-sighted and ridiculous,” NUI, Galway Student Union president Paul Curley last week.

“Students don’t own houses and linking the payment of the Household Charge to their grants is a cheap shot. We call on Clare County Council to abandon this badly thought out plan and process students’ grant applications as a priority.”

THE current chief executive officer of County Limerick VEC will head up the new board that will take over the functions of Clare VEC.

Sean Burke has been named as CEO Designate of the new Education and Training Board for Clare and Limerick.

The new board will be an amalgamation of VECs in Clare, Limerick city and Limerick County.

The September meeting of Clare VEC heard that that the new Education and Training Boards (ETB) would be established in the early part of 2013.

The current CEO of Clare VEC, George O’Callaghan has been named CEO Designate of the new city of Cork and Cork county ETB.

Mr O’Callaghan, who has worked as CEO for seven years, said he is looking forward to his new role in Cork.

He said, “It will be a challenge. There will be a lot of work involved, amalgamating the new VECs, they are two fairly large VECs. It’s not going to happen for another six to eight months at the earliest so I’ll still be in Clare for that length of time.”

Mr O’Callaghan said he enjoyed his time working in Clare.

“It was fantastic. The staff are fantastic and the people here are great to work with. The committee have always given me great co-operation down the years.”

Implementing the 2001 Vocational Education Act, the growth in adult education and improvements to school facilities, are among the main changes Mr O’Callaghan has helped oversee during his time with Clare VEC.

He said, “All the schools have very modern facilities. That was part of our objective as well. We were very anxious to get that up and running and I’m very happy that we have got that done. We have achieved three major extensions for three of the schools in the county as well.”

Mr O’Callaghan will be leaving Clare VEC as it prepares to undergo major structural change. He believes the county will have a strong influ- ence on the new ETB.

He said, “The challenge for Clare will be to maintain what it has got. It’ll be a large part of the new entity as well. There are 110,000 people living in Clare. There are over 2,300 post primary school pupils in the VEC here and we have something like 4,000 to 5,000 adults here as well. It will make up quite a large part of the new entity as well. So it will have quite a large influence on the new entity as well.”

THE Merriman Hotel in Kinvara is going on auction again this week, with the guide price set at just € 400,000, or € 12, 500 per bedroom.

The 32-bedroom hotel, located in the very centre of Kinvara, was auctioned already this year but that deal was not brought to completion.

On that occasion, the hotel was sold to the highest bidder for a price of € 610,000 and it remains unclear whether it will reach those heights again.

Along with the 32 bedrooms, the hotel also boasts a bar with the capacity to seat 200 guests, a dining room with licence capacity for 100, a kitchen, study, entrance hall and private secure car parking.

During the property boom, a number of luxury six-bedroom houses in Kinvara sold for more than € 1 million, or roughly € 170,000 per bedroom.

If the Merriman reaches its previous auction price of € 610,000 from earlier this year, it will be sold for just over € 19,000 per bedroom.

The auction will take place on Friday, September 28 at 3pm at the Victoria Hotel in Galway unless it is previously sold.

The property is being brought to auction by O’Donnellan and Joyce Auctioneers.

Meanwhile, property prices continue to fall across Clare, according to the Myhome.ie price change index.

Of the 48 houses whose asking price changed in the county so far this September, 46 reported a reduction in the asking price.

The largest drop in asking price was for a large thatched property in Doolin whose asking price fell by € 150,000, from € 500,000 to € 350,000.

THERE are now more people over 65 living alone in the county than ever before, the latest statistical report from the 2011 census which is entitled ‘Households and Families Living Arrangements in Ireland’ has revealed.

According to the Central Statistic Office figures, it means that 29.3 per cent of people in the county over 65 are living alone, a figure that jumps to 34 per cent for over 70s in the county. The figures show that women make up the majority of people who are living alone in the county. Of the 3,904 over 65s who are liv- ing alone, women make up 2,354 of these, which represents 34.1 per cent of all women of pension age. There are 1, 550 men of pension age (29.3 per cent) living alone.

When it comes to over 70s, women are also in the majority with 40.1 per cent of the 4,618 in the county over that age living alone which gives a figure of 1,853. The figure for men is 26.8 per cent, which represents 1,066 out of 3,976.

This figures are in line with earlier statistical evidence which points to women living longer than men in the county. The 2006 census returns for the county showed that there were 12, 519 people of retirement age, which represented 11.5 per cent of the total population of 110, 590.

Five years on there has been a jump of 2,065 in the numbers of people of retirement age living in the county, with the increase to 14, 519 meaning that 12.4 per cent of Clare’s 117,196 population are now of pension age.

In releasing the breakdown of figures of those of retirement age, the CSO has split the post-65 generation into five different groups – 65-69, 70-74,75-79, 80-84 and 85 and over.

The biggest gap between females and males is to be found in the 85 and over category, with females outnumbering males by more than two to one. There are 1,581 of 85 and over in the county, 1,070 of them being females to only 511 males.