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SINN Féin leader, Gerry Adams, has left the door open for a number of former party members in Clare to return to fold, but has closed the door on expelled members such as Shannon Cllr Cathy McCafferty (Ind), saying she was expelled for a “good reason”. The Louth TD, who was in Ennis last week to campaign for a ‘No’ vote in the upcoming European Fiscal Treaty, refused to give a reason why the Shannon councillor was expelled from the Sinn Féin party earlier this year.

“After the last election we initiated a review right across the island of Ireland, looking at where we need to shape our organisation – looking at where we were strong and how we could change things where we were weak. We did this in Clare and some local people objected to what was brought forward,” said Deputy Adams.

“It was all done democratically. Some people left and some people were dismissed. We are in a new era. We have a sizable vote in the county, I think that is seen in European elections, it is seen when Martin McGuinness stands, but we have no local representative and we have to crack that. It isn’t a matter of cracking that for a ego trip, it is a matter of correcting things so we can start to serve people in a matter that we think is best for the people of this county.

“I am very hopeful and very confident that the changes that we have made [in Clare], which have been done in consultation with local people, will lead to greater traction to the party in Clare.

“All parties have their democratic process and their disciplinary process. The fact is that a small number of people who were expelled, were expelled for a good reason. We don’t want to end up being complicated for all or any of that. It has happened, people part company in every organisation and every political party. It is done, it’s dusted, it is regrettable, but sin é, that’s it, we move on.

“Those who have not been expelled, there is a process for anyone who wants to come back into the party. There is a process in place for those people. That is a decision for them, it isn’t a decision for us. We can’t altogether blind ourselves to the fact that part of the lack of the development of the party [in Clare] is the refusal of some to go with the way that the party is building itself across the island. If it works in County Antrim, if it work in Kerry and in Donegal, it can also work in Clare. But it needs a full hearted involvement by the local members. A political party, at least one like the one we want to build, can only be built from the bottom up.”

GRAFFITI artists in Ennis could have a wall to call their own if plans put forward by a local councillor get the go-ahead.

At yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor James Breen (Ind) renewed his calls for a graffiti wall to be developed in Ennis.

Cllr Breen, who first proposed the wall last January, told the meeting that graffiti can be a healthy form of therapy for young people.

He said that while he is no expert in the matter, some graffiti could be a “beautiful thing”.

He said that by developing a dedi cated facility for graffiti in Ennis, young people wouldn’t have to be worried about being “hunted away” from other locations.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) proposed that primary and secondary school make walls available for graffiti.

He said, “We’ve actually left some of the graffiti in place (in Shannon) because it is of such a high standard.”

Cllr Cathal Crowe said it had been shown that there are therapeutic benefits to be derived from graffiti. He said a graffiti wall would help alleviate distasteful graffiti in other parts of Ennis. Cllr Breen told the meeting that he wasn’t trying to foist a graffiti wall on communities in Ennis.

He added, “I think Lees Road would be a good facility for a graffiti wall.”

The Director of Services, Gerard Dollard, stated that Lees Road had previously been forward as a location for the wall.

He explained, “The Management Committee of the Lees Road facil ity was subsequently requested to consider the provision of a graffiti wall. The matter was discussed at a meeting of Ennis Town Council’s Leisure Facilities Committee. It was agreed by the committee that the matter would be reconsidered in 12 months.”

The proposal was due to be discussed at yesterday’s committee meeting.

“It should be noted that no funding source has been identified for such a project and, in the event that the provision of such a facility was considered more appropriate for the Lees Road facility, such a funding source would have to be identified. The proposer of the motion may wish to suggest other possible locations that could be considered if a funding source was available,” he said.

AN EAST Clare family has been forced to move out of their own house because of anti-social behaviour by neighbours who were claiming a Rent Allowance Payment.

That is according to East Clare Cllr Joe Cooney (FG), who called for tighter regulations to be placed on people who receive rent allowance – including a provision for money to be taken directly from a persons social welfare payment to repay a private landlord or the local authority for damage done to a property.

Cllr Cooney said that the way that a small minority of people on rent allowance treat property is a “disgrace”.

“Some of these tenants, the state that they leave some of the houses are a disgrace. I have people on to me, and they can’t rent out their house because of the damage done,” said Cllr Cooney.

“I am aware of a family in East Clare who had to move out of their own house because of the anti-social actions from one family beside them. If these people can’t treat the property properly, and not be acting the fool, then there has to be consequences for them.

“Not all tenants are the same, but some are very bad. This is a vital motion. What is going on is a dis- grace in some place, but it is not everywhere. The damage has seen some local council houses left closed for up to 12 months, which in my opinion is a disgrace.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) who said that legislations need to be put in place to allow landlords to recoup payments from people who destroy their property.

“There are some people in this society for who there are no consequences,” he said. “I think we need legislation where a local authority or a private individual should pursue people in the courts and they should then have an attachments put to their [social welfare] payments.”

A NORTH Clare hotelier travelled to China over the weekend for a toplevel meeting with members of the Chinese government, in an effort to open a door for thousands of tourists from China to visit Clare in the coming year.

Lisdoonvarna businessman Marcus White flew out to Beijing last Thursday, just days after returning from a similar trade meeting in Russia. It is as yet unclear whether either of these trade meetings will yield a major tourism breakthrough for the county, but the growing middle-classes in both Russia and China are considered to be one of the major future growth markets for world tourism.

In 2010, Mr White succeeded in forging a relationship with a major German tour operator which has brought more than 15,000 German tourists to North Clare in the past two years.

“This could be a big help to Shannon Airport. The publicity that was gained when Xi Jinping was here was really encouraging and was a big help for what I’m going. It is very important that we can find a way to deliver on this market,” said Mr White.

“I met with Ramazan Akpinar from Pegas earlier in the month. Currently, they bring more than 600,000 Russians on tours to Thailand every year, so if we can get even a small slice of that market, it will be massive for Clare and Ireland.

“We were in Russia trying to encourage him to work with us to bring more Russian tourists into Ireland. It was a positive meeting but it will probably take another year to develop this into something real.

“Russia is very much an up-andcoming country and now is the right time for the Irish tourism board to target that market.

“I think the only way to do this is to go over there and meet the people who make the big decisions. The Irish embassy [in Russia] have been very good to me but more needs to be done to make this a reality.”

White’s Hotel Group operates the Burren Castle Hotel, the Hydro Hotel, the Imperial Hotel and the King Thomand Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, as well as a number of hotels in Donegal.

MAGIC mushrooms located in the Burren could hold the key to tackling world hunger in the coming years. Scientists have discovered that networks of microscopic fungi play a key role in aiding plants to extract and process nutrients from the soil.

According to Dr Ray Woods of the British organisation Plantlife, intensive farming, fertiliser and human intrusion have destroyed these fungal networks across Europe, with the Burren’s wild grasslands now considered as a fungal “arc” for the future of European farming.

Recent studies have also shown that these tiny fungi can help plants to fight off disease and can even allow for the flow of nutrients from one plant to another over large distances.

“We are just starting to learn how vital these fungi are for growing crops. They are intimately connecting with well-known plants such as hazel, using 50 or 60 different types of fungi to grow,” said Dr Woods.

“The wild flowers of the Burren are a perfect example of this. There are so many different plants and flowers there and none of them ever seem to dominate. In the Burren, you have one of the last unimpacted areas of grassland anywhere in the world. It is really one of the very few places in the world where research into fungal networks can still be done. It is an arc for these fungi.”

One of the most important abilities of these fungal networks is helping plants to extract nitrogen from the soil. At present, virtually all world agriculture is built on the use of large amounts of industrialised nitrogen fertiliser, which is made using large amount of oil.

As global oil supplies continue to dwindle, the use of oil in producing fertiliser is considered by many to be the biggest challenge facing world agriculture in the next 50 years. This has prompted many people to exam- ine the role that the intact Burren fungal networks could have on world agriculture.

“People are already coming to the Burren [to study the fungi] but it is difficult at times to know who is coming and what they are doing. You come across people from universities in Germany, Holland, Ireland and the UK in the Burren,” said Stephen Ward of the BurrenBeo Trust.

“If they are doing original research, then chances are they would contact an organisation like the BurrenBeo Trust because we can be helpful.”

For more information on the BurrenBeo Trust, visit www.burrenbeo. com.

MORE than two years after the opening of the Western Rail Corridor between Ennis and Galway, passengers will soon be able to purchase tickets online.

Iarnród Éireann confirmed last week that the much anticipated rollout of online booking should be in place by this September.

The inability to purchase tickets online has been pinpointed by rail campaigners, including West on Track, as one of the reasons why passenger numbers on the line have not met initial expectations.

In a letter to Clare TD Joe Carey (FG) last week, the Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann, Richard Fearn, confirmed that online booking would soon be coming but also confirmed that no plans were currently in place to introduce catering on the line.

“It is Iarnród Éireann’s intention to offer online booking for all Intercity and regional services. I anticipate that tickets for journeys between Ennis and Galway will be bookable on- line by September of 2012. By then, changes to the software controlling our online booking service will be made,” said Mr Fearn.

“On-board catering services are provided for Iarnród Éireann by Rail Gourmet Ltd, on our services where the level of patronage justifies the cost of provision of a trolley service. Rail Gourmet have considered the Western Rail Corridor route, but to provide a catering trolley on the line would require further subsidies, which Iarnród Éireann is not in a position to fund at present.”

Deputy Carey last week urged Iarnród Éireann to reconsider the provision of a trolley service, once the online booking situation had been resolved.

“I was also concerned that commuters couldn’t even get a cup of tea on the service at present, as no onboard catering services are available. I note that this aspect of Irish Rail’s business is handled by a third party but would encourage the company, following the availability of online fares, to look again at this aspect of the business,” said Deputy Carey.

“In terms of scheduling, I note that the fastest trains currently available on the route both leave mid-afternoon, and would not be relevant to the vast majority of commuters in terms of getting to work or college. If we could get an early morning train, with a running time of less than 1 hour 15 minutes, and this was advertised locally, it would in my opinion receive support. The Ennis to Limerick service has performed well since it returned and I believe there is potential to increase business on the Ennis to Athenry line.”

THERE have been calls for the retention of tourist offices in rural parts of Clare amid concerns they could be shut under a new coordinated marketing strategy for the west of Ireland.

West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating (FG) called for a report “on the implications on the delivery of tourism services, if any, for Clare following recent media reports that the west of Ireland is to be marketed as a separate tourist destination.”

Cllr Keating told the meeting that in times of change there is always a danger that rural communities will be affected and forgotten about.

He said it was vitally important for Clare that tourism offices in Kilrush and Kilkee are kept open.

In his reply, Director of Services Gerard Dollard said it had been shown that on the international stage, a west of Ireland branding can be effective and is important in encouraging people to the area. He said the council welcomed the focus on promoting the west of Ireland

Mr Dollard stated, “The promotion and branding of the west of Ireland does not impact on the delivery of tourism services as such but the recent Government announcement regarding the proposed transfer of the tourism remit of Shannon Development to Fáilte Ireland obviously has implications for delivery of tourism services both in the area of product development and marketing and promotion. Clare Tourism Forums and the Strategic Policy Committee will also be seeking discussions with Fáilte Ireland at an early date to iden- tify the best manner in which Clare County Council and the forum can continue to play an active role in the delivery of tourism services and the marketing and promotion of County Clare.”

West Clare councillor Pat Keane (FF) said it is important that the region is properly marketed. He said opening hours at the offices should be extended during the tourist season.

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said, “Clare has a unique brand and we have to sell it and we have to sell it to everyone.”

Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes (FF) said all Clare people are ambassadors for their county.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said Shannon Airport should be promoted as the official airport of the Gathering – the government’s campaign to increase tourist numbers in 2013. He said the airport’s long association with emigration should be emphasised in order to avail of the estimated 400,000 extra passengers that the Government are hoping the Gathering will bring to Ireland

JUST under € 1.8 million has been collected so far in Clare via the household charge, new figures from Clare County Council show.

The information was given in response to a notice of motiwon from Labour councillor Pascal Fitzgerald requesting a breakdown on the total amount collected in the county to date.

In his reply Niall Barrett, Head of Finance, stated that the latest information from the Household Charge Bureau that there were 17,819 household registrations processed for payment as at 9am on Tuesday, April 24. This corresponds to the sum collected for the county to date.

He continued, “Nationally there are an estimated 220,500 household charge declarations which have been made through the post and over the counter in local authority offices that are being processed by the Household Charge Bureau.

“The County Clare portion of the unprocessed declarations is not included in the above figure as the county/city breakdown is not yet available in the figure.

“In addition, 15,159 declarations nationally have been received by the household charge bureau where a waiver from payment of the house- hold charge is claimed and these declarations are not included in the figure.”

He added, “This gives a total number of 921,101 household charge declarations made nationally.

“The amount collected for Clare will increase as applications on hand are processed by the Bureau.”

Cllr Fitzgerald asked if householders living in unfinished housing estates who have paid the household charge could be provided with services by Clare County Council?

He also asked the council to clarify their position for the residents in these estates.

Mr Barrett stated that there are no proposals at the present time to change established arrangements for the provision of services to estates in the county.

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) called for Minister for State Jan O’Sullivan, who he said represented 5,000 people in Clare, to attend a council meeting.

Director of Services Ger Dollard said the introduction of the household charge has not changed the way the council deal with unfinished estates.

He said the council is currently dealing with a number of unfinished estates in Clare.

“We are working very hard to get through that,” he added.

A WELL-ESTABLISHED small Bunratty business has been commended at the annual Small Firms Association (SFA) Awards.

Eoin Gavin Transport is the Clare member for The Pallet Network (TPN) which received a certificate of commendation from Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton (FG) at the weekend.

The Pallet Network (TPN) is one of Ireland’s leading freight, transport and logistics services providers.

Eoin Gavin Transport was founded by its namesake, Eoin Gavin, more than 30 years ago, serving numerous sectors such as agriculture, environment, waste, food and construction.

“Despite the continuing economic downturn, we have focused on becoming as lean as possible, cutting costs while maintaining services. Being part of TPN, a multi-million euro network, enabled the company to grow because of the support and encouragement from the other network members. This year we are going to focus on staying lean and providing the best overnight service and the best customer service. These are the initiatives that helped us thrive in 2011. We are looking ahead to a suc- cessful 2012 and hoping to be short listed again next year in the SFA awards,” said Mr Gavin.

The aim of the SFA National Small Business Awards is to celebrate the achievements of small businesses (with up to 50 employees) in Ireland, and to recognise the vital contribution of the small business sector to the Irish economy and to showcase Ireland’s entrepreneurial talent like TPN and its members.

Seamus McGowan, Managing Director, TPN said, “TPN and its 23 members are delighted to have been highly commended in the SFA’s Environmental Sustainability category. As concern for the environment rises, TPN has taken into account the external costs of logistics associated with climate change, air pollution, noise, vibration and accidents and has put in place a number of systems and new, greener, more fuel efficient equipment to help combat these growing concerns. Our continuing success is down to the 23 committed members that we have around the country. The efforts of members like Eoin Gavin Transport have meant that we are meeting the needs of both small and large enterprises and keeping our services levels as high as ever. We hope to continue this success throughout 2012.”

THE piers and harbours in Doolin, Lahinch and Liscannor are to receive a facelift before the end of the year as the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have granted assistance for some upgrade work.

The Government Department will supply up to 75 per cent of the cost of each project to Clare County Council calculated at € 97,500. As much as € 45,000 has been provided to make safe different areas of Lahinch beach.

The planned installation of protective railings at various locations including along ramped and stepped ac- cess from promenade to beach areas, along interfaces between promenade, shore and parking areas is estimated to cost € 60,000.

A further € 30,000 is to be provided for the € 40,000 harbour dredging works and the implementation of repairs in respect of the existing quay walls in Liscannor.

Up to € 22,500 has been provided for the € 30,000 work at Doolin Pier which includes the installation of appropriately located safety railings in the vicinity of the pier and on the steps used to facilitate access to ferries which used the pier to provide linkage with the Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher. Other works will in- clude installation of parking control measures to ensure free movement of traffic including rescue craft to and from the pier area.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen said, “It is envisaged that the local authority projects will bring much needed employment to local communities as well as providing improved infrastructure at the various piers and harbours. Initial estimates from the local authorities suggest that in excess of 1,200 man weeks of employment could be created from the approval of this programme.”

According to the Department of Agriculture, “Applications were received from 14 local authorities for 121 projects. The total value of the applications received was € 18,234,200. A shortlist of projects for consideration was compiled based on the prioritisation assigned by the local authorities with the aim of achieving a fair spread of the funding around the coastline. Local authorities were then requested to complete a more detailed application for the short listed projects.”

All works must now be completed by December 2012, and the total cost of individual projects must be less than € 150,000. All expenditure must be incurred in 2012 and all claims fully submitted by December 1.