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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.

THE Sinn Féin drive to energize the party in rural counties came to Clare last week as party leader Gerry Adams visited Ennis.

The party leader visited a number of locations in the county town last Thursday as part of the party’s rural Ireland consultation process.

“The first phase is to listen, and we will be doing that all over the summer. We believe that rural Ireland in particular has been devastated in recent years – by unemployment, by emigration,” said Deputy Adams.

“A lot of these charges, like the septic tank charge, are a full frontal attack on rural dwellers. If you live in the city, if you are part of a system you are okay, but if you live in a rural area you are not.

“But we thought that the first phase of this should be a listening phase. Whether it is small school, people who have had a Garda station closed down or people who have seen the cost of public transport go up. But particularly people who have the imagination to create jobs – they should be supported.

“An example of this is two brothers who we met just now over at Ennis Mart, who could not get the money they needed to start their business and employ people.”

Sinn Féin will continue its rural Ireland consultation process until the end of the summer and they will produce a document on their finding later this year.

LIFE IS returning to normal today for the family of an East Clare farmer who, after becoming trapped in his own slurry tank on Saturday, was rescued without suffering serious injury.

The man, who is in his 40s, was cleaning the slatted house on his farm in Aughrim, just outside Scariff, on Saturday when a manhole cover gave way.

The man fell into the 10-foot-deep slurry tank which, luckily for him, was only half-full at the time. The man was discovered by his mother when she heard him shouting and contacted the emergency services.

Two neighbours were able to res- cue the man before the arrival of the emergency services, lowering a ladder into the pit and allowing the man to climb free. The fire service’s first responders assessed the man in his home and established that he did not require hospitalisation.

According to East Clare farmer and Clare President of the ICMSA, Martin McMahon, it will take the man and his family some time to get over this traumatic experience.

“It is a big shock to the whole community. When you hear about an incident like this, with a man falling into a slurry pit, well my sympathies do go out to the man and his family,” said Martin.

“I am sure they are all overjoyed that he was able to come out of this alive but his confidence will have taken a knock.

“The biggest problem for farm safety in Clare now is farmers work ing on their own. Too many farmers have no choice but to be alone. They could be out of contact with anyone for six or eight hours at a stretch and, no matter how good or how careful you are, something can always go wrong.

“There is always a risk, you can always slip. That’s why it is so important for farmers to keep their mobile phones with them at all time. A lot of farmers in Clare are part-time farmers at the moment, so there may not even be a neighbour in the vicinity to hear you. You could be working three or four miles from the nearest other person, and that is dangerous.”

VICTIMS of clerical child sex abuse or those with knowledge of abuse that has been perpetrated against children in Clare have this week been urged to step forward and alert the relevant authorities of these crimes.

The move that has been signalled as part of a new clerical child sex abuse awareness campaign being mounted by the Diocese of Killaloe throughout the county during the month of May.

This campaign was launched in the past week, just as the Catholic hierarchy was rocked by fresh abuse allegations surrrounding the investigation of notorious paedophile priest, Fr Brendan Smyth, that has left future of Cardinal Sean Brady as primate of all Ireland hanging in the balance.

As part of what the diocese has called “the importance of safeguarding children”, those who have suffered abuse in Clare have been urged to alert the Garda Siochána, the Health Services Executive or the Killaloe Diocese directly.

Throughout Clare those “concerned that someone you know is at risk in relation to a child safeguarding concern, or you wish to raise a matter from the past” have been told to come forward immediately.

“If you have grounds for concern about the welfare of a child you must act immediately to the statutory authorities and/or diocesan designated persons as soon as possible,” the Diocese of Killaloe has said.

“The designated persons will liaise with the statutory authorities – the Gardai the HSE and also the Bishop and the National Board for safeguarding children,” the diocese has added.

Since 2003, over € 2m has been paid out to victims of clerical child sex abuse in the Diocese of Killaloe. Money given victims are labelled as ‘Special Payments’ in the annual diocesan accounts published every year.

CLARE County Council yesterday put itself forward to play a major role in the steering group which will implement the separation of Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority.

County Manager, Tom Coughlan, yesterday outlined the local authority’s plan for influencing the restructuring the management of the airport, but said that the steering group must be established immediately if it going to succeed.

Speaking at yesterday’s May meeting of Clare County Council, Mr Coughlan put forward a timeline for change to take place at the airport saying that the steering group should be up and running, and making reports to government before the end of the year.

“The steering group must be established immediately and must include representatives from the local authorities,” said Mr Coughlan.

“The terms of reference of the steering group must be concise and a clear time line must be set, within the current year, for the reporting of the steering group, for decisions by government, for legislative change and for the implementation of Government decisions.

“The steering group must focus on achieving an increase in passen- ger traffic and a mechanism must be identified to achieve this objective in the short, medium and long term.”

The county manager also poised a number of questions that needed to be clarified before the proposed reorganising of Shannon Airport can be completed. These include some uncertainty about the workers at Shannon Airport, will the airport remain an “international” airport or will it be re-designated as a regional airport and will Clare County Council have a role to plan in the plans being drawn up by organisations such as the IDA and Fáilte Ireland.

AFTER A year of strictly balancing the books, Kilrush Town Council has a surplus fund to support two local projects and pay off an old debt.

According to the council’s Annual Financial Statement, the savings were achieved through cuts in expenditure during the year across most services divisions, strict budgetary controls and prudent financial management. This all resulted in an overall surplus of € 2,165 for the year 2011.

In light of the results, the council agreed to set aside € 40,000 for development works at the proposed Cooraclare Road Sports Development and € 12,000 for the recently adopted shop front grant scheme.

A further € 20,000 is to be used to pay off the terminating contract for the controversial superloo.

Welcoming the outcome of the fiscal report for 2011, Cllr Liam Wil- liams (FG) said that every effort must be made to ensure that the Cooraclare Sports Facility remains top of the town council’s agenda.

“We must make every effort to get grants for the facility. It has to be a priority for this year,” he said.

Cllr Paul Moroney (Ind) agreed that € 20,000 towards riding the town of the superloo was money well spent.

It was not easy for the council’s financial department, led by Colette Costello, to balance the 2011 budget however as the “percentage yields from rates and housing rents are a reflection of the difficult financial situation business and house holds presently find themselves in.”

Town Clerk John Corry told council members, however, that the rate collection “compares favourably to the towns and is the largest collection rate in the county.” He said legal proceedings would be a last resort in an effort to secure money owed from rents and rates, as the council tries to “focus on people who are in difficulty” and try to facilitate tenants.

To date, 76 per cent of commercial rates have been collected, the same amount as 2010, while 90 per cent of rents have been paid, down three per cent on the previous year. There was also a sharp reduction in income relating to Development Contributions in 2011, which according to council officials reflects the current economic climate. The development income for 2011 had fallen to € 3,397 from a high of € 273,096 in 2007.

Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Ian Lynch (FG) told the members it was a challenge at the beginning of 2011 to work out how the ever-decreasing budget would provide services for the town and its citizens.

Having achieved that with a surplus, the mayor said he hoped that Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government would consider such achievements of town councils as he considers their fate.

A FORMER worker with Clare County Council who sexually assaulted young boys over a 27-year period has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Sean Leamy (61) with an address at Main Street, Tulla was convicted yesterday at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

He had pleaded guilty to 21 counts of sexual / indecent assault. The offences took place in areas, including courthouses in Tulla and Sixmilebridge from 1978 to 2005.

The court heard that Mr Leamy, a secretary and former member of the Tulla Pipe Band, worked for Clare County Council for over 30 years.

The victims were aged between seven and 14.

The court heard that Mr Leamy would strike up a relationship with boys by asking them about horse riding. During the assaults he would ask them to strike him with a jockey’s whip.

Statements from the five victims were read out in court. One man said that he had battled with alcohol and depression in his adult life.

Another of the injured parties said, “As a result of the abuse I suffered from Sean Leamy, my innocence was lost.”

One man said in his statement that he had given up playing rugby and hurling after the abuse. He said the accused had killed his love of music.

“I tried to kill myself,” he added.

Detective Garda Stephen Ryan of Shannon Garda Station led the investigation into Sean Leamy.

He said the accused had fully cooperated with gardaí and made a full admission.

Counsel for Mr Leamy, Mark Ni- cholas, said his client unreservedly apologised to all the victims.

He said from a position where he enjoyed some standing, his client had become a “social pariah” in his community. He said, “He is not welcome, ignored and despised. His reputation is in tatters and rightly so.”

The court heard that Mr Leamy has no previous convictions.

Judge Carol Moran said the accused had been an active member of the community in Tulla. He said the abuse in some cases was “regular and continuous”.

He added, “What’s really scandalous about it is that it took place over a period of 27 years. This is a bad case.”

Noting the accused’s early plea of guilty and the isolation he has experienced in his own community, Judge Moran imposed sentences totaling six years.

SHANNON Development is no longer an international airport – instead it’s a dying institution because of the “dead hands” of the Dublin Airport Authority and now Shannon Development, which threatens to be “more of the same”.

That was the stinging verdict delivered by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary in the wake of the government decision to separate Shannon Airport from DAA control by creating a new holding company comprising of Shannon Development and the old SAA to take control of the airport’s destiny.

“The last thing you’d call Shannon is a dynamic international airport,” blasted Mr O’Leary. “It is a dying airport, because it is being run by the dead hands of the Department of Transport. We have a solution to this and it’s to put Shannon up for sale.

“We’ve had lots of smoke and mirrors from the Department of Transport talking about reform, when all they’ve done is move Shannon from the DAA which is a failed quango, into SFDCO, which is no better.

“The private sector across Europe – the airlines have been privatised, the airports have been privatised, but in Ireland we have the world’s largest international airline, banging on for years about selling off airports.

“What do we do? We move the deck chairs on the Titanic. Transferring Shannon Airport to SFDCO isn’t going to recapture the two million lost passengers that Shannon has suffered in the last five years under DAA mismanagement,” he added.

In continuing his broadside, Mr O’Leary described the government announcement, which was made on the back of the Booz & Company report that put forward five possible recommendations for Shannon’s future, as “more of the same” and “drivel about a world-class aviation industry” in Shannon.

“The minister will form a steering group – a high level committee, consultation with stakeholders and another two years of fudge and dither while Shannon continues to lose traffic and lose jobs.

“We’re here fudging Shannon out of the DAA into SFDCO – why don’t we put Shannon up for sale? We’ve nothing to lose. We might get € 100m for it that might go down to pay government debt and would bring in new management and a new vision. Moving Shannon from the dead hands of the DAA to the probably the deader hands of SFDCO is not change, it’s not reform, it’s just moving the deckchairs on the Titanic,” he added.

SHANNON Heritage has been hailed as the jewel in the mid west’s crown by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar – a ringing endorsement that’s set to ensure that the Shannon Development subsidiary is firewalled against any change to its operating structure during the implementation of a new semi-state blueprint for the region.

The government go-ahead for Shannon Heritage to continue with its historical mandate for operating visitor attractions in the mid west region was given by Minister Varadkar, after he signalled the break-up of the Shannon Development company that has operated in the mid west since 1959.

“We envisage with Shannon Development that of some its staff will transfer to the IDA, some to Enterprise Ireland and some to Fáilte Ireland and some becoming staff of the new airport body,” revealed Minister Varadkar.

“Shannon Heritage stands on its own,” he added, “because it’s a company that I’ve been hugely impressed with. It’s a company that’s growing outside the region as it has been given the contract for the management of Malahide Castle in Dublin. That shows what it can do”.

Shannon Heritage has responsibility for a host of visitor attractions in the mid west region, dating back to the medieval banquets that started at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in the early 1960s.

Banquets are also held at Dungaire Castle in Kinvara and Knappogue Castle in Quin, while its estimated that nearly five million people have enjoyed the mediaeval banquet experience over the past 50 years. Other Shannon Heritage attractions include Craggaunowen in Quin, Lough Gur in Kilmallock and the Brian Boru Heritage Centre in Killaloe.

“One thing the Shannon steering group will have to decide is whether Shannon Heritage becomes a subsidiary of Fáilte Ireland or a subsidiary of the new Shannon company,” revealed Minister Varadkar.

“My preference is that it would become a subsidiary of the new Shannon Airport company and would remain regionally focused,” he added.

DESPITE having its Government funding cut by more than nine million euro last year, Clare County Council ended the year with a deficit of just € 47,000.

Total Government funding received by Clare County Council during 2011 was € 66.8M, compared to € 78.2m in 2010.

The council’s financial department said it achieved considerable savings through a reduction in operating costs such as payroll and has some additional income generated under the Non Principal Private Residence (NPPR) scheme.

A significant reduction in staffing levels saved the council € 1.26 million in salaries, wages and pension costs.

The pay roll cost for 2011 was € 40.9 million, compared to € 42.2 million incurred the previous year.

Reduced call outs to the emergency services also had an impact on council savings.

Not surprisingly there was an in- crease in uncollected rates at the end of 2011 over the previous year yet the total cash intake had also increased by 10 per cent to € 34.5 million.

The council also managed to reduce its long-term loans by € 6.6 million.

Head of Finance Niall Barrett noted that the 2011 financial year was a difficult one that required the council to make expenditure savings in order to negate both the impact of a significant reduction in Government funding, and other income reductions.

“Taking into consideration the fiscal challenges faced by the Coun- cil, this result is welcomed and has arisen from effective budget management of both expenditure and income throughout the organisation,” he added.

“The key factors that influenced the financial performance of the council included an increased level of vacant properties impacting Commercial Rates and a general increase in irrecoverable charges due to the impact of the economic climate, NPPR income, payroll savings, the severe cold weather and resulting damage to water mains, the deferral of the am- ortization of unfunded capital balances relating to the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduffbeg; and critical maintenance and security issues at Traveller Accommodation sites,” he said.

“While the overall result is almost break-even and can be considered to be positive in the context, cognisance must be taken of the fact that this situation is only arrived at by virtue of the corrective actions taken by the council in reducing its expenditure in line with available funding in 2011,” added Mr. Barrett.