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THE COST of providing Traveller accommodation in Clare has been described as “disproportionately high” and “unsustainable”.

Clare County Council are seeking to amend its current Traveller Accommodation Programme, which runs until 2013.

The proposed amendment, which has gone on public display, states that the council has spent € 20 mil- lion on the construction of 10 permanent group development schemes throughout the county, in addition to other housing supports.

It states, “Three new group schemes were constructed as part of the current 2009-2013 programme, two in Ennistymon at Ballymacraven and at Glen North, and one in Ennis at Knockanean.”

The amendment notes, “The council and the members of the LTACC (Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee) recognise that the group scheme programme has had disappointing results, as reflected in the number of vacancies (currently 16 units or 25 per cent of all units provided), the high level of transfer requests (currently 13 households or 27 per cent of all current tenancies in group schemes) and the loss of units through arson (5 or 7.9 per cent of all units provided).”

Concern has previously been expressed over the high cost of providing and maintaining Traveller accommodation in Clare.

The document states, “The disproportionately high resources that the council is expending on the maintenance and management of Travellerspecific accommodation is unsustainable and negatively impacts on the capacity of the council to achieve the objectives of the programme.”

Under the proposed amendment, the council will close a temporary site at the Quin Road after the existing family there is relocated.

It continues, “It is the council’s policy to apply its rent arrears policy to all tenants. This is in the interests of equity, consistency and in the interests of promoting sustainable communities.”

Traveller tenants will be encouraged to participate in estate management programmes while the council’s antisocial behaviour strategy will apply “to all tenants in all settings.” The council is installing a CCTV system in three group scheme developments as a funded pilot project. Submissions to the document can be made until June 22.

THE retention of one classroom teacher in Boston National School and four English Language Support teachers [EAL] in Ennis has been described as a “stay of execution” by Mullagh teacher and local head of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO), Sean McMahon.

The five teaching positions, which were due to be scrapped by the Department of Education in September, will now be retained for the 2012 to 2013 school year. While he welcomed the successful appeals, Mr McMahon said that a major u-turn in government educational policy is needed if rural Clare schools are to continue to provide top-class education for the people of Clare.

“This is good news but we have to balance this with the communications coming from the Department of Education which indicate that all schools will have to meet the new student number criteria come September,” he said.

“It is not fair to compare urban and rural schools, especially in the Burren where planning permission is difficult to obtain. The minister [Ruairi Quinn (LAB)] should take a step back from this approach and realise that it is not fair to compare the educational realities of schools in urban and rural areas.”

Mr McMahon also criticised a situation which could see a large number of the county’s urban schools lose English Language Support teachers in the coming years. Four Ennis schools which were due to lose a teacher each in September will now retain their EAL.

The four affected schools are the Holy Family Junior and Senior Schools, Ennis Educate Together and Scoil Chriost Ri in Cloughleigh. They each retained an additional EAL post in the appeals.

Boston National School is one of a number of small rural schools in Clare that face the prospects of teacher cuts and even closure, as a result of the drastic increase in the minimum numbers required to sustain one- and two-teacher schools.

“I’m happy that Boston has retained its post. While I regret the loss of any teaching post in Clare, I am satisfied that posts are being allocated where they are needed most. And need must be the criteria when it comes to something as important as primary education, not politics,” said Clare TD Michael McNamara (LAB).

“In that regard, I’m pleased that the need for four additional EAL posts in Clare was recognised on appeal and will be met – at Holy Family Junior and Senior Schools, Ennis Educate Together and Scoil Chriost Ri in Cloughleigh.” Wh ile it wo n ’t b e o ve rly w a rm , it sh o u ld b e p le a sa n t fo r m o st o f th is we e k, w ith Tu e sd a y, Th u rsd a y, Frid a y a n d Su n d a y th e b e st o f th e we e k. Th e e a rly fo re c a st fo r n e xt we e k is sim ila r.

THREE Clare properties went under the hammer at the latest sale of distressed properties organised by British-based auctioneering firm Allsop Space that took place in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel on Thursday last.

The lowest price for the 98 properties that went under the hammer and yielded nearly € 13m was recorded in Clare when a 2.5 acre site on elevated ground in Connolly without planning permission was knocked down for only € 10,000.

This figure represented a new low for the county where Allsop Space auctions are concerned, beating the € 11,000 that was recorded for the sale of a site in the Cloughleigh area of Ennis that came with planning permission for a shop unit and two apartments in 2011.

The two other properties in the county that were sold also went for bargain basement prices, with a holiday home in Doonbeg being sold for € 54,000 and an apartment in Ennistymon fetching € 31,000.

The Doonbeg property is located in the Dun na Mara housing estate in the village – the four-bedroomed property with a sea view had a reserve price but exceeded this by € 9,000, even though the house was described by Allsop Space firm as being “in a shell condition” without fittings in the kitchen or bathoom areas.

The two-bedroomed apartment in Ennistymon located on the junction between Main Street and Parliament Street that was being sold on the instructions of the Kavanagh/Fennell firm of receivers had a reserve price of € 30,000.

Two other Clare properties were also included in the 106-lot auction, but both were withdrawn from the sale. A four-bedroomed bungalow on Station Road in Lahinch had been given a reserve price of just € 50,000 – the property which is just a couple of minutes walk from the centre of the village also came with planning permission granted by Clare County Council in December 2010 to demolish the house and build three town houses in its place. The second property withdrawn was in Crusheen, a four-bedroomed house that had a reserve price of € 75,000.

A NORTH Clare woman who lost her sight almost five years ago has become the spokesperson for one of the country’s most high-profile charities and has now been charged with organising its biggest fundraiser for 2012.

Áine Mae O’Mahony was declared blind after a series of laser treatments and surgeries when she was just 25 years old.

The former café owner adapted to her condition with such grace and bravery that she has since become a “poster girl” for the charity Fighting Blindness Ireland, representing the charity and sharing her story both locally and in the national press.

This year, the charity asked the Lahinch woman to organise a major fundraiser.

Sticking to her roots, she has planned and organised a triathlon and family fun days for the last weekend in July, which was traditionally Gala Sunday.

The Áine Mae Fighting Blindness Weekend is scheduled to take place on July 28 and 29 in the seaside town.

Ms O’Mahony said the weekend will have something for everyone.

“It will include a vision challenge consisting of a run, one-kilometre paddle on boards, another run and a cycle with an early morning start. Seaworld have given us a venue to host a kiddies disco, bouncy castles and other events and we already have many more sponsorships,” she said.

“There will be many mini events and novelty ideas on the days. John McCarthy of the Lahinch Surf School has given his premises at the back so we can host a barbqueue and music for all the volunteers who have taking part.

“I have full support from Senator Martin Conway (FG) and the local county councillors, as well as the community itself. We have had several meetings with a positive outcome,” she said.

As well as raising much needed funds for Fighting Blindness, a charity that supports research into the causes of blindness and any possible cures, Ms O’Mahony also hopes the Áine Mae Fighting Blindness Weekend will resurrect the traditional Gala weekend in Lahinch.

CLARE’S six Oireachtas members gathered in front of Daniel O’Connell on the top of O’Connell Street, Ennis, on Friday last, canvassing in unison for a Yes vote on the Stability Treaty.

TDs and senators across the three parties – Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil – agreed that accepting this treaty was in Ireland’s interest.

Clare Fianna Fáil TD and the party’s Director of Elections for the referendum, Timmy Dooley was aware, however, that although his Clare Dáil colleagues of all political persuasions were in agreement with the treaty, the same could not be said about all within his own party.

As the Fianna Fáil frontman on the Stability Treaty Referendum, the Clare TD must deal with the decision of former minister Éamonn Ó Cuiv, and his supporters in Galway West, not to support the treaty.

Deputy Dooley told The Clare People that he was not particularly worried about the Galway West TD’s stance, stating that the party’s recommendation for a Yes vote had received a lot of support in Galway West.

“Éamonn Ó Cuiv from the get-go was not an advocate of the European project to the best of my knowledge,” he said.

“He is a member of the party and has a right to his own views. It is my understanding that he won’t be canvassing against it (the treaty) either,” added Deputy Dooley.

Asked if it made his job as Director of Elections more difficult, he said,

“Things are difficult for Éamonn. He has lost the deputy leadership and his front bench position as a result of his stance.”

Deputy Dooley said he has been working in Galway West and around the country on the referendum.

Referring to Galway West he said, “There is a very committed organisation there who supports the treaty. I expect the Fianna Fáil vote will come out in support of the treaty in that constituency.”

One Clare-based party that will not be canvassing with the others is Sinn Féin.

Yesterday (Monday), Clare Sinn Féin welcomed the Civil Public and Services Union to the No camp, along with Mandate, Unite and the TEEU.

SHANNON Airport has a viable future if it is finally freed from the strictures of Dublin Airport Authority control – that’s the gospel according to a DAA memo that has been drafted ahead of the imminent announcement of a new blueprint for Clare’s international airport.

The memo that has been circulated amongst key government departments in recent weeks includes a landmark concession on the part of the DAA that Shannon Airport would be perfectly placed to sur- vive and prosper as an independent entity.

And the memo has revealed that any government decision to grant Shannon full independence could pave the way for the airport to attract an additional 250,000 passengers through the former hub of the aviation world.

This passenger growth forecast by DAA chiefs comes against a backdrop of a haemmorhage of traffic over the past five years, with numbers through the airport plummeting from the record high of 3.6 million in 2006 to under 1.5 million in 2011.

Traffic through Shannon Airport is now at a 15-year low with figures for 2012 so far showing an alarming loss of 20 per cent for the same period in 2011 – a slide that, if continued for the rest of the year, would see passenger numbers decline to under 1.3 million by the year’s end.

Now, the decision by the DAA to back the concept of an independent Shannon for the first time is seen as another link in the chain towards the Government’s long-awaited announcement on the new blueprint for the airport.

This decision was put back until this month, because of what Min- ister for Transport, Leo Varadkar calls “issues with due diligence”. But ahead of the formal announcement, the minister publicly stated his intention to “give Shannon the autonomy and the tools it needs to turn the situation around to get passenger numbers up and get employment up and investment into the area”.

The Government announcement is being made on the back of the Booz and Company report that put forward five separate options for Shannon, with the most favoured being an independent Shannon that will be under State ownership, but run by a new holding company.

IT WAS mixed news about the quality of the county’s bathing waterways, when the EPA published its quality report on Thursday.

The once bathing water quality blackspot of the county – Ballyalla Lake – has improved its water quality to acceptable. The news was not as good, however, for the White Strand in Miltown Malbay, which was the only one of Clare’s 11 bathing areas to fail the tes`t. Paul Moroney, Senior Engineer, Clare County Council, explained, “Nine samples were taken at this beach during the 2011 bathing water season. One sample out of the nine exceeded guideline and mandatory pollution limits. The sample was taken on June 7, 2011. At the end of the season, a compliance percentage rate is calculated, upon which this location was 89 per cent compliant with the mandatory limits. However, this exceeded the acceptable allowable failure rate of 95 per cent.”

“The limits only failed on one occasion during the entire season and all other results were in the ‘good status’ for the season. The weather in the days preceding the test was wet, with in excess of 15mm of rain falling in the region. It was deemed at the time that the reason for the failure was most likely due to high rainfall and wash-off from land,” he added.

The 10 bathing areas around Clare that were found to have complied with the minimum standards in 2011 included Ballycuggeran (Lough Derg), Ballyalla Lake (Ennis), Cappa Pier (Kilrush), Bishopsquarter, White Strand (Doonbeg), Kilkee, Spanish Point, Lahinch, Fanore and Mountshannon (Lough Derg).

“In particular, the council is pleased that Ballyalla Lake had good results in 2011 and is working to ensure that that improved status is maintained this year and for the future,” said Mr Moroney. “The bathing water results show that Clare County Council’s bathing waters have excellent quality. In the unlikely event that a result fails, Clare County Council implements a protocol to warn bathers of the failures, including advice to bathers that the water is unsafe for bathing. This was done at White Strand Milltown Malbay last June when the test result was obtained,” he said.

SOUTH Clare’s tourist attractions will be put under the spotlight this Wednesday when tourism operators from throughout the county take part in the third of four ‘Familiarisation Tours’.

The tours are the brainchild of the Clare Tourism Forum, thanks to their ongoing campaign aimed at increasing tourism business referrals within Clare.

As part of the initiative two tours have already been held in North and West Clare, while the final tour in the series will take place in East Clare later on in May.

This Wednesday’s excursion to South Clare will feature guided tours of Quin Abbey, Craggaunowen, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Bunratty Castle Hotel Angsana Spa, and Durty Nelly’s perfect Guinness workshop. Participants also will attend a cookery demonstration at Bunratty Cookery School and an Irish coffee making demonstration and tasting session at the Shannon Oakwood Arms Hotel. John O’Brien, Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society will accompany the tour.

“The familiarisation tours have been hugely successful to date with dozens of Clare tourism providers pledging their support to help to build referral business within the local sector,” says Clare Tourism Forum chairperson, Barbara Faulkner.

“By broadening their knowledge and experience of other tourism attractions within County Clare, individual operators will be better positioned to promote the wider tourism sector and in doing so accrue the benefits of fellow operators doing likewise,” she adds.

Tourism operators interested in joining a tour should contact the Clare Tourism Forum office on 0656846537 or email ctf@clarecoco.ie.

CLARE people waiting for out patient appointments in Galway are among 40,517 hoping to get a call, with many waiting years for that coveted appointment.

Galway has the longest waiting lists in the country, but the CEO of the Galway/Roscommon Hospitals Group, Bill Maher, said he was more concerned with the duration people were waiting rather than the length of the list.

He also said the 40,000 plus figure was “a worse case scenario” as it had not yet been validated and once it was he expects the figure to fall significantly.

He told members of the Regional Health Forum West that some of the names on the list were duplicated, on other hospital lists or no longer required the service.

“Once validation is complete we would expect a reduction in this number. We know for example that a number of patients are referred routinely to the same or similar services in a number of hospitals,” he said.

Describing the list as “frightening” chairman of the HSE West Forum Cllr Padraig Conneely said he was “getting horrific stories of people waiting years” on the list.

“This is a figure I wouldn’t be happy with either. The real issue for me is not the number of people in the list but how long they are waiting. There are some specialise where people are waiting for years,” the CEO admitted. “I wouldn’t be sure if all patients are still active on the list. To validate the list properly would entail writing out to 40,000 patients and await a response,” he said.

Mr Maher added the HSE had set itself a target to shorten the list significantly within the next 12 months.

“We have set ourselves a target that no one will still be on the list in 12 months. 12 months is still too long for patients to wait for an out-patient appointment but we have to start somewhere,” he said.

“On March 23, 2012, the SDU launched an initiative to deal with the out-patient waiting list. This is similar to the initiative currently underway for in-patient waiting lists. We are currently preparing to take part in this initiative and will be addressing out-patient waiting lists across the hospital group.”

He also denied that the waiting list was as a result of a staffing issue.

The CEO told the HSE forum members that when he had exhausted all of the resources he had, and if he still needed more then he would apply for some.

RNLI branches from Ennis and along the county’s Atlantic coast will come together later today to launch the ‘Mayday Mayday’ campaign for new lifejackets in the stations.

The Ennis and Kilrush branches of the RNLI have decided to pool their resources and produce a combined programme of fundraising events for the rest of the year. This programme includes events established events such as the Burren Ramble and the July Moonlit walk in the Burren, but also includes new events such as the hills of Aylroe in Kildysert.

The Mayday Mayday programme launch will take place at the Sanctuary in the Queens Hotel, this evening, May 1, from 8.30pm. It is hoped that a large number of locals and RNLI members will support the launch and the different fundraising events.

“This appeal centres on the new lifejacket initiative for the crews of all our lifeboat stations around the country. It also gives the Clare community to come out and support their local lifeboat stations,” said Jennifer Ryan of the Ennis RNLI.

“Our countries lifeboat branches are always looking for ways of improving and maintaining their equipment. This however is a costly business. The new lifejackets that have been in development for some time now are the way forward.”

Details of these events will be available this evening but it is understood that the new fundraising event in the hills of Aylroe will take place during May. The annual Midnight Walk will take place as usual in July while this year’s Burren Ramble will take place in September.