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THE number of frontline civil service staff working in the county has been reduced by hundreds since the Government embargo in 2008.

The exact number is still unclear, but a least 100 more have been lost through the Government’s early retirement scheme, which ended on February 29.

Clare local authorities are suffering the greatest staff reduction, losing almost one fifth of its staffing levels since its peak in 2006.

In June 2006, there were 1,002 employees working for Clare County Council, Kilrush Town Council and Kilkee Town Council.

By March 1 this year, that number had dropped by 197 people to 805.

The council started to reduce its staffing numbers prior to the embargo in 2008, so as to avoid “a slash and burn” once the Government called for the cuts.

From June 2008 to March 1, 2012, Clare’s local authorities lost 159 staff members through retirement, voluntary redundancy and people leaving for other employment.

The councils are attempting to cover the staffing shortage by moving staff between departments and councils.

The number of Gardaí in the county has dropped by at least 41 members in the last 11 months.

At the January meeting of the Joint Policing Committee, Chief Superintendent John Kerins told the members that there will be at least 41 less members on the force in Clare at the end of February this year when compared to the end of March last year.

As a result of the drop in personnel and the ever-tightening Garda budget, Carrigaholt lost its garda station this year, with more stations expected to close in the coming years.

At least 31 primary school teachers have retired from the county’s schools in the last few months, with many more choosing to take their retirement package from the county’s secondary schools.

The number of teachers in the county is expected to be reduced further in September, when the Department of Education increases class sizes.

Last week, the HSE announced that as many as 1,222 people have retired from the HSE West since last September.

The health service area, which includes County Clare, lost 680 people, mostly frontline staff, to the Early Retirement Scheme since the beginning of the year.

In the former Mid Western Health Board area, made up of Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, almost 300 staff had retired just one week before the cut-off mark of February 29.

THE MAYOR of Kilrush has threatened to get a brush and can of white paint and draw road marks on a road that has being dubbed “Bombay Junction” locally.

Mayor Ian Lynch (FG) was told that it would be a serious traffic violation to interfere with the road markings at Limekill Junction (sic) on the entrance on the town.

Cllr Paul Moroney (Ind) said it would be a shameful for the council, if something wasn’t done about the busy junction.

The councillor, who is also a volunteer member of the fire service, said the fire brigade has already been called to a serious accident at the cross roads where the occupants of the car had to be cut from their vehicles.

Another man told Cllr Moroney that he got knocked off his bike at this junction.

“It would be a shame if this council got this done two days after someone is killed,” he said.

“We have discussed this for two years. Let us do something about this now. Shame on us.”

Cllr Liam Williams (FG) said at nine in the morning when children are going to school it is a very seriously dangerous junction.

The councillors were responding to news that plans for re-drawing the junction are still not in place.

Clare County Council maintained previously that they did not have time or the staff available to design the junction.

Town engineer Derek Troy then designed a solution for the dangerous junction, which was not approved by the road design team.

Town Manager Nora Kaye told the members of the council that there were a lot of people out on sick leave and as a result a lot of work was on hold.

“We have a bit of an issue at the moment.”

She said the junction, which is a cross roads past Aldi as you enter the town from the Ennis side, was the re sponsibility of the NRA.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that we do not have money to do it. Strictly speaking it is a primary secondary route and the responsibility of the NRA,” she said.

She said once the road design is complete the project will still not be done.

“We should just get the design done and worry about the money after. We look foolish on this when we can’t even get a white line drawn,” said Mayor Lynch.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) asked, “Could we still be here next year and it still not done.”

PROMOTING Kilrush in Galway has proven too costly an endeavour for the Kilrush Town Council’s diminished marketing budget.

However, promoting the town and particularly the Loop Head Lighthouse, in Limerick and Kerry has already paid off according to the town council’s marketing and development officer Síobhan Garvey.

“It is an achievement to get people from Kerry out of their own county and spending money,” she told the March meeting of Kilrush Town Council.

But that is what the people south of west Clare and from many other parts of Ireland did last year, with 1,700 people visiting the lighthouse over a few weeks.

Despite having her budget cut this year, Ms Garvey said she is adapting and using imaginative ways to promote the town and the west Clare area. She said she was now pushing social media as a way of free advertising.

“You could put an ad into a magazine and you don’t know how much you get out of it,” she said.

The council pays to have the Kilrush promotional brochure in stands in Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Shannon Airport but it cannot afford to do it in Galway due to high costs.

“It is too expensive. I would love to get in there,” said Ms Garvey.

“I had to renegotiate for the other stands already because of the cuts to the marketing budget.”

Mayor of Kilrush, Councillor Ian Lynch (FG), who flew to New York at the weekend, has produced an investment document with the assistance of the marketing department, which he will present to business people, potential visitors and politicians.

Meanwhile Ms Garvey told the council members that she also has responsibility in providing a supporting role to the town clerk in the area of parking fines and permits.

Here too, she is using new and imaginative ways. In co-operation with the town clerk and Clare County Council, she is currently co-ordinating a pay-online facility for parking fines. This is expected to be live by the end of the year. “We have a lot of visitors that get parking fines,” she said.

MUCKROSS Park in Killarney could soon have some serious competition from Kilrush as the council proposes to introduce jaunting cars to Kilrush Wood.

The wood, which surrounds the popular Vandeleur Walled Garden, is also the responsibility of Coillte, and members of the council executive are to meet with the state body to discuss this proposal and a number of other issues.

At the March meeting of the council, Mayor of Kilrush Ian Lynch (FG) asked that “Shannon Development and Coillte in association with Clare County Council to explore the possibility of opening of the Kilrush Wood existing road and track network to the seasonal attraction of jaunting, which would complement the existing attractions of the Vandeleur Walled Gardens and Kilrush’s Historic Trail while also providing tourism revenue to the town.”

He said that there are already old stables on the grounds of the Vandeleur Walled Gardens and the tracks are in place.

Marketing Officer with Kilrush Town Council, Síobhan Garvey said, “The Vandeleur Walled Garden and Kilrush woods remain a top priority when the town council engages in any tourism promotion and in recent years Kilrush Town Council has invested in resurfacing the roadway leading from the main road in through the woods to the car park as week as including it in the Historic Town Trails Walk.”

“In 2011, following consultation with coillte, they developed their walkways further by adding a new marked way and interpretational signs. It is acknowledge that the gardens and woods are almost a hidden treasure in the area and every effort is being made to promote both.”

GORT is in mourning today after the tragic death of two local men is separate incidents in recent days.

Enda O’Donohue from Ardrahan was killed in a car accident in Australia on Friday night last, just five weeks after emigrating to work with his brother Eoin.

The is the second major tragedy to hit the family in recent years, following the tragic death of Enda’s brother Aidan in Ennis in 2005. Aidan went missing following a night out in Ennis and was discovered dead in the River Fergus after a week-long search.

This latest tragedy comes just days after the death of Enda’s aunt in Gort last week.

The young carpenter, who is described as being a hurling fanatic, played for the Gort hurling club and also played soccer for Kinvara. His parents, Bernie and Mary, along with his siblings Alan, Caroline and Christina, gathered at their home last week to try and come to terms with the tragedy.

Enda is understood to have been walking home alone after socialising with friends and was crossing the Bruce Highway when he was struck by a car. The alarm was raised by a passer-by and the young Irishman was rushed to Ingham Hospital in a critical condition. He was later airlifted to the larger Townsville Hospital around 60km away but died there on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, gardaí in Kerry are investigating if a Gort man whose body was found in the Ballylongford Bog in North Kerry had been involved in a row over a car before his death.

The victim, who was named locally as Brazilian national Bruno Limes de Souza Silva, was reported missing from his home in Gort last month.

Two men – a 19-year-old Irish man and a 24-year-old Brazilian – were taken into Garda custody on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Brazilian Embassy in Ireland said consular staff are in touch with the victim’s girlfriend in Gort, Patricia Silva, who first reported him missing.

“His family have been in touch with us before to say he was missing. At the moment, we do not know too much and we are waiting to see what happens from the gardaí,” said the embassy spokesperson.

Mr De Souza Silva came to Ireland eight years ago and was last in touch with the embassy in 2010 when he renewed his passport.

NATURAL food businesses in North Clare were to the fore last Friday when the Minister for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety, Minister Shane McEntee (FG) paid a special visit to Inagh Farmhouse Cheese and the Burren Smokehouse.

The minister was met in Lisdoonvarna by co-owner of the Burren Smokehouse, Birgitta Hedin-Curtin. Birgitta, who began the compa- ny with her husband Peter, had just returned from the Middle East, having met with a number of high-end retailers in Kuwait and Qatar.

“For the Burren Smokehouse, it is vital to meet face to face with our customers. I got an invite from my buyer in Kuwait two weeks ago and decided to immediately take up on his invite.

“This is à great opportunity for the Burren Smokehouse to further our brand in the global gourmet market and is part of our brand strategy,” she said.

The smokehouse will soon be launching their brand in specialty food shops in Portugal and Spain.

“This is not an overnight success. We have been building this business for 22 years, staying true to our core values of 100 per cent Irish raw materials, with excellent certification, building a great team, learning hard lessons and building trust with our customers,” said Peter Curtin.

The smokehouse began as a twoperson business with Birgitta and Peter but has since grown to employ 14 people in the low season and 20 in the very busy periods.

Meanwhile, Siobhan Ni Gháirbhith and her team welcomed the minister to Inagh for a tour of the farm and a tasting of their famed St Tola Organic Goats Cheese.

“We are delighted that the minister took the effort to come and visit us and it is a boost to us all that such importance and understanding is being applied to the organic agriculture industry,” said Siobhan.

“Over the past two years, St Tola Organic Goats cheese has grown its business from supplying the catering sector to having a major presence in the Irish retail market with product in all the major supermarkets. St Tola Divine and Logs will be on special offer this month and next in SuperValu and later in May in Tesco.”

FAMILY Carers throughout Ireland have participated in the second annual Caring for Carers Ireland poetry competition, the winners of which were announced at the Ennis Book Club Festival in County Clare during the weekend.

The nationwide poetry competition asked Family Carers to compose poems on the theme of ‘Springtime’, representing renewal and new life.

Noelle Dalton from Askeaton in County Limerick received first prize for her poem ‘Twilight’. Runners up included Gaia Charis from Castletownshend, County Cork, Tracy King Kinlan from Caherush, Quilty, County Clare, Terri O’Mahony from Ballinacurra Gardens, Limerick City, and Barbara Roche from Glenina, Ennis, County Clare.

Brigid Barron, Research and Program Manager with Caring for Carers Ireland, explained that the purpose of the competition is to highlight the significant contribution made by thousands of Family Carers to Irish society.

“Recognising the role of Family Carers in the home is crucial,” Ms. Barron said. “This form of care is the foundation of formal health and social care systems. Family Carers are a distinct group who provide care and also, very importantly, require care themselves.”

Ms. Barron continued: “Family carers spend a lot of time caring at home and that often gives them time for reflection. The poetry submissions received by Caring for Carers and our co-organisers, Clare County Library and the Ennis Book Club Festival, have been excellent, very touching and expressive.”

According to Helen Walsh, Clare County Librarian: “The library is delighted to have been able to support this initiative. Caring for Carers Ireland carries out invaluable work throughout the country and the County Library has a particular interest in socially inclusive events such as this.’

RE-ENERGISED and enthused ahead of the next local election, that is how the secretary of Clare’s Fianna Fáil Comhairle Dáil Cheantair Gerry Reidy described the party after its first Ard Fheis since the 2011 General Election.

Although Fianna Fáil may be reduced to just one TD in Clare, the lowest in the history of the state, the Banner county was once again painted as deValera country at this weekend’s Ard Fheis conference.

More than 140 members from around Clare travelled to the RDS in Dublin for the party’s annual gettogether.

Figures revealed from Fianna Fáil headquarters showed that Clare not only had the highest number of cumann registered nationally every year for the last three, but also brought the most money to the table.

From 2009 to 2011, Clare raised the most money in the national collection, collecting € 23, 594.26 in 2009, € 21,727.35 in 2010 and € 16, 536.02 in 2011. Financial support for the party dropped considerably in 2011 after the General Election, which saw its number of TDs, reduced to 19.

Clare, however, continued to contribute the largest amount, an achievement that was marked with an award to Mary O’Dwyer treasure of the Comhairle Dáil Cheantair.

The number of cumann registered in 2011, like the funding, dropped significantly to 70 in Clare.

Despite this low number, however, Clare still registered the largest number of cumann nationally.

There are 142 cumann or branches of Fianna Fáil in Clare but just 104 registered in 2009, and 121 in 2010 – but again the largest number in the country.

“The number of cumann registered in Clare for the past three years is a good indication of the health of the organisation,” said Mr Reidy.

The large number of registered cumann and the financial support from the county, coupled with the three Clare members on the national executive, makes the county very influential within the party, according to the Clare secretary.

He is also a constituency delegate and is therefore on the national executive, as are Deputy Timmy Dooley as vice-president and Garrett Greene as a member of the Committee of 20.

Mr Reidy was particularly enthusiastic about the number of young people who took part in this year’s ard f heis.

Younger members of the party, through Ógra Fianna Fáil, sought the majority of the motions for change in political life.

Among Clare Ógra Fianna Fáil’s many motions was one asking that the Ard Fheis calls on the Government to enact legislation banning all corporate donations to political parties.

Meanwhile, Marian Coughlan Flynn from Ennis was acknowledged at the weekend for selling the highest number of tickets in Munster for the party’s super draw, and co-ordinating the second largest sale nationally.

FIANNA Fáil’s Timmy Dooley TD was elected to the position of vice president of the party at this weekend’s Ard Fheis.

The man from Tulla was all but assured the position when former minister Éamonn Ó Cuiv TD pulled out of the race following his resignation from the deputy leadership of Fianna Fáil and his withdrawl from the front bench.

Deputy Dooley is currently Fianna Fáil’s frontbench spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport, and he also serves as a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

This is his second term as a TD for Clare and he previously served as a senator.

“The position of vice president will be a very challenging role but one which I am relishing. I will embrace the role and help in rebuilding the party and rejuvenating it across the country,” he said.

“Every member of the party will now have a say in the future of Fianna Fáil and it is vitally important that we reinstate the party back to being a strong and vibrant force in Irish politics. I would also like to congratulate Gareth on being elected to the Committee of 20.

“The positive atmosphere and the energy we saw this weekend is testament to the fact that Fianna Fáil has a strong and vital role to play in the future of Irish politics. I want to thank all of those from Dublin who attended the ard f heis and made their voices heard about the future of the party,” he added.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin TD said, “The positive atmosphere and the energy we saw this weekend is testament to the fact that Fianna Fáil has a strong and vital role to play in the future of Irish politics. I want to thank all of those from across County Clare who travelled up to the ard f heis and made their voices heard about the future of the party.”

HE MAY be just 37 years old but Clare’s newly elected member to Fianna Fáil’s national executive considers himself among the older members of a new-look Committee of Twenty.

Ennis man Garrett Greene was one of the 20 that were elected to the Ard Chomhairle at the Ard Fheis this weekend, which represents a huge change in the age demographic of the party.

Eight of those elected were in the 20 to 30 age group, with many more in their 30s.

This new blood has given Mr Greene great hope for a party that was decimated last year at the General Election.

In the run up to the hotly contested election, the former local election candidate travelled the length and breadth of the country campaigning.

“It was a great opportunity to listen. While it is important for a candidate to bring his message, it is also important to listen,” he said.

“At party meetings nationwide, I was struck by the pain and hurt felt by grassroots members at how neighbours, friends and communities that had lost trust in Fianna Fáil. We must regain that trust by once again becoming a party of values and vision, underpinned by sound and practical policy,” he said.

Mr Greene, who was elected to the Committee of Twenty on the first count, said he felt that the weekend’s Ard Fheis addressed a lot of those issues.

It was a weekend when the mem- bership reclaimed the party, be said.

He said he hopes the new members will help to build a party that is policy-driven and that will be better connected to the members.

The Committee of Twenty work on a voluntary basis with no expenses for the good of the membership, he said.

Asked if he now has plans for elected office, he said he would first have to wait to see what the Minister for Environment and Local Government, Phil Hogan, will decide about the shape of local authorities.

While he would like to contest an election again, this son of a former councillor said it would also depend on his personal circumstances at the time.

Having graduated with an honours law degree last year, Mr Greene is now taking time out to consider undertaking a PhD or studying to become a barrister at Kings Inn.

He also has a BA Public Administration from the University of Limerick.

The Ennis man currently works with a private management consultancy firm, having previously worked in the area of public administration with the Competition Authority and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

A member of Fianna Fáil since he was 15, he was a founding member of UL Ógra Con Colbert Cumann in 1993 and is currently vice chairperson of Clare CDC.