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CLARE County Council is to begin negotiations with its counterpart in Limerick and Shannon Development to explore the feasability of taking over the management of Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority.

This move was heralded at a special meeting of the local authority’s Special Policy Committee on Tourism and Enterprise on Monday, which came together to discuss the publication of the censored Booz and Company report on the future of Clare’s international airport.

County Council Director of Service, Ger Dollard; Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes; Mayor of Ennis Michael Guilfoyle all backed the move to open up discussions between the key stakeholders in the region that the Booz and Company consultants say should take responsibility for running Shannon.

The move was sparked by Cllr Joe Arkins (FG), who questioned whether “any contacts, formally or informally, had been made with the other proposed stakeholders – Limerick County Council and Shannon Development.

“It would be advisable that you make contact with them, in order that Clare County Council might be able to find out what the position of Shannon Development and Limerick County Council is, or if there is an agreed position between all the stakeholders,” added Cllr Arkins.

“I would agree with Cllr Arkins,” said Cllr Richard Nagle, who is chairman of the SPC on Tourism and Enterprise. “There has to be consultation with the other bodies,” he added.

“We have had disjointed approach over the years. We haven’t fought a good battle as a region,” said Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes.

“The decision that’s made has to be in the long term future of Shannon Airport because the west of Ireland is very much at risk if we don’t get it right,” he added.

“I’d be concerned that Limerick didn’t make a submission,” said Mayor of Ennis, Michael Guilfloyle.

“We haven’t have had any discussions since the report was published,” admitted Ger Dollard. “I presume the next step will be for the Minister and the Government to decide what option that we should pursue on foot of the report,” he added before it was agreed that negotiations with the other stakeholders would be kickstarted immediately.

LOCAL interests can’t be trusted to run Shannon Airport properly, because the move to give Clare County Council, Limerick County Council and Shannon Development control of the county’s international airport could bring about its “closure in a short few years from now”.

That’s the warning that has been sounded out by local Fianna Fáil TD and front bench spokesperson on Transport, Timmy Dooley, who has railed against the main recommendation contained in the Booz and Company report.

“This would be hugely damaging,” Deputy Dooley has told Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, who commissioned the report on the future of the three state airports from the team of international consultants at Booz and Company.

“According to Booz, the new air port model will also be based upon developing the land bank at the airport and developing cargo along with passenger traffic,” continued Deputy Dooley.

“We are in the worst economic crisis since the 1920s and there will not be any revenues from the land bank for 10 years and we are way off developing cargo, so before there is an upside from these in 10 years time, the airport could be closed before there is a recovery in the economy.”

Mr Dooley has claimed that the locally-owned based model “would be disastrous for Shannon and the region” in an airport that’s currently making losses of between € 8m and € 10m a year has accumulated losses of an estimated € 100m.

“Under the model proposed by Booz, where will the money comes from? Clare County Council doesn’t have any money. Shannon Development also doesn’t have any money and its functions are currently being reviewed by Government,” said Deputy Dooley.

Shannon currently receives € 8m per annum in subvention from the Dublin Airport Authority.

THE inspiration for the establishment of Shannon Development in 1959 was Clare’s international airport which then enjoyed the status of the hub of the aviation.

Now, over half a century on and in a complete role reversal, the flagship development and tourism agency in the mid-west region has been challenged to play its part in securing the future of Shannon Airport.

The Booz and Company report, in outlining the advantages of sepa- rating the airport from Dublin Airport Authroity control, has said that Shannon Development would have a huge role to play in helping develop “niche business opportunities” under a new operation model.

This would envisage a model that would see control for the airport vested in a holding company made up of public/private interests.

“The airport lacks sufficient integration with the surrounding land bank, with the current management having no function in developing alternative ventures with a mixed aero-industrial complex,” the Booz and Company report states.

“The airport covers an area of 2,000 acres of which 25 per cent is development land, and the airport is adjointed by the Shannon Free Zone.

“There is also a business and technology park of around 600 acres that is also owned and managed by Shannon Development.

“Other benefits are linked to its geographical position and roles as an airport that provides 24-hour operations each day of the year,” the report adds.

The consultants’ report has highlighted the need for “the Govern- ment to better integrate the airport with surrounding industrial developments, and in particular the Shannon Free Zone, which is currently owned and managed by Shannon Development”.

And, the prospect of Shannon Development parting with some of its sizeable landbank if private interests are to be attracted to investing in the airport.

Booz and Company say that for an airport like Shannon “to be attractive to private sector participation, investors could be granted assets that can generate income, such as develop- ment land or commercial property.

“In this context, the viability of Shannon would be enhanced via a structure that enables the better utilisation of development land within the current boundary estimated to be around 5,000 acres, as well as in leveraging the adjoinging Shannon Free Zone,” it adds.

Shannon Development Company has declined to comment on the contents of the Booz and Company report, only to say it was “currently reviewing the redacted version of the report and has no further comment at this time”.

IF implemented, one of the options for the future operation and management structure to govern Shannon that has been put forward by the team of international consultants hired by the Government would mean little change for the airport.

That’s according to Booz and Company themselves, after the final report, which has been part-published by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, outlines that one of the two options favour by the consultants would not give Shannon its independence and instead place control of the airport’s destiny in the hands of a new holding company.

“State control of Shannon would be maintained, but would be given the status of an independent subsidiary within overall airport group,” says the Booz and Company blueprint.

“The independent airport board would set the strategic direction for the airport and appoint individual management teams with responsibility for developing tailored business plans and marketing strategies,” it adds.

Booz and Company also say that “if properly structured, the primary benefit of this approach is that it would provide the airport with enhanced autonomy at local level”, enabling Shannon “to develop policies and processes that will enhance airport competitiveness with their specific market”.

However, the downside to this option is that it amounts to a watered down version of the current status quo where Shannon is concerned. In theory, Shannon would be given equal status to Dublin and Cork, with all three airports being subsidiaries of a new Ireland Airports Corporation (IAC), but could still be the junior partner of the IAC because of having the smallest number of passengers.

That these pit-falls exist have been confirmed by Booz and Company’s admission that “a risk of this approach is that increased competitiveness of one airport could have a detrimental effect on another airport within the group by diverting traffic away from one or both of the other airports.

“The holding company may therefore choose to impose restrictions on the subsidiary boards to ensure a group-focused approach to financial risk management.

“This would undermine the key benefit of separation and lead to outcomes that are similar in reality to the current situation, but it would create a structure more suitable for future separation.

“Under this approach, there would also be some additional costs associated with creating extra governane at the national level, and through duplicating some management roles at the airport currently performed by the DAA,” Booz and Company add.

ALMOST half of all Clare homes have no recognised waste collector and no indication of how or where they dispose of their household waste. According to new figures released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 47 per cent of Clare homes have no kerb-side waste collection service.

With fly-tipping and illegal dumping now reaching epidemic proportions in every part of the county, fears are growing that the costs associated with disposing of household waste properly are deterring many people from disposing of their waste properly.

This latest EPA figure does not mean that 47 per cent of Clare households are involved in illegal dumping. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that there has been a significant increase in the number of neighbours sharing a single collection service and people bringing rubbish directly to the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff beg for disposal.

“The figures in the report means that 47 per cent of households in Clare did not avail of, or were not offered, a kerb-side collection service,” said Emily Williamson of the EPA.

“However, to qualify this, this does not mean that 47 per cent of households in Clare were illegally dispos- ing of their waste, as we are aware that there are households that bin-share, opt to bring their waste to civic amenity sites or landfills or who can bring their household waste to their workplace for collection.

“The percentage is based on the number of households that the waste collection operators said they collected from and the number of occupied houses in the county.”

It has also been mooted that Clare County Council could soon introduce new bye-laws which would put the onus on the home-owner to show how they are properly disposing of their waste.

Similar bye-laws have been introduced by a number of local authorities, including Limerick County Council, in recent months and they require households that do not have a recognised waste collection service to show some level of proof as to how they are disposing of their waste properly.

According to the EPA report, more than 13,000 tonnes of household waste were disposed of at the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff beg in 2010. It is, however, unclear how much of the waste from from individual households and how much was from commercial operators. The Clare People contacted Clare County Council in relation to this story but no comment was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

CLARE County Council will only step up to take over the running of Shannon Airport if the Government stumps up enough money for ambitious plans to finally give the airport its freedom from Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) control.

And, the financial package for a local authority takeover in conjunction with Shannon Development would have to include diverting Aer Rianta International profits away from greedy hands of the DAA and straight into Shannon’s coffers, where the inspiration for ARI originated in the first place.

That was the resounding message sent out to Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, on Monday during a specially convened meeting of Clare County Council’s Special Policy Committee on Enterprise and Tourism.

“We need to fund the airport going forward if we are to get involved,” said SPC chairman Richard Nagle. “We are not in a position to come up with large-scale funding for Shannon – money that the airport requires. Funding, that’s the kernel of the issue,” he added.

“The Government owes Shannon,” said local hotelier, John Madden, who addressed the SPC meeting. “I would like to see Clare County Council and Shannon Development involved in the ownership, provided we get back Aer Rianta International,” he added.

“Until the financial data is made available and it’s made clear to local stakeholders what they’re being asked to take, I don’t think formal decisions can be made on this report,” said Director of Service, Ger Dollard.

“The financials at the end of the day have to add up for local stakeholders taking on a liability when they can’t fund that liability,” he added.

In putting the future of Shannon firmly back in the Government’s court, SPC chairman Cllr Nagle highlighted the pivotal role Shannon has to play in terms of balanced regional development.

“We have a spatial strategy. There is supposed to be balanced regional economic development. Shannon Airport is an international airport servicing the west of Ireland,” he said. “It is an integral and essential part of the infrastructure. If we are to have any form of rebalancing in terms of economic growth and development,” he added.

LIMERICK County Council says they stand ready to play a major role in the future development of Shannon Airport, should a member of the local authority be appointed to the new management structure for the airport.

Following the publication of the Booz Report into the future of Shannon Airport last week, it looks increasing likely that both Clare County Council and the soon to be amalgamated Limerick City and County Council will have a seat at the table when a future management structure for Shannon is announced.

According to the Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, Mary Harty (FG), a public voice on board of the airport will prevent it getting “wrecked” in a similar way to the local health services.

“I think it is important that the locally elected representatives have their say when it comes to something as important as the airport. We all know the difference it has made to the health system not to have a local say in how that operates and we don’t want the airport to be wrecked in a similar way to this,” she said.

“Shannon Airport is a massive driver for everyone in the mid-west, for Limerick and for Clare. We are very keen to have a role to play, Shannon Airport is the biggest gateway location in area and there is no question that it is vitally important to everyone in Limerick that it is made to work.”

Cllr Harty also dismissed the notion that councillors would not have the expertise to operate a complex facility like Shannon Airport.

“At the moment we don’t have the experience but we will never get the experience until we have a chance to work with all the other stakeholders and make our points heard,” she continued.

“This is such an important facility for the area it is vital that a local representative has a say in its future.”

FIFTY new part-time jobs are to be created in Clare over the next 12 months as part of an almost nationwide roll-out of over 500 jobs in the care system that have been announced by Comfort Keepers Home Care.

Part-time carers are to be appointed in 15 counties, while in Clare there will also be one new full-time appointment to the Comfort Keepers service, which is expected to come on stream over the next couple of months.

Comfort Keepers is an Irish-owned family-run home care provider that helps people to live independent dignified lives in the comfort of their own homes. Their carers provide high-quality, person-centered care to people in the community when daily tasks become too difficult to manage alone.

They are the only home care provider to be awarded ISO 9001, the Healthmark and the Q Mark for quality and excellence in its service provision.

“We are delighted that our focus on the provision of quality home care has led to the continued expansion of Comfort Keepers in Clare,” said managing director, Bob Power this week.

“It is also huge boost of confidence for us as an Irish-owned, family-run business to be able to create this level of employment in the county over the next 12 months.

“Home care is a very personal type of care and we seek carers and management staff who have caring and empathetic instincts. These are the type of people who make great carers and help people remain independent and happy at home,” he added.

The Comfort Keepers in Clare service is co-ordinated from a Limerick office that also administers a similar service in Tipperary, with Joanne Burke and Niamh Landy being the manager and coordinator of the services in the county.

A STATE-OF-THE-ART dementia unit, which was refurbished two years ago by the HSE at a cost of almost quarter of a million euro, remains closed to the county’s 1,300 Alzheimer’s patients.

While HSE management said it is committed to the opening of the unit, staffing issues mean the unit on the grounds of St Joseph’s Hospital, Ennis, is likely to remain closed for the near future.

Alzheimer’s and dementia are a growing issue within the Clare health services.

Between January and October last year, there were 303 Alzheimer’s patients being care for by the older people’s psychiatric team in the county.

However, there are a further 380 new patients referred to the service but still not seen.

The 15-bed specialised unit in St Joseph’s was designed to provide 13 residential beds to seriously ill patients, as well as two respite care beds.

These patients are currently being cared for at Cappahard Lodge, Ennis, while the unopened Alzheimer’s unit at St Joseph’s is being used as a temporary home for patients displaced due to essential fire and safety upgrades at the hospital.

Bernard Gloster, Area Manager Mid West PCCC, said, “It is expected that these (fire and safety) works will be completed by June 30, 2012 and, following the final transfer of the older persons back to the units in St Joseph’s Hospital, unit 5 (the new Alzheimer’s unit) will be available to the Mental Health Services.”

The health manager admits, however, that staffing the unit will pose difficulties.

“It will be a challenge for the Mental Health Services to staff this specific dementia unit from within the reduced staffing resource available to the service following the retirement of a substantial number of nurses from the service.

“However, management of the Clare Mental Health Service will endeavour to reorganise its service delivery to enable this dementia unit to be utilised for dementia patients,” he said.

Meanwhile, the HSE plans to remove all patients from Gort Glas to other units within the mental health services and in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland (ASI) build a dementia-specific day centre and the Psychiatry of Old Age Outpatient Service on the site.

“The project is on the HSE Capital Plan for 2012. Currently, the design and costings are being examined and decisions are pending to ensure that the project progresses within the funding resources available to the ASI and the HSE,” said Mr Gloster.

Clare representative on the HSE West Forum, Cllr Tom McNamara (FF) expressed his fears that the release of staff from the closure of Gort Glass and the downgrading of the HSE facility at Dalganish, Shannon, will not be sufficient to open the Alzheimer’s unit in Ennis.

“The opening of the residential and day-care service has to be a priority,” he said.

PATIENTS and visitors to the Mid West Regional hospitals in Ennis and Limerick will have to leave the hospital campuses and walk to the roadside if they plan to light up.

From May 1, all hospitals in the midwest, including the maternity hospital, will become smoke-free, following in the footsteps of other HSE West hospitals.

Sister hospitals in Galway have been smoke-free for more than two weeks, although not everyone is a fan of the new regulations that must be imposed in all Irish hospitals by 2015.

Chairman of the HSE West, Pádraig Conneely (FG) asked if the HSE had gone a step too far by banning smoking on all hospital campuses.

“Is it not a far walk all the way down to the road?” he asked, referring to the tree-lined avenue of Merlin Park Hospital, Galway, where last week’s meeting of the HSE West took place.

The Galway councillor also raised unease at the sight of patients in their pyjamas and dressing gowns standing on the side of the main road, out- side the walls of the University College Hospital, Galway.

He asked who would be responsible if a passing car knocked one of these patients down.

The HSE West chairman also raised concerns about policing the new ban. “How are you going to stop people outside accident and emergency in an inebriated state who are smoking, or a person dealing with a tragedy who wants to go outside to smoke,” he said.

Clare representative to the HSE West Forum, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said he agreed with the policy, but raised concerns about hospitals like the Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis, which has a psychiatric unit. “It is more than a dependency for people with psychiatric problems,’ he said.

He asked if the HSE now plans to extend the practice of allowing unhealthy behaviour on campus, by ceasing to sell sugary foods in its hospital shops, given the rise in typetwo diabetes.

Fellow Clare representative Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) asked about the size of the hospital campus and was told it was a 150-acre site.

“If there were 1,5000 acres, would you have the same rules? Where does it stop?” he asked.

Regional Director of Operations HSE West John Hennessy said it was “somewhat of an anomaly if we have banned cigarettes in pubs and public places and allow them on hospital grounds. I just can’t see us going back on an inevitable move.”

Tony Canavan, General Manager, Galway Primary Community and Continuing Care (PCCC), HSE West, added that “in a small number of cases, patients will be allowed to smoke in consultation with their doctor.”