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CLARE County Council has been urged to press for changes to electoral boundaries after the current arrangement in Ennis was labelled a “disgrace”.

Independent councillor Tommy Brennan made the call at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council’s Community and Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).

He said that the council should seek to have boundaries re-drawn now rather than leaving any proposal too late. Cllr Brennan criticized the boundaries in place in Ennis for the 2009 local election, which saw the county town divided into Ennis east and west.

He said, “Ennis should have one constituency not two. It’s a farce to put a boundary down O’Connell Street.” Cllr Brennan added, “It was a downright disgrace to have O’Connell Street split down the middle in the last local election.”

SPC members were speaking fol- lowing the release of preliminary data for Clare from the 2011 census.

Commenting on the high population concentration that exists in the ‘golden triangle’ from Ennis to Shannon, SPC chairman Richard Nagle said he found it difficult to agree with some of the statistics.

He said that if the census were carried out now, it would paint an even more “depressing picture” of the number of people living in rural parts of the county.

He said that recently 20 people, all aged in their twenties, had left two parishes in North Clare, to seek work abroad. He said rural areas that had been dependent on construction and tourism had been hardest hit by the economic downturn. “A generation is disappearing,” he warned.

Cllr Brennan said emigration is also a major feature of life in Ennis. He told the meeting that 14 members of an underage hurling team have now moved to Australia. Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) said that 16 people had recently returned from Australia to a part of West Clare to attend a funeral.

A WEST Clare councillor has called on retired public servants in the county to play their part in the national recovery, saying that they are ideally suited, thanks to years of experience to put their shoulder to the wheel for the good of the county.

Fine Gael councillor Gabriel Keating has sounded out the calling by saying that the raft of public service retirements in the county should now be used to harness a recovery of the county’s economic fortunes.

“This presents an opportunity for County Clare to harness the wealth of experience amassed from their careers for the benefit of the economic and social revival of the County,” Cllr Keating said this week.

“There are a lot of people, who will be retiring this year; who have gained valuable experience in the field of Healthcare, Education, Business and Tourism and who still have a lot to offer.

“I believe that many of these retirees would love to be able to impart their knowledge and experience which they have built up over the years and would be willing to volunteer if there was a process or forum set up which would facilitate this useful exchange of ideas.”

“That is why I am calling on Clare County Council to formalise a way in which these people can contribute and participate fully in the economic and social recovery of this county,” Cllr Keating added.

In expanding on his new blueprint for economic recovery, he said that volunteerism has a huge part to play over the next couple of years. “In seeking opportunities for volunteerism we must start looking beyond the traditional roles, such as Tidy Towns or local charities,” he said.

“However, in order to fully utilise the skills which these people possess, and to make sure that we just do not end up with another ‘Talking Shop’. It is important that the process or forum which is set up is active and that the ideas and proposals which are formulated in the process are fed into Local Authority System so that they can be acted upon.”

“Whether people have retired from the public, private or tourism sectors or whether they are self-employed retirees they have a vested interest in County Clare; they live here; their children or grandchildren are living here and they have the energy and enthusiasm to contribute to making this County a better place for all of us to live and work in.”

“It is an economic reality that we are where we are, and if we are to move forward recovery has to begin at grass root level. By participating in this initiative, I believe that these individuals will be displaying the true spirit of Clare patriotism and they will be making an enormous contribution to the future of their own county,” he added.

ORGANISERS of a public meeting in Ennis at the weekend are hoping to tap into mounting public anger at new taxes and cutbacks to services.

Members of the public are being invited to attend ‘Organising Resistance – Fighting Against Injustice And Inequality’, which takes place upstairs in Brogan’s Bar, Ennis, on Saturday, February 18, 2pm.

Kieran Allen of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the United Left Alliance (ULA) will give a talk on organising protests and activism.

Opposition to the new household charge will be among the topics up for discussion, according to one of the event’s organisers, Brían Ó Cualáin.

Brían, a member of the SWP, explained, “There is a push on against the household charge. And we’re hoping this meeting will give people an incentive to come out and hopefully inspire them to get involved.

“It’s not necessarily just about the household charge. We want people to talk about the issues that are affecting them in their community. That could be cutbacks to education, a lack of facilities for young people.”

He believes more and more people are looking for a way to express their anger at a time of economic uncertainty.

He said, “It is definitely building. There is an appetite there and people are looking for ways to express their anger and change the agenda for the little people, the people who are on the margins.

“This is affecting us all. Hopefully it will help create a bit of movement and we can capitalise on that movement and anger.”

The meeting is the latest in a series held in recent weeks around the county aimed at encouraging greater protest and activism.

Brían explained, “There were around 250 people at the Old Ground Hotel for a meeting on the household charge.

“There was a meeting in Kilmihil where around 80 people attended. We had about 80 at a meeting in Shannon and there were 50 or 60 at a meeting in Scariff.”

Organisers say that the reduction in the registration fee for septic tanks following a nationwide storm of protest offers a good example of the power of grassroots activism.

However, Brían says that one of the purposes of Saturday’s meeting is to encourage people to continue to hold the government of the day to account.

Pointing to the ongoing campaign for the retention of services at En nis General Hospital, Brían says, “We know that whatever government gets back into power down the road, they will roll back on a lot of promises.”

Originally from Inis Oirr, where he was involved with the island’s cooperative movement, Brían moved to Ennis 15 years ago.

He says, “I just feel that things have got to such a stage that I’m worried about my own kids’ futures.”

Opposition to the household charge and a new regime of septic tank inspection has been the focus of intense debate at meetings of Clare County Council in recent months. Last month, members met for a special meeting called in response to concerns expressed over the implications of the scheme for homeowners.

At the meeting a senior member of Clare County Council and former Dáil TD, Cllr James Breen (Ind) called for the people of Clare to engage in a period of “civil disobedience”. Around 300 people attended a public information meeting held in Ennis just before Christmas about new septic tank charges.

CLARE County Council’s water staff was last night encouraged by some members of the council to go on strike and bring the country to a halt.

The council was reacting to news of Government plans to give full responsibility for water supply to a new national body.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) told the February meeting of the council, “I feel it is time for Clare County Council to stand up and be counted and withdraw that service.”

Fellow Independent councillor Tommy Brennan said that if every council followed suit, it would bring the country to a standstill. Electricity and power rely on water too, he explained. Without these services, the country could not function.

The majority of councillors were concerned with the implications of a new Irish Water Company, as it would inevitably erode more of the local authority’s powers and more than likely lead to job losses within its water section.

Cllr Bill Chambers (FF) led the charge that the members of the council were opposed to having its responsibilities for water maintenance and provision transferred to the new Irish Water Company.

“The last thing we want now is another quango with high-paid officials,” he said.

Father of the council Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) said he could not understand the Government making such a proposal given difficulties experienced in Northern Ireland during this winter.

“We can huff and puff about taking water from the Shannon, but if it is nationalised, they can make a canal and bring all the water to Dublin,” he added.

Former mayor Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said there was no indication of early consultation with the stakeholders. He also had reservations about the second phase of the process – the consultation phase.

“Are they going to listen to us or is it a courtesy exercise to appease the peasants?” he asked.

“This debate is coming too late. It would appear this is a fait de compli,” said Cllr McCarthy who raised concerns about council jobs if and when it was set up.

“By degrees we will have no function at all as councillors,” said Cllr Brennan.

County Manager Tom Coughlan said that there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the plan. Among his many concerns was the possible loss of council assets to the Irish Wa- ter Company but with the liabilities staying in the county.

“I have serious concerns in relation to the financial statement. I have concerns the council will be left in a worse financial state at the end of it.”

He said the council is carrying a € 13 million debt balance which is mostly due to water. “I hope the liabilities transfer with the assets,” he added.

The manager said a lot was still uncertain, not least the future of the council staff working in this area.

He raised concerns about the loss of control of planning issues relating to water and a lack to democratic responsibility under the new proposal.

A FORMER Clare footballer was hit with a glass in the face during a “melee” in an Ennis pub 14 months ago, a court has heard.

Des Molohan, who last played for the county team in 2010, required treatment for cuts to his face, forehead and the area around his eye when he was struck with a glass in Knox’s Pub on December 18, 2010.

At Ennis District Court last Wednesday, Ronan Nalty (34), with an address 5 Sandfield Mews, Ennis, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm contrary to section three of the non-fatal offences against the person act.

Molohan told the court that he had been standing on the stairs in Knox’s when he was punched in the face by another man.

He said Nalty then followed over the man’s shoulder with the glass. Molohan said that he then hit the other man. He said he had made a full recovery and that the assault had left him with “minor scars”.

Insp John Galvin stated that jurisdiction had been accepted in the matter.

Solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that another man, who has not been brought before the court, had been involved in the incident.

She said her client never intended to hit the injured party with the glass and had become caught up in a “melee situation”.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy replied that the glass had not jumped out of the accused’s hand and hit someone in the “face of its own accord”.

Ms Godfrey said Nalty, an unemployed blocklayer with no previous convictions, had made a full apology. “This is something he regrets hugely,” she added. The court heard that Nalty is a talented golfer and golf coach.

Ms Godfrey asked the court to acknowledge, that, given her client’s “lifestyle”, there is “a very low risk of him re-offending”.

Judge McCarthy said the act of striking a person in the face with a glass is “an extremely serious matter” that the court cannot ignore. Imposing a four-month suspended sentence, he ordered the accused to be of good behaviour for a period of two years. Recognances were fixed in the event of an appeal.

SHOPPING in the county town of Ennis is not an experience that is open to everyone.

Wheelchair users in the county are limited in the main to one end of the town, and if they require to visit a premises on the other side they have to either drive for up to 20 minutes through a one-way system to get there, or just take their business elsewhere.

That is according to wheelchair users across the county.

Geraldine Gilligan, who works in the town, has ruled out having lunch out or shopping on her break as impossible.

“Dunnes and Boots is basically a one-stop-shop for me. The thought of going up to Carraig Donn is impossible,” she said.

The hills and cobblestones of Ennis town made it difficult for a wheel- chair user to navigate the streets alone, but the greatest difficulty is the width of the footpaths.

Making O’Connell Street a pedestrian street is the dream, according to Geraldine.

For now going past Boots towards the Daniel O’Connell statue is impossible alone.

Even bracing this main thoroughfare brings its problems.

A wheelchair user has to travel the whole length of one street to cross the road and then travel back down the other side to visit a shop directly across the road from where the shopper originally was.

She was also critical of disabled parking spaces branding some of them a disgrace.

The Corofin/Kilnaboy woman was particularly critical of a space on the corner of Abbey Street and Bank Place.

The space is so tight she explained that she “nearly got chopped off by traffic” while parking there herself.

Shannon native Padraic Hayes said he would visit the town more if it was accessible.

“You have oncoming traffic when you come out of Dunnes on to the street. I go as far as Boots, or I would go up the market or I would go as far as Hillbillies and that is it,” he said.

“Moving past Dunnes is too high up and trying to manage with traffic while you are in a chair is impossible and you have people coming against you too. Some people are okay they will move. Others will just stand there,” he said.

Ms Gilligan said that while there is little that can be done about the topography of the town, pedestrianisation of more streets, ramps and improved footpaths would open more of the town to wheelchair users.

A GROUP of colleagues went to Lisdoonvarna to the matchmaking festival this year for a day out – nothing note worthy in that.

Like so many others they travelled by bus and looked forward to a bite to eat, a few drinks and plenty of music and craic.

After a few beers and orange juices in a local establishment some members of the group needed to use the facilities, but soon discovered they couldn’t.

The facilities were working perfectly and others had been using them all day, but still the members of this group had to leave the public house and go to the other end of the town to use the toilets in a small café.

They went to another pub and once again, when they had to use the facilities they were forced to go outside in the cold September air and travel hundreds of yards to use the toilets in the same café.

The local primary school had agreed to allow the group to use their facilities and a local hotel would also have been available to them except it was closed on that day, but their comfort would have been disrupted in any eventuality.

So their day continued like this and all because they were dependent on wheelchairs for mobility.

This experience is not unique for people who rely on wheelchairs to get around County Clare, nor is it exclusive to the North Clare town.

Despite the change in laws and a growing philosophy of inclusiveness, wheelchair users are continuously penalised for needing mobility assistance.

The freedom to move around, use the facilities their tax euros pay for, and access buildings and social settings remains limited. One group of young wheelchair users who meet regularly on a Friday night, explained how their meeting places are limited, especially in Ennis, as access and space remains an issue. As the group spoke they explained how they have legally enshrined rights to integrate socially with everyone else yet they cannot. Shannon woman Majella Nihill explained how she likes to visit the Shannon shopping centre with the assistance of her mother. She said she can navigate the area quiet well but it is not without it difficulties as pointed out by fellow Shannon citizen Padraic Hayes. He does a lot of his shopping in the new Shannon Town Centre, as toilet facilities is an issue in many shop- ping centres.

“I go to the old one [Shannon Shopping Centre] in the Gort Road. That is the best one for me and my chair to get in and get out. The other one you can manage but there is a bit of struggle. I can get in but it is tight,” he said referring to the “disability toilets”.

“I go to Limerick a lot. O’Connell Street (Limerick) is a dream for me because it is so level even if shop accessibility is not great,” he said.

Connie Commane is a regular face in the county town of Ennis.

A proud wheelchair user she makes her way through town with purpose.

But all of the county town is not accessible to wheelchair users like Connie, and the shopping experience is often limited to lower O’Connell Street and the market.

Gerry Quain told how a coffee shop he use to frequent in the Tesco shopping centre in Ennis has since closed limiting the places he can meet his friends.

Ger Arthur from Shannon enjoys the freedom and space of the Friday night catch-up of young wheelchair users in Hassets pub in Barefield, where he can relax and have his pint without worrying about facilities, access and space. This he cannot do everywhere.

As the dinner was served in the Barefield bar last week and the group settled in to a night out, Padraic remarked “everyone has their own definition of accessibility”.

For this group of young people however the definition in Clare leaves a lot to be desired.

AHEAD of the annual Ennis Book Club Festival that takes place on the first weekend in March, the event has been recognised internationally thanks to being nominated for EDGE Awards that take place in Edinburgh every year.

The Ennis festival is the only Irish nominee in the 2012 awards scheme pioneered by Edinburgh City Council, which are are designed to reward innovation and creativity in library services.

The award winners will be announced on March 1, the eve of the Book Club Festival that has become a key part of the Irish literary festival circuit over the past seven years by being able to attract some of the biggest names in Irish literature.

“Ennis Book Club Festival is organised by a voluntary committee in association with Clare County Library,” said festival chairperson Ciana Campbell. “We really value that support. Ennis is a festival dedicated to book club members and readers and given that there are over 150 library-based book clubs in the country it makes complete sense to work together in this way. The organisers of the EDGE 2012 Conference obviously feel that we are a good example of how the public sector can support community organisations like ourselves,” she added.

“The festival has enabled the library service to reach out, make contacts and create goodwill with a broad sector of the community,” said county librarian, Helen Walsh. “Over the years, links have been forged with local writers, artists, musicians and youth groups and the library service, through the festival, has contributed to the cultural life, tourism and economy of the region and proved that local authorities can play a vital role in projects such as this.”

At the cutting edge of digital technology, the EDGE 2012 Conference will show how libraries – physically, virtually and socially are revolution- ising local authority service deliver. The two-day conference in Edinburgh will bring together top local government figures from the UK and beyond to explore how libraries are key to delivering council services, e-government, learning and digital inclusion.

Ennis Book Club Festival 2012 will be held from March 2 to 4. Visiting writers include Lynne Reid Banks, author of the L-Shaped Room , English novelist Patrick Gale, Maureen Gaffney and Shelia O’Flanagan.

CONSTRUCTION work began yesterday on a major restoration of Thoor Ballylee, the Gort residence of William Butler Yeats. The historic tower and tourist attraction has been closed to the public since it was badly damaged by flooding in 2009.

The redevelopment of Yeat’s West of Ireland getaway will take an estimated three months to complete and will be fully operational ahead of this year’s busy summer season. The decision to fund the restoration of Thoor Ballylee comes after top-level meetings between Fáilte Ireland and the Office of Public Works (OPW), who manage the facility.

The tower at Thoor Ballylee, which is located just outside of Gort, was purchased by Yeats as his family home in 1917. It was used as a summer home for Yeats during his frequent visits to Gort where he spent much of his time at the residence of Lady Gregory at nearby Coole Park.

Local senator, Lorraine Higgins (Lab) has begun a campaign to secure enough government funding to reopen the tower as a tourist attraction.

Higgins hopes that the combination of a renovated Thoor Ballylee alongside Coole Park will be enough to win literary tourists away from Yeats’ childhood home in Sligo and down to the Burren region.

“We need to reclaim our strong association with one of the English language’s foremost and renowned poets by ensuring Thoor Ballylee is restored as a prime tourist attraction in the region,” she said.

“Thoor Ballylee is steeped in connections with Yeats and should be just as important a tourist landmark as his grave in Drumcliffe in County Sligo. More than 100,000 tourists visit the poet’s grave in Drumcliffe every year and there is no reason whatsoever why Thoor Ballylee cannot achieve similar status as a mustsee tourist destination.

“Thoor Ballylee has been extensively damaged by flooding, particularly in 2009. The River Coole which runs beside the tower is prone to flooding and overflows onto the road, and this has added to the difficulties from a tourist attraction point of view.”

THE HOUSEHOLD charge will have no implication whatsoever on local services.

That was the message that came from the February meeting of Kilrush Town Council, with councillors maintaining that the tax has not been thought out beyond what it can financially redeem.

Town clerk John Corry told councillors, “It is giving the understanding that it is an extra funding that is being made available, which is not the case.”

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) questioned the cost to the local authority of collecting this tax that will provide no extra funding to local services.

Caroline O’Connor, Management Accountant at Clare County Council, explained that the household charge is collected centrally with all monies collected remitted directly to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

“Consequently this new charge has no impact on the council’s budget for 2012,” she said.

“Income arising from the new charge will allow a reduction by an equivalent amount of the cost of the centrally controlled local government fund.

“This fund is paid out to local authorities and supports that provision of local services for example public parks, libraries, open spaces and leisure amenities, planning and development, fire and emergency services, maintenance and cleaning of streets and street lighting.”

However, there will be an administrative cost to the council, a cost that cannot yet be calculated.

“Local Authorities were only made aware on December 20, that they would have a role in collecting this money, as we are only a month on from this it is difficult at this stage to establish the total administrative cost to the council of collecting this charge,” said Ms O’Connor.

“It is expected that these costs will become more apparent as the dead- line for the due date draws nearer and procedures for collection post March are clarified.”

“I don’t think any of us here would be against local taxes if it supported local services,” said Cllr Prendev ille.

“I don’t think the minister is being strictly honest when he introduced this,” he said.

“The elected members and manager are very aware of the public’s resistance to the new household charge.

“Socialist elements, on weekend surfing jaunts to West Clare, and egged on by Dublin’s ‘Reds-underthe-Beds’ brigade, are stirring up matters on the local front.

They realise that this charge is a prelude to a full-blown property tax on domestic dwellings coming down the tracks on the instructions of the Troika. If there is to be a local taxation to pay for local services, then let the Minister be upfront with his new stealth taxes,” added Cllr Prendeville.

“Otherwise, the public will have strong grounds for believing that the € 160 million to be collected from the household charge will be interpreted as our initial contribution to the recent € 1.2 billion paid out to unsecured bondholders last month.”

Owners of residential properties are expected to register and pay the household charge of € 100 on or before March 31.