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THE Ombudsman for Children is to be asked to investigate a case where children in State care in Clare were unallocated a social care worker for more than three months.

Judge Alan Mitchell directed that the children’s Guardian Ad Litem also refer the matter to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The children, who were found to have been neglected by their mother, have since been allocated a social care worker.

Figures supplied to the Clare People yesterday by the Child and Family Agency (CFA) show that there are currently 10 childcare cases unallocated in Clare.

The Children in Care team in Clare (CIC) is currently providing services to approximately 160 children in Clare.

The order that HIQA and the Ombudsman for Children consider a particular case involving social care services in Clare formed part of an extensive written judgment delivered at a sitting of the Family Law (District) Court on Tuesday.

Judge Mitchell was told by senior social worker Tina Wiseman that due to staffing difficulties, a “con- siderable case load” of the CIC team in Clare had been unallocated since November 2012.

The Judge said, “That’s a source of serious concern to me”. He said the un-allocation of childcare cases is something that the CEO of the CFA, Gordon Jeyes could hardly condone. He asked Ms Wiseman if it was worth highlighting these deficiencies both locally and nationally. She said, “I’m in total agreement with you. It is scandalous”. Ms Wiseman said, “I can’t stand over what has happened and at the end of the day, the children are in state care.” Judge Mitchell granted a full child care order on application from the CFA in respect of a number of children. The children’s parents were not present or legally represented in court. The children were represented by their Guardian Ad Litem. Judge Mitchell commended Ms Wiseman “for not trying to defend the indefensible”. After hearing the case Judge Mitchell ruled that the Court was satisfied the children “have been neglected that their health, development, welfare has been and is likely to be avoidably impaired or neglected and the child requires care or protection….” He ordered that the Guardian Ad Litem “refer this case to the Ombudsman for Children to request her to carry out a preliminary investigation under Section 8 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 and to HIQA to consider the non allocation of a social worker to the child in excess of three months, without sufficient reason being acceptable to the Court and the Court finds this practice was not in the best interests of the child and may have adversely affected the child”. The court was told that Clare CFA social workers have written to Gordon Jeyes, and the Minister for Children to express their concerns over resource concerns. Judge Mitchell adjourned the case for review to October.

HUNDREDS of Clare people may be buried in a series of unmarked graves located close to Cree village in West Clare. Local historian, Batt Crowley, has been investigating a small site close to the Cree River for a number of months and now believes it be the site of an unofficial burial ground.

While no headstones or grave markers are visible at the site, the ground works and layout are similar to those seen in children’s graveyards in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mr Crowley has also discovered a map from the 1840’s in which the area is described as the Kilroe burial ground.

There is currently no way on knowing who was buried at the site but Mr Crowley believes that the site may have been used for unbaptised, stillborn and murdered children, “unchurched” mothers, beggars or people who took their own life. It is also possible that Kilroe may have been the site of a mass grave used during the famine or during the outbreak of plagues.

“I heard about this place when I was a child. I knew about it but I would say that most of the people who have heard about it are probably dead now,” said Batt. “You can see ridges at the site where the graves would have been. These are consistent with other graves of this type. I know from the people I spoke to when I was a child, that this is a burial ground. It all the markings of one. This whole area around here would have been filled with houses as one stage but things have changed over the years. Who knows who could be buried there.

“These people are human beings like you and me. They probably suffered more then any of us. No one can say that they don’t have relatives inside in it, we just don’t know. We are all survivors of the famine.” Mr Crowley is hoping to have a special mass said at the site in the weeks ahead but there is currently no plan to exhume any bodies that might be buried at the site for reburial in consecrated grounds.

“There is also no evidence to suggest that this burial ground was used by religious or other authorities such as the Clare County Nursery in Kilrush, which had a child mortality rate of nearly 50 per cent between 1922 and 1932.

THE NUMBER of Clare women travelling to the UK for abortions dropped by 14 per cent last year, however more than one woman from Clare every week makes this journey according to British Department of Health figures.

Reasons given for the decrease in the number travelling for the 12th consecutive year vary from better sex education to the availability of the morning after pill, and post abortion remorse to the cost of the procedure.

While “Pro-Life” and “Pro-Choice” groups disagree about the reason for the fewer abortions, both agree that the number of Clare women andgirls travelling is higher than the 55 officially recorded in notification forms returned to the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales.

They also agree that the overall number opting for abortion is de- creasing. CEO of the Irish Family Planning Association Niall Behan said that for certain more than 55 women from Clare travelled for an abortion last year.

Many of these women did not register their address with the clinic or gave an English address.

Others travelled from Clare to the Netherlands.

According to the HSE’s Crisis Pregnancy Programme 1,503 more women present to them for post abortion care following a termination in the Netherlands between 2005 and 2011.

This number too is expected to be higher in reality.

In 2013, 3,679 Irish women in total travelled to England and Wales for abortions, down from 3,982 in 2012, a 7.6 per cent decrease.

The number of women who travelled from Clare for an abortion has decreased by 14 per cent from 64 to 55 in the same period.

In a statement welcoming the con- tinuing reduction in the number of Irish women travelling to Britain for abortion, Cora Sherlock of the Pro Life Campaign said;

“While it is difficult to draw firm conclusions, a recent report from the HSE/Crisis Pregnancy Programme showed an increase in the number of women expressing abortion regret.

“In that study, 44 per cent of women expressed varying degrees of regret about their abortions up from 33 per cent in a similar HSE study in 2003,” she said.

Speaking to The Clare People the IFPA said it could not say for certain why the number of recorded Irish abortions abroad had decreased but there was evidence to suggest that better sex education and a change in attitude to sex and contraception played a major role.

Welcoming the reduction in numbers Mr Behan said a decrease in the number of new teenage mothers in Ireland also pointed to better sex education in Ireland.

The availability of contraception, especially emergency contraception such as the morning after pill, as well as the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Programme by the HSE in 2001 also played a role, he said.

He raised concerns for women living in the county who could not travel for a termination for reason of expense, lack of a visa or women with a disability that made it difficult to exercise this option.

“So what happens theses women with an unwanted pregnancies? Many resort to buying medication on line, which is unsupervised and very dangerous,” he said.

The cost of an abortion in England and Wales is estimated between € 600 and € 2,000 – depending on the clinic cost, travel cost, procedure cost and accommodation.

During recession many women cannot find such money and resort to finding cheap and medically unspervised solutions online, according to the IFPA.

OVER 100 people sought help from an Ennis based relationship counseling service last year, according to new figures.

Figures from ACCORD – an agency that provides counseling and other services for the Diocese of Killaloe – show that seven counsellors from the Ennis centre delivered a total of 785 Counselling Hours to 110 clients who were experiencing difficulties in their relationships in 2013.

A spokesperson for ACCORD said the level of State funding it has received since 209 has been reduced by approximately 40 per cent and a further cut of 15 per cent is expected this year. The figures come as ACCORD prepares to open a new office at the Carmody Street business park in Ennis on Friday.

ACCORD Ennis (formerly known as the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council) is one of 58 Accord centres throughout Ireland. It is the administrative centre for counselling, marriage preparation and relationship and sexuality education schools programme for the Killaloe Diocese, which incorporates both Ennis and Nenagh Accord centres

The first meeting of Accord Ennis was held on September 17 1970 and was chaired by Fr Willie Walsh, who worked with the centre until he was ordained Bishop of Killaloe.

Bishop Walsh continued to support the work of the centre and worked as National President of ACCORD until his retirement. Accord Ennis celebrated 40 years of its existence in 2010. During the 1970’s and 1980’s the centre was located at the Social Service Office in O’Connell Street in Ennis but services were provided around the county in Kilrush, Shannon and Scariff.

In 1988 when the new “Clarecare” building was opened at Harmony Row, Accord Ennis moved to this new location.

Last year nine Facilitators from the Ennis centre delivered 12 Marriage Preparation Courses to 210 couples, choosing to get married in the Catholic Church.

A spokesperson stated, “The Primary Schools Relationships an d Sexuality Education Pilot Programme was launched in the Clare area in 2013. Success in this work is evident from the large number of schools who have booked the programme for their 6th Class students in 2014. While the demand for Accord services continues to grow, we are always seeking to recruit new volunteers”.

Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Kieran O’Reilly will open the new office at the Carmody Street business park at 7.30pm on Friday.

COUNCILLOR John Crowe (FG) is the new Mayor of Clare – the first Sixmilebridge councillor to be elected as Clare’s first citizen in exactly 100 years.

Crowe will be assisted in his duties by Deputy Mayor Tony O’Brien (FF), who returned to council chamber today after losing his council seat in 2009.

Cllr Crowe is the first Sixmilebridge Mayor of Clare since James O’Regan was elected in 1914. O’Regan was the father of the late Brendan O’Regan, who pioneered many developments at Shannon Airport including both Duty Free and the Shannon Free Zone.

Speaking just after receiving his chain of office, Cllr Crowe became visibly emotional when he thanked his family and supporters.

“This is my proudest day as an elected member. I look forward to representing my family, the ‘Bridge and the people of Clare,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure that I would be elected as a councillor this time around, never mind being afforded the hon- our of representing all of you as Mayor of Clare. I accept this honour knowing that I follow in the footsteps of so many councillors who have done great work for this county in the past.”

Crowe’s elevation to the office comes 100 years ago to the month that James O’Regan was made mayor in 1914. James and his son Brendan are synonymous with Shannon Airport – with Brendan leading many innovations in Irish and international aviation in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Brendan O’Regan’s spirit and innovating thinking are in this chamber, as his believe in local people. These are characteristic which are very valuable this day,” continued Cllr Crowe.

“Make sure you support our airport, because without our airport we have nothing.”

Cllr Crowe was formally proposed as Mayor by his party colleague Joe Cooney (FG) and seconded by Independent Shannon Cllr Gerry Flynn.

DIGGING has started on the remains of a Medieval structure in North Clare, which could reveal secrets of life in the county in the 10th and 14th centuries.

Work began last week on a major excavation at Caherconnell Stone Fort in Carron with a large area in the centre of a 1,000-year-old cashel. It is hoped that the excavation, which is being led by Michelle Comber from NUI, Galway, will uncover remains of a freestanding structure which is though to have stood in the centre of the cashel.

This structure is likely to have been the home of the highest status family in North Clare at the time and it is hoped that the excavation could provide new clues about the live in the area 1,000 years ago.

“We are excavating the centre of the cashel. When you excavate in the ringfort of a cashel you would normally expect to meet some sort of free-standing structure of house and that is what we are hoping for,” said Ms Comber. “This is where the person who owned the cashel, the most prominent family in the area, would have lived. We have opened a a 10 metre by 12 metre section and we are now getting down towards the stony area. We are getting slices coming through already, which are possible wall lines, but we will have to go deeper before we know for sure.

“What we are looking for could be from anything from the 10th to the 14th century. There were people living the cashel in the 15th and 16th century but we know where these people lived. So we are hoping for something much earlier than this.”

Excavation will continue in Caherconnell Stone Fort for the next six weeks and all the materials will be processed and dated over the winter months.

MANY of the storm repairs announced by Clare County Council earlier this year will not be done – unless the government allocates a second wave of money to fund damage done during the February storm.

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan yesterday expressed his frustration with a lack of information and clarity from government concerning a second allocation of money sought by the local authority.

Just over € 16 million in funding was allocated to Clare County Council to fund repairs sustained during unprecedented storms in January of this year. However, Mr Coughlan yesterday said that repairs works are being frustrated because of lack of information coming from the government regarding the second wave of funding.

Indeed, he also confirmed that some of the money allocated in respect of the January storm has been used to fund emergency repairs cause during the February storm. If no allocation is made by government in relation to the February storms, Mr Coughlan confirmed that the council will not be in a position to complete all of the work previously announced in relation to the first € 16.8 million in funding.

“The second allocation [in relation to the February storm] has been on the agenda for cabinet on a number of occasions but has yet to be decided on. We have sent a number of reminders to the Department [of the Environment] but we haven’t had a response to our request yet,” said Mr Coughlan.

“We’ve done works at Kilkee and a number of other areas hit by the February storm without funding being allocated. That’s fine if funding comes through, but if we don’t get funding for the February storms, then all we can do is use the funding for the January storm. That is not a satisfactory situation. We need to see the overall level of funding.”

Clare Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan, also said that a lack of clarity from government is hindering the repair works.

“We need clarity for government, that’s the nub of the issue,” said Mr Tiernan.

“We have taken half steps in some areas, but we can’t take half steps without going to full hog. We can’t engage consultants at the moment because we don’t know what work they will end up doing [because of a lack of information from government].

“We were allocated a programme, we want to produce that programme but we can’t do it because of a lack of clarity about the bottom line.”

CLARE’S landmark tourism destinations are open for business this summer, despite the damages done to many areas in this winter’s severe storms.

That was the message from Clare County Council yesterday, despite the admission from the local authority that the damage done during this year’s storms will take years to rectify.

Speaking at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the local authority prioritised repair works which were essential to tourism location in the west and north of the county.

In response to a motion from Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind), the council admitted that repair works will take a number of years to complete.

“Ultimately, a multi-annual programme is required to deal efficiently with the extensive and varied instances of coastal damage which occurred in January and February last,” said a council spokesperson.

Cllr Curtin highlighted a lack of information coming from the Government, particularly concerning the allocation of money for damages caused during the February storm.

“There is concern out there, par- ticulary in the tourist parts of the county,” said Cllr Curtin.

“It has taken six months of locals enduring charges: they are paying property tax and housing tax, and their services are not being maintained.

“The delay is coming from a lack of response from Government. We got € 16 million [from the January storms], there was to be € 12 million from the OPW [sea armour and coastal defenses] and to date we haven’t had any of this.”

Cllr Michael Hillary (FF) said many areas will now face even greater damage as repairs and defense works will not be carried out before winter.

“In relation to a multi-annual programme which is needed now, we have reached an impasse.

“The funding which was promised has not been forthcoming,” he said.

“What is worrying me is that at this time of the year is when we should be carrying out this kind of work – while the seas are calm and the days are long, but there doesn’t seem to be any works being done on the ground.

“It looks like these people will have to face next winter without any works or defences being put in place. If we receive other storms this coming winter there will be a lot more damage next year.”

THE number of front-line outdoor workers employed by Clare County Council will remain broadly the same as the numbers previously employed by the local authority and the now defunct authorities Ennis, Shannon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Kilkee.

At yesterday’s June meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the council has been instructed to put in place a single management system for the entire county but services will continue to be delivered by workers based in their own municipal area.

The change will see some of the management functioned centralised to Ennis, while the front-line services will be delivered by staff based out of local offices.

“We are very clearly directed by government that there will be a single authority.

“There has to be a county-wide structure, without duplication of services. That is the bottom line,” said Mr Coughlan.

“There will be no reduction in the outdoor staff.

“The outdoor staff will be working in the same areas as they are at the moment.

“There is no suggestion that staff in Loop Head, for example, will be assigned to work in other parts of the county.

“There is a limited number of staff in the organisation. My job is to manage the staff that I have as best as I can.

“We are recording the levels of activities in each municipal district and if there is insufficient staff in some areas, then we will have to deal with that.

“Let’s see how things work out for the first six months – if it is necessary to take staff from the central area and redeploy them to the municipal districts then that is what we will do.”

It was confirmed yesterday that large-scale projects, such as road works, will not be bound by the municipal boundaries.

GARDAÍ are investigating early morning armed robbery at a business in Ennis town centre yesterday.

The incident occurred at around 7.30am at the Xtra Vision store in the market area of the town.

A man carrying a weapon entered the home entertainment and electrical goods store and made away with a quantity of cash.

A member of staff was opening up when he was set upon by the assailant at the front door of the premises.

It is understood the man who carried out the robbery was carrying a hammer. It was unclear yesterday if the victim suffered any injuries in the ordeal.

Gardaí in Ennis are investigating the robbery and are looking at CCTV footage from the area.

The incident follows a similar robbery at a family-run shop in Ennis last month.

At around 11.30am on Wednesday, May 21, a man went into a shop at the top of O’Connell Street in Ennis brandishing a knife and demanded money.

He was wearing a hoodie and a scarf to cover his face. He stole a sum of money from the till and then fled the scene on foot. No one was hurt in the robbery.

On May 27, Cassidy’s Pharmacy in Ennis was the scene of a raid occurred at around 2.30am.

Two raiders, believed to be males, used a sledgehammer to smash in the reinforced glass paneling on the front door of the premises.

The thieves filled bags with stock, mainly brand name men’s fragrances and cleared several shelves before leaving the scene in a black Volkswagon Golf.

Gardaí have urged business owners in the town to be vigilant and take appropriate security measures such as lighting and security cameras to protect their premises.