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WORLDWIDE business consultants Booz & Company have now emerged as major players in shaping Shannon’s future – their findings and recommendations to government will be key to whether a blueprint to semi-privatise the airport for between 15 and 35 years becomes a reality.

This radical plan is contained in the proposal put to government by the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) in August.

The SAA board, which is chaired by local businessman Brian O’Connell, tabled its vision for the future on foot of a request for submissions by Minister Varadkar on the break-up of the three state- owned airports – Dublin, Shannon and Cork.

The plan sets out in bold terms that going forward, profit is the bottom line for Shannon, with semiprivatisation option put forward as a way of achieving this objective in the changed economic landscape.

“It is not sustainable for any business to continue in a loss-making mode,” said SAA chairman Brian O’Connell after the proposal was submitted to the Department of Transport.

“Every business, including Shannon Airport, must re-configure itself and re-engineer its future in the light of the dramatically changed economic landscape. It is clear that the ways and means we have organised and managed business in the past have to change, to take into account the reality of present and future market challenges.

“As a board, we are very mindful that Shannon Airport is and should continue to be a powerful driver of the current and future economic vitality in the whole west of Ireland region, if it is adequately capitalised and superbly managed.

“We considered a wide range of options which could optimise and maximise the commercial potential of Shannon Airport. We analysed present international trends and examined locations similar to Shannon around the world, which are operating successfully. It is for the Minister to consider the views of the board as submitted and to deliberate thereafter,” added O’Connell, who is also managing director of Westpark Shannon.

In July, the publication of the DAA annual report revealed a 37 per cent decrease in passenger traffic at Shannon during 2010, contributing to losses at the airport of between € 7m and € 10m for the year. The extent of these losses is believed to have scuppered any prospect of a government move to separate Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

This is despite the DAA annual report has saying: “following restructuring, Cork Airport Authority and Shannon Airport Authority will act as fully independent and legally autonomous airport authorities for Cork and Shannon airports respectively.”

In 2003, the then Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, announced the Government’s intention to restructure State-run airports, with the 2004 State Airports Act proposing that the Dublin Airport Authority would cease to own Shannon and Cork airports.

However, four years later, Minister Brennan’s successor in the transport portfolio, Noel Dempsey, announced the deferral until 2011 of a decision on the restructuring given the very difficult circumstances in the aviation sector.

“It was the unanimous views of the Dublin, Cork and Shannon airport authorities at the time that given the very difficult circumstance for the aviation sector, the climate was not right for separation,” Minister Varadkar has revealed this week.

AS NEW drink driving limits come into effect, gardaí in Clare are warning that they will be out in force this bank holiday weekend.

Drink driving, speeding and non wearing of seatbelts will be the main targets as members of the Clare Garda Division traffic corps set up random checkpoints all over the county.

From this Friday, October 28, the legal blood alcohol limit will be lowered from 80 mgms of alcohol per 100 mls of blood to 50 mgms of alcohol. Those found over the new limit will be given three penalty points and an on-the-spot fine of € 200.

Those found to be over the existing limit of 80 mgms will be automatically disqualified from driving for six months and fined € 400. The option of taking a fine and points rather than going to court can only be availed of once in a three-year period.

Those who drive for a living and learner drivers will be subject to a ‘virtually zero’ limit of 20 mgms per 100mls of blood. Those caught over the limit will be disqualified for three months and fined € 200.

Experts say the only way people can guarantee not being over the new limits is not to drink and drive.

The head of the Clare Garda Division, Inspector John Galvin said the limits are “being reduced dramatically”. He said that Garda presence will be visible during the bank holiday weekend.

“Expect to see us. We will be out in force. We will have random checkpoints throughout the county. Expect to be stopped,” he said.

Inspector Galvin is advising car owners to ensure their vehicles are in good working order during the winter, when road conditions deteriorate.

“Coming into the winter is the time to get the car checked. Make sure it is mechanically sound. Check the tyres, lights and wipers. There are slippery road conditions, high winds and rain. Adjust speed accordingly. The advice for pedestrians and cyclists is to light up and keep in,” he said.

He is also advising joggers to run on footpaths and not on the roads.

So far this year, two people have been killed on the county’s roads – a driver and a pedestrian. While gardaí welcome the reduction in fatalities, they say that “it is two too many”.

“While the figures are down, we don’t want to become complacent,” said Inspector Galvin.

AN INAGH woman is on the countdown to a marathon challenge she is undertaking next week.

Laura Gunter will represent Clare in the Dublin City Marathon next Monday.

Laura, who is a clerical officer in the Chief Superintendent’s office at Ennis Garda Station, was chosen from 16 Clare contenders to take part in the event. The competition was run by Spar and Laura was chosen as Clare’s Spartan.

Among the criteria for those interested in getting involved was that participants hadn’t run before. Laura fitted the criteria and took on the challenge with great enthusiasm. One Startan was chosen from every county in Ireland.

“The competition was advertised in June. They were looking for people who hadn’t run before. I was interviewed. They picked one from each county. This will be a first marathon for everyone,” said Laura.

A 16-week training plan was put in place by Karl Henry from RTÉ’s Operation Transformation and Laura followed this every step of the way. She has trained four times a week and has combined short runs with longer sessions, the longest of which was 20 miles.

She is tapering down this week in the run-up to the big event and is looking forward to taking part in the marathon next week.

“A lot of the others are injured. Thankfully I’m not,” she said.

Laura did most of the training by herself, but received good guidance from her family. Her father and brother have run marathons in the past and offered great inspiration.

She has developed a love of running and intends to keep it up. “I love it. I will sign up for smaller runs. I can’t wait for the run now. It’s like waiting for Christmas. All of my family and friends will be on different parts of the route,” she said.

The competition between the 26 Spartans will be decided through voting. Laura is looking for votes, on www.spar.ie. Votes should be cast by tonight (Tuesday).

OVER 600 children had to leave school early on Friday after problems emerged with a “misfiring oil burner” at Ennis National School.

The school was temporarily closed for a period on the day due to concerns over the school’s 38-year-old heating system.

An inspection of air quality carried out on Friday revealed no abnormal levels of dioxins. Parents were informed by text of the issue at around 11am and were asked to collect children.

The school has apologised to parents and pupils for any inconvenience caused.

A statement posted on the school’s website read, “Ennis National School apologises for any inconvenience caused to pupils, parents and staff as a result of the temporary closure of the school today. This action was taken due to concerns about a misfiring oil burner. Checks taken this afternoon by an independent consultant, have verified that the air quality within the school is as normal.”

The statement continued, “Depart- ment of Education and Science officials have confirmed that funding will be provided to replace the oil burner during the mid-term break.”

The school re-opened as normal yesterday. Deputy principal Tom Glynn said electric and gas heaters were being used to provide heat in the building.

He said the school hoped to have a new boiler installed after the upcoming mid term break. He explained that air quality tests had returned a “perfect reading” and that the decision to close the school was taken in the interest of health and safety. “With something like an oil fire burner you can’t take any chances,” he added.

Mr Glynn said the school has car ried out remedial work on the burner, which was installed at the school in 1973.

He said there have been no reports of injury or ill health since Friday. “We’ve had no complaints from anybody,” he added.

The school is due to move from its present location on Kilrush Road to a new site at Ashline.

Mr Glynn said the school’s board of management hope to receive the green light from the Department of Education and Skills in November to begin the tendering process. It is anticipated that work would then begin in February and be completed within 18 months.

In addition to 32 classrooms, the building will include rooms for a reading class, special education teachers and library.

The building will have an energy rating and a level of disability access, which is ahead of current regulations. Facilities for sport will include a full-size sports hall with dressing rooms and a playing pitch.

NEW byelaws aimed at improving the operation and safety of the Ennis Market have been introduced in the town.

It follows confirmation from Ennis Town Council that an appeal against the new casual trading byelaws had been withdrawn.

Earlier this month, Town Manager Ger Dollard told a meeting of Ennis Town Council that the byelaws, which had been due to come into effect on October 1, could be the subject of a legal challenge.

In a statement on Friday, the council confirmed that the appeal had been withdrawn at Ennis District Court. The matter had been adjourned to Friday for consideration by the District Justice.

The byelaws provide for a revised layout for stalls at the market so as to improve general safety and operating arrangements.

Town Clerk Leonard Cleary, stated “The market is a very important part of Ennis town and is a key part of retail activity in the area. We wish people to enjoy the market experience to the maximum possible and it has been clear that the byelaws which had been in place since 1988 needed to be reviewed to reflect modern day requirements. We look forward to working with the traders on the full implementation of the byelaws so that the operation of the market can be improved in the interests of shoppers and market traders.”

The statement continues, “Ennis Town Council has major plans for the redevelopment of the entire market area and it is hoped to progress these plans in consultation with the various stakeholders when the current economic environment improves.”

Councillors voted through the byelaws at the July meeting of Ennis Town Council following two lengthy periods of public consultation.

A controversial proposal that would have allowed for the towing away of cars parked in trading spaces on trading days was removed from the final draft.

A CLARE election candidate who failed to furnish expenses statements to the Standards in Public Office Commission has told The Clare People

THE community of Kilmihil is rallying around the family of Declan O’Shea, who is in a serious condition in hospital in Portugal after an accident while on holidays.

The 35-year-old fell from a third storey balcony at an apartment and was taken to hospital in Faro. He was later airlifted to a hospital in Lisbon, where his family has rushed to his bedside. A huge crowd attended Mass for him in Kilmihil at the weekend, which wasofficiated by local parish priest Fr Peter O’Loughlin.

Mr O’Shea, who is married, was understood to be attending a rally with two friends in Portugal when the freak accident occurred, last Friday week.

He is a prominent full-back on the Kilmihil senior football team and won a Senior ‘B’ county championship medal with his club two years ago. He has represented Clare in football at minor and under-21 levels.

He is a son of Oliver and Doris O’Shea, from Lack West, Kilmihil. He has worked as a mechanic in Kilrush, having spent some time living in Australia a number of years ago.

HUNDREDS of jobs could be created in Clare over the next decade as an oil and natural gas rush looks set to take place off the county’s west coast.

Providence Resources was last week granted an exploration license for the large Spanish Point South field by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. This new field amounts to an estimated 1,500 square kilometres off the Clare coast and is more than twice the size of the combined Burren and Spanish Point (north) fields – which Providence are already exploring.

Seismic surveys have confirmed the presence of enough natural gas in the Spanish Point (north) field to meet Irish gas requirement for the next 60 year and should a similar amounts of gas and oil be realised in the Burren and Spanish Point South fields Clare could become Ireland energy capital for the next century.

These explorations could create thousands of jobs in Clare with massive opportunities to supply the fields from Harbour town such as Carrigaholt and Kilrush as well as from the proposed new pier at Doolin.

It could also create massive opportunities along the Shannon Estuary where a deep-water service hub is en- visioned to handle much of the heavy duty transport to and from the fields.

“The Shannon Estuary is one of the few natural resources that we have here in Clare which could really drive economic development and we have to be open to all possibilities as to how that could be developed,” said Clare Senator Martin Conway (FG).

“Anyone who is being shown any interest in developing something along the Shannon Estuary need to be encouraged and indeed the government need to go to these people and find them. These projects are something for a long way down the line and it could take a lot of years for anything to be realised out of them but we have to start somewhere.”

In a similar way to their explorations in the Burren and Spanish Point (north) fields, the new exploration will be a partnership arrangement between Providence and its industry partners Chrysaor and Sosina.

“Providence is delighted to have been awarded such a significant acreage position on the Irish Atlantic Margin as part of the 2011 Round. Our studies completed to date indicate a number of structures with significant potential which will greatly augment our already formidable acreage position offshore Ireland,” said Tony O’Reilly, CEO of Providence last week.

A NEW secondary school through the medium of Irish has moved much closer to reality, following last Thursday’s announcement of a major capital investement in Ennis Community College. The Clare People has learned that the building programme at Ennis Community College, details of which were reavealed at October monthly meeting of Clare VEC, is set to pave the way to incorporate a new premises for Gaelcholáiste an Chláir.

Since Gaelcholáiste an Chláir was established in 1993 it has been part of the community college but now the green light for new building programme, in tandem with overwhelming support from the public for the development of second level education throught Irish, is being held up as major step forward.

“This major announcement of a 2800 sq m development is great news for Ennis Community College,” said college chairman Dónal Ó hAiniféin, “but it is also brilliant news for Gaelcholáiste an Chláir as the development of new facilities will enable the school to access the sort of facilities it needs to develop.

“This will be a purpose-built facility and Gaelcholáiste an Chláir will have access to the state of the art facilities that it needs,” added the chairman of Ennis Community College.

These words have been echoed by Ennis Community College principal, Matt Power, who said that the new developement announcement is “a vote of confidence in the vocational education system, while the new facility will be able “to provide all the resources that Ghaelcholáiste an Chláir needs”.

The annnouncement, which will see the new school facilities developed by the September 2014 school year comes on the back on the publication of findings of a major survey which investigated the demand for second level education through Irish in Ennis.

Key figures contained in the report secured by The Clare People showed that 88 per cent of the 854 respondents to the survey “agreed or agreed strongly that Irish medium education should be available at second level”, while 69 per cent of survey participants said that Gaelcholáiste an Chláir would move to its own campus.

These report was commissioned by Clare VEC in January when it “appointed an independent external consultant to conduct a survey to assess the demand for second-level education entirely through the medium of Irish in Clare and to inform future planning and options for Gaelcholáiste an Chláir”.

As part of the process participants were asked their views on whether the Gaelcholáiste “should establish independent status and move to its own campus”, or whether the school “should remain as it is, operating within Ennis Community College”.

“There was clear evidence from respondents’ comments that more parents will be encouraged to enroll their children in Gaelcholáiste an Chláir if it can provide full immersion education and establish its own ethos and identity,” the report says.

“In 2006, Limerick VEC established a very successful standalone independent Gaelcholáiste. Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh began with 30 pupils and now attracts over 100 applications annually and has an intake of 80.”

THE Save Ennistymon’s Heritage group say they will use similar tactics to those used by the West Coast Surf Club should a Part 8 planning permission be granted to demolish the historic listed buildings at Blakes Corner in Ennistymon.

Members of the West Coast Surf Club last month halted the development by Clare County Council of a new pier in Doolin by using a Bord Pleanála regulation to force the local authority to commission an Environment Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.

It was only the fourth time in the history of the state that this method was used to overturn a Part 8 planning permission and has resulted in major delays in the construction of the pier and ensured that entire project will have to go before the planning board again before it can be officially ratified.

“We are looking at a variety of options open to us at the moment. Part 8 planning means that the council can proceed with the demolition of the iconic and listed Blakes Corner without any reference to any external body. Further to this no appeal can be made to an mBord Pleanála,” said Denis Vaughan of Save Ennistymon’s Heritage.

“We are receiving legal advice on this but we are encouraged by recent events at Doolin Pier where a Part 8 was successfully overturned.

“We consider this move excessive and undemocratic and stinks of dic- tatorship. Why don’t the council proceed with the normal planning process? What are they trying to hide in not publishing the Southgate Report on Blakes Corner?”

A consultant’s report was completed on the development earlier this year but it is still unclear whether Clare County Council intend to circulate the findings of that report to its elected members before a Part 8 planning application comes before the council.

It is likely that the elected mem- bers of Clare County Council will be asked to vote on the Part 8 planning permission at the December or January meeting of Clare County Council.

Local councillor Bill Slattery (FG) yesterday called for a speedy resolution to the impasse at Blakes Corner.

“Whatever decision is reached by Clare County Council, I would like to see a resolution brought to the very serious health and safety risk and the traffic gridlock that these two buildings are causing for pedestrians, mo- torists and school children who are crossing the road at this dangerous junction,” said Cllr Slattery.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council said that it was up to “Save Ennistymon Heritage and the public in general to decide how they wish to react to proposals or decisions made and put into the public arena in relation to Blakes Corner”.

The spokesperson also confirmed that Clare County Council has not yet made any application in relation to Blakes Corner.