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HEALTH Minister James Reilly has pledged to put measures in place tackle the alarming rate of absenteeism in Ennis General Hospital, which has been exposed as the worst in Ireland when it comes to members of staff not turning up for work due to illness or ailments.

The county hospital was exposed as an absenteeism blackspot of at the weekend, when an audit of all hospitals operated under the auspices of the HSE revealed an average daily rate of sick leave of nearly 10 per cent of staff at the Ennis facility.

These alarming scale of these figures exposed the fact that absenteeism levels in Ennis, running at 9.43 per cent is almost double the average for HSE hospitals around the country that stands at 4.85 per cent, while the HSE’s target absenteeism rate is 3.5 per cent.

In Ennis, each day an average of 22 staff are missing from the hospital’s daily workforce of 238, a rate of absenteeism that impacts on the day-to-day operate of the facility, resulting in the HSE having to employ temporary outside staff to cover for sick workers.

And, a breakdown of these has revealed that the rate of absenteeism is worst among general support staff when it’s running at a staggering 18.01 per cent.

“We are putting in place a new initiative around this,” vowed Minister Reilly. “I’m not at liberty to say what it is just yet, in the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to announce it.

When questioned specifically about the situation in Ennis, Minister Reilly said “there has to be reasons behind it and they need to be addressed. There is cause and effect, so let’s look at the causes and then we can deal with the effect.”

The three worst hospital for absenteeism are all in the mid-west region. The Limerick maternity have 7.93 per cent of employees – 25 out of 319 out sick every day, while it’s running at 7.72 per cent in St John’s Hospital in Limerick, which represents 21 out of 280 being absent every day.

“This is clearly a management issue which needs to be addressed,” said HSE chief executive Cathal Magee. “The cost of absenteeism to HSE West is estimated to be in the region of € 60 million annually,” he added.

PLANS to develop an incinerator in the county to help deal with the disposal of waste in the mid west region have been scrapped, a decision that comes ahead of the imminent closure of the Inagh landfill facility.

The incinerator, labelled a thermal treatment facility, was earmarked for Gillogue, near Clonlara in south east Clare and with the application lodged by Energy Recovery Limerick in conjunction with Clare County Council. The move to develop an incinerator was first mooted in 2009 when then Minister for Defence, Willie O’Dea, launched Energy Recovery Limerick, which pledged to invest € 80m into the mid west economy by developing thermal treatment facilities for the Clare, Limerick and Kerry catchment.

News of the decision to terminate the project, for the time being at least, for the Gillogue site has been learned by The Clare People this week, with An Bord Pleánala confirming that a preapplication consultation by Energy Recovery Limerick and Clare County Council has now been withdrawn.

An application was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in October 2010, but the Clare Green Party immedi- ately railed against the proposal with Cllr Brian Meaney saying “this is not a solution to our waste problems and I would be opposing any application that involves thermal treatment”.

However, the development of thermal treatment facilities for the county is contained in the 2005-2011 Clare County Development Plan, with the blueprint noting that “within the greater Limerick area there is a need for a thermal treatment facility to treat residual combustible waste”.

A feasibility study found that the “Limerick/Clare/Kerry Region could benefit from the development of thermal waste treatment capacity” and that “thermal waste treatment is environmentally, technically, and economically feasible at the recommended scale”.

However, plans for developing such a facility at the old Burlington factory in Gillogue, which was considered a suitable given its location away from high density residential development, were terminated with An Bord Pleánala signing an order to this effect on September 22. The Clare People contacted the environment section of Clare County Council this Monday, but a spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

GARDA services in Clare face one of the largest upheavals in the history of the force early next year when the number of Clare gardaí who have retired since the recruitment embargo will force a major restructuring of services throughout the county.

The number of guards retiring from the force since the ban on new recruits was introduced will reach 37 in March of 2012 – with no guards being replaced and only one being transferred into the county.

Speaking at last night’s Joint Policing Committee meeting in Sixmilebridge, Clare Chief Superintendent John Kerin said that all of the major Garda stations in the county were safe from closure but could not comment on the future of smaller, rural stations. The Chief Superintendent did admit that law enforcement in Clare would have to undergo a major change in the months ahead.

“Last year, 18 gardaí retired in Clare and there was no recruitment. This year we lost one garda, sadly, through illness and five others have retired so far. We have seven who have indicated that they will retire before Christmas and another seven or eight who will retire early next year, before the end of February. The people who are retiring are hugely experienced and valuable gardaí.

“I can’t tell you exactly what is gong to happen but there are going to be changes, there is no doubt about that. We have to provide a professional police service with less resources than we have had in the past. Later on this year or next year, the whole situation is going to have to be looked at, especially in late February or early March. We will have to see what is going to happen.”

Ennis Superintendent Peter Duff has been tasked with the job of saving money in the Clare area and it was stressed that no decisions on any station closures have been made yet.

Meanwhile, the crime figures in Clare for the first nine months of 2011 have shown a reduction across the board in most categories compared to the same time in 2010. Robberies are down 40 per cent, sexual offences are down 15 per cent and public order offences have also been reduced.

“There is no doubt that the public order reduction has been caused by the economic recession – people don’t have the money to go out that they once had,” said Chief Supt John Kerin. “But that said, we are satisfied with the figures and satisfied that we are working hard to tackle the situaton. Having said that, there is still the equivalent of a burglary a day in County Clare.”

A GROUP of dedicated Clare parents have achieved the impossible by raising an incredible € 4.2 million in just three years to build a new adult Cystic Fibrosis unit for their children. The sod will be turned later this month on the new facility which will become the first and only facility for people with CF over the age of 16 in the western region.

The facility has been made possible by the TLC4CF group, which is a group of parents from Clare, Tipperary and Limerick, who have worked tirelessly to fill this gap in the services provided by the HSE and provide priceless treatment for their children.

The facility will be built entirely with money raised by TLC4CF and while the HSE has committed to staffing the facility – the parents group now face the challenge of rais- ing the final € 1 million needed to equip the facility.

Over the last three years the group have already raised enough money to employ the region’s first adult consultant for people with CF and then set about tackling the greatest gap in the system – the lack of any real facilities for people with CF once they turn 16.

“TLC is a combined front from parents in the three counties because the services were so bad for adults with CF in this entire region and you are considered an adult at 16 years of age. So we wanted to fight for better services and better conditions for our children,” said Linda Drennan, who has two children living with CF.

“This new facilities are vital for our children. TLC has raised € 1.2 million in the three counties and we have received € 3 million from the JP McManus Pro Am – so the money for the build is there, the fundraising now is about raising the money to equip the building.”

Facilities for adults with CF are currently very poor throughout the country. The achievements made by the TLC4CF group have inspired other groups in other parts of the country to begin projects of their own.

“A massive effort has been put in place by people in Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. We have reached the stage now where we just need to raise € 1 million to finish the project outright. The building will start sometime in October and will take around 18 months – we just need to make sure that the money is there to equip the building once it is finished,” said Marcella Clancy of the TLC4CF. For the full stor y a bout the rema r ka ble a chievements of TLC4CF tur n to page 44 a nd 45.

BUSINESSES in Ennis have turned up the heat on local councillors by calling on them to vote against proposed changes in retail policy that could facilitate the development of a new “district centre” on the outskirts of the town.

Dozens of business owners have expressed concern over a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, which would allow for the development of a new district centre at a site at the junction of Limerick Road and Tobertascáin Road. Planning permission is being sought at the five-hectare site for the development of a major retail centre.

The proposed variation will be voted on by members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.

At a meeting to discuss Ennis Chamber’s submission on the proposed variation, speakers appealed to councillors to vote against including a new district centre in the plan.

The Chairman of the O’Connell Street Traders Association said it was the view of businesses on the town’s main street that it would be “too risky” to allow the proposed development to proceed. Gearoid Mannion told the meeting that the “town centre is practically on its knees”.

He said councillors should do whatever they can to oppose proposed changes in planning policy. Those views were echoed by Noreen Twomey Walsh of the Parnell Street Traders Association.

Another businesswoman Gwen Culligan (County Boutique) said that if councillors in Ennis “really care about the town of Ennis, they should re-think this proposal”.

John O’Connor (O’Connors Bakery) said that Limerick City centre is “dying” because of retail parks. He warned that the same would happen in Ennis if a similar policy were pursued. He said it is incumbent on councillors to oppose the proposed changes.

Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind) said elected representatives have “no hand, act or part” in planning decisions. He said the planning application at Tobertascáin is separate from the preparation of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

Cllr Neylon said there had been numerous objections when Dunnes Stores proposed to set up in the town centre. “It was going to close the centre of Ennis. It did the opposite. It built up,” he said.

In relation to the proposed development at Tobertascáin, Cllr Neylon said it was important to look at the “bigger picture”, adding that Ennis had lost shoppers to shopping developments in Ennistymon, Kilrush, Limerick and Galway. Cllr Neylon said he would welcome job creation in any part of Ennis.

Describing a proposal to develop a large shopping centre at Tobertascáin Road as a “monstrosity”, Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) said he would vote against changing the zoning provision at the site.

A RECRUITMENT firm in the midwest is bucking the trend and has 200 jobs to offer in multinational companies. CareerWise Recruitment has recruited two new members of staff to cater for a surge in vacancies. The company currently has 200 vacancies on its books as employers in the mid-west are struggling to fill the positions.

An increase of vacancies in the multinational sector has led to an increased flow of business in the midwest. Company director Joe Robbins told The Clare People that the skills required by the various companies in the IT, engineering, pharmaceutical and food sectors are not available. His company deals exclusively with multinational companies.

Mr Robbins said that Ireland is a nation of two economies – one in turmoil and generating job losses, the second buoyant and unable to fill vacancies.

“Food is having a tremendous comeback. We can’t get the people,” said Mr Robbins, who lives in Sixmilebridge and operates a business in Ballycasey, Shannon. “Back in 2001, the tech bubble burst and career guidance teachers were telling people not to do IT or electronics. We had a gap of four to five years when people didn’t study IT or engineering. There is no-one to fill the jobs at the moment. The science graduates are not there to fill the jobs,” he said.

Mr Robbins has companies in the mid-west, Cork, Galway and the Midlands on his books.

“The high skilled graduates are not there. It sounds amazing when 440,000 people are unemployed,” said Mr Robbins. “Building, retail and pubs and nightclubs have had drastic losses but the multinationals have been doing well,” he added.

He said that the companies are receiving numerous applications, but the required skills are not available.

“They don’t have the skills set. We are not getting the right people. There is a shortage of skills and a shortage of people doing science,” he said.

“Despite current job loss announcements, multinational companies are still very much open for business, and recruiting,” he said.

“We are actively updating our database of suitable candidates and are seeking a very broad spectrum of capabilities ranging from management accountants; mechanical design engineers; senior system administrators; human resource generalists; production team leaders; test, software and materials engineers; a senior technical scientist; we need to find people to fill a lot of vacancies.

“It sounds unreal in a time when job loss announcements seem the norm. It’s not the exception that some companies are recruiting; it’s a reality that a large number of multinationals have jobs to fill. Perhaps it’s time to summon some of our emigrants home; we’re doing an executive search to find the right people,” said Mr Robbins.

A CAMPAIGN to save a pioneering newspaper set up by Clareman Breandán Mac Lua in London has been successfully concluded with news that The Ir ish Post will be back on the newsstands next week.

The weekly newspaper, which had a circulation of 70,000 at the peak of its popularity, was founded by Mac Lua in 1970 and had been closed by Crosbie Holdings in August but has been bought by Irish businessman Elgin Loane.

Five bids were received by Belfastbased liquidators FPM for the title, with Mr Loane, who owns the classified ads magazine Loot emerged as the winner for an undisclosed sum.

Mac Lua was born in Lisdoonvarna and raised in Miltown Malbay and was a long-serving editor of the newspaper that was inspired by his devotion to the preservation of Irish culture in London.

He began his career in Dublin as a full-time GAA official and freelance journalist. In the early ‘60s, he was one of the first two full-time executive officers appointed by the GAA at Croke Park and he was also a member of the association’s central council policy committee.

In 1967, he wrote the definitive book on the GAA’s controversial ban on foreign games, The Stea dfa st Rule , and he reported on Gaelic games and boxing for the Irish Press Group.

Following publication of The Stea dfa st Rule , he was chosen as the sole (and secret) inheritor and custodian of the only extant volume of GAA founder Michael Cusack’s 1880s weekly newspaper, The Celtic Times , the first periodical devoted to Gaelic games, which he donated as a complete volume to the Clare County Library in Ennis in the mid80s.

The ethos of Cusack’s newspaper “for the preservation and cultivation of the language, literature, music and pastimes of the Gaelic race” was the template Mac Lua followed when he established the Irish Post in 1970 with his business partner, County Waterford-born, Londonbased accountant Tony Beatty. Mac Lua served as editor and joint publisher until the pair sold the paper to the Smurfit Group in the late ‘80s.

Circulation grew to peak at about 70,000 copies a week.

“Everyone involved in the ‘Save the Irish Post’ campaign is delighted with the news,” spokesperson Fiona Audley said.

“The voice of the Irish in Britain is back, the voice that was started by Clareman Breandan Mac Lua, who was a huge figure in the Irish community in Britain,” she added.

Breandan Mac Lua passed away in January 2009.

THE search for the Banner County’s best new musical talent gets underway in Ennis next weekend with the opening round of the Mixtape Music Battle Extravaganza.

This year, the annual music competition, run by Clare Youth Service (CYS), sees greater emphasis on young musicians recording their own music and building their profiles as performing artists. Organised by members of the CYS Music Project, the competition will link in with the ongoing Mixtape series of live music events being run and promoted in Glór in Ennis.

The Music Project committee is comprised of young people supported by a number of staff and volunteers. The committee oversees the purchase of equipment, organisation of all performances and administration of training events.

Giving young bands, singers, DJs and performers of all stripes an opportunity to showcase their talents is one of the project’s central aims.

This year, the competition is again aided and supported by the Mid West Regional Drug Task Force and will take a different format to other traditional young band competitions. The Mixtape Music Battle Extravaganza will be staged over three separate events, each. The aim of the Mixtape competition is to attract all forms of musical creativity, from bands, DJs, producers, solo artists, beat-boxers, acoustic acts, rappers and traditional Irish music musicians.

The opening round commences on Saturday, October 15, in the main hall of the CYS building in Carmody Street in Ennis. Only four acts will progress from the first round to the next stage of the competition.

Contestants must register in advance before October 12. Application forms are available from the Bureau of Clare Youth Service in Ennis, as downloadable documents on our CYS Music Project Facebook page and also by email. Each act will receive 15 to 20 minutes of performance time on the day, and will be required to perform at least three songs, one of which must be original material. DJs and producers must include one of their own original productions in their sets also. The competition is open to the general public and performers are invited to bring along some audience support on the day. Audience admission is € 3. As with all Clare Youth Service events, this is a strictly drug and alcohol free event.

Four acts from the elimination round will be invited to progress to the second round of the competition, which will focus largely on composition and recording. Each act will be asked to compose an original song and will have one full day in the CYS studio, along with engineers, to write and record the song. The whole process will be captured on camera and each act will be asked to use the footage and recordings to develop their band identity online. The two acts that score the highest in this section will progress to the third stage of the competition and be invited to go head to head in the Mixtape Final to be held in Glor in early December.

ENNIS Town Council may be forced to spend € 170,000 to demolish and reconstruct a section of a building believed to be the oldest home in Ennis. Town Manager Ger Dollard said yesterday that work is “urgently” required at the derelict McParlands site at the corner of Chapel Lane and Parnell Street.

Scaffolding and hoarding was erected around McParland’s after initial restoration work carried out in November 2009 revealed the 16thcentury building to be in a “danger- ous condition”.

The building, which is a protected structure, is home to a rare triple diamond Jacobean stone chimney that dates to the period 1580-1650AD.

In response to a motion tabled by Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab), Mr Dollard said that the “building has been deteriorating and the short term measures put in place do not render the structure safe on a long term basis”.

Mr Dollard said the Council has taken detailed professional advice from the National Monuments Service. He told the meeting that it is clear that the owner of the property “does not have the financial resources to make the building safe”.

He explained that Ennis Town Council under its statutory powers is obliged to make the structure safe.

He continued, “This will involve the demolition of the gable wall and chimney and reconstruction of same. These works will not return the property to a habitable state but will make the building structurally safe.”

Mr Dollard said that a grant of € 85,000 has been secured to partially cover the cost of the works which he estimated could total € 170,000. Councillors expressed concern at the cost of the project.

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said that while he acknowledged the importance of historical buildings, “there comes a point when you have to spend your money wisely.”

He said the estimated cost of the works represented a “lot of money down the Jacobean chimney”.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said there was a serious health and safety issue to be addressed at McParlands. Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) expressed concern at spending € 170,000 on a chimney, for which he said there is no tourism benefit.

Mr Dollard admitted that the Council “finds itself in a position that it doesn’t want to be in”. He said the Council might be able to recoup some of the balance of the cost through any future sale of the property or further government grants.

Responding to concerns from Cllr O’Shea that the project will not go out to tender, Mr Dollard said he was happy the project would comply with procurement requirements.

He said the work has to be completed before the end of November in order for the council to avail fully of the € 85,000 grant.

A DANGEROUS and organised armed criminal gang has been targeting homes in Ennis and East Clare over the past two weeks, resulting in a large increase in the number of recent house break-ins in the county.

The gang, which were described as being not afraid to ‘take on a group of gardaí’, is operating in a co-ordinated fashion across three jurisdictions and are the subject of a major garda investigation.

Speaking at a public meeting of the Joint Policing Committee in Sixmilebridge last night, Clare Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin said that the gardaí are monitoring the group and soon hope to be able to make a major breakthrough in their investigations.

“We have had an upsurge in burglaries in Ennis and East Clare in the last two weeks and 90 per cent of these burglaries are being undertaken by one criminal gang.

“We know who they are, we know the cars that they are using and there is an extensive investigation taking place across three jurisdictions in relation to this group,” said Chief Supt Kerin.

“They are very serious criminals. They are an organised group of serious criminals and they wont be afraid to take on a group of guards.”

It was also confirmed at last night’s meeting that gardaí in Clare have been in contact with the Armed Response Unit in relation to policing the gang.

Meanwhile, Gardaí have promised that there won’t be a repeat of last Halloween when residents were “trapped in the homes” in parts of Sixmilebridge.

The town was the sight of serious anti-social behaviour last year when a campaign to “Come to Sixmilebridge for a Riot” was started on Facebook.

Supt Kerin committed to increasing garda activity in the town over the Halloween period and to investigating any illegal activity in the Cappa Lodge area.