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A CLARE third-level student will be used by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to contest a judicial review against changes made to the way in which third-level grants are calculated.

USI president Gary Redmond confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that the case of a north Clare student, Medb Hensey, will be used to challenge new Department of Education legislation which increases the distance from a university that a student can be considered “adjacent”.

Under the new rules, which come into effect this September, Medb’s grant will be significantly cut because, even though she lives outside Ballyvaughan, she is considered to live beside NUI, Galway. The case will appear in the high court on October 7.

“Medb is being used as part of this test case. We know this won’t help Medb or other students this year but it might help her, or other students in the same position, down the line.

“We did try to impress on the judge how important the timing of the case was, with students going back to college,” said Gary Redmond, President of the Union of the Student in Ireland.

“This has placed a lot of students in severe financial difficulty and I know that many students, especially from rural areas, may have difficulty going back to college.

“The rationale behind this is that public transport has improved but if you look at a situation like Medb’s, there is no way that she can get to college using public transport each day.”

Medb is planning to take up a year’s study abroad this September and, according to her mother Antoinette, they have managed to save enough money for Medb to study abroad this September.

“USI sent an engineer out to measure the distance and we are 39km from Galway by the shortest direct route,” she said.

“This won’t be of any benefit to Medb this year but we are hopeful that USI may win this case; we will have to wait and see.

“She is going to Malta anyway. We have both been working hard to ensure that we have enough to get her there. We were both determined that that would happen.”

A RECOMMENDATION by councillors to include large tracts of development land as part of a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan has been described as a “haphazard approach to sequential planning”.

In July, members of Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council voted through a number of amendments to the proposed variation. At the time, councillors were told that phase one of the plan could only include 88 hectares of land zoned for residential purposes.

In total, across a number of amend- ments, members of Ennis Town Council proposed the inclusion of 38 hectares of land in the Ennis area, which the manager’s report said should be excluded from phase one of the variation. To balance their proposals, councillors also proposed that 38 hectares of land in the Roslevan area be excluded from Phase One of the variation.

Thirty-one submissions were received in relation to the variation, which was drawn up in response to concerns raised by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Department had expressed concern over the amount of land zoned in the Ennis area. Reports and material amendments to the plan have now gone before the public.

In a strategic environmental assessment on proposed amendments to the plan, council planners state, “The zoned lands within Phase One as recommended by the Elected Members represent a segregated and haphazard approach to sequential planning.”

The report continues, “It is contrary to the aim of the core strategy which encourages sequential development from the centre out and this option has the potential to cause significant environmental effects including development in an ad-hoc and unrestrictive manner; without regard to the current available levels of infrastructure and utilities, without regard for environmental and ecological designations, sensitivities and constraints and without regard for the likely significant impacts on water resources

The report states that the majority of lands are located within the Clarecastle RDA “which currently has issues regarding the pressure on wastewater infrastructure”. The report adds, “It is also relevant to note that the Clarecastle RDA is not within the protection zone for Drumcliff springs. The allocation of phased lands within the Western RDA is within in the Drumcliff Inner Protection Zone.”

Members of the public have until September 9 to make submissions.

THE search for a missing east Clare man enters into its eighth day this morning, with friends and family joining Coast Guard and Garda search teams around the Cliffs of Moher area.

Tulla native Gerry Kelly is a regular visitor to the tourist attraction, where his car was discovered unattended last Monday evening. The 61-year-old was last seen on Tuesday, August 8. However, there have been a number of unconfirmed sightings of him in the Tulla area between then and August 15, when his car was discovered.

“The search is still ongoing and will be for the next number of days. We have been doing a protracted search of the area for the past week,” said Matty Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard.

“This man was a very regular visitor to the cliffs. He worked at the county council and a lot of his friends and family have been up in the area helping in the search. At the moment, the only real piece of information that we have is that his car was found at the cliffs.

“Our search is focusing on the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin area but I do know that friends, family and county council colleagues are searching in areas around Spanish Point and up as far as Fanore – all the different areas either side of Doolin.”

Mr Kelly, who is single, does not have his mobile phone with him which has made it difficult for gardaí to track his movements electronically. He is described as being five feet five inches tall with short brown hair, a round face and a ruddy complexion.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Gardaí in Killaloe at 061 620540 or Ennistymon at 065 7072180.

THE remaining obstacles to the transformation of the West Clare Railway into one of the county’s new flagship tourism products are set to be removed by the end of the year as the project’s promoter presses ahead with ambitious plans to extend the line and build a state-of-the-art museum that will be the only one of its kind in Ireland.

Ennis-based businessman and lifelong railway enthusiast, Jackie Whelan has told The Clare People this week that the National Roads Authority and Clare County Council are finally poised to pave the way for the narrow gauge line to cross the main Kilrush to Kilkee Road at Moyasta Junction for the first time since it was closed half a century ago.

“It’s going to happen,” said Whelan. “It’s something I have been campaigning for over the last number of years and we have been promised that the big breakthrough will happen by October 20.

“It involves the NRA putting a designated speed limit on the road, making it a 40-mile-per-hour road, which will then allow Clare County Council make the decision to allow the railway cross the road. I have been told that it is more or less approved, it just has to be done officially,” added Whelan.

The impending NRA move comes in the same year that the Clare County Development Plan 2011-2017 gave the West Clare Railway the same designated status as the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.

“The NRA stopped us from crossing the road, but now that obstacle is being removed,” continued Whelan. “And once it is, the next thing will be to lay more track towards Kilkee and Kilrush and put a museum in place.

“We have to submit a new set of drawings and plans for the museum. We are putting up a big one. The one at the other side will house all the engines. We have a whole lot of historical engines, while upstairs in the museum will be a film area.

“I have a lot of old rolling stock – the biggest collection in Ireland – that has been preserved and there’s an awful lot more of it to be got,” Whelan added.

CLARE traditional musicians and dancers excelled at last week’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which saw the best of traditional Irish talent descend on Cavan. A large brigade of Clare talent made their way north for the event, with just under 40 Munster champions travelling from Clare for the event.

The wind was clearly with the Banner musicians and dancers as they returned home yesterday with no fewer than 19 first-place All Ireland medals in their back pockets. The main Clare winner in the competition was Fergal Breen, who took home two first-place titles for the uilleann pipes and for the uilleann pipes slow airs.

There were first-place finishes for Paul Farren and Tara Breen in the fiddle category; Cara Ní Chíarba and Eimear Coughlan in the harp category; and Vanessa Millar on the button accordion. Other All-Ireland titles went to Karen McMahon on the concertina, Tara Ní Amhlaigh on the mouth organ, Anthony Devitt on the mandolin and Elvie Miller in the accompaniment section.

There was also a strong performance for the bands, with Burren Band taking the U-12 title while Aoife Daly won in the Songs in English category, Eimear Coughlan won the Harp Slow Airs and Isobel Elger won the Fiddle Slow Airs.

The Banner dancers were not to be outdone either. St Mary’s Full Set Ladies U-12, St. James won the Full Set Mixed U-12 and Croí na hÓige won the Full Set Mixed 12-15, while there were also first-place finishes for Drithle an Iarthair in the Full Set Mixed U-18 Ruagairí an Chláir in the Full Set Mixed.

The Clare branch of Comhaltas yesterday paid tribute to all the teachers, local organisers, parents and musicians who have put in the effort over the last 12 months to make this year’s fleadh such a success for Clare musicians and dancers.

“This success is testament to the dedication of the musicians involved and the calibre of teachers we have in the county,” said Séamus O Lideadha, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Board CCÉ.

“In addition to this, the great tradition of Irish music in County Clare and the active promotion of this by Comhaltas and the County Arts Office play an important role. I have special praise for the parents of the children for passing on the love of our traditional music, culture and language.”

A NEW masterplan for the development and safeguarding of services at Shannon Airport is set to be unveiled in September, just ahead of the 75year anniversary of when the first sod was turned to start the construction of Ireland’s first transatlantic gateway.

In consultation with Dublin Airport Authority chiefs, the Shannon Airport Authority are now believed to be putting the finishing touches to the blueprint that will be expected to chart a new future for the former hub of the aviation world over the next decade.

The plan’s publication will be the culmination of a consultation process between the Dublin Airport Authority, SAA and the public, by way of taking submissions on the airport’s future from key partners in the wider airport infrastructure and catchment area, before finalising the key points of concern and concentration in Shannon’s drive to usher in a new era of profitablity.

“A key element in drafting such a plan is to elicit the opinions of airport stakeholders,” a Shannon spokesper- son revealed in April, after business groups in the mid-west region were invited to a think-tank aimed at coming up with new ideas for the airport going forward.

The masterplan is being formulated against a backdrop of figures contained in the recently released Dublin Airport Authority annual report, which revealed that passenger numbers through Shannon in 2010 dropped by one million over the previous year.

This drop represented a 37 percent decline in passenger traffic, a 12-year low at Shannon.

Only 1,755, 885 passengers used Shannon in 2010, a figure that’s now lower than 1998 levels of 1,840,008 passengers when the airport was still reeling from the loss of its transatlantic gateway status in 1993.

The drastic fall-off in numbers, from 2,794,563 in 2009 represented the fourth year in a row that Shannon’s passenger count when into sharp decline.

Between 2004 and 2005 passenger numbers increased by a record 37.9 per cent as Shannon’s numbers grew to a record 3,639,046 from 2,395,116 over a two-year period.

It’s expected that the new blueprint will concentrate on stabilizing Shannon’s finances – rather that directly addressing the passenger decline with the transformation of Shannon into a worldwide cargo hub development seen as a potential saviour for the airport.

Into this category comes the Lynx Cargo trans-shipment facility, which is to be grant aided to the tune of € 6m by the DAA, while Shannon Development chairman, Dr Vincent Cunnane has said “the airport will not survive on passengers alone and needs a cargo hub”.

THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed that a man accused of the murder of a 21-year-old law student in Barefield in June be sent forward for trial at the Central Criminal Court.

At Ennis District Court yesterday, Garda Supt Peter Duff told the court that the DPP had issued directions in relation to the case of Joe Heffernan.

Mr Heffernan (31) with an address at Cappabeg, Barefield is accused of the murder of Eoin Ryan at Cappabeg, Barefield on June 7.

Supt Duff told the court that the DPP had directed trial on indictment to the charge of murder to the Central Criminal Court.

He said a book of evidence for the case would be ready by September 23. Supt Duff said Gardaí were seeking to remand the accused in custody to Ennis District Court on September 2. Solicitor John Casey consented to the application. The court heard that the accused is currently in custody.

THE response of local authorities in dealing with floods that hit Ennis in 2009 was highlighted at a major United Nations conference last month.

A delegation from Ennis Town Council recently returned from the 2011 World Cities Scientific Development Forum held in Chengdu China. The Ennis delegation had been invited by its sister city in Phoenix, Arizona, to attend the Forum. The theme for the Forum was ‘Development and Cooperation among Cities: Building Liveable Cities for Humanity’. 33 countries and 14 different organisations were represented at the Forum.

Councillor Mary Howard (FG) deputising for the Mayor of Ennis and Gerard Dollard, Ennis Town Manager presented to the conference on the Irish approach to major emergency management, with particular reference to recent severe weather crises in Ennis. The opportunity was taken to highlight proposals included in the Clare County Development Plan for the development of a Global Logistics Centre at Shannon International Airport and the contribution such a centre could make to addressing aid issues that arise in major disasters.

Cllr Howard stated, “It was a great honour for Ennis to be asked to attend such a forum and to have an opportunity to contribute to the overall debate for disaster risk reduction. There were over 200 delegates from around the world at the conference and it was very beneficial to be able to present the Irish approach and in particular highlight the strategic location of Shannon Airport in terms of the role it could play in humanitarian aid following major disasters and crises. We were approached after our presentation by a number of parties, including representatives of the UNESCO Global Task Force for Building Codes and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) regarding the potential of the Shannon proposal. We will be following up the comments made to see how Shannon can be part of emerging plans for dealing with major global crises and disasters.”

Mr Dollard commented, “We were very impressed with the range of participants attending from all over the world. The issues faced by Ennis are no different to the issues being faced by countries around the world. The case for Shannon was strongly made and is boosted by the progress on the Lynx Cargo Project, the existence of US Customs and Border Protection facility, the 24/7 nature of the airport, use of the longest runway in Europe and the availability of a substantial land bank. These were all highlighted as being particularly relevant to facilitating a global hub for humanitarian aid.”

The travel and accommodation costs of the Ennis delegation were met by the organisers of the Forum.

PROMOTING a greater understanding of Clare’s rich heritage for both local and visitor alike has emerged as a major tenet of Clare County Council environmental policy from now until 2017.

This commitment going forward, in tandem with conserving and enhanc ing the county natural environment, is contained in the second Clare Heritage Plan (2011-2017) that has been put together over the last year.

The launch of the plan in the Vandeleur Walled Garden on Monday was followed by visit to Scattery Islands – considered to be one of jewels in Clare’s heritage crown – by some of the key partners in formulation of the ambitious six-year plan.

The publication of the heritage bluerprint marks the culmination of a year’s work by the County Clare Heritage Forum and brings together the interests and agendas of the 23 forum members and 64 submissions made by the public.

“There were 66 partners in the development of this plan,” revealed Heritage Officer, Conjella McGuire, “all of whom have generously committed their time, energy and expertise.

“As a result of this, the Heritage Plan brings together a wide range of backgrounds and interests.”

Launching the plan, the Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Hayes said “our heritage is about people, place, culture, nature and the opportunities that it can offer in the future.

“Our heritage is one of our greatest strengths in the county and I intend to lead the implementation of this ambitious plan for the benefit of the county,” added Mayor Hayes, who has been chairman of the council Heritage Forum since 2006.

“The plan has three overall aims which are supported by 14 objectives and in total contains 77 actions. It is an ambitious plan and seeks to complement and build on the achievements of the previous Heritage Plan 2003-2007,” said Ms McGuire.

“Community groups have fostered and enhanced their local heritage and a wide variety of community heritage initiatives are underway in the county at present, many of which are showcased throughout the county this week during Heritage Week,” said Cllr Oliver Garry, chairman of the West Clare area group of county councilors.

“Community groups and individuals require funding and technical advice in order to implement best practice,” he added.