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AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after tragedy was narrowly averted at Shannon Airport on Sunday morning, when a plane slid from the runway after landing in heavy winds.

The plane, which was carrying 21 passengers and four crew members at the time, was badly damaged in the incident but no-one was injured in the accident.

Investigators are believed to be focusing on the landing gear in the nose section of the plane, which is believed to have malfunctioned on landing.

After landing, the plane veered off the runway and crashed into a number of signs on the side of the runway, causing extensive damage to the plane.

The aircraft, which is operated by Aer Arann, was covering the scheduled Aer Lingus Manchester to Shannon flight when the accident took place.

The incident forced the closure of Shannon Airport for more than five hours on Sunday, with normal service suspended from 10.30am to 4pm.

A spokesperson from Aer Arann confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that an issue with the planes front landing gear is currently being investigated.

“As the aircraft landed on its second approach at around 10.30am, it experienced a suspected failure of the nose wheel landing gear and veered off the runway onto the grass,” said the spokesperson.

“Aer Arann cannot speculate as to the cause of the incident and the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), branch of the Department of Transport have been informed.”

A number of flights, both entering and leaving the airport, were either delayed or diverted but no flights were cancelled as a result of the incident.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit is currently investigating the incident but cannot confirm the likely cause of the accident until that investigation is complete.

The plane is understood to have skidded along the runway for more than 100 metres before it veered off the runway and came to a stop.

Wind speeds in the area were gusting as high as 35 miles per hour at the time and the plane had been experiencing extreme turbulence.

Fire brigades from Shannon and Ennis as well as a number of ambulances from Limerick and Ennis were sent to the scene, and all passengers and staff were evacuated without incident.

THE opening of the historic landmark that is the Loop Head Lighthouse to the public for the first time in its 117-year history is the first step towards realising the tourism potential of west Clare.

That was the message delivered by Clare County Council Director of Service Ger Dollard on Monday as the famous lighthouse landmark – that dates from 1854 – opened its doors as part of a trial visitor scheme being pioneered by the local authority.

“This trial will enable us to establish valuable information on visitor patterns in the area and the view of the public on further expansion of the tourist offering at Loop Head,” said Mr Dollard.

“In the autumn, we will be continuing to work with our partners in Shannon Development and Loop Head tourism to arrive at a consensus on the future development of the tourism product.

“Clare County Council would like to acknowledge the tremendous assistance and co-operation of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in progressing this exciting tourism initiative,” he added.

Welcoming the initiative, Shannon Development’s Ruairi Deane said, “This is another major step in enhancing west Clare’s tourism product offering. Our work on the project is part of a range of initiatives that we have undertaken this year in west Clare, which include new loop walks in Lissycasey and Kilkee, with more projects in the pipeline. We look forward to welcoming an increased number of visitors to the area.”

From 1854 to 1991, the existing tower-style lighthouse was maintained by a keeper who lived within the lighthouse compound. Loop Head Lighthouse will be open to the public from 10am to 4pm daily.

THE number of heroin addicts attending an Ennis residential treatment centre quadrupled last year compared to the previous year.

According to staff at the centre – whose main client base is Clare, Limerick and Galway – heroin is now the most prevalent dangerous drug in the county. This echoes the views of gardaí across Clare, who have expressed concern over the spread of heroin, particularly in towns.

According to Bushypark, the use of cocaine has re-emerged as a major concern, following a spell where its use was reduced.

The abuse of prescription drugs has also become more prevalent among those getting treatment at the centre.

Overall, there was an increase of four per cent in the number of admissions at the centre last year.

The number of people treated for gambling addictions increased by three per cent in 2010.

“We have had a huge increase in screenings last year; people looking for help,” said the manager of the centre Margaret Nash.

284 people attended for assessment in 2010, compared with 264 in 2009. A total of 504 calls were made to the centre in 2010, while another 220 people called to the centre for help.

“158 people showed up for admission in 2010 (compared to 148 in 2009). That’s a full house,” she said.

“We now have a counsellor available from 8am to 9pm,” she said.

Weekends tend to spur people to seek help from the centre as the numbers of calls received on Monday evenings and Tuesdays are generally higher than later in the week.

“We welcome that people are looking for help; taking the first steps,” said Ms Nash. “Through assessment, we highlight the nature of the problem and the extent of it.”

Ms Nash said that there has been a significant increase in the use of heroin and while the use of cocaine dipped over the past couple of years, it has re-emerged.

“There has been a huge increase in heroin and cocaine is increasing again. The Clare People can reveal that 33 people were treated for heroin addiction at the Bushypark Treatment Centre last year, compared with eight in 2009.

“We would suggest that cocaine was very prevalent. It died down. This was down to two reasons: there was a bit of a crackdown on it because of the products from the headshops. They were much cheaper so there was no need to be buying cocaine. The recession certainly would have brought down the market and would have killed the yuppie market around it. There were a few high profile casualties. For one-and-a-half to two years, figures for cocaine us- ers were well down. We feel it was replaced by head shop products,” she said.

However, she said that the use of cocaine has risen again during the past eight or nine months.

“The main drug of choice is heroin. It has quadrupled in use since 2009. Cocaine has stabilised. In 2009 there were eight clients (at the centre) whose primary drug of choice was heroin. There were 33 in 2010. We have seen a dovetailing of cocaine during that time. We had a number of head shop users – seven – in 2009 for the first time. It pushed them over the edge,” she said.

“Heroin is the biggest in Ennis and Limerick,” she said.

ALCOHOL abuse has become a significant issue among people checking into the Bushypark Treatment Centre in Ennis.

“The main issue is alcohol. Alcohol is the big one,” said the manager of the centre, Margaret Nash.

“People can’t believe they are alcoholics because they drink pints,” she said.

“It has taken years for alcohol to be included in the National Misuse Strategy,” she said.

Polydrug use – a combination of alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal drugs – is the biggest issue among those who check in for treatment at Bushypark. This is followed by alcohol issues and this in turn is followed by illicit drugs on their own.

“Anyone who is taking illegal drugs is taking prescription drugs as well,” she said.

“Prescription drugs is huge. There isn’t a client that doesn’t take them. People take repeat prescriptions without ever analysing what the problem is. 80 per cent of clients would be coming in on prescription drugs because of their addictions,” she said.

“There are guys as young as 19 taking fistfuls of sleepers at night and something else to pick themselves up the next day. It is a quick fix solution. That is a national trend. It has not decreased,” she said.

“There is a complexity of issues that clients are presenting with. It seems to be more deep rooted. People have very complex addictions. It is very difficult to get people off prescription drugs,” she said.

There has been an increase of four per cent in admissions to Bushypark last year and a number of patterns have emerged.

“We would see that increase spread across the 18 to 35 age group. The 26 to 35 age group would have stayed consistent over the years but that has increased. More people are acknowledging their difficulties. You can get away with addictions for many years,” said Ms Nash.

In 2007 and 2008, there was an increase in the number of women presenting for treatment, but this has since steadied off. Younger women in the 18 to 25 age group attend in quite high numbers, often in relation to alcohol, polydrug use and food addictions.

THE number of gambling addicts presenting for treatment at the Bushypark Treatment Centre has increased slightly – the issue is so acute that € 100,000 bets on horses have been placed by those in the throes of the addiction.

Those presenting for treatment for gambling problems range in ages.

“There hasn’t been a huge increase in gambling. Gambling has always been very steady. There was an increase of about three per cent on other years,” said the manager of the centre, Margaret Nash.

“Before, gambling was very much a lone activity. Now, we are seeing it combined with alcohol and drugs. Ennis is well known for its gambling. It’s not about people playing poker. It’s the illegal sessions,” she said.

“Gambling is a social activity. The defining part is escape from reality. It’s about the buzz of things. We have had clients who would put € 100,000 on a horse and not wait to see how it gets on,” she said.

She said that those addicted to gambling commonly suffer from blackouts, ranging from just minutes to an hour.

Bushypark provides a range of services for those seeking help, but a lack of funding will curb its ambitions to widen its range of programmes.

“There is a need for more family support programmes. There is lack of services for children of addicts and those living in homes with an addictive person. There is funding there for family therapy but you need more peer-led groups. You can’t have those without funding,” she said. “Family is a key part of the work. If the family doesn’t encourage it, no change will happen,” she said. Outside of Dublin, there is only one facility where people are referred on after their treatment and more places should be provided, according to Ms Nash.

“We would like more half way houses where people can be referred on to after treatment,” she said.

“We refer everybody on to a twoyear aftercare programme. They are run in 14 centres around the country. The two years aftercare is very important. We have reviews during that time. Relapse is part of recovery for people,” she said.

“Our government funding is cut. We are endeavouring to do fundraising ourselves. We are fundraising in conjunction with Clarecare. . . Also, clients are finding it harder to access funds compared to three years ago,” she said.

“The core is in our residential treatment programme and our two-year aftercare programme.

“In 2009, we secured funding under the cocaine initiative and we are in our third year of that. It is to support aftercare,” she said.

This is an interagency programme between four treatment centres – Talbot Grove in Kerry, Aljeff in Limerick, Cuain Mhuire in Bruree and Bushypark.

“In addition we run a family support programme and an after care support programme, targeted at cocaine users,” she added.

A CLARE member of the HSE West Forum has called for trolley watch figures for Ennis General Hospital to be clarified.

Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney made the comment in the wake of INMO (the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) figures showing that the number of people waiting on trolleys at Ennis General Hospital increased during the first six months of this year, to reach the highest levels in four years.

The INMO says that, nationally, there is an increase in overcrowding in hospitals.

Between January and June of this year, there were 363 patients on trolleys in Ennis. This is an increase on 215 during the first six months of this year and an increase on 251 two years ago.

The figure for 2008 was 160 and 804 in 2007, according to the figures.

Nationally, the increase so far this year compared to 2006 was 37 per cent; 67 per cent compared to 2007 and 20 per cent compared to last year.

However, Councillor Meaney says he would like to see a breakdown on how the figures are compiled.

“I would like to see how these figures are being calculated. I’ve gone to the accident and emergency at night. You do have people on trolleys but it would be in the accident and emergency. These are not corridors.

“I know many people whose lives have been saved because they have been on a bed with wheels. I am not underestimating genuine instances of people having spent long hours on corridors across the country, but I would like to see how the figures are being calculated,” said Cllr Meaney.

Mary Fogarty, who is the INMO spokesperson in the mid-west, said there is insufficient capacity at Ennis General Hospital.

“There is a concern. We have always had a concern that there aren’t enough beds in the system,” she said, adding that there are fears the situation may worsen.

“There is a shortage of nursing staff. There is a concern that if any more acute beds close in the region, they (figures) will get higher,” she said.

“In the short term, we don’t see it improving but we would hope that it would improve,” she added.