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WEST Clare tourism is set to get a huge boost in the coming season as Kilrush Town Council spearheads an initiative that will see Knockerra Lake opened up to anglers once more after an interval of many years.

Details of a local authority plan of action for the 50-acre lake north east of Kilrush that comes under the council’s jurisdiction were unveiled at Thursday’s monthly meeting, which has opened up the prospect of the facility being open for use in time for the peak tourist period of July and August.

“It was used as a recreational facility for a long number of years, but hasn’t been in the last ten years,” revealed Kilrush Town Clerk John Corry, “and to open up the facility again has involved a process of engagement with anglers and landowners. It has been a long process, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.

Knockerra Lake hasn’t been open to public use for ten years, but in recent years Kilrush Town Council has made moves to re-open the facility, setting aside money is its annual budget for fencing and signage, while also making the lake more accessible. The lake is also set to be restocked with fish.

“There has been negotiations with the landowners and we hope to see the restoration of facilities provided at Knockerra,” Mr Corry told town councillors. “We are now at an advanced stage of finalising a lease agreement between the Town Council, the West Clare Angling Association and landowners.

Mr Corry also revealed that as part of the process “a local committee involving Kilrush Town Council, representatives of the angling association and landowners will be put in place” to oversee the operation of the facility.

“We will be meeting all the parties over the coming weeks and for the June meeting of the council we will have a update on the situation.”

DINGLE business interests’ success in making the West Kerry town a haven for tourists on the back of the bay being home to one dolphin over the past 28 years contrasts sharply with West Clare’s failure to cash on the tourism potential of Shannon Estuary dolphins.

The May monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council heard councillors bemoan the fact that West Clare is the poor relation to Dingle when it comes to dolphin-watching tourism.

“Dingle have one dolphin and they’ve managed to make a multimillion euro industry out of it over the years,” said Cllr Ian Lynch.

“The Shannon Estuary has a family of dolphins, but we don’t seem to be able to market this properly and we haven’t exploited the resource that we have.”

This has led to calls for the Gateway to Shannon Dolphins Committee to make renewed efforts to kickstart the dolphin-watching industry on the estuary.

This committee was established a number of years ago but last Thursday’s meeting heard that it has been inactive over the last number years.

“The committee is led by Paul Edson, with the help of Dr Simon Berrow [Irish Whale and Dolphin Group], but it hasn’t met for the last couple of years,” revealed town clerk, John Corry.

“There is huge potential for the Shannon dolphin project and it should be developed, because it’s something that’s unique to the estuary and we should do everything to market this,” said Cllr Tom Prendeville.

THE number of people signing on to the live register in Clare reduced in every social welfare office around the county last month.

For the first time in more than three years, the numbers signing on the live register last month was lower than the numbers signing on for the corresponding month in the previous year – indicating that the unemployment level in the county may finally be coming under control.

Hope has also been raised that the numbers signing in Clare could fall below 10,000 for the first time since September of 2009 when the May figures are released next month.

In total, 10,419 people signed on to the live register in April, a reduction of 205 from the number who signed on in March. Last month was the third straight month that the number signing on reduced in the county.

The largest reduction was seen in Ennistymon, where 1,610 people signed on last month – a reduction of 87 on the previous month. These reductions were echoed in Ennis, where 5,871 people signed on – a reduction of 80 on the numbers signing on for March of 2011.

Similar reductions were also seen in Kilrush and in Tulla.

These latest reductions means that the numbers signing on in the county has fallen by more than five per cent since the beginning of the year.

CLARE County Council is not yet in a position to provide a date for completion of a contentious housing development in Shannon. That was the message delivered by the town manager at a meeting last week, where councillors expressed concern that the 22-unit development at Cluain Airne is at a standstill, much to the anger of local residents.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) placed a motion on the issue, in which he sought an update on the project. In a written response from the council, he was told that, following liquidation of the initial contracting com- pany, the process to secure a completion contractor has taken longer than expected.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting: “I’m only looking for two simple questions to be answered. When is the start date and when is the finish date?

“We are talking about a small site – 22 houses. That’s the least the residents of Cluain Airne deserve,” he said. He added that anti-social behaviour was taking place on the unfinished site.

Sinn Féin councillor Cathy McCafferty also raised concerns and said that “kids as young as five and six are swinging off scaffolding. It’s ridiculous the way it’s left at the moment.”

In response to a query she tabled, she was informed that security costs have reached € 15,000, while additional costs of € 75,000 had also been incurred by the council in surveying, site security and consultants fees. These costs are recoupable from the guarantor.

Fine Gael councillor Seán McLoughlin said the houses were started in June 2009 and it was envisaged they would be completed within 12 months. “Nobody seems to know what’s happening since. I’m beginning to wonder is there going to be enough money to finish the site,” he said.

Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy said the situation “has been allowed to drag on far too long. We seem not to be able to give a time limit. We need to get answers. We need to get action; get people on site and get people into the houses.”

Fine Gael councillor Mary Brennan said that the people of Cluain Airne were “living their worst nightmare”.

The Shannon town manager, Bernadette Kinsella, told councillors: “I share your total frustration. Without a doubt, it is a nuisance for the residents in the area. We have a significant level of expressions from people who are looking for a home.”

She said that the completion period from the time the work recommences until completion is 16 weeks, adding, “but what I don’t have is a start date”.

“There were delays in the retendering process. It had been our intention that we were expecting a nomination in January. The whole process is taking longer than anticipated,” she said.

“The funding for the scheme was always through means of department contributions and a council loan which would be funded then by way of sales,” said Ms Kinsella.

She said she hopes the project will be completed as soon as possible.

COUNTY Clare has missing out on millions of euro in annual funding allocated by the European Union (EU) because Clare County Council has not had a presence on the Southern and Eastern Regional Authority.

According to Cllr PJ Kelly (FF), more than € 440 million has been allocated to Irish projects over the last three years – but none of that money has come to County Clare.

“Last year Kerry, Cork and Waterford got a huge investment and we got none of it. We don’t seem to at the races for this funding. We need to have people who can see what is coming down the track and see what other people are getting and what we are not getting. We have got to look at this in the future,” said Cllr Kelly.

Speaking on this subject last night, the Mayor of Clare, Christy Curtin (Ind), said that Clare has not got its fair share of money down the years. Cllr Curtin also said that while successive county managers have made sure that the county has done well in terms of funding generally over the years, the employment of a person to directly interact with the Southern and Eastern Regional Authority would help the local authority to get a larger share of funding.

“The manager and his team of directors are very vigilant in terms of the money which is coming down the stream but we need someone who can tap into these organisations directly and see that we get our fair share of funding, which we haven’t got down the years,” he said.

This information came to light following a motion by North Clare Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) in which he asked what was being done to protect the Clare coastline from coastal erosion and in particular a section of road between Lahinch and Liscannor.

“I have a particular concern over a road entering the village of Liscannor. We have a situation now where there are more then 700,000 people visiting the Cliffs of Moher every year on this road and there is a large section of this road which is in danger of disappearing,” he said.

In response to this motion Director of Service for Clare County Council, Nora Kaye, said that a national directive on coastal erosion is expected to be issue in the coming weeks.

THE Office of Public Works (OPW) has been urged to abandon plans to develop river walkways near a housing estate in Ennis.

The OPW has informed Ennis Town Council of its intention to build a new footpath and handrail as part of the River Fergus (lower) certified drainage scheme.

According to the OPW, reinforced concrete floodwalls with natural limestone cladding will be constructed along the visible faces, along the left riverbank in the Fergus Park to Knox’s bridge. Works will also include the reinstatement of surrounding ground, while all existing surface water outfalls are to be fitted with a tidefex valve.

However concerns have been raised over a walkway running so close to houses. Speaking yesterday, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said locals were concerned that the walkway could introduce an element of “anti-social behaviour” to the area. He warned that it might make easily for people to “casually stroll into the back of people’s homes”.

“I suggest that we re-think that element of the works,” he added.

Cllr Meaney made the comments at yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis West Electoral Area, where Cllr Tony Mulqueen (FG) requested a statutory update on the flood relief scheme. He said residents and land owners in Fergus Park and Cappahard were anxious to know when the works will begin.

Eamon O’Dea, Senior Executive Engineer, told the meeting that it was anticipated that work would begin in September.

He said he would organise a system whereby local people could get relevant information from the OPW.

Cllr Mulqueen criticised the fact that there it had been an almost two year delay in starting the works.

“It will almost be the anniversary of the floods in 2009,” he added.

Town manager Ger Dollard said that both the Council and the OPW were anxious to see the project progress as soon as possible.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama might not set foot in Clare during his historic whistle-stop visit to Ireland later this month, but Kilrush Town Council could be set to fly the Banner flag when the leader of the free world visits his ancestral home in Moneygall.

It’s all to do with a link between President Obama and the West Clare capital that will be debated at this Thursday’s monthly meeting of Kilrush Town Council as the lo- cal authority moves to celebrate one of its most famous sons during the presidential visit.

President Obama was a member of US Congress for Chicago before becoming president – the first congressman with Irish links since Kilrushman Thomas Cusack represented Chicago in Washington.

Fianna Fáil councillor Tom Prendeville is behind the move for Kilrush Town Council to “gain an audience with President Obama”, while also using the occasion of the presidential visit to honour “a native of Kilrush who lived the American dream and distinguished himself in business and politics”.

Thomas Cusack was born in Kilrush in 1858 and emigrated to America with his family three years later. They settled in New York, but as a five-year-old he was orphaned and moved to live with relatives in Chicago.

It was there that Cusack eventually set up business in advertising, becoming a pioneer and world leader in outdoor billboard advertising, while also immersing himself in Democratic Party politics.

From 1898 to 1901, Cusack served one term as a member of Congress before returning to full-time advertising. Now, 85 years after his death, Kilrush Town Council are finally moving to honour his achievements in time for President Obama’s visit to Ireland.

“This council should honour the fact that the last Congressman with links to Ireland was a Kilrush man,” said Cllr Prendeville. “At a time when Ireland and Moneygall prepares to welcome Barack Obama back to his roots, this council should give public recognition to the fact that Barack Obama was following in the footsteps of Thomas Cusack by his election as Congressman for Chicago, which ultimately paved the way for his subsequent election to the office of the United States of America.

“It’s right to honour him and to do it during President Obama’s visit is appropriate and it would be great if we could mark this man in the presence of President Obama,” he added.

MORE than 100 people turned out in Scariff last night for a public meeting to debate plans to close the local Teagasc office in East Clare.

The office, which is ear marked for closure later this year or early 2012, is cur rently being used by more than 450 far mers in the East Clare area to process thei r document ation for a large amount of far m schemes and as a venue for t raining courses and other communit y activities.

This latest threat of closure comes after the closure of the local Teagasc office in Ennistymon last year and the relocation of all local Depar tment of Agr icult ure services from Ennis to Limer ick – leaving Clare as the only county in Munster wit hout an office of the Depar tment of Agr iculture. The Clare People underst ands that the majority of the staff currently employed at t he Teagasc office in Scariff will be relocated to Ennis with a new extension planned for the Ennis office to cope with the influx of numbers. “There is a ver y big catchment area for the Scar iff office. Besides all of the schemes that are administered from this office t here is also a number of courses administered from the office as well – some by Teagasc but others from FÁS, Clare Development Agency and the VEC so there is huge amount of activity goi ng on in these offices at the moment,” said East Clare farmer and member of Clare Count y Council, Joe Cooney (FG). “If this office is closed hundred of East Clare farmers will be forced to t ravel to Ennis, Limer ick or to Loughrea to access the services they need.

“This is going to be a big set back to far mers i n t he area – not alone the farmers but the other local people who use the office on a regular basis,” he added.

The Clare and Galway area manager for Teagasc, Brendan Heneghan, at tended t he meeting and it is hoped that he will be influenced into reconsidering t he plan to close the office.

“This is somet hing t hat has been proposed – we have a member from Teagasc coming to the meeting tonight as well as our four Oi reacht as members so we are hoping t hat t his is not set in stone,” conti nued Cl l r Cooney.

“There is suppor t to retain this service. I don’t think it adds up to close this ver y good new office and come into Ennis and have to build extensions in building in t here.”

AIR quality in Shannon is clean, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is monitoring levels on a continuous basis.

The EPA has placed a mobile laboratory in the town and is actively analysing the quality of the air in the town and surrounding areas.

The initiative is set to continue for up to a year.

This is part of a comprehensive assessment of air quality in all major cities and towns in Ireland.

Initial results from the assessment show that levels of all parameters being measured are well below limit values set for the protection of human health, according to the EPA.

An assessment was started in March, on foot of requests from local town councillors. This assessment is done via a trailer, which is located at the rear of the civic offices in Shan- non. Analysers are contained in the trailer and these are read on a regular basis. Concentrations of oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and benzene and toluene are being measured.

According to Kevin Delaney of the EPA, the readings last month were good. “I have looked at the data for the past month and Shannon is pretty clean. That’s provisional data,” he said.

“We are called in to do assessments on a routine basis around the country. We were required to come down and do an air quality assessment within Shannon.

“We have a number of trailer units that we bring around the country and do assessments. We will be there (in Shannon) for six months; maybe up to a year,” he said. “We are assessing for parameters in accordance with the 2008 Cafe Directive.

“It came up at a councillors’ meeting in Clare and that is why we de- cided to do this,” Mr Delaney said.

At a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, Independent councillor Gerry Flynn welcomed the news that the EPA was monitoring air quality in Shannon and said that businesses must play a key role in this.

“I’m looking forward to the findings. I’m glad that they are staying for 12 months. If it’s a decision I have to take on health or jobs, it’s health unfortunately. Every business has to make sure the Ts are crossed and the Is dotted. What we need in this town is clean industry,” he said.

Fine Gael councillor Seán McLoughlin said, “I would like to see 24-hour monitoring all the time.”

In addition to the trailers that are moving from one location to another, there is also a fixed network whereby a number of sites nationwide are monitored on a continuous basis. One of those sites is Ennis.

THE National Roads Authority (NRA) has not returned any correspondence made to it by the Mayor of Clare over the past year.

According to the Mayor of Clare, Christy Curtin (Ind), the NRA has snubbed a series of letters and questions from the county’s first citizen in relation to damage to signs in Clare for more then 12 months.

This information came to light following a motion at last nights meeting of Clare County Council, requesting that the local authority begins an immediate programme of restoration and maintenance on the existing roads direction signs.

“There has been defacing and vandalism of signs right across this county. Signs are continuing to be defaced – I saw a lot of it during the last general election,” said Cllr Curtin.

“I have been continually on to the NRA about the vandalism of signs and they have not been back to me once over the last 12 months.”

Speaking on the motion, North Clare councillor Joe Arkins (FG) also raised the issue of a number of misspellings on new signs recently erected by the NRA.

“I have a big issue with some of the information on these signs, there seems to be a number of towns and villages showing up all over Clare which I have never heard of before,” he said.

“Can we finally agree on what we call our towns and villages. Just because some sergeant made a mistake when he was translating from the Irish in the 1840s doesn’t mean that we have to keep living with that mistake forever.

“Some of the names on signs for our villages and towns is just unbelievable at the moment. It is a real issue and an inconvenience for tourists and people in the tourist sector.”

Place name and directional signs for a number of Clare’s flagship tourist town have been erected in recent months with spellings, which are not used by the locally. Among the towns who names have been spelt incorrectly are Lahinch, Bal- lyvaughan, Kinvara and Corofin.

“We are finding Burren Connect here in the council to improve tourism but if these signs are left in place we will have Burren disconnect. If people are coming home from America or wherever they are totally confused by the spellings on these signs,” said Cllr Michael Kelly (FG).

Clare County Council has been allocated € 10,000 as part of Civil Responsibility Week which the local authority plans to use for the maintenance of signs.