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A COUNTY Clare lawyer was one of the highest paid barristers in Ireland, under the criminal free legal aid scheme last year.

Mark Nicholas, who is a junior counsel practising in Clare and Limerick, earned € 267,006 under the scheme last year. He was the eighth highest paid out of more than 600 barristers on the scheme last year. His income under this scheme increased by almost € 40,000 on the previous year.

Several other barristers who practice in Clare also featured prominently on the list, published by the Department of Justice.

Brian McInerney was top of the list, with an income of € 413,860. Michael Collins earned more than € 135,000 under the scheme; Pat Whyms earned more than € 80,000; Senior Counsel David Sutton earned almost € 80,000; Lorcan Connolly, BL, received close to € 60,000; Senior Counsel Brendan Nix earned more than € 30,000, while Elaine Houlihan, BL, earned more than € 22,000.

More than € 20 million was paid to barristers nationally, under the criminal legal aid scheme, in 2010.

During the past few years, there have been calls for the scheme to be curbed. Among those calling for this has been Fine Gael Councillor Tony Mulcahy.

Mr Mulcahy, who is a candidate in the forthcoming general election, this week repeated his calls for a revamp of the system and said that repeat offenders should not receive unlimited free legal aid.

“There should be an attachment of earnings. If someone breaks a window, the cost of that should be taken into account. Make him pay for that. Whether he is working or not working, it should go through his PPS.

“There would be no need to impose fines any more. That way he won’t be breaking too many windows the following Saturday night. That would deal with 80 per cent of the middle of the road crime.

He said the current system is “ridiculous. The system trudges along”.

“If you are on your 75th criminal charge, you have to ask yourself, where do we stop this representation? It is incredible. You look at the repeat offenders. They are getting free legal aid and free legal aid and free legal aid. That has to stop,” he said.

He said that people should be given no more than a few chances before exhausting all of their options under the free legal aid scheme. “Three chances to avail of free legal aid and you are out,” he said.

ONE of the county’s best known policemen is to take up a new post in which he will move from one side of the county to the other.

Detective Garda Michael McDonagh is to leave Kilrush Garda Station next week and take up a post in the Immigration Unit at Shannon Garda Station.

The Miltown Malbay native has worked in west Clare for most of his career in An Garda Síochána, where he has been stationed since 1985. During the past 25 years, he has been involved in several serious investigations in Kilrush and the west Clare area.

Mr McDonagh is a well-known personality across the county, not least through his association with the GAA. He was the chairman of the Clare County Board between 2003 and 2007.

He is one of three gardaí to take up posts in immigration at Shannon airport. He will be joined by gardaí Adrian Mullowney and Barry Walsh. Mr Mullowney has been stationed in the district office at Killaloe Garda Station for a number of years, having previously worked in the Clare Divisional Traffic Corps. Mr Walsh has been based at Quin Garda Station for several years.

They will replace three members of the immigration unit who have recently retired – John Talty, Brian Brennan and Larry Donnellan.

The Immigration Unit is attached to Shannon Garda Station. Two de- tective sergeants and 12 detective gardaí operate the immigration unit, which ensures immigration laws are implemented. Gardaí attached to this unit have responsibility for checking visas and passports and ensure legislation is adhered to.

Inspector Tom Kennedy, who is in charge of policing in Shannon, said the immigration unit plays a key role in policing at the airport.

“It is a valuable unit. It assists with security at the airport in that it provides a back-up. Its members implements all the regulations and laws regarding people coming into the country in terms of visas and passports and the length of time they can stay,” he said.

WHILE flu activity in the mid-west has reportedly now peaked and is declining, all major local hospitals are maintaining a visiting ban until this year’s flu breakout subsides further.

The number of people presenting with flu-like-illness (ILI) to GPs has dropped to a rate of 110 per 100,000, down from 171.4 per 100,000 last week. The drop has occurred in all age groups except for those aged 5 to 14 years. This fall has also been seen in the number of flu related calls to GP out of hours on call services.

A spokesperson for the HSE reminded the public however that visiting restrictions remain in place at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle.

“Unfortunately some members of the public continue to visit the hospital and this puts the health and welfare of patients at risk,” she said.

Visitors are asked not to visit the hospital unless it is absolutely essential and visiting is restricted to critically ill patients only, one visitor per critically ill patient and confined to visiting times only.

Visitors who may be unwell or have flu like symptoms should not visit the hospital.

The elderly, children, pregnant women or young adults, those with chronic illnesses or vulnerable others are also advised not to visit

While attendance at the Accident and Emergency Department should only take place if absolutely necessary, outpatient, day care services and routine hospital admissions are not affected.

“We once again ask the public to cooperate fully with the hospital instruction, to protect the health of their family members and others and not visit the hospital,” the spokesperson said.

“All appropriate infection control measures are being taken to deal with this situation. These visiting restrictions will remain in place until the situation has been resolved.”

So far this season, 749 cases have been hospitalised with flu. Of these, 72 per cent have been due to the H1N1 (2009) influenza strain.

Over the past couple of weeks, the proportion of all hospitalised cases that have been due to influenza B has risen and now stands at 17 per cent.

The HSE explained that the rise in influenza B highlights the importance of getting seasonal vaccine for those in the at risk groups.

“It’s still not too late to get the vaccine from your GP.

“Although intensity is declining, influenza is still circulating in the community, and seasonal vaccination provides good protection against all types of flu,” the spokesperson said.

ONE young west Clare man is fighting back against the current cynical reaction to politics by preparing to put his own name forward for the General Election.

Brian Markham, a member of the well know Kilmurry McMahon family, is determined to have his name on the ballot sheet on polling day as an Independent candidate.

The 23-year-old told The Clare People he “wants to make a difference” and “go out and do something”.

A qualified PE teacher, he currently works in O’Flaherty’s Electrical Shop in Ennis.

A keen sportsman, he has represented the county and province in athletics at international level.

He has been involved with Shannon Gaels and Coolmeen GAA clubs and is known for organising several Community Games events for local children.

A past pupil of St Flannan’s College in Ennis, he attended university in London.

“During these four years I began to learn how important it is to make your opinions heard and how important it is to have a representative that you can trust in. I was an active member of the Students Union where we were told about the issues troubling the student body. It was then our duty to convey the thoughts of the students to the relevant boards and do our best to get different rules and improvements implemented,” he said.

“I have now been back home in Ireland for five months. During this time I have witnessed possibly one of the worst periods in Irish politics. The country is in an extremely poor state and this is primarily down to mismanagement and big name politics.

“In the time I have been home I have seen several of my friends unwillingly being forced to leave our wonderful country in search of employment and what looks to be a better future than the one that is in store in this country,” he added.

“I would like to make clear that I do believe in co-operating with big business and foreign multinationals because of the jobs and growth they bring to our country. However, pandering to the banks has resulted in a loss of sovereignty, in that we are bound by conditions imposed by the EU and IMF bailout, high unemployment and a generation of our best and brightest leaving by the day. This is where traditional politics has let us down.”

He believes that Independent TDs will be very influential in the next Dáil.

Among the issues that he believes the election campaign should be fought on are the demise of Shannon Airport and the Shannon area, the future of Ennis General Hospital and the need for improvement to local infrastructure.

CLARE County Council this week confirmed that it had spent almost all of the money it was allocated to care for the county’s roads – completing all work with the exception of two projects.

Fears were expressed at the end of last year by Deputy Joe Carey (FG) that the roadwork’s budget would not be spent and therefore lost.

In total the local authority spent € 22.687 million on all road works.

The allocation confirmed by the Department of Transport in relation to Regional and Local Roads for 2010 was € 15, 586,498, € 15, 281,462 of which was spent by the council.

The shortfall of approximately € 300,000 was attributed to the fact that a sum of € 500,000, allocated in respect of the Killaloe By-Pass/ Shannon Crossing, could not be spent as planning and design stages documentation were under consideration by the Department of Transport.

According to senior engineer Tom Tiernan, “To all intents and purposes the council completed its Roadworks Programme in 2010. Any minor elements, which were not completed, were as such due to circumstances outside of the council’s control. For example, it became apparent in early summer 2010 that it would not be possible to spend a sum of € 300,000 allocated to Blakes Corner, Ennistymon, due to the complexity and sensitivity of the procedures involved because of the conflict between the proposed junction improvement and the location of adjacent protected structures.

“The Roadworks Programme was implemented systematically while taking account of the specific needs of the various work sites involved, the climatic conditions required in each case, optimisation and allocation of plant resources available etc. Certain difficulties were encountered both at the beginning and the end of 2010 because of the very severe weather conditions, which pertained. Certain improvisations and strategy alterations were required but ultimately the job was completed as effectively as it could be in the prevailing circumstances.”

Among the routes to benefit from road improvement works were the N68 at Edenvale, Caherea, Lissycasey and Kilrush, the N67 at Moyasta and the R352 in Tulla. The main road north of Lisdoonvarna to Corkscrew Hill has also been upgraded while the road between Corkscrew Hill and Ballyvaughan is currently being upgraded. Works are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks at Ballyduff beg, Inagh on the N85.

A CHANGE to the Litter Pollution Act proved a potentially costly lesson to two Clare candidates.

Independent candidates Cllr James Breen and Jim Connolly were told to remove their election signage or face a hefty fine from Clare County Council.

The warning came following a reminder being issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government stating that changes to legislation last year meant that election posters could not be erected until after the Taoiseach went to the President and dissolved the Dáil.

Under an amendment to the Litter Pollution act in 2009 the time period from which posters can be put up commences on the date of the order for the holding of the poll or 30 days prior to the date of the poll, whichever is the shorter period.

Both candidates said they were unaware to the changes to this legislation when they began work on their poster campaign.

Mr Connolly was particularly critical of the council’s speed and eagerness to implement this legislation.

He told

ENNIS’ reputation as a haven and hotspot for traditional music was given a shot on the arm on Friday night’s Late Late Show as local Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann activists prepare to crank up their campaign to bring Fleadh na hÉireann back to the county to the county capital.

And, the boost to the county capital’s traditional music came from the unlikely source of Bob Geldof – the former Boomtown Rat and Live Aid promoter, who told Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy of the time he spent in Clare that helped him reconnect with Ireland and realise what he was missing.

“I went on a brief holiday a number of years ago to rediscover,” said Geldof.

“I’d forgotten how beautiful it was. I’d told my friends to lay out a plan – I want to do Ireland – but that I may not know the places to go. I went down to a couple of sessions in Ennis and I said to myself ‘I miss this so much. This is so cool’,” he added.

Geldof’s praise of Clare traditional music in Ennis – a reputation developed on the back on the huge success of the Fleadh Nua event in the 1970s – comes as amid a growing wish among Comhaltas Ceoltóirí activists that Clare be chosen as a Fleadh na hÉireann venue for the first time since 1976.

Geldof’s association with Clare dates back to the late 1980s when he became a key component in the efforts of the late Dr Brendan O’Regan at fostering world peace.

Along with media mogul Ted Turner, President Patrick Hillery and others, Geldof was a keynote speaker at the 1988 International Peace Conference organised by O’Regan’s Shannon-based Centre for International Cooperation.

THERE was celebrations in Liscannor over the weekend as Dennis Vaughan was crowned Irish Seafood Chef of the Year. Vaughan, who runs Vaughan’s Anchor Inn Bar and Seafood Restaurant in the village, was officially presented with the prestigious accolade by the Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries, Sean Connick, last week.

“We are very happy to get the award. We have always aimed to produce the highest quality of seafood in the restaurant. It’s what we have always done, we were brought up on it with all the fishing so even from a very young age we have aimed to produce top quality seafood,” he told The Clare People yesterday.

“In the restaurant the focus was always primarily on fish. The total focus of the restaurant is on local fish and shell fish. We are one of the few restaurants in the country who proc ess all their own stuff – from crabs to prawns to fish – everything that we use comes in either on the bone or in the shell and we work with it from there. Everything is as it comes out of the sea.

“I think that the public do recognise a product. You could be in a restaurant beating yourself up and going down the road of putting cheaper products on the menu but I think you will lose the loyalty of people who come to you looking for that grade of product. It’s is about giving people what they want and not cutting any corners.

“We give it as good as we can give it, with a premium product that peo- ple seem to like and so far it is working out well for us.”

While a number of restaurants around the county have closed for the winter months or have installed limited opening hours, Vaughan’s Anchor Inn Bar and Seafood Restaurant has been able to remain open all year round, seven days a week.

Meanwhile, it was also being confirmed over the weekend that 13 Clare eateries have been named as part of the BIM Seafood Circle – with the majority of the chosen restaurants located in the north and west of the county.

There are currently 200 members of the Seafood Circle nationwide. It was set up to champion retail and hospitality outlets that offer the best quality seafood and service to customers.

THE West County Hotel, which forms part of the Clare-based Lynch group, will remain under Lynch management, the group’s managing director has confirmed.

The Clare Inn Hotel became the second hotel in the Lynch Hotel group to enter receivership along with the Breaffy House in Castlebar on Friday. Around 150 people are employed at the Clare Inn and Breaffy House.

Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton was appointed receiver last Friday. Pat McCann, founder of Maldron Hotels has been appointed to oversee the management of the Clare Inn and Breaffy House. Michael B Lynch told The Clare People on Monday that “The West County will remain under Lynch management and its business as usual.”

Mr Lynch added that the recent weeks “had been very difficult time” for everyone associated with the business.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mr McAteer confirmed that, “Michael McAteer was appointed receiver of the Clare Inn Hotel in County Clare and at Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar in County Mayo on Friday, 28 January, 2011.

“As the appointed receiver, it is Mr McAteer’s duty to realise the maximum value from the assets over which he is charged, and discharge any receipts in accordance with the priorities as set out in the Companies Acts.”

In a statement last week, Mr Lynch said he will work with the receivers and the banks to ensure that the jobs are protected and that the affected hotels remain open.

He said, “We had a duty to move to protect the 500 employees’ jobs in our seven properties and do right by their families in these harsh economic times. It is with great regret that we have had to make this decision but I am happy that in our discussions with the bank and receiver we have secured a position where the properties will remain open and continue to trade.”

Mr Lynch said the decision of Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to withdraw from this market “had a serious impact” on its “ability to source working capital over the winter months”. The Lynch Hotel group successfully emerged from examinership in 2009.

THE opening of the West County Inn Hotel over 40 years ago was the foundation stone of the Lynch Hotel Group that in recent years that became one of the flagship hotel chains around the country under the direction of Michael B Lynch.

The West County Inn was developed by Michael Lynch Snr and when officially opened in April 1968 by the then Minister for Labour and future President of Ireland, Dr Patrick Hillery, it was labelled “a very substantial addition to Clare tourism”.

And, while both the Clare Inn Hotel and Breaffy House Hotel went into receivership last Thursday, the West County still remains one of the industry leaders in the county and beyond, having been developed as one of the flagship hotel in the midwest region in terms of numbers of visitors over its 43-year history.

In 2009, the group, which employed over 500 in seven hotels in the west of Ireland, gained court protection from its creditors as it endeavoured to re-organise its finances. Judge Mary Finlay Geoghegan appointed Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as interim examiner of Ireland’s largest family-run hotel group.

The judge made the appointment after being told that an independent accountant’s report showed that the group has a reasonable prospect of survival as a going concern. The examinership gave the company 100 days to reorganise its finances. The court heard that the group owed € 22.85m and was unable to pay its debts.

After being established in 1968 the group expanded further in Clare by and into Mayo, Limerick and Galway. In 2008, the group opened a luxurious family-friendly spa at the Breaffy House Hotel in Castlebar, while other hotels in the group included the George Boutique Hotel in Limerick City and Haydens Gateway Hotel in Ballinasloe.

The hotel group pulled out of Dublin a couple of years ago, selling the 270-bedroom Green Isle hotel at a € 10m loss for € 40m. It also sold the South Court Hotel in Limerick for an estimated € 15m and then leased the 127-bedroom building back.

Mr Lynch, remains a director but the company is now run by his son, Michael B Lynch, a former finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

“We are professional hoteliers with a fundamentally sound business and at this time are planning to restructure our financial position,” Michael B Lynch said in 2009.

“We are confident that our 40 years of experience in the hotel business, our customer and staff loyalty and recognised innovation practices will see the company through this process,” he added.