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CLARE parents who paid up to €600 to have their young daughters vaccinated against cervical cancer last year will not have the cost re- funded, although the same vaccine 1s now free of charge.

However, some parents can get a percentage of the costs returned through tax returns. Provided the advice and treatment in question for cervical cancer vaccination was given by a medical practitioner, then the expenditure incurred in 2009 qualifies for health expenses relief.

This means that some of the costs in- curred can be recouped through the MEDI form as administered by the Revenue Commissioners.

Clare TD Joe Carey (FG) raised the issue with the Minister for Finance when he asked that parents be re- funded for the life-saving vaccine.

While some GPs nationally had de- cided not to charge for the vaccina- tion, for many the only way of avail- ing of the treatment was to pay.

‘Following the Minister for Health’s decision not to introduce a national vaccination programme last year, parents were forced to pay hundreds

of euro to vaccinate their daughters… When combined with regular smear tests, the HVP vaccine reduces the chance of developing cervical cancer by 70 per cent. The Government were wrong to ignore this fact last year. Because of the Government’s refus- al to roll out a national vaccination campaign many families decided to pay close to €600 to protect the well being of their daughters,” he said.

Now that the Government is roll- ing out the national vaccination pro- gramme, Deputy Carey sought to have some of their expenses recouped.

“IT am disappointed that the min-

ister in reply to my questioning has indicated that a refund will not be made,’ he said. “While I whole- heartedly welcome the introduction of the scheme this year, I don’t be- lieve that the public should have to pay for the Government’s dithering in 2009. Why should parents be pun- ished now for doing the right thing last year?” he asked.

The Clare deputy said, however, that there was consolation in the fact that some parents could recoup some of the cost through the MEDI form, but believes this does not go far enough.

Matchmaker blames recession

THE Government has revealed that ‘certain EU issues’ are holding up progress for an international logistics transport hub at Shannon Airport.

Last year, the Shannon Airport Au- thority (SAA) and the Lynxs Group signed a Memo of Understanding (MOU) for the purpose of jointly developing a major international lo- gistics hub and business facility at Shannon.

The agreement was seen as a Sig- nificant step towards the delivery of a state-of-the-art international cargo facility on a 200,000 square-feet site at Shannon Airport.

The Shannon-based Atlantic Way organisation believes that the devel- opment of a global freight logistics centre has the potential to create and support over 10,000 new jobs within a five to ten year timeframe.

However, chairman of the Task Force, Denis Brosnan said that in order for the hub to proceed, €7 mil- lion needs to be given to the Shan- non Airport Authority, which has not eleetiw Kee

He said: “The debate has been go- ing on for 12 months or longer, but the money hasn’t appeared.

In the Dail, the Minister for State at the Dept of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Dara Calleary said that the Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan has discussed the Lynxs project with the Minister for Transport, Noel Demp- TAs

He said: “It appears that certain EU issues need to be resolved if progress is to be made. We are addressing them at EU level.”

Minister Calleary said: “The Lynx Cargo Group and the Dublin Airport Authority are now completing an ex- amination of the feasibility of devel- oping a major cargo facility there.”

Fine Gael Limerick East deputy, Kieran O’Donnell said: “During the Dail debate, the minister, Deputy Willie O’ Dea, said that an announce- ment on the Lynx Cargo project was “imminent”. I would like to know how the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, would define “imminent”, as he appears to be suggesting that an announcement is a little further ee Nl

Clare Fine Gael deputy, Joe Carey said: “The potential benefits of de- veloping the Lynx international car- go facility at Shannon are endless. We are now at a critical juncture as rising unemployment and the loss of

inward investment means action is jLeXer (ore EDEN TL ONT

“In order to make this a reality Government must put their shoulder to the wheel and drive this project until it becomes a reality.

Mr Denis Brosnan, Chairman of the Mid West Taskforce has outlined how beneficial this project could be.

“The €7 million investment re-

quired from government would cop- per fasten the deal with Lynx and would be money well spent as it will create and sustain jobs into the fu- ture. Yet there is a total lack of ur- gency shown by government towards this project.”

He added: “There has been enough talk about this project. We now need to see the investment required from

government. The Lynx cargo facil- ity represents a viable way forward for the development of a major inter- national hub at Shannon. Action is needed immediately to make this a reality.”

Shannon transport hub hits snags

KILRUSH paid posthumous tribute to one of its great community activ- ists and an all-round gentleman on Thursday night last when the late Charles Glynn was named the over- all winner of the 2009 Gradaim Ui Ruachain Civic Awards.

The annual awards were established in 1993 by Kilrush Town Council in memory of its late chairperson, Cissy Roughan. The awards were to give public recognition to the great work, commitment and dedication of Cllr Roughan, a member of the coun- cil from 1980 to 1991.

In doing so, these awards were also promoting and encouraging partici- pation and achievement in the arts, social, business, entrepreneurial, education, sporting and general life of the town.

The awards, which are usually pre- sented during the summer, were de- layed last year due to the local elec- tions.

The awards were instead presented on February 4 by Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG).

The presentation and celebration was also attended by the 10 2009 nominees and their guests, and by council representatives Cllr Ilan Lynch (FG), Cllr Mairead O Brien (Ind) and Kilrush Town Clerk John Cosas

The 10 nominees that were recog- nised on the night included Mary Hamilton, Martin Cahill, Mat Kelly, Brendan Egan, Kilrush RNLI Fun- draising, Kilrush Ladies Football, Therese Young, Vinny O’Hallaron, John Fennell and the overall winner, the late Charles Glynn. Charles’s son Charlie accepted the award in mem- ory of his father.

The Cissy Roughan awards are open to everybody. Those nominated do not have to be from Kilrush or resident there but are considered to have made an outstanding contribu- tion to Kilrush society.

“Kilrush Town Council is aware of the vital importance of community spirit and activity to the town, and of the positive contribution and ef- fect of those who strive for commu- nity spirit and welfare in a range of endeavours. Such people play a vital role in sustaining and improving the quality of life to be enjoyed here,” said Cllr Lynch.

NEXT weekend is a busy one for children of Clare, as they compete in three very different events in the Golden Vale Clare Community Games calendar.

On Friday evening, the Table Ten- nis (Boys and Girls, U13 and U15) takes place in St Anne’s School in Ennis, starting from 6pm.

On the following morning Saturday, one of the biggest county events, the

Art and model-making, brings hun- dreds of children from U10s to Ul6s to the CBS, again in Ennis with the competition starting at 10am. Artists and model makers must bring their own equipment and paper, and are asked to arrive in plenty of time.

Then on Sunday, attention switches to north Clare, when the Girls’ In- door Soccer competition takes place in Ennistymon Leisure centre. Ac- tion starts there at 10am.

Winners in the Table Tennis and

Indoor Soccer qualify for provincial finals at the end of March, while the Art and Model-making winners will be the first to qualify for this year’s National Finals in Athlone. The first weekend of Nationals will be at the end of May this year.

The events calendar in Clare is now in full swing, and the county draughts, handball and badminton are still to come this month.

Off the field of play, Quin/Clooney were presented with the Most Active

Area award for Clare at the re-sched- uled National Area Awards cer- emony in Ballinasloe last weekend. At the same ceremony, long-serving county President John O’Sullivan of Ennis received the Vounteer Recog- nition award for Clare, and a Young Volunteer award went to Stephanie Griffin of Sixmilebridge/Kilmurry.

Quin/Clooney also received a Spe- cial Merit award, as they just missed out on the overall award for best area in Munster.

FOLLOWING last week’s revelation that almost 400 Clare farmers are yet to receive their payment for 2009 under the Rural Environmental Pro- tection Scheme (REPS), the Depart- ment of Agriculture has highlighted the €5 million which has been is- sued to 356 Clare farmers under the Farm Waste Management Scheme to date this year.

The scheme, which was set up to part fund farmers to construct the necessary infrastructure to comply with the EU directive on nitrates, has resulted in more than €45 million

being issued to Clare farmers in the last five years.

According to Clare TD and Junior Agriculture Minister, Tony Killeen (FF), a total of 2,092 Clare farm- ers have benefited under the scheme since 2006.

“The substantial payment of grant- aid under the scheme represents a vote of confidence in a vital indig- enous industry with a huge export presence,” he said.

“Successive Fianna Fail-led Gov- ernments have provided funding of over €1.2 billion to some 34,000 farmers nationwide, which is a clear indication of our commitment to Irish

agriculture and the rural economy.

“The scheme represents essential infrastructural investment in the Irish rural economy and ensures the protection of the single farm payment and other EU funding worth 1.6 bil- lion euro annually to Irish farmers.

‘Following the payment this month of €190 million in respect of the second tranche of grant payments of 40 per cent, over €1 billion has now been paid out since the scheme’s in- ception in 2006. This represents 90 per cent of the total funding of the scheme.

“When the final tranche of 20 per cent is paid out under the Farm

Waste Management Scheme in Jan- uary 2011, total expenditure will exceed €1.2 billion, all of which will have come from exchequer an etebnetcaue

Minister Killeen also reminded Clare farmers seeking payments un- der the Suckler Welfare Scheme to complete and return their applica- tions without delay.

Applicants for the scheme must continue to complete and return their forms as quickly as possible and within 12 months of the birth of the animals at the very latest. Farmers seeking clarification regarding this should ring 1890 252707.

DESPITE difficult trading condi- tions, one of the county’s best known hotels still managed to report an op- erating profit of €282,076 last year.

According to accounts recently re- turned to the companies’ office for the year to the end of June 2009, the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon recorded a pre-tax profit of €14,003.While this represents a 40 per cent drop on the €23,437 pre-tax profits recorded in 2008, the significant difference between operating and pre-tax profit was a €268,073 bank loan interest charge last year.

The hotel’s gross profit last year dropped by 3 per cent from €3.7m to €3.6m with its cost base dropping by 2 per cent from €3.4m to €3.3m The pre-tax profit recorded last year resulted in the company having ac- cumulated profits of €960,595.

The accounts show that the com- pany has fixed assets valued at €7.8 pebdeeLOee

The directors are listed as Daniel McCarthy and Eileen McCarthy and the accounts show that the company had a €5.2m loan from the Bank of Scotland.

The McCarthys purchased the busi- ness in 1986 when it comprised of a small 20 bedroom hotel. Now, after a significant expansion programme, the hotel has 150 bedrooms and nine duplex apartments; weddings and

banqueting facilities for up to 350 people; conference facilities for 350 people; an aqua and fitness club and a river spa which incorporates 12 treatment rooms and a thermal suite.

More recently, the Falls Hotel se- cured planning permission for a hy- dro scheme in a bid to reduce energy costs at the hotel.

The second generation of the Mc- Carthy’s are now working in The Falls Hotel. Eldest son Michael Mc- Carthy is the General Manager and his brother John is the Deputy Man-

ager.

The hotel has arich history. Towards to end of the 1930’s, it was leased for five years to the late Brendan O’Regan, who later pioneered cater- ing and sales services at Shannon International Airport. O’Regan ran the hotel during the years of World War Two, and one of his innovations was to supply hot meals in hayboxes to the golfers in Lahinch.

The next owner was a retired Welshman Gerard Henry Williams- Owen who operated the business

during the summer months only.

In 1955 John F. Wood and his wife Bridget acquired the hotel. They added the hydro-electric plant which for many years provided power to the building and the ‘plant’ can still be seen a short distance upstream, just below the cascades.

A SHANNON holding company for US-owned, Mentor Graphics (Hold- ings) Ltd last year sustained a 64 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to $22.6 million.

Accounts just lodged with the Companies’ Office, show that the holding company’s turnover to the end of January last dropped from $455.9million to $363.7million.

The company is headquartered in Oregon and employs 4,450 world- wide and is engaged in electronic

design automation.

The Shannon operation is the in- ternational services and distribution centre for information technology, order fulfillment, finance, purchas- ing, facilities, consulting, customer support, legal and human resources for the European, Middle Eastern and Asian business.

The accounts for Mentor Graphics (Holding) Ltd – which is the holding company for the group’s operations in Europe, Middle East and Af- rica and Asia/Pacific region – show that operating profits dropped from

$55.7million to $22.6 million.

A directors’ report attached to the accounts state that they are satisfied with the performance and that the group intends to further develop its activities over the coming year.

The company had accumulated profits of $58.5 million at the end of January. Cost of sales dropped from $100 million to $35million, while operating expenses increased marginally from $299.9 million to OSLUR Row rttletone

The company’s largest operating expenses in 2008 was ‘research and

development’ where $136 million was spent. This represented a drop of $19 million on the R&D spend in 2008.

The company employs 2,030 people with 1,215 engaged in production/re- search and development, 369 in sales and marketing, 343 in administration and 103 in management. Staff num- bers increased in 2008 from $144 million to $154 million. The com- pany paid no dividend to the end of January in 2008.