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REVELATIONS that almost €10 million has been spent in three years protecting troops passing through Shannon Airport have caused outrage among groups opposed to the use of the airport by the US military.

Roger Cole, Chair of Peace and Neutrality Alliance, described the spend as “just the latest example of an Irish political elite wasting Irish taxpayers’ money and leading this country deeper and deeper into an even greater economic disaster.”

Department of Justice figures put the cost of protecting the troops and providing Garda security at €8.6 million between 2006 and 2008. This is in addition to the cost of Irish army patrols for the same period which came in at €964,702.

The figures also reveal that 243,000 US troops passed through Shannon in the first 11 months of 2009 – the equivalent of an army battalion a day. It’s believed that the business was worth €7 million to the airport bem Oet-lmm osu (eren

And one million military person- nel have passed through the airport en route to wars in Iraq and Afghani- stan since 2006.

It 1s too early to say whether there will be any impact at the airport from the recent decision by US Pres- ident, Barack Obama to deploy an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan in 2010.

Others who were critical of the spend include peace activist, former soldier and UN peacekeeper, Edward

Horgan.

He said there is “some small eco- nomic benefit in that it provides a small number of jobs at Shannon Airport. However, the fact that we are doing this, participating in or facilitating crimes against human- ity for economic gain, in my view makes it far worse than if we were doing it for free.”

He added that such use of Shannon “destroys any concept of Ireland as a neutral state”.

A spokeswoman for Shannon Air- port said that the airport is “not the only airport in Europe with this kind of business.”

She said the US military airline has “no real ties to the airport and can move to another location very easily. Therefore we do not see this business as providing the basis for long-term development of the airport. It is just an additional income stream.”

Justice Munister, Dermot Ahern said the annual bill for security for

the troops is more than justified.

“The deployment of Garda resourc- es 18 based on an assessment by the garda authorities of the measures necessary to ensure the safety and security of personnel staff, passen- gers and property at Shannon Air- port,” he said.

A YOUNG Lissycasey man who died yesterday has been remembered as a kind person who loved gaelic football.

Brian Casey died in hospital in Limerick following injuries he sus- tained in an incident in Ennis on St Stephen’s night.

The 26-year-old was educated at primary school in Lissycasey and is a former student of St Flannan’s Col- lege, Ennis. Mr Casey, who taught

mechanical drawing, was involved in a relationship with a local girl for several years.

He is survived by his parents Mar- tin and Eileen Casey, brother Niall and two sisters Aileen and Martina, who flew home from Chicago on Sunday night to be by her brother’s bedside in hospital.

Mr Casey’s father is also a well- known figure locally, having worked in the building trade for many years.

Martin Casey was the foreman of the first group of volunteers who

travelled to Missionvale in South Africa with the Building of Hope project two years ago to build a feed- ing centre for Lisseycasey nun, Sr Ethel Normoyle.

Building of Hope organiser, Ol- ive Halpin said she was “absolutely shocked”.

“This is a terrible tragedy for the Caseys and for the whole communi- ty. Martin is a gentleman and he was so generous and kind on the project. My heartfelt sympathy goes to him and to his family,” she said.

Mr Casey was an active member of Lissycasey GAA club. He was a member of the panel when Lissy- casey won the senior football club championship in 2007 and devoted a lot of his time to helping out with the club’s underage football teams.

A relative last night paid tribute to him, describing him as one of the “nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.”

‘He was a great person, always jok- ing and kidding around. He was re- ally one of the nicest guys.”

He was also a keen and committed sportsman.

“He was huge into football. He played with Lissycasey he would have been on the panel when they won the championship. He was mad into football. He also helped out with the training of younger teams at the club. He was big into it,” said the relative.

Locals offered prayers for Brian at a special Mass in Lissycasey on Sun- day night. He will be laid to rest on Thursday.

THERE were no shortage of visits from the jolly man in red in east Clare this year as he popped in to see his little friends at lots of venues in the run up to Christmas.

Children were delighted to see him arrive last Sunday by horse and cart to the Wuthering Heights pub. Santa met his littlest friends and checked his list before heading off again to meet and greet more children

He visited the Smith O’Brien club- house last Thursday and in Kilk-

ishen, large numbers of children brought their parent to meet their favourite man.

The Santa clan are so fond of Kil- kishen that Mrs Claus came along as well to the clubhouse to meet the pees Co ae

More than 70 families turned out for the fun day and parents enjoyed a cup of tea or a glass of mulled wine while children enjoyed the bouncy castle, face painting and games. Do- nated items for the cake sale helped to fund the party.

Santa made a dramatic entrance by

chopper in Ballina when he arrived at the Ballina/Boher GAA clubhouse.

Among the other venues which Santa visited was Feakle. The hugely popular visitor was listening to lists at the Feakle community centre, where his visit coincided with the annual Christmas fair to raise funds for the upkeep and improvement of Neem ee Kee

The hall committee will be organ- ising a number of events over the coming weeks to raise cash for the up-keep of the facility.

The next will be tonight, December

29, in Bohans. Teams of four are in- vited to take part in the fund table quiz.

Santa also visited a number of other venues around east Clare before tak- ing off for Lapland and his biggest work day of the year and many of the events he attended raised money for good causes.

recalls Brian O’Connell’s own troubled relationship with al- cohol as well as looking at Ireland’s

attitude towards alcohol. From hang- ing out with daytime drinkers in a bar in Tipperary, to spending time with the ‘Forgotten Irish’ in London, talking to governments across Eu- rope, and meeting A&E workers and teenagers, Brian casts a sober eye on Ireland’s love affair with alcohol and the damaging consequences that can result from it.

Also, some well-known personali- ties recount their own struggles with alcohol throughout the book, from Des Bishop to Mary Coughlan to Ni- all Toibin and singer Francis Black.

Brian, who recently signed copies of his book at Ennis Book Shop, was

delighted to have been included in the listener’s poll.

He said, “I was amazed to get so far in the Liveline Listeners Irish Book of the Year poll. It was a thrill just to be included in the list with so many distinguished authors.

‘To come fifth in the top 10 books of the year is a testament to all the hard work my publishers have put in and also to everyone who contributed to my book and made it the success that it has become.

‘The response so far has taken eve- ryone by surprise and I’m grateful to everyone who has bought the book since its release.”

The top 10 books of the year as voted by Liveline listeners is as fol- Oy

THE operation of Cappahard Nurs- ing Home in Ennis has been over- hauled after the Mental Health Com- mission identified “serious concerns and significant levels of non-compli- ance” at the centre.

Cappahard provides care to 35 eld- erly patients suffering from various forms of dementia and mental ill- nesses.

However, the Commission in its June inspection uncovered a number of “dysfunctional systems” at the home when 20 breaches were identi- fied. The Commission sent its report ‘as a matter of priority” to its Acting

Chief Executive Officer and as a re- sult, the Commission decided that an unannounced inspection would take place within three months.

The report followed the discovery of 17 separate breaches in June 2008, which found that the centre breached mechanical restraint policy.

In its damning verdict on the cen- tre, the Commission stated, “There was a lack of managerial and clinical leadership.

“This resulted in policies not being signed, residents not receiving active and timely reviews and a complete lack of clarity on who was to perform physical examinations.

“Local systems for management

and review of risks were absent. In a single small centre, two separate and complex medication systems were in ej oroe leone

‘A number of residents had no ca- pacity to make informed choices and were dependent on profession- als to provide safe and effective care. Scepticism towards the unit being an approved centre was partially responsible for the current level of compliance.

‘Staff must use the protections af- forded to residents under the act to bring about change and improve or ones

The report concluded that a recent audit found that nurses were spend-

ing up to 90 person hours a week completing non-nursing duties and that the agreed staff complement had not been reached due to staff short- eae

The Commission carried out an un- announced inspection of the unit on September 22 when seven breaches were recorded — a decrease of 13 in the space of three months.

The Commission reported that at the time of re-inspection, a signifi- cant improvement in the practices and procedures in Cappahard Lodge had been implemented since the last inspection.

A report on the care provided to the late Gerard Finn (69) at Cappahard 1s

due to be published next year.

Last night, his daughter Lourda said: “It is an absolute disgrace that serious clinical and managerial prob- lems were found at Cappahard last June three years after the fact that this was pointed out to them.”

She said that the Commission un- covered more breaches in June 2009 Wor DeMLMmOnlOMDOMLONNoMPAGLOlon

Mr Finn had Alzheimer’s Disease and angina, and was admitted to Cappahard Lodge in late December 2005.

During his time there, he was ad- mitted to Ennis General on a number of occasions and he died at the home on June 6, 2006.

Addicts opt for community help

IT WAS truly Christmas on Wednes- day in Killaloe when the special market day brought together Christ- mas goodies, good cheer and a very special cause.

As it 1s a market run largely by producers of beautiful food, the stall holders’ thoughts turned to growers in other parts of the world where food is much scarcer.

To support families in the develop- ing world to become self-sufficient by keeping farm animals, the market held the special day with the aim of buying ten cows for the Oxfam Un- wrapped campaign.

Trader, Anthony Vincent, said the aim was to buy ten cows with cash raised on the day.

“We wanted to have a day when people could really get into the Christmas spirit, pick up some gour- met foods and enjoy the atmosphere as well as support a good cause,” he said.

The extra market day is organised delivery year but this was the first time it has been done for charity.

The local children’s choir sang car- ols, and there were face painters on hand and a live cow to remind people of what it was all about. There was a raffle for a super hamper of market produce, donated by all of the trad- ers with a specially designed piece of silver, a one-off from Anthony and his partner, Marianne. Traders also donated a portion of their takings from the day.

The special market day featured stalls selling gifts, speciality meats specially picked for the festive sea- son, plants, yummy artisan choco- late and much more.

The market in Killaloe will be back to its usual slot next week on Sunday morning, between the waters. The event has become one of the most popular fixtures in the market cal- endar week, with fresh fish, organic veg and delicious artisan chocolate on sale to name but a few items.

MORE than 4,000 calves born on farms in Clare die before they reach six weeks of age each year, accord- ing to official figures from the De- or Danese lmelmvatauUUIRUI Ros

The department’s Animal Identifi- cation and Movement (AIM) system report for 2008 reveals that, nation- ally, 70,000 calves died between birth and six weeks. Based on these national figures, a total of 4,100 calves died on the 5,200 suckler and dairy farms in Clare – while a further 2,00 calves were stillborn.

According to veterinary special- ist, Maureen Prendergast, scour ac- counts for well over half of all calf deaths in Clare. Extreme cases of the disease can result in the death of up to 30 per cent of calves in a herd.

“However, on the majority of farms, calf deaths represent only a small proportion of the costs of a scour outbreak. The biggest costs are treat- ment, additional labour and reduced animal performance,’ she said.

Prendergast, who is veterinary ad- viser with Intervet Schering-Plough, explained that scour is the symptom of a disease caused by bacteria and WAUMEN oe

“Bacterial infection can hit the calf within a couple of hours after birth. The high risk period for viral infec- tion is five to 1O days after birth,” she Sr nLGe

“Vaccinating the cow anytime between three and 12 weeks prior to calving is proven to provide the antibodies in the cow’s colostrum, which will protect the new-born calf. Farmers should consult their vet to discuss the best vaccination strategy for their herds.”

Meanwhile, the ICSA Connaught Ulster vice president John Barron has expressed alarm at proposed changes to the TB regime arising from the need to facilitate the slaughter of cattle that are over 12 months since

their last TB test.

“The new proposals to permit the slaughter of animals that are be- tween 12-18 months since their last TB test is something we have been

looking for.

“However, at a meeting with de- partment officials, it has emerged that the proposed change is to be accompanied by a whole raft of new

bureaucracy,’ he said.

“This includes complex assess- ments which categorise herds into those with less than 20 per cent ani- mals out of test and more than 20 per

cent animals out of test.

“There are severe penalties for any animal inadvertently sent for slaughter over 18 months since its last test.”

IN ITS end of year statement, Enter- prise Ireland reported that 2009 was a year of unprecedented challenge for Ireland’s exporters as a result of the significant drop in global de- mand and the sustained pressure of sterling/dollar exchange rates.

While Enterprise Ireland client companies achieved an estimated €500m in new export sales, total exports fell by approximately 10 per cent to €13bn.

In four of the past five months cli- ent companies recorded growth in export orders. While that growth is small, the companies have risen to LM eCoMmeLaY-0U (oJ OToXoMm-D OX MNO OU ISMED Ro) 010 MB Kio Ite couraging when compared with the situation at the start of the year.

Entrepreneurship and investment in R&D were both ahead of target in 2009 indicating improved confidence amongst client companies as they position to address opportunities in early 2010. 73 new innovative high potential start-ups were supported over the course of the year (10 per cent ahead of target) and 115 client companies were approved funding support for significant R&D.

Although 7,400 new jobs were created by Enterprise Ireland client companies over the course of the year, there was an overall net decline of 19,000 jobs.

Noting the outturn for the year, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan T.D. said that the Government made strategic interventions to protect jobs. Around 7,213 jobs were sustained in the 148 companies supported under the En- terprise Stabilisation Fund which was launched in April to support vulnerable but viable manufacturing and internationally traded services companies, with a particular focus on SMEs.

“Over 450 companies, which were approved for funding under the Government’s Employment Subsidy Scheme, committed to maintain- ing approximately 36,000 full-time jobs.”

Over the past 12 months, Enter- prise Ireland prioritised providing access to finance for client compa- nies through new and existing fund- ing vehicles and through enhanced co-operation with the main banks.

Enterprise Ireland provided fi- nancial assistance to approximately 1,600 companies over 2009. €59m was approved under the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund while a further €93.6m was paid to client compa- nies in 2009 through Enterprise Ire- land’s existing supports such as the R&D and Growth funds.

Enterprise Ireland chief executive Frank Ryan said that during 2009, the agency pursued a sustaining en- terprise agenda that prioritised help- ing client companies through the economic crisis and companies dis- played great dedication and determ1- nation in sustaining their businesses over the past year.

“The answer to Ireland’s chal- lenge remains a return to export-led erowth. That is what drove the econ- omy in the foundation stages of the boom and in Ireland, exports equals jobs,” he said.

THE Mayor of Clare has donated his €1,000 Christmas card allowance to two local voluntary groups that pro- vide services to children and adults with intellectual and physical dis- abilities.

Presenting ©500 cheques to the Clare Crusaders and the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club, May- or Tony Mulcahy said the county was fortunate to have a number of groups supporting children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. These organisations require funds to continue operating and that was why he diverted his allowance to their re- spective fundraising efforts.”

Commenting on the work of Clare Crusaders, Mayor Mulcahy said they performed an invaluable service ena- bling parents and families of chil- dren with special needs to achieve a better quality of life.

“This wonderful organisation pro- vides a variety of services to over 120 children with special needs in the ar- eas of cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome and a variety of other con- ditions. I wish to compliment the or-

ganisation, which is headed by Ann Norton, for fundraising in excess of € 230,000 from voluntary contribu- tions each year to sustain these vital services.” He also paid tribute to the work carried out by the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club and its volunteers, stating that volunteerism was an integral part of the Special Olympics ethos.

“The movement at local, national and international level would not ex- ist today – and could not have been created – without the time, energy, commitment and enthusiasm of its many volunteers,’ he said.

“Shannon Flyers Special Olym- pics Club is much more than just a sporting organisation. It is about the empowerment of individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and re- spected members of society through sports training and competition.”

The mayor said his contribution would help the club in its prepara- tions for the 2010 Irish Special Ol- ympics at the University of Limerick next June when five athletes from the Shannon club will participate in a range of events.