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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.

OVER €320,000 was paid out to sur- vivors of clerical sexual abuse in the diocese of Killaloe last year, accord- ing to diocesan accounts for 2008 which were published last week.

Referring to “the ongoing fallout from the appalling tragedy of sexual abuse by a small number of clergy in the past”, Bishop Willie Walsh said that this continues to demand time and resources for healing and rec- onciliation and that €323,507 was paid in 2008 for this purpose. The payment was funded from part of the proceeds raised by the sale of land at the Bishop’s house in Ennis during 2001.

A further €19,152 was spent on child protection measures which

Bishop Walsh said “reflects the com- mitment of the diocese to ensure best practice by all people in our parish communities who work with chil- dren and young people”.

The 2008 accounts show a defecit of €22,403 with gross income of €1,116,923 and total expenditure of €1,139,326. This is in contrast to a surplus of €165,517 for the previous year when expenditure amounted to €878,227.

Stating that he was deeply con- scious of the fact that the accounts were being published at a time when many were facing financial burdens of their own, Bishop Walsh warned that because of the effect of the reces- sion on its income from investments, the diocese would have to depend more heavily on contributions from

parishioners to meet its obligations in the coming years.

The defecit was worsened by bank interest charges on a bridging loan negotiated in April 2008 pending the maturity of an investment the follow- ing September. The collapse in finan- cial markets before the maturity date for the investment left the diocese unable to repay the bank loan which accounted for an interest payment of €102,450 in 2008.

Bishop Walsh said that many par- ishes were helping with the repay- ment of the bank loan to reduce the interest payment for the coming years.

Exactly half of the diocesan in- come in 2008 came directly from the parishes through a 12.5 per cent con- tribution from their normal annual

income. Investments, mainly in the form of dividends from shares, ac- counted for 42 per cent of income but because of the collapse of the finan- cial markets this source of income will be significantly reduced over the next few years.

Despite this, Bishop Walsh said the diocese remains committed to its social, charitable and missionary obligations which have depended heavily on the investment income in the past. That investment income has been largely the source used to support families and others in need – both at home and overseas – and is applied through agencies such as CLARECARE, North Tipperary Community Services and others as well as supporting on-going mission- ary activity.

IRELAND now looks likely to be wiped off the map of “The World’ following the collapse of Ennis-based consortium Larionovo last year.

Dubbed “The World’, the develop- ment is believed to be the largest ever building project undertaken in the modern era. It consists of more than 300 man-made islands off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emir- ates and was designed to be a scale model of the Earth, filled with hotels and tourists attractions.

The Ireland island on the world was bought by Larionovo for €28 million in 2007. The island was meant to feature a marina, a hotel, apartments and villas along with an Irish-themed pub and a recreation of the Giant’s Causeway.

With the Ennis-based company in liquidation for more than a year, and a group of investors mounting a legal challenge to recoup their money, it is unlikely that any progress will be made on the mini-Ireland for some time if at all.

However, it now looks likely that as a result of the recent upturn in the global economy the rest of “The World’ is going to move on without Ireland.

Development company Nakheel says that it has finished the first phase of the project as planned, meaning all the islands themselves are com- plete. They also say that 70 per cent of the projects islands have been sold

and a number of island are to be de- veloped in 2010.

A spokesman for the development company claims that it is “looking forward to the commencement of construction by owners on several islands next year” – with Germany

believed to be one of the islands to be developed in 2010.

According to Nakheel, more than 33 islands have been handed over to developers as of December of 2009.

‘Some foreign media have a wrong perception of such a _ long-term

project,’ said a Nakheel spokesper- son, who estimated that the entire project could be finished as soon as 2015.

The World islands are composed mainly of sand dredged from Dubai’s shallow coastal waters and are one of

several artificial island developments in Dubai. The population of Dubai has exploded from just 20,000 peo- ple in 1954 to an estimated 1.7 mil- lion today.

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

FOUR people including a one and a half year old boy escaped unharmed when fire ripped through an award- winning pub and adjoining residence in Ennis on St Stephen’s Day.

It took ten fire brigade units al- most 14 hours to bring the blaze at the Aylmer’s Rest pub and restaurant under control.

Fire services were first alerted to the fire, which is believed to have started accidentally, at 8.30am. Four units attended the scene and it was thought that the fire had been brought under control by Ipm.

However flames were again seen shooting from the building soon af- ter and six units returned to the scene at the Turnpike area of Ennis.

The pub, which is located just yards from a sculpture specially commis- sioned in honour of Muhammad Al1’s visit to the town in September, was extensively damaged by the blaze.

A commemorative plaque erected to mark the visit of the former world boxing champion was one of the few items not damaged in the blaze.

The adjoining residence and guest- house also suffered damage in the incident. Four people – owners Frank and Carmel Daniels, their daugh- ter and their one-year old grandson, were in the residence at the time and were all safely evacuated.

Speaking yesterday, the owner’s son Francis Daniels said the pub had been completely destroyed.

“The fire brigades were up around 9.30am and they left around lpm but they had to come back again about a half an hour later. [’d say it was al- most 11.30 that night before they got it under control. Its totally destroyed, I was up there again today for a look and it’s wrecked”.

He added, “We’re going to re-build. We’ll have a big cleanup and hope- fully in three to four weeks they can Start re-building it”.

Formerly called the Gallows, the Aylmer’s Rest has been run by the

Daniels family since 1997.

It underwent an extensive refur- bishment four years ago and has previously been named as ‘Dining Pub of the Year’ by the Dining Pub Ireland guide.

The owners erected a plaque and number of pictures to commemorate the visit of Muhammad Ali to Ennis in September.

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

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.”