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that he believes the measure is “short term gain but to- tally counter productive”.

The renowned Jim Power, Chief Economist with Friend’s First was speaking in advance of his presenta- tion at “Dynamic Regions – Future

Directions in Regional Develop- ment’, which was organised by Shan- non Development to mark its 50th

anniversary. Describing the tax as a “totally counterproductive measure’ he

warned that the “tourism product in Ireland is already under pressure. Getting people to come to Ireland in the current economy is already dif- ficult.”

He said he is in “100 per cent agree- ment with Michael O’Leary about the long-term damage this will do. This tax is a short term measure with

long-term consequences.”

Speaking as workers from the pub- lic and private sector converged on cities around the country for a na- tional day of protest last Friday, Pow- er said the public service employees and unions will have to face facts and “will have to get their heads out of the sand. We have allowed the cost base in this country to get totally out of control over the past decade and that has to be brought down. Any- thing else would be disastrous for the jaUinel none

And he added that with high unem-

ployment in the mid-west, proper uti- lisation of the Task Force appointed by the Tanaiste, Shannon Develop- ment and other agencies is “vital”.

Speaking at the event in Limerick’s Thomond Park Conference Centre, Power said, “Continued ongoing in- vestment in access – by that I mean transport infrastructure such as ports, airport, rail and road, 1s criti- cal for the mid-west economy.

“Also critical for the region and Ireland generally will be a competti- tively priced power supply, without this economic and commercial activ-

ity will be in jeopardy. Broadband infrastructure will be another key business and economic enabler. Ac- cess to high speed broadband is an essential “must have’ on every inves- tors shopping list.

“A highly skilled flexible workforce iS a prerequisite to many FDI compa- nies in their search for a new base. If any of these basic requirements are missing or weak in a region, then it puts that area at a huge disadvantage. This is why it is vital to continue to invest in these key economic driv- ne

TANAISTE Mary Couglan has ad- mitted that the money is not there to implement all of the recommen- dations made by the Mid-West Task Force which was set up in the wake of massive job losses at Dell.

The Task Force was appointed by the Tanaiste herself after Dell an- nounced it was moving all of its manufacturing process to Poland, taking 2,000 wagepackets directly out of the economy and causing fur- ther job-losses in companies depend- ant on feeding the Dell plant.

After his interim report to Govern- ment, Denis Brosnan, Chairman of

the Task Force, said that any further work done by him and the Task Force would be a “waste of time’ unless the recommendations published four months ago are implemented.

Among those recommendations were that the Government should tackle costs in Ireland, to accelerate the regeneration programme in Lim- erick and to improve back to educa- tion allowance schemes.

Speaking before taking the mike at the Shannon Development ‘Dynamic Regions – Directions in Regional De- velopment’ conference last Friday the Tanaiste and Minister for Enter- prise said that while a lot of the rec- ommendations which have a national

context are being addressed, she stressed that “it has to be said that we don’t have the financial wherewithal to implement every recommendation that there is.”

But she promised that she and her government colleagues “will be bringing together two or three items that need to be addressed here in the context of the Task Force here to see if we can find the financial where- withal in next year’s budget to allow that to happen.”

The Tanaiste was speaking to the conference as Government employ- ees took to the streets to protest at proposed cuts in pay and revised work practices.

The Tanaiste told the conference that a “seismic change in attitude” is need in the public sector.

Citing the example of Shannon De- velopment “who did their own reor- ganisation without a word about it” she said that if public sector employ- ees are not prepared to co-operate to get the balance right “then Govern- ment will have to make a decision… everyone will have to take a reduc- tion in their standard of living. Many people in the private sector have done this in order to keep their jobs.

“A lot of people in the private sec- tor have lost their jobs and it is part of my portfolio to try and get those people back to work again and attract

more jobs to this country and support entrepreneurship,” the Tanaiste con- tinued.

Speaking to the conference itself, she said “I believe regional devel- Opment is now more important than ever. To be more competitive and innovative, we need more regional actions on the ground to devise so- lutions to help us on the road to na- tional recovery.

“IT believe the time for strong re- gional development is now. Mobilis- ing the contribution of each region to national competitiveness is at forefront of what we do. Strong re- gions will help us grow and sustain a strong national economy.”

THE curtain came down last night on the 15th annual Ennis Trad Fes- tival. A performance by the Alan Kelly Quartet rounded off the festi- val, which organisers are hailing as AME CLentoe

Committee member Kevin Finu- cane said the four-day festival drew big crowds.

“There seems to have been a good crowd around alright; particularly on the Saturday for the Lunasa gig but there seems to have been good crowds around all weekend. We haven’t got an official figure on the numbers yet but in terms of musicians, there was a big turnout. Talking to the pubs where there were sessions on, there seems to have been a lot of people around. It’s a sign that music brings people to the pubs,” he said.

This year’s festival had been in doubt but its future was secured through increased support from En- nis Town Council, local businesses, the Vintner’s Federation and the ar-

rival of Guinness as main festival Sponsor.

““T think the fact that there was doubt about it, more people came along to support it. Between concerts and ses- sions, CD launches and workshops, there was an awful lot going on. The hotels were full. You couldn’t get ac- commodation anywhere so I think that’s a fair indication of the amount of people that were around,’ added Kevin.

The festival kicked off on Thursday night with a performance by Clare band Moher at the Temple Gate Ho- tel. Saturday night saw some of the best traditional bands face off against each other in the West County Hotel for the Ard Ghaisce na mBuionta, or Great Band Challenge.

Trad band Lunasa drew big crowds to the Auburn Lodge for their per- formance, also on Saturday night.

Sunday saw two legends of tradi- tional Irish music, Frankie Gavin and ‘Tony McMahon, take to the stage for a rare joint concert at the Old Ground Hotel.

THE multi-million euro package to assist Dell employees who lost their jobs earlier this year came a step closer in the last week as the Em- ployment Committee approved the proposal.

Last September the President of the EU Commission José Manuel Barroso announced that the Com- mission had approved an application from Ireland for assistance from the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF).

The grant of €14.8 million would help 2,400 redundant workers in the computer industry in the mid west to find new jobs.

The application however also re- quired the approval of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

Last Thursday at a meeting in the European Parliament, the Em- ployment Committee approved the proposal to grant assistance to the former Dell workers.

Member of the Employment Com- mittee and the only Irish member of the EU Globalisation Fund Working Group, Ireland North West MEP- Marian Harkin, said that the work- ing group took the decision to ap- prove the Dell application following a response from the EU Commis- sion to a number of questions posed by the group.

“It is absolutely crucial that former

Dell workers have access to this fund as soon as possible and that nothing further delays the procedure. It is an expression of solidarity and support from the EU to those who lose their jobs through globalisation and at least it gives a ray of hope to those considering their future plans.

“IT have worked hard within the working group to ensure support for the Dell workers and I am very pleased with the progress so far,” said the MEP for the West, includ- ing Clare.

The mid-west application relates in total to 2,840 redundancies in total, of which 2,000 were in Dell Com- puters and 840 in eight of its sup- pliers and downstream producers. Dell represented 1.7 per cent of the total employment in the mid-west region, a region where unemploy- ment before the Dell redundancies was already higher than the national average.

The total estimated cost of the package is almost €©23 million, of which the European Union has been asked to provide EGF assistance of €14.8 million.

There have been 27 applications to the EGF since its creation in late 2006 for a total amount of over €154 million, helping some 33,300 workers.

The Dell application is the first re- lating to computers. The only other Irish application was for Waterford eee

DESPITE Whitegate’s agonising loss there was still one very happy Clareman in Cusack Park on Sun- day afternoon. It was Sean Hehir, the former Clare and O’Callaghan’s Mills legend who trains the South Liberties side.

“T think we had most of the run of play today. We could have had a bigger score too if we had converted all our chances. Of course I’m not taking away from Whitegate’s per- formance, but I feel we probably just edged it. They are a good team and a good club and I thank them for a great match,’ said Hehir after his team’s victory.

“We barely got through today and we barely got through our county fi- nal but in the end we do our best and so far that has been good enough. Next day we’ll be up against a very classy Douglas side and it will be a very different story. Who knows hopefully our luck will continue.”

His team will certainly have to 1m- prove significantly if they wish to capture this Munster Intermediate ti- tle based on today’s match, but when the improvement and the voyage they have conquered so far is taken into consideration, this again could be yet

another challenge that they can over- come in 2009.

Hehir spoke about all these great hurdles his team have faced and how they have leaped over them with great success. “When I got in- volved with this club first there was so much history I did not understand and know about. They had been in a number of county finals but had lost every time.

“There was a great frustration amongst everyone involved and that did not disappear until we finally became county champions this year. The sense of relief that can now be felt is unbelievable and I think it may act as a catalyst for future success. Hopefully starting with a Munster Kens eae

South Liberties left Ennis on Sun- day with smiles all around. They, like Whitegate, have had a fantas- tic year. Unlike Whitegate they still have a chance to mould it into an even greater year.

Who knows, maybe the extra Clare influence they have stolen this year might just push them into the path of victory once more.

THE county final against St Senan’s Kilkee was only a few seconds over and Micheal McDermott was al- ready casting an eye into his crystal ball – rather than dwell on the signifi- cance of back-to-back championship triumphs he preferred to talk more about Munster.

That meant Dromcollogher-Broad- ford – the team that brought the cur- tain crashing down on Kilmurry’s unbeaten year that December 7 day in The Gaelic Grounds.

“Tt will take very little motivation to get our lads ready for a game against Drom-Broadford,” he said.

How right he was, something that was hammered home in decisive fashion over this hour of football.

“Yes they’re worthy Munster cham- pions but we felt that we left it behind us in The Gaelic Grounds last year,” said McDermott seconds after this 0- 11 to O-5 victory.

“We wanted another crack at them and knew all week that there would be no better motivating factor for us than to have them a here in Pairc

Naomh Mhuire.”

Cue Kilmurry’s most impressive championship display since last year’s demolition job on St Senan’s Kilkee in the county semi-final.

“People say that we didn’t play well in the county semi-final, that we didn’t play well in the county final. People can say what they like, but the Monday week after the county final we went out and destroyed a top- quality University of Limerick side.

“That night I said to Gerard (Mc- Carthy) and to Martin (Cahill) that ‘we’re getting right for this game against Drom-Broadford on Sunday week. We knew that this perform- ance was in us — it was a tremendous performance by everyone out there. They all produced.

“It was the best 60 minutes of the year — what better day to do it than a Munster championship game in our home ground against the Munster champions.

“It was a very strong wind and the one thing I told them was not to be thinking that they had to hit score after score quickly. It was a case of concentrating and then whenever the

scoring opportunities came it was a matter of taking them.

‘They took enough of those chanc- es in the first-half to give us a good lead. When we played in the Munster final we didn’t take our chances and that was the difference between the two sides.

“The most important was not to concede a goal in the second-half — we achieved that and the most sat- isfying thing was once we sucked them into a battle we knew we’d be able to turnover ball and get our own chances.”

It means that Kilmurry now go on the road to Stradbally in two weeks time – in what will be a repeat of the 2004 Munster final that went to a re- play in Tipperary Town before Kil- murry won the day.

‘Tough assignment,’ was McDer- mott’s initial reaction. “Waterford club football is very strong. We’re under no illusions as to the task fac- ing us down in Waterford. We’re up there to be knocked after beating the Munster champions. We have two weeks to prepare and try to get to a Munster final.”

ENNIS Chamber Business School in conjunction with Chambers Ireland and FAS, has announced details of training courses for November to as- sist businesses with managing their credit and getting paid in order to support cash flow.

Rita Mc Inerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber said: “Cash flow is the life- blood of any business, particularly at a time when it can be difficult to ob- tain credit. Therefore Ennis Cham- ber felt a need to address this head

on by providing businesses with an opportunity to up-skill themselves or their staff by providing one and two day intensive training courses.”

The first course “How to Get Paid” is branded as having the potential to turn a businesses fortunes around in the current climate. This course takes place on Wednesday, Novem- ber 11 and will cover topics such as spotting the risks, proper documen- tation, approaches to collections and legal options as well as handouts on forms and layouts, and terms and Fey aTen TBO) e tse

Secondly a two day course on “Managing Credit for Profit” is de- signed to bring the credit manage- ment function into the 21st century. Taking place on Wednesdays, No- vember 11 and 18, this course intro- duces the positive benefit of excellent credit management and how to effec- tively manage credit exposure while also teaching some accountancy skills and prioritisation.

This training is delivered by the Chief Executive of the Irish Insti- tute of Credit Management, Declan Flood, who is a regular contributor

to the national media. He has gained a reputation as a leading visionary in the area by combining the latest thinking with his 20 years of hands on credit management.

Both courses qualify for Continu- ous Professional Development (CDP) hours and run from 9.30am-5pm on each day at the Old Ground Hotel, O’Connell Street, Ennis, County Clare at a cost of €175 per day per participant.

For bookings please contact Marga- ret Neylon at Ennis Chamber on 065 684 2988 or info@ennischamber.ie

THE Banner Ladies maintained their firm grip on underage ladies football on Sunday morning as they completed a three-in-a-row of Mi1- nor A titles. While the champions were dogged against the conditions, against a battling Newmarket side it was only in the final quarter that they really upped the ante, scoring 3-5 without reply to put the result beyond any doubt.

On the flip side, it was another cruel blow to Newmarket who along with suffering defeat to the Banner for the second year in succession, also had a sizeable pool of players on the under 16 and minor camogie sides that lost finals in recent weeks.

They battled admirably for three quarters of this tie but needed a goal to really kickstart any meaning- ful challenge against the perennial champions, especially in the first-half when backed by the swirling wind.

After an evenly matched start that saw Niamh O’Dea kick four of the Banner’s opening five points with Newmarket’s replies coming from Niki Kaiser, Zelica Brown and Jenny Kelly, there wasn’t a lot to separate the sides in the breezy conditions. However, the game received it’s first major turning point in the 23rd minute when Sinead O’Keefe’s ball over the top was gathered by Naomi

Carroll to score the only goal of the first-half. That score was to prove the difference for the next 20 minutes as Newmarket tried to regain a foothold in the game. By half-time, Niki Kai- ser and Niamh O’Dea had swapped points to leave the scoreline 1-6 to 0- 4 but on the restart, a resurgent Ban- ner side took up the ascendency after Laura McMahon had cut the deficit to four.

Louise Woods was instrumental in stopping the Newmarket supply and with Shonagh Enright, Niamh O’Dea and Katie Cahill all willing to carry the ball forward at every opportunity, Newmarket had to remain resilient to hold them out. Chloe Morey was strong in defence, Roisin McMahon and Carol Kaiser scrapped for every ball but eventually, the Banner’s re- lentless pressure had to pay off and

after five successive wides, Niamh O’Dea finally got them back on track with a point from 30 metres.

In a brief revolt, Ann Marie Hayes grabbed a wonderful point for New- market but once Catherine Dolan scrambled the Banner’s second goal in the 48th minute to increase the lead to eight, Newmarket’s heads be- gan to drop.

An experienced Banner side took

full advantage when Niamh O’Dea soloed through unchallenged before unleashing her effort to the net and the Munster award winner would tack on a further 1-2 to lead her side to another memorable victory.

Not only that but for captain Lorna Higgins, Katie Cahill, Shonagh En- right, Kathleen O’Keefe, Niamh Ca- hill and Sinead O’Keefe, it was the crowning of a Minor A double in camogie and ladies football, a sig- nificant achievement in an already success filled year.

WITH a little over five minutes to go, this game rested on a knife-edge. It shouldn’t have. Just three points separated the two, Smith O’Brien’s ahead on a scoreline of 1-5 to O-5.

A total of 16 minutes had passed with neither side able to register a score. The opening quarter aside, Smith O’Brien’s — beaten finalists in this competition last year after going down in a replay against Ennisty- mon — were by far the fitter and more creative team. By all reckoning, they should have wrapped up the game before their late onslaught arrived. That they didn’t close the door on St Breckan’s meant the north Clare side would always believe they could get back in the game. With 12 minutes gone in the second-half, they al- most did. Tony Shannon had just put them back to within three of Smith O’Brien’s when he almost levelled things up. He latched onto a low ball 15-yards out from goal, kicking from the ground soccer-style and his shot looked destined for the net. Eugene Cusack, in goal for the Killaloe club, made a fantastic save to keep the ball out. It broke to Sean Neville who aimed for goal but his shot slid left and wide. Ten minutes later, Brian Scanlan produced another goal save for Smith O’Brien’s when he blocked what looked like a certain goal for St Breckan’s and Smith O’Brien’s — though running their luck to the max — remained in control.

If Cusack and Scanlan’s contribu- tions were crucial then so too were the displays from John Cusack, Kevin McCarthy and, in particular, Shane Byrne. The latter produced a quality display, popping up in all

areas of the field but his distribution remained the key component of the game.

While the focus among those dot- ting the inexcusably unlined “‘side- line” may have been on the former Munster and Ireland rugby interna- tional Anthony Foley — who clocked in a muted enough game at full-for-

ward — the work-rate of Byrne and John Cusack, the power of McCarthy and the agility of Eugene Cusack are what really caught the eye.

As early as the 15th minute Mc- Carthy had Smith O’Brien’s in the driving seat. He goaled after eight minutes and pointed on the quarter hour with another score from An-

thony O’Sullivan — a cousin of the Kerry All-Star Declan O’Sullivan — wedged in between. In total, it gave Smith O’Brien’s a four-point lead. John Stack with three and Eric Mur- rihy were the only names on the St Breckan’s scoresheet by the time the break rolled around.

After those goal opportunities for

St Breckan’s slid by, Smith O’Brien’s re-focused once more.

Trevor Howard kicked his side four ahead with five minutes left and 60 seconds later, Stephen McCarthy — who was influential after coming off the bench early in the game — pro- vided an insurance goal.

Into injury-time but there was more to come. Fittingly, Byrne stepped up for the final two scores. Firstly, a point and two minutes into time add- ed on, a beautifully taken goal.

A ten-point win, deservedly so, and yet another football title wintering in the east of the county.

TRICK-OR-TREAT. A phrase that aptly summed up Whitegate’s Hal- loween adventure on Saturday as they followed the well worn path of Clooney/Quin, Clonlara and Broad- ford into the latter stages of the pro- visional intermediate championship.

The trick for Whitegate was mani- fold, beginning with the Munster Council’s decision to take the game out of Whitegate to the enclosed con- fines of neighbours Scariff, a venue that has been a veritable graveyard for the club over the past two years. It also refers to the county’s unwel- come tradition of only leaving a week between the county final and the Munster campaign, insufficient time really to prepare for such an im- portant competition.

Add in the fact that Whitegate tend to start slowly and this could have been a a real Halloween horrorshow for the east Clare side. Crucially though, through the ever depend-

able George Waterstone, who again scored all of Whitegate’s four first- half points for the second week in succession, the county champions only found themselves two points in arrears at the break at 0-6 to 0-4.

With the wind at their backs, Tip- perary champions Davins_ should have been cruising by half-time but while they were dominant for long periods through centre-back anchor Lee Mackey and the running of William O’Dwyer and Noel Butler, their inability to turn possession into scores repeatedly frustrated them. As did the dogged performances from Whitegate’s John Bugler, Thomas eC) I EiCe Mr TiOMMWF:lKo nice) etee

The treat duly arrived with a storm- ing second-half display from the home side who, in keeping with the festive day, appeared like a side pos- sessed as they threw off the shackles of a below par opening period.

The Davins two point advantage was wiped out after only four minutes when the impressive John Minogue

and a Waterstone free gained parity for their side and from the puck-out, Thomas Holland put Whitegate into the lead for the first time with an in- spirational score from halfway.

Now brimming with confidence, Whitegate proceeded to haunt the Davins with their half-back line of Thomas Holland, Brendan Bugler and Jason Malone again proving to be Whitegate’s strongest line by cut- ting off the South Tipperary side’s supply to their front six.

It forced the Tipperary champions back and allowed Whitegate to lay siege on the opposition goals as Wa- terstone converted another free be- fore Stephen Malone completed the purple patch with a goal in the 37th minute.

It came out of nothing really as Carrick Davins full-back Richard McGrath beat Malone to the ball in the right corner, only to dig his hur- ley into the heavy surface. Malone did the rest by gathering possession and ghosting past the remaining de-

fenders before hammering the ball past goalkeeper Ed McGrath.

Not having scored in the half while conceding an unanswered 1-6, that goal proved to be the death knell for Carrick Davins, who all too easily dropped their heads after that. Mikey Cronin secured their first point in 16 minutes through a free in the 40th minute but by now, Whitegate were rampant and further points from Wa- terstone and captain Patrick Minogue saw them pull 1-10 to 0-7 clear by the turn of the final quarter.

In an effort to regain a foothold in the game, the Davins brought back Shane Butler as a third midfielder but that tactic only played in White- gate’s hands even further as former county senior Thomas Holland now had a free reign in the half-back line to sweep up any danger that Carrick would pose.

An Jan Fahy lineball and another Waterstone effort cancelled out the Davins mini-revolt of two Cronin frees, with the final nail in the Tip-

perary champions’ coffin coming when Lee Mackey blazed a 20 me- tre free over the bar instead of at the intended target before substitute Michael O’Brien finished the scoring for the home side.

A typically spirited fightback en- Sured there were no real scares for the east Clare side on this occasion but the celebration bonfires are still burning strong as Whitegate march on to another home tie for the sem1- jnbOr-N IS