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CLARE farming is on the verge of a civil war, with farmers from the north and west of the county examining the possibility of picketing Clare Marts in Ennis later this week.

A group from the Ennistymon branch of the IFA met last night (Monday, February 10), to discuss a possible picket and boycott of the Ennis Mart. This follows plans announced to sell Ennistymon Mart to supermarket chain Aldi, which prompted more than 450 people to attend a protest meeting in Ennistymon last week.

Ennistymon IFA say they feel “incredibly let down” by members of the board of the Clare Marts, which includes many prominent IFA members. It is not yet clear if a sale has been agreed between Clare Marts and Aldi, with neither organisation willing to comment on the subject.

“We are being totally ignored and left in the dark, and that is adding to the frustration that we are feeling. There are a number of IFA members on the board of Clare Marts – a number of prominent members. We feel that they are selling out farmers in North Clare,” said Pat O’Donoghue from Ennistymon IFA.

“This company [Aldi] were selling sprouts for 9 cent just a month ago. How can something like that be proIrish farming? We feel incredibly let down on what they [the board of Clare Marts] are doing.

“The word had gone out before the meeting that the mart had already been sold and we thought that that might put people off from attending. But in the end we had more than 450 people there from right across the local community.

“We are looking for a meeting with them but we get no answer. We are having a gathering ourselves tonight [Monday, February 10] and the top of the agenda the possibility of picketing the mart.”

Speaking to The Clare People yesterday, Jackie Fitzpatrick of Super- valu in Ennistymon said that, while she recognised the need for competition, jobs would be lost locally if Aldi moves into Ennistymon.

Fitzpatricks currently employ 70 local people, paying out € 1.4 million in wages annually, last year, and spend more than € 400,000 with local suppliers.

“Obliviously I accept the need for competition but if a retail outlet like Aldi were to open a store in Ennistymon there would be consequences for local business. I would anticipate job losses both in my business and in other local business. ” The Clare People contacted Clare Marts yesterday who said they had nothing to say on the proposed sale.

THE cost of the unprecedented run of storms which battered the Clare coast over the past five weeks has grown to a massive € 36.8 million according to new estimates published yesterday by Clare County Council.

This means that more than € 12 million worth of damage was inflicted on the county over the past two weeks – with the giant sea swell and high winds of the St Brigid’s Day storm causing the lion’s share of this new damage.

This, coupled with the € 24 million worth of damage cause during the storm in early January, has left Clare County County with the possibility of a large hole in its budget should central government fail to make sufficient money available.

It was also revealed at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council that the local authority has already spent € 750,000 of its own money on repairs and clean-up operations to date.

County Manager Tom Coughlan admitted yesterday that the local authority has no budget for this € 750,000, admitting that the council was spending money that it did not have.

The council’s Corporate Policy Group (CPG) met before yesterday’s main council meeting and compiled a letter for the Government which stated that the council couldn’t, in good conscience, continue to spend money on repairs without central government giving firm details of the funding that will be made available. The most expensive storm damage was recorded in Lahinch where the council estimates that € 6.064 million will be required to fix damage done to the promenade and surround areas. The cost of repairs at Cloughaninchy in Quilty is now estimated at € 4.716, with the bulk of this going towards the re-construction of more than two kilometres of sea armour. There was also significant damage at Kilbaha in West Clare (€ 3.498 million) and New Quay in north Clare (€ 3.449 million) where roads and sea walls have been destroyed. Other badly damaged areas include Carrowmore (€ 1.628 million), White Strand/Doonmore (€ 1.550 million), Clahane in Liscannor (€ 1.487 million), Kilcredaun Irish College (€ 1.226 million), Carrowdotia, Moneypoint (€ 1.115 million), Doolin (€ 1.025 million) and Liscannor itself (€ 1.011 million). Serious questions have also been raised as to what agency or agencies are responsible for coastal defenses. There are 14 different agencies which have some interest in coastal and river flood defenses. “Until there is some clarity as to who is responsible for these areas this is going to be a very difficult project. We are all talking about providing leadership, but we cannot lead unless we know where we are going,” said county manager Tom Coughlan. “There are a lot of agencies involved, but there is no clarity who is responsible. We need a co-ordinated approach and that has to be led by Government. This is something that is outside the scope of Clare County Council.”

THE awards continue to roll in for the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, with the North Clare tourism location involved in the business end of three separate awards over the past week.

This glut of awards and recognition comes in the wake of the best year for tourism number on record at the Cliffs of Moher – with almost 950,000 people visiting the world famous tourism site last year.

Management are hopeful of breaking the one million visitor mark this year – and maybe reclaiming the title of Ireland’s most visited tourism site for the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

The website of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has just been shortlisted for the Samsung Digital Media Awards in the ‘Best in Travel and Tourism’ category, with the results due to be released later this month. This comes just weeks after the website was shortlisted for the prestigious Eircom Golden Spider Awards, finishing runner-up.

“The website is designed to have a high visual appeal with full screen background images and exciting video and 360 degree image content bringing the site alive. It can be viewed on mobile devices including smartphone and iPad,” said Geraldine Enright of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience.

“Visitors planning their trip have use of an interactive map with suggested walking routes and can even book their tickets online at a dis counted price. The website is fully integrated with social media including Facebook and Twitter, YouTube, TripAdvisor, Pinterest and Stumble- upon. The story of the Cliffs of Moher is told along a timeline reaching back into the distant past.”

Meanwhile, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience last week was presented with a Silver Merit Award at the 2014 CIE Awards for Visitor Attractions. The awards are chosen from an independent evaluation of feedback surveys completed by over 17,000 CIE Tours International customers.

MONTHS of fundraising paid off yesterday as, what has been described as life changing equipment for people with Cystic Fibrosis in Clare and Limerick, was unveiled at the University Hospital, Limerick.

The fundraising drive by TLC4CF, which raised more than € 205,000, resulted in the € 160,000 Bronchoscope suite and an Exhalyzer D which cost € 44,000.

The Bronchoscope suite will be used to carry out internal examinations on the lungs and airways of children with Cystic Fibrosis.

Paediatric CF consultant Barry Linnane welcomed the launch of the new equipment and said, “The Bronchoscope suite allows us to visualise the internal structure of the lungs, and to obtain samples from the lower airways of children with CF. With this approach infection and inflam- mation can be detected even before the patient develops symptoms, facilitating early, targeted treatment.”

The installation of the new Exhalyzer D means the regional hospital is the first hospital in Ireland to acquire such specialised equipment. This piece of high-tech equipment has just been installed in the Paediatric CF Unit and provides a unique system of measuring and monitoring pulmonary function in children and adults.

Welcoming the launch of the new equipment, Ann Doherty CEO UL Hospitals stated that, “the added bonus of this equipment is that it allows us to attract more clinical trials and research to Limerick because it is a very sensitive and can measure clinical outcomes.

“New developments in technologies and research have the potential to improve the quality of life for people with CF and other inherited illnesses.”

MEMBERS of Kilrush Town Council accumulated salaries and expenses to the total of € 72,114.97 last year.

The biggest earner was Cllr Mairead O’Brien (Ind), who was mayor for the first six months of the year and claimed € 11,046.55. As well as her councillor’s salary Cllr O’Brien was also entitled to a mayoral allowance of € 1,487.50 for the period.

Also influencing her council expenses last year was the St Patrick’s Day trip to New York, which cost the council € 2,045.88 and costs associated with the Kilrush Famine Commemoration which she worked on as mayor.

Cllr O’Brien also attends meetings of the Clare Local Development Company on behalf of the council ,which also added to her expenses list.

Current Mayor Cllr Paul Moroney (Ind) also received a mayoral allowance for the last six months of 2013 bringing his expenses to € 9,369.43.

All nine councillors received a basic taxable salary of € 4,160.94 as well as a tax free allowance for attending meetings of € 2,036.

Cllr Christy O’Malley (FF) who was seconded to the town council following the death of Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF) in February received a salary and an allowance for just 11 months.

Councillors were also entitled to receive a mobile phone allowance up to the value of € 400.

Not all councillors claimed expenses beyond their salary and meeting allowance however.

Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) did not claim any conference or mobile phone expenses, while Cllr Moroney and Cllr O’Malley did not claim phone expenses. Cllr Ian Lynch (FG), like Cllr Clyne, did not have any travel expenses to conferences or seminars. The remaining seven councillors spent € 12,125 attending meetings, seminars and conferences outside of Kilrush.

Cllr Liam William (FG) was the least travelled of the seven however, claiming just € 74.44 for a trip to the Inn at Dromoland for the launch of the Integrated Plan for the Shannon Estuary.

With the exception of the AMAI conferences (a body which represents the interests of municipal bodies in Ireland) there were just five conferences that attracted more than one councillor.

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) and Cllr Liam O’Looney (FF) both attended the conference of Reconstructing the European Economy; Debt Relief in Ireland and a conference on Facing the fear of Alcohol and Mental Health in Ireland.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) and Cllr O’Brien also attended the Tourism Annual Conference in Ennistymon on separate days, while Cllr O’Malley and Cllr Williams made their way to Dromoland for the launch of the Integrated Plan for the Shannon Estuary.

A NIGERIAN born information technology consultant has confirmed his intention to run as a candidate in the 2104 local elections.

George Atijohn (47) intends to seek election in Ennis. The married father of two has lived with his family in the county capital for over 14 years. He has worked as a management and IT consultant. He currently volunteers as computer instructor in Ennis for the Clare/Limerick Education Training Board (ETB).

This is Mr Atijohn’s first time entering the political arena.

He says he wants to help achieve the “unprecedented transformation of County Clare through viable and sustainable economic structures”.

“Economic regeneration at the local level will ultimately improve the economy of the country,” he explained.

He wants to see Shannon Airport as a catalyst for job creation.

Mr Atijohn explained, “There is a new law in aviation (fifth freedom rights) which enables an airline to fly from its home country to a second country for example like Shannon in Ireland, picks up passengers there and fly to a third country for example New York in the USA. Most flights originating from West Africa pass through the European airspace enroute to the USA. Deals can be made with these airlines to make a stopover in Shannon for their passengers to undergo pre-clearance”.

Mr Atijohn said he wants to see greater focus on drugs awareness programmes in Ennis.

He also believes greater encouragement of multiculturalism can boost the local economy in Clare.

“Harnessing human capital resources of the other ethnic nationalities can improve the economic wellbeing of the town/county,” he added.

Mr Atijohn says he supports affordable housing initiatives through the Public Private Partnership approach. He hopes all candidates will be afforded the opportunity to discuss issues at a public debate.

CARRIGAHOLT Postmaster Patrick Gavin’s house has been cut off from the mainland for the last five weeks due to the storms that have been battering the West Clare coast.

With road access is so poor, Patrick has been cut off from much human contact, especially that of his daughter, who he has not been able to see for the last fortnight.

As a sufferer of epilepsy, it’s too dangerous for her to visit in case she becomes ill and cannot access the medical attention she needs.

“It’s starting to take effect you know.

It’s starting to get to me now,” Mr Gavin said.

The Carrigaholt Post Office flooded last weekend for the second time in a month.

“The whole place is destroyed,” he added.

Mr Gavin says that the worst part of the most recent flood damage for the local residents is the lack of action from the Government.

Referring to a visit from Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Brian Hayes, Mr Gavin said the focus of politicians and repair work should be on people affected by the floods, not public amenities:

“He should have come to meet the people, you know and give them some heart.

“The minister should have told them we have it under control, we’ll work at getting funding and getting the place fixed up”.

Mr Gavin claims that more attention should be paid to local residents affected by the storm before attending to public areas such as the promenade in Lahinch.

“I think the six residents up where I live might be a little more important than the prom in Lahinch or the unfortunate people in Quilty that are being flooded out of their houses,” he said.

He also added that plans for coastal erosion should be given priority over proposals for other council and public projects.

Despite the disconnect that Patrick Galvin sees between politics and people the Carrigaholt postmaster was adamant that young people should still get involved in local politics but change their emphasis;

“What we need is people who want to wear the jersey, who want to do it for people, not for themselves,” he added.

The devastation in Carrigaholt and neighbouring areas has seen many homes cut off for the second time in recent weeks as the weekend floods and high tides undid much of the progress that had been made with repairs over the past month from Storm Christine.

QUEEN Elizabeth II’s only son-inlaw visited the county last week unbeknownst even to the Clare people he met.

The lesser known of the British Royal Family, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence was part of the RNLI Coastal Review Group that visited the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter Head Quarters in Shannon, the RNLI station in Lough Derg and the Kilrush RNLI Life Boat.

The husband of Princess Ann identified himself as Tim Laurence and ingratiated himself by his laid back attitude and his interest in all things nautical.

Pauline Dunleavy from the Kilrush RNLI said the crew found him to be a “really lovely gentleman” and it was only days after he left and with the help of google they worked out his royal connections.

The former British Navy Lieutenant Commander was particularly impressed with the condition of the three-year-old Kilrush lifeboat and the work of mechanic Martin Brew.

Kilrush RNLI were so delighted at getting the green light from the coastal review team to continue work along the West Clare coast, they did not notice the royal visitor.

Tim, the second husband of the queen’s only daughter, was born the son of a London salesman and joined the British Royal Navy as a young man.

He was quickly promoted through the ranks eventually reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 1986, he was appointed as Equerry to Queen Elizabeth, a post he would occupy for three years.

Equerries to the Queen are most commonly high-ranking military officers who attend to her during public appearances and royal events.

It was during this time he met his future wife, Princess Anne.

WAITING times are down in all the University Limerick Hospitals, including Ennis and Limerick, but people are still waiting months for routine procedures.

That was the message from the first public meeting of the new hospitals group board, who also heard that while the hospital group had once again run millions of euros over budget, the over run was significantly lower than previous years.

Chief Executive of UL Hospitals Ann Doherty told the meeting that the hospital group had met govern- ment targets in 2013 and was now aiming to be ranked in the top three Irish hospitals by 2018.

According to the figures presented the longest any patient had to wait for a routine out-patient appointment was one year, a figure acceptable to Government targets.

No patient was waiting more than eight months for scheduled in-patient or day case procedures and no child was waiting more than eight months for a scheduled in-patient of day case procedure. According to the figures released all routine and urgent colonoscopy targets were also met.

Waiting times in the regions only 24-hour emergency department re- mains an issue however.

In December 58.4 per cent of patients were seen in under six hours. However 25 per cent of patients still hadn’t been treated within nine hours of arrival at A&E.

The group had however a financial over run of € 10.119 million which is 4.1 per cent of its annual budget allocation.

Ms Doherty said that the over run, or what she described as a financial challenge, at the beginning of 2013 was € 21.7 million or 9.1 per cent.

“The sizeable improvement in financial performance is noteworthy and is attributed to a number of factors such as additional budget alloca- tion, generation of additional income and the formation of sub committees to monitor, approve and provide visibility and accountability at every organisational level over all areas of spend.”

Launching its three-year strategic plan for the hospital group, Ms Doherty also outlined the plans for this year.

A ten-bed Intensive Care Unit is to be completed as well as an eight-bed High Dependency Unit.

She said that plans are also in place to maximise the use of bed capacity across the hospitals in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, and to recruit additional neonatal and obstet- ric consultants.

Plans for 2014 amongst others include more beds for the main hospital in Dooradoyle, Limerick, the opening of a temporary interim paediatric emergency department and continued capital investment.

The new Parkinson’s, stroke, breast and dermatology building, which is being developed with the voluntary sector is ear marked for 2015.

Other works including the new much needed Emergency Department for Limerick is expected to be completed in 2016.

A key objective for the board is to secure capital for a new maternity unit on the Dooradoyle campus.

A COASTAL Management Report dating back to 1989 made recommendations for reinforcement works and protection works along the coast of Clare, that still have not been implemented 25 years on.

Three members of Clare County Council – Cllr Oliver Garry, Cllr Christy Curtin and Cllr Johnny Flynn – are to attend next week’s meeting of Clare County Council armed with the document hoping to make the case that the people of West Clare cannot wait another 25 years for such work.

As the council re-count the cost of coastal damage following the storm on St Bridget’s Day, February 1, the council members are to call for emergency funding to be released by Central Government immediately.

The people of the west coast have also lost patience with central Government and are demanding immediate action, as well as a long-term strategy.

Publican and Community Activist in Doonbeg Tommy Commerford told The Clare People , “Emergency flooding must mean emergency flooding. We don’t need any more ministers running around telling us we have a problem.”

The people living along the west coast and the Shannon estuary are well aware of the problems they are facing following another weekend of high winds and high tides.

“The emergency funding must be released straight away especially for vulnerable areas,” said Mr Commer- ford.

“There should be no consultants required. This is a job that common sense can repair.”

Agreeing with Mr Commerford, Ailish Connolly from Kilbaha said a plan must then be made to address coastal erosion.

“There needs to be a coastal strategy at national level. Now is a time for action,” she said.