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AN ALLEGATION that planning has gone wrong because of the role that politicians play in the process was levelled in October, with the charge coming a former chief planning officer with Clare County Council.

Brendan McGrath, a consultant planner with Clare County Council, said that clientelism has become endemic in the Irish planning system and has come to supersede the public good as a planning consideration.

In his new book, ‘Landscape and Society in Contemporary Ireland’, Mr McGrath conceded that “something has gone wrong” in the Irish planning system, which he argues does not serve the common good.

“The political system functions to support individual landowners. Clientelism gets in the way of consideration that are more supportive of the broader community. It [political interference in planning] is an obstacle to the common good, which is what the planning system should be about,” he said.

“Even at a very local level clientelism is not helpful. The decisions are not made with the landscape in mind, instead decision are made because of who owns what land. That is not about the wider best interests.

McGrath argues that it is not individual politician who are to blame for this process but rather the planning system, which allows for rampant clientelism.

“It’s not as though politicians are looking to make lots of money on these things [planning decisions], but it is putting personal interests before decisions that effect more people,” he said. “If things were being run properly, if there was no clientelism, the real planning arguments would hold sway rather than these local influences that get in the way.

“Councillors have a duty to the people that they represent, so if someone comes to them an says they want something zoned X, Y or Z, then the councillor is quite entitled to take that on board.

“When these type of considerations override the way that decisions are made then it is contrary to proper planning and development. That is the order of the day in local government where zoning decisions are made.

“Even with simple planning application, when the decision lies with the county manager. But even in these situations representations are made to managers and to their offices. And on occasion these representations can be given excessive weight.”

Brendan McGrath’s book, ‘Landscape and Society in Contemporary Ireland’, was published in the first week of October by Cork University Press.

A MAJOR employment boost could be on the way for North Clare in the months ahead as Ennistymon based sign company Data Display are on the verge of signing a landmark contract with the New York City Department of Transport.

The company, which has been one of Clare landmark industries over the last 30 years, has developed a unique solar-powered signage system that can display the length of time until the next bus arrives at a bus stop.

The system, which is currently on trial in the Staten Island area of New York City, could be spread city wide as part of a major upgrade of the entire public transport system due to take place in 2014.

While the tender process for this redevelopment has yet to be undertaken, Data Display are understood to be in pole position to win the lucrative signage contract.

The new solar-powered signs allows busses to contact directly with signs to give real-time information about how far away their bus actually is.

“In many respects public transport in the US, both in terms of quality and usage, has lagged behind its Eu- ropean counterpart for many years, but they are now looking to leapfrog ahead with live signs and apps,” said Paul Horan of Data Display.

“One of the key aspects is the low power usage.

“This low power system which can be powered by solar panels means that they don’t need any wires,” he said.

Data Displays, which already employs hundreds of people in its Ennistymon factory, gain a foothold in New York after electronics giant Siemens brought it in as a sub-contractor to install signs in the city’s subway system in 2005.

“Data Display has always had an international focus, managing to provide electronic displays from Seattle to New York, from Dublin to New Zealand,” continued Mr Honan.

“Customisation is a very important part of what we do, with customers not only desiring a finish that fits with their own specific environments, but also having different background systems with which we must interface.”

While no details of the 2014 citywide contract for New York City have yet been released, it is understood to include thousands of sign and will be worth millions of dollars to whatever company is successful.

THE sun began to shine in Clare in June and once it started, it just wouldn’t quit. As the county spent much of June soaking up the rays, the tills in north and west Clare were busy ringing as tens of thousands of tourists descended on Lahinch, Kilkee, Spanish Point, Liscannor and Fanore.

The heat-wave has been described as a Godsend for tourism industry in the county, with ‘no vacancies’ signs being dusted off in hotels and B&B’s all along the Atlantic Coast.

All of last week the roads leading to our coastal resort towns and villages were filled with families in search of the beach. Those visiting Lahinch, Spanish Point and Kilkee were forced to park a long way from the beaches as throngs of people made their way to the Clare coastline.

According to Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, the past week was a reminder of the good old days. “Last week was reminiscent of the heady days of the 1970s. It was tremendous, there were droves of people coming from all over the country to rediscover seaside fun and there wasn’t a room to be had in north Clare.

“I think everyone up here went off the Prozac for a week and enjoyed the sun instead,” he said.

Michael Vaughan went on to explain that any issues arising from the hot weather were competently dealt with locally.

“We had a lot of traffic issues in the area but they are issues that we’d be happy to have any day of the week. Credit to the local gardaí, they were out on point duty and managed an unexpected situation really well.

The Cliffs of Moher is on line to record its busiest ever year, which could see the county’s leading tourist attraction hit one million visitors.

According to year-to-date figures obtained by The Clare People , number visitors to the Cliffs are up by more than 10 per cent on last year – and are predicted to hit 961,400 by year end.

“For the Cliffs of Moher and larger towns like Ennis, the tourist number are very good at the moment, mainly because the American bus tourists are really back this year.

“So a 10 per cent increase in numbers at the Cliffs wouldn’t surprise me at all. The number wouldn’t be quite as good for local provider however – we would be aiming for a 5 to 6 per cent increase in number overall this year.”

The Cliffs of Moher is now expected to record its busiest every year in 2013 – passing out the 939,772 who visited the centre in 2007.”

A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE bachelor farmer and former general election candidate was revealed as the mystery buyer of two Clare hotels.

JJ McCabe from Clarecastle confirmed to The Clare People that he paid a total of € 625,000 for the Ashford Court Hotel in Ennis and the Kilkee Bay Hotel.

The Ashford Court was sold at auction at the beginning of this month for € 305,000 – € 90,000 more than the reserve.

The Kilkee Bay Hotel remained unsold at the end of the same Allsop Space auction, with auctioneers stating it failed to make its reserve of € 315,000.

Mr McCabe, whose land sold for € 18.8 million in the biggest deal in Clare during the property boom, told The Clare People he was at the auction in the Shelburne Hotel in Dublin and regretted not purchasing the West Clare hotel when he returned home.

He later called the previous owners and purchased the 41-bedroom property with bar and function room facilities for € 5,000 over the reserve – € 320,000.

The colourful Clarecastle man, who also has property in France, said he had plans to have the Kilkee Hotel open for the busy summer season.*

“We are working feverishly and hope to have it up and running for the quickest possible time. We take it over in April and will begin work then. The interior décor is the main problem that we will deal with,” he explained.

The 74-year-old also had plans to hold discos and other entertainment in the hotel during the summer months.

“There is no recreation in Kilkee. People need recreation and entertainment,” he said.

He estimates there will be ten fulltime jobs at the hotel to begin with, which will expand with the business.

The need for more local employment was one of his platforms when he last ran for election in 2011, which he contested as an Independent candidate.

“I am fulfilling a promise made during my failed general election campaign,” he said.

Plans for the Ennis hotel were not as clear-cut.

“I will be opening it alright but in what capacity I don’t know yet – maybe as a bed and breakfast or hostel, something along those lines,” said the eccentric property owner and farmer. Mr McCabe said he is not a complete novice when it comes to the hotel business.

His first ever job was in the Regent Palace Hotel in Piccadilly, London.

“I worked from the kitchen up. It was the first job I ever did. I wasn’t management but I got to know different areas of the business from the kitchen to the rooms and so on,” he said. *Mr McCabe opened the Kilkee Bay Hotel during the Summer.

THE number of civic receptions and other civic functions ordered by councillors at Clare County Council skyrocketed in 2012 – reaching its highest level on record, it was revealed during the first week in February.

Councillors ordered eight different social events in the year, compared to just three in 2011.

These eight ceremonies included four civic receptions, two civic recognitions, one mayoral reception and one civic welcome.

Figures obtained by The Clare People showed that the number of civic ceremonies asked for by elected members has increased year on year since the beginning of the recession.

According to Clare County Council’s own annual reports, councillors hosted three civic receptions in 2006, four in 2007 and five in 2008.

In 2009 there were six ceremonies, including four civic receptions and two civic welcomes, with seven events in 2010, including five civic receptions and two mayoral receptions.

This number fell to just two civic receptions and one civic recognition in 2011 before the eight different events which were hosted by councillors in 2012.

The events were generally hosted in the offices of Clare County Council, Áras Contae an Chláir, and involved an amount of food and drink and sometimes entertainment. It was unclear what the costs are from staging these civic events.

The largest civic reception held in 2012 took place on June 14 when President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, was officially welcomed to Clare following a motion put forward by Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind).

Other ceremonies in 2012 were held for the Inagh Camogie Team, the Environment Committee of the Committee of the Regions and a civic welcome to those taking part in the Shinty Hurling/Camogie International Festival.

There were also events to honour the Samaritans for 30 years of service in Clare, to the unveiling of a plaque in memory of the passengers from Clare who were on board the Titanic, a reception to honour Keeva Corry who won the Under 11 and Under 12 World Dancing Championships and a civic recognition ceremony to honour Noel Pyne who has competed in the South of Ireland Championships each year for the past 50 years.

THERE were increased sightings in Ennis during August of a “rogue” fox blamed for killing three dogs in a housing estate in recent weeks.

Authorities issued a warning over the behaviour of the fox amid fears it could attack small children. County dog warden and Clare ISPCA officer Frank Coote said he has received numerous reports of sightings since highlighting the fox attacks last week.

The animal is believed to be moving through land in the Tobertascáin area of the town. Mr Coote said the fox was responsible for attacking and killing the dogs.

“To be honest I didn’t really believe it at first. It’s rare enough for something like this to happen. But I have the evidence of it, these dogs were half eaten. I interviewed the families. I took photos. These dogs were all attacked in properties,” explained Mr Coote.

Though instances of fox attacks against humans are rare, Mr Coote said there is evidence in England that it has happened before.

The long-serving animal welfare officer says this is the first time that he has encountered a “rogue fox” in the Ennis area.

“I’ve met a rogue badger before up in Lees Road when it opened. It was chasing people up and down the path but it had eaten a poison. I’ve seen one rogue fox in Tulla before but never around Ennis,” he said.

Mr Coote said he would be con- cerned that the fox could attack small children. A trap has been laid in the area where the fox is though to travel through. But so far it hasn’t been caught. Mr Coote is liaising with officers from the National Parks and Wildlife Services. He said efforts would continue to trap the fox.

“It has quite bad mange and I was talking to a vet who said he would probably die during the winter anyway. But this fox is a danger and I will stay out there to try and catch it”, Mr Coote added.

IT WAS announced in early January that the West Clare town of Kilrush would be central to the national Famine commemoration, as it had been selected to host the main event.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan announced that the maritime town would be the host location for the National Famine Commemoration Day, on a date later announced as May 12.

The annual observance in Ireland commemorating the Great Famine has been organised officially by the Government since 2009. The main commemoration event is held in a different place each year, rotating among the four provinces of Ireland.

Events at the main venue usually include lectures, arts events, and visits to places connected to the Famine.

Local events also take place countrywide, while a minute’s silence is encouraged for schools and workplaces. Kilrush planned a very successful 10-day event.

Then Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Mairead O’Brien, welcomed the news stating, “Kilrush has historically been very closely linked with and was greatly affected by the Great Irish Famine. It is fantastic to see this link being recognised nationally.”

John Corry, Kilrush Town Clerk, said, “It is a huge honour for the town to host this event in the year of the Gathering and I hope that many visitors from near and far will visit our great town during this Commemoration.”

Kilrush is recognised nationally as one of the locations worst affected by starvation, disease and emigration between 1845 and 1852. The famine years brought much hardship to Kilrush. Evictions, fever and cholera reduced the population of south-west Clare to such an extent that it has never again attained its pre-famine numbers.

Famine author and Clare-based Historian Ciarán Ó Murchadha, who supported Kilrush’s bid to host the event, said, “I can state without any fear of contradiction that although all of Clare suffered grievously, no part of the county endured as much as Kilrush town and Kilrush union, and for such a prolonged period. That being the case, I am delighted to learn that Kilrush will host the next National Famine Commemoration event.”

IN NOVEMBER a Clare mother pledged to take her case against the Heath Services Executive who took away a medical card from her son to the gates of Dáil Éireann and straight to Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Noreen Keane from Cratloe outlined for case to The Clare People , saying that she was on the brink of having to stop buying essential medication for her eight-year-old son following the loss of his discretionary medical card.

To highlight her case Ms Keane outlined plans to stage a protest in Dublin – her last ditch attempt to force the HSE to reverse the decision.

Her son Ronan Woodhouse (8) was born with Down Syndrome and suffers from 13 related conditions including acute asthma, a cardiac condition as well as sight and hearing difficulties.

According to Noreen, the cost of medication, therapy and doctor visits for Ronan costs an average of € 2,300 per month. The HSE contacted Noreen last February, informing her that Ronan’s discretionary medical card was to be revoked.

This decision was upheld after an appeal, prompting Noreen to begin a campaign last month to highlight her son’s situation. In the last number of weeks the “Ronan’s Cause” site on Facebook has gained more than 4,000 friends.

Noreen and Ronan also protested outside the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Limerick in October, at which time Taoiseach, Enda Kenny (FG), committed to meeting her. This meeting has yet to take place.

“They are putting my child’s life at risk by taking away this medical card. I just can’t provide all these services for him so how am I supposed to prioritise things? Should I reduce the medication that he needs or do I stop bringing him to the doctor?” she told The Clare People .

“I’m going to keep fighting for this. I’m tired, I’d be lying if I said otherwise. I am a single mother. But I am going to keep fighting for this. I don’t have any other choice. Should I stop buying oil for the house or should I stop buying his medication? Then if the house is cold he is going to get sick.

“I work full time and I’m being penalised because I work. We are a oneincome family. When the medical card was issued to Ronan eight years ago we were a two-income family so we are much worse off now than when the card was originally issued. So how can they [the HSE] say that the system has not changed?”

CLARE’S dark history at the centre of the Magdalene Laundry system was laid bare by the McAleese Report, which was published in February.

The report identified 261 Clare women who spent time as unpaid slaves in these institutes between the 1920s and 1980s – the fifth highest of any county in Ireland.

The real number of Clare women in these asylums was likely to have been far higher, however. No Clare laundries were identified in the report, despite the insistence by many Clare people, including the Kildysart-born former trainee nun Patricia BurkeBrogan, that a laundry operated in Ennis for many decades.

Two decades ago, Ms Burke-Brogan turned whistleblower on the Magdalene system through her acclaimed play ‘Eclipsed’ and in February she claimed that the McAleese Report only scratched the surface of a nationwide problem, where women were subject to slave labour conditions by Church and State.

According to Ms Burke-Brogan, the report failed to “grasp the real horror” of what went on in laundries around the country.

“This report went into what happened in 10 or 11 laundries – there were 42 of them around the country. They were in Galway, they were in Clare, they were everywhere,” she said.

“It softened the story. That’s my main complaint. For someone who hasn’t experienced or seen what was going on in those places. I find it distressing. In some ways what’s in this report makes it worse.” The Clare People also discovered an account given by one woman, who claimed to have been physically apprehended by nuns at St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis when she was just 15, and brought away to work in a Magdalene Laundry.

This woman’s story was part of a submission by the Justice for Magdalenes Group to the United National Committee Against Torture. The woman, who was not identified in the report, said she had worked as an unpaid maid in the hospital at the time and was targeted by the nuns when she was discovered speaking to a male hospital porter.

“One nun came in this side entrance [of the chapel in St Joseph’s] and she calls out to me. And I could see the other nun coming in the other door. And I felt strange – somehow I felt, something within me, something was going to happen to me,” she said.

“They grabbed me. And they bundled me into this car outside the chapel… I was crying. And I remember them saying to me, ‘you’re going to the Magdalene Laundry’.”

The McAleese Report also detailed the stories of three Clare girls, age 16 and 17, who were ordered to a Magdalene Laundry because their foster parents no longer wanted them. According to the report, this was common at the time as State payment for foster children ended once the child turned 15.

SHANNON suffered a major jobs blow in December when it was revealed that one of the longest serving companies in the Free Zone will close its manufacutring facility in 2014.

It was announced through a public relations firm in Dublin that Kraus and Naimer would shut down the manufacturing arm of its operation in the industial estate early in the new year.

“Production at the facility, which supplies electrical switchgear, will cease at the end of January 2014,” a statement issued by through FleishmanHilliard revealed.

The announcement was made to the total workforce of 63 by senior management from the company’s parent group in Austria.

The employees were told that “the closure is due to the business sustaining losses for the last number of years, which have been driven by the impact of weak customer demand due to the global recession.

“The decision follows previous efforts to restructure the facility and a move recently to enter short working time arrangements,” the statement continued.

“It is with deep regret we have had to make this decision which has been made due to ongoing and unsustainable losses incurred at the Shannon facility,” said Ted Naimer, Global President at Kraus and Naimer.

“We will be entering into a process with staff over coming days in relation to an orderly winding down of the facility, and thank them sincerely for the contribution they have made to the company,” he added

Kraus and Naimer established its facility, which is involved in the manufacture of a variety of electrical switches for industry, in Shannon in 1973.

SIPTU, which had been in talks with the company about strategies to maintain its operation in Shannon, said workers are shocked and angered to learn of the company’s decision to end production.

The union says further talks are due to take place at the company next week.

It will explore all avenues open to maintaining employment and if necessary trying to secure the best redundancy deals possible.