Category: News

A FINAL decision on revised plans for the construction of a long-awaited Crusheen stop on the Western Rail Corridor will be made tomorrow, April 10.

A decision on the development, which includes a new 90-metre platform, a 17-bay car park, a telecom and equipment room and a bicycle shelter, is expected from planners at Clare County Council tomorrow afternoon.

A campaign to create a Crusheen stop on the Western Rail Corridor has been underway for more than a decade.

Government funding of € 1.5 mil- lion was allocated for the development when the Ennis to Galway section of the Western Rail Corridor was reopened on 2010.

Clare County Council previously granted planning permission for a station at Crusheen in June of 2011. However, a fresh application for a revised plan for the station was submitted to Clare County Council in September of last year.

The main difference between the current proposal and the one granted planning permission in 2011 is a reduction in the number of parking spaces sought – which has been reduced from 47 to 17. A platform shelter which was part of the 2011 planning permission is not mentioned in the current planning application.

THE manager of the St Francis Credit Union in Ennis has warned that financial pressures are driving people into the arms of moneylenders.

Louie Fay says people are being “pushed to extremes” and forced to pay exorbitant borrowing rates.

Mr Fay was speaking last month at a seminar hosted by Citizens Information Centre and Alliance of Social Protection of Recipients.

The event at the Temple Gate hotel highlighted the impact debt is having on Clare households.

Mr Fay said, “For me the push is to push people towards moneylenders. I use the word legal but I would use it with a question mark because I don’t believe there is such a thing as a legal moneylender. For example, € 500 over six months, a person will pay € 150 interest. Whereas if they go up to the Credit Union they pay € 15 interest. And that’s what happening. MABS will verify this. People are being pushed out to extremes.”

He also critcised the lending practices of some banks. Mr Fay said, “I had somebody come in to me lately. This lady had a job and wasn’t earning big money. She was saving € 500 a month. When I looked at her pay packet, I asked her how she could save € 500 a month. She said, “What I do is, I save first and then I live.” I thought that’s pretty serious. She had been saving € 500 for 60 months. That works out at € 30,000 saved over five-year period. She needed to get some work done on her house that was going to cost € 55,000. She went to the bank and said I need to borrow € 25,000 on top of my € 30,000. They took the application. She nev- er thought about this idea that she would be refused. It never crossed her mind. When she went back to pick up the money, she found that the bank had approved € 5,000.” He continued, “I thought about it afterwards, the bank didn’t refuse the loan. They offered her € 5,000. So in the stats that the banks are throwing at us saying they are lending, that (situation) did not come under refusal, it came under the customer not taking the money.” Mr Fay told the seminar that tough new regulations and the consolidation of smaller credit unions would have a big impact on the sector. The meeting heard that lending at St Francis Credit Union has fallen from € 20.3m in 2008 to € 11.8m in 2012. He said, “2013 is probably going to be worse than that. The issue is demand for lending has dropped. People have lost confidence. People are not confident about their jobs, they are not secure in doing what they want to do. Mr Fay said credit unions also had to shoulder some of the burden for fueling a lending market that caused the economy to crash. He said, “We’ve got to put up our hands because we were part of the problem, as credit unions we were part of the problem. We bought into some of that bad lending. Some credit unions did, some credit unions didn’t. We need to learn from what has happened in the last five years.”

THE pressure of household and personal debt is creating major mental health problems for people, a meeting in Ennis has heard.

Denis Corbett, co-ordinator of the Clare Money and Advice Budgeting Service (MABS), said the service is observing first hand the impact debt of having on families and individuals. He said, “I have seen the stresses and strains that indebtedness and the lack of money has on a person’s mental health. We are going to have to start putting resources into this. It is a problem.”

He was speaking last month at a seminar hosted by Citizen Information Centre and Alliance of Social Protection of Recipients.

The event at the Temple Gate hotel highlighted the impact debt is having on Clare households.

Mr Corbett also said that there has to be an emphasis in education on responsible budgeting

He explained, “In MABS we are talking about people drowning in a river of debt and we are there at the very end pulling people out. But somewhere upstream there’s been a hole in the ditch and people have been falling into it. What we need from an educational aspect is to block that hole in the ditch.”

Mr Corbett told the meeting that the profile of people seeking help from MABS has changed drastically over the past 10 years.

He said, “What we saw happening in the last number of years in this country was that it was indeed a financial tsunami that hit us. The thing about being hit with tsunami is that by the time it arrived at our doorstep and hit our homes, it started way back and way out at sea.”

He added, “At the start typically the profile of the person we would see coming into us would be someone with a difficulty with a loan, a credit card or a moneylender. That was the sort of profile of that we were dealing with. That all changed and the next thing we were dealing with people with mortgage problems.”

Mr Corbett said that while new personal insolvency legislation “isn’t ideal, it is a start”.

He added, “At least we have this now. We didn’t have anything like this in Ireland before. I’m hopeful that it will start to provide solutions and make things much clearer because what we need is stability.”

Liam O’Connell, a solicitor now working with MABS, said 10 years ago it was “virtually unheard” of that a person would have their home repossessed.

He added, “In 2007 there was only 50 houses in the entire country repossessed. That went up again in 2008. It went up to 96 properties from the mainstream lenders. Since then we know it’s gotten worse. It’s deteriorated. In the last quarter of 2012 there were 238 cases issued as regards repossessions. There were 178 cases concluded and 11 orders granted. That’s part of the mortgage crisis. It is a very, very significant problem.”

DELAYS in processing social welfare payments are causing major hardship for Clare families, a meeting has heard.

The Clare Citizen’s Advice Centre has said that many people seeking making social welfare claims have to wait up to nine months before receiving payments.

Ann Marie O’Reilly, Advisor for the Citizens Information Centre, was speaking last month at a seminar hosted by Citizen Information Centre and Alliance of Social Protection of Recipients.

The event at the Temple Gate hotel highlighted the impact debt is having on Clare households.

The meeting heard that the centre raised the issue with the Government in a pre-budget submission last year.

Ms O’Reilly said, “Everyone knows the waiting list for all benefits are extensive. There is no quick fix for a benefit. No matter what benefit you go for, you’re going to be waiting. Carers allowance, disability allowance, invalidity pension, you’re talking possibly nine months plus. It’s going to be at least six to eight weeks before you even get a text or a letter stating that. We’ve people coming in after six or eight weeks asking, ‘Will you ring them?’, ‘How long more will it take?’. You just have to wait. The delays in processing benefits are causing major hardship.”

Ms O’Reilly said the majority of queries to the centre in Clare relate to social welfare payments.

She continued, “In 2007 the majority of our queries were social welfare. That was it. In 2010 we had a significant increase in queries about redundancies, constructive dismissal, minimum wage, everything. It was a complete change for us. It’s been changing over the years. The main thing I find in particular in Clare is that it is all social welfare queries at the moment. You might get one or two queries about something else but at the moment it’s social welfare, employment and debt. That seems to be a major factor. We seem to be referring a lot more people to MABS.”

The meeting, chaired by Ennis man Dermot Hayes, also heard from Professor Kathleen Lynch, University College Dublin, and Siobhan O’Donghue, Director of Migrant Rights Centre.

THERE was been a heavy visible Garda presence in a Clarecastle estate over the the Easter weekend as armed units from Limerick monitored the troublespot.

The gardaí were responding to the latest incident that involves one house in the estate, which culminated in a fire early on Good Friday morning. No-one was injured in the fire which was attended by local fire services and no real damage was reported.

The suspicious fire, which gardaí are investigating is the latest in a series of incidents that has greatly concerned local residents, incidents that have seen a house and car damaged on more than one occasion. There have also been reports of men armed with slash hooks and other weapons around the house in question on different occasions over the past four weeks.

“It is ridiculous what’s going on,” a concerned resident who called the offices of The Clare People , told us: “One or two nights cars have driven into this lovely quiet estate with the lights off and men with balaclavas got out and smashed windows and attacked a car,” she said.

Gardaí have acknowledged there is an ongoing issue in the estate and have confirmed that they are keeping a presence in the area to ensure the situation doesn’t escalate.

“The windows of this house have been smashed in a couple of times now and windscreens of cars have been done as well. There are children in the house and someone is going to be seriously hurt if this is allowed to go on,” the caller told us.

One neighbour who also didn’t want to be identified said that the house has been subject to a number of late night attacks over the past few months.

“There are children in this house and on more than one occasion we have all been woken up by screaming as a group of men arrived to the house. They are in and out in minutes, breaking windows and shouting and roaring. We’ve called the Guards and in fairness they are here in no time, but the men are gone as quick,” she said.

“The windows in this house and the door is no sooner replaced than there’s another incident, always at night. I’ve seen the weapons. We are definitely frightened this doesn’t get rightly out of hand, someone could be killed,” she added.

Over the Easter weekend there were a number of Garda cars parked in the estate at various times and an emergency response unit from Limerick also parked at the entrance to the estate.

The incidents are not thought to be related to another ongoing feud within the town of Ennis.

ONE man was airlifted to hospital while at least two other removed to hospital by ambulance following a traffic accident on the main Ennis to Kilrush Road on Holy Thursday afternoon.

Traffic on the N68 was disrupted at Lissycasey for three hours following the incident.

An elderly man had to be cut from the wreckage following the crash, which occurred at the Ennis side of the West Clare village at approximately 12.30pm.

He was then taken to the local GAA pitch from where he was airlifted to hospital.

A passenger from his car and the driver of a second vehicle were removed to hospital by road ambulance.

Fire crews from Ennis along with HSE paramedics and gardaí attended the incident.

This follows an incident last month when a mother and her two children escaped with minor injuries following a collision involving an articulated lorry and two cars near Lissycasey on Tuesday, March 19.

The collision occurred at around 8.30pm at Crown approximately five kilometers west of Lissycasey on the main N68 Ennis to Kilrush road.

The woman and her children, aged between 7 and 10, were travelling in one of the cars involved in the incident.

They were taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick by ambulance as a precaution.

The occupants of the other car and the lorry driver escaped uninjured.

The road was closed for more than two hours.

Gardaí from Kilrush are investigating the accident.

ANOTHER late night aggravated burglary in Kilmihil has sent shock waves through the West Clare community, with many people now living in fear.

According to Clare County Councillor Bill Chamber (FF) “Anyone living alone is living in fear, especially vulnerable people such as the elderly and disadvantaged.”

He was speaking in the aftermath of a Holy Thursday night aggravated burglary during which a gang of three armed men broke into a house in the Knockalough area of Kilmihil.

Carrying iron bars the three entered the home of a 61-year-old man and threatened him.

They left the house on the main Ennis to Kilmihil road shortly af terwards with a sum of money.

Gardaí in Kilrush are investigating this latest aggravated burglary and are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward.

Two elderly brothers from Kilmihil were also the victims of an aggravated burglary before Christmas.

“The Government has to lift the moratorium on Garda recruitment. We need more gardaí and we certainly cannot do with less,” said Cllr Chambers.

“There is a lot of fear out there at the moment.”

“The whole judicial system has to be looked in respect of this type of crime,” he said adding that such crimes need to be fast tracked through the court system and the criminals put behind bars as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Gardaí in Ennistymon are appealing for information following an aggravated burglary in a rural area of Clare last week.

An elderly married couple were subjected to a frightening ordeal when a group of intruders broke into their home in the Inagh/Connolly area in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

It is thought that two or three people entered the home, which is an isolated rural area. A quantity of cash was taken.

The couple were unhurt but are said to have been left extremely traumatised by the incident. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating and have appealed for anyone who may have noticed any suspicious activity in the area to contact them at 065 7071020.

A Garda spokesperson said, “They were traumatised and very upset. It was obviously a very frightening experience for them.

They have been getting support from their neighbours and family. They have been extremely upset by it. Everyone in the area has been upset by it.”

Gardaí are also urging people to call and check in on any elderly neighbours living in their area.

“It is something we would encourage people to do, calling into elderly neighbours.

“It is important, especially in rural communities, that people call in and check on their neighbours.”

THE site which contained the outline of five buildings constructed to floor level also had exposed service pipes, a concrete trough like structure that proved a drowning hazard if it filled with water during heavy rainfall and some discarded waste including a razor, bottles, broken glass and a disbanded sign advertising three bed semi detached houses for sale.

Mother Jean Kavanagh told The Clare People how she had to bring her five year old daughter for a tetanus shot after she ran on to the site after a ball and fell.

The concerned mother said that a wooden fence has been erected at that point of entrance since the incident, which has proved successful at that end of the estate, but large areas still remain dangerously exposed.

Brian Canny is one of the unfortunate homeowners who look directly on to the derelict building site.

“Since my family moved into the estate in 2008, there has been little or no work done on the site,” said the young father who had planned on raising his family in a friendly and safe neighbourhood.

Cluain na Laoi Kilkishen is currently divided into two parts with approximately 30 houses accessible from the main road.

This part of the estate appears to be complete, however 12 semi-detached homes at the back of the estate are accessible only through a temporary entrance off a side road.

Three of these houses remain unoccupied, but the remaining nine have young families as householders.

As well as the dangers of the building site, concerned resident have raised fear about the lack of public lighting facing at the back of the estate.

Cassandra Dinan explained how a child was almost knocked down by a reversing car due to the lack of proper lighting, only to be saved by the screams of a neighbour.

“We are trying to be reasonable because we know the economic climate is not easy. We all know we must pay the property tax as that is the law, but we get frustrated when we hear that estates have been finished to a reasonable level when they are expected to pay the tax,” she said.

The small community has bonded over the issues and filled all of the forms required of them so as to allow a bond to be released to the builder to finish of this part of the estate.

Ms Dinan said that the group would be happy if this were to happen but no progress has been made on this issue since last December.

Adding his support to the young families Michael Hogan of Kilkishen Tidy Town’s Committee and the Local Community Development said the village was working hard to enhance the aesthetics of the area, but this remained an eyesore.

CLARE County Council said it is unlikely that housing estates like Cluain na Laoi will be made exempt from paying the residential property tax, even though it was added to the household charge exemption list at a late date,

“The list of estates for exemption from the property tax was compiled in accordance with criteria issued by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and following a comprehensive assessment by Clare County Council of all estates in accordance with that criteria according to Director of Services Ger Dollard.

“The key test was whether the estate was in a “seriously problematic condition” i.e. incomplete to a substantial extent and without services such as roads, footpaths, public lighting, open space etc,” he said.

“Persons who were exempt from the household charge but are now liable for the property tax are not now retrospectively liable for the household charge.” The council official said there was no provision to add to the exemption list as it is carried out by Ministerial order.

“I would expect that the list would be reviewed on an annual basis to take account of progress made on developments which may remove them from being in a “seriously problematic condition” category,” he added.

“Both developments at Kilkishen and Sixmilebridge are on the Council’s active list for progress. We are satisfied that any public safety issues have been satisfactorily dealt with and we are working with the developer to achieve progress on issues on both estates. Work has been undertaken and we would expect further works to take place in the short term.”

Local Councillor John Crowe (FG) said he believed Cluain na Laoi should have been on the tax exemption list, similar to another estate in the East Clare village of Kilkishen.

“The people of Kilkishen have reason to be aggrieved. There are two estates in Kilkishen in that situation and one is still exempt,” he said.

Cllr PJ Ryan (Ind) said he was also of the belief that a resolution to the payment of part of the bond would have to be found, even if it meant the county council buying the material directly for the suppliers. The Cla re People attempted to contact the builder yesterday (Monday) but had no response at time of going to press

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TWENTY beds have been reopened at a Limerick hospital to alleviate chronic over crowding at the regions only 24-hour accident and emergency department.

Patients from Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary have been subjected to long waits and hours on trolleys as the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick struggled with patient numbers at it’s A&E.

On Wednesday chief executive of the Mid Western Regional Hospitals Group Ann Doherty announced the reopening of the 20 beds at St John’s Hospital in Limerick.

A statement from the HSE said she was supported by the Minister for Health Dr James Reilly, the Special Delivery Unit and the HSE in her decision.

In the lead up to the announcement a large number of very sick patients were presenting with acute medical conditions particularly respiratory complaints at the hospital, placing the already pressurized hospital in an even more chaotic state.

The HSE confirmed that there has been no indication of a flu outbreak.

“We have had a succession of acutely unwell patients over the age of 70 presenting at the ED. The majority have required admission to a bed. All inpatients are reviewed three times a day to assess their fitness for discharge. However, the reality is that every bed in the hospital is occupied by somebody who needs to be there,” explained Ms Doherty.

“There are no delayed discharges due to people waiting for Fair Deal home care packages or because of inappropriate stays,” she added.

“We are very much aware of the limits of the present Emergency Department and construction has commenced on a new department which is expected to be operational in two years,” she said.

Meanwhile a risk assessment is currently being conducted at the hospital under the direction of the local fire service.

Limerick County Council, as the Fire Authority for the Mid-West Regional Hospital inspected the overcrowded A&E following a complaint.

The HSE has until Friday to completed the Risk Based Assessment.

A spokesperson for the HSE said, “We are very much aware of the inadequacies of the present emergency department and construction has commenced on a new department which is expected to be operational in two years.”

THE economic recession is hitting Lahinch Golf Club, with the annual accounts for 2012 showing that the county’s flagship course has been hit by a loss of 500 fee-paying members in the last three years.

It was revealed on Friday last that a drop in new membership numbers in the past year has contributed to a financial slide of a 46 per cent decline in profits for 2012.

The figures are contained in the latest annual report showing that the club, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2017, saw profits drop by € 248,084 from € 540,231 in 2011 to € 291,947 last year.

Plummeting revenues from entrance fee levies on new members is the main factor behind this drop in profits, with the figures for 2012 drop- ping by 94 per cent from € 262,999 in 2011 to just € 15,000 last year.

This rate of loss has also been magnified by over the past three years the Lahinch has lost 500 fee-paying members, a statistic that was revealed by club captain Ray Hennessy in the report to the annual general meeting that took place on Friday last.

In 2012 membership dropped by 87 from 2,772 to 2,685, a figure that follows on from the loss of 75 members in 2011, a year in which an additional 98 members were granted leave of absences from the club, although many are expected to rejoin.

In a response to tackle the dropoff in membership, the club last year slashed entrance fees for new members from € 25,000 to € 10,000 and also proposed a new intermediate category of membership.

However, the financial figures also show that the drop in membership monies have been offset in part by a seven percent increase in green fee income in 2012 to € 1.13m.

A collapse in green fee traffic post2008 saw a decline of 45 per cent in revenues from the € 1.87m that was garnered in 2007.

This drop saw the club record a combined operating loss of € 1m in 2008 and 2009.

However, a restructuring at the club that plays host to the prestigious South of Ireland Amateur Championship every year saw it return to profit in 2011 when an operating surplus of € 97,626 was recorded.