Category: News

NEW figures show that a total of 15 people were killed or seriously injured on Clare roads in 2012.

Two people died as a result of fatal injury collisions while 13 people were seriously injured.

Both fatal crashes occurred in the Ennis area. There were six serious injury collisions in the Ennis and Ennistymon areas and one in Kilrush.

The figure represents a rise on the combined figure of 11 for 2011.

In total, 156 people have been killed or seriously injured on Clare’s roads since 2006. The highest number of road traffic collisions (37) occurred in 2007.

Gardaí arrested 12 people between December 17 (2012) and January 6 (2013), compared to 15 people during the same period 12 months ago.

No fatal traffic accidents occurred during Christmas but there were five non-serious injury traffic accidents, an increase of four on the same period last year.

Road accident statistics released by the Clare Garda Davison also showed that there were 36 incidents of material damage to vehicles during Christmas 2012.

In a statement, Gardaí said 2012 was a “tragic year for collisions in Western Roads”.

A Garda spokesman stated, “Fatal collisions have increased slightly to 35 deaths in 2012. Serious injury collisions increased by 40 per cent across the region. Both increases are significant in that they are running contrary to national trends. An Garda Síochana extends sympathy to the families of all concerned. The area of County Galway is of most concern where fatal collisions accounted for the tragic deaths of 18 people and serious injury collisions left 31 people with life changing injuries.”

Garda statistics show that 34.3 per cent of fatal collisions have occurred on Sundays; 25.7 per cent of fatal collisions have occurred on Fridays while 63 per cent of fatal collisions have occurred between 8am and 8pm.

Gardaí are reminding motorists to never drive while under the influence of alcohol/drugs; drivers and passengers to always wear safety belts; drivers to drive at safe and appropriate speed; avoid using mobile phones while driving.

Pedestrians and cyclists are encouraged to wear high visibility clothing.

THE announcement that funding is finally to be granted for the construction of a rescue station for the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard brings to an end a campaign lasting more than two decades.

Over the years, the Doolin Unit has grown into Ireland’s busiest unit of the Coastguard, regularly responding to multiple call-outs during busy days.

Long delays were experienced securing the land needed for the facility and gaining planning permission only for funding, which had been “ringfenced” by previous administrations, failing to materialise.

The campaign for a new centre has gathered momentum over the last 10 years. Indeed, the tragic deaths of three Clare youths in the waters off Doolin in November of 2005, and the week-long search which ensued, inadvertently did much to raise the issue in the public and political consciousness.

It was reported in The Clare People at the time that facilities were so cramped at Doolin that bodies recovered from the sea had to sometimes be stored in a small 25 by 30 foot room, which could also be in use by up to 18 Coastguard volunteers at the same time.

“This facility was deemed necessary in the mid-90s. Even then, more than 20 years ago, it was clear that this was badly needed,” said North Clare Senator, Martin Conway (FG).

“It was obvious even then the location was primitive. There were no changing facilities, no shower facilities, no facilities to lay out a body that had been recovered from the sea. A lot of equipment had to be located in the homes of volunteers, boats had to be located in the back of Mattie Shannon’s house.

“It was totally unacceptable given how busy the unit is and how strong the need is to put together a wellequipped crew quickly in an emergency situation. It was appalling to think that the busiest unit in the country was also one of the worst equipped.”

Funding for the facility was first announced by the Department of Transport and the OPW in 1997 – but this projected failed to materialise. Funding was also said to be “ringfenced” by several TDs and ministers during the Celtic Tiger period but this funding was found to have escaped from the fencing when issues surrounding the site and planning were resolved a number of years ago.

CLAIMS that government support of Shannon Airport is in breach of EU competition laws have formally been brought to the attention of the European Commission by Fianna Fáil senator Marc Mac Sharry.

The Sligo senator who initially voiced his opposition to government plans for Shannon’s independence in December has pressed ahead with a threat to lodge a complaint to the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission, saying support for Clare’s international air- port is tantamount to “unfairly distorting airport competition”.

Senator Mac Sharry made his move as he hit out at what he describes as the Government’s breach of European Competition Laws, in the “manipulation of a process which will ensure the demise of Ireland West Airport” at Knock.

“I am a supporter of Shannon Airport and any measures that can possibly assist in its growth and performance. However, measures announced by Minister Varadkar will unfairly pitch Shannon Airport against Knock, as it stands to benefit from an estimated total investment of € 300million.

“There is no national strategy on aviation. The Government must take a strategic approach to our airports and empower both Knock and Shannon to perform to their potential, as drivers of growth in the economy.”

“In supporting Shannon, yet ignoring Knock, the Government is unfairly distorting airport competition, but also destroying the potential of the Northwest region to flourish. It is anti-competitive and simply unlawful. The Government must therefore immediately commit to support Knock Airport, acknowledge its strategic importance to the national ef- fort and take steps to provide similar proportionate measures to level the playing field with Shannon.”

The complaint over government support of Shannon has been lodged with the Commission under Article 107 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.”

“We must take a strategic and fair approach to Aviation Policy; Shannon must be supported, but we must also provide support equally to Knock, to enable both to perform to their potential without distorting the consumer-friendly competition that rightly exists between the two,” said Senator Mac Sharry.

CLARE schools are to “feel the squeeze” of reduced capitation grants announced as part of the budget, a meeting has heard.

At their monthly meeting in Ennis last week, members of Clare VEC discussed the likely impact of education cuts in Clare.

In a report to members, the Chief Executive Officer, George O’Callaghan, stated that the 2013 allocation to the VECs will be reduced by € 13.2 million.

“Notwithstanding the reduction there will be no reduction in the level of services provided in 2013. However VECs will be required to manage within their existing cash reserves on hand.”

Mr O’Callaghan told the meeting that there would be no changes to the overall teacher numbers or funding for Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School (DEIS). He said the number of resource teachers and special needs assistants have been maintained at 2012 levels.

Former Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Peter Considine (FF), told the meeting that the policy represented a cut. He said, “The numbers are being reduced and are being reduced substantially.”

Pupil teacher ratios for post leaving cert programmes will be harmonised with mainstream schools from 17:1 to 19:1.

Mr O’Callaghan explained, “This will result in a reduction of 200 PLC teaching posts and a saving of € 4 million in 2013 rising to € 12 million in a full year. However there should be no adverse impact on the number of PLC places available.”

Capitation grants for primary schools will be reduced by 0.5 per cent for primary school and by 2 per cent for secondary schools.

The new standard capitation rates will be € 176 for primary and € 306 for post primary schools.

Mr O’Callaghan said the grants are a vital source of funding for schools.

He added, “As the year goes on. We will begin to feel the squeeze.”

Commenting on the cuts to guidance counsellors in last year’s budget, Mr O’Callaghan said this had a “major impact” on schools.

“It looked innocuous enough at the time but it had a big impact,” he added.

The meeting heard that student contribution will rise by € 250 in 2013, 2014, and 2015 to a maximum of € 3,000.

There will also be a 3 per cent reduction in the income thresholds used when calculating entitlement student grants in 2013.

Mr O’Callaghan explained, “Between 1997 and 2009, the income limits were increased by an average of 4.7 per cent each year, in line with average industrial earnings. However the income limits over the past three years have remained unchanged despite and estimated drop in the average industrial wage of approximately 7.9 per cent.

PROMOTING Scattery Island as a heritage and tourist attraction, while informing people of its rich and varied history, is the main aim of the newly formed Scattery Island Tourist Group.

The dedicated group is rooted in a VEC course and grew to include local business people and the farming community, as well as receiving support from the Head of the History Department at the University of Limerick, Dr Bernadette Whelan.

Rita McCarthy of the Scattery Island Tourist Group said the organisation has four main objectives.

Firstly, the group want to make the island’s terrain more accessible. Local farmer and member of the group, Thomas Burke explained that the island has become overgrown in parts and work is especially needed around the Battery. He said the group are proposing to build a path or roadway all the way to the Battery that would pass through the vacated village, and open up these areas for tourists.

The historical and tourism group has already begun talks with the OPW, the state body responsible for the island and have outlined their hopes for the historical site.

Improving access on to the island has also become a priority for the group. Making the history and heritage of Scattery Island available to everyone is something it is also working on. The members are preparing a written history of the island going back long before St Senan and up to the present day.

The final aim for the group is to promote the island locally, nationally and internationally and to encourage people to visit this unique and unspoilt part of West Clare.

Ms McCarthy explained that the island will be of great interest to those with an interest in various histories, including early Christian history, military history and maritime history. The island will also play a central role for The Gathering, as the group believe this is an ideal opportunity to bring the eyes of the Diaspora firmly onto the historical attraction.

Group member Nicki Power has dtarted work on a database of ancestors of those who once called Scattery Island home, so they can be invited to a special Gathering weekend. From July 12 to 14, ex-pats, locals and visitors will be welcomed to the island. A reenactment and a photography exhibition are being organised to showcase memories from the past. Visitors will also be able to take part in a historical tour of the island and watch the currach races from the island to the mainland.

Dr Whelan, who is working with the group to develop the island’s history, described Scattery as “a microcosm of Irish history”.

“You have a very valuable asset that has not been desecrated or interrupted,” she said.

PARENTS in Shannon are invited to have their say on which of four patron bodies they would like to see running primary schools in their area.

The bodies, which have indicated they would like to become patrons of any divested schools in Shannon, include the County Clare VEC, An Foras Patrúnachta, Educate Together and the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Parents of children aged 0 to 12 years in 38 areas across Ireland are being asked by the Minister for Education and Skills what patrons they would like to see operating their local primary schools.

As part of this, parents in Shannon are being asked for their views.

The survey went live yesterday (Monday) on the Department of Education website and is an expansion of pilot surveys on primary school patronage which were conducted late last year in five towns.

The aim of the survey is to establish the level of demand from parents for diversity of school patronage in each of the towns. The current patrons of schools in Shannon are the Catholic Bishop of Killaloe and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert.

If parents indicate they would like a wider choice of patron, then the Department of Education and Skills (DES) will ask existing patrons to come up with a plan to transfer some schools to other patron bodies.

“This is an historic opportunity for parents in Shannon to have a real say in the type of school they wish to send their children to, be it denominational, multi-denominational, allIrish or other,” said Minister Ruairí Quinn.

“In Shannon, there is little prospect of any new schools opening as the population remains stable and there is enough capacity within existing schools. However, if parents demonstrate through this survey that they want a greater choice of primary school, then we will work with existing patrons to transfer patronage to ensure they can send their children to a school which best reflects their own ethos and beliefs.”

The survey can be accessed online via www.education.ie and parents or guardians of primary school going children and 0 to 5 year olds in the 38 towns and suburbs (list below) are also being urged to fill it in before February 8. They will need to have their PPS number in order to complete the survey – for verification purposes. Paper-based versions of the survey are also available.

THE ambitious plans to develop a new cultural centre in Kilkishen have received the ringing endorsement of government this week, following confirmation that the project is to be grant aided to the tune of nearly € 400,000.

On Monday, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, gave the green light for the Clare Local Development Company to approve funding of € 386,193 to Kilkishen Development Limited for the new centre.

The money for the new community and cultural centre, that will be located in the old Protestant Church in Kilkishen, has been allocated under the conservation and heritage stand of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013.

The proposed works are estimated to cost in the region of € 550,000 and, under the plans set out by the development association, are envisaged to take up to three years to complete fully.

The church was acquired by the Kilkisken Development Association in 2011 when after many years they were given the green light by Clare County Council to develop it as a cultural centre for the parish.

The church was built in 1811 and held services right up until 1964, but lay idle for 47 years before development association’s dream of transforming the building into a place of pilgrimage for the arts in East Clare started taking shape with the launch of the Kilkishen Church Restoration Project.

“The new development will provide a supervised social and advice centre for all the community, especially young people and the aged,” a spokesperson for the Kilkishen Development Association, that is chaired by Mike Hogan, revealed.

“The building will act as an information centre with an interactive visual display providing information on the local area including amenities and local history.

“Local heritage artifacts will be on display. It will be a starting point for walking trails and loop walks,” the spokesperson added.

The development, which is set to be completed in 2014, will comprise two different elements – the conservation and restoration of the existing church building and the construction of a new extension.

THE community must show that it abhors recent aggravated robberies on the elderly in West Clare by standing up to these thugs and giving the gardaí every assistance.

That is the message from the gardaí in Kilrush, who are appealing again for information from anyone who may have seen something suspicious before, after or during these callous robberies.

The crimes against some of the most vulnerable people in society included an attack on the home of two elderly brothers in Lack West Kilmihil between 2am and 3.25am on Saturday, December 22.

At least two intruders, yielding iron bars, terrorised the elderly occupants and forced them to hand over what is considered to be a sizeable amount of money. The thugs then fled in a car.

On December 8 between 10.30pm and 11.30pm, three individuals broke into the farmhouse of two sisters in their 80s at Bansha, Moyasta and demanded money.

The culprits had their faces covered during the robbery.

Again on December 6, in Boo

lyneaska Kilmaley, an

older person was the

victim of an aggravat

ed robbery in their own

home.

Gardaí continue to

seek assistance in

bringing these culprits

to justice.

“This is a community

issue,” said Superin

tendent Gerry Wall.

“We are looking for

people to come for

ward and show these people the community deplores these attacks on the elderly. Older people are a very important part of our society,” he added. “We are anxious for any information.”

TWO men have pleaded guilty to the possession of weapons during a morning dispute at a post office in Ennis earlier this year.

Details of the incident, which occurred at Bank Place, Ennis on June 6, 2012, were heard at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Michael Carr (22), with an address at Rose Cottage, Clarecastle and Martin Faulkner (23), with an address at Rose Cottage, Clarecastle were both charged with offences under the firearms and offensive weapons act.

Mr Carr pleaded guilty to the possession of a golf club intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate a person.. Mr Faulkner pleaded guilty to possession of a timber bat intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate a person.

A third man – Michael Mongans (23), with an address at Clarehill, Clarecastle, also appeared in court in connection with the incident at Bank Place. He is charged with possession of a machete.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the cases.

He explained that the State would allege that all three accused were involved on two sides of a dispute that started after a man went to the post office to pick up a social welfare payment.

The court heard that an assault did not take place at the time. Insp Kennedy said that charges had been brought because it was alleged that Mr Carr and Mr Faulkner had brought the weapons to get involved in the dispute.

Solicitor for Mr Carr and Mr Faulkner, Daragh Hassett, said his clients were pleading guilty to the charges.

All three men were remanded on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on February 13.

AN Indian engineer who stole a life jacket from an airplane potentially placed a passenger in “great danger”, a court has heard. Rohit Sharma (37), with an address at 7 Oakington Close, Sunbury on Thames, Surrey, England Twi, 65AI, pleaded guilty at Ennis District Court on Wednesday to the theft of a life jacket worth € 50 from an Aer Lingus flight on January 8.

The court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case. Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction. The court heard Mr Sharma stayed overnight in the Bunratty Castle Hotel and had been in Clare on a business trip. Inspector Tom Kennedy said that staff at Shannon Airport discovered the life jacket in Mr Sharma’s luggage when he passed through a security screening point as he attempted to board his return flight.

Insp Kennedy said, “This is no ordinary matter. I’ve never come across anything like this.”

He said that Aer Lingus were tak- ing a “very serious view” of the offence. The court heard Mr Sharma is an Indian man who is traveling on a British passport.

Solicitor Catriona Carmody told the court that her client had taken the life jacket in a “moment of madness” as a gift to his eight-year-old daughter who is taking kayak lessons.

Ms Carmody described her client as a good community man who had cooperated 100% with gardaí.

She added, “He would like to apologise unreservedly to the court, the airline and the gardaí.”

Judge Patrick Durcan said the theft of a “very essential piece of safety equipment from an aircraft that is in constant public use” is a “most serious matter.”

Judge Durcan said the accused had shown“total disregard” for other people.

He added, “He, by his criminality, potentially placed someone in great danger.”

He added that a prison sentence was “foremost in his mind.” Judge Durcan adjourned sentencing for a day to Gort District Court. He fined Mr Sharma € 1000.