Category: News

SHANNON hasn’t been unfairly treated by the Government in a deal that will see its debts of € 100m cleared in return to saying goodbye to Aer Rianta International (ARI) that was established at the Clare airport and has made profits in excess of € 200m over the past decade.

In defending this trade-off that has been lambasted by both Fianna Fáil and former ARI executives in the mid-west, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar confirmed that ARI would become the sole property of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) post the December 31 independence of Shannon.

“It is important to bear in mind that ARI started in Shannon,” admitted Minister Varadkar, “but the contribution that has been made over the years has been much more than Shannon. It has been financed from all over the (DAA) group. The requirement of the new legislation is that both new entities – Shannon as a separated airport and the DAA – have to be vi- able. It wouldn’t be possible to write down the debt at Shannon – it’s not being written down, it’s being carried by Dublin and Cork. It’s passengers using Dublin that will pay off Shannon’s debt. Grant that concession and also ARI would not be possible,” added Minister Varadkar.

Fianna Fáil transport spokesperson Timmy Dooley has blasted this move, saying ARI had to “form part of the new Shannon entity”, which would “secure the airport’s future and provide a marketing budget that can be used to attract more tourists and open new air routes for the benefit of the mid-west region”.

Responding to this criticism, Minister Varadkar said, “ARI has considerable investment costs around the world over the next couple of years – € 60m over the next couple of years – and that money can be borrowing against the DAA’s balance sheet and the DAA’s assets.

“We didn’t want the new Shannon to have to go off and borrow a whole load of money to build perfume shops in the Ukraine and places like that,” he added.

PEOPLE living with disabilities in Clare have suffered more than other sectors and “have nothing left to give” in this week’s budget. That is according to local organiser for Enable Ireland, Margaret Burke, who believes that cuts to local authority budgets has made it very difficult for people using wheelchairs to get around Ennis and other towns in the county.

Ms Burke was speaking after an event in Ennis last week which saw a number of politicians taking to wheelchairs to experience, firsthand, the difficulties experienced by disabled people every day.

“They really want the people who represent them to know exactly what they are talking about. If someone hasn’t been in a wheelchair, it is not always that easy to represent them and to understand exactly where they are coming from,” she said.

“The biggest thing is that this event was organised by the service-users themselves. They are used to people being vocal for them, on their behalf, but this an event organised by the service-users themselves. That is a big step.

“It is empowering for them – it gives them more of a voice. It is beginning to unfold like that more and more in Clare. Our role is more and more to sit back and support them, and let them speak for themselves.”

According to Ms Burke, there is a lot of fear among disabled people in Clare ahead of this week’s budget.

“When you cut local budgets, it has a massive effect on people with disabilities. If Clare County Coun- cil don’t have the funding to fix the paths and fix the roads, then people in wheelchairs struggle every day. It is an massive obstacle to get into town [Ennis] every day. They need their busses, they need their transport,” she said.

“These people are on a disability allowance – they really don’t have much. They have everything to lose and nothing left to give. Everyone is hoping that there won’t be any further cuts. We have always been in a recession down in this part of the world.”

ONE out of every six houses located in a Clare ‘ghost estate’ is vacant. According to new figures released by the Department of the Environment, Clare has one of the highest rates of vacant properties in unfinished, or so-called ghost, estates of anywhere in the county.

In total, there are 346 vacant houses and 194 vacant apartments located in estates which have been classified as unfinished or ghost estates. These 540 vacant houses in unfinished estates equate to one out of every 80 houses in the county.

According to property website MyHome.ie, there are currently 1,280 properties for sale in the Clare. With a total of 540 vacant houses and apartments located in areas classified by the Department of the Environment as unfinished, it is likely that a sizeable proportion of the properties for sale in Clare are located in these areas.

The results of the National Housing Development Survey also revealed that a large number of unfinished developments still exist in the county.

The Department of the Environment officially classifies 72 locations in Clare as unfinished estates. Many of these estates are fully serviced and largely complete and have high numbers of occupancy.

Indeed, only 23 of these 72 estates were exempted from paying the household charge this year because of being classified as unfinished.

A number of buildings in the 72 estates are virtually complete but, for one reason or another, the developer or receiver has been unable to bring the properties to completion.

According to the survey, 22 houses in the Aisling Estate in Ennis and 20 in Acha Bhille have been classified as “near completed” but have no construction work currently ongoing.

Road infrastructure was a particular problem on developments in the county, with more than 600 properties deemed to have a basic road base, with no completed surfacing work.

A total of 132 properties in the Moyard estate in Shanballa, Ennis, were deemed to have road access, while 97 on the Tulla Road, Roslevan and 72 properties in Cregaun Na Hilla in Clarecastle were classified as having unfinished roads.

Of the 72 estates identified in the National Housing Development Survey, construction work was ongoing on only four projects – the Cluainin and Tullyglass Lowlands developments in Shannon, as well as the Cois Tra and Cregg Beach development in Lahinch. The survey also identified a number of Clare estates where lighting and completed footpaths were a major issue. The names used to describe these estates are presented as identified by the Department of the Environment in the National Housing Development Survey and may be known differently locally.

WITH just hours until the Government announces yet another ‘austerity’ budget, charities such as Clare Haven are bracing themselves for a year when they may have to cut services.

The women’s refuge for families who have been subjected to domestic violence and abuse has already had their statuary funds cut by as much as 10 per cent, and have been warned more cuts are on the way.

Since 2009, the statutory funding for the organisation has been cut by € 80,000.

Even with the level of statutory funding that was received in 2009, the organisation still had to fundraise in an attempt to meet the needs of women and children who were subjected to abuse in the home.

Clare Haven Manager, Denise Dunne explained, “Unfortunately, as well as cuts in statutory funding, since the recession it has become increasingly difficult to fundraise. We rely so much on the goodwill and generosity of the local community in County Clare, not only for monetary donations but also for donations in food, clothes, emergency supplies such as nappies, baby food and toiletries.

“Our volunteers are also an essential part of our service, including those who carry out church gate collections, help out with fundraising events, such as the Clare 10K, sort through donations and help out in the refuge,” she said.

“We have already been told to expect further cuts in 2013. This is why fundraising events such as the Clare 10K are such a lifeline for our organisation.

“We are hoping to make the Clare 10K the biggest and best so far and would encourage walkers and runners to help out their own local charities by taking part in this. All proceeds from the Clare 10K registration fees go directly to Clare Haven Services.”

During the first 10 months this year, as many as 208 women and 303 children fleeing from domestic abuse were unable to find accommodation at the centre, as all six units were full to capacity.

Ms Dunne explained that Clare Haven staff gave these families the numbers of other refuges around the country or helped them to locate one, but finding a place able to accept them was often difficult as most women’s refuges are working to full capacity.

As many as 73 women and their families, which included 109 children, have stayed in Clare Haven’s Refuge Centre this year.

While the service has also helped as many as 186 in total through its support visits, outreach programme and refuge centre.

A FORMER mayor of Shannon has called on Shannon Town Council authorities to outline to members of the local authority where over € 10,000 that has been put into a fund for the 2014 local elections has been diverted to.

Cllr Sean McLoughlin has made his comments ahead of the 2012 Shannon Town Council Budget meeting because the money put aside for the 2014 election won’t now be used for its intended purpose as the council is set to be abolished as part of the Government’s new blueprint for local government coming into effect in 2014.

“Every year we put away so much money for the local town election,” revealed Cllr McLoughlin.

“I am just wondering where is the money that was put in that pot, for a better word. I am wondering be- cause we won’t need to have a town election next time around, so the money that was put away won’t be used for the purpose it was put away for.

“I think there was roughly about € 3, 500 put aside each year since the 2009 election.

“The fact that it wasn’t taken out of this year’s budget drew my attention to it.

“I want to know where the three years of that money has gone,” added Cllr McLoughlin.

The Fine Gael representative has told The Clare People that money should now be ring-fenced for another project in the town.

“There was money put aside for the past three years.

“That’s over € 10,000, which is a lot of money.

“That money is just sitting there, money that could and should be put to use for something in Shannon,” he added.

THE women of Clare place a far greater emphasis on education than their male counterparts, the latest bulletin report of the 2011 National Census of Population has revealed.

The ninth report published by the Central Statistics Office since the census was taken in April 2011 presents a profile of the education and skills of the county’s population of 117,196, focusing in detail on age leaving education and field of study in which qualifications are held.

The Clare figures show that there are 17,533 people in the county with a third level qualification, but that a much larger proportion of these graduates are women. There are 10,084 women graduates to 7,449 male graduates.

A breakdown of these figures reveals that 58 per cent of graduates in the county are female, as against 42 per cent of males. Meanwhile, the percentage of female graduates in the county runs two per cent higher than the national average, with males graduates are two per cent lower than the national average.

“Twenty nine per cent of people aged 15 and over in the county in 2011 had a third level qualification, with 24 per cent were college graduates. The figure of 29 compares with 31 per cent for the State as a whole,” a CSO spokesperson told The Clare People .

“Twenty one per cent of all men aged 15 and over who had ceased full time education men were third level graduates compared with 28 per cent of women. A total of 398 people aged 15 and over who had completed their education held a Doctorate (Ph.D.) level qualification in April 2011.

“The social sciences, business and law category was by far the most popular field of study among all those with post-secondary school qualifications in the county in 2011, with 6,809 persons holding a qualification in this area,” the spokesperson added.

A PROPOSAL by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to build a car park on the edge of the site earmarked for the controversial Mullaghmore Interpretative Centre is “part of a process” that will eventually lead to the building of a visitor facility in the area.

This warning has been sounded out by the Burren Action Group (BAG) this week as part of its detailed submission to Clare County Council planners opposing the NPWS plans for the car park at Knockaunroe in the Burren National Park.

The 15-page document was lodged with the planning authority on Friday ahead of this Monday’s closing date for submissions. It has warned that the car park will “create a new set of risks” in the Burren – chief among these a covert plan of “induced development” designed to eventually bring about the building of visitor facilities at Gortalecka, the original site earmarked for the Mullaghmore Interpretative Centre.

The BAG submission highlights what it calls the “danger of incremental development at the core of the (National) Park”, saying that the planning application was the “thin end of the wedge” and precursor for further development.

“The proposal excludes the provision of toilet facilities, picnic tables etc., it is inevitable that a demand will be created for these facilities on the site in the near future,” the BAG submission states. “Consequently, future applications for extension of the car park and provision of such facilities are to be expected. The initial choice of this site for a car park may be seen as the ‘thin end of the wedge’ for future provision of visitor facilities on the Gortlecka site. It will inevitably create demand for further development at the core of the park,” it adds.

The proposed car park facility is on the proposed site for the overflow car park that was originally included in the ‘Gortlecka’ application, a move that has prompted the BAG to claim that the NPWS application is going against decisions handed down by An Bord Pleanála and Supreme Court.

“The NPWS were obliged, by Bord Pleanála and Court decisions, to restore and rehabilitate the Gortlecka site at very considerable cost to the NPWS and the taxpayer,” says the BAG submission. “Consequently, the current application seems contrary to the intent of previous An Bord Pleanála and court decisions,” it adds.

THERE are now more than 5,000 unpaid carers in the county who are providing help to friends or family members who are aged or are suffering from long-term illnesses or disabilities.

These figures have been revealed by the Central Statistic Office from the 2011 census returns, which show the amount of carers in the county has grown immeasurably over the past number of years.

The CSO figures show that the county now has 5,315 unpaid carers, with the majority of these people providing up to 14 hours a week looking after their loves ones and friends.

The proportion of the population of Clare now involved in providing unpaid care runs at 4.5 per cent, a percentage that places the county ninth in the national league of un- paid carers that is headed by Mayo with 5 per cent.

The majority of Clare carers are women – 3,252 women provided unpaid care to relatives and friends as against 2,064 males.

A breakdown of these figures reveal that 1,357 women provide up to 14 hours of unpaid care a week, while at the other end of the scale 771 women, as against 336 men, provide over 43 hours of unpaid held per week.

These figures for the county, which were gleaned from the census that was taken in April 2011, have been released against the backdrop of a drastic cut in home help hours in the county, which has kicked in over the last number of months.

In September it was announced that there would be a 5.5 per cent cut in the number of home help hours and a 3.7 per cent cut in home care packages – decisions taken by the Minister for Health, James Reilly that led Clarecare director, Fiachra Hensey, to say that many families across the county would be in a “very vulnerable” position.

“The level of vulnerable people out there is huge. I think funding for home help and home care packages should be increased, instead of decreased,” he said.

Clarecare delivers 180,000 hours of home help across the county through 400 part-time home helps, which benefits about 1,000 families.

PUTTING car park facilities in place at Mullaghmore is a case of the National Parks and Wildlife Service putting the cart before the horse, the Burren Action Group’s 15-page document against the controversial development proposal has claimed.

BAG, which campaigned successfully against the Office of Public Works proposal to build an interpretative centre at Mullaghmore, has blasted the planning application as it comes ahead of a commitment to deliver the Burren Management Plan.

This management plan is now in its third draft, but the feeling on the ground locally in North Clare is that it will never see the light of day, with the NPWS instead pressing ahead with its car park proposal adjacent to the original Mullaghmore Interpretative Centre location.

In its submission, BAG says it shares the NPWS objective of “alleviating the problems associated with random car parking on the Crag Road and at the crossroads between the Crag Road and the Green Road”, but that the application is premature as it comes in advance of an agreed National Park Management Plan.

“Three draft versions of a Plan (Burren Management Plan 2011 – 2018) have been produced but none have been published and none have benefitted from the input of the public, tourism operators or adjoining landowners,” says BAG.

“There is no indication when this Plan will seek the views of the public nor is there any proposed deadline for its completion. The application, therefore, is not in a position to avail of any agreed or finalised management proposals,” the submission adds.

In a further indictment of the NPWS proposal, the BAG submission says that the application, which was lodged with Clare County Council on October 22 is “incoherent”, “uncoordinated” and “missing significant data”.

“The application lacks the coherence that might be provided by a Management Plan and, in the single instance where its impacts in combination with other practices are acknowledged, no data is offered, even in relation to the applicant’s own services and facilties,” the BAG submission says.

“There is considerable potential for successful dialogue that can result in a Management Plan that respects and promotes the needs of the host people, local environment and those wishing to engage in sustainable low impact tourism in and around the National Park.

“There are alternative sites that can accommodate parking in the ownership of the applicant. There are also options for more multifaceted management practices available that can contribute to better visitor management in the park.

“A process to explore these options should precede a grant of permission to return to a site that has already failed the test of one of the longest and most comprehensive planning processes in the history of the state,” the submission adds.

THE DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is expected to issue directions in January in respect of four people charged in connection with an alleged public order incident at a roundabout in Ennis.

Bernard McDonagh (45) and Christopher McDonagh (38), Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22) and a 16-year-old boy are alleged to have committed a number of offences arising out of the incident at the Maid of Erin on October 14.

Bernard McDonagh (45), with an address at 1 Ashline, Kilrush Road, Ennis is charged with the assault of John Doherty. He also faces three charges of criminal damage and one charge of dangerous driving.

It is further alleged that Bernard McDonagh (45) drove a vehicle in a dangerous and reckless manner, which created substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.

Christopher McDonagh, with an address at 1 Davitt Terrace, Cloughleigh, Ennis, is charged with production of an iron bar and possession of an iron bar with intent to cause injury to John Doherty, Martin Doherty and Jimmy Doherty.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with possession of a hatchet with intent to cause injuries to John Doherty, Martin Doherty and Jimmy Doherty.

He is also charged with the produc- tion of a hatchet.

Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22) is charged with possession of an article with intent to cause injury and the production of an article in the course of a dispute.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said DPP’s directions are expected in January. All four people were remanded on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on January 13, 2013.