Category: News

CLARE County Council are set to review sections of the County Development Plan that prevent people from selling a property built in certain parts of the county for seven years after its construction.

Councillors decided at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council to review the situation, following a joint motion put forward by Cllrs PJ Kelly (FF), Tom McNamara (FF) and Joe Cooney (FG).

According to councillors, a change to the current County Development Plan could promote construction work in parts of the county and allow people who have been forced to emigrate to offload properties at home.

At present, a property owner can apply to Clare County Council for a condition of a planning permission to be changed.

The council yesterday declined a suggestion from Cllr PJ Kelly to advertise the existence of this process in the local media.

“These mechanisms were put in place to grant planning permission where development would otherwise not have been possible, not to prevent developed. Planning systems are about proper planning and not economic decisions and I think that is as it should be,” said Director of Services for Clare County Council, Ger Dollard.

“Anybody can apply to have the conditions removed under the current situation. But putting an ad like that in the paper would only give false hope to people. There are no easy solutions to this and I don’t think that just letting the conditions be changed is the way forward.”

Councillors yesterday put a timeframe of one month on a review of these sections of the County Development Plan.

Cllr PJ Kelly also questioned County Manager, Tom Coughlan, about the powers of a county manager to make changes to individual planning applications.

Cllr Kelly suggested that he had some information that he would make public in the future.

“I don’t know what Cllr Kelly is talking about. If you [Cllr Kelly] have information, put it out there and let’s deal with it. We can’t answer hypothetical questions about hypothetical situations,” said Mr Coughlan.

“There is a legal policy for changing the County Development Plan and it cannot be done by a notice of motion. There has been a framework set up for making these amendments. The director [Ger Dollard] has suggested that this matter be referred to that process and I think that is what we should do.”

A PROPOSAL to ask the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, to introduce new ‘D’ plates for any driver convicted of drunk-driving for a second time was rejected at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council.

The proposal, which was put forward by Cllr PJ Kelly (FF), proved controversial both because of the details of the motion itself and Cllr Kelly’s use of the phrase “Séan Mac An Asal”.

Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) criticised Cllr Kelly over his use of the phrase, which he said was a derogatory term and insulting to rural dwellers.

“Many offenses are on the increase in this country because the punishment is not enough. Unfortunately, accidents are going to happen and we sympathise with anyone who has been involved with it. Accidents are inevitable but some of them are avoidable,” said Cllr Kelly.

“I don’t think that people would drive under the influence if there was a bigger deterrent in place. I think it would be much better to allow people to stay on the road and instead force them to carry a ‘D’ plate on the car.

“As well as that, I would suggest that people who are convicted of driving under the influence should be forced to appear bi-weekly at a local garda station. I think that would also be a deterrent for people.”

The motion was opposed by a large number of councillors and was eventually defeated, with 17 councillors voting against it and just two councillors in favourof it.

“I have a lot of respect for Cllr Kelly but I cannot support this motion. I think this would trivialise this [drink driving] to a serious degree and I can’t support that.

“This is a very serious issue and there have been plenty of lives lost because of this in recent years. The most suitable thing to do is put someone off the road,” said Cllr Cathal Crowe.

This feeling was echoed by Cllr Patricia McCarthy.

“I think that one conviction for drink driving is bad enough, but a second conviction, I think that a person should be put off the road for life. I don’t think anything justifies having a drink and getting behind the wheel of a car,” she said.

CLARE County Council is to write to the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan (FG) asking for some clarity in relation to the proposed scrapping of town councils in Kilrush, Ennis and Shannon.

This follows a motion put forward by Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND), himself a member of Shannon Town Council. Cllr Flynn said that the further centralisation of services would lead to poorer services being delivered to the people of Clare.

“It is quiet clear that the minister [Hogan] is seeking to centralise services in the county. All you have to do is look at what has happened with the centralisation of services so far and see the total disgrace which came from the centralisation of education services and the hardship which has come about to students and their family through the new system for third-level grants,” he said.

“We need to ask the minister ex- actly what his intention are and what he plans to do. There are a lot of staff working in these local offices around the country.

“Some of these people, under the Croke Park agreement, would be protected but some would not be protected.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (IND), also a member of Shannon Town Council.

“I think it is important that some clarity is brought to this situation sooner rather than later,” she said.

BUSINESSES in Clare are continuing to pay their local authority rates in large numbers, despite the downturn in the local and national economy.

According to figures released at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, the Council have collected 71 per cent of the rates owned to them so far this year. This compares to a payment rate of 75 per cent for the same period in 2011.

The council is aiming to collect a total commercial rate of € 32.35 million in 2012. With the final percentage for collection of rates reaching 79 per cent for 2011, Clare County Council can expect to collect an extra € 2 or € 3 million before the end of the year.

The figures were released in response to a motion put forward by Cllr Oliver Garry (FG) who asked that more staff be put in place to help collecting rates.

“I would, of course, like more people to be available to help in the collecting of rates but that requirement has to be balanced against the needs for staff in different parts of the organisation,” said a spokesperson from Clare County Council.

“The key to handling this situation is early engagement with customers. We do try to engage with people and put some sort of a practical arrangement in place as early as possible.

“With falling staff member in he council there are less people in the organisation overall but this is an area that we do see as being very important.”

THE courage shown by pioneering author and broadcaster from Clare, the late Máiréad Ní Ghráda, will be celebrated in Glór in the coming weeks thanks to a series of workshops that built around her most acclaimed piece work.

The workshops on Ms Ní Ghráda’s play called ‘An Triail’ comes in the wake of the move by the Department of Education to include the work on the current syllabus for the Leaving Certificate Irish exam.

The workshops are being provided by Irish language enthusiast Fidelma McDonnell, starting this Wednesday and continuing for six weeks – a programme that’s seen as the first step towards a fully-blown production of the play in Glór next year.

“The play’s storyline features a single mother in 1960s rural Ireland who was forced to go into a Magdalene Laundry due to pressure from family and society around her,” reveals Ms McDonnell. “This theme was very controversial to write about at the time and Ms Ní Ghráda showed great courage in raising this subject through her writing.

“It is a great thing for a playwright from Clare to feature on the Leaving Cert and it will bring her work to the forefront of people’s consciousness once again,” adds Ms McDonnell.

Ms Ní Ghráda, who hailed from Kilmaley was the first female pre- senter on Ireland’s first national radio service, then known as 2RN that started broadcasting in 1926.

An Triail is thought to have been based on an incident near her home that Ms Ní Ghráda remembered from her youth: the victimisation of a pregnant young single girl while the man involved escaped condemnation.

While some people were shocked at the “filthy immoral” drama others saw it as being ahead of its time. Tomás MacAnna, who produced the play, praised it as the precursor of women’s lib. It still ranks with Brendan Behan’s ‘An Giall’ as the most successful play in the Irish language.

CLARE Gardaí have received no reports of cyber-bullying in the county’s schools.

According to Community Liason Officer Sergent Joe Downey, the best approch to the bullying is first through a trusted adult, then the school, the parents of the bully and finally, if the issue cannot be resolved, the Gardaí.

Cyber-bullying is not restricted to social media sites, but includes texting, Twitter and emails.

This type of bullying is particularly harsh as it follows the child or teenager into their own home, and they find it almost impossible to escape.

“The first thing they should do is bring it to the attention of someone they trust,” said Sgt Downey.

From there, the school should be contacted and then the parents of the bully.

If the issue cannot be resolved through the school’s anti-bullying policy, Gardaí can investigate a charge of harrassment under Section 10 of the non-fatal acts.

However, an offence is committed only after unwanted, persistent contact is made after the person has been asked to stop.

“It must be considered persistent and the person must have been asked to stop before it is considered an offense,” said Sgt Downey, as he explained the law.

For example, if someone receives unwanted texts, they must reply, asking the sender not to text them again.

“In relation to schools, we like to see it resolved between the kids, parents and the school,” he said.

He advised those who are targeted on social network pages not to reply and block the access of the bully. He also advised reporting the abuse to the internet provider.

A child should always be encouraged to tell someone about it, he reiterated.

The long-serving Garda said he has to date never investigated a school cyber-bullying complaint.

FACT is often more shocking than fiction according to the charity Clare Haven as it calls on book clubs around the county to consisder adding the book “Into the Darkest Corner” by Elizabeth Haynes to their reading list this month.

The Clare charity that supports women who have experienced domestic violence are part of the Mid-West Local Area Network on Violence against Women and the multi-agency fora made up of representatives from statutory, community and voluntary organisations which co-operate to promote a coordinated approach to tackling violence against women in the Mid-West region.

Each year the networks come together for the ’16 Days of Action and Awareness on Violence against Women’ campaign to raise public awareness around issues such as domestic abuse, rape and women’s rights.

The 16 Days is an international campaign which starts on November 25 (UN Day Opposing Violence Against Women) and finishes up on December 10 (Human Rights Day).

This year, as part of the campaign, the Mid-West networks aim to engage people on the issue of domestic violence by encouraging readers and book-clubs to read the book “Into the Darkest Corner”.

The book is a work of fiction which follows the struggles of a woman who becomes trapped in an abusive relationship.

The book has been promoted to local libraries and book-clubs, and discussions have been organised for the book-clubs to meet with local Domestic Abuse services who will critique the book in terms of their experiences of the real-life stories of domestic violence.

The theme for the campaign in the Midwest is “You don’t need a bruise to be abused”.

Using this theme that group hopes to draw attention to the fact that that many women suffer financial, sexual, emotional, psychological, social and verbal abuse – all of which can be as harmful as a physical assault and have serious implications for their mental health and wellbeing.

It is estimated one on five women in Ireland experience domestic violence.

THE LOCAL HSE confirmed this week that it couldn’t fill two essential frontline consultant posts at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick, as a senior HSE official outlined the hospital is short 25 consultants in total.

According to Dr Ciaran Browne, National Lead for Acute Hospital Services and Palliative Care, the hospital has 25 consultant vacancies in areas ranging from Emergency Medicine to Breast Surgery.

It was also revealed that the Clare Mental Health Service was short three general psychiatric consultants, while Ennis General Hospital had a vacancy for an Endocrinology/ Diabetes Mellitus specialist.

The HSE locally had not explained why there were vacancies in the Clare Mental Health Services or at the local hospital, at time of press. It also disagreed with the number of vacancies for consultants at the Limerick Hospital, admitting that there were currently six vacancies, six more filled by locums and two positions it is unable to fill despite advertising.

“At present there are six vacancies for consultants in the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick. These posts are for the following specialties, Radiology, Medicine, Cardiology and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery. Successful candidates have been selected for these posts and their appointments are going through the various stages of the recruitment process,” the spokesperson said.

“Seven posts have been filled permanently and these are in the area of Emergency Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Otolaryngology, Microbiology, Rheumatology and Obstetrics and Gynecology. A further six posts in Anesthetics, Urology, Radiology have been filled by Locums and are due to be filled by permanent incumbents after the completion of the recruitment process for these posts.

“Despite advertisement, two posts in Histopathology have not been filled permanently and these are currently filled by Locums,” he said.

Histopathology is the microscopic study of diseased tissue, and is an important tool of anatomical pathology since diagnosis of cancer and other diseases usually requires histopathological examination of samples.

“Over the past five years there have been major advances in the region in the provision of consultant services in rheumatology, neurology and dermatology,” he spokesperson said.

In his reply Dr Browne said vacancies arise from time to time in different specialities due to a number of reasons including the moratorium on recruitment and the difficulty in recruiting consultants in different specialties.

THE annual Éamon De Valera Commemoration in Clare will take place this Sunday at the People’s Park in Ennis at 1pm.

At 12pm there will be a mass at Ennis Cathedral in memory of deceased members of Fianna Fáil in Clare. After mass, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin TD will lay a wreath at the De Valera Monument before delivering an oration.

Clare Fianna Fáil TD, Timmy Dooley, who is part of the organising committee, said the commemoration is always a very important date on the calendar and it gives an opportunity for members of Fianna Fáil in Clare to remember party colleagues who have passed away.

“The legacy of Éamon De Valera in Clare, Ireland and throughout the world has been well documented but it must not be forgotten that he served the Clare constituency with distinction for nearly 40 years. Sun- day is an opportunity for the people of Clare to remember the impact De Valera had.

“This Sunday will also be a chance for people to commemorate all the deceased members of Fianna Fáil in Clare,” said Deputy Dooley.

Following the event on Sunday there will be lunch afterwards in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis. All are welcome.

BORD Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) have rejected claims that a planned € 50 million fish farm off the North Clare coast is a “disaster in the making.”

The board has identified an area of Galway Bay as a site for a proposed deep-sea organic fish farm. The venture could create a total of 500 direct and indirect jobs, according to BIM.

According to BIM, the project will create 350 jobs directly through the operation and maintenance of the farm and a further 150 jobs through support industries locally. BIM are about to open a period of public consultation in relation to the development and will send a final application for a license to government after that.

BIM are applying for a production license and, if successful, would hold that on behalf of the taxpayer and find a suitable commercial investor.

Details of the project were heard at a meeting yesterday of Clare County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) for Community, Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services.

Donal Maguire, Director of Agriculture Development Services with BIM, told the meeting that the project would require an investment of € 50 million. He said the capital budget for fish cages and ships would be close to € 27 million.

He said the site would have no impact on beaches in North Clare, Galway and the Aran Islands.

Mr Maguire, who is originally from Kilkee, said aquaculture can live side by side with tourism.

He added, “We think it’s an exciting project and it could make a lot of employment in Clare and Galway. It will not create an environmental impact.”

Mr Maguire admitted BIM have received a mixed response, saying some residents on the Aran Islands have concerns while others see it as source of year round employment.

He added, “We could see fish being put to sea in 2014, all going incredibly well.” The project did come in for criticism from one SPC member.

Patsy Perill, who represents the Environment and Conservation Sector said BIM are completely underestimating the risks to the environment posed by the proposed fish farm.

Pointing to the potential impact of sea lice and fish waste, Mr Perill said, “I think this is a disaster in the making.” “It’s going to be a wipeout of the wild fish”, he added.

Mr Maguire said studies had shown that sea lice are not the reason for the decline of wild salmon. He said Ireland has among the strictest sea regulations in the world.

“There is an amount of misinformation that isn’t true,” he added.