Category: News

OFFICIALS at Clare County Council remain confident that major flood relief works to protect homes and businesses in the south of Ennis will get the approval of An Bord Pleannála.

The Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme will see works carried out in Ballybeg and St Flannan’s College areas of the town.

A bank of the River Fergus from Doora Bridge to Clarecastle will also be strengthened as part of the works.

Councillors in the Ennis Electoral Area were given a progress report on the project yesterday.

Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan told the meetings that the council had submitted an Environmental Impact Survey (EIS) to An Bord Pleannála. He said a number of statutory bodies, including the Railway Safety Commission, had made submissions on the project.

He told the meeting that an issue had arisen regarding the cost of the embankment works.

Asked about a timeframe for the works, Mr Tiernan said the council hoped to receive a decision from An Board Pleannála in January.

He said that depending on the length of the tender process, work on the project could be complete by 2014.

The project forms part of a series of flood relief works to be carried out on a phased basis in Ennis.

Phase one of the € 26 million Ennis Flood Relief Scheme, which involved works at Parnell Street and Mill Road, is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.

Phase two will see improvements to river walls and other flood defenses on the Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. The work will include the construction of new structural embankments, preformed reinforced concrete walls and three storm water pumping stations.

Mr Tiernan said the tender process is nearing completion and that 2014 is a “realistic target for completion at this stage”.

THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is expected to issue directions later this month in the case of four people charged in connection with a disturbance at a roundabout in Ennis last month.

Bernard McDonagh (45), 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 producing an iron bar while about to commit an assault.

He also charged with 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 production of a hatchet while about to commit an assault.

Bernard McDonagh Jnr (22), with an address at 1 Ashline Kilrush Road, Ennis, is charged with possession of an article with intent to cause injury and the production of an article in the course of a dispute.

He is also charged with assault causing harm.

The four people appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the State are awaiting directions from the DPP. He requested the matters be adjourned for another two weeks.

He said the State is working to “expedite” the cases, which he described as “not easily moved on.”

Defence solicitor for all accused, Daragh Hassett, consented to the adjournment.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy adjourned the case for two weeks to allow for DPP’s directions. All four people were ordered to appear again in court on November 21.

KILRUSH Town Council will not be missed until it is gone.

That was the message from the members of the council at its November meeting, the first since the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan signed the council’s death warrant last month.

The town councillors felt that the loss of the council would leave a gaping hole in access to services and local people’s direct involvement in the development of the town, a fact that will not be recognised locally until it is too late.

Father of the council Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) proposed that the members meet with the councillors from the other three town councils whose time is also up according to the Government.

Former mayor of the town, Ian Lynch (FG) believes it is time to go to the people to see what they feel about the loss of the 126-year-old council by organising a survey or questionnaire.

Cllr Liam Williams (FG) said he was disappointed “especially as a long time member of the Fine Gael party to think local democracy has been damaged. I can’t see the town being better off because of it.”

Fellow Fine Gael councillor Marian McMahon Jones said she was equally disappointed and said the loss of the council will have a detrimental affect on local rates and parking costs.

Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) feared that any move to change things now was too little too late.

“I think we are waiting until the horse has bolted, we should have done something sooner. We knew it was coming down the line,” he said.

Cllr Prendeville even went as far as to compare the political situation to Germany in 1934, saying people were disillusioned with party poli- tics.

“If there was a vote in the morning to get rid or the Dáil there would be 100 per cent turn out to get rid of it. That is just how people are feeling.

“We could get rid of two of our four TDs in the morning and save a quarter of a million euro. We have a Sen- ate that Enda Kenny promised to get rid of but will we get the turkeys to vote for Christmas?” he asked.

“We have a great council going now, maybe the Senate will go next and then maybe the Dáil next and then we are in a 1939 situation.”

Mayor of Kilrush Mairead O’Brien (Ind) concluded with “this is a community blow. It is a blow for the community but I am not sure the community knows it yet.”

The councillors resolved to meet with other town councillors in the county to organise a protest or a way of highlighting their joint concerns.

A MAN told gardaí that he had no memory of stealing a woman’s handbag from a pub in Ennis a court has heard.

Norman Hogan (50), with an address at 40 Fergus Park, Ennis stole the handbag from Lucas’ Bar, Parnell, Street, Ennis on July 8 (2011).

He pleaded guilty to the theft at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the accused “opportunistically” took the bag from the pub. The bag contained a digital camera, a mobile phone and € 60. Insp Kennedy said Mr Hogan removed the contents before discarding the bag.

CCTV was used to identify Mr Hogan who later told gardai that he had very little memory of the incident. The contents of the bag were not recovered.

Defence solicitor Siobhan McMahon said her client had a serious addiction to alcohol.

She said this particular type of offence was the “not the norm for Mr Hogan.”

She told the court that Mr Hogan was with his partner on the night and may have picked up the handbag thinking it was hers.

Ms McMahon added, “He cannot recall the situation. He was drinking vodka straight.”

She said Mr Hogan is now taking steps to deal with his alcoholism. Ms McMahon added, “I would urge you to give him this last chance.”

Mr Hogan also pleaded guilty to the theft of groceries valued at € 38 from Tescos in Ennis on July 27 (2012).

Judge Aeneas McCarthy imposed a nine month suspended sentence in respect of the theft of the lady’s handbag.

He imposed a three-month consecutive suspended sentence in respect of the Tesco’s theft. He also ordered Mr Hogan to be of good behaviour for a period of two years.

Judge McCarthy warned Mr Hogan that any further offence would not be tolerated by the court.

Addressing Ms McMahon, the judge said, “Advise your client of the consequences of coming back before me.”

CLARE County Council could be stuck with a bill for more than € 15,000 for sending out 33,000 warning letter – some of which were addressed to dead people. A spokesperson from the local authority confirmed to The Cla re People yesterday that the cost of sending out the warning letter would be significant but he could not comment on whether the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), will be reimbursing them for the cost of postage and stationary.

While the latest figures from the LGMA reveal that 30 per cent of homeowners in Clare, approximately 16, 500 people, have not yet paid their household charge. Despite this, the LGMA instructed Clare County Council to issue 33,000 warning let- ter last week and provided them with a database of addresses to use.

“€ 15,000 is the approximate cost associated with issuing the letters and Clare County Council is unable to comment on whether this cost can be recouped or not at this point or in the future,” said a council spokesperson yesterday.

This follow criticism of the letter by Clare TD, Michael McNamara (LAB) in Dáil Éireann last week as well as reports of letter being sent to hundreds of people who have already paid the household charge and a number of deceased people.

“It is very disconcerting for people who have paid to see equal services still being provided to those who haven’t paid, but it is even more disconcerting for those who have paid it to receive letters asking them to provide proof of having paid it to the very local authority where they brought their cheques,” he Deputy McNamara.

According to Clare County Council, they were simply carrying out instruction as ordered by the LGMA.

“Clare County Council issued letters to householders in Clare on foot of a request from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). The letters issued are based on a database compiled by the LGMA. The LGMA has carried out a comparison between the data on the Property Registration Agency database, and those that have registered and paid, or obtained a waiver, in relation to the Household Charge,” said the spokesperson.

Clare County Council have already been docked € 250,000 by the Department of the Environment due to the level of non-payment.

FIVE people have appeared in court charged in connection with a public order incident in a Shannon housing estate earlier this year.

Daniel Larkin (21), Jake Egan (20), Shane O’Connor (21), David Aherne (20) and John Cahill (21) are all charged with offences arising out of an incident at Cluian Alainn, Estate Shannon on January 1.

Mr Larkin, with an address at Mount Ivers Sixmilebridge, is charged with violent disorder; Mr Egan, with an address at 53 Aidan Park, Shannon, is charged with violent disorder; Mr O’Connor, with an address at 37 Ballycaseymore, Shannon, is charged with violent disorder; Mr Aherne, with an address at Riverview, Ballysheen, Sixmilebridge, is charged with trespass and provoking a breach of the peace; Mr Cahill, with an ad- dress at 32 Cluian Driochead, Sixmilebridge, is charged with trespass.

All five appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. Inspector Tom Kennedy said directions had not been received from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

He said an extensive file has been prepared in respect of the cases. Judge Aeneas McCarthy adjourned the cases until January 9 for DPP’s directions.

A CLARE elected representative and his wife who registered and paid the controversial household charge before the first deadline, were this week issued with not one but two reminder letters to pay the charge and a late payment fine.

Kilrush town councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) said that he has a receipt to show that he paid the € 100 charge.

Yet despite his compliance with the law he received a letter in the last week stating he was now over due the payment.

His wife also received a similar letter sent to the same address, demanding the “outstanding” charge be paid.

An angered Cllr Prendeville said he was not going to ring the lo-call number highlighted in the letter to advise the Local Government Man- agement Agency (LGMA) of its mistake.

“I paid € 100 for household charge. I paid for services and I’m being denied services because others have not paid,” he said.

Among those who received reminder letters on the household charge were a dead man and a dead woman from West Clare, as well as numerous people that had already paid.

Among the 33,000 letters issued by Clare County Council on behalf of the LGMA a number of them went to people who are deceased.

Councillor Prendeville said one West Clare woman was particularly upset as a reminder letter was sent to her late husband, using a name that he was not known by on any documentation except the register of electors.

The councillor raised concerns that the register was being used as a method of identifying people, a method he described as “illegal”.

A JUDGE has refused jurisdiction of a case involving an alleged assault in Lahinch on New Year’s Eve.

Paul Matthews (21), with an address at Mullagh Road, Miltown Malbay, is charged with assault causing harm at the Claremont Hotel, Main Street, Lahinch on December 12 (2011).

Details of the alleged assault were heard at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. Inspector Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case.

He said it would be alleged that Mr Matthews punched another man in the face, breaking a bone in his nose. Insp Kennedy said the alleged incident appeared to be “at the higher end” of assault cases. He said the alleged victim had surgery for his injuries. After hearing a summary of the alleged facts, Judge Aeneas McCarthy said he did not deem the case fit to be tried summarily. He refused jurisdiction of the case. He adjourned the case for the service of the book of evidence.

TENS of thousands of mature ash trees will wither and possibly die in Clare in the coming years as the spread of Chalara fraxinea or ash dieback disease to Clare has been deemed inevitable.

The fungal infection, which was discovered in an area of County Galway last week, will have a particularly negative effect on sections of the Burren – where ash is a central part of the natural biodiversity.

Ash plays a key role in the Burren ecosystem and provides shelter for insects and other smaller plants. While the exact effects of the spread of ash dieback to the Burren cannot be guessed, it is thought that they will not have a very negative effect on the Burren’s rare butterfly population or its collection of alpine flowers.

“It is not only likely that it will spread to Clare, at this point it is inevitable. Nobody has been able to stop it before. The spores of the fungus are airborne and are released by the leaves, so they spread very rapidly,” said Sharon Parr of the Burren Farming for Conservation Group.

“You could try to contain it by burning all the leaves of infected trees but spores are being released before any signs of the disease are detected. So even if you cut an infected tree down you would have to gather up all the leaves produced by that tree and burn them to contain the infection. I just can’t see that happening. Nobody has been successful in containing them to date.”

The spread of this disease is likely to have a major impact on the Burren due to the large number of ash trees in existence there and to the delicate balance which already exists in the Burren ecosystem.

“This is going to be incredibly significant. Ash is one of the major woodland trees in Ireland and when this disease gets into the Burren area, and other areas of well drained ash-friendly soil, it is going to have a major impact,” continued Sharon.

“Ash is the main large tree species in the Burren. You have hazel woodland in some sections of the Burren but as you move east the ash starts to take over and become a much more dominant part of the landscape. There are significant areas of ash woodland in the Burren which could very easily be lost.

“It is thought that some of the non- native ash trees have some sort of immunity to the disease and it won’t effect mountain ash, because mountain ash isn’t really an ash species at all, it is a totally different species of tree.

“This will certainly effect the Burren and the problem at this stage is that we don’t really know how. We don’t know for sure what parts of the biodiversity up there is affected by the ash. We know that a lot of lichens are directly connected to the ash trees and a lot of insects and flowers are able to grow and thrive under an ash canopy, but it is not clear.

“I think the biggest loss will be the visual loss of the ash tree themselves first and then we will just have to wait and see how that affects other parts of the Burren. I don’t see it having a major impact on the rare flowers or butterflies yet – they are more associated with the grassland than woodland parts of the Burren and there should be enough pollinators to keep that going at this stage.

“But there are other species which are directly tied into the ash plants that will suffer. We will just have to wait and see.”

Between 60 and 90 per cent of the ash trees in Denmark are effected by the disease while in Sweden more than 50 per cent of the trees have noticeable damage.

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.