Category: News

CLARE County Council spent € 742.15 last month on the official launch of the its new Local Enterprise Office (LEO), but the spend was far from the € 4,000 splurge of some other local authorities or the frugal celebrations of Leitrim County Council who partied for just € 30.

On July 14, the Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry, officially launched LEO at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis, a department that has been operational since mid April.

Combining the resources of the Clare County Enterprise Board and Clare County Council’s business support unit, Clare LEO is one of 31 around Ireland that is tasked with delivering services and support to busi- nesses within a framework set by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and overseen by Enterprise Ireland.

According to figures released in a parliamentary question, 27 local authorities have already hosted official events to launch these offices.

The € 742.15 spent by Clare County Council on the official launch included photography costs.

The efforts of the neighbouring local authority, Tipperary County Council, were not as prudent however as it ran up the largest bill of € 4,385, which included a € 1,449 catering bill and a € 1,000 marquee hire.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown also ran up a bill over € 4,000 with the Taoiseach’s home county of Mayo coming in third with costs reaching € 3,717.

Clare was well below the mid-way mark in 16th place when it came to costs, but it was Leitrim that proved to be the most entrepreneurial when it came to showcasing its enterprise office. The € 30 it spent was for the cost of a courier to deliver a stand. The tea and coffee for the celebration was provided by the council canteen and kitchen with two small local companies displaying their home baking and providing the food free of charge.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said official launches of these offices, which cost a total € 38,528.81, were part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness of their role.

“Each LEO has a small allocation for events such as these and the costs are incorporated into each Office’s budgets for the year,” he said.

SCORES of Clare horses are being trapped in a circle of neglect with many horse owners literally unable to give their animals away.

The number of Clare horse owners increased sharply during the Celtic Tigers years but reports of cruelty and abandonment have been widespread since the economic downturn, with many people now unable to af- ford the cost of keeping the animals properly.

However, according to Clare dog warden Frankie Coote, a large number of Clare horses are suffering from neglect on numerous occasions – with their owners unable to get rid of the animals. With a large number of horses bought or sold on the black market, many Clare horse owners have no longer got the money to keep their animals but do not have the documentation to sell their animals.

“We are dealing with the same horses now as we were dealing with four or five years ago. Because of difficulties with passports and microchips, there people are unable to sell them on to factories which has resulted in a lot of people owning horses who don’t have the means to look after them,” said Frankie Coote.

“We are being called out to the same horses again and again over the past four years. These horses are getting no vetinarial treatment, their hoofs are not being done and they are not being fed right. They are not getting adequate water in many cases.”

A number of Clare cases of animal cruelty have currently been referred to the DPP for possible investigation.

“We can take animals away in severe cases and we have sent a number of files to the DPP in relation to cases from last year,” said Frankie.

“But we do have a situation at the moment where we have a lot of peo- ple who just can’t take care of their animals but can’t get rid of them either. People should know that in emergency cases we have fodder for horses available and vetinarial fees available – so people can contact us for help.

“We are expecting this to be a difficult winter and we are certainly advising people not to over stock. But I think we need a legislation change really to allow for these [undocumented] horses to be moved on.”

THE Clare construction industry is beginning to come back to life with a marked increase in the number of projects actually being commenced in the first half of this year.

The number of commencement orders issued in Clare has grown by a massive 53 per cent compared to last year. While these figures have been broadly welcomed, industry insiders have stressed that the growth is from a very low level and it will take a prolonged period of similar growth before the construction industry in Clare returns to a sustainable level.

There was further good news for the construction sector as the number of planning applications lodged in Clare during the first half of 2014 is up by more than 12 per cent when compared to the same period during 2013.

Commencement orders are considered to be a much more accurate way of mapping the health of the construction sector in a region as a large proportion of planning applications in recent years refer to the retention of historic planning applications, many of which may go forward to the construction stage.

Despite Clare’s positive showing in the National Housing Construction Index, the county is actually lagging behind the country as a whole with Ireland recording an overall increase of 66 per cent in commencements so far in 2014.

“The year on year increases for planning applications and project commencements bodes well for the construction sector in the short to medium term. The 66 per cent year on year increase in project commencements is incredibly positive, notwithstanding the slowdown in the rate of growth in project commencements since the start of the year,” said Danny O’Shea of Link2Plans who compile the National Housing Construction Index.

ENNIS is facing its worst ever rental property crisis – with prices set to rise by at least 10 per cent over the next 12 months.

The rental market in the county town is on the verge of grinding to a standstill – with just 29 properties available for rent in Ennis today, and only 12 three-bedroom, family style homes.

Rental property prices rose by 2.2 per cent in the the second quarter of this year – with the lions share of this rise being driven by Ennis.

A normally functioning rental market should see more than five per cent of the total property stock on the rent- al market at any time. Ennis requires a 1600 per cent increase on current stock levels to get close to that level.

“The last six months has seen a sharp decline on the number of properties available to rent in Ennis. We had a property last week which was rented after its first viewing for a increased rent, a lot of properties aren’t making it to the property websites they are going so fast,” said Mairead Carrig of Location Location in Ennis.

“Properties are being snapped up very quickly and there are very few new builds coming through. It would not be unrealistic if we saw price increases of 10 per cent of more in the year ahead. The powers that be need to make it easier for builders to get back to work in Ennis.”

The divisions between Clare’s two speed rental market also appears to be deepening with a large number of properties still available for rent outside of urban areas.

According to Ronan Lyons of Daft. ie, Ennis is just six months off a property shortage similar to those currently being experienced in Dublin and Cork.

Unlike Dublin and Cork however, there are few building projects planned for Ennis in the short and medium term.

“The figures for Ennis are really dramatic. A healthy market should have between 5 or 10 per cent of properties for sale at any one time but there is nothing close to that at the moment,” he said.

“Ennis is in the same boat as Cork and Dublin, there is just a lack of available accommodation, but it just on a small scale. Ultimately, this can only lead to large increases in rents.

“We have seen rent rises in four of the last five quarters in Clare and I could see rent rises significantly in the county over the next six months. It is very difficult to predict but I wouldn’t be surprising to see rents for the whole of the county rising by between 5 and 10 per cent in the year ahead.

“The places will see this the most is in Ennis and the parts of Clare which are close to Limerick and Galway. More and more now people want to be closer to jobs and services.”

GOOD news keeps landing at Shannon Airport as as new figures from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) confirm another impressive month of growth at the Clare Airport.

After passing out Cork Airport just last month, and reclaiming its position as Ireland’s second largest airport, Shannon begun to pull away from its Munster rival.

According to the new Air Traffic Figures for July, compiled by the IAA, Shannon Airport recorded an 18 per cent growth in the number of daily commercial flight coming through the airport compared to July of 2013.

More impressive than the percentage growth however is the number of commercial flights which are landing at the Clare airport each day.

An average of 74 daily commercial movements were recorded at Shannon Airport in July – the largest monthly average for more than four years. This compares to 66 daily commercial movement in Cork for the same period.

While commercial movement do not necessarily translate directly to passenger numbers, it is expected that Shannon Airport will also have passed out Cork Airport when those figures are released later this year.

This growth in traffic through Shannon Airport comes in the way of the decoupling of the airport from the Dublin Airport Authority. During 2012 Shannon Airport was close to being passed out by Knock Airport in Mayo as Ireland third busiest airport.

Meanwhile, the Central Statistic Office have compiled detailed figures for Shannon last year which show that the airport hosted 1,308,242 passengers last year – with four out of every ten passengers travelling to or from London.

The most popular route was Shannon to Heathrow which carried 258,000 passengers while Shannon-Stansted and Shannon-Gatwick hosted 183,000 and 104,000 respectively.

In the same year, more than 200,000 people travelled between Shannon and New York with 107,000 travelling from Shannon to Newark and 102 travelling from Shannon to JFK.

THERE are more than 100 extra vacant commercial premises in Clare compared to this time last year – despite anecdotal evidence of improvement in the local economy.

The latest report from the Geo Directory tracker has found that the rate of vacant premises has risen from 11.4 per cent last year, to 12.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 – meaning that 904 of Clare’s 7,030 premises are now vacant, compared to 801 last year.

The chairperson of Ennis Cham- ber of Commerce, Rita McInerney, described the figures as disappointing but stressed that sections of the Clare economy are experiencing a recovery.

“I am disappointed that the rate has gone up because the general feeling within business is that things are broadly improving. I think it reflects the challenges that the retail sections are facing at the moment,” she said.

“This is indicative of the pressure that the retail trade is under. Retail is the sector that will always require premises when new businesses start.”

The Ennis Chamber is keen to forward new approaches to retail, such as the creation of a Business Improvement District, to allow businesses to win back customers from large retail parks and online shopping sites.

“The creation of a Business Improvement District is one of the weapons we can use to tackle vacant units in Ennis and other town centres. These districts strive to reenergise town centres and ensure that there is the right mix of shops and facilities to give customers what they want,” continued Rita.

“There is a real possibility of challenge online shopping by giving people a different sort of shopping experience. Online shopping is clinical, it’s unsocial and people are looking for that social kind of shopping experience.

“It’s about being able to offer people a complete experience. Online shopping serves a purpose, people are social by their nature and a lot of people are looking for an experience when they shop.”

Discussions on the creation of a Business Improvement District in Ennis are ongoing amongst businesses involved in the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.

A MAN allegedly ran onto a public road in East Clare carrying a samurai sword during a dispute between members of the traveling community, a court has heard.

Gardaí received two calls to deal with a disturbance involving travelers camped along the side of the road at Bohatch, Mountshannon on July 25, Ennis District Court was told yesterday.

Details of the alleged incident were outlined as a 22 year-old man appeared in court charged with an offence contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act.

Bernard Ward, with an address at Bohatch, Mountshannon, is charged with having a sword which had a blade or which was sharply pointed contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at Bohatch, Mountshannon, on July 25.

Inspector Tom Kennedy handed in a schedule of the arrest, charge and caution of Mr Ward to Judge Grainne O’Neill yesterday.

Defence solicitor Daragh Hassett applied to be assigned legal aid and handed in a statement of means for his client.

Insp Kennedy said the State had no issue with the granting of legal aid to Mr Ward.

Mr Hassett said he required time to seek disclosure from the State.

Judge O’Neill asked if the issue of jurisdiction – what court the case will be heard in – had been decided.

The Judge said she could not make an order for disclosure unless she knew if the case is fit to be tried summarily in the District Court or not.

Insp Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case in the District Court.

He outlined a summary of the alleged facts of the case.

The court heard gardaí were called to deal with a disturbance involving members of the traveling community at Bohatch, Mountshannon on the day in question.

Insp Kennedy said it would be alleged that a garda who was at the scene saw Mr Ward exit a caravan and arrive on a public road carrying a “samurai sword”.

The court heard that it is alleged that when Mr Ward saw the gardaí, he ran back into the caravan.

It is alleged that when gardai searched the accused’s caravan they found the sword under a bed.

Mr Ward did not indicate yesterday how he intends to plead to the charge.

Judge O’Neill accepted jurisdiction and made an order for disclosure. She remanded Mr Ward on bail to appear again in court on October 7.

CLARE County Council, acting as agents on behalf of Irish Water, says it has recorded significant improvements in the quality of drinking water being provided by the Kildysart water treatment plant, but has advised that water restrictions will remain in place until today (Tuesday, August 12th) at least.

The Local Authority said a water quality testing programme will be carried out during next week, and that a “satisfactory sequence of test results” will be required before the existing restrictions can be fnally lifted.

The HSE, in conjunction with Irish Water and Clare County Council, imposed water restrictions on the Kildysart Public Water Supply scheme a forthnight ago, on Tuesday 29th July.

Approximately 1500 customers were advised as a precautionary measure that water on the scheme was not suitable for drinking due to the discolouration of the water caused by increased Manganese levels.

A Council spokesperson said:

“There has been a further significant reduction in manganese levels in the treated water due to remedial works carried out this week at the treatment plant, but a sequence of good results over a number of days will need to be demonstrated before the restriction can be lifted.”

“In the interest of public health, it is recommended that all users on the Kildysart Public Water Supply and the Coolmeen Group Water Supply should not use tap water until further notice.

“The exceptions to this can include flushing of toilets, flushing of internal house plumbing systems, dishwashing, personal hygiene and laundry as high manganese may lead to staining of clothes but is not a public health risk.

“Customers are also advised to discard ice cubes in fridges and freezers.

“We are unable to determine when normal service will be resumed, but Irish Water and Clare County Council will continue to liaise with the HSE with a view to lifting drinking water restrictions as soon as practicable,” the spokesperson added.

In the meantime, drinking water tankers are being deployed daily outside Kildysart Secondary School and the Hilltop Bar in Coolmeen up until to and including this Tuesday (today, 12th August), at least.

Further information will be disseminated via the media, on www. water.ie and the Irish Water Customer Contact Centre: 1890 278278.

Customers are requested to advise Irish Water or Clare County Council of elderly or disabled people who may require special assistance.

THE NUMBER of children being baptised in West Clare has dropped significantly in recent years as the effects of emigration further impacts on rural Clare.

According to figures produced by the Diocese of Killaloe, the number of baptisms in the west of the county fell from 170 in 2010, to just 157 in 2013 – this equates to a drop of almost 8 per cent.

The worst hit areas were Kilmihil which recorded a 39 per cent decrease (from 23 to 14) and Doonbeg which saw a 33 per cent decrease (from 21 to 14).

Despite losing all of it’s government funding in 2012, Kilrush based Rural Resettlement Ireland continued to rehouse urban families in rural areas.

“Indeed, according to founder Jim Connolly, the organisation has brought three new families to West Clare so far this year.

“Where we see the drop in population most is in requests from schools, who are desperately needing two or three students who need students to save a teachers job.

“We get requests like this from families from all over the west – it’s like they are ordering families off a fence.

“We have three villages in West Clare who are getting new families this summer, all with young children. I know that in each of these cases they are saving a teachers job,” said Mr Connolly.

“It seems to me that all over the West [of Ireland] a generation has been lost.

“The spin at the moment that Ireland is pulling out of recession applied only to Dublin and to the East coast.

“I’m not a doom merchant, I’m a very positive person, but as far as I can see it every rural town in Ireland is as dead as a dodo.”

Rural Resettlement Ireland has also began taking requests from homeless families who are currently being kept in emergency accommodation by ur- ban local authorities.

“None of the current situation makes common sense. We have a housing crisis in Dublin.

“For the first time ever we are now taking inquires from people who are homeless – people who had a mortgage, Mr and Mrs Average who had a mortgage and couldn’t keep up with it.

“We were dealing with one family last week who were being put in a Travelodge by a local authority,” continued Jim.

“You have hundreds and hundreds of families who need a home, and on the west coast we have thousands of homes with no-one in them.

“It just doesn’t make sense.”

A CLARE stonemason has secured a € 223,000 write-down on his € 346,390 family home mortgage as part of a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA).

The arrangement was approved by Judge Patrick Meaghan at the Circuit Court in Ennis on Tuesday.

A separate PIA in respect of the man’s wife was also granted by Judge Meaghan

The court heard the man was left with debts of almost € 2.3 million following the collapse of the man’s stone products business which went into liquidation last year.

Judge Meaghan said he recalled the case because the size of the debts involved. He complimented all sides for finalizing the agreement.

He said this represented “quite a feat” given the difficulties surrounding the titles of some of the man’s properties.

Earlier this year the man was granted court protection to allow his Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP), Jim Stafford, time to negotiate with secured and unsecured creditors.

Judge Meaghan said all creditors voted 100 percent in favour of the PIA at a creditors’ meeting.

The Judge said that because of the man’s low income he was unable to engage in a multi-year payment plan to his creditors.

Judge Meaghan said the man did not have to sell his home. He explained that KBC Bank have agreed to reduce the mortgage on the family home from € 346,000 to € 123,000 subject to a dividend of € 15,000 being paid to the bank as an unsecured creditor.

There is a reduction in the term of the mortgage of three years and three months.

The man is to pay a revised monthly mortgage payment of € 1,200 on the family home for 10 years and three months up to his 70th birthday.

In order to pay a dividend to his creditors the man is to sell the following assets; a farm and stables totaling 31.86 hectares; a residential buy-to-let property; a residential buy-to-let apartment; a commercial buy-to-let property and several other plots of land.

The man will also make available a lump sum to pay the PIP’s fees.

According to the arrangement no other assets of the debtor will be sold pursuant to the PIA.

Judge Meaghan said, “I am pleased to approve this arrangement.

“It was a particularly difficult case given both the size of the debts and the complexity with regards the security in respect of the assets”.

Judge Meaghan said the debtor’s banks may have legal claims against the debtor’s former solicitor for breaches of undertakings provided to the banks.

He said it is accepted this arrangement does not prejudice these potential proceedings

The unsecured creditors are listed as KBC € 333,683; EBS € 423,428; Ulster Bank € 829,982; Bank of Ireland € 8,926; Bank of Scotland € 85, 536; Emberon Finance Ltd € 29,928; Vanguard Auto Finance € 195,343 and Niamh Perrotta € 75,000.