Category: News

A PUBLIC meeting to outline the potential dangers of hydraulic fracturing or fracking, will take place in Ennis this Sunday, April 15. The meeting will be addressed by NUI, Galway hydro-geologist Tiernan Henry, who will outline the possible dangers to the environment of West Clare should the Clare Basin be opened up to fracking.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council voted unanimously to amend the county development plan to prohibit fracking in the Clare basin. In practice, however, this decision had little beyond a moral boost for the Clare anti-fracking campaign, as any decision on granting a licence for fracking to take place will be taken by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte (LAB).

“Local government just does not have that power. Anyone who becomes informed of the controversial method of fracking knows it would be a criminal undertaking to let it happen in County Clare and the other areas of the West of Ireland where it is being proposed,” said Clare Fracking Concerned spokesperson, Róisín Ní Gháirbhith.

“It is important that people who are genuinely concerned about the threat of fracking attend this event. We need to keep this issue on our local politicians’ agenda and they need to know that we, the people, do not, under any circumstances, want this in our county or, indeed, Ireland.”

The meeting will be followed by a panel discussion which will be chaired by Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent with The Irish Times .

“We have invited representatives from every sector of society, including farmers, politicians, tourism operators, business people, hoteliers, publicans and geologists, as well as Enegi Oil, the company that is interested in fracking in Clare, to take part in a panel discussion,” continued Sinead.

Enegi Oil has a licence for a 500km2 area known as the Clare Basin, which covers a large part of West Clare, as well as parts of Kerry and Limerick. The company has stated, “The Clare Basin area has great potential” and that it is “a new exciting lead”.

Enegi is currently proceeding with phase two of its exploration process, taking more detailed samples of what it describes as “an organically rich source rock that may contain shale gas”. It can then proceed to apply for a drilling licence.

The Clare Fracking Concerned event will take place at Glór in Ennis on Sunday, April 15, at 7pm.

A MAN allegedly sent a series of “nasty and offensive” text messages to a woman in Ennis, including one that stated she “should pick out a headstone” for herself, a court has heard.

Colm Quigley (39), with an address at 1 Steeles Terrace, Ennis, appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

He is charged with persistently making use of a telecom system by a licensed operator for the purposes of causing, annoyance, inconvenience and needless anxiety to another, contrary to the Postal and Telecommunications Act.

Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by schedule. Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that it would be alleged that Mr Quigley sent text messages of an offensive and threatening nature to Carmel Corbett.

He explained that Ms Corbett had rented accommodation to Mr Quigley who had now left. Insp Kennedy said there was some dispute as to whether this was amicable or not.

He told the court that the accused sent eight different text messages to Ms Corbett on October 17 (2011). He continued, “They were all quite nasty and offensive.”

Insp Kennedy said five of the eight text messages would be considered to be of an offensive, threatening and abusive nature.

The court heard that one of the text messages read, “You should pick out a headstone” for yourself.

Insp Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the matter.

Judge Patrick Durcan accepted jurisdiction of the case. Solicitor Daragh Hassett said he would be writing to the State seeking full disclosure.

Judge Durcan remanded the man on continuing bail to appear at Ennis District Court on May 9.

SINCE Scariff Community College has new personnel in its two most senior posts, it was thought appropriate to mark their arrival by planting commemorative trees.

The idea emanated from the Green Flag Committee, which has already put in place many commendable initiatives in the realm of ecology.

Oaks were chosen for the occasion honouring the start of tenures of Angela McNamara as college principal and Brian Crossan as deputy principal.

Green Flag Committee member Frank Blake, who is no stranger to public appearances – he was one of the stars of last December’s ‘All Shook Up’ staged in the college hall by East Clare Musical Society – was chosen to set the tree-planting in motion and in a brief address explained the purpose of the occasion after formally welcoming the new appointees on behalf of staff and student cohort.

Representing the Parents Council was Regina Roskam while Mary Cassidy and Liam Furlong were there to show the appreciation of Tuamgraney Development Association which works on ecological matters with the Green Flag Committee.

One of the latter initiatives is the restoration of a row boat to be installed in the village as a garden fea- ture. Soon the college’s Green Flag Committee will be the subject of a documentary in the Ear to the Ground television series. The RTÉ One programme is being devoted to the rainwater conservation scheme installed in the college through the committee’s research and planning.

THE number of businesses that went into liquidation has been cited as the main reason for the level of uncollected commercial rates in Ennis.

Latest figures show that as of March 23, Ennis Town Council had just over € 2.4 million of “temporary uncollectible rates.”

In 2011 the council had “irrecoverable” rates of € 502,755, a decrease of € 26,175 on last year’s figure.

A report on the schedule of uncollected rates 2011 was presented at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Town Clerk Leonard Cleary explained, “In 2011, Ennis Town Council had irrecoverable rates of € 502,755, which represented 6.99 per cent of rate demand for 2011.

“These irrecoverable rates related to rates which were not legally collectable e.g. demolished / vacant properties, charitable organisations, properties occupied by the HSE etc.”

Mr Cleary continued, “At December 31, the temporary uncollectible rates stood at € 2,901,37 which represents 40.32 per cent of the rate demand for 2011.

“However, € 474,000 has been col- lected in rates to March 23. This temporary uncollectible balance is made up of a number of accounts, each with considerable balances owing.

“Ennis Town Council is making every effort to recover these monies by agreeing payment plans to allow people make phased payment or by proceeding through the appropriate legal channels including service of court summons”.

He added, “It should be noted also that a number of companies, who owe rates, have gone into liquidation over the last number of years.

“Ennis Town Council must await the decisions of liquidators to establish the amount of outstanding rates will be recovered from these companies.”

Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that he was quite satisfied with the amount of money collected by the council to date in 2012.

However, he added that rate collection is still an issue for the council.

He said the council is willing to make “reasonable arrangements” with people regarding the payment of rates.

The court heard that the council has issued 70 summonses in relation to outstanding debt.

A CLARE company will later this month become the first group in the world to create a touring van which runs completely on electricity. Vanderlust, which is based on the Quin Road in Ennis, are currently re-engineering a Renault Kangoo van to be the world’s first electric tourism van.

The company, which is run by Ennis man Dave Hanley, plan to launch a series of eco-friendly touring routes in Clare later this month, with several different overnight trips already identified. They aim to complete each route without using petrol or diesel.

“The electric camper van is a totally new thing and this will be the first one anywhere in the world. Our van is based on the Renault Kangoo van and we are reworking that to include a seating area that folds into a sleeping area for two, a cooker, a sink, a fridge – basically everything you need for a camping holiday,” said Dave.

“Everything in the back of the van will be run using solar panels so the van will be powered by electricity and all the amenities will be powered using solar power. So it is totally electric.”

It is estimated that the van will be able to reach 170 km before it needs to stop and be recharged.

“I have put together a number of routes which include a charge point every 100 km so there will never be an issue of running out of juice. People can charge their vehicles in the camp sites on the routes and they will be all ready to go the next morning,” continued Dave.

“We are still working on the van at the moment. We have been developing the conversion using a diesel version of the Renault Kangoo and that went well so we would hope to be able to convert the electric version quite quickly.

“We want to have this van on the road by June at the very latest. We have set out a nice route which people can follow if they want to take a seven-day trip around the west and never run out of electricity.”

WHILE the county’s hurlers are making progress on the pitch, Clare Labour TD, Michael McNamara, has been forced to cut short his own hurling come-back after a spat broke out between the East Clare deputy and Labour’s National Organiser, David Leach, at the recent Labour VS Fine Gael charity hurling match.

Deputy McNamara, who last played hurling for the Scariff Junior B Team in 2006, saw red after a disagreement with the Labour team manager, David Leach, and walked off his party’s team.

According to McNamara, the Labour manager was packing the team with young Labour staff members and only allowing the party’s TDs “cameo” run-outs during the match. McNamara has a loud disagreement with his own manager before leaving the field, without pucking a ball in anger.

The tactic clearly worked for the Labour team, who ran out comfortable winners on a score-line of 68 to 1-12, but left a sour taste in the mouth of the East Clare TD.

“It was billed as a match between TDs on both on both sides. Instead, the Labour manager, one of the [party’s] head back room staff, decided to play young researchers, advisers and secretaries with the TDs making cameo appearances, against a team of FG deputies,” he said yesterday.

“Labour won very easily and Fine Gael, managed by Jerry Buttimer, complained that the format was unfair. It is five or six years since I played a game of hurling, with the

Scariff Junior Bs, and I

was looking forward to

the game. Oh well, may

be next year.”

The Labour team in

cluded just only one

elected member, 66

year-old Kildare TD and

goalkeeper Jack Wall, in

their starting line-up for

the seven-a-side clash.

In contrast to this Fine

Gael fielded six TDs,

including Clare’s Joe

Carey, in their starting line-up, but were no match to the young ringers in red.

Despite conceding six goals, the man-of-the-match award went to Labour Jack Wall, the oldest man from any party to take the itch on the day. It is as yet unclear whether Deputy McNamara intends making a surprise comeback to bolster Scariff’s hopes in their Division 5 A opener against Kilmaley this weekend.

Deputy McNamara’s ‘Tevez moment’ was the talk of Leinster House, with even Miriam Lord mentioning his disagreement in her Irish Times column last Saturday.

A NEW support group that encourages people to take control of their mental health problems will open in Ennis later this month.

Details of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) were outlined at a forum on mental health held in Ennis last week.

WRAP facilitator Liam Minogue was among the speakers at the event that encouraged “honest conversation” about mental health issues.

Mr Minogue, the co-founder of the Ennis WRAP support group, told the meeting that he had suffered with depression and anxiety, saying that he had “spent many years in a dark place.” He said the discovery of WRAP had enabled him to take control of his battles with depression.

He said WRAP is based around five key concepts – hope, personal responsibility, education, self-advocacy and support.

He added, “When you are in a place of depression, you need to have your voice heard.”

Mr Minogue availed of training as a WRAP facilitator from the Irish Mental Health Recovery Education Consortium in 2009. In 2010, he undertook the position of Volun- tary Co-ordinator for the Clare area with the Community Reconnect and Recovery Network. Their aim is to develop a regional network of peer support groups in the mid-west region of Ireland. The Emotions Peer Support Group will open at the Clon Road Business Park, Ennis, at the end of the month.

The meeting at the Old Ground Hotel heard that, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), 386 men took their own lives in 2010, compared to 100 women.

Citing figures from a survey compiled by the support group Aware, Dr Mairead McGovern said that 45 per cent of people experience depression at some point in their lives; 55 per cent of people who experience depression did not tell family or friends; while 75 per cent said they withdrew from family and friends.

Dr McGovern, who works with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), said that in many cases, people did not talk about depression because they felt “scared, ashamed and overwhelmed.”

Dr McGovern said parenting; school counselling and local services are vital to helping young people suffering from depression.

SPECIAL deals done between governments and individual TDs have been blamed for the slow pace of reform to mental health services in Ireland.

Minister of State for Health, Kathleen Lynch told a meeting in Ennis last week that it was “scandalous” that people would cut deals to the detriment of vital services just to keep a government in power.

Ms Lynch said, “I think governments were too reliant on single TDs in different constituencies.”

The Labour TD for Cork North Central, whose areas of responsibility include mental health, told the meeting that implementation of mental health reforms contained in the 2006 ‘Vision for Change’ document was often impeded during previous administrations “because votes were too tight”.

Ms Lynch was the guest speaker at a forum on mental health held in the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis last Tuesday.

Ms Lynch told the Clare meeting that she had received the most recent report from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

She said that while annual detailed records are available for all young people accessing CAMHS, such records are not available in adult mental health services.

Ms Lynch described this lack of detailed information as a “scandal.”

The meeting heard that there are currently 60 CAMHS teams working in Ireland, 39 less than the target outlined in Vision for Change.

Ms Lynch said that € 35 million had been ringfenced in this year’s budget for mental health services.

She said that an additional 19 CAMHS posts had been allocated for this year.

Ms Lynch told the meeting that mental health had always been the “Cinderella” of the health services but that increased awareness “will take it out of the shadows”.

STAFF shortages, overcrowding and continuous cuts have resulted in “dangerous conditions” for patients and staff at Ennis General Hospital.

Early last week one nurse was left alone to care for 22 acutely ill patients in the county hospital, while care assistants replaced nurses in vital areas of care. The under pressure staff are also dealing with overcrowding at the hospital, as 12 to 15 patients are regularly cared for over-night in the medical assessment unit.

Nursing staff have to be taken from other wards to care for patients in the unit, which was added as part of the hospital reconfiguration programme and is supposed to be closed at night. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Association described the situation as unacceptable stating “this level of care is dangerous for patients.”

Sources close to staff at the hospital told The Clare People that they are concerned for patients and frustrated that they do not have the time to care for patients the way they should and would like to.

INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Mary Fogarty explained there is an acute shortage of nursing staff at the Ennis hospital since the monitorium was put in place. This has been exacerbated by recent retirements.

“We are very concerned about the standard of care across the system,” she said. While the staffing freeze does not allow vacant nursing posts to be replaced, the HSE is employing care assistants through an agency at € 12 per hour in an attempt to fill the widening staffing gap.

“While care staff have a vital role to play they cannot replace nurses. They do not have the education or experience,” she said.

Ms Fogarty was also critical of the reconfiguration process that took 25 beds out of Ennis General Hospital without having replacement infrastructure in place. “This is a very inefficient way of managing,” she said.

LEONORA Carey said she was thrilled to be re-elected to Fine Gael’s Executive Council during the party’s Ard Fheis this weekend.

The Clarecastle woman is no stranger to the world of politics. Not only is she from the Carey family that has produced two Clare TDs to date, she has a vast experience in the world of party politics having been elected to the executive council three times.

The current vice chairperson of the Clare Constituency she was first elected to the council in 2004 while a member of Dublin Central.

As a member of the constituency of the late Jim Mitchell she worked hard to build the party in Dublin central from a constituency with one councillor to one with a TD and two councillors.

In 2007 she returned to her native Clarecastle to work as an occupational therapy manager.

Since then she has been re-elected to the national executive council with the support of the Clare branch of Fine Gael.

She was active across a range of constituencies in devising strategy and preparing for the 2011 General Election.

It is this activity that saw her succeed on to the north west section of the executive.

Ms Carey told The Clare People that she was particularly greatful to all of the Clare delegates who travelled to Dublin and supported her election.

“It is great to say you are re-elected from your own county,” she said.

Asked if she one day hoped to stand for elected office, in her home county or elsewhere, the daughter and sister of politicians, said she didn’t know.

“I wouldn’t say yes and I wouldn’t say no,” she added admitting with a laugh that she already sounded like a politician.

“I enjoy doing what I do at the moment. I enjoy developing and maintaining the party across the large area of the north west.”