Category: News

THE community of Lissycasey is holding a series of fundraisers to support a young local family faced with tragedy.

Louise Earle from Abhain Sleibh, Lissycasey, was left to raise four children under the age of seven following the tragic death of her husband Kevin.

The young mother is also battling breast cancer and dealing with the fall-out of the treatment, as she cares for her little children Caitlin, Thomas, Jack and George.

The local community is now rallying around to help the family as they face a very difficult time.

A committee representing the various community organisations in the Lissycasey parish has been set up to give some financial assistance to the family to help them through the dif- ficult coming months.

The fundraising will begin with a door-to-door envelope collection during the week for anyone who wishes to contribute.

“We understand that the recession has affected everybody but we know from experience that people’s hearts are in the right place and this recent tragedy has certainly touched the hearts of all,” said Linda Eustace, a member of the committee.

“All contributions, however small, would be gratefully accepted,” she added.

Members of the committee began calling to homes in Lissycasey last evening (Monday) and will return by the end of the week to collect the envelopes. The committee will also be organising more fundraisers in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact local county councillor PJ Kelly or Linda Eustace.

A CLARE man is among 20 people to have made a complaint or query to the Data Protection Commission- er over requests on the household charge’s website for additional personal information. James Fahy, who paid the € 100 tax, wrote to the Department of the Environment saying he had no problem paying the tax, but objected to handing over his PPS number, telephone number and email address to an anonymous body that “does not even have an address”. The Household Charge Operations unit had told him they could not set up his account “due to insufficient information”, namely the lack of a PPS number. The household charge website asks for a PPS number and also for email and telephone numbers to provide annual reminders or “to notify property owners of potential liability for household charges”. While Mr Fahy had issues with providing personal information but was willing to pay the tax, more Clare people are refusing to make the € 100 payment before the March 31 deadline. A group based in West Clare took its campaign against the household charge to three of the county’s St Patrick’s Day parades at the weekend. The Enough Campaign’s West Clare branch manned “information desks” at the Kilkee and Kilrush parades on Saturday, while they handed out leaflets at Sunday’s Doonbeg parade. Karen McCormack of the group objecting to the household charge said the information desks were very busy. “The only negative response we got at the parade was from people thinking we were handing out information on how to pay the tax. Once these people realised we were objecting to the payment, they were fine,” she said. “This is a stealth tax and we know it is not paying for any local amenities, but to pay back bondholders. They (the Government) have already cut € 170 million for local government funds.”

MORE than 4,500 family carers from Clare are “under siege”, according to an advocacy group that is urging them to stand up and be counted.

The county’s dedicated family carers provide more than 99,000 hours of care every week, saving the local social economy more than € 67 million every year, yet this year they faced cuts to their social welfare support.

The Carers Association claim that these carers are under siege as the Government reviews policies, including the Domiciliary Care Allowance.

The Government is currently reviving the National Carers Strategy, put on hold due to budgetary constraints in 2009.

As a result the Carers Association is urging carers across Clare to attend its upcoming ‘Listening to Carers’ forum and have their say.

This forum, being held as part of a number of events around the country, will give family carers the opportunity to tell The Carers Association what they would like included in the National Carers Strategy as well as inform Government policy.

“Given the current crisis faced by family carers in relation to cuts on Domiciliary Care payments, it is now more important than ever that their voices are heard. We are urging carers across Clare to come to our forum and have their say to inform Governmental Policy and the National Carers Strategy” said Catherine Cox, Communications Manager of The Carers Association.

The Carers Association’s ‘Listening to Carers’ forum for carers from Limerick, Clare and Tipperary will be held in Limerick’s South Court Hotel on Monday, March 26 from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm. This will include a presentation from The Carers Association and workshops to get the views of family carers.

“There are an estimated 161,000 family carers in Ireland, providing over three million hours of care per week and saving the state almost four billion euro every year. The Carers Association works towards recognition, empowerment and a better quality of life for Ireland’s family carers,” said Ms Cox.

ONLY seven on-the-spot fines were issued to Clare anglers in 2011, despite reports of a major fish-poaching problem developing in the county.

According to new statistics obtained from Inland Fisheries Ireland, a total of 3,342 man-hours of river and lake searches were conducted by the organisation last year.

These searches resulted in just seven fines, meaning that each fine took, on average, 477 hours of searching to be identified.

This is despite reports of an increase of poaching taking place on some of Clare’s salmon and trout rivers. According to Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, West Clare has become a hot-spot for poaching during the summer months and the organisation has to draft in enforcement staff from other areas to combat the problem.

Anecdotal reports suggest that illegal angling is taking place on five Clare rivers which has been closed to legal fishing since 2007, to allow stocks of fish to recover.

Conservation measures were introduced on the Inagh, Annageeragh, Doonbeg, Aughyvacheen and Skivileen Rivers in 2007, following historically low stock levels in previous years.

Indeed, in the six years between 2001 and 2007, only 78 fish of 40cm or larger were caught on the rivers – or just more than 2.5 fish per river, per year.

“Protection of salmon and sea trout in West Clare has always, and continues to be, a major focus for staff in the lower Shannon area of Inland Fisheries Ireland and, while staff do encounter larger-scale episodes of illegal fishing, they do also come across individual anglers who are illegally fishing for salmon,” said Dr Byrne.

“During the summer months, staff work in teams and are frequently drafted from other areas to West Clare to assist officers with surveillance work, both on the Clare coastline for illegal drift net fishing, and inshore for illegal salmon fishing.”

A LOCAL history group is seeking to kick-start a movement to preserve the memory of some of Ennis’ bestknown people and places.

Members of the Clare Roots Society are appealing for people to share their memories of growing up in Ennis.

Speaking last Thursday at the launch of a new book on the history of Steele’s Terrace, Larry Brennan said the main purpose of the appeal is to try and collect more stories and personal accounts to aid the publication of further books about the history of Ennis.

He told a large crowd in the Old Ground Hotel that, with the exception of some authors such as Sean Spellissy, Ennis has been “badly served” with regards to local history books.

He said, “The purpose is to try and start a movement to get people to put down in writing the history of their areas and more importantly the people of their area.”

During a brief presentation on the history of Ennis, Mr Brennan encouraged people from parts of the town to come forward with their stories. He said the Turnpike is one such area that would be well served by a written history.

He told those in attendance at the launch of

FIFTH Avenue may have been covered in green white and gold this St Patrick’s Day, but the mayor of Clare was determined to have saffron and blue on show as he led a delegation to promote business in the county.

Mayor, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) led the 150-strong Clare contingent in this year’s New York St Patrick’s Day Parade with more than two million people lining the streets and US broadcaster NBC beaming live images across the United States of the Clare contingent.

The TV station’s commentators spoke of Clare’s tourist attractions, including the Cliffs of Moher.

The New York visit also featured a number of one-to-one meetings with key business and tourism representatives aimed at showcasing County Clare’s attractiveness as an investment location. Over 120 key business leaders in the United States attended a networking event in New York aimed at showcasing Clare’s attractiveness as an investment location.

Organised by Clare County Council and hosted by the Consul General of Ireland in New York, the event was attended by senior representatives and CEO’s of leading American companies, including Novartis, Horizon Medical Group, Abbott, OCO Global, Jana Foods and Medicomp.

The financial sector was strongly represented with the managing director of Credit Suisse and a senior analyst with JP Morgan attending. Clay Constantinou, a US Ambassador during former President Bill Clinton’s second term of office, also attended the event.

Mayor Hayes said the event provided Clare County Council with a rare opportunity to make a presentation to some of the key business and tourism players in the United States.

“The evening allowed for one-toone interaction with representatives of leading companies in the US. Specially prepared promotional material on the airport, Shannon Estuary and the renewable energy sector were distributed. This material was prepared with the support and assistance of companies in the Shannon region.”

The Clare delegation also attended meetings with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, CIE Tours International and Tourism Ireland.

A TOTAL of 26 people retired from Clare County Council during the first two months of the year, according to new figures.

A report presented at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council provided a breakdown of the retirements across departments.

There were 20 retirements in transport, water services and environment; two in housing, change management, cultural and emergency services and four in finance, information technology and human resources.

There were no retirements in planning, community, economic development and tourism. The highest number of retirements (17) took place among outdoor staff in the transport, water services and environment section. A total of nine indoor staff retired during January and February.

The figures set out the numbers of staff who retired from the council between January 1 and February 29, 2012.

In a report, deputy county manager Ger Dollard explained, “Only a very small number of retirements actually took place on the day of February 29, 2012, and so to show a more complete picture the retirements over the period January-February 2012 have been included. This is consistent with the projection of staff retirements as set out in the circular letter of February 9, 2012.”

Mr Dollard continued, “The circular letter made reference to efficiency measures already taken and achieved through meaningful consultation within the Framework of the Croke Park Agreement. Further significant change and a wide range of efficiencies must be implemented in the short term to achieve the fundamental public sector reform and structural change, which is now demanded by National Government. This will have to be achieved in the context of the above reduction in human resources and the reducing level of financial resources.”

The figures were compiled in response to a motion submitted by councillors Christy Curtin (Ind), Oliver Garry (FG) and Johnny Flynn (FG).

Cllr Johnny Flynn told the meeting that the figures showed the “stark reality of the loss of people on the ground”. He said this loss of staff was particularly evident in the En- nis area. Cllr Flynn added, “We are losing the expertise to deliver on the ground.” Cllr Curtin said, “We as a council are going to have the measure the impact of this.”

Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) said the motion had been submitted by three councillors with links to the Government parties. He urged councillors Johnny Flynn and Oliver Garry to highlight the impact of austerity on essential services with their Fine Gael colleagues. He said Cllr Curtin should use his influence with the Labour Party to raise the matter with them.

Noting the challenges posed by retirements and reduced funding, Mr Dollard told the meeting, “There is no quick-fix solution, no silver bullet. It’s just something that we have to work through.”

THE MAYOR of Kilrush has threatened to get a brush and can of white paint and draw road marks on a road that has being dubbed “Bombay Junction” locally.

Mayor Ian Lynch (FG) was told that it would be a serious traffic violation to interfere with the road markings at Limekill Junction (sic) on the entrance on the town.

Cllr Paul Moroney (Ind) said it would be a shameful for the council, if something wasn’t done about the busy junction.

The councillor, who is also a volunteer member of the fire service, said the fire brigade has already been called to a serious accident at the cross roads where the occupants of the car had to be cut from their vehicles.

Another man told Cllr Moroney that he got knocked off his bike at this junction.

“It would be a shame if this council got this done two days after someone is killed,” he said.

“We have discussed this for two years. Let us do something about this now. Shame on us.”

Cllr Liam Williams (FG) said at nine in the morning when children are going to school it is a very seriously dangerous junction.

The councillors were responding to news that plans for re-drawing the junction are still not in place.

Clare County Council maintained previously that they did not have time or the staff available to design the junction.

Town engineer Derek Troy then designed a solution for the dangerous junction, which was not approved by the road design team.

Town Manager Nora Kaye told the members of the council that there were a lot of people out on sick leave and as a result a lot of work was on hold.

“We have a bit of an issue at the moment.”

She said the junction, which is a cross roads past Aldi as you enter the town from the Ennis side, was the re sponsibility of the NRA.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that we do not have money to do it. Strictly speaking it is a primary secondary route and the responsibility of the NRA,” she said.

She said once the road design is complete the project will still not be done.

“We should just get the design done and worry about the money after. We look foolish on this when we can’t even get a white line drawn,” said Mayor Lynch.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) asked, “Could we still be here next year and it still not done.”

‘WARNING dog s**t on pavement.’ That was the advice on a large red sign held aloft by a member of Clare County Council in the council’s chamber last evening (Monday).

As he raised the sign, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said that the council should “throw its hat” at attempts to prevent dog faeces on the county’s footpaths, and simply warn people “in the most graphic way possible that there is poop on the streets.”

The councillor was responding to the fact that Clare County Council has issued just one on-the-spot € 150 fine in relation to dog fouling in the last five years. Cllr Meaney said that this anti-social behaviour by dog owners can lead to people contracting bacterial toxicosis.

“It is clear that an attitude that once existed, where you were allowed to throw the content of the chamber pot out the window, exists with these dog owners,” he said.

The councillor told the March meeting of the councillors that a 22year-old woman was distraught when she discovered her hands covered in dog excrement as she made her way through Ennis in her wheelchair.

Director of Services Nora Kaye said, “The enforcement of the dog fowling provisions under litter pollution legislation can be problematic in that it is necessary to observe the act of dog fouling taking place in order to take enforcement action. It can also be difficult to establish the owner or person in charge of the dog, who is deemed the responsible person under the legislation.”

Cllr Meaney said that as enforcement of the law was not working, the only option that seemed to be open to the council was to shock people into awareness. Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) agreed that shock tactics were becoming necessary.

The North Clare councillor said that when he visited Lahinch on Sunday, people were expected to pay € 2 to park their car, yet there were no bins available to dispose of dog faeces or any other litter.

“Clare County Council might as well go up and take down the signs in Lahinch because it is not being enforced. It is a disgrace,” he said.

Not all the members of the council were happy with the Green Party councillor’s approach to highlighting the issue. Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) claimed, “It is the most vulgar and ridiculous sign that has come into this chamber,” adding that it demeaned the council chamber.

PROMOTING Kilrush in Galway has proven too costly an endeavour for the Kilrush Town Council’s diminished marketing budget.

However, promoting the town and particularly the Loop Head Lighthouse, in Limerick and Kerry has already paid off according to the town council’s marketing and development officer Síobhan Garvey.

“It is an achievement to get people from Kerry out of their own county and spending money,” she told the March meeting of Kilrush Town Council.

But that is what the people south of west Clare and from many other parts of Ireland did last year, with 1,700 people visiting the lighthouse over a few weeks.

Despite having her budget cut this year, Ms Garvey said she is adapting and using imaginative ways to promote the town and the west Clare area. She said she was now pushing social media as a way of free advertising.

“You could put an ad into a magazine and you don’t know how much you get out of it,” she said.

The council pays to have the Kilrush promotional brochure in stands in Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Shannon Airport but it cannot afford to do it in Galway due to high costs.

“It is too expensive. I would love to get in there,” said Ms Garvey.

“I had to renegotiate for the other stands already because of the cuts to the marketing budget.”

Mayor of Kilrush, Councillor Ian Lynch (FG), who flew to New York at the weekend, has produced an investment document with the assistance of the marketing department, which he will present to business people, potential visitors and politicians.

Meanwhile Ms Garvey told the council members that she also has responsibility in providing a supporting role to the town clerk in the area of parking fines and permits.

Here too, she is using new and imaginative ways. In co-operation with the town clerk and Clare County Council, she is currently co-ordinating a pay-online facility for parking fines. This is expected to be live by the end of the year. “We have a lot of visitors that get parking fines,” she said.