Category: News

SOCIAL housing needs in Clare is at its highest level on record and almost twice what it was just four years ago according to figures compiled in the Mid-West Regional Authority (MWRA) Factfile, which was published in Ennistymon on Friday.

According to the report, there was 1,383 people in need of social housing in Clare last year. This compares to 796 in 2008, representing a 73.7 per cent jump in just three years.

Indeed the social housing list in the county is more than 400 per cent greater than it was at the end of the last recession in Ireland in 1993.

Despite the need for social housing in Clare, the county also possesses more vacant dwellings than at any other time in the history of the state.

According to the MWRA, there were 11,892 dwellings vacant in the county in 2011.

The number of vacant dwellings has increase by 21.3 per cent in the five years between 2006 and 2011. With Clare’s overall housing stock rising from 48,834 in 2006 to 55,826 in 2011 this means that one in every five houses in Clare are currently vacant.

Indeed, according to the report, Clare has one of the highest rates of vacant houses in Ireland with only six counties having a higher vacancy rate.

The MWRA includes Clare County Council, Limerick City and County Councils and South Tipperary County Council.

The factfile highlighted a number of issues, including maintaining employment and improving competitiveness as key steps forward for the mid-west region.

The report recommends a “sustainably increase” of the population in Shannon, as a gateway town and Ennis, as a hub town, in the immediate future.

“Population growth is crucial for attracting employment and improving infrastructure in the region. In order to maintain a high net disposable income level, the mid-west must continue to create highly skilled employment in areas such as ICT and med-technologies to counterbalance the high level of educational attainment in the region,” said a spokesperson.

“Reducing unemployment levels and preventing out migration are crucial to the region’s competitiveness and economy going forward. Key employment sectors require Governmental stimulus reshaping, particularly in the public sector.”

The report also calls for the completion of the Atlantic gateway corridor linking the M18 at Gort to the M6 Galway to Dublin motorway.

A 19-YEAR-OLD “troubled young man” has been told to pay compensation to the owners of two damaged cars or face jail.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy issued the warning at Ennis District Court on Wednesday at the case of William Casey.

Casey, (19) with an address at O’Briensbridge, pleaded guilty to causing € 700 worth of damage to a car at the Oakwood Arms, Shannon, on May 19, 2011.

He also pleaded guilty to stealing a radio and causing damage to a car at Air Atlanta, Shannon Industrial Estate on June 6, 2011.

Casey also appeared in court charged with committing a series of “drive-offs” at petrol stations in Bunratty and Shannon in March and April last year.

Casey was charged with dishonestly making off without paying for petrol having obtained petrol at Bunratty Station (15/3/11 and 11/4/11) and Topaz Petrol Station, Bothar Mor, Shannon (7/3/11 and 10/4/11).

According to court documents, the total value of the petrol obtained in the four incidents came to € 199. The court heard that Casey had repaid money to both garages in respect of the drive-offs. Solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court that his client is a “troubled young man” who lost both his parents at an early age. He said Casey is now living with two very loyal and loving foster parents. He said his client had committed the offences to earn “kudos” from a group of older, negative influences.

Mr Hassett said the drive-offs had been carried out with no level of sophistication and had been done to impress an older group of people. He told the court that his client is currently taking a number of courses, including stone carving and glass making. He added that Casey had achieved a black belt in Taekwondo and has joined a boxing club in O’Briensbridge. He said his client had started to save money to repay the car owners.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy ordered that Casey pay compensation totaling € 900 arising out of the damage caused to the two cars.

He said, “I’m giving him one month and if he hasn’t paid the full amount, he’s going to prison.”

He remanded Casey on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on March 28 for payment of compensation.

KILLALOE has received a huge boost in the past week with news that Clare County Council has given the green light for the development of a major sports facilities project for the East Clare town.

Conditional planning permission has been granted to the Ballina/Killaloe Sports and Community Facilities Development Company for a major development that is set to begin later this year, provided there are no hold ups due to any appeal at An Bord Pleanala level.

The alliance between communities in Clare and Tipperary is behind the development of two new full-size playing pitches, an all-weather pitch, floodlit training areas, walking and cycling trails, changing and carparking facilities at a site in Moys, Killaloe.

The planning application for the development was lodged on June 15 last and an original deadline of November 9 last year was set for a final decision date on the proposal.

However, the decision was delayed on foot of a request from the planning authority for further information, which was duly submitted by the applicants on December 22 last.

Planning permission was granted last week, with the final judgment saying that “having regard to the nature and scale of the proposed development, the existing use of the lands that the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity” and would “accord with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.

Commenting on the planning decision, a spokesperson for the Ballina/ Killaloe Sports and Community Facilities Development Company told The Clare People the positive planning decision “is great news for sport and leisure facilities in Killaloe”.

“This is a major development for the Killaloe and Ballina areas and we are looking forward to progressing the project in the next couple of months,” the spokesperson added.

SIX of Clare’s fifteen wastewater treatment do not meet the standards as set out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Treatment centres at Quin, Ennis South, Lahinch, Ennistymon, Tulla and Shannon town each failed waste water treatment standards according to the latest figures released to The Clare People by the EPA.

Test carried out at treatment centres in Quin and Shannon showed a particularly high instances Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) – which is one of the key indicators of pollution being present in the treated water.

Of the 10 tests carried out in Quin, eight showed a BOD level above the dangerous level of 25mg per litre with four of these having a BOD level higher than 50mg per litre.

Of the 13 tests carried out in Shannon town, 10 were shown to have a BOD level above 25mg per litre with six recording levels above 50mg per litre.

Responding to the findings the EPA’s programme manager in the Office of Environmental Enforcement, Gerald O’Leary, described the result “poor”.

“This level of performance is poor and needs to improve.

“In order to meet EU targets, further investment in infrastructure is required and we need a step change in the operation and maintenance of these valuable assets.”

The report measures the effectiveness of Clare treatment plants and does not draw conclusion as to how this performance might effect the quality of Clare’s drinking water.

The results are the latest to be made public by the EPA and relate to the 12 months of 2009.

These figures are released on a staggered basis by the environmental organisation so changes in the effectiveness of the facilities mentioned may have taken place during that time.

Commenting on the report, Dara Lynott, EPA’s Director of the Office of Environmental Enforcement, said that a large amount of government money will be required to resolve the situation.

“Meeting our EU targets will require substantial and sustained investment.

“However, the benefits of such investment extend beyond water quality, as clean water is a pre-requisite for our tourism, food, agriculture and manufacturing industries,” he said. The Clare People contacted Clare County Council in relation to this story but no response was received at the time of going to press.

THE visit of Chinese vice-president, Mr Xi Jingping to Clare on Saturday and Sunday can have huge spin-off effects for the Shannon region in terms of trade and tourism, the chief executive of Shannon Development has claimed this week.

Dr Vincent Cunnane made his comments after being part of the delegation that welcomed Mr Xi to Shannon on Saturday and after playing host to the vice-president and his entourage at a Bunratty Castle banquet.

“Shannon Development has long established links with China dating back to the 1980s.

“We were honoured to be invited to brief the Chinese Vice President during his visit to Ireland,” said Dr Cunnane.

He pointed out that the objective in briefing Mr Xi was to “to create the environment to enhance good relations between Irish and Chinese businesses” and to educate the Chinese delegation “on all aspects of Shannon Development’s regional economic development remit and particularly on activities at Shannon Free Zone”.

“The linkages between Shannon Development and China began in 1980 with the visit of Mr Jiang Zemin, who was then Senior Vice Minister of State Imports and Exports Administration, and later became President of China,” continued Dr Cunnane. “Mr Jiang led a Chinese Govern- ment delegation to Shannon to study the Shannon Free Zone and the Shannon Development ‘model’ of a regional development company. “The knowledge gained by the Chinese delegation was subsequently used by the Chinese authorities in the development of their very successful Special Economic Zones.” “Mr Jiang Zemin’s visit to Shannon was the beginning of a steady stream of visits which saw two Chinese Pre- miers, and many Chinese Government delegations, come to hear the Shannon Development experience, initially focusing on the Shannon Free Zone and Shannon Development itself, but latterly focusing on our work in regional economic development.

“China has a population of over 1.3 billion, which represents 20 per cent of the world’s population.

“The fact that the Chinese Vice President spent almost three days in Ireland is a major boost,” added Dr. Cunnane.

In highlighting the tourism benefits attached to Mr Xi’s stay in Clare, Dr Cunnane said “the visit to Bunratty Castle and indeed the Cliffs of Mo her will have an enormous impact on Ireland’s tourism promotional efforts in China.

“We are delighted to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our Government colleagues to ensure the success of the visit and to raise Ireland’s tourism and business profile in China,” he added.

A PSYCHIATRIC report has been ordered in the case of a Clare man who pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault during unspecified dates in 1984.

The man who cannot be named pleaded guilty to the charges at Tuesday’s sitting of Ennis Circuit Court.

He replied guilty when charged with indecently assaulting a named male on a date between January 1 and January 31, 1984.

He made the same reply four more times, when charged with the same offence which took place on unknown dates between March 1 and March 31, 1984, between May 1 and May 31, 1984, July 1 and July 31, 1984 and October 1 and October 31, 1884.

Judge Tom O’Donnell agreed to extend the accused’s legal aid to cover the psychiatric report, when ask by the defence barrister for such a report.

The man has been remanded on bail until March 26.

TENS of thousands of extra Chinese tourists look set to flock to North Clare this year – and possibly for many years into the future – following discussion on establishing educational links between the Cliffs of Moher and a number of Geoparks in China.

The link was suggested by China’s president elect, Xi Jinping, during his historic visit to the Cliffs of Moher on Sunday morning. While in conversation with the manager of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience, Katherine Webster, the Chinese vice president suggested forming a number of education links between the Burren and a number of Geoparks in China.

“I told him that the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren had recently been granted UNESCO Geopark status and he was very interested in this. He suggested that a major educational exchange be set up between the Geoparks in China and the Cliffs of Moher. This would be a very significant development for us and something that we definitely intend to follow up on,” said Katherine.

“He was very interested in the history of the Cliffs and in the natural landscape of the area. He told me that he has previously seen the Cliffs in a film, which must have been Harry Potter, and he told me that he had been looking forward to coming to see the Cliffs even before the state visit was announced.

The Cliffs of Moher has already recorded a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese visitors using the North Clare facility so far this year. More than eight Chinese tours, amounting more than 250 holidays makers, have visited the Cliffs of Moher since January – and this figures is expected to swell into the tens of thousands once the tourist season gets into full swing.

Thousands of extra Chinese visitors are also expected in North Clare during this year’s London Olympics.

“We have already seen a large increase in the numbers of Chinese visitors coming to the Cliffs this year so we are very hopeful of what will come this year,” continued Katherine.

“He will be taking a bit of Clare back home with him – we presented him with a painting of the Cliffs set in a Liscannor Flag frame and I know that the Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes, spoke to him about Irish music and gave him a few CDs of traditional music. So there will some Martin Hayes heard in Beijing soon no doubt.”

CLARE TD Michael McNamara (LAB) has denied that the outburst that earned him a suspension from the Dáil was a publicity stunt but was instead an attempt to get answers for the people of Clare.

The East Clare Deputy was expelled from the Dáil last Thursday and will now lose three days of wages for refusing to sit down when asked by the Ceann Comhairle. The dispute arose when Deputy McNamara was unable to get details on the effect that the cuts in the health budget will have in the mid-west from Minister for Health, James O’Reilly (FG).

This is the third time in recent weeks that Deputy McNamara has been critical of his coalition partners, having openly criticised both Jimmy Deenihan (FG) and Phil Hogan (FG) concerning Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon.

“I was told by the minister [O’Reilly] that the information I asked for was not readily available from HSE West. I was very surprised at that as I have been told by people in HSE West – by managers and unions that work in the area – that that information is readily available,” said Deputy McNamara.

“I don’t think that the minister is not providing the information But I would be very concerned if the minister is being told by the HSE that certain information is not available when in fact it is. There is a disconnect there that I am very worried about. It wasn‘t a publicity stunt. There was no vote that I wanted to get out of. This was a matter of accountability. We were elected on a promise of in- creased accountability and I believe that I need to take a stand on that. I think that if any TD asks a question about any state agency, they should be given that information. That is the only way that we will be able to hold them to account.”

Despite a number of public spats between Labour backbenchers and Fine Gael ministers, Deputy McNamara claims that relations are still good between the coalition parties.

Deputy McNamara is due to restart his full duties in the Dáil this Wednesday.

IT WAS a case of 40 minutes of fame for farmer James Lynch and his family on Sunday as they were the toast of Chinese vice-president Xi Jingping during his short stopover on their 215-acre holding in Cappagh, Sixmilebridge.

“He’s a pure gentleman,” said Lynch after giving Mr Xi a guided tour of his farm, the crowning glory of which was when he was shown a new-born Friesian heifer calf named after him.

“It arrived just in the nick of time,” said Mr Lynch to his host. “He was very knowledgeable and very interested in learning more about the quality of the grass and how Ireland produces high quality milk and beef. He even went to see the silage and wanted to know when it grew and when it was cut.

“He was very much at ease with us, chatting with my mother and he even drank an Irish coffee. He came across as a very friendly and modest man and an extremely courteous one,” he added.

As vice-chairman of Dairygold Coop, last November Mr Lynch went to Chinia as part of an Irish agricultural trade mission, travelling to the city of Hothot in inner Mongolia and its dairying hinterland.

During the Mr Xi’s visit to Sixmilebridge, he also visited the Lynch homestead, chatting with James, his wife Maura and his mother, Ann, and met the couple’s three children, fiveyear-old James, three-year-old Olive and nine-month-old Ronan.

They were accompanied by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney and a host of Chinese civil servants, television camera operators, photographers and representatives from the agrifood business.

“Having the opportunity to bring the Chinese vice-president to a family farm in Ireland will leave a lasting and positive impression of the natural source of Irish agrifood products,” said Minister Coveney.

“Ireland is renowned for its high quality and safe food production and was strategically placed to provide increasing volumes of quality food to China given the higher levels of increased production of dairy products, meats, sea-food and beverages that will take place over the coming years in Ireland. The Chinese associate Ireland with high quality and safe food.

“This visit will help with expanding dairy production in the next few years as EU quotas are abolished. We plan for an increase in dairy production of 45 per cent between now and 2019,” he added.

These words were echoed by the president of the Irish Farmers Association, John Bryan. “Mr Xi sees Ireland as a good source of food imports for China. His visit here is hugely significant,” he said.

THE President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, has failed to accept an offer made by Clare County Council to host a Civic Reception in his honour, more than three months after the invitation was originally made.

President Higgins, who spent many of his formative years living in Newmarket-on-Fergus, was invited to be honoured by the local authority on November 14 last, but has yet to indi- cate whether he will be interested in receiving the honour or not.

This apparent snub comes after President Higgins topped the poll in Clare during last Octobers election, receiving 20,828 first-preference votes.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that no response, beyond the standard acknowledgment letter for all correspondence, has yet been received from Áras an Uachtarán.

It was confirmed last week that President Higgins will become only the third free citizen of Galway City, joining Ireland’s first president, Douglas Hyde, and Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. While no official date has been set for this ceremony to take place, it is understood that it will happen before the end of April this year.

The invitation to the Civic Reception was suggested by former Labour councillor Christy Curtin (IND) who yesterday said that he understand that President Higgins has had a very busy couple of months.

“I am very confident that he will come to Clare. He has been a regular visitor to Clare over the years and has visited the Willie Clancy Week up here in Miltown on a number of occasions,” said Cllr Curtin.

“I have no doubt that he will come and see us in his own good time. It has been a very busy few months for him and I am not disappointed that he has not been in touch [with Clare County Council]. I am very optimistic that he will make it down to Clare for the reception.”