Category: News

EAST Clare farmers and landowners, whose land will be subject to Compulsory Purchase Orders to facilitate the construction of the longawaited Killaloe Bypass, received letters from Clare County Council last week informing them which parts of their land will be affected.

The Killaloe Bypass has been identified as a Strategic Infrastructure Development, which means that planning for the development does not need to go through the local planning process with Clare County Council but instead go straight to An Bord Pleanála. Clare County Council last week lodged two documents with An Bord Pleanála, in relation to the Compulsory Purchase Orders and the Environment Impact Statement for the project.

“Any submission made to An Bord Pleanála will be very carefully considered. Ultimately, it is Clare County Council’s objective to achieve development of a high-quality road scheme in a manner that will address any concerns they may have as effectively as possible,” said Barry Keating from the Transportation Sector of Clare County Council.

“It will not be possible for Clare County Council or Roughan and O’Donovan, Consulting Engineers, to engage with the public in respect of this project during the course of the presently ongoing formal public consultation process. This is to ensure that everyone affected by the project is treated equitably and to protect the integrity of the process.”

The public consultation process finishes on March 30 of this year after which time An Bord Pleanála will make the final judgement on the future development of the bypass.

“It is most important that the views and concerns of all landowners in relation to the proposed road scheme are submitted in writing to An Bord Pleanála in the manner outlined in the correspondence they would have received recently by the specified closing date,” continued Mr Keating.

“Each individual landowner and occupier affected by the scheme received a letter and a map and schedule dated Monday, February 6, indicating the portion of their land and property associated with the aforementioned CPO.”

Further correspondence clarifying Clare County Council’s role during the current statutory public consultation process was issued on Tuesday, February 14.

Information on the Killaloe Bypass, including the Environmental Impact Statement and Natural Impact Statement, are currently available to to be viewed at www.clarecoco.ie.

THE Mayor of Clare yesterday hit out at critical comments made by a senior councillor towards the County Manager.

Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) told Cllr James Breen (Ind) that he was “disappointed with your comments on a personal level” after the former Dáil TD had expressed criticism of Tom Coughlan’s work as County Manager.

Mr Coughlan was moved to defend himself against comments made by Cllr Breen at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Mr Coughlan said, “I am doing my job and I am doing it the best I can.”

The comments were sparked by a motion tabled by Cllr Breen seeking a written report from the council containing information on how many contractors were employed by the council in 2011 to do work that was heretofore done by council staff; the entire cost of the contracts; the name, amount and type of works undertaken.

Cllr Breen also asked if this would be a normal feature of council operations in 2012.

Pointing to what he said was a lack of information in the council’s response, Cllr Breen called on the manager to provide a “factual and straight” answer to his queries.

Mr Coughlan said Cllr Breen had requested a great deal of complex information that could not be collected simply by “pressing a button”. He said staff had been removed from “productive” duties to address Cllr Breen’s motion.

Mr Coughlan said that while Cllr Breen is entitled to the information, he had to make the best decision on how to allocate scarce resources.

Mr Coughlan said, “I can’t give it (information) at the moment because I don’t have the staff to deal with Cllr Breen’s enquiries.”

Cllr Breen said he failed to understand how a group of people would be required to collect financial data. “The information should be available to one man at his fingertips,” he said.

Mr Coughlan said 167 people at the council were authorised to deal with contracts and it would be impractical to have one person do the job.

In response to a comment about his work as County Manager, Mr Coughlan said, “I think the way you are treating me at the moment is really unfair.” Cllr Breen said he was entitled to his opinion.

In her reply, Nora Kaye, Acting Director of Service, gave details of surface dressing contracts engaged in by the council’s transportation department.

She explained that in 2011, the council engaged in two separate surface dressing contractors in the Shannon Electoral Area and Killaloe Electoral Area.

Ms Kaye continued, “The total cost of outsourcing this particular body of work was € 78,000 in 2011. In relation to the hiring of contractors for 2012, no decision has yet been taken with regard to same – however, it is likely that due to depleting staff resources, some works will require to be outsourced during 2012.”

Ms Kaye said contractors had been hired to carry out maintenance works in the Environment and Water Services Directorate.

Ms Kaye told the meeting that there was no intention whatsoever to withhold information from elected members.

COUNTY councillors from Limerick City, Limerick County and Tipperary may look to have a position on the board of the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) if it is decoupled from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) later this year.

With details of the Booz Report into the future of Shannon Airport yet to be officially made public, it is widely expected that some Clare organisations will be given a role to play in planning the future of the airport.

Last year, Clare County Council made a submission to the Booz Re port suggesting a role for the local authority on the board of the future Shannon Airport Authority.

Given the central role that the airport has in future plans for the region, as set out in the Mid West Regional Authority Factfile which was published in Ennistymon last Friday, it is also now likely that representatives from Limerick and Tipperary may also look for a place on the board.

“Shannon Airport is the single most important piece of transport infrastructure that we have in this region. Everyone has a stake in it and everyone, whether they be from Limerick, Clare or Tipperary, would be concerned about the declining passenger numbers,” said Limerick City Councillor, Joe Leddin (LAB).

“There are challenges there but there are opportunities as well. If the motorway to Galway was completed, you would have a motorway linking Shannon to Galway and, with the subsidies ended for Galway Airport, I think that people in that area will consider using Shannon instead of Dublin or Galway airports.

“I wouldn’t get too hung up on who should or should not be on the new board, the Minister for Transport will decide that. My focus as chairman of the Mid West Regional Authority is to take a more macro approach to this because the airport does affect the entire region.

“I say, put the best calibre of people on that board and let them drive it. It is about driving the airport for the region and, as long as that is the approach taken by the new board, I don’t care who will sit on it.

“I also believe that it must be separated from the DAA debt-free. For any new board to go in there and take that airport by the scruff of the neck, ad drive it both in terms of domestic traffic and tourism and trade, they need to go into this debt-free. It has to be written off or at least written down.”

THE priest in one North Clare community last Sunday asked for prayers from the pulpit to protect the local primary school. That is according to Tubber-based county councillor, Michael Kelly (FF), who raised the matter of the threatened closure of a number of rural schools at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council.

While Cllr Kelly declined to identify the school mentioned or the priest who made the appeal, he did confirm that it was a school in the North Clare area.

“I had occasion over the weekend to listen to a parish priest ask the local people of the parish to pray that their school will be left open,” said Cllr Kelly.

“There is no good talking about this years and years down the line when these school are shut and people start coming back to some of these regional areas.”

According to East Clare councillor and school teacher Cathal Crowe (FF), the closure of rural schools will not save any money for the exchequer.

“When a school closes, the school principal of the closed school will continue to be paid a principle’s wage. The same amount of teachers will still have to be employed so the saving will be just be made on the building itself, which will be minimal,” said Cllr Crowe.

“We need our TDs to represent us on this. We don’t need them to be out there putting out soundbites and getting kicked out of the Dáil.”

It was also revealed at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council that at least one West Clare primary school will be remaining open, thanks to the efforts of Rural Resettlement Ireland.

West Clare Councillor Oliver Garry (FG) confirmed that Tullycrine National School has recently gained eight new students from three new families who have moved to the area as a result of the efforts of Rural Resettlement Ireland.

“It is the first thing that people look for when they are moving into an area. If the school is removed, then it is like removing the heart and soul of the community,” said Cllr Garry.

“Thanks to the great work of Jim Connolly and Rural Resettlement Ireland, there has been a major development for Tullycrine National School and three new families coming to the area have secured the future of that school.”

CLARE men on the look-out for love this St Valentine’s Day may have trouble finding a woman if new figures are anything to go by.

Preliminary figures from the 2011 census show that there are 10 per cent more men living in Clare than women.

The data shows that the male population of the banner county stands at 55 per cent. According to the census, Clare has a popualation of 116,885 which indicates that there are cur- rently just over 11,500 more men than women in Clare.

Men living in North East Clare may have the most trouble finding love with the figures indicating that the population there is 58 per cent male.

The statistic was revealed yesterday at a presentation on preliminary census data during a meeting of Clare County Council’s, Community and Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).

Michael Neylon of the Council’s Community and Enterprise section described the finding as “surprising because the disparity in gender is very severe”.

He said the disparity between men and woman existed in nearly every part of Clare. The findings show that 45 per cent of Clare’s total population live in the ‘Golden Triangle’ in an area from Ennis town to Shannon and its extended environs including Newmarket on Fergus and Sixmilebridge.

The data shows that the most significant population changes have occurred around urban areas. Ennis’s population has decreased by around 860 people. However this has been offset by a boom (2000) in the amount of people in the town’s rural hinterland. Mr Neylon said a trend of population growth in areas around urban centres is evident across the county, particularly in Kilkee and Shannon.

The data also notes “significant” population growth around Bodyke and Feakle. Mr Neylon told the meeting that the number of people living in parts of Ennis (urban) had fallen by 20 per cent, in Kilkee by 22 per cent and Liscannor/Doolin by 12 per cent.

He said the “urbanisation pattern” now stretches almost continuously outward from Ennis to Scariff.

Cllr Pat Keane (FF) told the meeting that he had “major problem” with the manner in which census data is collected. He said the information is wholly dependent on the number of people in a house at a given time. He told the meeting that five buses on average leave West Clare every Sunday night to bring students to college.

He said census data is giving a “false reading of the population of West Clare”.

A GARDA was driven 500 metres down a country lane in Whitegate while on the bonnet of a car, a court has heard.

The incident occurred as two gardaí attempted to interview a man they had stopped driving a black BMW in Whitegate on March 2, 2011.

As Sgt Joe Fallon inspected the front of the car, the driver, Frank Shanley, drove forward with Sgt Fallon on the bonnet, Clare Circuit Court heard last week.

Shanley (36), formerly of 8 Church View, Boyle, Roscommon, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts arising out of the incident.

Shanley, who is currently serving a sentence in Cork prison, was charged with unlawful use of a mechanically propelled vehicle; dangerous driving; giving a false name and failing to stop at Cappa, Whitegate, on March 2, 2011.

Garda Gerry Slattery told the court that gardaí had received a call from their colleagues in Clifden about Shanley.

He said, that after telling the accused that he was arresting him for theft, Shanley drove forward.

Garda Slattery said Shanley ignored his pleas to stop the car. Garda Slattery said he threw a rock to break the window of the car. He told the court that travelled 500 metres before stopping. “He didn’t give Garda Fallon any chance to get off the car,” he added.

Garda Slattery explained that the owner of the house in which Shanley had been staying had called gardaí. He said the owner had also blocked the entrance of the house with his jeep to prevent Shanley from leaving.

Counsel for Shanley, Enda O’Neill, told the court that his client had been staying in a remote rural location and had been “put on edge” when he saw the jeep parked across the entrance.

He said that psychiatric assessment of Shanley determined that “when he is stable psychiatrically, his legal problems decrease significantly”.

Shanley told the court that he was scared and that he dialed 11850 and 999 because he didn’t know what was going on. “I was tense and frightened,” he added.

Judge Caroll Moran said, “The most serious matter is that Mr Shanley drove a car for 500 metres without stopping with a person on the bonnet and as to whether Mr Shanley didn’t realise it was a garda, it doesn’t matter, he should have stopped.” Judge Moran imposed a three year sentence backdated to September 26, 2011, for the unlawful taking of a vehicle. Court Reporter A MAN has appeared in court charged with wasting Garda time arising out of a three-week search for a missing person in Ennis last summer. Bernard Flaherty (37), with an address at 3 Lifford Lodge, Ennis, was arrested in Ennis last week. At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Sgt Catherine Houlihan gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. Sgt Houlihan told the court that after being cautioned, Flaherty said, “I’m sorry for wasting your time.” Jurisdiction of the case was refused

and a book of evidence will now be served on the accused.

It is alleged that on June 24, 2011, at Ennis Garda Station, Flaherty did knowingly make a false statement tending to show that he had information material to Garda enquiries and thereby causing the time of the Gardaí to be wastefully employed.

Solicitor John Casey made an application for legal aid. He said there was no objection to bail.

Sgt Houlihan told the court that Gardaí received a report of a missing person on June 20, 2011. She said that in an interview, Flaherty told Gardaí that he had not seen the person in question. She said a major Garda operation was underway at the time to locate the missing person.

Insp John Galvin said the deceased body of the person was subsequently found by Gardaí in an apartment occupied by the accused. The court heard that the person died of natural causes.

Details of the Garda investigation and search were heard in court. Sgt Houlihan said 40 people were interviewed while Gardaí viewed 50 hours of CCTV footage. Eight Gardaí carried out door-to-door enquiries and 14 separate searches took place, the court heard.

Sgt Houlihan said community and voluntary groups had been significantly involved in the search. She said members of Clare Civil Defence had searched the River Fergus on a daily basis. Insp John Galvin said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had approved summary disposal of the case.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy refused jurisdiction, saying he did not deem the matter fit to be tried summarily. He fixed bail and remanded the accused on bail to appear at Ennis District Court on March 14 for service of the book of evidence. Judge McCarthy said the usual reporting restrictions apply.

CLARE County Council has been urged to press for changes to electoral boundaries after the current arrangement in Ennis was labelled a “disgrace”.

Independent councillor Tommy Brennan made the call at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council’s Community and Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).

He said that the council should seek to have boundaries re-drawn now rather than leaving any proposal too late. Cllr Brennan criticized the boundaries in place in Ennis for the 2009 local election, which saw the county town divided into Ennis east and west.

He said, “Ennis should have one constituency not two. It’s a farce to put a boundary down O’Connell Street.” Cllr Brennan added, “It was a downright disgrace to have O’Connell Street split down the middle in the last local election.”

SPC members were speaking fol- lowing the release of preliminary data for Clare from the 2011 census.

Commenting on the high population concentration that exists in the ‘golden triangle’ from Ennis to Shannon, SPC chairman Richard Nagle said he found it difficult to agree with some of the statistics.

He said that if the census were carried out now, it would paint an even more “depressing picture” of the number of people living in rural parts of the county.

He said that recently 20 people, all aged in their twenties, had left two parishes in North Clare, to seek work abroad. He said rural areas that had been dependent on construction and tourism had been hardest hit by the economic downturn. “A generation is disappearing,” he warned.

Cllr Brennan said emigration is also a major feature of life in Ennis. He told the meeting that 14 members of an underage hurling team have now moved to Australia. Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) said that 16 people had recently returned from Australia to a part of West Clare to attend a funeral.

A SHANNON graduate has been told he cannot take part in the muchpublicised Government Internship Scheme because of his disability status.

Padraic Hayes is in receipt of the allowance and therefore according to the rules of the scheme he is not entitled to get the much-needed work experience.

Under the programme, participants must be on job seekers allowance to avail of the support.

“I am getting my qualifications, but at the end of the day you apply for positions and they look for experience, and I am willing to work for the experience but because I can’t apply to get the experience I am stuck,” said the frustrated LIT student.

Padraic already has an honours de- gree in Office Management Systems and completed an ECDL course to make him more employable.

He has returned to college to do a higher diploma and said next year he will do his masters degree if he cannot find work, but he would prefer to find a job.

He has applied for numerous positions and has come close to success on a number of occasions.

In recent weeks he was second in line for a job but lost out to a candidate that had more experience.

The young graduate also registered with the Clare Supported Employment Service.

“I looked into an internship with my job coach but he found out that you had to be on job seekers allowance or job seekers benefit to qualify for an internship,” said Padraic.

Alice O’Carroll, Team Leader with the Clare Supported Employment Service, said she was surprised to discover that Padraic had no access to an internship.

“It is not right to be excluded from anything. He should have that opportunity to prove himself like everyone else,” she said.

“There is a recognition that people with disabilities should be included in the labour force, and I would like to see people with disability having access to internships.”

Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy, a long time advocate for people with disabilities, described the situation as “ridiculous”.

“This is something that has to be sorted out and added to the programme,” he said.

“The Government has to take responsibility for this and I am part of that Government. The issue needs to be addressed,” he added.

A WEST Clare councillor has called on retired public servants in the county to play their part in the national recovery, saying that they are ideally suited, thanks to years of experience to put their shoulder to the wheel for the good of the county.

Fine Gael councillor Gabriel Keating has sounded out the calling by saying that the raft of public service retirements in the county should now be used to harness a recovery of the county’s economic fortunes.

“This presents an opportunity for County Clare to harness the wealth of experience amassed from their careers for the benefit of the economic and social revival of the County,” Cllr Keating said this week.

“There are a lot of people, who will be retiring this year; who have gained valuable experience in the field of Healthcare, Education, Business and Tourism and who still have a lot to offer.

“I believe that many of these retirees would love to be able to impart their knowledge and experience which they have built up over the years and would be willing to volunteer if there was a process or forum set up which would facilitate this useful exchange of ideas.”

“That is why I am calling on Clare County Council to formalise a way in which these people can contribute and participate fully in the economic and social recovery of this county,” Cllr Keating added.

In expanding on his new blueprint for economic recovery, he said that volunteerism has a huge part to play over the next couple of years. “In seeking opportunities for volunteerism we must start looking beyond the traditional roles, such as Tidy Towns or local charities,” he said.

“However, in order to fully utilise the skills which these people possess, and to make sure that we just do not end up with another ‘Talking Shop’. It is important that the process or forum which is set up is active and that the ideas and proposals which are formulated in the process are fed into Local Authority System so that they can be acted upon.”

“Whether people have retired from the public, private or tourism sectors or whether they are self-employed retirees they have a vested interest in County Clare; they live here; their children or grandchildren are living here and they have the energy and enthusiasm to contribute to making this County a better place for all of us to live and work in.”

“It is an economic reality that we are where we are, and if we are to move forward recovery has to begin at grass root level. By participating in this initiative, I believe that these individuals will be displaying the true spirit of Clare patriotism and they will be making an enormous contribution to the future of their own county,” he added.

A MOTHER took items from a jewellery shop in Ennis to pay off moneylenders, a court has heard.

A six-month prison sentence was imposed on Mary Ann Jackson at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

Jackson (39) with an address at 35 Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra, Limerick, had previously pleaded guilty. The court previously heard that Jackson, who has 118 previous convictions, entered Collins Jewellers, O’Connell Street, Ennis, on January 18. She took a tray of bracelets, placed them in her handbag and left the shop. The court heard that Jackson was stopped by the owner who called the Gardaí. The accused admitted taking the bracelets, which were all recovered.

Insp John Galvin told the court that the bracelets were valued at € 1,800 and were fit for re-sale.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client had borrowed from moneylenders to pay for fuel for her father. He said she had taken the bracelets, as she had no way of paying the money back. He said that Jackson, a mother of one, “was under huge pressure to pay back these people”. The court heard that the accused suffers from diabetes and serious heart problems.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy noted that the accused does not have a good record. Acknowledging Jackson’s plea of guilty and other mitigating factors including the accused’s health, Judge McCarthy imposed a six-month sentence. He said the sentence is to be served concurrent to a nine-month sentence Jackson is currently serving.