Category: News

CONCERNS have been expressed at the location and availability of lifesaving defibrillators in the county town. Ennis Town Councillor Paul O’Shea (Lab) believes that the local authority should provide 24-hour access to defibrillators that are placed at convenient locations, in sight of CCTV cameras on the main streets with no less than a three-minute walk from each installation.

Ennis Town Council currently has three defibrillators. One is located in the Customer Service office of Ennis Town Council and two in the council’s Sports and Leisure Facilities – one in Ennis Leisure Complex and one in Lees Road.

Ennis Town Clerk Leonard Cleary said, “Staff have been trained in the use of this equipment. Clare County Council also has a defibrillator, which is located on its property within the town. The local authority does not have a role in relation to other privately-owned or community-owned defibrillators. The council’s CCTV network is available as a resource for the gardaí, with whom Ennis Town works closely.”

Cllr O’Shea raised concerns, however, that the council offices close at five, the leisure centre at 9pm and Lees Road at 10pm. He said that defibrillators should ideally be positioned three minutes from each other, and be available 24 hours a day.

“We probably need a few (defibrillators) but we need a 24-hour one,” he said.

Mr Cleary explained that there are a number of other defibrillators in the town centre owned by voluntary organisations.

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said it was an issue of awareness. “I don’t know where they are located,” she said.

The councillor called for all defibrillators to be clearly marked and visible to the public.

Ennis Town Manager Ger Dollard reminded the council that the provision of defibrillators is not a function of the local authority.

“Perhaps the HSE have a better idea of where the defibrillators are located,” he said.

AFTER her star turn on RTÉ radio, singer Siomha Brock is looking forward to a triumphant homecoming concert in Ennis on Saturday.

The 24-year-old embarks on a nationwide tour this week with stops in Galway (Kings Head, Thursday), Cruises Bar, Ennis (Saturday), Limerick (Office Bar, February 21), Cork (Crane Lane, February 24) and Dublin (Sweeneys, Dame Street, February 26).

The former Coláiste Muire student, who has been tipped as one of Ireland’s rising music talents, released her self-titled EP in Ennis last December. Reaction has been positive, with one track ‘Right From The Start’ being added to the RTÉ Radio One playlist.

Siomha and her band also appeared on Pat Kenny’s popular morning show with the veteran broadcaster hailing their performance.

She says, “He really liked it. He’s into that jazz style of music so he seemed really happy with it. He was very nice and we were really well looked after. It was great to go up and play in such a great studio. It was really a good boost. I sent up the CD and, because they liked it so much and because I had the tour coming up, they said they’d bring us on to do a bit of promotion.”

Joining her on tour are Ennis man Eoghan Judge (guitar), who has been writing songs with Siomha for the past year. Bass player Karl Clews has worked with artists such as Jamiro quai, Gary Barlow (Take That) and PJ Harvey. Drummer Pat Corless has worked with artists such as Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club and The Blizzards.

Siomha says, “We’ve a good few new songs for the tour. We’ve just over an hour of new stuff. Eoghan and myself work really well together because we’ve known each other for so long and because we’ve very similar taste in music.” She adds, “The guys are great. They know exactly what we want to do with the song.”

Siomha, who has performed regularly in Cruises and around Ireland, is hugely influenced by jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Holiday, She says, “I stick to a lot of the old jazz stuff because that’s the way I like to sing. I got all my influences from them.”

THERE was a large increase in the number of dogs being put down in Clare last year, with a total of 728 animals destroyed in the county throughout 2011. This compares to a total of 547 animals destroyed in Clare in 2010 – a year when more animals were put down in Clare than in any other county in Ireland. Given this 34 per cent year-on-year increase, it is likely that Clare will retain the unwanted title of Ireland’s biggest dog-killing county when na- tional figures for 2011 are released later this year.

This news comes despite massive efforts being made by a number of organisations in the county – including the ISPCA and Clare County County – to reduce the number of animals being destroyed each year. Of the 1,378 dogs dealt with by the Clare dog pound in 2011, 176 were returned successfully back to their owners while 465 dogs were rehomed in Britain though Deirdre Ryan and Rover Rescue.

The majority of dogs, 812 in total, were brought to the pound by their owners, while 563 were stray dogs.

“People don’t realise the scale of the problem in Clare. I have been in the pound this morning from 9am to 1pm and already we have had 11 dogs handed into me here this morning,” Clare dog warden Frankie Coote told The Clare People yesterday.

“Nobody here wants to see a dog put down. We are making every effort we can. It is heartbreaking having to put down an animal. We have about 150 dogs in for biting people each year and another 170 or thereabouts in for chasing livestock. The fact is that once a dog does something like that, we have to take action. But we have one of the highest numbers of dogs who we get back to their owner each year.”

Only 4,000 of the estimated 30,000 dogs that currently live in Clare are registered.

“These problems could be solved quite easily if dogs could be microchipped. That way we know as soon as we find a dog who the owner is and we don’t have the expense of keeping that dog for days. That way, when we come across a stray, we know it’s a stray straight away. This would sort the whole thing out very quickly. As it stands now, the figures in Clare are not going to change because we have too many dogs,” continued Frankie.

AHEAD of the annual Ennis Book Club Festival that takes place on the first weekend in March, the event has been recognised internationally thanks to being nominated for EDGE Awards that take place in Edinburgh every year.

The Ennis festival is the only Irish nominee in the 2012 awards scheme pioneered by Edinburgh City Council, which are are designed to reward innovation and creativity in library services.

The award winners will be announced on March 1, the eve of the Book Club Festival that has become a key part of the Irish literary festival circuit over the past seven years by being able to attract some of the biggest names in Irish literature.

“Ennis Book Club Festival is organised by a voluntary committee in association with Clare County Library,” said festival chairperson Ciana Campbell. “We really value that support. Ennis is a festival dedicated to book club members and readers and given that there are over 150 library-based book clubs in the country it makes complete sense to work together in this way. The organisers of the EDGE 2012 Conference obviously feel that we are a good example of how the public sector can support community organisations like ourselves,” she added.

“The festival has enabled the library service to reach out, make contacts and create goodwill with a broad sector of the community,” said county librarian, Helen Walsh. “Over the years, links have been forged with local writers, artists, musicians and youth groups and the library service, through the festival, has contributed to the cultural life, tourism and economy of the region and proved that local authorities can play a vital role in projects such as this.”

At the cutting edge of digital technology, the EDGE 2012 Conference will show how libraries – physically, virtually and socially are revolution- ising local authority service deliver. The two-day conference in Edinburgh will bring together top local government figures from the UK and beyond to explore how libraries are key to delivering council services, e-government, learning and digital inclusion.

Ennis Book Club Festival 2012 will be held from March 2 to 4. Visiting writers include Lynne Reid Banks, author of the L-Shaped Room , English novelist Patrick Gale, Maureen Gaffney and Shelia O’Flanagan.

ENNIS Town Council has said it does not have land available to give to sports clubs to develop facilities.

With clubs in Ennis seeking to develop their own playing grounds, a local councillor had urged the council to make any surplus lands available.

In a motion submitted to the February meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Johnny Flynn called on, “Ennis Council to request Clare County Council, a la recent decision with regard to the site at Doora, consider making available portions of any suitable surplus lands in Environs area similarly available to Ennis Rugby Club, Avenue United soccer club, Ennis Town and other clubs who have the ability and can demonstrate the capacity to build much needed additional facilities.”

He added, “Some of these clubs, I understand, made previous such applications/approaches to one or both local authorities.”

In his response, Town Clerk Leonard Cleary, pointed to the council’s significant investment in “flagship facilities” such as Lees Road.

However he said that the council does not have surplus land available to distribute to clubs.

He stated, “Ennis Town Council recognizes the important role that sports clubs play in the everyday health and quality of life of residents and visitors to Ennis. In this regard, the council has invested in the development of flagship facilities at Lees Road, Ennis Leisure Centre, Tim Smyth Park, Glenina, Cloughleigh, and Coote Park. Some government grant support has also been provided which has enabled the local authority to develop these facilities.”

Mr Cleary regarded, “This is a major capital investment in sports in Ennis town and requires significant council budget provision to meet operational costs of these facilities. Further developments are planned at these sites, subject to available resources. Ennis Town Council is aware of a number of sports clubs currently seeking to identify a suitable site, but does not currently have a suitable landbank for consideration in this regard.”

The matter was discussed at last week’s council meeting with on councillor suggesting the sporting clubs in the county look to NAMA when it emerged that there was no local authority lands available for sporting amenities.

“Can we get a list of lands from NAMA and put the clubs on to them,” asked Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) who was reacting to indications from town manager Ger Dollard that the local authority had no surplus lands available.

“I am not sure that Clare County Council has a surplus of lands available.”

He added that while the town council should contact the more senior local authority to request any such lands for sporting clubs, he did not want to give false hope.

CONSTRUCTION work began yesterday on a major restoration of Thoor Ballylee, the Gort residence of William Butler Yeats. The historic tower and tourist attraction has been closed to the public since it was badly damaged by flooding in 2009.

The redevelopment of Yeat’s West of Ireland getaway will take an estimated three months to complete and will be fully operational ahead of this year’s busy summer season. The decision to fund the restoration of Thoor Ballylee comes after top-level meetings between Fáilte Ireland and the Office of Public Works (OPW), who manage the facility.

The tower at Thoor Ballylee, which is located just outside of Gort, was purchased by Yeats as his family home in 1917. It was used as a summer home for Yeats during his frequent visits to Gort where he spent much of his time at the residence of Lady Gregory at nearby Coole Park.

Local senator, Lorraine Higgins (Lab) has begun a campaign to secure enough government funding to reopen the tower as a tourist attraction.

Higgins hopes that the combination of a renovated Thoor Ballylee alongside Coole Park will be enough to win literary tourists away from Yeats’ childhood home in Sligo and down to the Burren region.

“We need to reclaim our strong association with one of the English language’s foremost and renowned poets by ensuring Thoor Ballylee is restored as a prime tourist attraction in the region,” she said.

“Thoor Ballylee is steeped in connections with Yeats and should be just as important a tourist landmark as his grave in Drumcliffe in County Sligo. More than 100,000 tourists visit the poet’s grave in Drumcliffe every year and there is no reason whatsoever why Thoor Ballylee cannot achieve similar status as a mustsee tourist destination.

“Thoor Ballylee has been extensively damaged by flooding, particularly in 2009. The River Coole which runs beside the tower is prone to flooding and overflows onto the road, and this has added to the difficulties from a tourist attraction point of view.”

TEACHERS, parents and concerned members of communities throughout the county are expected to gather in the county town on Monday night next to voice their concerns at one of the largest cuts to teaching numbers in the history of the state.

Co-ordinated by the teachers’ union, INTO, the meeting will address the growth in class sizes that will lead to the reduction in teachers in many schools throughout the county.

Larger schools such as the Killaloe Boys National School are facing massive cuts.

The East Clare school faces the prospect of having its teaching numbers halved next year, from 14 to nine mainstream and remedial teachers and five special needs assistants (SNA), to just 7.5 – 6.5 teachers and one SNA if the proposed cuts are implemented.

Many smaller rural schools in Clare also face losing a teacher next year, with teachers faced with teaching numerous classes at once.

In many other communities, despite an increase in population and growing numbers at the local schools, teachers will also be lost.

For example a school with 49 pupils are currently entitled to a principal plus two teachers. However, by September 2014 the school must have at least 56 pupils to retain its three teachers.

Clare executive member of the INTO and Mullagh principal Sean McMahon said changes to staffing in small schools would also be applied retrospectively.

“Next year’s teacher allocation will be given to schools on the basis of pupil enrolment last September. Last September, a school with 50 pupils could have expected three teachers next year. The budget changes mean that school will only have two teachers,” he said.

The public is now being invited to have its say on the issue.

The officers of all Clare INTO branches met with Mr Mc Mahon last week and decided to respond to hundreds of requests from parents and teachers throughout the county to help organise a public meeting in Clare to highlight the issues involved, as well as appraise the Clare Oireachtas members on their growing concerns.

The public meeting will take place in the West County Hotel, Ennis, at 8pm on Monday February 20.

THE HOUSEHOLD charge will have no implication whatsoever on local services.

That was the message that came from the February meeting of Kilrush Town Council, with councillors maintaining that the tax has not been thought out beyond what it can financially redeem.

Town clerk John Corry told councillors, “It is giving the understanding that it is an extra funding that is being made available, which is not the case.”

Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) questioned the cost to the local authority of collecting this tax that will provide no extra funding to local services.

Caroline O’Connor, Management Accountant at Clare County Council, explained that the household charge is collected centrally with all monies collected remitted directly to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

“Consequently this new charge has no impact on the council’s budget for 2012,” she said.

“Income arising from the new charge will allow a reduction by an equivalent amount of the cost of the centrally controlled local government fund.

“This fund is paid out to local authorities and supports that provision of local services for example public parks, libraries, open spaces and leisure amenities, planning and development, fire and emergency services, maintenance and cleaning of streets and street lighting.”

However, there will be an administrative cost to the council, a cost that cannot yet be calculated.

“Local Authorities were only made aware on December 20, that they would have a role in collecting this money, as we are only a month on from this it is difficult at this stage to establish the total administrative cost to the council of collecting this charge,” said Ms O’Connor.

“It is expected that these costs will become more apparent as the dead- line for the due date draws nearer and procedures for collection post March are clarified.”

“I don’t think any of us here would be against local taxes if it supported local services,” said Cllr Prendev ille.

“I don’t think the minister is being strictly honest when he introduced this,” he said.

“The elected members and manager are very aware of the public’s resistance to the new household charge.

“Socialist elements, on weekend surfing jaunts to West Clare, and egged on by Dublin’s ‘Reds-underthe-Beds’ brigade, are stirring up matters on the local front.

They realise that this charge is a prelude to a full-blown property tax on domestic dwellings coming down the tracks on the instructions of the Troika. If there is to be a local taxation to pay for local services, then let the Minister be upfront with his new stealth taxes,” added Cllr Prendeville.

“Otherwise, the public will have strong grounds for believing that the € 160 million to be collected from the household charge will be interpreted as our initial contribution to the recent € 1.2 billion paid out to unsecured bondholders last month.”

Owners of residential properties are expected to register and pay the household charge of € 100 on or before March 31.

A PROMINENT hotelier has said that the tourism industry in Clare could be in for a slight rebound this year. John Madden, owner of the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis, told a meeting yesterday that hoteliers had reported a 6-7 per cent increase in business last year. He said the boost in trade was a welcome one for the industry, given the tough economic conditions of recent years.

Mr Madden was speaking at a meeting of Clare County Council’s, Community and Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services Strategic Policy Committee (SPC). Commenting on the future of Shannon Airport, which he said was essential to tourism in the mid-west, Mr Madden said the indications are that Shannon will have “some definite independence by the end of the year”.

He said he also hoped that there would be a renewed emphasis on marketing Shannon, an area he said had been “sadly lacking” in recent years. “There hasn’t been a specific body for the marketing of Shannon and that is a problem,” he said.

Director of Service, Ger Dollard said the recent announcement of two new flights from Aer Arann was a welcome development for the airport. The move sees the introduction of a new Shannon-Rennes weekly service and improved frequency on the Shannon-Edinburgh route.

Mr Dollard said the council was awaiting publication of a government-commissioned report from consultants Booz and Company on the future of Shannon Airport. He told the meeting that the Department of Transport had responded positively to proposals to develop Shannon as a humanitarian aid hub while progress had also been made on plans to construct new cargo facilities at the airport.

The meeting heard strong criticism of what SPC members called a lack of a definite marketing strategy for Shannon.

Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said an initiative should be launched to woo customers from the east of the country. He said the ready availability of the airport’s parking facilities should be highlighted as part of the campaign.

Cllr PJ Ryan (Ind) said a € 15 mil- lion budget had been promised to promote the Open Skies initiative but so far Shannon had only received € 3 million. He also criticized Shannon Development, saying, “Shannon Development have virtually put nothing into promoting Shannon.”

Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said Shannon needed to attract another airline like Ryanair. Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) said the absence of year-round transatlantic flights from Shannon was hurting the airport.

He said agencies associated with the airport would have to be more “aggressive” in marketing Shannon

KILRUSH’S Tourism and Marketing Officer Siobhan Garvey will promote the maritime town as ‘Kilrush on the Shannon’ at every opportunity.

She made the commitment following a suggestion from the father of the council Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) to re-brand the town incorporating its maritime history.

“I would be fully supportive of including ‘Kilrush on the Shannon’ at any available opportunity and incorporating this phase into future promotions in conjunction with the use of the image of the Shannon Dolphin and Scattery Round Tower,” she said.

According to Cllr Prendeville, “The origins and development of Kilrush can be traced back to a time, particularly in the 19th century, when it was the hub of commercial maritime traffic on the Shannon Estuary. In those halcyon days, paddle steamers plied between Kilrush and Limerick bringing passengers and produce to and from the Treaty City.”

“In recent years, the Kilrush Creek Marina has renewed Kilrush’s links with its proud maritime tradition through the development of top-class marine leisure facilities and services. The Kilrush Marina has opened up the magnificent natural resource of cruising waters right up to the ports of Limerick and Foynes.

“The commissioning of the ESB electricity generating station at Moneypoint also offers exciting opportunities for developing the deepwater jetty there and that will surely form the central plank of the Shannon Foynes Port Authority’s Strategic Plan for up to 2012,” he said.

He added that the rebranding of Kilrush as a tourism product should seek to maximise the vast potential of Ireland’s most magnificent waterway.

“It is a linkage between the historic sixth century monastic settlement of Inis Cathaigh and the necklace of ports and creeks along the estuary. The Shannon Dolphin tourism product has captured the public’s imagination and for those who dare broader horizons, Kilrush is the gateway to cruising on the western seaboard while unrivalled access to rich fishing grounds make the open Atlantic a centre for angling connoisseurs,” said Cllr Prendeville.

Ms Garvey said that there are already some tourism links between tourism in Kilrush and the Shannon.

“It has been useful that the Dolphin and Whale Centre at Merchant’s Quay is known as the ‘Shannon Dolphin and Whale Centre’ in all promotional literature and the only operator in Kilrush offering Dolphin Watching trips brands his business and vessel as the ‘Shannon Dolphin Discovery’, which also helps to reinforce the fact that Kilrush is very much part of the River Shannon and shows that there is as collaborative approach to branding Kilrush in this way,” she said.