Category: News

THE Ennis Access Programme has raised a total € 711 for Clare Haven Services. A raffle of a handmade quilt created by participants on the programme took place on the January 13. The lucky winner was Rita Egan, Ennistymon.

The Ennis Access Programme, which is a FÁS Local Training Ini- tiative sponsored by the Clare Local Development Company, decided to raise funds for Clare Haven Services, who provide a vital service to those suffering from domestic violence in the community.

They made their decision after attending several workshops funded by the HSE which highlighted the increasing numbers of domestic violence in the community, locally, nationally and internationally.

The learners on the Ennis Access Programme created a handmade patchwork quilt from natural fabrics and recycled materials.

The quilt is constructed in the form of patchwork and applique in rainbow colours with a black background.

The rainbow colours signify hope, and the hearts and doves symbolise love and peace.

Sue Considine, who is the Ennis Access Programme Co-ordinator, explained, “For most of us, home is a place of respect, love and safety. However, for some women, home means violence, fear and terror. Maybe it is your sister, your friend, your workmate, your mother or maybe you yourself are living with domestic violence.

“Without exception, a woman’s greatest risk of violence is from someone she knows.”

Sharon O’Mahony, the Assistant Co-ordinator, said, “Everyone has the right to safety and freedom from violence. Domestic violence is not acceptable and we stand in solidarity with abused women and those services that provide vital support in our communities.

“It is important that women are made aware of the vital services that are available to those living in our communities.”

A WOMAN alleged to have caused fire damage to premises in Shannon has been returned for trial.

Julie Ann Barry (34), with an address at 1 Gort na Rí, Ballycasey, Shannon appeared at Ennis District Court last Wednesday.

It is alleged that Barry caused damage by fire to unit 8 and 10, Block E, Caiseal Daire, Bru Na Sionna on November 4 (2010), intending to damage such property or being reckless as whether such property would be damaged, contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act.

Insp John Galvin told the court that Gardaí had been due to serve the Book of Evidence before Christmas, but the accused was not in court. He said the Book of Evidence had now been served.

Insp Galvin said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented that the accused be returned for trial to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy ordered that the woman be returned for trial. Judge McCarthy remanded the accused on bail to the next sitting of Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on February 14.

THE number of people signing on the Live Register in Clare broke through 10,000 mark last month, with a total of 10,368 people signing on in the county in December.

The latest figures come after two consecutive months of positive figures which had seen the Live Register figures drop below the 10,000 mark for the first time in more than two years.

The latest figures released from the Central Statistics Office show that 5,768 people were signing on in Ennis last month, while 1,671 were signing on in Ennistymon; 1,468 signing on in Kilrush; and 1,493 signing on in Tulla.

The overall figure for the county marks a year-on-year drop of 251 from the 10,619 who were signing on in the county in December of 2010.

The figures do not, however, take into account the large number of people who are expected to leave the county after the Christmas period. With large numbers set to emigrate, especially from rural communities, it is likely that any drop in the January figures would be brought about by emigration rather than by job creation.

The numbers signing on are still more than 500 people short of the all-time high in the county which was recorded in February of last year when a total of 10,883 people were signing on in the county.

The biggest month-on-month increase in the Live Register was recorded in Ennis where the numbers signing on swelled by 101 people, from 5,635 to 5,736.

The largest percentage increase, however, was recorded in Ennistymon with a jump of 80 people signing on, from 1, 597 to 1,671, amounted to a five per cent increase in just one month.

The numbers signing on in Kilrush and Tulla jumped by 59 in both locations.

THE support of the public has helped the Simon Community provide vital assistance to homeless people in Ennis. The newly established Mid West Simon Charity Shop provides a source of income to allow the charity to provide a specific service on-site to the people of Clare.

Homeless or people at risk of homelessness can drop into the coffee dock to pick up literature and information on housing issues, tenant rights and the options that prevent homelessness or to be housed.

Anyone wishing to speak a professional can make an appointment to see a Mid West Simon Housing Support Officer on a Tuesday or Thursday between 2pm and 4pm. There is a focus on accessibility of information in a relaxed and informal environment.

Volunteer staff in the shop at Woodquay, Ennis, have been delighted with the support from Clare people both in terms of donations of goods and customer support. The shop has a number of events planned over the next few weeks.

Fundraising Coordinator Susan Ward said, “We realise that there is no point in holding onto winter wear that is much needed now until spring so our manager and volunteer staff are preparing for a Winter Clothes Blitz this Thursday through to Saturday (January 19 to 21).

“All winter jackets, woollies, coats and accessories are reduced by 50 per cent – huge bargains at fantastic prices. We’re also anxious to introduce the integrated coffee dock so management are offering a free cup of tea or coffee with every purchase of € 10 or more during this promotion.”

In the meantime, all incoming children’s clothing and accessories will be tagged and priced in preparation for a kids’ clothes promotion during the first week of February.

The coffee dock is open to all visitors and it is hoped it will become a favourite drop-in for the people of Ennis.

Susan explained, “The shop relies solely on the generosity of the public and management would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their continued support and to ask the people of Clare to keep donating clothes, bric a brac, books and household ware.”

Any unwanted items of clothing or other household goods can be dropped in between 10am and 4.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

A Polish man has received a six month suspended sentence for contravening a protection order in Ennis last December.

Marian Slugocki (45) with an address at 35 Glensheen, Gort Road, Ennis appeared at Ennis District Court on Friday. He was charged with contravening a protection order and putting the applicant in fear of her life, contrary to the domestic violence act. He was also charged with engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour in Ennis last May. Slugocki pleaded guilty to the charges. Insp John Galvin said Gardaí were called to the home of Slugocki’s former partner last December after he turned up at the house. She told Gardai he rang her at 11pm looking for a nail clippers. She said that when the accused showed up, she heard glass breaking and “lots of noise”. Insp Galvin told the court that the woman had been afraid.

Insp Galvin that on another occasion in May 2011, Gardai were called to a house in Ennis. The court heard that Slugocki was “highly intoxicated”.

Solicitor for Slugocki, Jenny Fitzgibbon told the court that in relation to the public order offence, her client had got into an argument with his ex-partner.

She said that on that occasion Slugocki called the gardaí and agreed to go with them. She said that while the relationship had resumed after that, it did not go down well. She said the relationship has since ended. In relation to the protection order, Ms Fitzgibbon said her client went to the house to get a few missing items.

She said he had apologised for his actions on the night. She said it was Slugocki’s intention to go back to Poland.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy imposed a six-month sentence for the domestic violence charge.

He suspended the sentence on condition that the accused be of good behaviour for a period of two years.

For the public order charge, Judge McCarthy imposed a three month suspended sentence, on the same conditions, to be served concurrent to the previous sentence.

A WEST CLARE company has given Clare food producers a huge boost this week with the news that it has broken into the lucrative American market by supplying its unique seafood products to a high-profile chain of department stores across the country.

Spanish Point Sea Vegetables, operated by the Talty family in Caherush in Quilty, is poised for major expansion on the back of securing a contract to supply the Dean & Deluca chain of stores with its expanding range of seaweed products that are produced and packaged locally.

This move into the international market comes less than three years after the company was established by Ger, Anne and Evan Talty in 2009. It has since undergone rapid expansion in its product range and operation in Caherush. The move into the US market means that the company, which provides products to over 400 shops nationwide, is to be re-branded to meet the new challenges and demands of servicing international customers.

“We are changing the name of the business from Spanish Point Sea Vegetables to Wild Irish Seafoods,” Evan Talty told The Clare People this week. “This is because, outside of County Clare, Spanish Point isn’t really that well known so in America, if it was Spanish Point Sea Vegetables, they’d think it’s coming from Spain, which is no good,” he added. The company started by producing two local delacies, Dillisk and Carrageen, for local health food shops around the county, but in the last year has undergone rapid growth in terms of its products and the range of shops that carry these products. “We have seven or eight different products in the range that we’ve developed. There are hundreds of different types of seaweed but we concentrate on seven, the edible ones. We would supply health food shops, shops like SuperValu, Centra, fish shops. We also supply a product for seaweed baths and, at last year’s Ploughing Championships, we launched an animal feed and a soil conditioner,” revealed Talty.

To facilitate the company’s growth, a new processing plant – which was grant aided by the Clare Leader Programme – has been built, while a number of jobs will be created when the company goes into full production during the summer season after Wild Irish Seafoods is officially launched in the the spring.

A DECISION to grant planning permission to Eire Óg GAA Club for the construction of a hurling wall has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Eire Óg are seeking to construct a hurling wall adjacent to the clubhouse, including the removal of netting on the pitch side of the existing all-weather facility and replacing it with the hurling wall.

However, neighbours Enzo and Nuala D’Auria have appealed the decision, citing in their objection concerns over potential anti-social behaviour and noise.

Last month, Ennis Town Council granted planning permission subject to a number of conditions.

The council stated that, as part of the development, “Netting shall be erected along the north eastern side of the existing all-weather pitch to protect the adjacent property from wayward balls, details of which shall be agreed with the planning authority prior to the commencement of the development.”

The council also stated that, “The hurling wall shall only be used between the hours of 9am and 9pm on Monday to Friday and 10am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.”

In their submission, Enzo and Nuala D’Auria, whose property is located beside the Eire Óg grounds on Clondroadmore, state, “We have endured trespass (reclaiming of balls), vulgarity of language emanating from the all-weather facility outside our boundary wall. Currently, we are presented within the club as bad neighbours and generally we suffer inconveniences resulting from various developments within Club grounds.”

The submission states that the purpose of the hurling wall is to “cater for a squad of players (30 number) practicing hand-eye coordination, sure hands, quick feet and lightning reactions.”

It continues, “From a technical point of view, every player needs 200 contacts per session to improve their skills. During a single session, this can result in 6,000 bangs on the wall in a one-hour period (Ref: GAA’s Director of Hurling Paudie Butler).”

The submission states that draw- ings submitted by Eire Óg offer a clear indication of “existing flood lighting post”. “We would contend that there is an attempt with the current application through the ‘back door’ to regularise these posts and allow for future lighting to be fixed to same.”

The D’Aurias state that the application does not provide details on associate drainage and bundling of gables.

They also express concern over supervision of the facility, saying it could lead to “unauthorised and out-of-hours use and anti-social behaviour”.

The submission also cites concerns over the acoustic impact of the proposed development.

“The noise from the wall would be a source of serious and significant impact and intrusion.

“Along with the thwack of the sliotar on the hurleys, one also has to consider the noise from the strike on the wall. The key noise-sensitive location associated with the proposal is my property. This is a significant issue in the context of the proposal.”

The submission concludes, “While we fully accept that sports and recreation facilities are important for people to live a full and active life, we would request your council to request the applicant to seek an alternative more suitable location within their grounds or refuse this application.”

An Bord Pleanála are due to make a decision on the matter in May.

SOIL quality in parts of Clare could be a “significant issue” under new legislation proposed for septic tanks.

Under proposed new legislation, householders with septic tanks and other on-site systems will be required to register the details of their system with the relevant local authority. A national register will also be compiled and held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Homeowners will be required to pay a registration fee of € 50. Fianna Fáil estimates that the cost of upgrade works to be between € 7,000 and € 17,000. The party says this figure is based on inspection failure rates in Cavan where 25 per cent of septic tanks needed upgrading.

Concern has previously been expressed that homes in the west of Ireland will fall foul of the new regulations due to poor soil quality in the region. The matter was discussed at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council’s Environmental Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).

Senior engineer Paul Moroney told the meeting that clay soil is a significant issue in parts of East and West Clare. Mr Moroney said issues may also arise regarding karts limestone in mid-Clare.

Asked about the standards by which septic tanks would be measured, Mr Moroney said the regulations would aim to abolish the risk to human life.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said this “risk-based inspection process” should take into account occupancy rates in rural homes.

Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) asked what the impact would be on houses built on small sites. He said some homes might have to be demolished to facilitate upgrade works to septic tanks in breach of new regulations. Cllr Kelly also proposed that a grant be made available to houses that require upgrades. Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab) said greater clarification was required regarding the cost of upgrades.

Mr Moroney told the meeting that the legislation regarding septic tanks had yet to be enacted.

An estimated 300 people attended a public meeting in Ennis last November.

Organised by Fianna Fáíl TD Timmy Dooley, the meeting was held to highlight growing concern among rural communities over the potential impact of new septic tank legislation.

Campaigners and farmer’s representatives have claimed that plans for new monitoring and inspection of septic tanks represent “an attack on rural Ireland”.

The new legislation could affect thousands of Clare homes.

THE number of commercial flights landing at Shannon Airport in 2011 was 42 per cent less than the number coming to the airport at the height of the Celtic Tiger in 2008. This massive drop in plane numbers was confirmed by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) last week when Shannon Airport was also confirmed as Ireland’s third busiest airport, behind both Dublin and Cork.

A total of 19,275 planes landed in Shannon Airport in 2011, or an average of 53 planes each day. This compares to Cork Airport where 22,173 coastal flights landed and Dublin where 522,959 flights landed.

Despite the 42 per cent drop from the 2008 peak, these latest figures actually represent an improvement on the 2010 passenger numbers, with 2.7 per cent more flights landing at the airport last year, compared to 2010.

The figures also indicated that the gap between Shannon and Cork Airport to be Ireland’s second most used commercial airport in closing. Shannon’s 2.7 per cent increase in plane traffic compares to a 6.2 per cent year-on-year reduction to the traffic numbers coming through Cork Airport. Should this trend continue, Shannon Airport would pass out Cork and once again become Ireland’s second most popular airport in 2015.

The figures do not include the number of US military airplanes which used the facilities at Shannon in 2011. If military flights had been used as part of the calculations, Shannon would have outstripped Cork in the number of planes using the facility.

The improvement on the 2010 figures may not indicate a rebound in the industry, however, as numbers were down in that year as a result of the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano.

According to Eamonn Brennan, Chief Executive of the IAA, the reduction in traffic volumes was very disappointing but was not unexpected in the context of the global economic crises. “En route charges in Irish airspace have been reduced by eight per cent this year and we hope to reduce these further in 2013 and 2014. Our reductions greatly exceed the minimum 3.5 per cent required by the Single European Sky II package and Ireland is the fourth lowest in Europe for air traffic control charges to airlines in 2012,” he said.

“The terminal charges have also been reduced by 21 per cent this month and will be cut by six per cent yearly from 2013 to 2015.”

FURTHER confirmation that local authorities like Kilrush Town Council must answer to the European Union and International Monetary Fund as much as, if not more than, they do to national government was hammered home at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the local authority. That’s because a new stringent timetable has been laid down by the Department of the Environment for receipt of the town council’s financial statement – all at the behest of the new criteria that has been handed down as part of the EU/IMF bailout deal for the country’s economy.

Kilrush Town Clerk John Corry revealed that the new guidelines that will be imposed means that the financial statement is set to be delivered up to four months ahead of previous years.

“We are required to prepare our annual financial statement by April 1 and has to be published by July 1,” said Mr Corry, “but we received a circular from the Department of the Environment in the middle of December advising us about the financial statement – it’s all to do with the reporting of the EU/IMF arrangements and the quarterly report that we do in tandem with that.

“They set a very difficult thing to deal with. They’re suggesting that our annual financial statement would be prepared by the February 24, along with our quarterly returns,” he added.

News of the strict new guidelines come only two months after it was first revealed that the management of Kilrush Town Council finances now come under the microscope of Eurocrats in Brussels and the IMF.

This prompted Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) to say “the long arm of the EU is extending all the way to Kilrush,” while Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) said “little did I think that Kilrush Town Council would be responsible to the bureaucrats in Brussels”.

However, in facing up to new financial realities, the town clerk revealed that the local authority was “working towards” adhering to the new deadlines.

“The statutory dates still exist – that’s April 1,” said Mr Corry, “but there’s a sort of a strong encouragement that’s being advised to us that we’d have the statement ready by the February date.

“I’m seeking advice with regard to the formal adoption of it. The February meeting is fixed for the 9th and there’s no way that we’ll have it completed by then, so what I’m seeking advice on is whether or not we will be able to present it to members at the March meeting.

“To achieve that will be an onerous task, because normally we don’t present it to the members until the May meeting – it was even June last year. I’m hoping that we will,” added Mr Corry.