Category: News

DETAILS have been unveiled of a proposed € 500, 000 upgrade to the Quin wastewater treatment plant.

The project consists of the upgrading of the existing wastewater treatment plant including the provision of additional underground tanks and associated site works to increase capacity from 740 population equivalent (pe) to 1400 pe at Quin Gardens, Quin.

According to a report prepared by senior planner Gordon Daly, the proposed development will serve the needs of Quin village and its environs into the future.

The report states that Quin village has a projected population target of 789 persons by 2017.

A flood risk assessment states that the “site is designated as being located within flood zone A and B hence this site has been identified as being at risk of flooding”.

The report states that the proposed works will not give rise to increased flooding at the site.

The report states, “It is noted that that the risk of flooding would be from the adjacent River Rine. The wastewater treatment facility is already present and operating within a flood risk area – the same therefore is cur rently at risk of flooding.”

It continues, “The report from water services dated 20/10/11 that the proposed works will not reduce the potential of the site to flood but will, in the event that this occurs by reason of the design of the new plant, reduce the potential of the plant contaminating flood waters. Having regard to the established use of the site as a wastewater treat ment plant and having regard to the works proposed it is considered that the works will not give risk to an increased chance of flooding at the site.”

With regard to the impact on the visual amenities of the area, the report states that the “proposed works will not impact to any significant degree on the visual amenities of the area”.

Local Fine Gael councillor Sonny Scanlan welcomed the project saying it was needed in the area.

A PUBLIC meeting to oppose new bylaws which would see boats banned from evening dockings at the pier in Kinvara will take place in the village on Wednesday evening.

The meeting is being organised by local man Declan Connolly, who says that the new legislation will destroy Kinvara’s reputation as a maritime centre and means the end of the Cruinniú na mBád Festival.

The Cruinniú, which will celebrate its 34th anniversary this year, sees scores of experienced sailors from the Aran Islands dock their boats and traditional curraghs in Kinvara each August to celebrate the ancient sea trade routes between the two locations.

The proposed bylaw was prompted by a number of local residents who complained about camper vans and other vehicles parking overnight on the Kinvara pier. The legislation however, proposed a ban on all craft from the pier, meaning that boats with sleeping quarters would be banned from docking there at night.

“There was a legitimate concern from some residents about camper vans staying on the pier for an extended period, so the locals contacted the councillors who came up with this new bylaw for the pier but for some reason they also included boats in the legislation. This will prevent boats which are habitable from being at the pier between eight in the evening and nine in the morning,” said Declan. “If this bylaw was to come true, it would mean that we and other boat user would not be able to work on our boat in the evening time. It would bring about a ridiculous situation where the Cruinniú na mBád would have to stop – where all the boats come over for the weekend and so many people stay on the boats. This proposed bylaw in my opinions is completely ridiculous and has not been well thought out.” Declan is hoping that everyone who has an opinion on the proposed bylaws come to the meeting to allow for a compromises to be reached. “We would like to talk to the concerned residents and see if some sort of compromise can’t be worked out. I think we need to split the two issues and deal with camper-vans and boats separately. It is two different issues and we would like to see the boats removed from the proposed bylaw for a start,” continued Declan. “That said there are a lot of businesses in the town who welcome the camper-vans coming into the village. They come in, the use the local shops and spend money. The vast majority of the time they are very well behaved, elderly people who have all the right equipment and don’t cause any difficulty for people. The meeting will take place at Johnson’s Hall in Kinvara this Wednesday, November 24, at 8.30pm.

AN INTERNATIONAL campaign highlighting domestic violence against women will be marked in Clare over the coming weeks, amid increasing numbers of women seeking help.

As part of the 16 Days campaign opposing domestic violence – which runs from November 25 to December 16 – a candlelit ceremony will be held at the friary in Ennis on Thursday, December 1, at 7.30pm.

Candles will be lit in memory of each victim. Sixteen community leaders – such as a member of a sporting organisation, a garda and a community volunteer – will each bring a candle to the altar representing each of the 16 years since the initiative was established.

“It sends out a really strong message that each of their organisations are opposing violence,” said services manager with Clare Haven, Denise Dunne.

“We are commemorating 174 wom- en who have been murdered in Ireland since 1996 (when figures were first collected). 107 of them were murdered in their homes.

“This year, the theme is communities working together on opposing violence against women, such as gardaí, family resource centres, different community-based organisations and people volunteering with the community,” she said.

“In order for us to help women experiencing domestic abuse, we need community support,” said Ms Dunne.

She said that the Clare Haven refuge for women suffering domestic abuse is “full all of the time”, while the outreach centres across the county are experiencing huge demand.

The initiative will get underway on November 25, which is the UN day opposing violence against women, and will conclude on December 10, which is Human Rights Day.

Meanwhile, the local area networks – of Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary – have set up a website, www. midwestvaw.ie, geared towards those working professionally who may encounter violence against women.

“It is around recognising, responding and referring,” said Ms Dunne.

“If somebody presents in front of you asking for help, how do you ask the questions and respond? It is for professionals, people on the ground who meet people through work such as social workers, gps, teachers or anybody who comes across it. It is a resource for them,” she said.

For further information on the 16 Days initiative, phone 065 6842646.

PEOPLE in Kilrush might struggle to have the financial means to pay for a series of stealth taxes that are expected to be introduced in next months Budget, town councillors have warned in calling for a means test to be introduced for people in the west Clare capital catchment area.

This claim that there are now a host of families in Kilrush are now on the breadline was sounded out as member of the local authority gave their universal backing for the introduction of a means-tested waiver scheme for householders “who have not the financial means to pay for taxes like water charges and property taxes on principal residences”.

“Some people living in a sheltered world don’t know how bad it is out there,” said Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Ian Lynch told the meeting. “There are an awful lot of people on the breadline and I think some people will not be able to afford services.

“A means test will have to be brought in. We mightn’t realise ourselves how bad it is around town. It is absolutely dire out there,” Kilrush’s first citizen warned in backing a mo- tion that was proposed by former Mayor, Tom Prendeville.

“While the government implements financial austerity measures ordinary people in Kilrush will be asked to make huge financial sacrifices,” blasted Cllr Prendeville.

“The mention of water charges and property taxes in the upcoming Budget will mean that some pensioners, widow and other social welfare recipients will go hungry as much of their paltry weekly allowances will have to be set aside for these new stealth taxes.

“All this in the so-called name of fiscal rectitude. This is morally wrong, while NAMA bails out developers with generous allowances and the reckless lending of some bad banks is rewarded with € 700m of taxpayers money.

“There are people in Kilrush who will have to continue to exist by scrimping on the bare essentials of life to pay for the excesses of the Celtic Tiger. A waiver scheme to help these people to keep food on the table has to be brought in. It’s a small concession to ask for on behalf of a very vulnerable section of society,” Cllr Prendeville added.

VACANT buildings in Kilrush are being vandalised and looted for any valuables inside, Kilrush Town Council was told, amid renewed called from members for the local authority to ramp up security measures at unused premises around the town.

The extent of the vandalism and looting problems were sounded out by Independent councillor Paul Moroney after Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Ian Lynch sounded out his call for “a safety and condition survey of all vacant council property”.

“It’s unbelievable what’s going on in the town,” said Cllr Moroney. “I know that someone went into a house recently and heard a noise the there was someone up on top of the roof stealing the lead – I’m not talking about a vacant house.

“This was happening in broad daylight. We can talk about estate management plans all you like, but when there’s ignorance out there, it’s very hard to get over it. Lads that are doing the houses are being told that copper is the last thing that should go into the houses, because it will be stolen,” added Cllr Moroney.

To confront such problems, Cllr Lynch called on the council “to comply with our duty to prevent unauthorised access to property under our control”, while he also called for the convening of housing meeting to discuss estate and property management among dwelling owned by the town authority.

“People are going into houses and this should be stopped,” warned Cllr Lynch. “There are quite a lot houses that were boarded up, but are no longer boarded up. My fear is that children will be in those vacant dwelling and that there could be an accident and if there is we as a council will be liable. We need to focus on property management,” he added.

The mayor called for the implementation of an action plan to monitor the council’s vacant housing stock – part of this plan would see CCTV cameras focused on vacant houses, as well as having these properties monitored by FÁS maintenance workers and a community warden.

A MAJOR new job creation drive could be on the cards for Clare in 2012 after Shannon Development was one of a small number of regional organisation granted an increase in funding by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton (FG), last week.

The regional promotional and job creation agency has been granting a year-on-year budget increase of almost 40 per cent and will see their operations budget swell from € 3.6 million to € 5 million next year.

It is as yet unclear what this € 1.4 million budget increase will be spent on or whether a particular major project has already been identified for the money. It is also unclear whether some of all of this budget increase has already been accounted for in the € 3.2 million in tourism funding which was announced for the Shannon region by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar (FG), earlier this month. The Clare People contacted Shannon Development in relation to the funding boost but no comment on the increase or the possible use of the funding was forth coming at the time of going to press.

Speaking on the budget increase, Shannon Senator Tony Mulcahy (FG) said it was a vote of confidence for the work being on the ground in Clare to promote the region to foreign tourists as-well-as foreign investment. “This funding is good news for Clare and the region and it just highlights the positives work that is being done. I mean, we had an Olympic Handball event here [Shannon] last week and that saw about 400 extra people here for a week,” said Senator Mulcahy.

“Even sporting events like the Munster match the other night will help boost the profile of Shannon Airport and the region as a whole.”

Meanwhile, a major seminar for the promotion of walking tourism in Clare has been announced for the Pavillion Theatre in Lisdoonvarna on Wednesday, November 23.

There will be a number of speakers in north Clare for the event including experts from Shannon Development as-well-as members from the Clare Trails Steering Group.

The purpose of the seminar is to let the public know of recent developments in the provision of way marked trails and to announce a special two-day training programme for walk leaders.

Walking tourism is now Clare’s fastest growing tourism attraction, attracting more people to the county each year than traditional favourite golf.

THIS year celebrates Ennis Players 26th anniversary Supper Theatre at the Old Ground Hotel from Monday, November 21, to Thursday, November 24. One of the town’s premier pre Christmas social occasions, Ennis Players will be performing two one act productions this year.

Rae Shirley’s hilarious comedy “What shall we do with the Body” is set in a lonely country cottage. Miss Temple played by Carmel Quin, a famous crime writer is dictating her latest novel to her enigmatic secretary, Miss Worthington, played by Ailbhe McMahon. However they become increasingly worried by a number of unusual events and especially the sudden arrival of a strangely dressed visitor, played by Tony Coffey. This is a great little thriller and the audience is kept guessing as to the identity and motives of the murderer right up to the end.

The second production is a wonderfully written comedy, “The Way of All Fish” by Elaine May, whose screenplays for “Heaven Can Wait” and “Primary Colours” have earned her Academy Award Nominations. The play is set in the New York office of a high- flying businesswoman, over an impromptu dinner with her meek hard working secretary. A power game is played out between the two with sharp American humour, enriched with sinister overtones. The cast is made up of Bairbre de Barra and Amy McEnnis.

Tony Coffey takes the reins for the first time as a director with the Ennis Players and will produce “What shall we do with the Body”, with the veteran Joe Varden directing “The Way of All Fish”.

Ennis Players have reduced their ticket price this year to € 15 which includes the two plays and a wonderful supper. The show will begin at 8pm each night and tickets can be booked through the Irish Shop in the Market at 065 6820769.

Ennis will be hosting the MACE All Ireland One-Act Finals in Glór from December 2 to December 4, so you can expect a feast of the very best in amateur theatre over the next few weeks.

CLARE has become the first county in Ireland to go to Britain and market itself directly to the Irish diaspora abroad.

More than 2,000 new UK tourist are expected to travel to Clare over the next two years, generating an estimated € 1 million for the county, following the London to Clare event which took place last week.

The event was organised by the Clare Tourism Forum who invited special guests such as Killaloe native Keith Woods along to help promote the county. Despite an estimated 10 per cent year-on-year growth of tourism to the area, the UK market remained sluggish in 2011 with the majority of the revival coming from American, French and German travellers.

The event was organised to coincide with World Travel Market, one of the world’s largest conferences of tour operators held in London each year. According to Maureen Cleary of the Clare Tourism Network, this groundbreaking event could be replicated in other parts of the world.

“We decided to host our own event in London at the same time as the world market and focus both on the tour operators but also on the diaspora over there,” she said.

“Clare was the only county who was out there marketing itself in this way. We feel that London is the perfect starting point for this sort of project. We have at least three flights each day from Shannon to London, it is an English speaking destination so it made sense to use London as the first trial run for this. We hope to do more of this in other locations, it was very successful trial and we are looking to go further afield with this sort of event next year.”

It is hoped that by taking a co-operative approach to marketing the county will show both tour operators and members of the Irish diaspora that Clare has much to offer for a long-stay holiday.

“Clare has so much to offer so it makes sense that we would partner up and run an event like this together. People are not going to come to Clare for one experience – we need to sell the county as a package of different attractions and a place where people can come and visit for a number of days,” continued Maureen.

“Clare has changed a lot in recent years – there are a lot new products in Clare. The diaspora know Clare as home and they might know of Bunratty and the Cliffs, but they might not be aware of all of these new products that we have in Clare – everything from the new walking and cycling routes in Clare to the festivals which are happening nearly every weekend in Clare.”

STUDENTS from Ennis Educate Together National School enjoyed a day to remember as they shared in the celebration of Michael D Higgins’ inauguration as the ninth President of Ireland.

Ten students from fifth and sixth class were accompanied on their trip to Dublin Castle by two teachers and a parent.

After receiving a Garda escort through the streets of Dublin, the group from Ennis Educate Together watched the inauguration ceremony unfold before meeting with the Clare reared President when he came outside to welcome guests afterwards.

“We were really honoured and privileged to attend”, said Principal Sean Ó Conf haola yesterday.

Mr Ó Conf haola said the students, who represented Ireland, Czech Republic, Morocco and the traveling community, were excited to meet Ireland’s first citizen,

He added, “They were all really excited to meet him. It was as good as meeting Justin Bieber.”

The school’s presence at one of the country’s most prestigious public occasions was sparked by an invitation from Ennis Educate Together to Mr Higgins for the former Galway TD to attend the school’s annual graduation ceremony in June.

In a letter to the school, Mr Higgins explained that he could not attend but praised the work of students and teachers.

“My wife Sabina and I have it as one of our warmest members that individually and together we served on the board of Galway School project, one of Educate Together’s first schools in Ireland. Educate Together will be a great patron in education, celebrating as it does the great values of diversity solidarity, inclusion and participation. Creativity is at the heart of everything Educate Together do. Sí an cruthhaíocht bun-cloch fealsúnachta Educate Together”.

CANDIDATES from Clare who contested the General Election last February spent over € 100,000 in their efforts to get elected to the 31st Dáil Éireann, figures secured by The Clare People this week have revealed.

Details of all the expenditure made by candidates in the Clare constituency are contained in the ‘Candidates Election Expenses Statements’ that have been released by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

These figures reveal that € 113,892.11 was spent by Clare election candidates – this total is drawn from the returns made to the Standards in Public Office Commission by 15 of the 16 election candidates who contest the Februay 25 poll, the largest number ever to contest a Dáil election in the county.

Six candidates spent over € 10,000 on their campaigns, while two of the candidates, independents Sarah Ferrigan and Anne Cronin who contested the election on a ‘Balance the Ballot’ manifesto spent nothing on their respective campaigns. A limit of € 37,650 is put on spending per candidate in a four-seater constituency.

The biggest election spender was Fianna Fáil candidate, Dr John Hillery, who was attempting to win a Dáil seat that his father, the late former President of Ireland, Dr Paddy Hillery held for 22 years from 1951 to 1973.

Dr Hillery, who was drafted onto the Fianna Fáil election team in place of the retiring Minister for Defence, Tony Killeen, spent € 16,673.16 during his unsuccessful campaign for a Dáil seat, while his party colleague and Deputy Timmy Dooley, who retained his seat only spent € 9,574.35 in his campaign. The highest expense incurred by Dr Hillery during the campaign was for € 4,840.

Fine Gael were the biggest election spenders in Clare – between them the three candidates, Deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey, as well as Senator Tony Mulcahy spent nearly € 40,000 during the campaign.

Deputy Carey, who was the third candidate elected was the biggest spender with a total of € 14,535, followed closely by poll topper Deputy Breen who spent € 14,252. Meanwhile, Tony Mulcahy, who was added to the Fine Gael ticket by party headquarters spent € 10,661 on his unsuccessful bid, before embarking on another campaign immediately afterwards when he won election to Seanad Éireann.

Labour’s Michael McNamara, who was the third canidate elected was the fourth highest election spender with a figure of € 14,248.42, while the highest spender from the independent benches was James Breen who incurred € 11,686.99 in election expenses in his bid to win back the Dáil seat he held from 2002 to 2007.

Independent candidate Patrick Brassil was one of 23 candidates around the country referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for failing to furnish expenses statements to the Standards in Public Office Commission.