Category: News

THE number of people on the live register in Clare dropped to their lowest levels in two years last month, with the number of people signing on in Clare now below 10,000 for the first time since September of 2009.

Figures released by the Central Statistic Office (CSO) over the weekend confirmed that 9,989 people signed on in Clare in November, almost 800 people less than were on the live register in August of this year.

Clare unemployment activists have moved to pour cold water on the fig- ures, saying that the drop was more to do with an increase in emigration rather than any concrete job creation. Local campaigner and organiser for the Open Fair, Jim Connolly, says that anyone who thinks that there has been a major turnaround in the employment market is living in “cloud cuckoo land”.

“Things are not getting better, not at all, and anyone who thinks that there has been an upturn in employment is living in cloud cuckoo land. Any major fall in the live register is down to emigration, which is a tragic situation,” he said.

“You cannot have development without people and if there aren’t enough people then it makes development more difficult. It is very hard to say what is driving the statistics but what is for sure is that people in Clare are trying very hard at the moment to stave off emigration for as long as possible. People are in a difficult situation but it is not in the nature of people to just sit down and die.”

Jim is one of the organisers behind the Open Fair which took place in Ennis earlier this year. The fair works by offering local producers and entrepreneurs a free chance to show off their product or service and in this way promote new startup businesses.

A second Open Fair has been organised to take place at the West County in Ennis on November 19. All the stands have been booked and the organisers are hopeful for a similar crowd to the debut fair, which generated more than € 7,000 worth of business for those who took part.

Ennis town was one of the areas that showed the greatest drop in the live register figures in recent months, with 5,612 signing on in October of this year, the lowest level since September of 2009 when 5, 576 were signing on.

NORTH Clare vocalist Naomi O’Connell is set to be launched as the world’s latest young opera superstar in the coming months after winning the prestigious CAG Victor Elmaleh competition at the Juilliard performing art school in New York.

Naomi, who comes from Ballyvaughan, has been studying at the world-famous school for the past three years. The CAG Victor Elmaleh competition is open to all students at Juilliard and Naomi was the only vocalist to make it into the grand final.

The CAG Victor Elmaleh is recog- nised as the most prestigious competition for student artists in America and one the highest accolades that any young performing artist can receive.

The prize for winning the competition includes a record deal with Naxos Recording and a management contract with the Concert Artists Guild as well as the chance to perform with a number of leading orchestras at a concert series and a number of international festivals.

Naomi, who is a mezzo-soprano, began her music career with north Clare people’s choir, the Lismorahaun Singers, when she was just 13 years old. Under the guidance of choir founder Archie Simpson, she released her first album, ‘Christmas with Naomi’, at the age of just 16.

“This is a fantastic achievement for Naomi. Juilliard is such a prestigious school and to win this competition really marks her out as the crème de la crème. It is incredible to think that a girl from Ballyvaughan could have achieved all of this,” Archie told The Clare People

DUBLIN City Council must cough up for the money needed to fund an independent Environment Impact Statement into the proposed plan to pipe water from the Shannon to serve the needs of Dublin water-users before any plans will even be considered.

That was the opinion of the Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes (FF), following a public meeting attended by members of an Oireachtas Committee, at the proposed water extraction site last week.

According to Cllr Hayes, stakeholders in the region cannot rely on Dublin City Council’s analysis of the impact of the € 500 million project and also called for a study into the economic impact the plan would have on County Clare to be undertaken.

“This is Dublin City Council’s proposal so we cannot and should not accept any report they are putting forward in relation to the potential impact of this mammoth project,” he said.

“The proposal seems to me to be a short-sighted solution to Dublin’s problems. They should firstly solve leaks in their network across the capital and be a little more innovative in finding a solution beyond that. Taking water from Lough Derg is the easy option. I and my fellow elected representatives in Clare won’t stand for it, unless we are completely satisfied there will be no adverse reaction.”

The plan as proposed by Dublin City Council would see € 500 million litres of water pumped daily from the Shannon River at Lough Derg during periods of high-flow and flooding.

“We need an independent Environmental Impact Study commissioned on behalf of Clare, Tipperary, Limerick and Galway local authorities and all other stakeholders, such as the Shannon Region Fisheries Board and the ESB,” continued Cllr Hayes.

“This study must be paid for by Dublin City Council but they should have no other hand, act or part to play in it. It should also have over- riding authority over Dublin City Council’s own environmental statement as well.

“One of the carrots being waved for the project is a multi-million euro eco-park and reservoir planned for Garryhinch in Offaly, with the potential for one million visitors annually. In my mind, this further undermines confidence in the project from a Clare perspective, as how could Dublin City Council possibly suggest that a one-million visitor attraction outside this region could be good for us?”

THOUSANDS of children across the county embraced the 2011 Children’s Book Festival of Clare, making it the most successful running of the event to date, the Clare County Library has revealed this week.

The event concluded last Friday after a month-long celebration of books and reading saw thousands of children from primary schools throughout the county attend a bumper programme of events. The 2011 programme included live history workshops, poetry workshops, children’s puppet theatre, art and craft sessions, music and author visits by some of the best writers for children in Ireland today.

“Children were introduced to the great artistic creators including Shakespeare, Hemingway and Robert Burns and to the art of Claude Monet through the multi-disciplinary sessions delivered by Tony Maude from London and Dr Fred Freeman from Edinburgh. Both artists’ shows included an excellent mix of poetry, art, literature and music to the delight of their young audiences,” a spokesperson for the County Library revealed. “Music making of a more modern genre was enjoyed by fifthand sixth-class children who took part in the workshops of John Lillis. Six sessions of non-stop entertainment featured beat-boxing, scratching and a very informative hands-on lesson on the techniques employed by a successful DJ.

“Authors Bob Burke, Nicola Pierce, Oisin McGann, Judi Curtin, Dolores Keaveney and Bridget Bhreathnach travelled the county, with all library branches hosting at least one author event for their local schools.

“Judging by the attention paid to the stories of these writers and the questions that went on well after their presentations ended, the future of writing in Clare looks extremely promising,” the spokesperson added.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival was ‘The Irish History Live Show’ presented by Michael Moylan. Children in Ennis, Ennistymon, Miltown Malbay and Tulla were transported back to the Easter Rising of 1916 or to the Second World War.

Moylan successfully takes the printed pages of the history books and brings them alive with his travelling museum of clothes, replica weapons and artifacts of the period which children are encouraged to try out as an integral part of his spell binding presentations. “The number of times that this event features in the Library’s Children’s Book Festival programme is testament to the appeal of Michael’s show year after year,” a library spokesperson said.

AN ENNIS man has finally got some relief from back pain, after suffering for more than 40 years. Businessman Andy Moloney attended an introductory course in the Alexander Technique in Clare in September and it has changed his life.

Richard Brennan, who presented the session in September, will return to Clare later this month, in response to huge demand.

Andy has benefitted immensely from this, having tried several other methods to recover from back pain which first came about when he was a teenager.

“I have had back trouble for over 40 years, on and off. When I was 15, we had a small farm at home in Clarecastle. I used to do a lot of physical work. I was lifting a barrow of stones. That was my first injury and it has affected my lower back ever since. It can hit out of the blue, like if you lift something wrong. The pain is absolutely excruciating,” said Andy.

Andy underwent surgery several years ago and was told “if I had it a second time, I could end up in a wheelchair”.

“I have been through everything, medically and alternative medicine; osteopaths, physios, chiropractors, acupuncturists, bonesetters, reflexology and quacks. I have tried everything. I was told if I got another serious attack I would have to have surgery regardless,” he said. “The pain is sudden, it is akin to a heart attack. At one stage, about two years ago, I couldn’t get up off the sitting room floor for three days,” he said.

Having read about the Alexander Technique workshop taking place in Clare, Andy decided to attend, in the hope it would help him. He took on board the instructions provided and his back pain has almost cleared. While it has not fully gone away, he no longer has to take painkillers as the pain is no longer acute.

“He (Richard) gave some very simple demonstrations. I could see straight away that he was right. We sit wrong, we stand wrong, we don’t bend properly,” he said.

Andy practices the Alexander Technique for 20 minutes every day and has seen the benefits from it. “I lie on the floor with books under my head. I put my knees up and my hands in a straight position. I can feel the ten- sion leaving my muscles. I get a fabulous night’s sleep, which I never did” he said. “I wouldn’t say it is a miracle cure. It’s not gone completely; it is mending,” he added.

A similar Alexander Technique event will take place later this month, at the Kilmaley Day Care Centre on November 19 and 20. Andrea Martin, who is organising the event, said the response from the first one was “overwhelming”.

“We had to turn people away. We had applicants from teenagers with sports injuries to elderly people with mobility problems,” she said. “Everybody who attended came away feeling they had got great benefit from the course.”

“In order to meet the demand, we couldn’t meet the last time Richard offered to come to County Clare again,” said Andrea.

Anyone interesting in attending the course, which costs € 95, should phone Andrea on 087 2233835 or email andrea_martin@ireland.com.

A 22-UNIT affordable housing development in Shannon has encountered “slippage” in terms of its completion, a meeting heard last week.

The scheme development at Cluain Airne got underway in June 2009 and it was initially envisaged that it would be completed within a year. However, the Glaise na Rinne scheme – which consists of 16 affordable and six step-down units – was subsequently halted and the initial contractor’s contract was terminated.

The scheme got underway despite concerns from local residents, who objected to the project. They stated that they did not want the houses built in the area and argued that there was inadequate infrastructure to cope with the new houses.

A new contractor was appointed in July of this year and the council expressed hope at the time that the project would be completed within 16 weeks of its restart.

At a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, the issue was raised by Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy McCafferty.

In a written response from the council, it was stated that Atlantic Developments took possession of the development on July 18 under contract which provides for completion on December 9. Expenditure to date on the contract is € 2,830,967, excluding design team fees and legal and supervision costs.

“The selling price for the affordable houses will reflect local market values and the standard of the houses,” stated the reply, which added that the houses are to be advertised over the coming weeks. “The contractors are progressing the works satisfactorily on site. There has been some slip- page in the contract completion date resulting from some unforeseen issues on site coupled with a sustained period of wet weather,” stated the response, which added that the delay should be “a matter of weeks”.

Councillors were told that kitchens have been installed in 30 percent of the houses, with half of the tiling complete. Landscaping has been ongoing, while interface works are “now practically complete”.

Cllr McCafferty told the meeting that she was “shocked” to hear recently that more than 10 percent of the population of Shannon is in need of social housing.

“The council does not appear to know what the eventual asking prices of these houses are going to be,” she said.

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independent) expressed hope that the scheme is “finished, done and dusted, by De- cember 9”.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy asked would the “slippage” amount to a delay of two or three weeks or would it stretch into the New Year.

In response to the councillors’ queries, the town manager Bernadette Kinsella said, “I think there has been a reasonable level of progress since the last meeting.”

“The team is satisfied that works are being completed on the site. . . Obviously we are not going to take possession in Christmas week so we are probably talking about January,” she said.

Ms Kinsella said that councillors would be informed of the overall cost of the project “in due course”.

She said there are 156 people on the list for affordable houses, adding, “Until we go back with prices, we don’t know how many will hold.”

THE PRESENCE of mould in several homes in a housing estate in Shannon is a major concern for locals, a meeting heard last week.

The matter was raised by Fine Gael Councillor Vincent Coleman, who said that it had been highlighted as a “major concern” at a recent residents’ meeting.

In a written response to his query at Shannon Town Council, it was stated by the council that the housing scheme was built to a high standard less than 10 years ago.

“In the past year, complaints have been received in respect of no more than five houses regarding mould. Staff of the housing maintenance team have met with the residents in each case and have advised them regarding ventilation. Where this advice has been followed, the issue has been resolved,” stated the response.

“If the problem persists following the appropriate action as advised, the staff of the maintenance team will review the matter,” added the response.

Cllr Coleman said the issue is regarded as “an extreme, extreme worry” and added, “The reply in saying that there is only five people is wrong.”

“One house is after losing their entire wardrobe with mould. The bathroom ceiling has been painted three times,” he said.

“There are a lot of concerned residents in the area,” he said.

Councillors agreed that the issue should be sorted out. Labour Councillor Tony McMahon said, “If there is a problem of this nature it needs to certainly be addressed.”

Fine Gael Councillor Seán McLoughlin said the mould is connected to poor ventilation. “I am surprised that this is still knocking around because when the estate was built it was knocking around,” he said.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said that BER ratings have been obtained in respect of houses in that estate. “It would be very important to see what rating would come out of that. I do think that the issues in Cúl na Gréine are fixable,” he said.

Shannon Town Manager Bernadette Kinsella said that the BER assessments “are actually achieving a very high rating”. She said that if the situation does not improve, council staff will sit down with residents to discuss it.

PRELIMINARY work has started on a new local area plan for Shannon town and surrounding areas.

This emerged at a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, after Labour Councillor Greg Duff asked for the town council to call on the county council to exclude from any plans to revoke sections of the South Clare Local Area Plan areas that have been identified as amenity, parkland or wetland.

He asked that the council consult with local residents, Dúchas na Sionna and other interested groups to maintain and develop these sites.

In a response from the council, he was told that preliminary work has commenced on a new local area plan for Shannon town and environs.

“The plan-making process will involve a wide ranging review of all its constituent parts including the town area as it presently exists in the South Clare Local Area Plan 2009-2015. New planning and environmental legislation requires such a review,” stated the council’s response.

It added that there are “no definite proposals at this time in respect of changing zoning status on said lands. It is proposed to consult with the elected members and public shortly on this and other matters”.

Cllr Duff told the meeting he would like to see an attitude whereby green areas are saved and not be replaced by “commercial or retail development”.

He said that 47 submissions have been made, one of which he was involved in with heritage group Dúchas na Sionna.

A SITE off the coast of north Clare has been identified by the WestWave wave energy company as a likely site for Ireland’s first ever commercial wave energy field.

The north Clare site is one of four locations identified by WestWave which is an alternative energy company owned by ESB International – for the development of the revolutionary offshore energy resource, along with two sites in Mayo and one in Galway.

It is as yet unclear which site will be used for the first WestWave energy field but it is likely that if the first site is deemed a success, the production will spread to the other three sites.

While the exact location of the proposed site in north Clare has not been confirmed, The Clare People understand that the site is located in the Ballyvaughan area.

According to ESB International Ocean Energy Project Manager, James Tedd, the target date for electricity generation to begin at the chosen site is 2015. If that target date is to be met, the planning process for the proposed development will have to begin next year, with construction to start in 2013 at the latest.

A number of government energy agencies, semi-state organisations and private companies have examined a number of locations off the Clare coast with a view to producing wave energy.

Wave energy can be produced in a number of different ways, meaning that some forms of generators may be more suitable to some locations rather than others. A number of Irish-based companies currently have working prototypes but no company is yet to produce a full-sized wave electricity generator for use in the field.

The ESB is committed to reducing its own carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and to be ‘net-zero’ in carbon emissions by 2050. According to Mr Tedd, the company hoped to derive at least one-third of its electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020 – and ocean energy would provide a major segment of that.

WestWave is working with four key technology partners towards the selection of the optimal device. These are Wavebob, Ocean Energy, Pelamis and Aquamarine Power, which is testing off Scotland’s Orkney Islands.

WestWave has been approved by the Government as one of two Irish bids for the € 4.5 billion in funding set aside by the European Union under the New Entrants Reserve (NER) 300 programme for low carbon technologies.

JUST under € 300,000 has been allocated by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to Clare County Council for the construction of a pipe connecting a turlough in Ballyvaughan to the Atlantic Ocean.

The funding has been made available under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works Scheme which was set up in August of 2009, just before the unprecedented flooding which took place in October and November of that year.

This latest allocation brings the total amount of Clare funding received under the scheme since 2009 to € 1 million.

Clare still lags behind other flood hit counties in allocations received from this scheme with both Galway and Cork County Councils receiving in excess of € 2 million each from the Minor Flood Mitigation Works Scheme.

This is the second allocation of funding to be made to a Clare flooding scheme this year following a grant of € 99,000 for flood relief works to be carried out at Roughan in Kilnaboy in April of this year.

The Ballyvaughan flood works follow extensive flooding of the area during November of 2009. The main road between Ballyvaughan and Kin- vara was impassable for a number of days during the flood, while a large number of smaller local roads were also submerged.

The € 270,000 allocated by the Office of Public Works represents 90 per cent of the total costs of the work with Clare County Council required to invest the remaining 10 per cent, or € 30,000.

“This is welcome news for the people of Ballyvaughan. Severe flooding was experienced on the outskirts of Ballyvaughan during the winter of 2009 and the works proposed will help to alleviate flooding on affected roads,” said Clare TD Pat Breen (FG).

“This funding is allocated to Clare County Council under the Minor Flood Works Scheme and represents 90% of the monies sought by the Council so it is a sizable investment in reducing future flood risks in Ballyvaughan.

“This funding allocation confirms this Government’s support for the implementation of flood prevention measures even in these tightening budgetary times.”

The scheme is still open for local authorities to put forward local projects for funding and Clare County Council is understood to have a number of projects currently working their way towards securing funding.