Category: News

A TEAM of consultants have been charged with responsibility for deciding whether Shannon Airport’s links with the Dublin Airport Authority should be severed to allow private business take over the dayto-day operation of Clare’s international airport.

The move was heralded by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday when he announced the beginning of a “study of options” for the future ownership and direction of the airport.

This will be carried out by Booz & Company – a leading global management consulting firm, that helps businesses and governments and has branches in 39 countries worldwide, with its Irish operation headquartered in Dublin.

Booz & Company are to report back to Minister Varadkar by the end of year after “consulting as widely as possible with the stakeholders in Shannon” ahead of a proposal being put to government that will chart a new future for the 75-year-old airport.

“Some months ago I asked the boards of the three authorities (Dublin, Shannon, Cork) for their views again on separation,” Minister Varadkar revealed in launching the new consultation process on the future of the three state airports.

The most radical of the proposals submitted to Minister Varadkar in August is for Shannon to breakaway from the DAA by way of the State entering into a lease agreement with private business for a period of between 15 to 35 years.

“Given the current business environment and the recent trends in the aviation sector I was not surprised to hear back that there was no support for separation, as originally envisaged, that is as three independent State companies.

“However, the present half-way house arrangement, in place since 2004, whereby Cork and Shannon have their own boards but have limited autonomy from the Dublin Airport Authority, cannot continue indefinitely. Nor can the situation continue whereby losses at Cork and Shannon are absorbed by the remaining profitable parts of the DAA Group.

“I have decided therefore to seek wide ranging advice on all possible options for the future ownership and operation of Cork and Shannon Airports, so that I can propose informed recommendations to Government,” added Minister Varadkar.

WORLDWIDE business consultants Booz & Company have now emerged as major players in shaping Shannon’s future – their findings and recommendations to government will be key to whether a blueprint to semi-privatise the airport for between 15 and 35 years becomes a reality.

This radical plan is contained in the proposal put to government by the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) in August.

The SAA board, which is chaired by local businessman Brian O’Connell, tabled its vision for the future on foot of a request for submissions by Minister Varadkar on the break-up of the three state- owned airports – Dublin, Shannon and Cork.

The plan sets out in bold terms that going forward, profit is the bottom line for Shannon, with semiprivatisation option put forward as a way of achieving this objective in the changed economic landscape.

“It is not sustainable for any business to continue in a loss-making mode,” said SAA chairman Brian O’Connell after the proposal was submitted to the Department of Transport.

“Every business, including Shannon Airport, must re-configure itself and re-engineer its future in the light of the dramatically changed economic landscape. It is clear that the ways and means we have organised and managed business in the past have to change, to take into account the reality of present and future market challenges.

“As a board, we are very mindful that Shannon Airport is and should continue to be a powerful driver of the current and future economic vitality in the whole west of Ireland region, if it is adequately capitalised and superbly managed.

“We considered a wide range of options which could optimise and maximise the commercial potential of Shannon Airport. We analysed present international trends and examined locations similar to Shannon around the world, which are operating successfully. It is for the Minister to consider the views of the board as submitted and to deliberate thereafter,” added O’Connell, who is also managing director of Westpark Shannon.

In July, the publication of the DAA annual report revealed a 37 per cent decrease in passenger traffic at Shannon during 2010, contributing to losses at the airport of between € 7m and € 10m for the year. The extent of these losses is believed to have scuppered any prospect of a government move to separate Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.

This is despite the DAA annual report has saying: “following restructuring, Cork Airport Authority and Shannon Airport Authority will act as fully independent and legally autonomous airport authorities for Cork and Shannon airports respectively.”

In 2003, the then Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, announced the Government’s intention to restructure State-run airports, with the 2004 State Airports Act proposing that the Dublin Airport Authority would cease to own Shannon and Cork airports.

However, four years later, Minister Brennan’s successor in the transport portfolio, Noel Dempsey, announced the deferral until 2011 of a decision on the restructuring given the very difficult circumstances in the aviation sector.

“It was the unanimous views of the Dublin, Cork and Shannon airport authorities at the time that given the very difficult circumstance for the aviation sector, the climate was not right for separation,” Minister Varadkar has revealed this week.

A PLAN to offer free flights from Shannon Airport at certain times of the year may not be completely grounded, despite comments from the Department of Transport over the weekend that the project is a nonstarter.

West Clare councillor Gabriel Keating (FG), who proposed the ambitious new scheme, says that he has no doubt that something will come out of the proposal. The Kilrush councillor yesterday put out the call to Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary, saying that the deal could be an ideal fit for Shannon and the low fares airline. The idea involved making some flights between Shannon Airport and some UK airports free between March 19 and April 16, and September 17 and October 15, each year to promote visitors to Clare and the beginning and end of the tourist season. The promotion would also act as a major marketing opportunity for Shannon Airport and the airline involved in offering the free flights.

“We have been doing the same thing with our marketing budget for years now and the time has come for us to think outside of the box and that is what this idea is all about,” said Cllr Keating.

“If people came and they stayed for four nights in Clare what impact would that have on the local tourism market? It would be a massive boost both for the county and for Shannon Airport.

“I have no doubt that someone like Michael O’Leary would see the potential in an idea like this. You have to spend money to make money and we have been spending our marketing budget sending people to promote Shannon to every corner of the world but I think there is an option to spend it in a different way.

“I have no doubt that something will come from this idea. As an elected councillor it is my job to come up with ideas that might help promote the county. Ideas like this will lead to tourists and investment and that leads to jobs.”

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said over the weekend that the government was “unlikely” to support the proposal saying that it might infringe on EU competition law.

A GOVERNMENT-backed steering group to create an international hub for humanitarian aid at Shannon Airport will be put in place in the coming weeks. The Clare People understands that Labour’s Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jan O’Sullivan, will appoint the top-level steering group in the coming weeks to push the creation of the international aid hub, which will act as a logistic base for aid organisation responding to major aid crisis’s around the world.

The hub is expected to create a number of jobs in the Shannon area and also work as a cornerstone for creating larger logistics-based operations in Shannon. The aid hub was a large part of the election manifesto of Clare TD Michael McNamara, who has made contact with a number of people at the United Nations in relation to the development.

“This is part of the Clare County Development Plan and I understand that Jan O’Sullivan is in the process of setting up a steering group involving all the main state operators and Clare County Council,” he said.

It is, however, unclear what form the humanitarian aid hub will take should it be granted the go ahead. Earlier this year, the Atlantic Way group officially registered the not-for-profit company ‘Global Aid Shannon’

The company was launched after a year of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Atlantic Way and a partner organisation in Jacksonville in Florida. However, it is unclear whether this private company will be used or whether a government agency will take the lead in delivering the proposed aid hub.

“If we can get the humanitarian aid hub up and running in Shannon, that will be very positive news. There is a company proposed to do that but there is no certainty that it will be a private company that will do it,” continued McNamara.

“While there is a lot of land around Shannon in private ownership, there is also a lot of land owned by Shannon Development and no decision has been made yet as to whether it would be a private company or whether existing state assets could be utilised for this. Ultimately, this has to be government driven, but whether there can be some sort of public/private partnership or not, I have an open mind.”

TWO Clare secondary schools received a significant boost last week with the news that the Department of Education and Science has approved building extensions in Ennis and Killaloe.

Clare VEC will receive grant funding to carry out the works at Ennis Community College and St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe.

Making the announcement on Thursday, Clare VEC CEO, George O’Callaghan said the new facilities are needed to cope with a projected increased in the number of students attending both schools. He said a Department of Education report had predicted that enrolment at Ennis Community College would rise to 740 students in the near future, while enrolment at St Anne’s is expected to increase to 750.

There are currently 500 students enrolled at Ennis Community College. Clare VEC will receive a devolved grant for the projects – a 2813sq/m extension in Ennis and a 1800sq/m extension in Killaloe.

There will be two separate tendering processes for each school while Mr O’Callaghan added that the process of seeking planning permission for both projects would begin “immediately”. He said, “They [the de- partment] have indicated that they want people walking in the doors by 2014.” Mr O’Callaghan said preliminary discussions had already taken place with the department. He said the department had indicated a preference for a new standalone building at Ennis Community College. He said the building would also alleviate pressure on Gaelcholáiste an Chláir, an Aonad that currently operates within Ennis Community College.

Mr O’Callaghan was speaking at the October meeting of Clare VEC where he said it would be “remiss” of the committee not to accept the funding. Committee member Michael Corley proposed that the VEC accept the department’s offer. Seconding the motion, committee chairman Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) welcomed the annoucement. He said an extension for St Anne’s is “long overdue”.

FANS of television’s The Apprentice will be familiar with the new upcoming artist called TBC, who is set to take the Irish music scene by storm. The moniker TBC, or To Be Confirmed, was accidentally used by Team Spirit to describe the first act on a CD to be distributed free with the Irish Daily Mail .

The gaff eventually lost the team the task, which resulted in Yinka being shown the road by Bill Cullen in the boardroom. The Clare People has discovered that the mystery artist who was mistakenly named as TBC was none other than Sixmilebridge singer-songwriter Lou McMahon.

Despite the loss of the task, 100,000 copies of the CD, which features Lou’s song alongside her real name and details, will be distributed across the country in this Saturday’s Irish Daily Mail .

“I am overwhelmed by this, I really didn’t expect to make it onto the CD. I entered by song ‘The River’ into a competition being hosted by the newspaper and, out of the blue, one day I got a call saying that I had been shortlisted. At this point ,I knew noting about The Apprentice, I just made my way to Dublin for some interviews,” said Lou. “I managed to get my track as the lead song of one of the CDs which was great. I was called in by both teams – both wanted the song to be on their CD but I ended up being used on Team Spirit’s CD. Anyone who has seen the show will know that I was mistakenly not told about the photo-shoot for the cover art and was listed on the album sleeve as TBC – or ‘to be confirmed’.

“The Irish Daily Mail thought that calling one of the artists TBC was such a big mistake that they have decided to repackage the whole CD and my name will be included on the CD that people get this weekend – not TBC.”

One hundred thousand copies of the CD featuring Lou will be distributed in this Saturday’s Irish Daily Mail. Lou’s latest single entitled ‘Into the Wind’ will be released in November and all of her music is currently available on i-Tunes.

THE sister of a north Clare priest who died tragically in 2002 when his car rolled off Liscannor Pier says her brother came to her in a dream and told her that he did not commit suicide. All The Michael O’Gradys is a new book set to be published later this year by Crusheen woman Helen O’Grady. The book tells the story of several generations of the O’Grady family, including four family members named Michael who each died in tragic circumstances surrounding water.

The main focus of the book is on the death of popular local priest Fr Michael O’Grady, who died when his car rolled off Liscannor Pier on April 4, 2002. The inquest into his death was held in July of that year and returned a suicide verdict.

This verdict was contested by the family, who described it as being “perverse” and “flying in the face of the evidence”.

After the O’Grady family threatened to instigate a judicial review into the verdict, a second inquest was held in November of that year which overturned the suicide verdict and instead returned an open verdict in the case.

In the book, Fr Michael’s sister Mary describes a visit from her dead brother to her dreams on the night following the tragic accident.

“That night as I prepared for bed, I reflected on the day and I was annoyed with all and sundry. But as usual, I said some prayers. During my sleep, Fr Michael came to me,” said Helen. “Fr Michael, along with a person on either side of him, told me three times in an angry voice,

‘it was an accident’.

After that I never

doubted.”

Fr O’Grady served

in the Killaloe Dio

cese for more than

30 year after he

was first ordained

in 1969. Originally

from Crusheen, he

was Parish Priest

in the neighbour

ing parish of Tubber

when he passed away

at the age of 58.

The then Bishop of

Killaloe, Dr Willie

Walsh, spoke at his

funeral, describing him as a “a man of deep faith and of loyalty to the priesthood”.

The book closes with Helen calling for more understanding and compassion for people of vocation in Ireland. “He was a priest. It was not an easy life; a priest’s life is a demanding one but also a rewarding one. Maybe we lay people should, from now on, think differently about the priests and church in general. Instead we should pray for our priests and nuns,” she said.

A GROUND-BREAKING service developed by the Brothers of Charity in Ennis is to get national exposure this week when the ‘Home Share Clare’ initiative is showcased on RTÉ.

The service that provides short breaks to adults and children with learning disabilities will be featured on this Wednesday’s Nationwide programme.

Over the past three years Home Share Clare, which is dependent on fundraising and charitable donations has successfully placed over 40 adults with families.

“Families of people with disabilities are telling us that one of the supports that they may need to enable them to continue to care for their family member at home are short breaks,” a spokesperson for the Brothers of Charity revealed.

“Short breaks give them a break from their role as carer and also provide their family member an opportunity to be with others and benefit from new experiences.

“The uniqueness of this initiative is that care is provided for people in family homes and can really be seen as a home away from home. Individuals enjoy the opportunity of developing new relationships and being part of new communities whilst enjoying a short break,” the spokesperson added.

With home-sharing the person seeking the service is carefully matched with a person/family that often have common interests and hobbies. “The family of the person requesting the respite meet and often build up relationships with the home sharers,” the Brothers of Charity spokesperson said.

“Breaks can be planned and crisis can be responded to quicker and more efficiently than more traditional ways of providing respite.

Home-sharing is a two way process in that the families who provide the respite gain hugely from the experience of having a person with an intellectual disability stay in their home. “Sustainable and unique relationships can develop that will last for many years to come.

“Home-sharing is a crucial way to support and expand the informal networks of families and build on capacity and strength of communities.

“Home share families are assessed, trained and supported by Home Share Clare,” the spokesperson concluded.

A FUNDRAISING concert to support four local women who will volunteer at a children’s orphanage in Belarus will take place in Ennis on Friday.

Hazel O’Connor, Karen Dunne, Breda Browne and Bridget Punch will spend a week providing support and assistance at the Gorodische orphanage, which is located two hours from the capital, Minsk.

The group are travelling to Belarus as part of the Burren Chernobyl Project, a north Clare-based group that provides support to victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

The group have organised a number of fundraisers over the past couple of months, the latest of which takes place at All Bar One, Ennis, on Friday night at 9.30pm.

For Ennis woman Hazel, this is her third trip to Belarus. She explained that money raised would go towards helping kids at the orphanage.

She said, “We will be spending a week there, helping out as much as we can. I haven’t been there since 2008. The conditions aren’t so great but because the Burren Chernobyl Project are so involved, they have improved.”

Hazel, who works at Lifford Child- care Créche, added, “The one thing they really need out there are nappies. They don’t have them and, without nappies, the children can’t really learn to walk properly. The Pampers are really important. And having the extra staff is really important as well. They need extra staff to help give the children one-on-one attention and support.”

The group are hoping for good support on Friday night. Gorodishche is home to 220 children and young adults who are aged between four and 25. Gorodishche is a remote village a little over a two-hour drive south west of Minsk. Since the project’s first visit in the late ‘90s, the place has been transformed. A new building which was 13 years under construction has finally been finished and most of the groups have moved in there. The Burren Chernobyl Project has three programmes running annually in Gorodishche.

The Burren Chernobyl Project (BCP) was established in 1993 to help with the child victims of the fallout from the Chernobyl reactor explosion. Many projects have been carried out to assist the children and their families who are enduring the effects of exposure to radiation and the other social and economic problems facing them in Belarus.

CLARE has been held up as a model for how the nationwide Rural Transport Programme can be a lifeblood to a community.

The success story of the Clare Accessible Transport (CAT) initiative that is operated in east Clare was hailed by the junior minister for transport Alan Kelly during a visit to its Feakle base on Wednesday.

“It was a great opportunity to show Minister Kelly the integrated transport model that has been developed in Clare since 2003 as part of the Rural Transport Programme,” a spokesperson for CAT revealed.

“The Minister saw one of CAT’s low floor buses which are essential to the delivery of a fully integrated service. The vehicle design maximises resources, particularly for rural areas by enabling everyone from the same locality to board the bus easily, avoiding the need for different types of buses to serve the same areas.

“CAT’s collaborative approach to investment in the service was emphasised as a means of providing excellent value for money while meeting the transport needs of people living in isolated parts of the county,” the spokesperson added.

The CAT schedule offers responsive and flexibly-routed public transport that is open to everyone. The number of people registering with the service since the first bus went out in 2003 is approaching 4,000, with passengers making up to 4,000 trips per month.

“The dispatchers who operate the travel centre are noticing an increase in bookings to connect with national transport services to Limerick, Cork, Dublin and Galway as well as calls for shopping, work and training. More and more people are calling in to find out about their local bus service and the annual Driver CPC training that CAT provides,” the spokesperson added.