Category: News

THE NEWLY elcted chair of the East Clare Municipal District, Joe Cooney (FG) has admitted that councillors will face a major challenge to meet the need of the people living in the newly redrawn constituency.

Cllr Cooney, who was elected after the first count of last months local election with a massive 2,843 first preference votes, also said that making due with the council’s tight budget for works will not be easy.

“My priority is to try and make sure that people in the new Killaloe district get proper representation on Clare County Council. It is a massive big area – from Clonlara back to New Quay, to Whitegate and up to the Galway border.

“It is not going to be easy to make sure that all areas are well covered and people are property looked after and the right services are there in communities and in villages,” he said.

“It wont be easy but it is important that all areas are looked after.

“With funds limited, as they are at the moment, it is also important that everything is kept to a proper standard.”

While all of the councillors elected in the area are based in the eastern section of the constituency, Cllr Cooney insists that they people of North Clare will be represented.

“They do have councillors. There are six councillors nominated to represent that area.

“I will be representing the people up there [North Clare] and if there are any issues there, I will be there,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it is badly balances, there are six councillors in the east side of the area and none in the north side – but it our jobs to represent those people.

“I definitely see that as my job and I will be doing that for the next five years.”

Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) will serve as Cllr Cooney’s deputy for the next 12 months.

A MAN has appeared in court charged in connection with a string of burglaries at businesses in Ennis in recent weeks.

Brendan Sherlock (21) was brought before a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday morning.

Mr Sherlock, with an address at Dromard, Lahinch Road, Ennis, is charged with six offences allegedly committed between May 31 and June 12.

The charges concern four burglaries and criminal damage and theft offences.

It is alleged on dates unknown between May 31 and June 3, Mr Sherlock entered Delia Keane’s coffee shop on O’Connell Street on as trespasser and stole € 300.

Mr Sherlock is charged with trespass and criminal damage at Mocha Coffee, Arthur’s Row, Ennis on June 5; trespass and theft of € 50 in coins at The Tan Lab, Barrack Street, Ennis on June 11 and trespass and theft of € 70 in coins at D’Barber Shop, Francis Street, Ennis on dates un known between June 10 and June 11.

Mr Sherlock is further charged with the theft of € 120 from Enzo’s Fast Food on Abbey Street on June 12.

It is also alleged that on June 7 at Taste of the Sea, Market Place, Ennis, Mr Sherlock did without lawful excuse damage a wooden door. It is alleged the cost of the damage is € 50. In court on Saturday, Detective Garda Michael Kelly of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in respect of five of the charges.

Garda David Hannon of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in respect of the other charge.

The court heard Mr Sherlock made no reply to any of the charges after caution.

Judge Mary Larkin granted legal aid following an application from solicitor John Casey.

Mr Casey said legal aid was appropriate in the case and the State had no objections to his application.

Mr Casey’s application for bail on his client’s behalf was opposed by the State.

Detective Garda John Casey of Ennis Garda Station outlined the objections to bail. The court heard gardaí would say they have strong evidence against Mr Sherlock in respect of the charges.

Mr Casey said his client was born and bred in Ennis and would live with his girlfriend at her home in the town. He said Mr Sherlock was willing to sign on daily at Ennis Garda Station and observe any curfew conditions set down by the court.

Judge Mary Larkin said she would only consider granting bail on the basis of a substantial cash bond from the accused or from an independent surety.

Mr Casey said the money is not available and Mr Sherlock did not have anyone to stand as independent surety for him at the moment.

Judge Larkin refused bail. However she said it was open to Mr Casey to raise the issue of bail again if his client could meet the strict bail terms sought by the court.

Judge Larkin remanded Mr Sherlock in custody to appear again at Ennis District Court on June 18.

THE COST of renting a house in Clare continues to fall, despite anecdotal evidence of a recovery in the property market in the county.

The average monthly rent paid by Clare people in for the first quarter of 2014 was € 513 – a drop of € 4 on the € 517 per month average recorded over the same period last year. These figures represent a 25.2 per cent decrease on the average monthly rent of € 686 which was recorded for Clare in 2008. The report also signals a clear disparity in the cost of renting a domestic property in different parts of Clare.

The least expensive place to rent a home is Kilrush – with an average monthly rent of € 469 per month while Newmarket on Fergus was the most expensive Clare location at € 582 per month. Sixmilebridge comes in at € 576 per month, Shannon at € 573, with Ennis at € 511 and Killaloe at € 544.

These Clare figures are in contrast to the national average where a year on year increase of 3.5 per cent was recorded for the first three months of 2014.

The largest increase was in the apartment sector – where average rents have climbed by 5.6 per cent while the cost of renting a house has increased by 1.6 per cent.

THE Ombudsman for Children is to be asked to investigate a case where children in State care in Clare were unallocated a social care worker for more than three months.

Judge Alan Mitchell directed that the children’s Guardian Ad Litem also refer the matter to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The children, who were found to have been neglected by their mother, have since been allocated a social care worker.

Figures supplied to the Clare People yesterday by the Child and Family Agency (CFA) show that there are currently 10 childcare cases unallocated in Clare.

The Children in Care team in Clare (CIC) is currently providing services to approximately 160 children in Clare.

The order that HIQA and the Ombudsman for Children consider a particular case involving social care services in Clare formed part of an extensive written judgment delivered at a sitting of the Family Law (District) Court on Tuesday.

Judge Mitchell was told by senior social worker Tina Wiseman that due to staffing difficulties, a “con- siderable case load” of the CIC team in Clare had been unallocated since November 2012.

The Judge said, “That’s a source of serious concern to me”. He said the un-allocation of childcare cases is something that the CEO of the CFA, Gordon Jeyes could hardly condone. He asked Ms Wiseman if it was worth highlighting these deficiencies both locally and nationally. She said, “I’m in total agreement with you. It is scandalous”. Ms Wiseman said, “I can’t stand over what has happened and at the end of the day, the children are in state care.” Judge Mitchell granted a full child care order on application from the CFA in respect of a number of children. The children’s parents were not present or legally represented in court. The children were represented by their Guardian Ad Litem. Judge Mitchell commended Ms Wiseman “for not trying to defend the indefensible”. After hearing the case Judge Mitchell ruled that the Court was satisfied the children “have been neglected that their health, development, welfare has been and is likely to be avoidably impaired or neglected and the child requires care or protection….” He ordered that the Guardian Ad Litem “refer this case to the Ombudsman for Children to request her to carry out a preliminary investigation under Section 8 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 and to HIQA to consider the non allocation of a social worker to the child in excess of three months, without sufficient reason being acceptable to the Court and the Court finds this practice was not in the best interests of the child and may have adversely affected the child”. The court was told that Clare CFA social workers have written to Gordon Jeyes, and the Minister for Children to express their concerns over resource concerns. Judge Mitchell adjourned the case for review to October.

THE head of the largest retail industry trade body in Ireland has said Ennis has been “forgotten” as a shopping and hospitality destination by the people of Clare.

David Fitzsimons, the CEO of the Ennis-based Retail Excellence Ireland, says new forms of customer communication and a fresh look at the town’s urban environment could aid retail activity in the town.

Mr Fitzsimons was speaking on the issue of how to make Ennis a retail destination of choice for local people in Clare.

He said Ennis could learn from Letterkenny, which recently established a Town Team to formulate policies to revive the town centre.

He told a public meeting in the Temple Gate Hotel on Thursday that the introduction of a rates incentive for hospitality and visitor-based businesses helped boost tourism in the Donegal town.

“They’ve realised they’ve been forgotten by the people of Donegal and in many ways Ennis town has been forgotten by the people of Clare,” Mr Fitzsimons said.

“As consumers we’re convenience based shoppers during the week, we nip into Tesco and Dunnes Stores. We do one thing and we go home. At the weekend we’re willing to travel longer distances for experiences and that’s why Kildare Village, Dundrum, Avoca… and all these destination venues are thriving.

“We need to remind people that Ennis is here, that it’s theirs, it’s their public realm. We need to maybe communicate with people differently. We need as a town to get out, we need to be communicating really professionally to citizens and give them a reason to come into their civic space. It doesn’t have to always be ‘shop more, spend more’. It’s just come in an enjoy the space. It’s yours,” he added.

CLARE County Council is to write to Health Minister, James Reilly (FG), demanding that A&E services are reopened in Ennis until a new state of the art building is opened at the Limerick Regional Hospital.

This comes in the wake of a damning report of services at the Limerick facility by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) which described the Limerick A&E as “not fit for purpose”.

At last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, councillors voted unanimously to contact the Department of Health demanding both the temporary reopening of A&E services at Ennis General Hospital and the fast-tracking of funding for the promised state of the art A&E services at Limerick General Hospital.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) also confirmed that local Fine Gael councillors held a meeting with TDs Pat Breen (FG) and Joe Carey (FG) yes- terday morning – and requested they secure a meeting with Minister Reilly and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

It was also claimed at last night’s meeting that the Limerick A&E was “cleaned up” during a recent visit by Minister James Reilly, with 35 people on trolleys on the day before the meeting and only 10 during the meeting.

Last week’s HIQA review found serious delays and risks for patients and staff due to persistent overcrowding in A&E in Limerick.

It also found that there were delays in transferring patients from the Emergency Department to the Intensive Care Unit and the High Dependency Unit, partly due to the absence of a single clinical governance structure.

The report found that there was just one toilet in the Emergency Department for all patients, adults and children, and there were no single rooms to isolate patients with communicable diseases.

“The review also found that people in Clare were not using the minor injuries units in Ennis General Hospital.

In a statement to The Clare People

THE development of a “high-quality” market in Ennis would be a boost to the local food and tourism industry, a meeting has heard.

Doirin Graham, the CEO of the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC), last week recommended that Ennis be the location for a “flagship” market development.

“There are all these food produc- ers out around the county and I think what would really work for Ennis, is a good strong, high-quality food producers market in Ennis town centre,” she said.

“There is a really good attractive range for both local people and for the tourists, to draw both tourists into a market and have all the ancillaries of cafés and music. I think we need to look at something that is a good strong, flagship-type project for Ennis. The food businesses are out there to populate a market and sustain a market, particularly from March to September. There is potential for looking at that but you need a dedicated space that is really set up for it and meets the standards that people have become used to. It also has to be attractive for tourists and locals as well.”

Prior to its abolition, the former Ennis Town Council set in train a process that could lead to the re-development of the Ennis Market.

The € 1.5 million project proposes the installation of covered market spaces in Garraunakilla.

Ms Graham was speaking at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday on the topic of community led job creation in the food sector. She said the CLDC, the company which administers LEADER funding, has supported the establishment of 86 food enterprises in Clare over the last five years. She said those enterprises have created 109 jobs in the county.

GARDAÍ are investigating early morning armed robbery at a business in Ennis town centre yesterday.

The incident occurred at around 7.30am at the Xtra Vision store in the market area of the town.

A man carrying a weapon entered the home entertainment and electrical goods store and made away with a quantity of cash.

A member of staff was opening up when he was set upon by the assailant at the front door of the premises.

It is understood the man who carried out the robbery was carrying a hammer. It was unclear yesterday if the victim suffered any injuries in the ordeal.

Gardaí in Ennis are investigating the robbery and are looking at CCTV footage from the area.

The incident follows a similar robbery at a family-run shop in Ennis last month.

At around 11.30am on Wednesday, May 21, a man went into a shop at the top of O’Connell Street in Ennis brandishing a knife and demanded money.

He was wearing a hoodie and a scarf to cover his face. He stole a sum of money from the till and then fled the scene on foot. No one was hurt in the robbery.

On May 27, Cassidy’s Pharmacy in Ennis was the scene of a raid occurred at around 2.30am.

Two raiders, believed to be males, used a sledgehammer to smash in the reinforced glass paneling on the front door of the premises.

The thieves filled bags with stock, mainly brand name men’s fragrances and cleared several shelves before leaving the scene in a black Volkswagon Golf.

Gardaí have urged business owners in the town to be vigilant and take appropriate security measures such as lighting and security cameras to protect their premises.

THERE is potential for the creation of 800 jobs in the Ennis/Shannon corridor over the next four years, a local developer has said.

Padraig Howard, a director of the Barefield based Drumquin Construction, told a meeting in Ennis that the National Housing Agency has identified the requirement for 534 dwellings in Ennis and 290 houses in Shannon.

“That minimum demand creates about 800 jobs over the next four years. If everyone was to announce there was going to be 800 jobs in the town, the carpets would be rolled out. The TDs would all be here from every party and the Ministers and the Civil Service,” he said.

Mr Howard was citing figures contained in a report issued by the National Housing Agency in April.

He said, “They predicted that as an absolute minimum, excluding any pent-up demand from the last four or five years, that there is a requirement for 534 new dwellings in Ennis town between now and 2018. Shannon came out quite well in that they assessed that similar demand for 290 houses. In the Ennis / Shannon corridor there is a minimum demand, excluding pent up demand, for 800 dwellings in the next four years.

Mr Howard was speaking on the ‘recovery of jobs in the construction sector’ at a public meeting in Ennis on Thursday.

He said there is now a “massive labour shortage” in the construction industry.

“We’re now into a situation where there is no plasterers, no block-layers, no chippies and for very good reason. The last six years have seen the young qualified trades people emigrating. They’ve gone to Australia, Canada, Germany; they’ve gone all over. The older ones who weren’t destroyed by businesses going bust haven’t the heart to go back into it or their age profile is such they can’t go back into it. There are no new apprentices being trained,” he explained.

Mr Howard called for changes in the payment of development contributions and for more development finance to be made available.

“Development contributions are correctly levied and should be paid but the method of paying them needs to be flexible to allow the construction industry get back on its feet.”

Mr Howard is also behind plans to develop Ireland’s largest wind-farm near Mount Callan. He said Ennis should position itself as a hub to serve the emerging renewable energy industry.

“Within one hour’s drive of this town there is going to be € 20 billion invested in the next 10 years in renewable energy. I think Ennis could and should position itself to be a hub to service that industry, the downstream service and maintenance of that industry, the planning of the. Other areas are doing this. Tralee have attracted a service centre for a major German turbine manufacturer. I believe that’s an area Ennis could capitalise on. That German manufacturer will hire 50 in Tralee and plans to increase that to 200,” he explained.

THE number of people signing on the Live Register in Clare continues to plummet, with figures for Clare last month the lowest since February of 2009.

The lion’s share of the reductions were recorded in the Ennistymon and Kilrush areas with an increase in the number of people employed in the tourism sector believed to be contributing to the reduction.

There was a total 8,585 people signing on the live register last month, a drop of 154 people or just under 2 per cent on the 8,739 who signed on in April.

When seasonally adjusted and compared to same month in 2013, the figures show a even more remarkable reduction of 933 or 9.8 per cent.

Should the reduction in people signing on the live register continue at the same rate the number of people signing on the live register in Clare will reach Celtic Tiger levels by mid2017.

The number of people signing on the live register in the Ennistymon area fell from 1,403 in April to 1,331 last month. This represent a month on month fall of 72 people or more then 5 per cent.

There was also good news in the Kilrush area where the number fell from 1,271 to 1,198 – a drop of 73 people of 5.7 per cent.

Each of the Clare areas recorded a reduction with the numbers signing on in Ennis falling by three to 4,848 and the numbers in East Clare falling by six to 1,208.

Despite this good news, the number of vacant commercial units in Clare has risen in the first three months of 2014.

A total of 863 of the 7,062 com mercial addresses in Clare in the first quarter of 2014 were vacant – a vacancy rate of 12.2 per cent.

Frank DAFFY,
Harbour Village, Killaloe, Formerly of Corofin. Laid to rest at Mount Jerome Crematorium, Dublin. Donations if desired to ICU Limerick Hospital. May he rest in peace.

Noreen O’GORMAN
, Pella Road, Kilrush, At St Joseph’s Hospital Ennis. Funeral Mass on Tuesday at 10amat St Senan’s Church, Kilrush. Burial afterwards in Old Shanakyle Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

John SCANLON
, Crawford Street, Kilrush, Funeral mass onTuesday at 12pmat St Senan’s Church, Kilrush, followed by burial in NewShanakyle Cemetery. Donations in lieu to the Palliative Care Unit, Regina House, Kilrush. May he rest in peace.

Steve SOUTHBY
, Laghtagoona, Corofin, Funeral MassTuesday at 11amat St Bridget’s Church, Corofin. Burial afterwards in the New Cemetery, Corofin. Donations if desired to cancer research. May he rest in peace.

Evelyn KELLY
, Lahinch, Clare. Laid to rest in Kilmacreehy Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

James (Sox) McINERNEY
,Ardkyle, Sixmilebridge. Peacefully at the University Hospital, Limerick. Laid to rest in Feenagh Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

Stephen MCKNIGHT
,Walkinstown/Kilrush, At St James Hospital. Laid to rest in Bohernabreena Cemetery. May he rest in peace.

Bridget (Bridie) MORONEY (née Good
win) formerly of Parteen. Peacefully at Kiltipper Woods Care Centre, Dublin. RequiemMass on Tuesday at 11amat St Patrick’s Church, Parteen with Funeral afterwards to Mount St Lawrence Cemetery (Extension). May she rest in peace.

Merlyn QUINN (née Lyons)
, Castleside, Bunratty. Peacefully at Milford Hospice. Laid to rest in Bunratty Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

Mary KEOGH- MOLONEY,
Scart, Kilkishen and late of Ballysheenmore. Laid to rest in Ballysheen Cemetery, Sixmilebridge. May she rest in peace.

Noreen NORMOYLE MPSI (née Roche)
, Normoyles Pharmacy, 47 O’Connell Street, Ennis, Peacefully at University Hospital Limerick. Laid to rest in Drumcliff Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

Flan O’GORMAN
, Glasgowand formerly of Moveen East, Kilkee. Peacefully in Glasgow. Funeral will take place in Scotland, a memorial Mass will be held in Kilkee Church at a later date. May he rest in peace.

Eddie COTTER
, Clare Road, Ennis/Kilmihil. Peacefully. Laid to rest in St Michael’s Cemetery, Kilmihil. May he rest in peace.

Kathleen KELLY (née Linnane)
, Scoole, Corofin. Peacefully in her 95th year. Laid to rest in Dysart Cemetery. May she rest in peace.

John (Johnny) O’CONNELL
, Querrin, Kilkee. Suddenly. Laid to rest in Lisdeen Cemetery Kilkee. Donations in lieu toWest Clare Mini Marathon Fund. May he rest in peace.

Margaret TOBIN (née O’Shaughnessy)
, Furnacetown, Feakle. Formerly of Dromod, Bodyke.Laid to rest in the newcemetary Moynoe. Donations if desired to Milford Hospice. May she rest in peace.