Category: News

BUSINESSES around Clare are acknowledging the county’s volountary sector with the launch yesterday of the volounteer discount card.

The initiative, which is jointly supported by the Clare Volounteer Centre, Ennis Town Council, Clare County Council, Ennis chamber and the Clare Local Development Company, is aimed at recognising the work of all volounteers in Clare.

The volounteers discount card enables volounteers to access a range of discounts and special offers from over 120 businesses across Clare in 2011 – the European Year of the Volounteer.

The scheme is the first of its kind in the country and, according to Sharon Meaney, Development Co-ordinator with the Clare Volounteer Centre, it is hoped that Clare can be showcased as county who recognises and acknowledges the valuable contribution that all volounteers bring.

Sharon said, “You are inspired everyday by people’s stories of volounteering. Volounteers do make a difference. It’s important to say thanks. Without volounteers, the fabric if Irish life would be dull.”

Melissa Healy is a volounteer with Special Olympics Ireland and the Brothers of Charity. She urged people to volounteer, describing it as a worthwhile experience.

“When it came to the games [Special Olympics] and it all came together, the joy your work brings to the athletes and their famillies make it all worthwhile. I knew straight away it was something I was going to stay involved in.”

Melissa is a student on a community care course who started volounteering for Special Olympics Ireland last year for the summer games.

Asked what advice would she offer to anyone thinking of volounteering, she said, “I would definitely tell them to do it. You get a great feeling of self worth from taking time out of your day to help people who maybe would not receive help if it wasn’t for volounteers.”

The Clare Volunteer Centre is part of the national network of volunteer centres, supported by Volunteer Centres Ireland. The Clare Volunteer Centre opened its doors in Ennis in 2008.

Last year 256 people registered with the centre, an increase of 25 per cent from 2009, bringing the total number of volounteers registered at the centre to 496.

HOSPITALS like Ennis General Hospital will always be an election issue. This was one of the many statements by Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin during his visit to the county town. What the former Minister for Health failed to realise or at least mention was that the issues around the hospital are the same before every election, the same issues that five years on from the last set of promises still have not been resolved. This time around a colonoscopy unit has been promised for the hospital that will be part of a pilot cancer-screening programme. That coupled with a € 15 million extension should give people some hope of a healthy service, but experience leaves everyone with doubts. Before the 2007 General Election the extension promised was an almost € 50 million development. All forms of promises were given about the future of the hospital, including the commitment from former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that the county hospital would not be downgraded. Five years prior to that, Independent candidate James Breen was elected to the Dáil when fears for the hospital’s future first surfaced. Nine years on and Breen is back in the ring, supported by the chairman of the hospital committee hoping to secure the seat he lost in 2007. Since he first entered the Dáil, the hospital has lost its 24-hour accident and emergency service as well as some acute services. There are still more acute services to be centralised to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick and the people are meeting again ahead of the election to raise concerns and the issue is back on the table. When he came to Ennis, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny gave his party’s commitment that the reconfiguration of hospital services in the mid-west would cease until such time better replacement services were in place. “As I move around the country I am being asked by so many hospitals, can you restore facilities that have been taken away here and my honest an- swer is I can’t.” He said however services as they are in Ennis General Hospital would be retained until such time something better was proposed. Deputy Martin was more supportive of HSE policy. “Health is complex. We have to pull together in my view the critical mass of professional people and sufficient volume of patients to make sure we get best practice. I believe in that. I am not going to pretend to people that I don’t. I am not going to be dishonest with people and say we can do everything on every hospital site. There has been a bit of dishonesty on that debate along the way.”

PROLONGED roadworks on both entrances to Gort are hampering businesses and may cause a number of premises to close in the months ahead. That is the opinion of prominent Gort businessman who claims that the town’s businesses have suffered a triple blow in recent months.

According to Mr Finn, the combination of the town being by-passed, the on-going roadworks and the bad weather over the Christmas period has made life almost impossible for the business community in Gort.

Mr Finn, who is currently trying to sell his furniture business which was heavily damaged in the 2009 flooding, says he can’t see a future for many businesses in the town if the situation is allowed to continue much longer.

“People have stopped coming into the town, the roadworks are having a devastating effect on businesses in the town.

“This has been going on since November and the information I have is that it is not going to be finished until April or May, a lot of the businesses won’t last that long,” he told The Clare People yesterday.

“The business community up here are very frustrated with the situation. We know that the job has to be done but the timing of the works and the speed at which it is being completed is an issue.

“The town of Gort has been hammered over the last few months. First we had the bypass, the the roadworks and then the bad weather conditions, which delayed the road works and made it nearly impossible for anyone to access the town over Christmas. It has been a real double whammy for the town.”

CLARE County Council last night paid homage to unsung heroes and volunteers across the county.

Under an initiative i nt roduced by mayor of Clare Cl l r Chr isty Cur tin (Ind) to mark t he European Year of the Volunteer, volunteer rescue ser vices, musicians who provide enter tainment to the elderly and t he Clare Community Games were all awarded a Civic Recognition Ceremony at Clare County Council Head Quar ters for the first ti me ever.

Ennis Sub Aqua Club, Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Kilkee Mar ine Search and Rescue, Bunratt y Search and Rescue, St Caminin’s Search and Rescue, Ki llaloe/ Ball ina Search and Rescue, Lahinch Search and Rescue, Bur- ren Subaqua Club and Clare Civil Defence were al l honoured for thei r volunteer work that sees t hei r members risk t hei r l ives to save others.

A group of local musicians were recognised for givi ng thei r time providing music to the elderly patients at St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis and “bringi ng a smile to thei r faces”.

The volunteer work is par t of “A Time To Seek” project established by t he county ar t’s officer and suppor ted by the HSE.

Among the musicians honoured were Frank Custy, Paddy Hynes, Chris Droney, Bernard O’Shea, Monica Morgan Kear ney, Kate Purcell and Meadbh Boyd.

Clare Community Games, which is celebrating its 40t h anniversar y, was also awarded for four decades of volunteering.

ACCLAIMED Corofin photographer Kenneth O’Halloran has won a hugely prestigious World Press Photo Award for a photo essay that tells the story of Irish country fairs.

O’Halloran, who works as a freelance photographer around the world, having been a staff photographer of with The Irish Independent for many years, scooped the honour in the annual awards scheme that are recognised as the world’s best showcase of photographic talent from around the globe.

The 42-year-old was placed 3rd in the Portraits – Stories category. It is the third major international accolade for O’Halloran this year who was also recently shortlisted for the Terry O’Neill award.

“It is a great honour to be recognised by World Press Photo,” O’Halloran told The Clare People this week after receiving his latest international recognition.

“I spent over two years travelling all over Ireland to fairs and festivals, and met hundreds of amazing people, all of whom made the collection what it is,” he added.

The photo essay included pictures taken at Spancil Hill Fair, Cahirmee Fair in Cork, and Ballinasloe Horse Fair, in Galway.

O’Halloran is a son of Eileen and Michael O’Halloran, who run an undertaking business in the town. He is a former pupil of the Christian Brothers in Ennis and is a graduate of the Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design. As a teenager Kenneth always had an intense interest in photography and began his career by taking pictures of local events around Corofin, including communions and confirmations. He has travelled worldwide for newspapers and international aid organisations and has done some highly accalimed work for Goal and Concern.

In his career to date he has picked up over 10 national photographic awards. His photographs have appeared in major newspapers and magazines worldwide, including Paris Match and Time Magazine.

His website www.kennethohalloran.com is a wonderful showcase of his diverse portfolio, featuring everything from photo essays on his father, to a study of a family dealing with their father’s Alzheimer’s disease.

The award winning picture essay can be viewed on www.kennet hohal lor an.com/ #/ PROJ ECTS/ Fair%20Trade/1.

THE head of the National Roads Authority (NRA) has been challenged to come to Clare and explain his comments that the county’s road network is unsafe and had not been constructed in accordance with NRA guidelines.

Following a motion put forward by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Clare County Council is to write to Fred Barry, CEO of the NRA, asking him to identify which roads in Clare he considers to be dangerous and which were not constructed in accordance to guidelines.

This follows comments made by Mr Barry earlier this year in which he appeared to question the quality of roadworks carried out in the county.

“If someone is saying that we are not following guidelines then there is something that should be taken seriously. The issue here is are we following the guidelines or are we not,” said Cllr McCarthy.

“To say that I was surprised and perplexed by the comment of the NRA would be putting it mildly. He should be communicating directly with the council [and not speaking through the media].

“He even goes on to question whether we are following the guidelines with regards to roadworks.

“We follow the guidelines as set out by the department and we only have the funding to complete the roads which are funded by the Department of the Environment.

“We need to know, if he is to make these charge, that he can identified parts of the county where the roads are deficient. We cannot have people using unsafe roads and that [Mr Barry’s comment] is the message that some of our roads are unsafe. It is grand to make statements but you have to back it up with facts.”

Cllr McCarthy motion did not get the unanimous support of the councillors with Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) agreeing with Mr Barry, saying that the roads in the county are sub-standard.

“I would not disagree with Mr Barry. I don’t think that he stated untruths. He also says that there was an inadequacy of finding to the council. The council probably do the best they can with the money that they have. But I don’t see anything that he says as being untrue and maybe it is good that they lay it out like that,” said Cllr Flynn.

Commenting on the motion Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) said that “the NRA have been very active in telling us what to do. I think the NRA should be more active in securing the money to let us do it.”

CLARE County Council is bracing itself for further jobs losses in the coming months following the revelation yesterday that the local authority may only be half way through its restructuring programme.

The workforce of Clare County Council has been reduced by around 150 employees over the past two years and according to county manager Tom Coughlan, the local authority may be forced to shed even more jobs in the coming months.

Speaking at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, Mr Coughlan said that he expects the council to be hit hard by the reduction in public sector numbers promised by some political parties ahead of the General Election.

“There are not all going to be guards and nurses, there is going to be cuts right across the entire public sector. We are looking at severe losses in local authority as well as in the other across the public service,” he said.

Mr Coughlan was commenting on a discussion about the possibility of increasing the numbers employed by the council in roads maintenance. Mr Coughlan said that there was “no point in saying that there is a chance of us increasing our staffing levels” at the current time.

Under the terms of the Croke Park Agreement, wage levels cannot be reduced so any proposed reduction in the overall staffing costs of the local authority would have to come reducing the numbers employed.

“It is a bleak outlook and it looks certain that there will be a further cut in the numbers employed by Clare County Council, as with other areas of the public services,” continued Mr Coughlan.

Speaking on the motion, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) urged the local authority to take advantage of any national schemes which would allow the local authority to take on unemployed people as part-time council employees without adding to Clare County Council’s wage bill.

“We need to look at different ways of doing things if this is going to be the way it is in the Council,” he said.

“There is going to have to be very much more about working with communities and with the unemployed.”

Speaking on the motion Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) described the jobs cuts in the local authority as “a fundamental attack on the local authority” and “privitisation by stealth”.

FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny came to town on Saturday last looking for what he described as “a history-making event here in Clare”.

He said he had every confidence in the party’s election strategy in the county and was even optimistic that the Banner County would return a record three Fine Gael TDs to Dáil Eireann.

The leader’s confidence comes amid internal issues in the party in Clare that maintain a fourth candidate should be added that is geographically better placed. Suggestions include poll topper Cllr Joe Cooney from the east, Cllr Martin Conway from the north or former TD Madeleine Taylor Quinn from the west of the constituency.

Deputy Kenny said that the decision not to run candidates in these areas was “all choices the party has to make”.

“Last time we ran four and got two against the opinions of everybody. On this occasion we decided to run three and we have two deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey and the mayor of Shannon Tony Mulcahy. This is an exceptional team and experienced candidates,” he said while supporting the candidates in Ennis.

“I have made the deliberate policy of putting in place the best teams that we can. This is beyond the scope of any one individual and you need teams of professional competent people who are prepared to make decisions in a courageous and in a fair fashion. So I look to Clare and its electorate to judge fairly not only the merits of one candidate but the quality and the power of our plan.

“I am happy that the trio of Pat Breen, Joe Carey and Tony Mulcahy are on the verge of making history here. Their challenge and our supporters challenge is to translate our five point plan and what it means in every town and every town land in County Clare,” he added. “I have great faith and belief in these candidates,” the Fine Gael leader said, but he would not say if that faith extended to making one of them a minister should he become Taoiseach in the next month.

There is currently no Clare TD on the Fine Gael front bench.

THE day before the Fine Gael party launched its health policy, party leader Enda Kenny was telling the people of Clare that while the party would cease the reconfiguration of hospital services, it was too late to undo what had already been done.

“It is very difficult to undo work in the medical area once it has happened. As I move around the country I am being asked by so many hospitals, ‘can you restore facilities that have been taken away here?’ and my honest answer is I can’t because people don’t believe a situation like that, but before a service is taken away, before medical facilities are removed that is that time to make a case and Fine Gael has been very clear about that,” he said in response to questions about the future of Ennis General Hospital. “We don’t want anything closed down unless it is demonstrated that there is something better in its place. This is clearly not the case here.

“Fine Gael is committed to retention of medical services here in Ennis and the suspension of the removal of the cardiac facilities. Obviously Fine Gael’s overall view in the longer term is to change the health system to one of universal health where hospitals should be run by local trusts.

“There is little point in proceeding with a process that is blatantly not working as the regional hospital is chock-a-block. Our view is that you should not close down something until you have something better in its place” he said.

Deputy Kenny said that once a patient gets into the system it works well, the problem is getting into the health system quickly.

He also denied allegations that universal health insurance would close a hospital like Ennis describing the suggestion as “absolute rubbish”.

Fine Gael candidate Cllr Tony Mulcahy said the leader gave a commitment to the candidates that the party would retain acute services at the hospital “in their current format”. That would mean the retention of cardiac services and the anaesthetists at that hospital that has already lost its 24-hour A&E service.

THE IRISH National Teachers’ Organisation said Government could afford to pay the cost of teachers’ pensions. The union criticised what it called plans by Government to walk away from pension responsibilities.

The claims came at a meeting for primary and post primary teachers held in the University of Limerick on Wednesday.

At present retired teachers get a pension of half of their final salary after 40 years teaching. These pensions are linked to the pay of serving teachers.

The new proposals would mean that pensions would be decided on “career average” earnings.

“These three proposed changes will be devastating for the pensions of new teachers,” said Sean McMahon. INTO Executive member representing Clare.

“There will be no net benefit from being in a pension scheme as many teachers will pay in far more than they will ever get out. This situation may be open to legal challenge especially since membership is compulsory.”