Category: News

TWO West Clare water treatment plants provided approximately 2,000 cubic metres per day of water to Ennis and Clarecastle during the freezing weather, despite suffering severe leaks.

According to figures from the Water and Sanitary Services in Clare County Council, before the thawfreeze problems at the end of December and beginning of January, the combined production of the two Doolough treatment plants were approximately 13,500 cubic metres per day.

During the period December 20, 2010, to January 6, 2011, the average production was approximately 20,700 cubic metres per day – an increase of 53 per cent on normal supply.

As about 2,000 cubic metres per day of this water was sent to the Ennis area to ensure domestic and industrial supply in Clarecastle, the amount of water being lost in the area to leaks was estimated at 18,700 cubic metres squared.

During the later half of this month the two plants were continuing to lose 25 per cent of their combined normal supply to leaks indicating that there was still a lot of work to be done in locating and repairing leaks at west Clare’s largest treatment plants.

The Gortglass Lake treatment plant lost 500 cubic metres, or 50 per cent of its usually supply, every day during the bad weather due to leaks.

Council officials attributed the relatively few cases of water loss in west Clare this winter to “good spare capacity” in west Clare treatment plants and the large sizing and relatively new condition if much of the network.

There was therefore little or no need for overnight shut-offs to allow reservoirs to replenish as had to be done in the rest of the county.

“However, even though consumers may not have been as directly affected, the leaks and losses of treated water caused by the weather were, and still remain, just as important an issues in west Clare as in the rest of the county,” explained Sean Ward, Senior Engineer with Clare County Council.

“Unsustainable additional expense has been and is being incurred in locating and repairing leaks, and in treating and pumping the additional quantities of water being demanded by the network.”

CLARE’S only retiring member of Dáil Éireann, Deputy Tony Killeen, is set to receive over a quarter of a million euro lump sum for his years of service in Leinster House, which also takes into account his time as being both a Minister of State and full member of Cabinet.

The lump sum pay-off to Fianna Fáil’s biggest vote-getter in Clare over the past two decades with 19 years Dáil service to his name is part of overall payments to retiring TDs, which is set to cost the Irish exchequer over € 10m during the next cou- ple of years.

Deputy Killeen will receive a € 276,163 once off payment for the 19 years he represented Clare in the Dáil, while his pension will be worth € 68,984 when it kicks in.

Deputy Killeen first entered political life when he was elected to Clare County Council in 1985. He retained his seat in the 1991 election and he served as both chairman of Clare County Council and the Shannon Status Committee before winning his Dáil seat in 1992 and retaining it in subsequent elections in 1997, 2002 and 2007.

Deputy Killeen’s distinction of holding down junior ministerial and full-ministerial portfolios over the past seven years will ensure that he will benefit from better pension terms than retiring deputies who were backbench TDs.

Under the pension structures for retiring TDs, former ministers are deemed to be office holders and are therefore paid an office holders’ allowance on top of their TDs salary.

Deputy Killeen was elevated to ministerial rank by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2004 when he was made Minister of State for Labour Affairs. After the 2007 election he became the first ever Minister of State for Environment and Energy, while in 2008 he became Minister of State for Fisheries and Forestry. His elevation to full Cabinet status came in 2010 when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach and made him Minister for Defence.

Deputy Killeen is one over 40 current Dáil deputies, who have announced their retirement ahead of the General Election, the most high profile of these being the man who appointed him to Cabinet, Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

THE MAIN road between Ennistymon and Lahinch came within an inch of being closed over the Christmas period, it was revealed at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting of Clare County Council.

The road, which carries an estimated 20,000 cars per week during the winter months, was severely damaged as a result of the pre-Christmas cold snap, with local authority crews forced to conduct daily emergency repairs on the road.

Despite these efforts, a large number of minor accidents were reported on the road during the Christmas period.

Responding to a motion put forward by Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) at yesterday’s meeting in Ennistymon, council engineer Stephen Lahiffe said that the road “was in danger of being closed” over the Christmas period.

This section of the N67 is one of the main routes in north Clare and is also a major tourism artery, carrying more than € 1 million visitors to the Burren each year.

Clare County Council yesterday confirmed that a new contractor has been hired to strengthen and tar the road with works expected to get underway in five weeks. This follows difficulty in engaging a contractor before Christmas, with one chosen contractor going into liquidation and a second being unable to raise a bond for the project.

“The money is still there and work will start in the next five weeks and that is good news. I would hope that when the work is completed that we will have a state of the art road between Ennistymon and Lahinch,” said Cllr Nagle.

“I have been inundated with complains about the state of the road over the last few weeks. That there had to be daily works carried the road just to keep it open shows how bad it was.”

Seconding the motion, local councillor Martin Conway (FG), said that the road should have been prioritised long ago.

“This is the main connnectivity route to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren. Even at off peak we are talking about 20,000 cars per week and much more in the summer,” he said.

“This is one of the most used stretches of road in the county. Really and truly it should have been prioritiesed long ago. I would like to commend the council for the work they have done to keep it open. It is just such a pity that so many small acident had to take place on the road over the last while.”

CLARE COUNTY Council yesterday denied allegations that a road through the Meadowlands estate in Miltown Malbay had been changed from a cul-de-sac to a through road.

The local authority is at present drawing up an architectural plan for the road which will see it be opened to through traffic. However, according to correspondence received from a number of local residents, the properties were purchased in 2003 under the condition that the road would remain a cul-de-sac.

According to Cllr Michael Hillery (FF), this change could lead to major safety concerns for the local residents.

“I am concerned about the safety of children in the area and the public safety in general at this road. This was to be a cul-de-sac and now it is to be the through road. It is of critical importance that this is looked at.

“This road is soon to be used for though traffic and we don’t want any accidents.”

According to Cllr Martin Conway (FG), a number of local residents claim to have been given assurances that the road would remain a cul-desac before they bought the property.

“I have been speaking to residents and they maintain that when they bought the houses back in 2003 it was stated that the road was a particular type of road,” he said.

“They contend that negotiations took place between the contractor and Clare County Council and it finished up with the road being classified as a through road which is very different from the road that they thought they would get.”

This was disputed by a spokesperson from the council who said that the road was always intended to be a through road by the local authority.

“We did have a meeting with the residents. As a result of this meeting we undertook to look at the road and see could we come up with a way of alleviating their concerns,” said engineer Stephen Lahiffe.

“It was always intended to be a through road, it was stated before the planning for that houses that it was to be a through road. We have not yet completed the road design for that road and we will engage with the residents again before that happens.”

Meanwhile, the local authority has been asked to look into a way of improving the conditions the old traveler halting site at Ballymacraven in Ennistymon.

The site, which is to become the new council chip dump, has been targetted by illegal dumpers in recent months.

THE founding members of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard were recognised this weekend for the long and dedicated service to the people of Clare.

Six members of the Doolin Coastguard were awarded prestigious Long Service Medals at a ceremony at the new Costello Bay Coast Guard Station in Galway on Friday evening last.

Medals were awarded to founding members Mattie Shannon and Thomas Doherty, as well as long serving members Conor McGrath, Ray Murphy, Richie Jones and Ian Lambe. The coastguard, which has been the busiest in Ireland over the last 10 years, was founded 23 years ago by Mattie Shannon and Thomas Doherty – who are currently the stations officer in charge and deputy officer in charge respectively.

“The long service awards are given out to people who have been involved in the coastguard for 20 years so it shows the great commitment which has been there down the years. We also have a number of volunteers who have been involved for 17 or 18 years and they will qualify for awards in the coming years,” said Mattie.

“It is great for the volunteers who have given all that time over the years – it is nice to have that recognised. They will always have something now, they will have a medal as a token that they can pass on to show their commitment over the years.”

The Doolin unit of the Irish Coastguard has been so successful in attracting members in recent years that they currently have more volunteers than they can bring into the unit.

“We are recruiting at the moment. We have interviewed 12 people from the north Clare area and we are hoping to take five new members on over the coming weeks. The interviews are ongoing at the moment and we will be making up our mind come the end of February,” continued Mattie.

“We had a great response to this latest call for members but we are really looking to get members who are based as close as possible to Doolin. We had a lot of people applying from Ennis and different areas, which is great, but they really need to be based close to Doolin in case of an emergency. We will take on a few people living in the local area and then we will go a few miles outside of that for the last few people. But unfortunately for anyone who is living 10 of 15 miles away it is just a bit too far.”

A PAIR of developers who were granted planning permission for a 60 bed nursing home in Tulla earlier this year have lodged an objection with An Bord Pleanála against the planning permission granted for a separate nursing home in the village by Clare County Council.

John and Ted Nugent were granted planning permission for a 30 person single storey nursing home by Clare County Council in January. The nursing home, which will comprise a 26 bedroom main building as well as four semi-detached single units and four semi-detached two bedroom self-contained units, was given the green light by the local authority after more than one year in the planning process.

This planning permission will have to be scrutinized once more, however, after an objection was made to the granting of planning by Geraldine Cosgrove and Mary Coleman.

The pair, who had lodged a submission as part of the original planning permission for the Nugents’ development, were themselves granted planning permission by Clare County Council for the construction of a 60 bed nursing home in Tulla in March of last year.

As part of their submission against the original planning permission lodge by John and Ted Nugent – Geraldine Cosgrove and Mary Coleman said that the second nursing home was outside the “settlement boundary” as identified to them during their own planning process.

They claim that they were encouraged by the council’s planners to identify and obtain a second site which was inside the local settlement boundary, a condition which did not prevent John and Ted Nugent’s proposal from securing planning permission.

“My clients are of the opinion the requirements of the local authority have not been rigorously addressed by Ted and John Nugent,” said the submission of Geraldine Cosgrove and Mary Coleman.

“Ted and John Nugent have not adequately demonstrated that no alternative sites were available within the settlement boundary. My clients do not consider that this site is the optimum location for the development as it is not with the settlement boundary.”

A final decision on planning is due from an Bord Pleanála on May 17 of this year.

FORMER classmates of a “beloved” young Ennis student who died from cancer last year are aiming to pay tribute to her memory by raising awareness about the illness.

Sixteen-year-old Ciara Conroy passed away last May following a battle with cancer. A student at Coláiste Mhuire, Ennis, Ciara was also involved with Can Teen Ireland, a nationwide support group for young people who have or have had cancer, and for their family and friends.

Now many of Ciara’s friends and classmates are participating in a project aimed at raising awareness about cancer among young people.

A group of transition year students at Coláiste Mhuire are taking part in the Young Social Innovators (YSI) awards – a programme that aims to promote social awareness and activism among young people.

While one transition year class are basing their project around cancer awareness, all second and fourth year students will be involved in a fashion show to raise money for Can Teen in March.

Transition year student Mairead Cunnane explained, “The fashion show is in memory of Ciara Conroy, a beloved student who passed away from cancer last year”.

Teacher Margaret Harrold said students were eager to celebrate Ciara’s life. She said, “We’re raising awareness of teenage cancer and we’re also doing events in memory of Ciara. Ciara was very much involved with Can Teen. In our posters we will be mentioning that the money raised will be going towards Can Teen. It is the Transition Year 2 group that are involved in the young social innovators project but all of the transition year students are involved in organising the fashion show. The whole Coláiste community will be involved, teachers, students. There will be no outside models”.

Margaret added, “It’s because she was so young and style and fashion are important to young people. It’s a way of commemorating Ciara. It’s a celebration for the school, of Ciara’s life and who she was.”

Students will design some of the dresses but local stores have also donated dresses to be modeled also. The theme of the show is ‘Beautiful things we love and love to share’.

All second and fourth year students will model on the night while students from transition year will produce the show.

The show, which is being run in conjunction with the Martina Costelloe modeling agency, will take place on Thursday, March 3.

“YOU would have to be here to know how bad it is” – the words of one Tubber native following the tragic death of Mossy and Jimmy Quinn on Saturday morning last.

The community of Boston and Tubber is in mourning today following the deaths of well known father and son Mossy and Jimmy Quinn after a fire in their house at Kiltacky More.

Both men were well known in the local community having both represented the Tubber hurling club with distinction over the years.

According to local councillor Micheal Kelly (FF), who was a classmate of Mossy at Boston Primary School, the whole community is deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“The people of Boston and Tubber, and indeed the whole area, are deeply saddened by the death of Mossy Quinn and James in this tragedy. The fact that it was the family home makes this tragedy even sadder,” he said.

“The Quinn family are very well known and well respected in both farming and GAA circles. Mossy is an uncle of Clare hurler Gerry Quinn and they have all played hurling with Tubber – they are good neighbours and will be sorely missed in this community.”

No funeral arrangements have yet been announced for the father and son as it is understood that the family is waiting for one of Mossy Quinn’s daughter to return from Australia. The daughter had spent Christmas at home in Clare and had just returned to Australia days before the tragic blaze took place.

According to one local person, the community is ready to provide all the help and support that they can to the family.

“You would have to be here to know how bad it is. The whole community is in total shock. We were in our local pub here on Saturday night and I can tell you there was no one smiling. It is a tragedy for a small community,” said the Tubber native.

“It is times like this that the local community has to come together. We are a close knit community and we do stand beside someone when they need it and I know that help will be coming to the Quinns.”

A Garda forensic examination took place at the scene on Sunday with the investigation centering around a stove which they feel may have been the cause of the accident.

A NEW rail service, specially targeted at the hundreds of Clare people working in Galway City, could be in operation before the end of March. The Clare People has learned that Iarnród Éireann is considering the introduction of a 6.30pm Galway to Ennis service as part of an overall timetable reshuffle which is currently being finalised.

At present the last train leaves Galway at 5.25pm, meaning that the vast majority of Clare people commuting to work in Galway cannot use the service.

This new service has been mooted as a result of customer feedback and focus group research undertaken by Iarnród Éireann.

Also on the table is the introduction of a Dublin connection on the Galway side of the western rail corridore. This means that Dublin bound Clare commuters could choose between travelling to Heuston Station via Limerick or Athenry in the future.

Iarnród Éireann last week published a list of time-table alterations on its website – including the new Galway to Ennis service and the Athenry to Dublin connection. This is the first time in the organisation’s history that proposed timetable changes have been published before a final decision has been made and according to company spokesperson Jim Gallivan, it will lead to a more customer friendly timetable.

“We have a draft copy of all the proposed changes on our website at the moment and this is the first time that we have ever done something like this. All going well we could be in a position to introduce the new routes by the end of March or the beginning of April,” he said.

“The changes are in response to hundred of comments from our customers over the last weeks and months and also from the results of a number of focus groups. Nothing has been finalised 100 per cent yet, we want to get a feel for exactly what people want and to see what they think of the proposed timetable.

“We are also trying to work out a number of other issues on some of the routes. Some of the connections are a bit ambitious at the moment, with just two or three minutes between trains at some stations, so we need to fine tune a few elements here or there.”

THREE men have appeared in court, charged in connection with an incident in which a family was held hostage near Sixmilebridge a year ago.

The incident led to a major Garda investigation and charges were brought against three men – two of whom have addresses in Shannon and one in Dublin.

Noel and Martin O’Callaghan and Simon Gentles appeared before court sittings last week in connection with the incident, on January 7, 2010.

Simon Gentles (25), of Casement Grove, Finglas, Dublin; Noel O’Callaghan (39), of Rineanna View, Shannon and Martin O’Callaghan (22), of Finian Park, Shannon; are accused of committing burglary at Ardkyle, Sixmilebridge, while in possession of a shotgun.

Shannon District Court was told on Thursday that in reply to charge after caution, Martin O’Callaghan replied, “No.” The court also heard that Noel O’Callaghan did not make any reply to charge after caution.

Inspector Tom Kennedy told the court that the DPP has directed that the case be dealt with in the circuit court and he sought an adjournment for preparation of the book of evidence.

Free legal aid was granted to both defendants.

Mr Gentles appeared before Ennis District Court on Friday. The court was told that he was charged that morning and did not reply to the charge after caution by a Garda. Free legal aid was also granted to Mr Gentles.

The court was told that the DPP has also directed that his case be dealt with in the circuit court.

His case was also adjourned until March 10, for service of the Book of Evidence.