Category: News

COMPLETING the N18 GalwayLimerick dual carriageway by 2010, providing a €52 million dedication fund to market the west of Ireland gateway in the US post Open Skies and accelerating RAPID area rejuvenation in rural Clare are just some of the targets set out by the Atlantic Way.

Launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Shannon this week the Atlantic Way aims to promote the Galway-Shannon/Limerick corridor so that it is recognised worldwide as a location for superior quality of life, leading opportunities for creative and challenging work, education and flexible business potential.

The people involved are mainly leaders and decision-makers in business, education, community organisations, local government, voluntary services and community development.

They say they want to bring coherence, co-ordination and a sense of urgency to infrastructural development, excellent technological services, quality employment, lifelong education and quality of life to counties on the western seaboard.

By creating “joined up thinking” between the counties around Limerick, Shannon and Galway it is hoped that the Atlantic Way will create a viable counter pole of economic activity to he Greater Dublin region.

In his address the Taoiseach acknowledged that the BMW region is still some way behind the south and east region.

“Rather than argue about this I prefer to focus on the future,” he added.

He told the Shannon audience that the quality of life and standard of living in the west was “better than anywhere else, so you win out anyway”.

LABOUR Party Leader Pat Rabbitte has put his faith in east Clare councillor Pascal Fitzgerald to follow in the footsteps of Clare’s last Labour TD Dr Moosajee Bhamjee.

The would-be Tánaiste attended the Labour Party’s Selection Convention in Ennis on Friday to see the councillor of just over two years selected to represent the party in Clare.

Cllr Fitzgerald is equally confident that he can gain a seat in the hotly contested Clare constituency, believing that the complacency of others and a need for change leaves the way open for a Labour seat.

“TDs are getting very confident that they will retain a seat, but things have changed since the last election. Shannon and Ennis have expanded and have a different population.

“Look what happened at the local election in Killaloe where there were four new seats,” he said.

A life-long Labour supporter, Cllr Fitzgerald was first elected to Clare County Council in 2004.

To secure a seat in the next election, the Labour party will have a huge task ahead. It must keep ahead of the Green Party in first preference votes. Labour will then hope that the Fine Gael, Green and Labour pact will come into play, securing the Labour candidate transfers from the Green’s and any possible protest independent candidate.

The Parteen councillor will still have an uphill battle to come in ahead of the larger parties and the sitting TDs.

Labour last had a Clare TD when Dr Bhamjee was elected with 5,113 first preference vote. He secured his position with transfers from Fine Gael and Independents, and by dislodging Clare’s two west Clare TDs Madeleine Taylor Quinn and Brendan Daly. The party lost its seat when the colourful psychiatrist decided to retire from politics in advance of the 1997 election.

In 2002, former ASTI president and Ennis Town Councillor Michael Corley polled just 1,720 first preference votes. Just days after his official selection Cllr Fitzgerald was already preparing for battle.

“I don’t see the Government delivering,” he said. He was critical of the PDs saying that the party should stand up and be counted. He reiterated his leader’s call for better healthcare, the need to address anti-social behaviour and educational needs.

Speaking in Ennis after his Clare representative was selected, Mr Rabbitte said it was time to go to the polls.

“How can the crisis in policing, in our hospitals, in public transport be addressed in circumstances where the two parties are scarcely speaking to each other?” he asked.

AS FIREWORKS continue to plague communities all over Ennis, households have again been reminded to keep pets indoors in the run up to Halloween.

Clare ISPCA Officer, Frank Coote has reminded pet owners to leave their animals indoors at night due to fireworks being let off

He said many more dogs go missing at this time of year than at any other, with recent figures showing that up to 12 dogs a week are reported lost.

“Dogs get frightened and run away but there’s also a risk with cats, horses and cattle. With dogs I would advise people to keep them in and leave the radio on. Dogs on the street don’t seem to mind as much, it’s mainly dogs that have been well-looked after. If they get out they could go for miles. Just because a dog is found in Scariff doesn’t mean it couldn’t have come from Ennis”

In relation to injuries resulting from fireworks and bonfires, Mr Coote said Clare had a good record compared to ther counties.

“Luckily it doesn’t seem to happen as often in Clare as other places. I’ve talked to animal welfare officers in other counties and you hear some real horror stories. There is the issue of bonfires. Kittens are likely to climb into them as they are being made”

Mr Coote also reminded people if they find a lost animal they should report it straight away.

“We are legally obliged to keep animals for five days around this time but we would usually keep them for eight days”

Meanwhile, residents living in the vicinity of St Flannan’s College say the area is being used by gangs of young people to let off fire works.

Fed up residents say noisy fireworks are being let off at night and that large groups are congregating and drinking in the grounds at the weekend.

Fireworks of various descriptions with names like Black Cats, Screamers and Texas Rangers are said to be on sale in the town, with prices ranging from 50c to €20.

The Gardaí have warned they will continue to take a firm stance on anyone caught in possession of fireworks.

Crime Prevention Officer Seargent Joe Downey said,“I would re-iterate what we would have said before and that is that anyone found in possession of illegal fireworks will find themselves in the local district court. People should have more consideration for their neighbours and also for animals”

THE construction of a €100 million road has lengthened the car journey between Shannon and Limerick.

The finding has been made by the Clare VEC and could result in a windfall of up to €100,000 in retrospective payments in grant monies owed to Shannon students studying in Limerick’s third level colleges.

Students qualifying for grants receive an annual “adjacent grant” of €1,245 if living within 15 miles of the third level college they are studying in and a grant of €3,110 “non adjacent grant” if living beyond the 15-mile radius.

However, the survey commissioned by the VEC in recent days has now placed Shannon outside the 15-mile radius of Limerick as a result of the works completed on the N18-19 three years ago.

CEO of Clare VEC, George O’Callaghan confirmed yesterday the construction of the new road had resulted in a greater road distance between the two centres.

“Following a re-evaluation of the distance by the VEC, we found that the distance between Limerick and Shannon due to new access roads to Shannon has resulted in Shannon being at a longer distance from Limerick,” he said.

He said that Shannon-based students in Limerick would qualify for additional grant monies in the current college year. The are now set to receive an additional €1,855 each.

Mr O’Callaghan said that the survey was carried out as a result of a query from a Shannon-based parent of a student going to college in Limerick.

Shannon-based councillor, Tony Mulcahy (FG) said that he drove from Mary Immaculate College of Education in Limerick to a student’s house in Shannon town and the distance was 15.9 miles.

“Since the road did not open until November 2003, we are talking about retrospective payments for 2004 and 2005 and I would estimate with the large number of students from Shannon studying in Limerick and the numbers receiving grants, the VEC will have to pay out around €100,000.”

Welfare Officer with the University of Limerick (UL) students’ union, Sinead Hickey yesterday called on the students who missed out on the full grant in 2004 and 2005 to be fully reimbursed.

She said: “This should have been noticed when the road was being constructed.”

Mr O’Callaghan said that the Clare VEC would be visiting the issue of retrospective applications in the near future.

CAMPAIGNERS have moved to allay fears of local residents over a proposed homeless hostel in the Ennis area.

Local residents have expressed concern over the proposal, but those in favour have pointed to the excellent track record of the St Vincent de Paul in running such facilities.

The St Vincent de Paul have applied to Clare County Council for the construction of a transitional housing facility for homeless persons at the former site of the Laurel Lodge B&B on the Clare Road. While saying it would be inappropriate to comment on a matter that was still the subject of a planning application, Councillor Joe Arkins (FG) Chairperson of Clare County Council’s Homeless Persons Forum stressed that the St Vincent de Paul had proven experience in running such facilities around the country.

“Earlier this year, members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council visited St Patrick’s Hostel, Killree Lodge, Limerick, and were very impressed by the policies and practices that are in place there. It is extremely well run and strives to be a good neighbour in the community”

He said that in view of the experience of the St Vincent de Paul, he was confident the hostel would have no adverse impact on the locality.

Cllr Arkins (FG) added that the type of hostel proposed was designed to find people permanent accommodation as quickly as possible.

“The proposed facility on the Clare Road is not a permanent home for anybody who does not have anywhere to live. It would be run with the view of securing accommodation through the local authority and the outreach system would continue to provide support when people left. The real success of the hostel would be gauged on its non-occupancy levels as opposed to its occupancy levels”.

Consumption of alcohol would not be permitted on or near the vicinity of the premises.

“It should be borne in mind that in many cases there is no link between homelessness and alcohol. People become homeless for many reasons, marriage break up, trauma, unemployment. One of the main reasons is the lack of quality individual accommodation at the lower end of the market”

Locals say they were not adequately consulted with when the project was mooted. They are worried about the potential impact on the community. They have submitted an objection to the proposal which is currently being considered.

THE suicide rate among women in Clare is almost 27 per cent higher than the national average, while male suicides are 8.4 per cent less.

However, according to the first annual report of the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) published this week, men in Clare are three times more likely to commit suicide than women.

Clare Psychiatrist Dr Moosajee Bhamjee told The Clare People that the majority of these men were young, a very different picture to two decades ago.

“Twenty years ago, it was older males that were committing suicide. Now it seems to have changed. The pattern suggests that females attempt suicide or self-harm and do it by softer means. Men are more drastic or severe.”

The figures support the outspoken psychiatrist’s analysis. According to the NOSP report, an average of 12.4 people take their own lives in this county every year. The earliest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that just two people of Clare residence died by their own hand in 1980. In 1985, this number had multiplied by more than five, bringing the total number of deaths to 11. In 2005, 15 people died from suicide in Clare.

Dr Bhamjee has attributed the rise in these tragic deaths to a number of social and community issues. He said that younger people are more likely to commit suicide at the weekends as alcohol and drugs reduce inhibitions.

He pointed to excessive alcohol, community and family changes, stress, bullying in the workplace and depression as some of the reasons behind the increase. He said that death by suicide also increased in spring and autumn as the change of seasons were internationally linked with depression.

“We need more counsellors and easy access to the counsellors. We need more psychologists if we are to provide a speedier service,” he said.

He said people should also go for help earlier.

“If the person has a social problem and it is solved or if the depression is treated, they don’t make another attempt.”

AFTER making the single biggest tax settlement in the history of the State, Clareman Dylan Creaven will this week be allowed to return to his €800,000 home in Ennis.

The Newmarket-on-Fergus businessman has managed to hold onto his Woodstock mansion, despite having to pay more than €26 million to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in Ireland and the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) in Britain.

In addition to the cash settlement, Creaven (32), was also forced to sign over a villa in Marbella and four race horses, including last year’s Galway Hurdle winner Latino Magic. Indeed Latino Magic’s victory in the €79,000 McDonagh Handicap came while the horse was being leased from Garda control by trainer Robbie Osbourne.

An agreement was reached in the High Court to split all winnings received from the horses between trainer Osbourne and the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The other horses seized by the Garda were Moon at Midnight, Lafayette and La Mandrigola.

Along with the Ennis property, Creaven had also managed to hold on to property in the Knightsbridge District of London, worth in excess of €2 million and several million Euro in cash.

The former owner of Silicon Technologies in Shannon was acquitted of a £14 million VAT fraud by a London court last year. He has been the subject of a number of investigations on both sides of the Irish Sea in the last four years and spent more than a year Wandsworth Prison awaiting trial.

Creaven was initially accused of defrauding the British taxpayer to the tune of £162 million but was eventually charged and acquitted on charges relating to just £14 million.

He was accused of operating a ‘carousel’ scheme, by repeatedly charging VAT to high value customers but not declaring this to British revenue. This investigation was part of a much longer but failed £2 billion revenue investigation in Britain involving hundreds of business people.

It is believed that Creaven’s legal cost could run to as much as €6 million in total.

Both the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Assets Recovery Agency had sought a full prosecution of Creaven on a number of occasions but the record breaking deal was struck after successive attempts failed to bring a verdict.

A 62-YEAR-OLD Welsh national suspected of committing sex crimes in the UK was arrested in Lisdoonvarna last Wednesday evening, The Clare People can reveal.

Roger Michael Batt, who used the alias name ‘Gardener’, was arrested at a house in Ballycanoe, on foot of a European Extradition Warrant. He is accused of three counts of rape, four of sexual assault and three of arson, in Fulham.

The arrest was made as part of an operation involving gardaí based in the Extradition Section of Garda Headquarters, and local gardaí. Batt was arrested at 7pm and taken to Ennistymon Garda Station, before being brought to Dublin, where he appeared in court. The case was adjourned until today (Tuesday), when he will re-appear in the High Court.

A warrant had been issued at the Magistrate’s Court in York, on August 18 last.

According to Gardaí, Batt had been living in rented accommodation, with a woman from the UK.

“We do not know how long he had been living there. He had not come to Garda attention,” said a Garda source.

This is the second time in seven months that a man in his 60s, wanted on foot of a European Arrest Warrant, has been arrested in the Ennistymon Garda District.

Cedric Harry Ludlam (61), from Yorkshire in the UK, was arrested in Miltown Malbay on March 29 last. He was wanted for questioning in the UK for alleged rape and sexual offences, involving adults and children.

SHANNON Development has said that tenants who rent space from them can “conduct their business as they see fit” despite the involvement of two of its former client companies in separate multi-million Euro fraud probes in recent years.

Last week, Clare businessman Dylan Creaven, who ran his company from a Shannon Development subsidised unit in Ennis, paid over €26 million to the Criminal Assets Bureau and the British Asset’s Recovery Agency.

Another company, Smyth Aerospace Ltd, which was raided by gardaí and FBI agents in 2000, also operated its business from a unit owned by Shannon Development.

Shannon Development has declined to comment specifically on the activities of Creaven’s Silicon Technologies or Smyth Aerospace Ltd while they were tenants of the development agency and would only say: “If a client complies with the conditions of tenancy then we must observe their rights as tenants to conduct their business as they see fit.”

While Silicon Technologies Europe Ltd, operated sales offices in Europe, the US and in Asia, its headquarters were based at the Clare Business Centre at Francis Street in Ennis, where Creaven rented two units from Shannon Development.

Silicon Technologies did not however receive any grant funding from the development agency during that time.

Silicon Technologies’ reported turnover for the year 2000/2001 was €416 million in respect of its Irish operation.

Creaven was paying less than £80 a week for the units in Ennis where he employed six people.

Company founder Creaven was arrested on November 19 2002 following a joint British-Irish investigation codenamed “Operation Chipstick”.

Creaven faced two charges of conspiracy to defraud the public revenue of stg£14m.

He spent eleven and half months on remand at Wandsworth Prison but was acquitted on all charges against him in May 2005.

In October 2000, gardaí assisted the FBI when they raided a premises in Shannon also owned by Shannon Development, as part of an investigation into a multi million Euro aircraft parts fraud.

The US authorities had alleged that Joseph Patrick Smyth Jnr was the leader of a criminal enterprise.

The US authorities had sought his extradition from Ireland last year. However Smyth has since fled to France.

Smith’s sons, Joseph Patrick Smyth (III), aged 43, and Thomas Edward Smyth, 39, both of whom lived in Ennis for several years, have already been sentenced to five years probation each in a U.S. court for their part in the fraud.

A US-based company employed by Clare County Council to aid the search for funding for the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre has told the council that its fundraising expectations are unrealistic.

New York-based CWB Marketing Group submitted a report to council last May, as part of the drive to raise the shortfall of €3 million for the €31.5 million visitor centre.

Clare’s mayor, Councillor Flan Garvey (FF), and the centre’s Project Leader, Ger Dollard, are due to embark on a tour of US cities later this month in a bid to raise funds.

Mr Dollard confirmed yesterday that the council had not utilised CWB Marketing since last June.

The May status report by CWB to council released to The Clare People through the Freedom of Information Act, states, “While the need for financial support for the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre is great, expectations as to how this need can be met through fundraising in the US are currently not realistic.

“CWB is certain that support exists in the US for such a project but that the time, effort and methodology required have not been realistically assessed by the council.

“It is often the case that those who are close and very familiar with a project feel the reasons for supporting it should be obvious to all and that a simple declaration of the need will result in an avalanche of support.

“However, those who are not familiar with a project do need significant reasoning and explanation before they come round to financially supporting it.

“Moving forward, should the council continue to raise funds in the US, it is recommended that a more robust direct mail programme be used to reach out to a more basic donor . . .

“It is also recommended that more realistic expectations be set for the progress and timing of results, as it is only natural that it would take many more months, even years, for an appeal as new as this to start making any headway in this sophisticated market.”

Commenting on the report, Mr Dollard said, “I think the context is that the project can gain support but, in CWB’s view, our expectations in terms of timescale are not realistic.

“It was never the council’s intention to launch a wide-ranging fundraising drive for this project but rather offer parties who may wish to support such a project the opportunity of so doing.”

Asked if there is a ‘plan B’ if the fundraising initiative didn’t raise the anticipated amounts, Mr Dollard said, “As previously outlined, the council is working on a number of avenues – and will continue to do so – to address the funding issue.”