Category: News

THE proposed €1.2 million Shannon Recycling Centre has attracted 12 tenders, Clare County Council has confirmed. Construction work for the centre, which will be operational by the summer of 2007, is expected to commence before the end of the year.

“The project, which involves an investment of some €400,000 from the council’s own resources, was given a significant boost earlier this year when it was allocated €800,000 in funding by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,” said Ger Dollard, Shannon Town Manager.

“We need to continue to encourage and support all those who are genuinely interested in properly managing waste. This centre will accept the full range of materials including glass, plastic, paper, timber cans, clothes and electrical and electronic wastes. It should significantly improve the already very high recycling rates achieved by householders in the county,” added Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Chairperson of Environment and Emergency Services and Consumer Protection Strategic Policy Committee.

In addition, the council has announced plans to open up over 100 acres of land for residential and commercial development in the town. The local authority is currently considering six tenders for the construction of a southern primary road in the Tullyvarraga area of the town.

It is anticipated that construction of the new multi-million euro road network project will commence in November 2006.

FINE Gael leader Enda Kenny is optimistically seeking two seats in the next elections, despite claims at grassroots level that he is overloading the constituency with too many candidates.

Deputy Kenny has told The Clare People that he expects a 50 per cent success rate in Clare next summer.

“I think that if the people want change and a Government that will work as hard as they do, they’ll vote Fine Gael and give us two seats here in Clare,” he said.

“We have four exceptional candidates and as long as we work as a team and urge the voters to use their vote to change the Government, I’m confident we can take two seats.”

But the team have to carve out the mostly rural constituency between them.

In an unprecedented move, the party’s Executive Council added Cllrs Joe Carey and Madeleine TaylorQuinn to the ticket, which already included Deputy Pat Breen and Cllr Tony Mulcahy following a contentious convention in May.

It was believed Mr Kenny had promised Cllr Taylor Quinn a place on the ticket if she ran in the European election, a promise that he kept.

A party poll at Christmas showed an increase in Fine Gael popularity in Clare and the possibility of securing the coveted second seat the leader now craves.

But the addition of the two names led to fears among local party members that its current seat was in danger. At a national conference in Athlone, Deputy Kenny tried to revert back to a selection process that would allow a number of delegates from each branch select the candidates.

He was narrowly defeated in a vote, which meant the one-person -one-vote method introduced six years ago remained. This week, he said he had no plans to change that selection process.

Meanwhile, he refused to speculate about the chances of a Clare minister in a Fine Gael-led government.

“Forming a Government and appointing ministers is a job for after the election,” he said.

A YOUNG woman who stole soothers and false fingernails from a chemist in Ennis has been warned she will face a spell behind bars, if she reoffends.

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin made the comments in the case of an 18-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to stealing the items at Boot’s Chemist, O’Connell Street, Ennis, on September 2 last.

Ann Molloy (18), of Bay 2, Ballaghboy Halting Site, Quin Road, Ennis, pleaded guilty to one offence. The value of the stolen property was €17.40 and it was later recovered.

Garda Regan told Ennis District Court that he arrested the accused shortly after 2.30pm on the date of the offence. She made no reply to charge after caution.

Defending solicitor Siobhán McMahon said her client’s mother was due to have a baby and she was excited at the impending birth of her sibling. The solicitor said the accused’s parents were both unemployed.

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin said, “We are looking at custody.”

She said she would order the accused to carry out 100 hours community service, in lieu of two months in jail.

The judge said she would adjourn the case for three months and warned that the accused must not get into trouble in the interim.

“She is not to come to adverse Garda attention before that. If she does, forget the community service. It will be two months custody,” warned the judge.

MANAGERS at Shannon Airport have been warned that a €30 million redundancy package will be off the table at the end of the week if it is not accepted by unions.

John Horgan, Director of Change Management at Shannon Airport, said the package includes a voluntary severance deal, including enhanced pensions for those nearing retirement and various compensation measures for those staying.

Mr Horgan told The Clare People that Shannon Airport would lose an estimated €130 million during the next 10 years.

“We must find a way of reducing the cost at Shannon to bring it in line with the other airports,” he said.

“We were willing to discuss any proposal made by the unions that would contribute to the airport but no such proposals were forth coming,” he said.

Airport managers have voted unanimously to conduct a ballot for industrial action up to and including strike.

The managers, who are members of IMPACT, oppose cuts in services which they say will cost up to 75 jobs.

General election candidate, Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG), has appealed to both parties to sit down to try to find common ground, in the interest of the workers and the future of the airport.

The union claims that closure of a bar and reduced opening hours in the airport restaurant are knock-on effects of a management decision not to replace certain part-time positions when staff leave.

IMPACT Assistant General Secretary Michael Landers said “the cuts would lead to an unnecessary loss of jobs and will undermine the airport’s viability at a time when passenger numbers and profits have never been higher.

“These are profitable operations and the airport authority is engaging in a reckless act of economic vandalism in a crude attempt to impose their will on the workforce.”

The issue has already been to the Labour Relation Commission, the National Implementation Body and the Labour Court.

“I regret that the management and unions are taking such a polarized position,” said Cllr Taylor-Quinn.

“I believe the forecast of €135 million loss over the next 10 years needs to be addressed in detail and it must also be taken into account that a loss was forecast in the past and that turned into a profit,” she said.

THE crew of a transport lorry was left stranded for over six hours after their vehicle became bogged down in flood waters in Clare last Friday.

The driver and his colleague, who were delivering Guinness kegs to pubs and hotels in the north Clare area, were plucked to safety by a good Samaritan truck driver, who steered his heavy vehicle through more than five feet of water. The men jumped onto the front of the second truck which carried them back to dry land.

The drama began at 7am on Friday as the Guinness lorry, operated by a contractor on behalf of the drinks’ company, was making deliveries in the north of the county. Following overnight heavy rain, low lying fields flooded the R476 road at Lemenagh Castle near Kilnaboy.

Truck driver Ray Collins from Limerick explained, “There was a sign back the road which said the road ahead was flooded. When we got there, another truck drove through no problem, but as we were almost through, the truck just stopped”.

Mr Collins and his colleague Gary Shinners, also from Limerick, had to jump onto the rear of their vehicle when the cab began to flood.

“It looked very deceiving. Before we knew it we were in six feet of water. We called the company to let them know what was happening. When the felt the water at our feet in the cab, it was time to get out. We climbed onto the trailer were we stayed. It was too deep to dry and walk out. We weren’t in any danger, but all the time we were there, only one person actually asked if we were alright, or if we needed a phone.”

At around 1.30pm, a passing truck driver offered to help and drove his vehicle into the floodwaters. As his truck came nose-to-nose with the stranded Guinness lorry, Mr Collins and Mr Shinners jumped onto the front of the vehicle and were taken to safety.

“There was no sign of the water going down and if it got any higher, we were going to use the barrels to try and get out,” Mr Collins said.

It was late on Friday evening when the stranded lorry was eventually towed from the flood waters. The Corofin to Lemenagh Castle road remained closed for two days.

CLARE County Council is set for an estimated €2.25 million windfall with the proposed sale of nine acres of land at Ballycasey, on the outskirts of Shannon town.

Local councillors, Patricia McCarthy (Ind) and Tony Mulcahy (FG), yesterday called for the proceeds of the sale to be channelled into projects mooted for Shannon,

The land is up for public auction on October 20 and the site is described as being a prime location at the entrance to Shannon town, the international airport and the Shannon Free Zone. It has substantial road frontage and is close to a large residential area.

The zoning of the land is also expected to increase its value as it is zoned for a mix of uses, while all services are located close to the site.

Cllr McCarthy said that the money from the sale could go towards local projects, including the proposed Arts Centre and other recreational facilities.

Fine Gael general election candidate Tony Mulcahy said he had no issue with the sale because the council would receive a good figure for the land, but the area councillors should have been briefed on the council’s intentions.

He said that the council zoned the land for mixed use only four days before it was advertised for sale.

Cllr Mulcahy said that there was a real need to invest in recreational facilities in the southern end of Shannon where, currently, there is a lot of development.

The proposed sale is the second land sale that the council has been involved in over the past 18 months.

In April of last year, the council sold a two-acre site at Ballymurtagh Cross for €500,000.

The site was purchased by Managing Director of Beaux Walk Properties, Barry Boland, in trust for the Shannon Railway Company.

Mr Boland made the purchase to secure lands reserved for the route of the €60 million rail-link into Shannon airport.

The council compulsorily purchased the site from Shannon Development as part of the N19 road improvements into Shannon.

The Compulsory Purchase Order related to 4.23 acres and the recent sale by the council concerns 1.9 acres of land left over from the road improvements.

LAST week’s torrential rain left a number of families trapped in their homes in the Glasha area of Doolin. Local residents have expressed their anger at the flooding, which they believe is the result of works carried out by Clare County Council more than seven years ago.

According to one family, the problem began when the council carried out works on the main Lisdoonvarna to Doolin road as part of upgrade work to the water system in the late 1990’s.

Glasha resident Treasa Flaherty claims that she has raised this issue several times with a number of local county councilors over the last five years but no action has been taken.

“I’m sick and tired of talking to them about it and nothing seems to happen,” said Ms Flaherty. “The lady next door could not even come out into her driveway last week, the water was right up to the door.

“Once any heavy rains starts at all, there is a flood. I have been talking to local councilors about it for the last five years and I am just sick of it.”

Ms Flaherty claims that works undertaken by Clare County Council have turned the roadway into a funnel, directing floods of rainwater onto her property.

“They did the water works about seven or eight years ago and as part of that they changed the roads outside the front of the house,” continues Ms Flaherty. “It is very high in the middle and very low on side which means that all the water is being directed straight at my house.

“My lawn and garden is getting the full impact of the flooding. It is doing awful damage to the garden and the wall is being totally destroyed.”

The Clare People contacted the county council local area office in Ennistymon in relation to this matter, but no comment was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

HUNDREDS of Clare farmers could soon turn to part-time forestry as they are forced out of more conventional markets.

A major national campaign, aimed at promoting forestry, was launched by Clare TD, Tony Kileen, in Ennis last Friday.

At just 10 per cent, Ireland has one of the lowest land areas covered by trees in the EU. While Clare has almost 15 per cent cover, it is also one of the counties with the greatest potential to increase planting.

“The fact that the full cost of planting is covered by grants, that farmers can plant up to half their lands and still retain their full Single Payment Entitlements, and the availability of grants to cover pruning, shaping and forest roads during the growing cycle as well as tax-free premiums of up to €499 per hectare makes forestry a very viable alternative land use option,” said Minister Killeen.

Presently, there are more than 62,000 acres of private forestry owned by 1,107 farmers and landowners in the county.

“Because forestry has the lowest labour requirement of all farm enterprises, it is ideal for the growing number of part-time farmers in Clare who are trying to combine farm work with a busy off-farm job,” said Ray Gallagher of the Irish Forest Industry Chain (IFIC).

The campaign is a joint initiative between the IFIC and the Department of Agriculture and is aimed in particular at low-income drystock farmers as well as farmers who have lower than average Single Farm Payment entitlements.

Meanwhile, the first industrial wood chip boiler in Clare is expected to be installed before the end of this year. This project, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, is jointly managed by the Clare LEADER company and Teagasc and aims to develop a market for wood energy from thinnings from farm forests in the county.

Tenders have been received for wood chip boilers and energy supply contracts in five locations around the county. These projects include a manufacturing plant, hotel, school, nursing home and leisure centre, while a decision on the first installation will be made over the coming weeks.

“We are at a crossroads at the moment and there are a lot of farmers who will be looking at different things in the very near future,” said Seamus Murphy, Clare IFA President.

“There is great value in it from the energy point of view. There is not a market in Clare at the moment but we have to create a market.”

A CLARE local authority found to have illegally dumped waste on local authority land last May has been forced to pay out more than €2,500.

Clare County Council ordered Kilrush Town Council to pay €2,580 arising from the incident.

Rubbish made up of soil, stone and various wastes was discovered by a member of the public on council lands on the Cooraclare Road across from the Teagasc Office last summer.

The waste material, gathered from a community clean up of a back lane had been separated into the various waste streams and brought to the licensed waste transfer station at Lisdeen.

However, as some of the waste was mixed with soil and stone, it could not be accepted into Lisdeen’s compactor unit.

Two trailer loads were then brought back to council land in Kilrush and inappropriately disposed of, contrary to local authority policy.

The waste was removed from the town council lands and disposed of at the Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff Beg within a working week of the council becoming aware of the matter.

Director of Services with Clare County Council, Ger Dollard, told The Clare People that the sum of €2,580 was made up of the €125 fine under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, the administration cost of the incident to Clare County Council and the cost of disposing of the waste.

He said the fine was imposed “having regard to the prompt and appropriate action taken by Kilrush Town Council to address the issue”.

Kilrush Town Council has conducted an investigation into how the waste was inappropriately disposed of and has acknowledged that the incident should not have happened in the first instance.

The council’s policy on waste has since been communicated to employees at all grades and levels.

“The local authority views the illegal disposal of waste as inexcusable considering there are four recycling centres, including two transfer stations, 54 recycling bring banks and a central waste management facility located in County Clare,” said Mr Dollard.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Chairperson of the Environment Strategic Policy Committee welcomed Clare County Council’s handling of the case.

“This incident demonstrates Clare County Council’s commitment to following up on all instances of illegal dumping.

We need to continue to seriously tackle such illegal activity and it is imperative that the local authorities set an example in this regard,” Councillor McCarthy added.

CONCERNS have been raised by local residents over a proposed new homeless hostel for Ennis.

Residents living in the Clare Road area of the town say they have serious concerns over the St Vincent de Paul Society’s plans for a €2.1 million homeless hostel in the area.

Last week, the society lodged plans with Clare County Council to convert the former Laurel Lodge B&B into a hostel suitable for accommodating 13 men.

The hostel will provide support and rehabilitation to those experiencing homelessness. The St Vincent de Paul say that measures will be in place to ensure that no disruption is caused to homes in the Clare Road.

Concerned residents are to outline their reservations in a submission to Clare County Council.

Locals say they have serious concerns about the siting of the hostel in an area with close proximity to the town centre and have fears it will lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour.

“We are very concerned about having the hostel in this area. We don’t want to see anti-social behaviour and have people drinking and carousing,” said one concerned resident

“You have mainly elderly people living there and the fact that it is so close to the town is a big thing. There is a pub just down the road and you are going to have people coming out of the town looking for a bed and not being able to get in, and what is going to happen then?”

Latest figures show that 490 people accessed Clare County Council’s homeless unit in 2005.

Locals acknowledge there is a need for the service in the town, but are concerned that the hostel will be providing transitional housing.

“I think it is the wrong place for it. There are people walking the road every night. There is a need for it, but it is just the wrong place. The transient aspect is the major thing.

“If people are refused entry, they’ll be hanging around causing anti-social behaviour.”

The St Vincent De Paul society along with Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council and the Health Services Executive examined a number of properties in order to identify a suitable location with close proximity to the town centre.

“They dropped leaflets in the door and said they didn’t get much of a response, but that doesn’t mean that people want it there” added the resident.

A planning decision is due in late October.