Category: News

WHEN Vincent Hehir died last Wednesday – three days after he was the victim of an attack on Kildysart’s Main Street – one of his last gestures ensured that others will benefit from his tragic death.

The 32-year-old Kildysart native, who was on life support at Ennis General Hospital after he was found unconscious late last Sunday week, had donated his organs to Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital.

Mr Hehir’s youngest child was due to be christened at the weekend. In a moving ceremony, two-month-old Margaret was baptised in a private ceremony at his bedside at the Ennis hospital on Thursday morning.

A surgical team from Dublin travelled to Ennis on Thursday to ascertain the compatibility of his organs which he agreed he would donate after his death.

While many organs were damaged as a result of injuries, some were retained and were brought to Dublin.

The father-of-five, who grew up at Glencanane, Kildysart, never recovered from serious injuries he sustained in an incident on Kildysart’s Main Street, late on Sunday night. He remained critically ill until his death at 5pm on Wednesday, with his heartbroken family by his bedside.

A major garda investigation got underway in the aftermath of the discovery of Mr Hehir, in an unconscious state, close to Mitchel’s Corner Bar, shortly after 11pm last Sunday week.

Gardai say they believe he was subjected to a number of blows, before falling to the ground and hitting the back of his head in the impact. They say they understand he was kicked a number of times while on the ground, but do not believe any implement was used.

Three local men, aged 21, 23 and 33 were arrested last Tuesday and questioned at Kilrush Garda Station, before being released without charge.

Mr Hehir had moved to England several years ago where he managed a pub. He built up many friendships while living there and returned home regularly to visit his parents and siblings.

Mr Hehir’s wife, Mairead, who hails from Mayo, travelled from London last Monday. The couple have five children, aged between two months and nine years.

A post mortem examination was carried out on Mr Hehir’s remains at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, on Friday afternoon. Preliminary results suggest he died as a result of head injuries. His funeral was due to take place in Kildysart at the weekend.

However at request of one of the men questioned in connection with the death, an independent autopsy was carried out by Belfast Pathologist Dr Carson yesterday (Monday) evening.

THE chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business Deputy, Donie Cassidy called for maths and science to receive double points in the leaving cert examination, when the group met in Ennis yesterday (Monday).

The Westmeath TD believes that students studying maths and science should receive double the number of points in their State exams.

He said it was necessary for students to be interested in the sciences, if they were to be attracted into high skilled enterprise to the country.

Clare Minister for Labour Affairs, Tony Killeen warned, “the country will have great difficulty holding on to low skilled jobs” in the future.

“We are going to have difficulty competing at low skill level because it can be done more cheaply elsewhere,” he added.

He said it was now vital that Ireland had a well-educated workforce.

“We will continue to attract investment provided we invest in training our workforce,” he said.

Meanwhile, the committee learnt that Clare women were doing it for themselves in the world of new enterprise.

CEO of the Clare Enterprise Board, Eamonn Kelly, told the gathered Oireachtas members that 46 per cent of all start ups in the county under the current National Development Plan were being under taken by women.

In the 12 years of the County Development Board, it has assisted 436 enterprises in the county, creating 1,317 jobs.

“Our capability development programme provided an extensive range of training, mentoring and consultancy services and the demand for these programmes truly reflects the value placed on them by the participants,” Mr Kelly told the committee.

Addressing the committee Minister Killeen said that 30,000 women have been enticed back into the workforce. He said the Government was committed to this.

The site – which is zoned for com-

mercial development in the Ennis A MASTER plan has been unveiled and Environs Development Plan for Clare’s biggest ever retail devel– borders the Ennis bypass to the opment on lands purchased from south-east of the town. Clarecastle man JJ McCabe in a In total, the developments are to multi-million euro deal last year. provide over 30,000 m in commer-

Galway developer, Stephen Harris, cial floorspace. This will include has lodged plans with Clare County 15,300m in retail units; 8,000m in Council for a retail park which will warehousing; 3,500m in the travelhave an annual turnover of €33 milhotel; 3,200m in a motor-sales villion. lage; 610 m in a restaurant and 120

The development will incorporate m in a petrol station, giving an overa warehouse park, motor sales “vilall total of 30,730m . lage”, Travelodge hotel, drive-thru For now, only planning permission restaurants, storage and distribution, is being sought for the retail park in as well as a petrol station for the 48the south-east quadrant of the site. acre site at Skehanagh, Clarecastle. Already, three other retail parks in the greater Ennis area are at various stages of development, at the Quin Road, Clare Road and Ballymaley. All four are set to radically alter the commercial make-up of the greater Ennis area. The Harris plan involves a 10-unit retail warehouse park with a total floor area of 15,300m , including a 4,800m anchor unit with 1,000m garden centre and 800 car-parking spaces. According to a Retail Impact Statement (RIS) lodged with the plan, the anticipated annual turnover of the project is €33 million and its first year of operation is expected in 2010.

The RIS concludes that there is sufficient capacity to support the development. The proposed development will not have any significant adverse socio-economic or environmental impacts, but will be beneficial for residents.

Outlining the “distinct advantages” of the proposed retail park, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) states that the retail park will have direct access onto the Western Retail Road of the Ennis bypass, the site is of sufficient size to accommodate additional warehouses, and it is located outside the floodplain.

A decision is expected on the application later this year.

SOARING energy costs could see Clare faced with €387 million of electricity costs by 2010.

The startling prediction was made by Pat Stephens, Manager of the Clare-Limerick Energy Agency, as he addressed members of Ennis Town Council last week.

Figures show that, since 1990, Clare’s energy spend has increased from €64 million to €241 million in 2005. The figures don’t take into account electricity consumption at Moneypoint, Shannon or Aughinish.

Maximising County Clare’s renewable energy resources will be one of the issues discussed at an open meeting of the Clare Environmental Forum in the offices of Ennis Town Council at 8pm on Monday, September 18, 2006. Pat Stephens will brief those in attendance on the benefits of harnessing such resources as forestry, wind, hydro, wave, tidal and energy crops.

Mr Stephens warned, “The people of County Clare face energy costs of €387 million by 2010, if they fail – in the meantime – to produce electricity and heat from wind, water, and solar energy sources. This 100 per cent increase on energy costs since 2005 is having a damaging impact on personal finances, environmental emissions, climate change and sustainable development.”

Mayor of Ennis Joe Reidy (FF) said responsibility for energy conservation rested with each individual person. Councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) said more needed to be done to highlight the issue.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Chairperson of Clare County Council’s Environment, Emergency Services and Consumer Protection Strategic Policy Committee has urged members of the public to attend the open meeting of the Clare Environmental Forum.

A STAGGERING 43 per cent of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to Clare’s local authorities last year were refused. This is the highest in the country.

Just over a third of FOI requests to the county’s authorities were given full responses, despite assurances from the minister responsible that the majority of requests nationwide were now being answered.

Figures released this week show that 15 of the 52 FOI requests dealt with by Clare County Council and its four town councils in 2005 were granted. A further 11 requests were part-granted, while 21 of the requests were refused.

One of the requests was transferred to another public body while one was also withdrawn.

The majority of the FOI requests made to the local authorities in Clare were described as “non-personal”, while just three was personal.

Fourteen of the requests came from journalists, seven from businesses and interested groups, one from a public representative and one from a client. The remaining 26 applicants were simply described as “others”.

Meanwhile, the majority of requests made to the HSE Mid-West under the Freedom of Information Act last year were personal.

A total of 288 patients requested information from the Health Services in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.

Some 334 requests were made in total in 2005, but 109 requests were carried over from the previous year.

Of these requests, 292 were of a personal nature, while 42 were classified as non-personal.

A large number of the people looking for information – 250 – were granted their request, but 61 were refused. A further 51 of the requests resulted in part of the information being granted. Twelve were withdrawn.

While patients made up the largest number in the mid-west to look for information, 18 journalists, 15 businesses of interested groups, seven staff members and six public representatives also accessed the service.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Tom Parlon (PD), said that more and more people were accessing the service.

“The statistics show that the majority of people who apply for information under FOI are successful in getting the information they want,” he added.

Last October, plans to include some 130 additional public bodies to the FOI Act were announced.

These plans will bring to over 500 the number of bodies covered by FOI, compared to 67 when the Act was introduced eight years ago.

THE only woman candidate standing in Clare at the next General Election has placed the issue of domestic violence against women at the forefront of her election campaign.

Former Clare TD, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, has revealed a set of key policy proposals, aimed at helping victims and catching the perpetrators. The measures cover an entire gamut, from institutional reform through to practical assistance for women who feel a lack of confidence in the capacity of the criminal justice system to protect them.

“One in four women in Ireland experience sexual abuse in their lifetime and at least one in five who have an intimate relationship experience systemic violence from a partner. I share the view of Amnesty International that, while violence against women is largely perpetrated by men, the majority of men are not perpetrators. However, those who are violent must be effectively dealt with by our criminal justice system, and their victims carefully protected from them,” she said.

She emphasised that individuals and agencies such as Clare Haven House should be fully supported and resourced.

“A central issue is that the vast majority of victims do not report what has happened to them, partly because there remains a stigma and shame around domestic violence, but very frequently because women lack confidence in the criminal justice system to protect them. The overwhelming majority of reports by women do not result in a conviction, so adding to the lack of confidence in the system and to the risk to victims. Moreover, domestic violence in the household has a deep effect on children. Witnessing domestic abuse is deemed a form of child abuse in child protection guidelines.”

She said that organisations, including Amnesty, report increasing calls to helplines, but that these were inadequately resourced to cope, leaving vulnerable victims to cope without appropriate help.

WITH 1,350 Clare teenagers awaiting their Junior Certificate results this week, concerns have been raised that the widespread availability of fake identification will lead to many students drinking illegally and to excess.

Fionnuala Sheehan, CEO of Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society (MEAS), believes the problem of forged and borrowed ID is increasing both in Clare and nationally.

“We know from our own research that there is a very big problem with faked and borrowed ID’s being used to buy alcohol,” said Ms Sheehan. “This is a widespread problem and parents, licensees and the guards have a role to play in tackling it.

“Much more has to be done to tackle the problem of fake ID’s. It seems to us that it is fairly easy to forge an ID and we need to make the cards better and more tamper-proof.”

In a statement to The Clare People, the Vintners Federation of Ireland said that, “the introduction of mandatory, tamper-proof ID cards to assist publicans to establish that a customer is old enough to drink, would be an important stepping-stone in tackling the many issues that underage drinking poses.”

MEAS believes that a trend has developed for Junior Certificate students to use alcohol as a means of celebrating their results.

“The Junior Certificate has been getting more problematic in recent years, but particular effort is being made to minimise this,” continued Ms Sheehan.

“I do believe that the problem has gotten smaller in recent years because of the increased awareness and I hope that this year that would be the case again.

“Schools are organising it so that children only receive their results when they are leaving school, so that parents are available to bring them home.

“Parents are starting to sit down and look at the role that they themselves have to play.”

Earlier this month, MEAS launched a campaign in which they asked parents to consider their own alcohol use and what impact that was having on the thinking of their children.

“Parents influence their children with everything thing that they do. How much I drink has an influence on my own children and their own attitutes towards alcohol,” continued Ms Sheehan.

The Clare People contacted the Garda in relation to this story but no comment was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

A CLARE County Council-led delegation will depart Shannon Airport tomorrow (Wednesday) for a factfinding mission to the Spanish cities of Girona and Barcelona.

During the visit, the delegation will meet with officials from the County Council of Girona, Costa Brava Tourism, Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Barcelona City Council and the newly-appointed Director of Girona International Airport.

The trip, involving six councillors, three officials and four “sectoral representatives”, will cost €16,345.

Addressing the September meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Richard Nagle – Chairman of the Planning and Economic Development SPC – said that the visit was part of the local authority’s ongoing education and training programme for Strategic Policy Committees.

Ms. Bernadette Kinsella, Director of Services, Economic Development and Planning, Clare County Council, pointed out that Ryanair’s expansion at Shannon Airport had made Clare one of the best-served regions of its size anywhere in Europe.

She added that there was huge potential for the development of tourism and business in the mid-west.

“We now have to formulate a policy whereby Clare’s economy can capitalise upon the increased number of passengers flying into Shannon Airport.

“This fact-finding trip to Spain will determine how such tourist agencies as Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the County Council of Girona have profited from Ryanair’s increased business at Girona International Airport,” Ms. Kinsella added.

The 13-strong delegation is made up of representatives of Clare County Council’s Planning and Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee.

Those travelling on behalf of the SPC include representatives of the county’s agriculture, tourism, industrial, community and economic development sectors.

SPC member and President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, John Madden will represent the local business and commercial sector.

The four-day tourism drive is the latest in a series of council initiatives geared towards the promotion of Shannon Airport as a key gateway to County Clare’s many tourist attractions.

Over 3,000 tourists are expected to visit County Clare via Shannon Airport over the coming months as a result of recent tourism promotion drives.

AN investigation has been launched into a “very peculiar” suspected fish kill in a section of the River Fergus.

Tests on dead salmon found in the river near Doora bridge will be carried out in Limerick, after officers from the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board were called out last Thursday.

In total 10 dead fish were found on the river – five near Doora bridge; four further down the river near Clareabbey and one in Clarecastle.

The discovery was made at low tide by two local fishermen, Alan Considine and Martin Considine, earlier in the week.

Catherine Hayes, assistant director with the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board, inspected the river and admitted the incident was unusual.

“It is very peculiar for it to happen in an area where there is such a high turnover of water.”

This section of the river is affected by tidal surges that raise water levels when fresh water is forced back up the system by a dam in Clarecastle. Fish kills usually occur due to a lack of oxygen in the water.

Mrs Hayes stated that no evidence of discharge had been found.

Local fishermen say their concerns over the condition of the river are being ignored.

Fred Coffey of the Fergus Salmon anglers association said, “You’d normally see a lot of trout in the river and a lot of small fish jumping about, but I haven’t seen a thing. When the tide rises, a lot more could be brought up”.

Cllr Joe Carey (FG) said the source of pollution must be determined as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, a meeting is being organised between farmers in Doonbeg and Kilmurry to fix a broken model, or type of weir, which threatens salmon stocks in the areas and could also lead to extensive flood damage to the local area.

The model, which is located at Cloghar Beach, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute between Clare County Council and the Office of Public Works with neither organisation willing to claim juristiction over it.

The meeting will take place over the next couple of weeks and organisers hope that a consensus between the farmers on how to move forward will be arrived at. It is likely that the first step will be to appoint an architect to examine the model and seawall located at Cloghar Beach.

In 2002, damage sustained by the model led to some 80 acres of local land being submerged.

THE Clare Tourism Forum has failed in a bid to secure funding from Fáilte Ireland to boost the tourism industry in Clare and will have to re-apply.

Addressing yesterday’s Clare County Council Special Policy Committee (SPC) on Economic Development, Bernadette Kinsella said that the application by the Clare Tourism Forum had failed as the application didn’t qualify and a new revised submission would have to be made.

SPC member, John Madden said that Clare and the mid-west appeared to be the poor relation in comparison to other areas of Ireland where tourism funding was concerned.

“We are not getting the financial support that other areas are getting. We must actively pursue our politicians to ensure that we get our fair share.”

Disappointment was also expressed at the continued failure by Shannon Development to appoint a tourism development officer for Clare.

Ms Kinsella said that no progress had been made on the issue. Clare County Council first proposed the post last year and in response Shannon Development said that it would take the lead.

Chair of the SPC, Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) said: “It is particularly disappointing because if Shannon Development had not said that they would establish the post, there would be a tourism development officer in place by now.

He added: “We were delighted at the time that Shannon Development would be making the appointment so at the moment we are in a limbo situation.”

Cllr Nagle said that both he and Ms Kinsella would be meeting with Shannon Development representatives at a Clare Tourism Forum meeting today and would be seeking answers to the questions that were made at the meeting in relation to the Tourism Development Officer post.

Senior Planner, Liam Conneally, told the meeting that the Clare Tourism Forum had become a serious entity and was achieving a buy-in from the local tourism industry.

Mr Madden agreed stating that the forum vehicle was something that people could hang their hat on rather than any other agency. Cllr Nagle said that the SPC would be writing to the county’s Oireachtas members on the need to secure tourism funding.