Category: News

THE fight for the reinstigation of the Western Rail Corridor could be won before the end of the month as a major Government statement on the matter is expected within the next two weeks.

The corridor, which will connect Ennis to Athenry and Galway City and eventually extend as far north as Collooney in Sligo, was approved in principal at a cabinet meeting two weeks ago.

A concrete Government announcement on the corridor is now expected before September, with the Ennis to Athenry section of the line likely to be the first to get the official green light. The corridor has been earmarked as a priority by the Government ahead of next year’s election.

The project has been gathering pace in recent times, thanks mainly to the work of pressure groups such as West on Track, culminating in a proposal to reinstigate the line being submitted to the Department of Transport by CIE in June.

“Like the rest of the country, we are just waiting to see what the Government will do next,” a spokesperson from West on Track told The Clare People yesterday. “We need to get this under construction sooner rather than later.”

Should the project get the final Government go-ahead later this month, works could begin on the line before the end of this year.

The re-opening of the Western Rail Corridor is one of the commitments made by the government under the Transport 21 programme.

The section of the track from Ennis as far as Claremorris is expected to cost in the region of €170 million, while the final section, from Claremorris to Sligo, would cost up to €200 million.

A new rail network linking Shannon Airport to a restored rail corridor has also been muted. It is expected that, on its completion, the rail corridor would cater for an initial 750 commuters a day, with this figure increasing substantially if a link to Shannon Airport was created.

LAST week’s decision by American Airlines to discontinue their Boston to Shannon service has been hailed as the first step in relegating Shannon to a regional airport according to Clare TD Pat Breen (FG).

Deputy Breen called on the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, to put in place a package of measures to assist the airport saying that the region needs more than photo opportunities from the Minister.

“All airlines now operating transatlantic services to Ireland are gearing themselves up for Open Skies and are realigning their services with this in mind,” said Deputy Breen.

“Of course, as I have continuously warned, in every country where there is an Open Skies agreement, airlines choose to fly into the capital city. In Ireland’s case they will operate into Dublin only and Shannon will simply become a regional airport.”

A spokesperson from American Airlines said last week that the airline will phase out its daily flights from Logan International Airport to Shannon on October 28. The spokesperson described the move as “essentially an economic decision” aimed at operating fuller and more profitable flights.

The airline will continue to service Shannon by re-routing their Chicago Service, which currently operates through Dublin, and replacing their existing B757 with a B767 on this route. The pullout is the second negative story for the airport in recent times and has sparked fear in some quarters that it will trigger a chain reaction of withdrawals.

“The ending of this service is another major blow to the hard pressed tourism sector in the Mid-West Region and to the small businesses in the area who were providing auxiliary services. Coming hot on the heels of the decision by World Airways to transfer its business to Germany, it will also raise further fears about the future of the In-flight Catering Section at the airport,” continued Mr Breen.

“The current uncertainty in relation to the future of transatlantic services is having a negative impact, which could lead to a lack of confidence in tourism development in the Mid-West, if remedial urgent action is not taken.”

This news comes just days after doubt has been cast over the continued use of Shannon Airport by American companies contracted by the US Government to transport troops. Prestwick Airport has emerged as the front runner to draw some of the lucrative business away from Shannon.

SCENES of cars, vans and caravans lined up bumper to bumper in hot humid conditions, from Dromoland through Clarecastle and on to the county town of Ennis, are likely to end this year as the Ennis bypass remains on track for its spring opening.

A spokesperson for Clare County Council confirmed that the dual carriageway to the east of the town would open before the end of this year, taking all through traffic between Limerick and Galway out of Ennis.

The rest of the project, linking the bypass to the town, is to open on or before April 11 as planned.

The completion of the N85 Western Relief Road from Claureen to Clareabbey Roundabout is expected by mid-January with the final section of the N85 Clareabbey Roundabout to Killow Junction to be completed by April 11.

This completed project promises to reduce regional infrastructure imbalances with the support of the EU Cohesion Fund.

Before the completion of the project, however, motorists will still have to contend with the resulting road works.

Roadworks are currently ongoing on the N18 at Dromoland Interchange just to the south of Latoon Bridge.

A temporary new road layout is in operation for a period of up to 10 weeks on the N68 Kilrush Road at Cahercalla More between the O’Sullivan and Hansbury Garage and Rockmount Cross.

Clare County Council senior resident engineer Paul Moroney has asked motorists to slow down and take care at the temporary diversions during the coming months.

He confirmed that in the past week the precast bridge beams for the Kilrush overpass had been lifted into place and construction of the bridge deck has now commenced

Meanwhile, artistically-inspired motorists or passengers who may be caught in traffic while the bypass is completed, have time to consider submitting a proposal to the public art commission.

Clare County Council has invited outline submissions for a site-specific public art project to be located on the N18 Ennis Bypass.

SHANNON and Doonbeg could be the locations for two new nature reserves, Clare County Council announced this week.

The nature reserves will be the topics for discussion at two county council workshops being held in association with Clare Biodiversity Group on August 12 and 13.

The public meetings come less than a fortnight after the people of Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Spanish Point and surrounding areas were asked to help identify a potential location for a nature reserve in their area.

In Doonbeg, residents are being invited to give their opinion at the workshop to be held in the local community hall, on Saturday, August 12 at 2pm. Locations already identified by the council as potential wildlife reserves include Doonbeg Bay and Tullaher Bog.

“There is a great diversity of wildlife and habitats in and around Doonbeg such as the coastline and bogs further inland,” said Biodiversity Officer, Elaine Keegan.

Similarly in Shannon, another workshop will be held at The Oakwood Arms Hotel on Sunday, August 13 at 2pm.

The local community will again be asked for their input into the creation of a wildlife area before being shown the proposed nature reserve site in the town.

“In Shannon there is an area of wetlands behind the Leisure Centre which is a possible area for a nature reserve. It would be very accessible considering it is so close to the town centre,” Ms Keegan concluded.

A SPORTING coalition made up of opposing politicians was celebrating a Clare success in the winning enclosure at the Galway Races last Tuesday.

Former Fine Gael TDs Donal Carey and Sean Barrett were joined by former Taoiseach and Fianna Fail TD Albert Reynolds in cheering home their shared horse, Sorry Al, to victory in the two-and-three-quarter mile McDonogh Properties Chase.

The unusual winning team also includes three Ennis businessmen – Pat Quinn, Christy Guerin and Philip O’Reilly – all of whom make up the T&C Syndicate.

No stranger to horse racing, Donal Carey told The Clare People that the syndicate was set up to support former champion jockey Charlie Swan as he broke into the horse training sector. And the name of the winning horse is a source of amusement for the former Clare TD.

“I was trying to get Albert Reynolds on the phone so that we could pick a name but I couldn’t get him, so I decided to call him ‘Sorry Al’,” laughed the retired Clarecastle politician.

The six-year-old novice chaser has brought some success to the syndicate since they bought him two and a half years ago but Tuesday’s win at the famous Galway meeting was its biggest to date. He has won two chances and two over hurdles to date.

The 7/2 winner surprised punters in Galway by coming in ahead of the favourite ridden by Ruby Walsh. The Clare owned horse was ridden by jockey David Casey who fell later in the week and broke his collarbone.

Mr Carey said that the syndicate will probably run Sorry Al a few more times, but as he is a summer horse he will probably take a break for the winter months.

Speaking following the Galway race Charlie Swan said, “This place (Ballybrit) really lights up this horse and he loves that good ground.

“He’s in again later in the week, but we’ll probably take our time with him.”

A delighted Mr Reynolds explained, “He won over hurdles here last September but I couldn’t be here as my daughter was getting married. Charlie (Swan) told me not to worry, he’d had have him ready for the summer festival and he was dead right.”

JUDGES for the Tidy Towns competition were expected in Ennis over the weekend to see if the town has maintained the high standards it set last year.

While no advance warning of the committee’s arrival is given, adjudicators have visited the town on the August Bank Holiday weekend in previous years. Last year Ennis was named the tidiest town in Ireland but competition rules state that Ennis cannot win the overall award again this year. The Ennis Tidy Towns Committee hope though that Ennis can defend its title of Ireland’s Tidiest Large Town.

The total points awarded to Ennis has increased every year since 1998. The total then was 240 and last years winning tally was 279 points from a possible 300. In 2001 Ennis was named the tidiest large town and in 2002 it received a gold medal in the European Entente Florale Award.

Chairman of the Ennis Tidy Town’s Committee, Donal Griffin is upbeat about Ennis’ chances in the upcoming competition.

“We have no warning but experience would say that they (judges) would usually visit around the August Bank Holiday weekend. You can’t win the big award two years in a row but we would hope to win again in the large town category. It is probably fair that you can’t because there are around 20 towns that could win it every year”

Mr Griffin who has been Chairman for 12 years, said the committee are pleased with preparations so far and praised the efforts of residents associations and the local business community.

“You see a huge amount of people out and residents associations have been very proactive in looking after their own patch. I was around town last week and there was shopkeepers tending flowers at 8pm so I think people have really taken to the competition. Ennis Town Council of course also play a substantial role and the Friary and the Cathedral have also been very helpful providing information in newsletters”

Since being named Ireland’s tidiest town other accolades have fopllowed. Earlier this year President Mary McAleese visited the town to pay tribute to the massive community effort and unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.

“The visit of the President was a major highlight. Ennis has had massive exposure on local, national and international media, its been great from a public relations point of view its been great. People have also embraced environmental issues and have shown real pride in their town”

The final results of the competition will be announced at a ceremony in Dublin castle on September 4.

A GRANT to improve several local roads in Clare has been announced by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dick Roche, TD. The funding arose due to savings made on expenditures by the local authority earlier this year.

The savings, which came from various projects around the county, were re-allocated for the improvement on several roads around Clare which according to the minister will improve the non-national road network “facilitating local economic development”.

The roads selected for funding include the Cooraclare to Lorrigan’s Bridge Road, which has been allocated €450,000, while the Tulla to Gort road between Drumullan and Ardbooly will benefit by €350,000. The Ennis to Kilfenora road will be given €150,000 for improvement and the R486 in Burrane will receive €100,000. €636,000 has also been set aside for work on Class 2 and 3 local roads. In total, a sum of €1,636,000 was re-allocated for the non-national roads fund.

Clare Junior Minister, Tony Killeen, TD who has welcomed the announcement told The Clare People that “the funding will go a long way in improving these particular roads.”

A SECURITY guard who worked at the Irish Aviation Authority’s Shannon operation settled his claim for unfair dismissal against his former employers, Pegasus Security last week.

Kevin Cusack of Ruan in Ennis took the case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal sitting in ennis last week against the Authority and Pegasus.

But the Tribunal ruled in favour of an application by the Aviation Authority to be stood down from the claim as it found that the security firm was Cusack’s direct employer.

Cusack had also told the Tribunal that his case was one of claiming constructive dismissal but chairman John Fahy, ruled that only an unfair dismissal case could be heard by the Tribunal.

After an adjournment to allow Cusack to consult with an adviser from SIPTU, the former employee told the Tribunal that the matter had been settled and that he wished to withdraw his claim.

Details of the settlement were kept confidential and asked if he was happy with it, Cusack replied that he was satisfied “under the circumstances.”

The Tribunal allowed six weeks for the settlement to be concluded.

A 20-YEAR-old man has been charged with damaging two vehicles outside a house in Kilrush last week. Patrick Hall, of Beech Park, Kilrush, is accused of carrying out criminal damage to a car and jeep, at Cappa Drive, Kilrush, on August 2.

Detective Garda Oliver Downes told a special sitting of Ennis District Court yesterday (Monday) that he arrested the accused at Beechpark at 12.30pm on August 4 last. He was taken to Kilrush Garda Station, where he made no reply when charged. Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey applied for free legal aid for her client, who is not working.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said he was seeking to impose a number of bail conditions. These include a curfew, between 10pm and 7am; that the accused would sign-on daily at Kilrush Garda Station and that he would reside at a house in Beech Park, Kilrush.

Ms Godfrey said her client would consent to the conditions. She added that her client’s girlfriend is due to give birth within 10-15 days. Ms Godfrey asked that the curfew be relaxed in the event of the girlfriend going into labour after 10pm. This was not opposed by the State.

The accused will appear in court again next month.

KILRUSH is the only area in Clare that had less people signing on last month than in the previous July.

According to the Central Statistics office there were 4,099 people on the live register in Clare this July compared to 3,922 in July 2005. The Mid West recorded an increase of 226 people during the same period.

While the Ennis, Ennistymon and Tulla areas all recorded an increase, the figures released in the last week show the number of people on the live register in the Kilrush area has decreased when seasonally adjusted.

The number in the West Clare area signing on in July this year was 579, 15 people less than July last year.

The number in Ennis had increased from 2,374 to 2,523, Ennistymon from 549 to 571 and Tulla from 405 to 426. There are more men on the live register in the Banner County than women, with 2,138 men signing on and 1,961 women.

Just 711 of all of the Clare people on the live register are under the age of 25.

When seasonally adjusted the numbers on the live register nationally had reduced by 2,400.

Government Chief Whip and Minister of State Tom Kitt said the decrease reflected a strong underlying labour market performance.

“Our unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent remains one of the very lowest in the EU, and the outlook remains favourable,” he said.

The Live Register includes part-time, seasonal and casual workers who are entitled to Unemployment Assistance or Benefit, and is not therefore a measure of unemployment.