Category: News

IRELAND’S coastlines and seas need greater protection according to a new policy paper issued by the Heritage Council. The paper on Ireland’s Marine Heritage was presented to the Environment and Heritage Minister, Dick Roche.

The paper warns that unique maritime heritage features such as sand dune systems, salt marshes, Martello towers and fishing villages are under threat from poor planning decisions. It calls for a nationally backed framework to support local coastal management initiatives that includes coastal landscapes, bio-diversity, and off-shore development and provides clear guidance for new development that includes position of new housing, density and design.

“Ireland’s maritime and coastal heritage provides a vast array of wealth to the country including food, tourism, amenity areas, ports, transport and protection from flooding.

Greater national protection and a comprehensive management system needs to be urgently put in place,” said Beatrice Kelly of the Heritage Council.

The policy calls for a number of other measures to be put in place including, specific budgets for managing water quality, guidelines for better record data for fish stocks, and improved management plans for fish farms to reduce ecological damage.

It also urges improvements to the visual impact on the landscape and seascape of Ireland and outlines the need to protect native shellfish stocks.

In addition, it emphasises the need for a greater awareness of Ireland’s maritime heritage, including coastlines, the seas, plants, fish and animals, coastline villages, towns and cities, rich fishing traditions, customs and folklore, recreation and tourism.

“We need to protect these resources more thoroughly because of the rapid rate of development and in light of climate change. Many of our coastal towns and villages are suffering from inappropriate development that will impact negatively on our economy and environment,” Ms Kelly said.

A YOUNG Shannon woman, charged last week with the attempted murder of her husband and three children last September, will re-appear in court on Thursday.

Agnes O’Shaughnessy (27), of 12 Purcell Park, Shannon, appeared before Shannon District Court last Thursday, charged with the attempted murder of her husband George O’Shaughnessy, her twin boys Lee and Evan Hickey (both 7) and her daughter Sophie O’Shaughnessy (3), contrary to common law, last September.

The four were rescued by gardaí from the family home in Purcell Park, early on the morning of September 25 and taken to hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation. The blaze was brought under control by units from Shannon fire brigade.

Detective Garda Stephen Ryan gave evidence of arresting the accused at her home at 9.25am last Thursday.

She was taken to Shannon Garda Station where she was charged, and made no reply to the charges.

An application for free legal aid, made by the accused’s solicitor Aideen Pendred, was granted.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the accused had been assigned free legal aid, under other charges which were already in the system and he did not object to the application.

“Bail doesn’t arise in this case. Because of the seriousness of the charges, bail cannot be granted in this court,” said the inspector.

Judge Joseph Mangan granted a request by Inspector Kennedy to have the accused remanded in custody, to appear before Shannon District Court this Thursday.

At a previous sitting of the District Court last September, Ms O’Shaughnessy was charged with committing arson, without lawful excuse, contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act.

She was also charged with intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct, to wit committing arson, which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another contrary to Section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, at Purcell Park, Shannon, on September 25 last.

On that occasion she was granted bail, on a number of conditions, including that she would reside with her sister Angela, while access to her children would be supervised by the Health Board and she would attend for psychiatric assessment.

In December, her bail conditions were changed, to allow access to her children be supervised by family members, while she also agreed to live with her mother in Shannon.

OUTRAGED parents of children with Autism met with public representatives in Kilrush last evening in an attempt to press upon them the necessity of the recently cancelled home tuition service.

The Department of Education withdrew the service from autistic children who attend mainstream education, without replacing it with any other service.

The service, according to parents, helped their children with communication skills, therefore allowing them to attend mainstream schools.

Last week, the Junior Minister for Education, Tim O’Malley said the department had a team working across the country to ensure that new services were put in place where needed.

“The decision to discontinue the home tuition grant was on the basis that the educational needs of these pupils can be best met in their individual schools,” he said.

This statement added to parent’s frustration. Also under discussion last evening was the newly sanctioned Autism Unit on the grounds of St Senan’s Primary School in Kilrush.

The unit, which is likely to receive planning permission for a prefab room at the end of August, is to provide education for six autistic children in the west Clare area.

To date, a primary school teacher and two special needs assistants have been sanctioned for the unit, which was the result of years of campaigning by stressed parents. Parents now fear, however, that the autism team required to provide the full service will not get the go ahead in time for September.

THE laying of a pipe for a private housing development in Ennistymon caused traffic chaos leading in and out of the north Clare town over the weekend.

Attempts by Ennistymon Gardai to relieve the traffic congestion in sweltering temperatures were frustrated after Clare County Council informed Gardai that they did not have a key to switch off the mobile traffic lights that were dictating traffic flows.

According to Ennistymon Gardai, the traffic jam leading into Ennistymon from the Ennis side on Saturday and Sunday “went on for miles” on the Ennis side with motorists experiencing delays of over a half an hour.

On Sunday evening, the traffic tailback leading into Ennistymon from Lahinch went as far back as the famine memorial half way to the seaside resort.

Traffic was reduced to single lane on the Ennis approach to Ennistymon to facilitate the laying of a sewer and water pipe to serve a 37-unit development currently under construction.

A spokesman at Ennistymon Garda Station said that the council was also unable to facilitate the detouring of traffic around the town at the weekend to avoid the traffic delays.

“The delays were up to a half an hour long and it was a bit more than people could take, especially if they had young children in the car,” he said.

The pipe-laying has been going on for the past four weeks after developer Seamus Carroll secured a road opening licence from Clare County Council.

Speaking to The Clare People , Mr Carroll admitted that the works were “very disruptive”, but added, “It has to be done and the upgrading of the sewage system will benefit the wider area.”

AN AMERICAN born businessman who the US authorities had hoped to extradite from Clare back to Arizona, has sold his home near Newmarket on Fergus and left Ireland.

Late last year, the US Government commenced proceedings against Joseph Patrick Smith Jr, who allegedly operated a multi-million euro aircraft parts fraud from a premises in the Shannon Industrial Estate. The US authorities allege that used aircraft parts were refurbished and sold as new original manufacturers’ equipment, or unused government surplus. Smith has a previous conviction for a similar offence in the US prior to moving his company to Shannon in the 90’s.

In October 2000, gardaí assisted the FBI when they raided the Smith aerospace factory in Shannon. His former home at Urlanmore near Newmarket on Fergus was sold earlier this year. It is believed that he and his wife left the country following news reports late last year that the US authorities were seeking his extradition and that his two sons had been convicted for their part in the scam.

Joseph Patrick Smith (III), aged 43, and Thomas Edward Smith, 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 scam. Efforts to extradite Smith senior from Ireland were delayed because of a legal problem with warrants issued in Dublin. He is now believed to be living in France.

THE Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC) has adopted a Dignity at Work charter.

The charter, formally launched by Chief Executive, George O’ Callaghan, states that staff commit themselves to “working together to maintain a workplace environment that encourages and supports the right to dignity at work. All who work within the committee’s ambit are expected to respect the right of each individual to dignity in their working life.”

The document states that all staff “will be treated equally and respected for their individuality and diversity. Bullying in any form is not accepted by us and will not be tolerated. Our policies and procedures will underpin the principles and objective of this charter.”

All individuals, whether directly employed or contracted by the committee, have a duty and responsibility to uphold the charter, the document also states.

School, college, education centre, office management and trade union representatives are given specific responsibility to promote the charter’s provisions.

A spokesman for VEC said that the adoption of the charter at the last bimonthly meeting of the committee’s Local Partnership Group demonstrates how the “process of internal partnership in County Clare Vocational Education Committee continues to grow and be the catalyst for many initiatives involving change and modernisation within vocational education in the county.”

The partnership group was established in 2001 under a requirement arising from the Social Partnership Agreement, “Sustaining Progress.”

Membership comprises representatives of Clare Vocational Education Committee and management, trade unions IMPACT and SIPTU, the schools and colleges of the committee and of its several adult education and outdoor education centres.

THE controversial representative group for Clare architects has been effectively disbanded, with architects and Clare County Council failing to agree a way forward to formally liaise on planning matters.

A number of representatives from the Agent’s Liaison Group recently met with the council’s Director for Planning, Bernadette Kinsella to see what improvements were been made to the county’s planning system and whether there was a future role for a forum to liaise on planning issues.

According to the ALG’s minutes of the meeting, they stated that there was still a lack of consistency in the planning process. In response, Ms Kinsella said that in order to try to overcome this, two senior planners now dealt with the county. They liaise with each other and each junior planner goes through them.

The architects also highlighted a lack of communication between the departments. In response Ms Kinsella said that in addition to the weekly planners meetings, there were now monthly interdepartmental meetings, to agree on the files which they should be dealing with and areas of concern.

The architects also cited continuing mis-interpretation of policies in the County Development Plan and Ms Kinsella said that where there was ambiguits, implementation notes had been circulated to planners ..

On the future of the ALG, the minutes states “it appears that the two parties to the ALG had different ideas about what the meetings were aiming to achieve

“We suggested that further meetings may prove fruitless. Our aim in having meetings was not to get bogged down in the procedures, but to share our experience of the planning system . . .

The minutes stated that Ms Kinsella “would still be interested in meeting or in communicating with some of us to get feedback on whether procedures being implemented at present will have desired effect”.

In a statement to The Clare People on the issue, Ms Kinsella said of the meeting that “while we did not discuss or decide on any formal arrangement for future contact with practitioners both parties were agreeable to consider any suggestions that may be brought forward. In the interim we will continue to provide all relevant data and information to interested parties via our website.”

A JUDGE has stated that the theft of a mobile phone is a “serious matter”.

Judge Joseph Mangan made the remark while jailing for two weeks, Alan Kerin (22), of Church Drive Clarecastle.

He admitted stealing a mobile phone, valued at €250, from a takeaway on October 18, 2005.

Ennis District Court heard that the accused went into the chipshop, put his hand over the counter and took the phone.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said her client had been before the court earlier this year, in connection with a number of offences between May and November 2005.

On that occasion a 20-month sentence was imposed, after her client pleaded guilty to a string of offences.

“There was an effort to have all the offences brought before you together en block.

“We would ask you to consider taking this summons into consideration with the other summonses,” said Ms Godfrey.

Judge Joseph Mangan replied, “In normal circumstances, I would have every sympathy with what you are saying.

“A man who pleads guilty is entitled to credit. However the theft of a mobile phone is such a serious matter in my view, I cannot fully accede to your request.”

He added that he would go “some way” to meet the request and imposed a two-week jail term on the accused.

INTERNATIONAL law expert, Dr Jean Allain, told a trial of five antiwar protestors accused of damaging a US aeroplane at Shannon airport that the consensus among the international legal community was that the Iraq war was “clearly illegal.”

Dr Jean Allain, of Queen’s University, Belfast was giving evidence on day six of the trial, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

The five accused have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of causing damage without lawful excuse to a naval plane, property of the United States Government and to glass door panels, property of Aer Rianta at Shannon Airport, Clare on February 3, 2003.

The accused are Ciaran O’Reilly (46), an Australian national, Nuin Dunlop (34), a US citizen and counsellor, Damien Moran (26), Karen Fallon (35), a Scottish marine biologist, all of Rialto Cottages, Rialto; and Deirdre Clancy (36), a copy editor of Alverno Apartments, Clontarf.

Dr Allain was called to give evidence by the defence yesterday. He said there were only two situations in which a war would be legal: if the Security Council of the United Nations agreed to it, or if a country was acting in self defence.

He said that the general consensus of opinion among legal scholars was that the USA had acted in violation of those principles.

The jury has been told that Sergeant Michael O’Connell was on duty in the hangar at 3.45 am when he heard glass breaking and five people came running through a fire door, one of whom carried a large axe. Evidence was given that they were shouting “some words of God” and went to the front, side and rear of the aircraft using the items to hit the plane. They then knelt in a circle and prayed until gardaí arrived to arrest them. Copies of the Bible and Koran, Rosary and Islamic prayer beads, candles, flowers, St Bridget’s crosses and photographs of distressed children were among the items found at the scene in the form of a shrine at the doors to the hangar.

One of the accused, Ms Fallon, told the trial she believed her actions saved lives, while Ms Dunlop said her actions were political and calculated to draw attention to activities at Shannon. The case, before Judge Miriam Reynolds and a jury, is due to conclude this week.

CLARE County Council has come under fire for zoning for housing, land in the north Clare coastal village of Ballyvaughan, but then not granting planning permission.

The charge has come from architect, Michael Leahy, in the course of an appeal to An Bord Pleanala where he urges the board to overturn a decision to refuse planning for nine homes by McCarthy Bros in Ballyvaughan.

The development was refused because of an inadequate sewerage supply for Ballyvaughan, the haphazard nature to the development, the proposed massing of the development and access issues.

However, Mr Leahy has told the board: “If the council is prepared to prevent development in the area of Ballyvaughan because of the deficiency of sewerage treatment, without looking at alternative methods of sewerage treatment, then they should not have zoned the land for residential development.

“The development plan gives a five year period within which development may reasonably be expected to be carried out, and in fact, it could be argued that failure to secure development of land which is zoned in a development plan represents failure on the part of the local authority.

“It seems to me to be remarkable that the council can in the first instance zone for residential development and lead someone to have a reasonable expectation of being able to develop their lands and then refuse to grant permission on those lands as a matter of principle.

“Refusing to grant permission on the basis of inadequate sewerage is not a simple site specific matter, it is a refusal in principle to grant permission on land. If this is the council’s position in respect of this zoned land then why was the land zoned for residential development.

“It is certainly surprising that none of the issues which have been raised in the reasons for refusal by the council were not dealt with by way of request for additional information.

“It is most unusual for the council to automatically refuse permission without issuing a request for additional information to determine if the issues involved can be resolved

“The only logical interpretation of the development plan having zoned this area, if sewerage is not adequate, is that the council would be prepared to accept temporary solutions in regard to provision of sewerage pending the upgrading of the sewerage system.

“If this is not the case, then surely, the council is in breach of its own Development Plan by refusing permission.