Category: News

A SERIES of public meetings to ease concerns over the application process for third level grants will take place in May.

The meetings are being organised by Clare VEC to advise students and parents on how to proceed with applying for a third level grant.

The application process doesn’t begin until late summer, but Clare VEC hope that by holding the sessions people will be better prepared.

Clare VEC handles over 700 applications each year for third level grants for institutes of technology and students who have earned VEC scholarships. George O’Callaghan, CEO with Clare VEC, explained that many people experienced difficulties in the past, which led to payments been delayed.

“We hope that with these sessions, we will be able to answer people’s queries before the process begins in late August. It will take some of the fear out of it and that unknown factor.

“There has been some issues over the correct documentation with regards to passports and P60’s, so we are hoping that we will be able to clear that up. If the application is delayed, then payments will be delayed”.

The meetings will take place in Killaloe Community College, on May 2; Scoil Muire Ennistymon, on May 8; Kilrush Community School on May 15 and Ennis Community College on May 10.

The sessions are open to parents of Leaving Cert students and other adults, or mature students, who will be applying for maintenance grants. They will attended on the night by Mr O’Callaghan and VEC staff members.

THE POPULARITY of Shannon as Ireland’s low-cost airport continues, with the airport recording a 22 per cent increase in passenger numbers in the first quarter of this year.

According to the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA), for the first quarter of this year, 716,000 passengers used Shannon.

Over the Easter bank-holiday weekend alone, an estimated 40,000 passengers used Shannon – an increase of 28 per cent on last year.

However, the continuing growth at Shannon comes against the background of continuing uncertainty over the airport’s future with a recommendation by the Labour Court on the Dublin Airport Authority’s (DAA) €30 million ‘survival plan’ for Shannon imminent.

The DAA’s Director for Change, John Horgan and Shannon unions, made their case to the Labour Court on the March 24. Workers who decide to remain with the company will receive “substantial lump sum payments”.

Mr Horgan described the package on offer to the airport’s workers “as probably the highest severance package available in Ireland and probably the highest available ever”.

The package gives staff with over 24 years experience a €100,000 pay-off, while it also entitles workers to their company pensions at 55.

The Labour Court has been inspecting proposals by the DAA, which is seeking to cut its workforce at Shannon by 200, through the voluntary redundancy scheme.

“Based on the expressions of interest that we have had, I am completely happy that we will reach our target of voluntary redundancies,” Mr Horgan said.

The company’s proposals for Shannon involve the outsourcing of a number of sections. This is facing stiff opposition from SIPTU, which claims that the proposals would result in the displacement of over two hundred of the existing workforce and their replacement by staff on inferior pay and conditions.

A REPORT on the inquiry into the resignation of the most senior member of the county’s Vocational Educational Committee has been sent to the Department of Education and forwarded to the VEC.

Former CEO of the Clare VEC, Padraigín Úi Riordáin, informed the educational committee at its July 2004 meeting of her “involuntary resignation” from September 24 of the same year.

Her shock departure came just over two years after she took up the post.

An inquiry into the performance of Clare VEC and how it related to the CEO’s resignation was completed and the resulting report forwarded to all interested bodies last week.

At the July 2004 meeting, Ms Úi Riordáin received the support of the majority of VEC staff and members of the committee. At the time, the former CEO declined to elaborate any further on the precise reason for her unexpected departure. However, she admitted that she had taken legal action as a result of the resignation, and requested that the Minister for Education and Science establish an inquiry.

She later took up a new post as principal of a second-level college in County Cork. Chairperson of the Clare VEC committee, Clare County Councillor, Tommy Brennan (Ind) said that the inquiry was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Vocational Education Acts.

“The inquiry officer had full statutory powers to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence. The Minister or County Clare Vocational Education Committee has no power under the Vocational Education Acts to interfere with, or influence, the inquiry process.

“The statutory function to inquire into matters contained in the relevant terms of reference, rests solely with the inquiry officer,” he added.

“Any attempt by the Minister or the VEC Committee to assume a function in this regard would clearly be ultra vires. Therefore, the report prepared by the inquiry officer on foot of the inquiry cannot be re-examined or amended by County Clare VEC.”

While the Department of Education and Science has circulated copies of the report to those persons affected, it has also stated that “no further publication is anticipated or proposed”.

It was considered by members of County Clare VEC at a Special Meeting of the Committee held on Thursday last.

THE Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has given an undertaking that the voice of Ennis General Hospital Development Committee will be considered in a major review of acute hospital services.

But Clare Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen, has called on Ms Harney to “come clean and admit” that their assurances on the future of accident and emergency services at the Ennis hospital did not stand up.

Ms Harney promised to listen to the development committee, in a response to a Dáil question.

“Concerns raised by individuals and groups, particularly in relation to the smaller hospitals, and the work already undertaken by groups such as the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee, the Independent Reconfiguration Panel in the United Kingdom and the Nenagh General Hospital Action Group, will be taken into account as a key component of the review process.”

She said consultants currently undertaking a review of acute hospital services would make recommendations, “on the options for reconfiguring and redesigning services and, in particular, to identify the elements of healthcare that can be most effectively delivered at each site and set out what needs to be done to achieve this objective.”

But Deputy Breen claimed that the Tánaiste’s assurances put previous assurances “in a new light”.

“The future of such services will remain in doubt right up to the general election and, even then, the Government might hide behind its flawed mantra that management and delivery of health services rest with the HSE,” Deputy Breen said.

“This is an intolerable situation. We have had half assurances followed by fudge followed by silence, followed by withdrawals of statements. I have continually called for a clear statement from Minister Harney on this issue by way of Parliamentary Question and by letter, and every time the nub of the issue is ignored.

“However, it is clear now that the jury is out on the future of A&E services pending the outcome of the review of acute services. If the review goes against Ennis General, then the best the people of Clare can hope for is that they may be thrown the bone of guaranteed A&E services as a pre-election promise. This is a scandalous way to govern in a modern democracy.”

LAHINCH Golf Club are to invite new members to join, against a backdrop of accounts showing the club recorded a modest operating loss last year.

In his report to members, Captain of the Men’s club, Denis Creedon, said that moves had been made to open up membership.

Describing it as a “thorny issue”, Mr Creedon said that a sensible scheme had been supported by the club’s board of management and council to open up membership, in a limited way, over the next year or two.

Members attending the club’s annual general meeting last Friday were told that an operating loss of €42,767 was recorded, in contrast to the €139,782 operating profit of 2004.

The loss is being attributed to the €177,930 spent on upkeeping its links golf course last year. In 2004, the maintenance bill came to €139,925.

The golf club is one of the top visitor destinations in Clare and is vital to the north Clare economy and, in particular, to Lahinch.

Last year, the total number of visitors to the course was 19,146, compared to the 19,786 in 2004.

The golf club also encountered added catering costs, where it spent €47,353 in 2005.

This was almost triple the €19,309 spent on the same item in 2004.

Green fee income was slightly down on 2004. Last year, €1.515 million was generated, compared to €1.534 million the previous year.

The accounts also show that, last year, the golf club made no contribution to Lahinch Seaworld, whereas in 2004, it provided €15,000.

Total income stood at €2,630,327, which was down slightly on the 2004 income of €2,665,724. There was a slight increase in expenditure with €2.673 million in 2005 against the €2.525 million spent in 2004

However, the overall health of the golf club’s finances remain very good. The operating loss was wiped out by €55,000 in income from “overseas life membership”. The golf club has accumulated income of €4.509 million. The current membership stands at 2,187, which is a slight increase on the 2,142 members in 2004. The golf club is budgeted in 2006 to return to an operating surplus of €103,357, through increasing income by €200,000 in green fees.

But bar gross profit is anticipated to drop from €128,434 last year to €18,088 next year.

A DISTRICT Court judge has expressed amazement at the failure to ensure that witnesses for the prosecution against a garda were available when the case was fixed for hearing.

Judge Joseph Mangan turned down an application by the State to have the case against a Shannon-based garda adjourned because three witnesses, including the main witness, would be unavailable to attend.

Inspector Tom Kennedy had sought an adjournment in the case of Garda Pat Keating, of Woodlands, Cahercalla, Ennis, who faces one charge under the Public Order Act arising out of an incident at the Shannon Knights carpark, Tullyvarraga, Shannon, on March 13, 2004.

Inspector Kennedy told Judge Joseph Mangan that three of the State’s 12 witnesses would be unavailable to attend court for the case which was fixed for hearing on this Thursday (April 20).

Inspector Kennedy said the main witness, Ms Eavan Drysdale, would be out of the country on that date and that the trip had been arranged before the hearing date was set. Garda Keating was recently acquitted in the Circuit Court of threatening Ms Drysdale.

The Inspector said that two others would also be unavailable and that one of those would be sitting exams.

The Judge asked whether the State had ascertained what dates witnesses would not be available prior to a day for the hearing being set.

When told that the State had not done so, Judge Mangan replied, “That amazes me.”

Judge Mangan said that the State should have known whether its witnesses would be available on the day a date for the hearing was confirmed. He asked that Ms Drysdale appear before him in the afternoon to clarify the position in relation to her availability.

When the mother of two appeared in court later in the day, she told Judge Mangan that she had been asked by her employer to travel to Sweden on a business trip and that this had been confirmed two weeks ago.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett, acting as agent for Garda Keating’s solicitor, objected to the adjournment.

“Mr Keating already has his council booked to travel from Dublin for the hearing.

“He has made numerous attempts to have this summary matter dealt with as soon as possible.”

Mr Hassett added, “Mr Keating is on desk duty until this matter is disposed of and cannot return to active duty then. He is also suffering a loss of income as a result.”

A NUMBER of business owners in the Shannon Town Centre are making a very public protest in an effort, they say, to have their voices heard by the management of SkyCourt and Clare County Council.

A large banner with the words “What has happened to Shannon Town Centre” was unfurled across the Supermacs building at the SkyCourt Centre last Thursday.

The banner was put in place by the Supermacs management with the support of a number of neighbouring businesses at the centre.

“The banner went up on Thursday and it will stay up until the powers that be tell us to take it down,” said David Nevin, the franchise holder for Supermacs in Shannon.

“It is a last-gasp effort on our part to ask the developers and Clare County Council to take a look at the planning situation in Shannon.”

A number of disagreements have emerged in recent months between a group of businesses and the management at the centre – the most notable being the parking situation at the centre. The businesses are worried that the barriers entering the parking lot are causing a disruption for customers and encouraging people to shop elsewhere.

“We are all losing revenue because of this. I’d say it could be as much as a 15 to 20 per cent drop across the board,” said Mr Nevin.

“I have spoken to a lot of tourists who have managed to find their way into the centre, and they have all asked why it is so difficult to find your way inside.

“A lot of people have stopped coming to the Shannon Town Centre and are choosing to go to other places where the parking is free and there are no long queues to get in and out at barriers.”

According to Mr Nevin, the group have met with the management of the town centre on a number of occasions but have had little satisfaction.

“We had a meeting with the management of the town centre before Christmas about removing the barriers and they said that if they were to remove them it would confuse the people,” said Mr Nevin.

“They are treating us like a bunch of culchies. They think we need to treat the place like a land-locked fortress.”

The Clare People attempted to contact the management of SkyCourt, but no response was forthcoming at the time of going to print.

AN 18-YEAR-OLD youth from Galway, facing a charge of dangerous driving causing the death of two Clare teenage girls in 2003, has been jailed for six months in London for burglary.

The jail term imposed on David Naughton means a bid to extradite him in connection with the deaths in October 2003 of Stacey Haugh (16) and Lorna O’Mahony (13), both from Kilkee, will be delayed.

Naughton, who resided at a voluntary residential care unit in Galway before he skipped bail over two years ago, pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary of a dwelling in 2004, shortly after arriving in the UK.

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Naughton appeared in court on April 11 and received a six-month sentence in a Young Offenders Institute. Seven other offences were taken into consideration.

Naughton had previously appeared in court in England on a string of motoring charges, including aggravated taking of a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

It’s not clear how much of the sixmonth term he’ll serve, but gardaí are expected to seek his extradition on his release.

He is alleged to have been driving the car in which the two girls died. It hit a wall at Carrigaholt.

A bench warrant for Naughton’s arrest has remained in force here, since it was issued at Ennis District Court after he failed to appear for a hearing in February 2004.

After he was originally remanded to St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin, Naughton was granted bail at Ennis District Court.

He was later returned to St Patrick’s for breaching his bail conditions, but granted bail after telling a court that he had been assaulted by other inmates while in custody.

Soon afterwards, the accused fled to England.

In May 2004, Naughton first came to the attention of police in England.

The CPS confirmed that when Naughton appeared in court on those charges, his guilty plea to being carried in a motor vehicle taken without consent was accepted. But other charges were withdrawn, because police could not be sure whether Naughton was driving the vehicle at the time.

He was due to be sentenced for the burglary at Wood Green Crown Court on March 20.

On that date, however, probation reports sought by the court were not available and sentencing was adjourned until last week.

CLARE County Council has expressed concern over the visual impact of a planned 50-foot mast, to be built by telecommunications giant, O2 at Lisheen, Ballynacally.

In putting the plan on hold, the council concluded that the 15-metre high structure did not represent best practice and that O2 must considerably reduce the structure in height from what was proposed.

The proposal is facing widespread opposition from the local community, with 57 objections, led by the Lisheen Mast Action Group, lodged against it.

An objection lodged by the action group and signed by over 120 people, expressed health fears over the mast.

It stated that “the people of Lisheen have no desire to be included in a biological experiment.”

“Local residents living in the vicinity of the proposed mast are not prepared to be designated as human guinea pigs by either O2 or Clare County Council, by the adoption of a wait-and-see policy regards the potential for adverse health effects of this mast if it is built in our locality.

“The residents believe that the harm which would be caused by allowing the proposed development to proceed would greatly outweigh any advantages in terms of improved telecommunications infrastructure.”

The council concluded that the “proposed structure on this exposed and elevated site would . . . result in antennae being a prominent landmark clearly visible on the skyline when viewed over a wide area.”

O2 have also been asked to show the location and number of existing sites in the area; details on the impact of co-locating on another site; provide evidence that the area experiences poor quality and frequent lapses in coverage and elaborate on why efforts to date have not been successful. The company has also been asked to state why an alternative location on a less elevated site was not considered and was not possible and to submit evidence that they had sought to share existing facilities with existing licensed providers.

The company has already told the council that the site at Lisheen was carefully selected, bringing coverage to a wide area with a minimum of infrastructure and that O2 has investigated the possibility of co-locating with other operators in the area, though there are none present.

A decision is due later this year.

CLARE County Council is seeking to increase by 500 per cent the number of homes provided through contentious Government legislation, in order to drastically reduce its housing waiting list.

The plans mean the council will provide 73 affordable housing units this year.

At the council’s monthly meeting last Monday, it emerged that the authority had provided only 14 affordable homes through Part V of the 2000 Planning and Development Act.

Part V requires developers to provide cash to local authorities towards the provision of affordable housing.

However, at the council’s Special Policy Committee (SPC) on Housing last week, the Acting Director for Housing, Josephine Cotter-Coughlan, said that the council intended to provide 73 Part V Affordable Housing Units this year.

The 73 Part V units form part of the council’s “expanded housing provision” in 2006, by which the housing authority intends to provide 312 new homes.

Ms Cotter-Coughlan said that the council intended to start 114 social houses. Twenty-four of these would be located in Corofin, 20 in Miltown Malbay, 19 in Sixmilebridge, 16 in Killaloe, 14 in Scarriff, 10 in Kildysart, eight in Shannon and three in Lisdoonvarna.

Ms Cotter-Coughlan said that 46 turnkey starts would be provided with 22 Clarecastle, 14 in Lisdoonvarna and 10 in Newmarket.

She said that 49 starts for voluntary housing would be made this year, with 30 in Killaloe, 10 in Clarecastle and nine in Mountshannon.

The council is also planning to commence work on 30 “affordable homes” at Kilkee.

Ms Cotter-Coughlan said that the council also intended to purchase land at Newmarket, Lisdoonvaran and Ennistymon. Currently, the Council has a landbank for social housing in 10 settlements throughout Clare, including Ballyvaughan, Miltown Malbay, Kilkee, Corofin, Broadford, and Corofin.

However, there is a demand for social housing in 36 settlements and for affordable housing in 30 settlements.

The meeting was told that the council currently didn’t have enough land to complete its housing programme and was currently short 40 acres of land for sites.

Ms Cotter-Coughlan said that a major obstacle to achieving targets in the provision of housing are the continual difficulties in securing funding from central Government in the provision of water infrastructure in a number of towns and villages.

She said, “It is a major issue.”