Category: News

MEMBERS of Ennis General Hospital Development Committee have said they are “disheartened” but determined to fight on, following a week of confusion about the future of the accident and emergency service at the hospital.

The lobby group had just begun celebrating the arrival of a letter, which confirmed the future of 24 hour A and E at the county’s hospital, when a phone call said it had all been a mistake.

The letter from a HSE official stated “that a 24 hour A and E service will continue to operate at Ennis General Hospital. This service was recently enhanced by the recruitment of emergency care physicians.”

Just minutes after receiving the letter, the chairman of the hospital group Peadar McNamara received a phone call from a HSE official explaining that the letter was sent by mistake.

Days later, the hospital committee received a similar letter, with the same date – March 29.

Signed by the office manager for the National Hospitals Office, the significant opening paragraph confirming the future of A & E was omitted.

The new letter merely pointed to the on-going independent review of all acute hospital services in the mid west, which was to be completed at the end of the year.

A spokesperson for the hospital committee said they were concerned that such a review was taking place without any consultation with the group.

A CLARE politician who supports the use of Shannon Airport by US troops, has welcomed calls from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to have Shannon planes searched for rendition prisoners.

Green Party Councillor, Brian Meaney, said that the “taint of having any involvement in this inhumane business should be removed from Shannon.”

Councillor Meaney said that it was a “source of great shame that Shannon should be considered as a wayleave for these appalling flights where people are deprived of their basic human rights.”

The Clare councillor said that the “only thing we can do is to have any suspect flights searched. The US should allow us this freedom to ensure that Shannon is not tarnished with these allegations.”

UN Commissioner Louise Arbour said that more proactive initiatives on checking planes from states that could be involved in “extraordinary rendition” would be welcomed.

Arbour made the remarks while in Dublin last week to receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland and to visit the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC).

Earlier, the Government had restated that it was satisfied with assurances from the US that planes that landed here were not carrying prisoners bound for torture, after Amnesty International published a report, which stated that planes regularly used for rendition had flown through Shannon.

But speaking in Dublin, the commissioner said that the Government’s position represented an unsatisfactory approach.

“Wilful blindness on the part of

states to the ultimate purpose of ex-

traordinary rendition is unacceptable.

Where there is a risk of torture, there

shouldn’t be any resort to diplomatic

assurances,” Arbour said.

She said she understood that the

Government could board CIA flights

if there was any evidence that the

flights were being used for an illegal

purpose.

“In the current climate, I would wel-

come even more proactive efforts on

the part of all governments,” she said.

“I would welcome initiatives that

go beyond the legal requirements,

like seeking authorisation for random RESPONDING to question put to him by The Clare People , the acting Chief Fire Officer for Clare County Council, Anthony Travers, said that it is unlikely that John could have been saved if a better supply of water had been available.

“When the fire services arrived at the scene the fire was already well developed with flames coming through the roof,” said Mr Travers. “Any fatality that had occurred would have already occurred at this time.

“There is a programme ongoing in conjunction with the Sanitation and Water Services to map the locations of all the fire hydrants in County Clare.”

With each fire engine carrying approximately 400 gallons of water it is

searches. It would be a very good sig-

nal from governments to see for them-

selves what is happening rather than

rely on assurances.”

The IRHC commissioner, Michael

Farrell, welcomed Arbour’s com-

ments.

“We very much welcome the com-

ments of the High Commissioner on

the issue of extraordinary rendition

and her supportive attitude on the is-

sues in which the IHRC are actively

engaged, including the drafting of the

proposed UN disability treaty and the

position of migrants in Ireland.” not an uncommon practice for water ‘ferrying’ to occur in rural areas.

The Kilshanny and Kilfenora communities have been left devastated following the tragic fire.

“The first thing is the state of shock at what has happened,” said local Priest Fr Joe Roche. “He had been in the village earlier in the evening. He was a very well liked man from a very well known and liked family.

“There hasn’t been a tragedy like this in the area in a long time and the people are awfully shocked at what has happened. Words are fairly useless at occasions like these and it is the presence of friends and loved ones that will be of real support to the family.”

A Fianna Fáil Councillor has said that a clause in the Planning Act 2000, linked to a collapse in the number of affordable homes built in Clare, “has made a veritable ass of the intention of the original legislation.”

A mere 14 affordable houses have been provided in Clare in the five years since the controversial Part 5 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, was enacted.

“It makes the whole lot ineffective and inoperable,” said Councillor Tom Prendeville.

The Act originally stipulated that 20 per cent of all housing developments should be made available for affordable housing, or that sites for such housing should be provided by developers of all private housing schemes.

In 2004, the Government amended the act to allow developers make a financial contribution to local authorities in lieu of providing affordable housing, or sites.

The amendment has resulted in €365,840 been paid to the Clare County Council in two years, and as few as 14 houses contributed under the scheme.

From 2001 to 2003 inclusive, no financial, or housing contributions were made to the council under Part 5, with €121,900 contributed in 2004. All of the 14 affordable houses in the county were allocated in 2005, as well as €243,940.

Councillor Prendeville lays the blame for what he describes as the “buy out” clause in the failure of the system with the Government.

“The county council has no option but to accept it,” he added.

Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) said that there should be no opportunity for buy out.

Independent Cllr Martin Lafferty told the adjourned March meeting of the council that people who qualified for social housing could no longer afford houses, even under the scheme.

Describing the situation as a “thundering disgrace” Cllr Martin Conway (FG) blamed the financial institutions for the spiralling cost of houses.

Meanwhile, the councillors agreed with Cllr Bernard Harahan (FF) that the council give due consideration to single fathers when allocating houses in the future.

In response to the motion, a council official said that consideration was given to this category when allocating dwellings.

“In recent allocations the council has commenced accomodating fathers who have either joint custody or approved access to their children,” she added.

A NEW mid-west private medical facility will provide services for Clare patients and take some strain off existing public services, people attending Ireland’s first National Private Healthcare Conference has heard.

Limerick’s new 95 acute bed private hospital which is being built on the southside of the city on the Dock Road, was one of the sponsors of the conference held in Dublin last week.

The Blackberry will provide one floor dedicated to day procedures, containing two minor procedure/day surgery theatres and 12 recovery suites for day care patients.

It will also provide a dedicated surgical floor, providing four full specification operating theatres, six intensive care units, 12 high dependency bedrooms, 65 additional private en-suite bedrooms, 14 beds in semi private accommodation, as well as 16 beds in four dedicated respite units, to provide care to long term or terminally ill patients on each of the remaining two floors. Physiotherapy facilities and consultancy suites will also be provided in the new hospital.

Shay Sweeney, managing director, Blackberry Properties Ltd said that “step down, long stay and intensive nursing patient care will be provided at the hospital, which will ease pressure on the existing hospital services”.

He added that it was “important that debate is stimulated as to the type of healthcare service we want to develop for the future.”

The conference was opened by the Tánaiste and Minister for Health, Mary Harney TD.

NEWS that Clare will most likely be ruled out of any boundary extension to Limerick City has been welcomed by local representatives.

Councillors in the South East Clare area have been campaigning against a bid to take parts of the county into Limerick city, under an extension of the city boundaries.

Labour councillor, Paschal Fitzgerald, said that he was pleased with the decision. “Now that Clare will not be touched, we can hopefully get on with other business.”

He added that now that the county was to keep the South East area, the local authority would have to fully take ownership of it.

“The county council will have to recognise that East Clare needs more facilities, such as community centres. The authority needs to show East Clare that we are staying put.”

Cllr John McInerney(FG) said that he was “delighted” with the decision. “If Limerick moved in from that side and Galway from the other side, we would be left with a county no bigger than Leitrim.”

He added that on the ground “most people are very pleased. It is a sensible decision. Limerick gets Limerick and Clare keeps Clare.”

But there was some disquiet among the local representatives about the fact that the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, was bringing the Clare County Manager to the table of the boundary commission.

The move puzzled Councillor Cathal Crowe(FF), who said that there should be no need for Clare to be involved with talks on the boundary extension.

“I am glad the Minister has taken this decision, particularly at a time when we are voting in the county council on important plans for the area. For instance, we have money for play facilities and Parteen and Meelick need playgrounds. I am pleased that we can now move ahead on these issues.”

“I’m still a bit dubious that our county manager is being called to Dublin.

“We should not need to be at the negotiating table if Clare has been ruled out of consideration for inclusion in the extension.”

He added that Clare County Council could continue to work alongside Limerick, as it had been doing in the spatial strategy, but should not be dragged into the formal decision on the boundary extension.

A NORTH Clare-based legal firm is to demolish an extension to its offices it built without planning permission.

Architects for solicitors Chambers & Co. have confirmed that the extension at Parliament St., Ennistymon, is to be knocked.

Earlier this year, the council refused an application to retain the building.

The council had served a warning letter on the firm, after finding that the extension was built without planning in Ennistymon’s Architectural Conservation Area (ACA).

Now, in a letter to the council, on behalf of Chambers & Co., architects, Leahy and Conway, have confirmed that the extension will be demolished in due course.

However, the company is planning to build a new extension to replace the one that is to be demolished with a number of variations.

That plan is facing opposition from neighbours, Sean and Carmel Conway.

“This extension, which is similar to what presently exists, will have a very serious and detrimental effect on our home, our privacy and natural light,” the couple claim in their objection.

“The proposed alteration by Chambers to rear to the their offices on Parliament Street will result in the virtual loss of natural light to a substantial portion of the upstairs of our home.

“Prior to the construction of their unauthorised development, we benefited from sunlight for much of the morning, early afternoon and brightness from what remained.

“If this new proposed development does go ahead, the situation will not change and we will continue to have virtually no daylight for much of the upstairs.

“The proposed structure is not appropriate, or suitable, for Ennistymon that has a wealth of history and tradition. Furthermore, it will overshadow its neighbouring houses on both sides in a similar manner as the present unauthorised development does presently.”

The Conways also claim that the structure constitutes a comprehensive overdevelopment of the site.

“This issue has upset us very much and is now going on for several months.

“What is being proposed does nothing whatsoever to address the issues that we have raised previously.”

A decision is due on the application later this month.

THE search for a man who went missing from his home close to Gort last week intensified yesterday, when the Garda Water Unit began searching a river in the town.

Ernie Cooke (51), walked out of his family home near Kilcolgan during his breakfast last Tuesday morning. His distraught wife Mary and two young daughters have not heard from him since, while gardaí say his bank account has not been touched in the interim.

Ernie’s wife Mary told The Clare People that her two daughters – aged seven and nine – just want to see him return home.

“They just want their daddy found. They ask ‘Is daddy home yet?’” she said.

“We are extremely worried, but have to keep channelled on finding Ernie. He is normally very conscientious and this was totally out of the blue. He upped and left during breakfast. It was in the middle of breakfast. He had put the milk in his cup, he has a habit of putting the milk in the cup first,” she said.

Ernie has suffered from depression since November.

“For some reason he got this notion to go. When I realised he was gone, I followed him, but I lost three or four valuable minutes,” she said.

Mary pursued her husband, in a car, but could not find him.

She remains optimistic that he will come home.

“He is probably just wandering around. He may be just confused. We are appealing to Ernie to come home,” she said.

There have been numerous reported sightings of Ernie, originally from Donegal, over the past week. However gardaí say many of those reports are adding to confusion.

Extensive searches have taken place over the past week in parts of Galway, Clare and Limerick, on the foot of reported sightings. Several of Ernie’s work colleagues from Crown in Galway, travelled to Ennis last week, in the hope of locating him.

Initial reports suggested he travelled, via bus, from Gort to Barefield on Tuesday. He was also reportedly seen at Ennis General Hospital and in parts of Limerick and Dublin.

“The search is now being refocused, after a week of pursuing reported sightings,” said Gort Superintendent Paul Mockler, who is leading the investigation into his disappearance.

“All of the reported sightings have been looked into, without any success. There have been conflicting reports. He can’t be in all places at one time,” he said.

It’s understood that a relative of the missing man received a telephone call from a woman claiming to be a nurse, who said he had been checked into hospital in Ennis. However, despite intensive efforts, gardaí could not locate him there.

CLARE politicians have appealed to their Limerick city council colleagues to withdraw their application to extend the city boundary into Clare, in light of a statement from Minister Dick Roche during the week.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, said he was not convinced that an expansion of the city boundary into Clare was an option, “given the attachment of the people in the area affected to their county”.

The minister was responding to an application by Limerick City Council to extend its boundary into counties Clare and Limerick, an application that has been opposed by the two county councils.

“As a first step, I propose to invite the three (Limerick city, Limerick county and Clare county) managers to meet with me, to see if a suitable process can be put in place.”

Senator Brendan Daly (FF) has now also called on the city council to withdraw its application to extend into Clare.

“There is no point in following this application, when the Minister has said it is not an option,” he said.

The senator said that if the application was withdrawn, it would show goodwill between Limerick City and Clare County Council, allowing a good working relationship to develop for the benefit of the people living in the 1,621 hectares in Clare under dispute.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen has accused the Minister of “fudging” the issue.

“The Minister has taken a long time to deliberate on this. He said at the Ógra conference that he would make a definite decision. I believe he has now fudged it.”

While welcoming the Minister’s indication that the boundary should not be extended into Clare, Deputy Breen said, the issue had “not gone off the agenda unfortunately”.

Limerick City Manager Tom Mackey told The Clare People that he expected to get notification of the meeting with the Minister and two county managers shortly.

Minister Roche said there were a number of options which should be explored by the three councils.

“These range from increased cooperation on a voluntary basis, formal co-operation/service provision across existing boundaries, possible changes to the boundaries between the two Limerick authorities, right up to novel institutional arrangements, which could apply across the whole metropolitan area – for example in the area of planning.

“I strongly believe however, that the maximum consensus on such issues should be arrived at locally, in advance of any direction from central government,” he added.

CLARE County Council has granted planning permission for a €40 million development that is set to transform the village of Clarecastle.

The council has granted planning to Tom Lavelle and Adrian Callanan for 92 new homes, 25 commercial units and a crèche on Clarecastle’s Main Street.

Clarecastle member of Clare County Council, Bernard Hanrahan (FF) said, “The development will bring the heart back into Clarecastle. The village’s Main Street has suffered in recent years with shop closures, but this development will bring life into the village.

Councillor Hanrahan said that the proposed development “will make Clarecastle more like a town, but we don’t want to lose its village identity, but this is a very progressive development”.

“Progress in Clarecastle has been held up because there has been no bypass, but that is all about to change.”

The decision by the council coincides with plans being lodged by CLS Crystal Partner Ltd for 219 residential units at Clareabbey, Clarecastle.

The development includes 72 semidetached homes, 21 terraced homes, 22 townhouses and 104 apartments in three residential blocks.

Cllr Hanrahan said, “It is inevitable and welcome that these lands around Clareabbey are to be developed because of the ease of access on to the Ennis bypass.”

The zoning of large parcels of land for residential housing in and around Clarecastle and the provision of infrastructure through a Serviced Land Initiative (SLI) has made the area a target for developers.

Allied to the zoning is the opening of the Ennis by-pass next year which will open up further areas of land and make Clarecastle a more attractive place to live with the by-pass marking the end of grid-lock in the area.

In relation to the Lavelle/Callanan development, the Council granted planning permission having regard to the area zoned as a local service centre and the high quality layout, design and finishes at an important gateway.

It granted planning permission having regard to the nature, scale and intended use of the site, the policies of the County Development Plan and pattern of development, it will not seriously injure amenities and not be prejudicial to public health.

The Council state that the development will not have a significant negative impact on the area.

A SHANNON-based garda has appeared in court, accused of committing a public order offence.

Garda Pat Keating (33), with an address at Woodlands, Cahercalla, Ennis, is accused of engaging in disorderly conduct, at Shannon Knights carpark, Tullyvarraga, Shannon, on March 13, 2004.

At Ennis District Court last Friday, solicitor Daragh Hassett, acting as agent for Garda Keating’s solicitor, said he was seeking a date for the case to be heard.

“It will take at least three hours. There will be a very lengthy cross examination,” said Mr Hassett.

Inspector Michael Gallagher said the State was ready to go ahead with the case. He indicated that there would be twelve State witnesses. Mr Hassett said there would be at least three defence witnesses.

Mr Hassett said the accused had only received five statements from State witnesses and would be seeking statements from the others.

Inspector Gallagher said the accused should liaise with the superintendent in Kilrush on that matter.

The case will be heard later in the month.