Category: News

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has advertised to recruit a GP for Quin, allaying fears that the area would be left without a permanent local doctor.

The HSE has decided the post is viable, even though the previous GP had only 76 medical card patients on her panel.

Last year, Dr Eileen Hassett retired from her post and the time taken by the HSE to replace her raised fears locally that she was not to be replaced.

Since Dr Hassett’s retirement, a locum doctor has provided services to the thriving village. The HSE is due to shortly hold interviews for the post. Deputy Mayor of Clare County Council and Quin-based councillor, Sonny Scanlan (FG), welcomed the move.

“It is very important that Quin holds onto its permanent doctor so I’m delighted that the HSE has advertised for the position.

“The last few months have been the first time in living memory that Quin has been left without a permanent doctor. There has been a massive increase in the population of Quin in the past 12 months and there is a definite need for a permanent doctor and a chemist, as I believe that Quin is one of the few villages in Clare without a chemist.”

Already, over the past decade, two other Clare villages, Quilty and Crusheen, have lost their GPs.

According to a HSE statement, “the GP in Quilty retired from his position on June 30, 1994. As his panel list was small, it was decided not to fill the position and the patients were given the opportunity to choose another GMS Doctor in the area. Most of the patients transferred to the doctors in Doonbeg, Kilmihil and Miltown Malbay”.

In relation to Crusheen, the HSE statement stated that “the arrangement some years back was that one of the doctors in Ennis provided medical services from a centre in Crusheen and, following his retirement, the doctor in Tulla continued with this arrangement. However, as the numbers attending were very small, the doctor, with the approval of the Health Board, discontinued the arrangement.”

Most Crusheen patients now seek treatment in Ennis and Tulla.

IT WAS close but when the winner was finally confirmed another World Championship gold medal was on its way to Whitegate.

26 year old Derek Malone produced the race of his life to win gold at the International Paralympic Committee World Indoor Games in Bollnas, Sweden last weekend. The Clare man edged out Russian rival Valerij Stepanskoy in a thrilling climax to the 400 metres, classes 36/38 event, in a winning time of 55.89 seconds. Trailing for the first 200 metres, Malone dug deep to snatch victory on the finishing line. The closeness of the finish ensured there were a few anxious moments as the race officials deliberated over the photo finish.

“It was very tight,” said Derek. “I was behind for the first part of the race and I just took it on the very last stride. There was a photo finish and the officials were checking just to make sure that no one had broken the line or anything. It was a relief.”

The IPC World Indoor Games at Bollnas is the first global indoor IPC athletics competition. It offers Paralympic athletes an opportunity to compete in winter as well as summer and is a step towards periodisation, where athletes try to peak twice a her mother, Mary, says that the plucky youngster never complains. “She would love to be able to go out with her friends but she can’t do those things. But if I’m low, she’s the one who tells me it will be all right. She never complains – she just says she’s fine.”

Having to watch her diet closely means that Sara can’t eat anything with a high salt content and she is restricted in a range of foods.

“I’d love to eat a packet of Tayto,” she told the Clare People “one of the hardest things is having just one night a week where I don’t have to be on the machine.” year instead of just once.

Having devoted most of his training to preparing for the outdoor season and in particular the World Outdoor championships in Holland this September, the weekend’s victory was an extra bonus for Derek, who usually competes in the 800 metres.

“I have dropped down to 400 for this season and so far my progress has been okay. but I would be looking to improve,” said Derek.

His latest title adds to an already bulging medal cabinet that includes a silver medal from the 2003 European Championships, two gold medals from the 2001 World CP Championships and a bronze medal won at the 1998 World Championships.

Derek’s mother Anne said she was immensely proud of her son’s latest achievement.

“I’m delighted, he has worked so hard and he has put his life on hold to compete. It’s wonderful to see the hard work pay off. You could never tell him not to do anything because he will just go out and do it,” beamed Anne.

Now Derek has his eyes firmly on the 2008 Beijing Paralympic games. His success could have knock on benefits for other athletes with dreams of competing at the highest sporting level. Sara has been on the transplant list for 18 months and needs an adult kidney, but she is also an uncommon blood group, making a donor organ even more difficult to get.

As well as the ten hours a day of home treatment, Sara has to travel to Dublin regularly for specialised blood tests and this means leaving home at 5.30am and not getting back until around 8.30pm, when she has to get hooked up to the machine.

Her mother explains that the whole family would benefit if Sara got a kidney. “We can’t think about taking a holiday. Even on a day out, we have to be ready in case a call comes. We don’t think too far down the road but we know it could be much worse.”

CLARE County Council has expressed serious concern over contentious plans for a €25 million housing development in Kilkee, because they don’t include enough houses.

The council has told developers Paddy Madden, Barry Madden and Jerry O’ Sullivan that the 60 homes planned for Dough, Kilkee aren’t enough. There must be greater density before their proposal gets the green light.

Council Planners have pointed to a policy that requires developers to make maximum use of land in an appropriate manner, in order to encourage a more sustainable pattern of development.

Twenty-five units per hectare is the minimum allowed.

The Dough plan had already run into local opposition. One local woman, Martha McGreen, warned the council that Kilkee was “losing the very charm that had made it so popular over the years”.

The town was losing its identity, she claimed.

She questioned how locals could afford to buy in Kilkee, or build there with the current zoning restrictions.

Independent town councillor, Dr Tom Nolan, has raised similar concerns and has called for developers to be obliged to provide social and affordable housing in the area.

“The sad truth is that local people can and never will be able to live in Kilkee unless developers are compelled to provide social and affordable housing in the area.

“No infrastructure, either social or essential, has been provided for the surge of holiday homes in Kilkee and it is not sustainable. Why doesn’t someone shout stop?”

Apart from the housing density of the Dough proposal, the council states that it has serious concerns for pedestrian safety and the piecemeal approach to the overall development of the land.

“Accordingly, the council is not favourably disposed to grant permission as it stands.”

However, planners add that the “council may be favourably disposed towards an overall comprehensive development of the entire lands zoned for residential housing”.

The applicants have six months in which to respond to the council’s request for further information.

THE annual Organ Donor Awareness Week campaign begins on April 1 with the aim of encouraging people to carry an organ donor card and give the gift of life.

There are currently more than 550 people in Ireland awaiting life saving organ transplant operations. “The amount of operations performed is dependent on the goodwill of the public and their decision to carry an organ donor card,” a spokeswoman for the Irish Kidney Association said.

On January 1 of this year, there were 1,364 people on dialysis with almost 1,150 of these on dialysis in hospital and 220 on dialysis which is conducted from the home.

In 2005, more than 200 lives were extended and saved by organ transplantation including heart, liver, kidney, pancreas and lung. In 2005, there were 129 kidney transplants, of which two were living transplants, as compared with 147 kidney transplants in 2004.

For the second year in a row there has been a record number of liver transplants with 57 being recorded in 2005 as compared with 45 in 2004. There was an increase in the number of heart transplants last year with 11 taking place in 2005 and just 7 in 2004. Eight lung transplant operations were performed on Irish patients last year, 3 of which took place for the first time in Ireland and the remaining, 5, in the UK. Five pancreas transplant operations took place in 2005 and these were done in conjunction with kidney transplants.

This donor card campaign is organised by the Irish Kidney Association, the national organisation which distributes the organ donor card in Ireland and promotes the welfare of kidney patients.

THE small size of bedrooms planned for a new housing development in Ennis helped convince An Bord Pleanala to overturn planning permission granted to the developer.

The board denied planning permission to property developer Joe McNamara to build 159 homes on Golf Links Road.

Mr McNamara had already run into trouble, with residents claiming that the development would undermine the “established integrity of the golf course”.

They also claimed the site was too isolated from the town. Ennis Golf Club did not oppose the proposal.

In its direction on the residents’ appeal, the Board stated that it had concerns regarding the quality of the proposed housing layout.

The board also cited the proximity of houses to the new Western Relief Road.

But the size of the bedrooms in the proposed houses, and the poor quality crèche facilities, also came in for criticism.

The Board wasn’t convinced that the site could be drained properly. Lands for drainage were outside the control of the applicant. This drainage problem constituted the Board’s primary concern.

The Board said that it would necessitate connection across the new Western Relief Road, which has been constructed below the level of the site.

The proposed development would, therefore, be prejudicial to public health and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, the Board concluded.

However, the report of the Board’s inspector leaves the door open for Mr McNamara to re-lodge revised plans. The report states that the proposal “is broadly acceptable in principle”.

“I don’t believe that planners give due consideration to building design when adjudicating on decisions. That is wrong, because building design can often dictate the quality of life people have in these estates,” said Cllr Brian Meaney (GP).

“My opinion is that there have been some horrendous housing estates built to satisfy investor demand rather that residential demand in Ennis and its environs.

“These homes are not family- or community-friendly. They are investor-friendly and consideration has to be given to this in the future, otherwise there will be social consequences to be had.”

FINE GAEL Deputy Pat Breen has defended his voting record in the Dáil, following revelations that he was present for less than half of the 137 votes taken in 2005.

Deputy Breen was present for 47 per cent of the votes, with Independent Deputy James Breen there for just over half, or 58 per cent of the votes.

Pat Breen told The Clare People that the figures were misleading as he was in the Dáil every week.

He also cited his role as Fine Gael’s sole member on the Council of Europe and that most of the council’s meetings took place on Wednesdays.

Some 48 per cent of last year’s votes were taken on Wednesdays.

“The record will show that I attended seven meetings in Europe last year,” he said.

He said that as a member of the party’s executive, he had to attend meetings in Head Office mid week.

Deputy Breen also suffered bereavement in his family last year, which might have had a slight affect on the voting figures.

“I like to spend as much time as possible in my constituency,” he added.

“The 47 per cent vote does not reflect the 100 per cent commitment I give to the job,” he said.

He also pointed to the location of his office, beside the party whip’s, “which makes it easy for me to facilitate pairs with the government,” he said.

James Breen welcomed the publication of the figures, claiming a whispering campaign in the county was misrepresenting the amount of time he was spending in the Dáil.

“I want to make it categorically clear that I missed no session in the Dáil in 2005, except in March and October when I was away on parliamentary business.”

He said that he also paired with TDs who had a genuine reason, and who might not have been able to get a pairing from their whip.

The Independent deputy was critical of the lack of any mechanism to record an abstention from a vote, a right that TDs use from time to time. Clare’s two junior ministers Síle de Valera and Tony Killeen were present for 70 per cent of the votes, taking part in 96 votes in total.

CLARE Green Party councillor Brian Meaney wasn’t winning any popularity contests at the party’s conference in Kilkenny this weekend when he came out in support of US military use of Shannon Airport.

The councillor made an impassioned plea at the conference that people would begin to look at increasing flights into Shannon rather than decreasing, or ending, them.

Speaking to The Clare People , Cllr Meaney said that his position was a practical one. There would be civil war in Iraq if the US military pulled its troops out now, he said.

He was concerned by protesters at the airport, who included some members of his party, demanding the US got “out of Shannon, out of Iraq”.

“The Americans have made their bed in Iraq and now they have to lie on it,” he said.

Cllr Meaney said he was never in favour of “the coalition of the willing” going into Iraq, but believed that the US must stay there to help prevent greater bloodshed.

“It is necessary to allow America to use the airport. . . It is to ensure that a bad position doesn’t get worse”.

He said “rendition” flights of terrorist suspects were a different matter that no right-thinking person could condone.

The councillor referred to the number of young, frightened soldiers he had seen passing through the airport, many of Irish descent.

He is also concerned that more pressure may come on the US government to pull out, as elections approach and the loss of American lives continues. Withdrawal must not be allowed happen, he said.

Cllr Meaney received only limited support from his party colleagues for his views at the conference.

However, it was not just Cllr Meaney that came under fire from fellow delegates when they met in the Newark hotel in Kilkenny.

The party also rejected a call led by the party’s deputy leader Mary White to allow corporate donations.

On this issue, Cllr Meaney told the conference that he believed the Green Party should accept donations from green industries that shared the party’s agenda.

VISITORS to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis can still bring fresh cut flowers when visiting patients, but are warned to leave the gift at home if the patient is transferred to Limerick.

The new policy, described by a spokesperson for the HSE Mid Western area as a matter of hygienic house keeping, results from a belief that infection control in Limerick’s hospital is more urgent than in Ennis or Nenagh.

“Concerns of hygiene are sharper in cases of acute hospitals,” a HSE spokesman said.

The ban in the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick will begin on Easter Monday April 17.

The latest national hygiene audit gave the hospital a poor result, at 65 per cent.

The ban on fresh flowers is now commonplace in many acute hospitals, according to the spokesman.

Fears of allergies, accidents arising from water splashing or broken vases, as well as infection, are among the reasons cited to support the ban.

Patient support groups have warned that the ban on flowers could seriously wilt patient’s spirits.

Another critic is a member of the Department of Clinical Microbiology, in Beaumont Hospital.

In a letter to The Hospital Infection Society’s publication, Mr H Humphrey said that infection could be acquired from potted plants or flowers and could arise where organisms colonised the water, or soil,

“However, for the vast majority of patients in hospitals, or in other healthcare facilities, fresh flowers, or potted plants do not represent a risk of infection,” he added.

“Fresh flowers often bring much pleasure and joy to patients who are ill and who may be depressed. Indeed for terminally ill patients, it may be their last chance to see flowers and inhale their scent.”

Separately, a new traffic management system at the hospital in Dooradoyle will see an increase in the cost of paid parking.

The €1.20 all-day fee will increase to €1 per hour, from May 1.

Euro Car Parks have been awarded the contract to operate the new traffic management system. There are no plans to impose pay parking at Ennis general hospital.

CLARE’s three main towns are putting final touches to their ceremonies to commemorate the 1916 Rising.

Ennis Town Council will hold a civic ceremony to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the rising, on Easter Sunday, April 16. The ceremony will take place at the 1916 Monument, Club Bridge, Abbey Street, at noon.

The civic ceremony will involve the attendance of the Army Reserve to raise the National Flag followed by a reading of the 1916 Proclamation in English and Irish. Ecumenical Prayers in English and Irish will be said for all those who died. Ennis Mayor, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind), will lay a wreath at the monument. The Ennis Brass Band will also be in attendance and will play the Last Post, Reveille and the National Anthem.

Kilrush will also honour the men and women of 1916 with a special ceremony. At 1 pm on Easter Sunday, independent TD James Breen will give an oration before a wreath is laid at the Town Hall. Shannon will put the final touches to its plans tonight. Unlike the other areas, the people of Shannon will pay tribute to those who died on the actual anniversary of the Rising, April 24. Early indications suggest the ceremony will take place in the early evening, with the raising of the flag. Once again the Last Post and Reveille will be played before those attending adjourn to the library to listen to speakers on this date in Irish history. Local children may then play a short film followed by some poetry.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis that the Government wanted next Easter to “be an expression of our pride as a nation in all those who took part in the Rising and the subsequent War of Independence”.

“As far as I am concerned, Collins, DeValera, Griffith and many of their leading contemporaries, were all great Irishmen, who played an equal and honourable part in winning Ireland’s independence, as did many distinguished women patriots,” he said.

“It is my firm intention to mark, in the most inclusive possible manner, the passage into history of both these great achievements and deep wounds associated with the transition to political independence.”

BUSINESS leaders in the Mid West have called for a multi-million tourism campaign which would last a minimum of seven years and promote Shannon Airport in North America.

They say that for the airport to meet the challenges of the new Open Skies deal, it must be left debt-free, be properly resourced and given a first class infrastructure.

The demands are contained in a report on the impact of Open Skies, launched yesterday.

The document is the result of a survey of companies in Limerick and Clare carried out by IBEC and the Chambers of Commerce in Ennis and Shannon.

Entitled ‘Embracing The Challenges and Opportunities of Open Skies’, the report calls for:

*Shannon International Airport to become a fully resourced, debt-free and independent entity.

* Adequate financing and cost competitiveness, so as to provide a full range of supports for airlines to develop new scheduled transatlantic services on a year-round basis.

* Accelerated Infrastructure delivery so that Shannon’s catchment is expanded significantly, creating a vibrant market demand for transatlantic services and ensuring it can compete with Dublin.

*A major multi-million annual tourism campaign in North America to be undertaken for a minimum 7-year period, which promotes Shannon’s transatlantic services as the gateway to the greater West of Ireland region, commencing in Autumn 2006.

A total of 123 companies, employing 19,756 people in 2005, responded to the survey. Total turnover of respondents amounted to €6.12 billion in the same year.

Of the 123 respondent companies, thirty were US and 3 Canadian multinationals.

The report also found that a serious reduction in connectivity could impact over the medium to longerterm on future investment plans of individual companies with knock on implications for employment in the West of Ireland.

IBEC’s mid-west Business Development Executive, Donncha Hughes, briefed an audience in the Shannon Shamrock Hotel in Bunratty at the launch of the report last night.

“Shannon International Airport is a major driver of economic growth firstly in attracting companies to the region and secondly in providing cost effective international access for companies located in the catchment area,” he said.

“To illustrate the importance of Shannon International Airport, 85 – almost 70 per cent – of respondents indicated that they agreed that ‘the current level of access and connectivity from Shannon Airport to the US and Canada is vital for the company’s continued competitiveness’