Category: News

A MAN who admitted handling stolen property has been warned by a judge that he may face a six-month jail term.

At Ennis District Court, Mark Mooney (29), of Cahercalla Estate, Ennis, pleaded guilty to handling stolen property in the carpark of the social welfare office, Kilrush Road, Ennis, on December 15 last.

Mooney also appeared on a charge of interfering with a car in the carpark on the same date. Inspector Michael Gallagher said the accused was arrested a short time after gardaí received a report that a man was interfering with a car. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen property, on the same date. The court heard that when arrested, he had the stolen property on him.

Defending solicitor, Tara Godfrey, said her client had significant addiction difficulties, going back a number of years. She said he had suffered from depression and was dependent on prescription drugs.

He is attending Sláinte, on the recommendation of psychiatrist, Dr Moosajee Bhamjee. Ms Godfrey asked for an adjournment, for Dr Bhamjee’s report to be compiled. Judge Joseph Mangan agreed and said, “my intention is six months imprisonment. I doubt very much Dr Bhamjee is going to change my mind in any way.”

A MAN who gardaí say went on a 10day crime spree has been remanded in custody after a court heard a fear that he would re-offend if granted bail.

Patrick McNamara (29), from Miltown Malbay and with an address at Lisdeen, Kilkee and also of no fixed abode, appeared before Kilrush District Court, facing five charges.

He pleaded guilty to trespass, at Kilkee Bay Apartments, on March 21 last; trespass at Cunningham’s caravan park, Kilkee in January; and with entering Matt Lernihan’s garage as a trespasser and stealing €36 of petrol at Cree, Kilkee, on March 17 last.

He also admitted driving without insurance at Ennis Road, Kilrush, on March 19.

Detective Garda Michael McDonagh said the accused broke into an apartment at Kilkee Bay Apartments on Saturday, March 18 last and made it his own to live in.

In January, McNamara entered a mobile home at Cunningham’s caravan park and made it a place of abode.

He forced open a lock on a door at Lernihan’s garage in Cree, turned on the mains for petrol and filled the car with €36 of petrol before leaving the scene, on March 17.

The court was told McNamara had 25 previous convictions, including convictions for deception and false pretences and several for motoring offences.

Det McDonagh said the accused was “on a serious crime spree.”

“I believe Mr McNamara has serious problems, one of the most serious problems of any individual I have come across. Something is amiss there . . . he admits his crimes and then goes out and commits more crime,” said the garda, who added that “more serious charges” would be brought against him.

“He is living off his wits and in relation to the people of west Clare, he is committing crime after crime,” he added.

“I do believe the way he is at the moment, he will re-offend.”

“He has kept us very busy for the last 10 days in Kilrush. It is one thing after another. If he goes out again he will re-offend. There is no doubt in my mind,” he said.

His solicitor, John Ryan, said this case centred on a housing need. He said his client has made efforts to secure accommodation in west Clare.

Judge Joseph Mangan remanded him in custody to appear again in court later this week for various reports on him to be heard.

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.

A GARDA traffic unit focusing on the east Clare area is to be established in Killaloe within weeks, The Clare People has learned.

The unit, consisting of a sergeant and five gardaí, will compliment the existing Garda Traffic Corps, which is based in Ennis and covers the county.

The establishment of the unit will be paralleled by an increase in size of the traffic corps, based in Ennis, will also be increased in size. All of the changes are due to be finalised by June.

Garda sources say the establishment of the unit in Killaloe follows the increasing number of serious road crashes in that area over the past few years. Traffic members will also clamp down on a spate of crime in the area in recent months.

Overall, the Garda Traffic Corps in the division is to double in size by the end of next year.

This comes amid figures, which show a dramatic increase in the number of drivers arrested for drink driving, across the division. The number of drivers caught speeding is also on the increase.

“It was decided to locate the new unit in Killaloe, given the number of serious accidents there last year. We feel it is needed there,” said a Garda spokesman.

“It is hoped that this will create more visibility in rural areas. Traffic enforcement and crime prevention are the two main aims. The area has been susceptible to burglaries over the past 18 months in particular,” he added.

“There have been quite a number of fatal accidents on the N7 Limerick to Dublin road over the past year and we believe Killaloe would be an appropriate place to locate a second section of the traffic unit,” he said.

East Clare Councillor Paschal Fitzgerald (Lab) welcomed the decision to set up the unit in Killaloe, saying it was a necessary move.

“It is about time. We have been waiting for this for a long time. Speeding is an issue all over the country and it is great to see an initiative being taken,” he said.

He expressed hope that the increased Garda presence may assist in the fight against spiralling crime in the area, most notably burglaries.

“There are only three gardaí in Ardnacrusha. It is great to see the extra gardaí being put in the area. Visibility is important. Hopefully these gardaí will be seen in the housing estates,” he said.

TWO Clare schools have been selected for inclusion in a new initiative aimed at improving the educational needs of children from disadvantaged communities.

Ennistymon Vocational School and Ennis Community College have both been invited to join the newly-established School Support Programme (SSP).

The programme is being run by the Department of Education under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) initiative.

The decision on whether or not to join the scheme will be made by the boards of management of the schools concerned.

DEIS was launched by the department in 2005 in order to effectively prioritise and address the educational needs of young people in disadvantaged areas.

DEIS has so far been rolled out to 600 primary schools in 300 rural and urban areas and 150 second-level schools. It will be implemented on a phased basis over five years and will involve additional annual investment of some €40 million.

It will also involve the creation of 300 additional posts across the education system.

Addressing the monthly meeting of the board of County Clare VEC, CEO, George O’Callaghan welcomed the news that Clare schools had been invited to participate in the scheme. He added that the invitation might yet be extended to other schools within the county.

“The Department has written to more schools in the county who haven’t been included, to make a case. I know that the schools that have been involved have benefited from the extra resources,” he said.

THE number of people arrested for drink driving over the bank holiday weekend almost doubled, when compared with the same period last year.

Nine drivers were arrested on suspicion of the offence between Friday and yesterday (Monday). Three of these were in Ennis, while the rest were in various parts of the Clare Garda Division. This compares with five arrests during the same weekend last year.

It represents an increase of 14 per cent on last year and a phenomenal 54 per cent increase on the number arrested two years ago.

The head of the Clare Garda Divisional Traffic Unit, Inspector Kevin Moynihan, said the rising trend of arrests for drink driving was a concern.

“It is a worry, but it seems to be mirroring the national trend. There is a high level of enforcement. Hopefully people get the message,” said Inspector Moynihan.

The number of arrests for drink driving each year is continuing to rise in Clare. A total of 283 people were arrested during the whole of last year, which was an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year.

Garda sources said a “significant” number of people from Eastern Europe were arrested for drink driving in Clare in recent months and said this was contributing to the overall figure being so high.

Meanwhile, new measures which will see penalty points imposed for a further 31 offences are due to come into effect at the start of next month.

These include illegal overtaking, failure to obey traffic lights and failing to obey stop and yield signs.

Gardaí using the new hand-held computer system, introduced in recent weeks, say it is working well, with no major problems to-date.

AN East Clare-based woman with the chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, has suffered another setback in her planning troubles with Clare County Council.

Last year, Denise Mitchell of Aughinish, Ogonnelloe, was refused planning permission by the council and An Bord Pleanála to retain her home.

Ms Mitchell chose to live in Ogonelloe due to her hyper-sensitivity to air pollution.

She erected her demountable timberframe house without planning, resulting in the county council serving an enforcement notice on her. Following An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse planning permission, Ms Mitchell applied to retain the small demountable home for agricultural and horticultural structures. Now that has been refused as well.

Ms Mitchell’s plight received no sympathy from objector Jim Sheridan of Aughinish, Ogonelloe.

“How many bites at the cherry will the applicant be granted?” his agent asked the council. “The application for retention has no bearing or relevance, whatsoever, in relation to the enforcement obligations of the council. We would submit that the present application, apart from the intended use, is similar in all respects to the earlier opportunities and permission should be refused.”

The council upheld Mr Sheridan’s views, refusing Ms Mitchell on three separate grounds, including scale, visual impact on Lough Derg and traffic.

Ms Mitchell declined to comment on the council’s decision and has until tomorrow (Wednesday) to lodge an appeal.

THE Central Waste Management Facility at Ballyduff Beg could face another rap over the knuckles from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) following the latest alleged breach of its licence.

Local resident Perry Longe told The Clare People that documents which were required to be available for inspection at the Waste Management Facility were not available on last Thursday, March 16.

The EPA licence states that written documentation which relates to the licensed activities and “copies of the environmental monitoring results and reports” have to be kept on site and available for inspection at all times.

“I asked for both and they didn’t have either. They said that the documents had been removed to head office so that they could prepare for the court case,” said Mrs Longe.

“This amounts to another breach of the licence. They must have €20 million gone into there and if they cannot afford to keep duplicates then there is something seriously wrong.”

Last week it was revealed that local residents John Long along with Tom Harvey and his children Damien and Edel had instigated legal action against Clare County Council, over the operation of the facility.

The four people, who all have houses in close proximity to the Waste Management Facility, are seeking damages as well as the closure of the landfill facility at Ballyduff Beg.

They have been advised by their legal representatives not to speak to the media while the case is pending.

“I feel that it is a vindictive act in retaliation for the court case which is being taken by some of the local people here,” continued Mrs Longe.

“Nobody knows how long these documents might have been missing for. Between March 1 and March 16 there is no way of knowing.”

In January, the Community Liaison Committee for the facility sent a letter of complaint to the EPA informing it of alleged breaches in the licence over the Christmas period.

These breaches concern the closing of the facility’s ninth landfill cell, which the committee have claimed was disturbed without informing the EPA in writing, in compliance with the licence.

The waste management facility has threatened to divide the local community in recent years with local councillor Flan Garvey (FF) receiving a soiled article about the dump, anonymously, in the post before Christmas.

A 30-YEAR-OLD man was arrested in connection with an arson attack on a house near Kilkee in the early hours of Sunday.

A vacant house at Lisdeen, Kilkee, was set alight at around 2am. Substantial damage was caused to the interior of the house, causing damage worth several thousand euro.

A man from west Clare was arrested a short time later. He was detained at Kilrush Garda Station, before being released without charge. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

There was no-one in the house at the time. One unit of Kilkee fire brigade attended the scene. It took firefighters almost two hours to quench the blaze.

Gardaí say they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.

“The house was completely destroyed by smoke inside and we are satisfied it was set on fire maliciously,” said a Garda spokesperson.

“The man we arrested is from the area and is known to gardaí,” added the spokesperson.

Gardaí believe that diesel was used to light the premises.

Separately, gardaí are investigating a fire that caused extensive damage to a forest in Lissycasey on Sunday.

The fire broke out at lunchtime and raged for several hours, before being brought under control at around 8pm. Four units of the fire brigade and a water tanker fought the blaze throughout the evening.

Gardaí are appealing for members of the public who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area on Sunday to contact them.

A CAMPAIGN by two Clare Steiner Schools for official recognition has hit a snag with the news that the Department of Education has been unable to process their application for recognition.

The Department of Education has informed Clare VEC that it is currently not in a position to process the application for recognition of the two primary schools at Raheen Wood School Tuamgraney, Scariff and Mol an Óige, Ennistymon.

The Department has cited technical difficulties in the dual application as the reason for the delay. The difficulty in the process is believed to centre on the issue of Clare VEC serving as patron for both schools.

However Clare VEC believe that the Department have wrongly interpreted the regulations concerning patronage and believe that the organisation is entitled to serve as patron for both Mol an Óige and Raheen Wood.

CEO of Clare VEC, George O’Callaghan, confirmed the delay at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the board.

He said that he would be meeting with Department officials to further discuss the matter.

The Board of Clare VEC had previously accepted a proposal to become conditional patron of the schools provided both received official recognition from the Department of Education.

In order for the application process to be finalised, the schools must first agree to the curriculum as set out by the department.

In the case of Mol an Óige, recognition would allow them to pursue a permanent site for a school building.

“There was some suggestion that there might need to be a change of patron, but it is certainly the case that Clare VEC are entitled to act as patron,” said Cllr Flan Garvey (FF).