Category: News

OBJECTORS to the chosen site for a new bridge to span the River Shannon are to hold a public meeting to rally support for their stance.

John Young, chairman of the objectors group, recently wrote to all of those directly affected by the decision on the route of the bridge, inviting them to a meeting to discuss the issue.

With a turnout at a meeting last week of more than 60 local people, Mr Young said the group was “heartened by the level of interest and support. We are now planning to have a further, public meeting to let people know what is happening and to formulate a strategy of opposition.”

He stressed that the people involved with his group were “not anti having a new bridge across the Shannon. We are very pro having a bridge. But this is not the right location for it.”

The decision to site the new bridge at the historic Clarisford Palace in Killaloe and Roulagh Cross on the Ballina side was announced a few weeks ago. A second crossing, to be completed at a later date, is expected to be located just below O’Briensbridge.

The project will involve the demolition of at least one house and will cut across land close to St Anne’s Secondary School.

The route was decided on after the completion of a constraints study report on eight different locations by consultants, RPS MCOS.

Locals angered by the choice of route say it will be a danger to the heritage of the town and to 400 students who attend St Anne’s. They fear it will bring huge volumes of heavy traffic into the town. The objectors say that in routing the bridge in front of Clarisford, the council proposes going through land, which has been “consistently protected by an Bord Pleanála because of the heritage importance of the house”.

The group also believe that “not enough consideration has been given to the rate at which Killaloe is expanding and the extra amount of traffic that this will generate,” said Mr Young.

Local councillors from Clare, Tipperary and Limerick attended the meeting of affected residents in May’s Bar last week.

The next meeting will be an open, public one and will be held on Monday, March 20, at 8pm in the Kincora Hall Hotel in Killaloe. Anyone interested in the issue is welcome to attend, the chairman said.

THE 32 members of Clare County Council last year scooped almost €1 million between salaries and expenses, figures released by the council reveal.

The figures show that the members shared €880,513 in 2005 with Clare’s Mayor, Councillor Patrick Keane (FF) accruing the highest amount at €37,842. That is some €7,000 more than the average industrial wage.

Cllr Keane came out top through the mayor’s allowance, which provides €22,500 and €7,500 for his deputy, Sonny Scanlan (FG).

The figures published are inclusive of the taxable €15,330 salary received by councillors.

Cllr Keane maintained this week that he was “good value” for the money received. Speaking days after being released from hospital after suffering from exhaustion, Cllr Keane said, “I would be on top by virtue of the mayor’s allowance and living the furthest from Ennis.”

Councillors living the furthest away from Ennis are paid the highest amounts to attend meetings, while those living in Ennis receive the smallest amounts.

“It is a major disadvantage in living in west Clare having to travel to Ennis all the time to make representations, but you have to get on with it,” he said.

Fine Gael’s Councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn is unique amongst Clare’s councillors in not claiming any travelling expenses for conferences last year.She received the lowest expense amount at €19,916. The average pay out was €27,516.

The figures also reveal that €11,561 was spent by councillors on foreign travel last year to the Western Isles in Scotland. It cost €5,832 to cater for Councillors John Crowe (FG), John McInerney (FG), Martin Lafferty (Ind), Joe Carey (FG), Tommy Brennan (Ind), Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab) and Tony O’Brien (FF).

It cost €2,088 to send councillors on a fact-finding mission to Portugal. The councillors on that trip were John McInerney, Pascal Fitzgerald and Tommy Brennan.

It cost the taxpayer €3,641 to send Councillor Pat Daly (FF) to represent Clare at the New York St Patrick’s Day parade.

Another globetrotter was Councillor Flan Garvey (FF) who went to Melbourne, Australia as part of a twinning expedition – the cost to the tax-payer: €2,618.

Chairpersons of the Council’s Special Policy Committees (SPCs) also feature high on the list as they receive €5,078.

They are obliged to hold only four meetings each year, though most hold more.

FURTHER prosecutions against owners of licensed premises across Clare over fire safety issues are pending according to Clare County Council.

The Council’s Director for the Environment, Ger Dollard said he “very much welcomed” last week’s fine of €1,500 on Ennis hotel nightclub, The Queens, for breaching fire regulations.

At Ennis Circuit Court last Wednesday, The Queen’s Hotel pleaded guilty to failing on December 19, 2004 to ensure that doors, gates and other-like barriers to access escape routes were not secured in such a manner that they could be easily and immediately opened by persons in the place of assembly.

Judge Carroll Moran said, “The inability of the people to escape is a serious matter and it is only weeks after the anniversary of the Stardust tragedy and that puts into context the seriousness of this matter.”

Clare’s Chief Fire Officer, Adrian Kelly told the court that a joint team of five fire officers and eight gardaí carried out an inspection while a disco was taking place.

“The nightclub is normally a well-run establishment. We had received complaints of overcrowding, but we found very little,” he said.

Chief Kelly said that in 30 years of operating the business, The Queen’s Hotel had no previous convictions. A follow-up inspection on December 20 found that all locks were removed and the doors were opened, while by the following Wednesday, a new exit was in place that would make the premises much safer. Michael Collins BL, defending, said the doors were temporarily locked to prevent people accessing the hotel from the disco for a late drink.

“The company accepts that the doors shouldn’t have been locked.

Fining the defendants €1,500, Judge Moran said that he had to take into account the significant factors that the hotel acted quickly to address the matter and they had no previous convictions in over 30 years in the business.

After the court hearing, Hotel General Manager Maurice Walsh said that the doors were closed ten minutes in advance of when they should be by human error and they were not a main exit.

“The door in question was manned and operational until ten minutes before closing. The directors of the hotel have strict policies in relation to fire safety and have provided and continue to provide on-going fire safety training for all staff.

“Since this event, extra exits have been installed and all systems audited to ensure a similar occurrence will not take place. We continue on a regular basis to work with the Fire Officer to ensure all systems are within best code of practise for such venues,” Mr Walsh concluded.

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy who bought a knife in a shop in Ennis and then attempted to rob a shop in Cloughleigh has been handed a three-year detention sentence.

The youth, who is now 17 and who cannot be named because of his age, admitted a charge of attempted robbery, on November 3, 2004.

Sgt Frank Naughton said a woman was working in the premises, a small supermarket, on the date in question.

Two people, the accused and another man in his 20s, wearing balaclavas and carrying what she thought were knives or screwdrivers, entered the shop.

He said the other man – who was not before the court – ordered her to hand over money.

Sgt Naughton said the woman, who had the “daylight” frightened out of her, got a stick and threw it at the man in his 20s.

She activated the alarm and both the accused and the other man ran out.

The two men were seen hiding in the bushes near the shop and gardaí were notified. A knife and balaclava were recovered from the hedge nearby.

Sgt Naughton said the accused told gardai he had bought a knife in Mary’s of Ennis.

The accused said they both ran into the shop. The other man ran in around the counter and demanded money. Sgt Naughton said nothing was taken in the incident.

Defence barrister Pat Whyms said his client was led by the other man.

Judge Carroll Moran said he took on board that the accused was not the main participant, but that the incident was “a serious matter” in a local shop in a local community.

He noted that the case was not returned for trial until over a year after the offence.

“I do point out that there has been considerable delay in this case. It may be for good reason,” he said.

He imposed a three-year detention sentence on the youth and backdated it to January 2005, giving him the benefit of time spent in custody.

The boy is currently serving a two-year sentence for a separate offence.

A COMPANY director who had been convicted in court over a claim for a windscreen has had the conviction overturned on appeal, at Ennis Circuit Court.

Justin Wall (46), of Western Garages, Mill Road, Ennis, had been convicted and fined €1,250 at Ennis District Court last October, after he was convicted of claiming for a damaged windscreen without the consent of the customer in question. On that occasion, the court was told he instructed another person to process a motor insurance claim without the consent of the insured person.

Agnes O’Loughlin of Glencurragh, Ballyvaughan told the Circuit Court last week that she traded in her car at Western Garages early in 2004.

There was a tiny mark on the windscreen after a chip had hit it some time previously, but she said she never discussed this with the garage. She received a letter from FBD Insurances in April 2004, advising her that her claim had been dealt with. This surprised her as she hadn’t made a claim. When she saw a copy of the claim she knew it was not her signature and said she hadn’t given anybody permission to forge her signature.

The court heard FBD Insurances paid a total of €224.15 for the replacement.

Paddy Kelly of Ennis Windscreen and Exhaust Centre who fitted a new windscreen, told the court, “I filled up the form. I signed Agnes O’Loughlin’s signature.”

He said he was not instructed by Justin Wall at any stage to forge Mrs O’Loughlin’s signature and said he did it “solely out of convenience.”

Justin Wall told the court the car would not have passed the NCT as there was a stone mark on the windscreen.

He said the issue had been a “huge embarrassment” and “a slur on our reputation”.

Defence Counsel, Pat Quinn said Mr Wall had been in business for the past 25 years and has never come to the adverse attention of gardaí.

“He honestly believed he had the authorisation of Mrs O’Loughlin to do what he did. . . he may be many things but he is not a criminal,” said Mr Quinn.

Judge Carroll Moran said it was accepted that Mrs O’Loughlin’s evidence was truthful and said it was “unwise for parties to forge her signature.”

He said a jury would unquestionably acquit Mr Wall and he allowed the appeal.

ONE of the country’s leading campaigners for the homeless has backed a proposal for a homeless hostel in Ennis.

Fr Peter McVerry, who has long championed the cause of homeless people through his work with the Arrupe Society, was in Ennis last week to speak to parishioners at Ennis Cathedral to mark the season of lent. After the mass, he told The Clare People that the provision of adequate housing and hostel services for the county’s homeless would only be beneficial in the long run.

“I would always say that the neighbourhood is actually much safer when people have somewhere they stay rather than out on the streets. If they are out on the streets then they are going to be far more trouble to the local community.

“A kid that is tucked up in bed at two o’clock in the night is not out robbing the neighbours. The neighbourhood is safer when we provide these services. If we fail to provide these services, then these people become increasingly angry, increasingly desperate. It creates more fear and more insecurity for the neighbourhood.

“I think leaving people to sleep rough on the streets has no benefit to anybody in the community”.

In December, the Society of St Vincent de Paul announced that the number of people presenting as homeless to Clare County Council’s homeless unit had doubled since 2003 from 247 to 544 last year.

The organisation intends lodging plans with Ennis Town Council for the development of a homeless hostel. But it has stated that it has encountered difficulties in acquiring a site.

Fr McVerry said he understood the concerns of local communities in relation to homeless hostels, but that from his own experiences working in Ballymun, people had little to fear.

“I think that the real issue is how the hostel is managed.

“If it is properly funded and managed, local people have very little to fear, but I can understand the fears.

“It is a major problem trying to get a location. If it is managed and funded by a really reputable body then I think local people have very little to fear”.

But Fr McVerry said the Government remained uncommitted to social and affordable housing, which would help alleviate homelessness.

“The social housing waiting lists doubled throughout the core years of the Celtic Tiger. They are now at an all-time high”.

THE jobs of 110 people working at the Whelan Group’s flagship operation outside Ennis could be under threat following Clare County Council’s restriction of a multi-million euro expansion of the operation to a ten-year lifespan.

Last month, the planning authority granted Whelan Limestone Quarries permission to expand its Fountain operation, but refused planning for two sectors of the plan and ordered that the permission expire after 10 years.

However, in a comprehensive appeal against 12 conditions contained in the planning permission, the Whelan Group has stated that the 10-year restriction “could jeopardize the longterm employment of 110 people that depend on this quarry for their livelihood.”

The Whelan Group had sought permission to extend the life of the quarry by 26 years.

In its appeal, the group states that the 10-year approval “represents only one third of the rock reserves for which planning was sought and this will represent a very short life span of the quarry.” The restrictive conditions “could also endanger the long-term availability of rock aggregates . . . and this may result in the development of other greenfield sites as quarry operations instead of expanding the lifespan of well established quarry that has been in operation since the 1950s.”

They have also raised concerns about the council’s requirement that a separate planning permission be sought for the upgrading to the quarry on the Lahinch Road.

The council gave the go-ahead for much of the plan last month in spite of strong local opposition.

A decision is expected on the appeal in August of this year.

A “BOY racer” who paid almost €1,000 in fines because of a noisy exhaust on his car has now lost his job because of all the time he has spent in court answering summonses, a judge was told.

Twenty-year-old Brian Keane of Kilcolumb, Kilmaley, in Ennis was before Ennis District Court on a summons for having no silencer. After hearing evidence from Garda Michael O’Halloran, who stopped Keane on May 29, the defendants’ solicitor, Daragh Hassett, said his client was “a car enthusiast, some would describe them as boy racers.”

He had been summonsed four times before for the same offence and had paid almost €1,000 in accumulated fines as a result.

“He’s been in court on four Fridays since Christmas and he has now lost his job,” Mr Hassett said, adding that he had pointed out to Keane that his enthusiasm for cars had cost him the job.

The solicitor asked Judge Joseph Mangan to consider imposing a smaller fine because of what his client had lost.

Keane was fined a further €100 and his driving licence endorsed.

THE Urban and Village Renewal Schemes have brought confidence and viability to numerous communities across the county, according to Clare County Council.

The council this week released an update on its projects under the €2 million 2005 to 2006 scheme.

Six of the 13 projects are nearing completion. Work is to begin on three more shortly, with the remaining four described as “progressing” in 2006.

The enhancement of Knock Pier and park area, as well as the upgrading of the seaside amenity in Cappa, Kilrush is almost completed, according to council officials.

The enhancement of Shannon’s Corrib Drive and other parts of Drumgeely, the provisions of a playground and upgrading of the area around the community centre in Doolin, the development of an amenity scheme in Shannon Bank and the development of a river walk in O’Briensbridge, are also expected soon.

Work is about to commence on three key public sites in Clare. These are at Spanish Point, Allender’s Field in Kilkee and Clarecastle.

The UVR funding is also providing much needed improvements and environmental enhancement to the popular beach area of Spanish Point. In Clarecastle, a public park will be made out of a large area of unused land enclosed by the GAA ground, old and new housing, and the local primary school.

Throughout 2006, works will also be progressing in Kilfenora with the upgrading of the square. Environmental works to include landscaping, furniture and park upgrading will take place in Mountshannon. Environmental improvements in accordance with the community development plan, are scheduled for Tuamgraney. Shannon Town Roundabout will be upgraded with the incorporation of a newly commissioned sculpture.

THE woman at the centre of the ‘Ennis pigeon war’ has hit back at the objectors to her pigeon loft, claiming that they have a “personal vendetta” and are “clutching at straws”.

Last week, Ennis Town Council deferred making a decision on the application by May Guilfoyle to install a pigeon loft at her home at 24 Marian Avenue, pointing out that there appeared to be some discrepancy in the drawings submitted.

The application by Mrs Guilfoyle is the source of a bitter dispute, which threatens plans by her son, George Guilfoyle to continue housing 30 racing pigeons at the house.

Their next door neighbours, John and Mary Flynn have told Ennis Town Council that they now regard themselves as “being prisoners in their own home” due to the presence of the pigeons. Solicitors have become embroiled in the dispute ,

The Guilfoyle’s is the only Clare loft ever to come away with a national title, while a number of Mr Guilfoyle’s pigeons have secured numerous runners-up titles. Marian Avenue Residents’ Association have lodged a letter and petition supporting the Guilfoyles.

In their objection, the Flynns stated that they were not aware of the existence of the Residents’ Association.

However, in a rebuttal letter lodged with the council, Mrs Guilfoyle stated, “We are very surprised, in fact, appalled, to hear that Mr and Mrs Flynn have never heard of the Marian Avenue Residents’ Association. One would anticipate that having lived in a closely knit community for 20 years that Mr and Mrs Flynn would be at the very least be aware of the existence of a residents’ association

Mrs Guilfoyle stated, “Photographic evidence can show that pigeons have been kept at 24 Marian Avenue prior to 1985 and Mr and Mrs Flynn bought their house knowing that pigeons were being kept there . . . Therefore, it would appear that perhaps there is another motive to objecting to the planning application and we would politely suggest that in our opinion, the objection is one of a personal nature rather than that of noise, nuisance or dirt.”

Mrs Guilfoyle also refutes a claim from the Flynns that they counted 64 pigeons in the Guilfoyle loft, stating “ . . . we like to keep on average 30 pigeons in the shed. As there is another pigeon loft next door, one wonders whose pigeons Mrs Flynn was counting.”

A decision is due on the application next month.