Category: News

VISITING restrictions have been put in place at two of Clare’s largest hospitals following detection of 19 cases of the winter vomiting bug.

Yesterday, the Health Service Executive Mid West Region confirmed an outbreak of the highly infectious virus in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis.

Fourteen cases were confirmed among patients and five among staff there. A further four suspected cases were reported in Unit 7 of St. Joseph’s community hospital in Ennis. Strict infection precautions have been put in place.

Norovirus, more commonly referred to as the “Winter Vomiting Bug,” is a community infection, with outbreaks in hospitals simply a gauge or reflection of what is happening in the community, according to the Department of Health.

Visiting restrictions have therefore been introduced at the hospital and anyone wishing to visit is requested to check with reception staff, or contact the hospital.

“Attendance at the Accident and Emergency Department should only be if absolutely necessary,” said a HSE spokesperson.

“Out patient, day care services and routine hospital admissions are not affected,” she added.

The public are also requested to co-operate fully with the advice and instruction of staff.

“All the usual infection control measures have been employed and anyone wishing to visit the unit is asked to check first with hospital reception,” warned the HSE.

The bug was detected at the hospital a year ago. According to the National Guidelines on the management of outbreaks of the Norovirus Infection in Healthcare Settings, such outbreaks are not completely preventable, but they are controllable.

There is growing international evidence that thorough hygienic measures can effectively minimise the impact of this virus.

Ireland had 148 outbreaks caused, or suspected as being caused by Norovirus, which produced about 7,500 cases of illness, in 2002.

This compares with 63 outbreaks and just over 1,000 cases of illness in 2003.

“This is fairly typical of what we know about the behaviour of this virus.

“It comes in waves, producing extensive continent-wide outbreaks every four or five years,” said Dr Paul McKeown, Specialist in Public Health Medicine, NDSC and Chairman of the Viral Gastroenteritis Sub-Committee.

GARDAÍ are hunting for a gang who they believe are responsible for a spate of post office robberies in the east Clare/north Tipperary area over the past few months.

A woman in her 40s endured a terrifying ordeal when she was tied up and locked in the bathroom of her home, adjacent to the post office in Whitegate in the early hours of last Wednesday.

Three intruders, wearing balaclavas and carrying a baseball bat, broke into her home and tied her up, at around 3.20am. She remained tied up until another family member arrived on the premises shortly after 8am.

The men fled with what gardaí described as “a very small sum” of cash, after they failed to gain entry to the safe.

An aluminium folding ladder, with the initials “EW” written on black marker, was found at the Whitegate premises, the bottom rung of which was green. Gardai say this did not belong there. They have urged people to check their premises, to see if a ladder is missing.

Inspector Kevin Moynihan said a link between this robbery and post office robberies in Broadford – in which €30,000 was stolen – Kilkishen and various parts of north Tipperary in recent months was been investigated.

“We are certainly actively pursuing that there may have been a link between the Broadford post office robbery in November and this one. There is a possibility that other post office robberies in north Tipperary and Clare were carried out by the same gang,” said Insp Moynihan.

He is advising people to have alarms fitted to their premises and to ensure they are connected to a monitoring station.

“People should look at the possibility of having CCTV cameras installed. These people would case the place a day or two before carrying out a robbery, maybe not buying much, but paying attention to a premises.”

Senator Timmy Dooley (FF) said the break-in at Whitegate should prompt An Post to improve security measures at rural post offices..

A spokesperson for An Post would not comment publicly on security matters.

But she said the company would spend €15 million on security across the national post office network this year.

CLARE businesses are getting letters from debt collectors and bills for thousands of Euro for ads which they say they were not even aware they ordered.

Spanish based company, European City Guides (ECG) has been sending unsolicited letters to Clare companies, says Paul Woulfe of the Citizen’s Information Centre (CIC).

“We have had numerous complaints about this company,” he said. “The form they send first asks for updated details on the business for inclusion in an inter-professional CD rom.

“This is cost free but further down the form, where the recipient is asked to sign, it says that signing is placing an order for an insertion in the guide which THE Drumellihy/Westby Group Water Scheme in Cree has been granted €12,715 in funding as part of the CLÁR top-up funding.

This will enable works amounting to €35,570 to be carried out at the site. The remaining amount will be paid by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and by private contribution from the Group members.

Three households will benefit from the scheme with savings of €4,238 per household. costs €857.

“And this also involves placing an order for the following two editions at the same cost each time.

“The form is very confusing and a lot of people have been caught, and then they get bills for thousands of Euro for insertions which they never intended to purchase,” said Paul.

Paul added that when business people refuse to pay up, the company hands the matter over to a Swiss-based international debt collection agency “and they send out very intimidating, legalistic letters and in some instances, there have been phone calls asking for payment every day.”

When the CIC brought complaints made to them forward to the director of consumer affairs’, they were informed by the communications unit that as the ECG is a Spanish based company, the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs has no powers to intervene.

But the spokeswoman at the unit informed the CIC that there are now a number of judgements against the company “with regard to breaches of Spanish misleading advertising legislation in forms circulated in 1998 and 1999. A further action was taken against ECG in March 2001 and the judgement was accompanied by a fine of €22,000.”

The spokeswoman said that in the last four years, the Spanish Consumer Department has “received more that 3,500 claims from 40 countries from companies and professional workers concerned by the ECG.”

The company changed the form which it has been sending out and the Spanish authorities have said that the new form is acceptable.

But while in theory the Spanish company could get a judgement against debt defaulters which could then be processed through the Irish courts, the CIC is advising people who have been getting bills not to pay up.

“We believe they are targeting small businesses who pay because they are afraid of having huge court bills if the matter goes to court in Spain.

“But there is not one single instance in which ECG has taken this course,” said Paul.

The Clare People put the issues raised to the company by email, as requested by them. There was no comment available at time of going to press.

THE number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to Clare County Council dropped by 18 per cent last year, while the council’s refusal rate increased by 19 per cent in the same period.

Comprehensive statistics provided by the council’s Freedom of Information Unit reveal that since its inception, the council has received 522 requests during the eight-year operation of the legislation. However, over the past five years, the number of requests has almost halved, from the high of 97 in 2001 to 55 last year – a drop of 43 per cent. The council’s refusal rate has fluctuated over the past five years with the average, over the eight-year operation of the scheme, at 32 per cent.

The figures show that of the 38 decisions made, grants were made in 12 decisions, nine were part-granted, while 17 were refused. Over the eight years, the council department which has been the subject of most FOI requests has been Planning, receiving 23 per cent.

Environment received 19.5 per cent, and Housing 15 per cent. Forty-five appeals were made internally against decisions to refuse or part-refuse.

At this month’s adjourned council meeting, the decision to refuse details of bonus payments to the County Manager and Directors of Service prompted Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) to claim that there was a creeping culture of secrecy in the public sector.

TWO Clare primary schools which follow the Steiner method of instruction have moved a step closer to achieving official recognition from the Department of Education and Science.

Raheen Wood School Tuamgraney, Scariff and Mol an Oige, Ennistymon both applied to County Clare VEC to act as patron of the schools so they could progress to stage two of a process that would see them gain official Departmental recognition. To finalise stage two the schools must agree to the curriculum as laid down by the Department. In the case of Mol an Oige recognition would allow them to pursue a permanent site.

The Board of Clare VEC last Thursday accepted a proposal that would see the VEC adopt the role of patron for both schools, provided the Department of Education and Science first grant recognition to both. The Raheen Wood School was established over 20 years ago and transferred to Tuamgraney in 1996. Like Mol an Oige, established in September 2005, it has followed the Steiner method of instruction.

The proposal was put forward by Cllr Peter Considine (FF) who said that stage two should go ahead on the basis that it imposed no financial impact on Clare VEC. He was supported by Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) who added that the Steiner system was a very advanced style of education and it shouldn’t be subject to suspicion.

“The Steiner system operates at secondary and primary and in some instances is probably more advanced than the system we espouse,” he said.

George O’Callaghan, CEO Clare VEC confirmed that any wage costs would be handled by the Department but that in the case of Mol an Oige official recognition may have implications for student and teacher numbers in schools in the Ennistymon area.

FAILTE Ireland has pledged to spend €9 million this year to try to get more tourists to come to the Midwest region and to spend longer here once they arrive.

The cash injection comes as figures were released which show that overseas visitors spend less and stay for shorter times than visitors to any of the country’s other six tourism regions.

Failte Ireland research shows that overseas visitors spend €261 on average.

This is in comparison to the south-west, where the average visitor spends €413 and the west where the spend is €368.

And while visitors to the Midwest stay an average 3.7 nights, visitors to the west stick around for 5.3 nights and spend an average of six nights when they visit the south-west.

The money will be used for marketing, business supports, training and backing Shannon Development. Now management consultants,Mayday have been engaged by Failte Ireland to set up a network of workshops for people in the tourism industry.

The workshops are to start straight away and participants in the courses are promised they will improve their business performance, get greater visibility in the marketplace, increase their productivity, achieve higher standards and better customer value and greatly increase confidence in their management skills.

WORKERS at Shannon Development are “flabbergasted” over comments made by chairman, Liam McElligott that there is now alignment in thinking between the Board and staff over the future development of the company.

A spokesman for staff at Shannon Development told The Clare People this week, “The staff are flabbergasted by Mr McElligott’s comments and his lack of grasp of the situation. He obviously doesn’t appreciate the depth of feeling by staff at what is being done to the company. His comments have resulted in a further distance between Board and staff.”

Earlier this month, at a press briefing to mark the publication of Shannon Development’s end of year statement, Mr McElligott said: “I am quite confident now that there is alignment in our thinking,” when asked about ongoing tensions over the future role of the company.

The spokesman said, “Mr McElligott’s comments are demoralising for staff as they infer that there is now tacit approval by staff of the company’s new mandate, and give the impression that everything is sorted. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Currently, staff are refusing to co-operate with the implementation of the new mandate, pending the outcome of talks between SIPTU and the Department of the Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The mandate would see Shannon Development lose its core enterprise functions to Shannon Development and the IDA.

The spokesman added, “There is real anger and weariness at Mr McEliggott’s comments. This re-affirms SIPTU’s call for the present Board to resign en masse. They are not in touch with what is going on.”

Asked are staff confident that Shannon Development will hold onto the promotion of Shannon Free Zone in their talks with the Department, he said, “We are confident that we have made a very good argument. As to whether we will be successful, I don’t know.

“If it does proceed, it will lead to an impoverished situation for the company and drastically weaken its ability to do positive things for the region as Shannon Development has been a lynchpin in a lot of things.

“In practice, it will reduce Shannon Development to a property management company. And we are very disappointed over the lack of analysis behind the decision to revise the mandate.”

MEMBERS of the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee are to meet with members of the HSE this Thursday, just a week after the group nailed questions about the future of the hospital to the door of the organisation’s regional head quarters in Limerick.

The sheet contained questions for the HSE’s chief executive Brendan Drumm, who the group say has refused to meet them despite numerous requests.

A spokesperson for the lobby group told The Clare People that the group met with the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach and got clarification on the hospital’s future from them.

“The third person we need to find out from is Professor Drumm, and not get half assurances from a more junior employee,” he said.

“We have made it as simple as possible for him, as we drafted a form with simple yes or no answers and sent it to him by registered post.”

When the HSE Chief forwarded the letter to be dealt with by another staff member, the group nailed the form to the HSE doors in Limerick.

In response to the protest the HSE said, “The group knows the score perfectly well. They met the hospital network manager in October and then cancelled a further meeting.

“As far as the HSE is concerned, the door is open if they wish to meet us again. The decision is theirs.”

The hospital group accused the HSE of spinning the truth. The group admitted that it cancelled the meeting but argued that it was scheduled for the national day of protest and some of its members including its chairperson, long-time trade unionist Peadar McNamara, had to attend the protest.

While the members of the Ennis General Hospital Development committee were nailing their questions to the door, there were nine people waiting to be admitted to the hospital through its accident and emergency unit, the largest in the Mid West Region.

The following day, the number had decreased to three according to the HSE. The number waiting in St John’s Hospital Limerick was four, which decreased to two, and the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick reported four people waiting in A and E, which was also reduced to two the following day.

APPROXIMATELY 20 per cent of on-thespot litter fines went unpaid in the county last year.

While the number may seem quite high it is significantly less than the national average, where it is estimated that as many as two in every three litterbugs escape without paying any penalty.

Last year Clare County Council issued 228 litter fines.

Ennis Town Council was ensuring that the county town held its tidy town status and issued 363 offenders with litter fines, while Kilrush Town Council issued a total of 14 litter fines.

Of the on the spot fines issued though the county council, 97 were paid, 36 cancelled and nine ended up in the courts.

Less than half of the court cases were successful, with the council receiving a positive result in just four.

A total of 86 cases are pending further investigation, payment of fines or proceedings if the fines are not paid.

The county council made almost €14,000 in litter fines last year, more than €10,000 less than its urban counterpart.

Ennis Town Council secured €25,000 in the 200 fines paid. In total the town council issued 363 on the spot fines.

Seven of those cases went to court with the council winning six of the seven.

The two litter and environmental wardens in Ennis responded to 595 complaints in the 12 months of 2005.

Barry Keating, Staff Officer with the Environment Section of Ennis Town Council explained that any illegal dumping discovered in the urban area is referred to the county council’s waste management team.

He said that waste management is not a major issue in the towns and illegal dumping is more of a rural problem.

Kilrush Town Council likewise deals solely with one off litter fines. In 2005 it collected €1,000 from the eight fines paid.

Of its two prosecutions, it received a positive result in one, with a fine of €200 imposed.

Nicola Cullinan, Staff Officer with the Waste Enforcement Unit in the county said that imposing the fine can be difficult as people in rented accommodation move on and are difficult to relocate.

There is also a lot of investigation work for the three environmental wardens and the two engineers in the unit, who often have to go through rubbish bags to identify its owner.

Last year the waste enforcement unit issue 30 notices and fines for illegal advertising signage.

A further 70 notices were served under different sections of the waste management plan including notices to land owners for illegal dumping.

Nine prosecutions were successfully made under the waste management plan.

ENNIS has a new rival when it comes to commemorating Fianna Fáil founding father and colossus of 20th century Irish life, Eamon de Valera.

The People’s Park in Ennis will soon have competition when it comes to remembering de Valera’s contribution to world affairs. And this competition comes from outside Ireland, thanks to the decision by the Indian government to name a new road after de Valera in New Delhi.

The announcement to honour the former Taoiseach and president in this way was made during Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern’s four-day trade mission to India last week.

“De Valera was a good friend of India,” said the Taoiseach in welcoming the announcement. “Addressing the Friends of Freedom for Britain in New York in 1920, he made clear that he saw India and Ireland as having a common cause: ‘Patriots of India’ he told his audience, ‘your cause is identical to ours’.

“Interestingly, in 1947, when the Indian Prime Minister Nehru, expressed his admiration for the Irish Constitution and said that he intended to study it as a model for the Constitution of India, which was then being drafted, de Valera wrote that he felt deeply honoured,” added the Taoiseach.

Meanwhile, the Indian move to honour de Valera doesn’t represent a first. Back in 1935, Indian universities voted the Clare TD into eighth position in a ballot to decide the great men of the age.

He was in exalted company – Albert Einstein was voted number one, while Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were rated ahead of de Valera in the Indian Inter-University Body organised poll.