Category: News

INCREASED foot patrols will be among employed by gardaí this month to tackle the seasonal rise in shoplifting.

Details of the crime prevention measures were outlined at a meeting in Ennis last night between local gardaí and businesses.

The Ennis Chamber Garda Accord was established in 2003 to formalise meetings between the business community and the local Gardaí.

Members of the Garda Crime Prevention Unit and Business Liaison Team will be in attendance to give advice to businesses on how best to protect themselves, cash and premises in the busy Christmas period.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, crime prevention officer Joe Downey said businesses are encouraged to take appropriate security measures.

The businesses most at risk tend to be chemists, newsagents, off-licenses and fast food outlets.

He said appropriate measures helped to protect staff, reduce losses and avoid the risk of increased insurance premiums.

Practical security steps that can be taken include: not leaving large sums of cash in tills; training staff in security procedures; maintaining safe keys under dual control and varying the times when cash is transferred to the safe.

Sgt Downey said, “This time of year you can typically have a rise in shoplifting.

“These meetings are an opportunity to emphasize and remind businesses about having the right security features and settings in their businesses.”

CEO of Ennis Chamber, Rita McInerney said businesses are also concerned about levels of anti-social behaviour on the streets of Ennis.

“It’s not widespread but there has been a few instances in the last few weeks.

“The gardaí cannot act unless they are informed about what is happening by businesses.

“There is a lack of reporting of these things, and I can understand that as well.

“But that shows the value of the Garda Accord, these concerns can be raised by businesses as a group.”

Ms McInerney said businesses are also hoping to discuss the possibility of using Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) to deter offending among young people.

At Ennis District Court last week, Judge Patrick Durcan said that shoplifting offences and thefts are creating major problems for small businesses in Clare and promised the courts would tackle the issue.

A CLARE hat maker, whose began her career as a 12 year old knitting dolls of Brian Lohan, last week sold a hat to the worlds biggest fashion icon.

Margaret O’Connor, from Tubber in the middle of the Burren, says she want to help put Irish fashion designers on the map, after Lady Gaga choose one of her hats to wear to an event in London last week.

Margaret opened her millenery business in London just six months ago and is already the talk of the town after Lady Gaga wore her creation to a public appearance at the Isabella Blow Exhibition in London last week.

It was all a far cry from hand knitted dolls of Clare hurlers in red helmets.

“It all started off with hurling. When I was 12 years old I began making little Clare men and selling them in the wool shop in Ennis. I remember I used to make so many of Brian Lohan’s red helmets – I still see those dolls around the place when I come back to Clare,” said Margaret.

“I nearly had a stroke when I heard [about Lady Gaga], I was so happy. When you make something, it’s like your child and you are putting it out to the world and all you need is for one person to like it.

“I showed that piece [that Lady Gaga wore] to lots of people and they didn’t like it. I told them to trust me, that it was a statement but they didn’t get it. That’s why it was so brilliant when someone like Lady Gaga decided to wear it. It just showed that somebody gets it.”

Margaret studied at Cluain Mhuire in Galway before continuing her fashion education in Scotland, Edinburgh and South America. Last year she worked under the watchful eye of Irish milliner Philip Treacy and worked on a number a hats for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Following last week high profile experience with Lady Gaga, Marga- ret is hoping to help Irish fashioner designers to become better know in the UK and across Europe.

“I want people to hear about Irish designers. A lot of Irish designers are not breaking through and I want to help them break through. I think there is a lot of Irish talent going under the radar in Ireland. I don’t think there is a voice for Irish designers at the moment – the struggling artist is really struggling,” she said.

MONEYPOINT Power Station will be fuelling the West Clare economy for at least another decade, but concerns have been expressed for the future of Kilrush and the environs if and when this station closes.

“A power station that was built in the 1980s would have probably been designed at that time to run for maybe 30 to 40 years or what ever would be typical enough for a plant. I suppose we have done the maintenance over the years to keep that in line. I would be surprised if the station didn’t have it running for another decade any- way,” said, Brendan Kennedy, Station Manager at the ESB plant.

“I would expect Moneypoint to run on a high merit in the national grid for the next number of years,” said the Ennis native.

The ESB company pays up to € 12 million in rates to Clare County Council every year, as well as supporting sport facilities, clubs, organisations and the Christmas lights in Kilrush and West Clare.

“I hate to think what Kilrush would be like if Moneypoint never came,” said former mayor of Kilrush Liam O’Looney.

MEMBERS of the public are urged to be vigilant after Gardaí were informed of an unauthorized charity collection on Shannon last week.

Gardaí issued the warning after two teenage girls were seen carrying out an unauthorized collection on behalf of Youthreach Shannon, collecting for the Irish Cancer Society.

Shannon Youthreach are collecting for Limerick Marine search and rescue this year.

Crime prevention officer Sgt Joe Downey said that while bogus charity collections are not very common in Clare there can be an increase in such activity in the lead up to Christmas.

“You can see a bit more of these things before Christmas when people are feeling a bit more generous and they are inclined to give money without checking credentials. In this case there was a bit of legitimacy to it in that they had an old card. But it was for the Shannon Youthreach collection for 2012 for the Irish Cancer Society – Shannon Youthreach’s collection this year was for Limerick Marine Search and Rescue,” added Sgt Downey.

“People should check the details of people they are giving money to see if they are genuine. Otherwise it’s just another form of begging,” he added.

Ennis councillor Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) previously expressed concern about unauthorized charity collections.

He told a meeting of Ennis Town Council that there are doubts about the veracity of some collections taking place on the streets of Ennis. Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) told the meeting that the practice needs to be tightly monitored.

Meanwhile, teenagers have been warned that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in the town.

The warning comes ahead of a noalcohol teen disco for 14 to 17 year olds in Ennis on Friday, December 20. Gardaí have issued advice aimed at encouraging responsible behaviour.

“Teens are to be dropped and collected by parents/guardians. Those transporting by buses are to ensure that none of their passengers have consumed alcohol. There will be a Garda presence on the evening. Any teenager found to be misbehaving will be dealt with and parents/guardians will be contacted.”

THERE are no new Fianna Fáil faces on the West Clare ballot paper for next year’s local elections as five sitting county councillors were returned to contest the new Municipal District election.

Cllr Bill Chambers, Cllr Michael Hillery, Cllr Pat Keane, Cllr PJ Kelly and Cllr Richard Nagle will all be on the ticket come next summer following the party’s convention in the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point on Monday night. Councillors Nagle and Hillery were selected automatically following a directive from Fianna Fáil’s National Constituency Committee that two candidates were to come from the Ennistymon area.

The remaining six candidates from the Kilrush area, that included three sitting councillors as well as Kilrush town councillor Tom Prendeville, Michael O’Neill and Rita McInerney, went before the delegates for selection.

A decisive vote saw Cllr Kelly and Cllr Keane pass the quota in the first vote and their surplus brought fellow councillor Bill Chambers safely over the mark.

The five candidates will now go forward and represent the party in the eight seat West Clare Municipal Area elections.

The longest serving member of the council, Cllr Kelly, does not believe ‘the line up’ is complete as yet, believing another candidate will be added.

Total poll: 156. Quota: 40.

First vote: Bill Chambers 32; Pat Keane 50; PJ Kelly 51; Rita McInerney 1; Michael O’Neill 15; Tom Prendeville 7.

Second count (PJ Kelly surplus): B Chambers +6 (38); R McInerney +1 (2); M O’Neill +3 (18); T Prendeville +1 (8). (R McInerney and T Prendeville eliminated).

Third count (P Keane surplus); B Chambers + 6 (44); M O’Neill +1 (19).

BEING a card-carrying member of the Fianna Fáil comes at a cost that is too rich for some blood.

Following the fall of the last Government, it cost life-long grass root members a certain bit of embarrassment, but now as the soldiers of destiny regroup it is the monetary cost of membership that is causing concern.

Each member must pay an annual fee of € 20 to be a member of Fianna Fáil.

For this the members are to have the right to vote at convention for their preferred candidate, however as some members struggle to pay the fee their voting right is withdrawn.

This was a concern for Cllr Pat Keane at the party’s West Clare con- vention last week, during which he was selected to represent the party in the next Local Elections on the first count.

“It is sad for me to see some people turn up here tonight and they hadn’t a vote, and I say to the two deputies [Timmy Dooley and Nial Collins who were at the convention] that this is something at headquarters we have to address,” he said following his selection.

“The one person one vote is a good idea but we have to make it a realistic charge if people are to become members, and I think we can have more members if we can get that rectified and I have no doubt that ye will,” he added.

The € 20 fee was also a bone of contention at the Ennis convention where delegates questioned why they pay it after a directive to select just three candidates came from the party’s National Constituency Committee who are later to add two.

Delegates argued that their right to select candidates for the 2014 Local Election was taken away, and all that they got for their € 20 was to fundraise for the party.

It is understood that Fianna Fáil’s finance committee is now looking at “equitable ways of spreading cost on members”.

THERE is just one candidate to date declared to run in the local election from the largest urban area in West Clare.

Two of the town’s urban councillors have however indicated that they may join their colleague Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) in the race as independent candidates.

Cllr Ian Lynch (FG), who was unsuccessful at his party’s convention last October said he would take time over Christmas to consider running as an Independent candidate in the Clare County Council election.

Meanwhile Tom Prendeville (FF) has not ruled out also going it alone next May if he is not added to the Fianna Fáil ticket, having also been unsuccessful at his party’s convention.

Cllr Lynch said, “I was disappointed that Fine Gael did not add me to the ticket but as the newest member it was always going to be tough to get the nomination through convention.”

Wishing Cllr McMahon well, who was added to the ticket last week, he said, “I’m getting an awful lot of contact from people disappointed I was not added and there has been considerable advice to run independent. I do feel there is a great hunger out there for a young candidate that will represent the entire West Clare area.

“At the end of the day my role is to represent the people. A lot of support is coming in for me and I believe I can represent the people and if the hunger for a young candidate is on the ground I will have to take all things into consideration,” he said.

The councillor also admitted that dividing the town vote between a lot of candidates is a concern, and could cost the urban area a representative.

Cllr Prendeville, who failed to be selected at the Fianna Fáil party convention said he was approached by a senior member of the party and asked if he wanted to be added to the ticket. He also has not ruled out run- ning independently.

Following the announcement of the successful candidates at last Monday night’s convention, he said he was disappointed not to have made the cut and added that the party had a serious problems in urban areas.

“Fianna Fáil has a problem; and has a big problem; has an organisational problem. For example within our town of Kilrush there is no registered members within five or six miles. I know we have two beside us but they are attached to another cumann up the road. We haven’t got the members.

“People aren’t coming forward so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and say everything is ok,” he told delegates.

“We are in trouble, big big trouble in the urban areas and tonight does nothing to rectify that.”

“We effectively tonight sent out a message that we are a rural organisation in our constituency, and it is inconceivable to think that where we have the municipal capital of the new electoral area we won’t have a Fianna Fáil candidate,” he said.

Chariman of the Fianna Fáil convnetion Nial Collins TD asked the delegates had to ask themselves why there wasn’t a strong membership in Kilrush and rectify the situation for themselves.

CALL outs to Christmas fires in Clare fell last year again for the third consecutive year, and the county’s fire service is determined to continue that trend this festive season.

The Clare Fire Service reported that brigades throughout Clare were mobilised to 44 incidents during last Christmas.

The call-out figures for the period December 20, 2012, to January 3, 2013, were less than those recorded during the corresponding periods in 2009, 2010 and 2011 when the Fire Service was mobilised to 81, 64 and 48 incidents respectively.

The majority of emergency callouts were attended by Ennis Fire Brigade (20), followed by Shannon (13), Killaloe (3), Ennistymon (3), Scariff (2), Kilrush (2) and Kilkee (1).

Six of the call outs related to chimney fires, down 18 from the previous year, while firefighters also attended 10 road-based incidents, two agricultural building fires, two storage building fires, one house fire, one outdoor rubbish fire and 11 false alarm incidents.

The main causes of fire during the festive season are candles left unprotected, fairylights left on all night or improperly wired, Christmas trees falling over, open fires without fireguards, and decorations catching fire.

According to Adrian Kelly, Clare Chief Fire Officer, “Open fires are used for longer periods during the Christmas period as people spend a lot more time at home. Electrical items and extension leads are used more. Add in flammable decorations, candles and alcohol and it becomes apparent that the risks increase during the festive season.”

Mayor of Clare Cllr Joe Arkins has urged members of the public to familiarise themselves with the fire safety advice, which may be viewed on the Clare County Council website at www.clarecoco.ie.

“While Christmas is a time for celebration, it is important that the public remains alert to the fire dangers that exist at their homes. I encourage householders across County Clare to think about fire safety ahead of and during the Christmas period to avoid the risk of their Christmas being ruined.”

THE Burren Farming for Conservation Programme (BFCP) has launched an ambitious new bid to grow the amount spent on conservation farms in Clare to € 6 million in 2015.

The Carron-based group confirmed yesterday that € 1.1 million of extra Department of Agriculture money has been paid to the 160 Burren farmers who took part in the BFCP in 2013. In addition to this, the farmers themselves invested matching funds of more than € 330,000 on the project so far this year.

This € 1.4 million is a massive economic boost for the North Clare economy with the vast majority of the money being spent on local services and direct labour. The BFCP currently has a large waiting list of farmers who wish to take part in the project but require funding to roll out the project across the 600 plus farmers in the Burren.

The project aims to bring farming and conservation together by paying farmers to engage in Burren-friendly farm practices. These include cutting path threw scrub to allow better cattle management and allow the cattle to graze on the hazel saplings which have invaded large tracts of limestone pavement.

“The big problem with the scheme is the 400 or 500 other farmers who should be part of the scheme but are not. We would really love to have them involved but we need funding for that to be made available to allow us to do that,” said Brendan Dunford of the BFCP.

“We are campaigning to expand the project by a factor of four – so that means quadrupling the budget and getting 650 farmers in from 2015 onwards. This is a big ask and a big struggle but that is what we are trying to do because we feel really strongly that this delivers a great result for the Burren while also delivering great value.

“What we need to do is for the farmers to continue to carry out the work to a really high standard and it is really important that we are able to prove that this project works – both environmentally and financially. That is out job as the project team and we have the data to prove that this is the best value scheme in Ireland,” he added.

EU funding is available for agri-environmental under the Rural Development Programme and it is hoped that, given the success of the BFCP, the Department of Agriculture will be able to access these funds.

THE last Kilrush Town Council meeting of the year was abandoned after it descended into chaos as the town manager walked out following a heated row with a council member.

It emerged during the course of the debate about a proposed lay-by for the Back Road to facilitate the drop off of children to school, that Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) had been asked to apologise to a council exec utive engineer following February’s REMS meeting – a special meeting on traffic not open to the public.

The engineer has refused to attend any further meeting on the issue until he has been given an agreed apology.

“I know we had hard words with people and I regret many of the hard words I had and I apologise for it too, but I tell you this now, this is a bit of an insult and it is spoiling the spirit of Christmas for me a small bit,” said Cllr Prendeville on Thursday night, referring to the information and two draft designs of the lay-by provided by Ms Haugh.

Ms Haugh described the councillor’s comments as disingenuous and unfair. She pointed out that the maps were dated February 13 as agreed with the council, and not 10 months old. She added that numerous attempts were made to meet with the council on the issue since but a format could not be agreed due to unfinished business.

The manager was interrupted by Cllr Prendeville, “Why was that, can you tell the press why that was.”

Ms Haugh, “It was due to remarks made by Cllr Prendeville to a staff member present the meeting and further more…”

Cllr Prendeville interrupted her again, “and do you want to say what he said.”

“…And furthermore there was a commitment given by Cllr Prendeville to subsequently apologise to that officer at the subsequent REMS meeting.”

She said she understood the agreed apology was to be read into the minutes of the next meeting. Numerous meetings were scheduled on the issue, but were cancelled as the councillor failed to come back to say if he was agreeable to the wording of the apology to the engineer.

“No further mention was made of the Back Road or an alternative plans even though this work has been done since February until Cllr O’Looney (FF) put down his motion,” said Ms Haugh.

She asked Cllr Prendeville to acknowledge his part in the delay.

“I did at that particular meeting put forward a wording that was accepted and written into the minutes but you took it upon yourself manager, and I am going to blow this right open now, to actually send me an email suggesting the wording I would put. Listen I have studied. I have a lot more qualifications than you have and you are actually suggesting to me …” he said, his voice getting louder.

As the members interjected, Ms Haugh asked that he withdraw the last comment. “What qualifications have I got? How dare you,” she said.

“You were telling me what to say,” he replied.

“So continue councillor and I won’t be attending the next meeting you want to discuss this at either, how dare you.

“That’s what ye do. Ye get in a huff. You were suggesting to me the wording,” he shouted.

Ms Haugh apologised to the other council members and the mayor and left the meeting.

“And that is what your executive engineer did as well. He got in a huff as well and he walked out,” shouted Cllr Prendeville.

“Happy Christmas to all,” said Ms Haugh as she left the room.

As the meeting was abandoned Cllr O’Looney said his colleague should have withdrawn the comments, with Cllr McMahon Jones (FG) saying “You will be confronted with another apology now.”