Category: News

ENNIS Town Council has been named in a test case before the high court, as more than 1,000 taxi drivers sue the Government amid claims their property rights were breached when the industry was de-regulated. The taxi drivers are also suing the Minister for the Environment, the Attorney General and Dublin City Council. As many as 1,200 legal actions by other drivers are awaiting the outcome of the legal proceedings. Taxi drivers in the test case, includ- ing drivers from Ennis, suffered a “financially disastrous overnight catastrophe” they claim when the taxi licensing regime was deregulated in 2000.

Many drivers bought a licence valued at £80,000, almost € 100,000, before deregulation in November of that year. Some claim they purchased the licence as late as August 2000.

Taxi drivers say the “overnight” deregulation scheme wiped out the value of their licences.

These drivers now allege that this deregulation breached their property rights under the Constitution.

They have also claimed that the Government, which is defending the test cases, breached EU competition laws when the industry was liberalised. The taxi drivers believe they should now receive damages as a result of what it maintains was an unlawful and unreasonable move.

THERE has been a dramatic increase in the number of serious drugs offenses detected in Clare over the first 10 months of 2013.

According to figures released at last night by Clare Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, Section 15 drug offenses have increased by a massive 68 per cent compared to last year.

There has been a total of 74 Section 15 offenses in Clare so far this year – a 68 per cent increase on the first 10 months of 2012.

Section 15 offenses refer to larger quantities of drugs, which are deemed to be for sale or supply.

There was also a 29 per cent increase in Section 3 or minor drugs offenses, which rose from 154 in 2012 to 200 so far in 2013.

Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, told last night Joint Policing Meeting of Clare County Council that there was no town and village in Clare were drug dealing was not taking place.

“The big increase that we find is in drug cultivation, where some people are growing their own cannabis plants.

“There is a lot of that in County Clare. Most of the time this is for a persons private use but not always,” said Chief Supt Kerin.

“We have had an increase in detection this year – but it is hard to know if that is because of an increase in activity or better detection.

“There is no village in Clare that doesn’t have people taking drugs or selling drugs – there is no point in saying otherwise.”

Former Mayor of Clare, Pat Daly (FF), criticised the judicial system saying drug dealers are getting off on technicalities and judges are being too lenient.

“The gardaí are doing an excellent job but there is something wrong in the courts somewhere.

“There are a lot of people getting off on technicalities and I think that that is wrong,” he said.

Chief Supt Kerin commented that he could not comment on any decisions made in the courts.

“We don’t like to see anybody getting off but should a person be convicted in the wrong?

“You have to balance that,” he said.

CLARE County Council has been urged to deal with ‘disgraceful’ levels of noise and litter that have developed in the Watery Road area of Ennis.

Yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council heard complaints about the condition of vacant properties in the area.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) told the meeting residents are putting up with the sounds of chainsaws going “morning, noon and night” and wild foul and guinea foul running around houses. “They’re screeching like hell day and night,” he said.

He said Clare County Council should consider demolishing some of the empty houses.

“It’s a downright disgrace. I can’t understand why you have people living in houses at either end and four empty houses between them. Why can’t the vacant houses be knocked and the two put together?” he added.

Cllr Brennan said horses are also running loose in the area.

The meeting heard the scheme is the responsibility of Clare County Council. Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) said the council should consider serving a derelict site notice on the vacant properties.

He said the same tenancy rules and laws that apply to other local authority residents should also apply in the Watery Road.

“There should be no fear or favour in this regard,” he added. Cllr Meaney continued, “The situation in the Watery Road cannot continue. It’s an eyesore. It’s a fester.”

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said the situation with anti-social behaviour is not unique to Ennis. “The Watery Road [problems] have been going on for over 15 years. It has deteriorated. It is a disgrace.”

Cllr Brennan called on Clare County Council to provide a full report on issues in Watery Road.

He said, “If I was breaking the law and I was causing the nuisance, I’d be prosecuted.”

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said there have been issues in other estates in Ennis including Bridge View where smoke bombs have been thrown through letterboxes.

Town manager and director of Service Gerard Dollard said a report from Clare County Council on issues at Watery Road would be available at the next meeting of Ennis Town Council.

A LIMITED policy of pedestrianisation will be in effect in Ennis during December after a meeting heard a lack of support exists among businesses for a longer period of pedestrianisation.

The council had previously proposed pedestrianising O’Connell Street on December 7 (Saturday), December 14 (Saturday), December 21 (Saturday), December 22 (Sunday), December 23 (Monday) and December 24 (Tuesday).

At yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Town Clerk Leonard Cleary said the council had sought the views of business people, rate payers and property owners in the town.

He said Ennis Chamber had proposed closing O’Connell Street to traffic on the final two Saturdays and the days leading up Christmas Day.

“A larger December pedestrianisation policy does not seem to be gaining currency at the moment,” explained Mr Cleary.

Under the 2013 policy, O’Connell Street will be pedestrianised from December 21 to 24. Town manager Gerard Dollard told the meeting the on / off nature of pedestrianisation had created difficulties around it.

He said until such time as the council makes a decision on whether proceed with a longer trial of pedestrianisation, the council would have to manage the existing approach.

Cllr Peter Considine said he was “disappointed” with the shorter period but agreed to support the proposal.

Welcoming the decision, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) expressed concern “organised begging” could undermine the council’s attempts to create a festive atmosphere in the town centre in December.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) called for the council to take action against so called ‘chuggers’ who have set up in front of Dunnes Stores.

Cllr Guilfoyle said pedestrians are being forced out onto the street by people collecting money for charity. He told the meeting it was only a matter of time before someone is hurt.

Councillors agreed to a limited pedestrianisation as the council announced details of a free car-parking initiative for Christmas.

Town clerk Leonard Cleary stated, “Following the success in recent years, Ennis Town Council has developed and researched a Christmas Parking Initiative 2013. A recent consultation was held between representatives of Ennis business com- munity and Ennis Town Council with the key task of promoting shopping in Ennis over the Christmas and New Year period.”

Free parking will be in place up to 12 noon daily during December to January 6 both on street and off street. Parking will be free in Cloughleigh car park until January 6. The council is also encouraging staff of shops and business owners to free up spaces close to the town centre by using alternative spaces.

Mr Cleary said the council will promote the initiative online and through media. “The business community is also taking an active involvement promoting the initiative.”

CONCERN has been expressed that the designation of buildings as protected structures is killing off some of the oldest businesses in the town.

A special meeting of Ennis Town Council will take place later this month after councillors yesterday chose not to adopt the town manager’s recommendation that 183 buildings in Ennis be retained on the record of protected structures.

Councillors have sought a meeting with the county conservation officer to highlight concerns they have over aspects of the policy.

Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) told the meeting the high cost of renovating properties that are protected structures is unfair to owners.

Cllr Meaney said the policy also runs contrary to the council’s aim of encouraging more people to live in the town centre.

He said the council could adopt a policy that protects the built character and heritage of the town while at the same time affording property owners the flexibility to renovate their businesses using modern building methods and materials.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said protected structure status had prevented the owners of Keane’s on O’Connell Street from extending their business.

Highlighting the example of one of the town’s oldest shops, Pyne’s on Abbey Street, Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said it was a small family-run business that could not afford the cost of maintaining and renovating the building due to the high cost of carrying out work to a protected structure.

“It’s a one of a kind, a dying kind and are we going to kill it further?” he added.

Town Manager Gerard Dollard said that while he agreed there should be some State support to cover the cost of such works, “If members wish to change this they better have very good and valid reasons for doing so.”

He told the meeting the council is statutorily obliged to make a decision on the protected structures list before the end of the month.

A special meeting to discuss the matter will take place on Tuesday, November 19, at 5pm in Waterpark House.

FIRE personnel from Kilrush came under attack from youths throwing stones while carrying out their duty on Halloween night.

The fire unit was called to an illegal bonfire in the town by concerned residents who feared it would get out of control.

While the reserve members of the fire service were dealing with the flames, four to five youths threw stones in their direction, hitting the fire engine.

No firefighters were injured in the incident.

Denis O’Connell, Senior Assistant Fire Officer with the Clare Fire Service, said that almost every year the members of the fire service face some aggravation when they are called to control bonfires.

“This was not very serious as no one got hit, but no one should have to put up with that when they go to do their day’s work,” he said.

The assistant fire chief explained that bogus calls were as frustrating to the fire service as these senseless attacks.

“If we get a call we have to take it serious. If there is a unit in an area on a call, we then have to take a unit from another area if there is a second call in that area. This affects the call out time to an incident,” he said.

“It is very serious on a busy night to get a bogus call,” added Mr O’Connell referring to a bogus call out in Shannon on Thursday night last – Halloween night.

Thursday proved particularly busy for the Clare Fire Service with 10 call outs in total.

Four of the call outs were to bonfires, in Kilrush, Kilkee, Shannon and Ennis, and one was the bogus call out.

“Ten calls is a lot in one day for seven brigades,” explained Mr O’Connell.

Last year there were 10 bonfire call outs in the county.

Mr O’Connell attributes the drop in bonfire call outs to just four this year to the strong public campaign by Clare County Council last week. Members of the public reporting any waste being gathered for potential bonfires and the weather. He said the rain quite literally dampened plans for the Halloween tradition this year.

A CLARE secondary school was the subject of a suspected arson attack on Halloween night that resulted in the destruction of a resource classroom and significant damage to another. The interior of the prefab classroom at Ennis Community College was gutted in the blaze, which began shortly after 9pm on Thursday. Mindless thugs also took time to break windows in a second prefab unit, which is used for specialised classes for deaf students. Clare Fire Services were called to the scene at 9.10pm and worked hard to prevent the fire reaching the main building on the secondary school complex. Part of the nearby building suffered some external fire damage however, with part of the building also subjected to internal smoke damage. The intense heat from the fire also melted the PVC window frames. It is not yet known the cost of the damage, but a number of computers as well as the entire inside of the first prefab classroom was destroyed. There was no apparent attempt to set fire to the Unit for the Deaf after the windows were smashed with what is believe to have been a fire extinguisher. Gardaí sealed off and preserved the scene overnight while a full technical examination was carried out on Friday afternoon. Gardai in Ennis are continuing to investigate the fire, which they have described as suspicious. Two units of Ennis Fire Brigade also attended the fire at Ennis Community College. They were alerted to the incident by Munster Regional Communication System at 9.10pm and arrived at the scene just eight minutes later. The fire service got the fire under control in just over an hour and the “incident was closed down” at 10.28pm. Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station.

FINE Gael selected two further candidates for 2014 Local Elections last night (Monday), as the two nominees from the Shannon area were added to the ticket.

There are just two nominees for the Shannon Selection Convention as Clare county councillors John Crowe and Sean McLoughlin were both nominated and selected without the need for an election.

It is now understood that the Fine Gael executive will add at least one if not two more candidates to contest the six-seat election.

On Friday night the party will select candidates for the new eight-seat West Clare constituency, with the Killaloe convention taking place on Monday next.

Fine Gael is the first of the political parties in Clare to select candidates for the local elections next May, with Labour stating it will hold its conventions by the end of the month.

Sinn Fein said that it is in the process of selecting candidates but has no dates or names as yet.

Fianna Fáil is expected to select its candidates between the end of November and the first week in January, beginning in the Shannon Municipal Area.

It is understood that the three councillors from the area will be nominated alongside newcomer Louise McNamara. Candidates will have until two weeks before the convention to put forward any nominees.

To be nominated for convention the candidate must have the support of one cumann or five individual members of the party.

In Ennis there are already up to 10 names being suggested as possible contenders for the party in the eightseat constituency, with a new look Killaloe area opening up possibilities for former councillors to return.

In West Clare the executive has suggested that the convention be divided into two separate district selection process to avoid the majority of the candidates coming from either the old Kilrush Electoral Area or Ennistymon Electoral Area.

Once again there is much speculation as to who will be put forward for convention.

The father of the council PJ Kelly has yet to decide if he will go before convention in a bid to serve for a fifth decade on the council. New names such as former GAA county board chairman Michael O’Neill and Ennis Chamber of Commerce CEO Rita McInerney are also been spoken about as possible contenders in West Clare for the party.

THE Clare All-Ireland Hurling win continues to have a profound affects on the psyche of the county and may even lead to a new baby boom a leading psychiatrist has predicted.

With this in mind it is anticipated there will be a lot of Clare babies born in June and July of 2014!

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Moosajee Bhamjee said that following the 1995 win there was an increase in the number of babies born in the county, and now wonders if 2014 will see an increase in the number of infants in saffron and blue baby-grows.

The Ennis-based psychiatrist is confident that the win has had a huge impact on the mental health of the county and he even draws on the winning experience to help his patients. The psychiatrist has even suggested using the team as an example while talking to patients in therapy sessions.

Dr Bhamjee made particular reference to the equalising point by Domhnall O’Donovan in the first All Ireland to ensure a draw and a replay.

“You can use it in therapy to have a never give up approach.

“It can be used as an example for people. You know we can sometimes give in too easy, in life we get fed up and things like that, but now we can turn round and say;

‘Remember O’Donovan’s point and the team never gave up’,” he said.

GUSTS of up to 130 kilometres per hour forced the closure of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience this Saturday as management deemed that it was unsafe for staff and tourists to visit the 700-foot-tall cliffs.

Hurricane force winds lashed the Clare coast on Saturday afternoon, with staff beginning the process of evacuating the world famous tourist attraction from 3pm. The facility was completely evacuated at 4.30pm and remained closed until Sunday morning – when weather conditions had improved dramatically.

This is just the sixth time in the last seven years that bad weather forced the closure of the Cliffs of Moher. The attraction has seen a marked increase in tourism number in 2013 and could be posed to break the one million tourism mark for the first time since 2007.

While the average wind speed recorded at the Cliffs was a 70 kilometers per hour or gale force winds, gusts of between 110 and 130 kilometres per hour were recorded, which qualify as storm or hurricane force winds.

“At 9.15am on Saturday morning Met Eireann issued an Orange weather warning predicting winds with mean speeds of 70 kilometres per hour with gusts of between 110 and 130 kilometres per hour,” said Cliffs of Moher director Katherine Webster yesterday.

“Warning signs were erected at the Cliffs, warning visitors to proceed with caution as conditions were hazardous. Around lunchtime conditions deteriorated rapidly and new signs were put up warning visitors not to proceed as conditions were too dangerous to visit the Cliffs.

“Soon after 3pm in worsening conditions the manager on duty took the decision to close the centre and assist visitors who were still onsite to leave the site safely. AA Roadwatch was advised and booked groups were also notified. “The last staff left site at approximately 4.45pm on Saturday. On Sunday, conditions had improved and the visitor centre opened as normal at 9am.”

Management at the cliffs employ a flag system to warm visitors of danger. A white flag signaling dangerous weather is is flown when winds in excess of 30 km per hour are recorded.

When winds of more than 50 kilometres per hour are recorded visitors are advised not to venture onto the cliff walks. Winds of more than 100 kilometres per hours trigger the cliffs “Red Protocol” which entails the evacuation all staff and visitors.