Category: News

THE number of people signing on the live register in Clare fell again in October – and now stands at its lowest level in almost five years.

Despite this good news Clare business leaders have warned that a number of leading employers in the county are still in “survival mode” and any shock to the economy could have a drastic impact on local jobs.

The total number of people signing on the live register in Clare last month was 8,947, a drop of 36 on September and the lowest on record since February of 2009. The register showed a sizable drop in the Ennis area, with Kilrush and Tulla also showing a reduction.

There were, however, 53 more people signing on in the Ennistymon area or a 4 per cent increase when compared to September 2013. This increase in understood to be as a result of the end of the tourism season, which has seen in best year in North Clare since the start of the recession.

Rita McInerney, CEO of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the reduction but said that the emphasis should be on the number of people in employment and not the live register.

She also warned that a number of Clare businesses were still struggling to survive and that the prospect of widespread job losses could not yet be ruled out. “Businesses are in survival mode at the moment. just to survive is the new ‘doing well’ for businesses. Everyone is surviving on the edge,” she said.

“There are some green shoots but this is a dangerous time for businesses. Until we manage to get back on our feet – now is not the time for anything that increases the cost of doing business.

“We welcome the live register reduction but there should be more of an emphasis on the employment figure itself, rather than the live register. The live register is effected by people going back to college and people emigrating.”

The Ennis Chamber has warned that the upcoming harmonisation of rates between Ennis and Clare County Council could push businesses in the county town over the edge.

“The cost of doing business is difficult right now, especially in Ennis. Rates is a major issue and I know a lot of businesses in Ennis would not be able to survive a rate increase when Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council merge next year.”

CLARE gardaí who played key roles in two water rescues were honoured for their bravery at a national awards ceremony last week.

Garda Joseph Hayes, the goalkeeper for the Clare senior football team and Ennis garda James Hanley were both honoured for their heroic actions at the National Bravery Awards in Farmleigh House.

Garda Hayes, originally from Lissycasey, received his awards after coming to rescue of a woman who jumped into the River Shannon on June 6 (2012).

Garda Hayes was on duty was on duty with colleagues in the Dock Road area of Limerick City when they noticed a woman standing by the River Shannon. The gardaí were concerned for her welfare and stopped to talk to her.

The woman appeared to be in an irrational state and seemed to be intoxicated, and while every effort was made to persuade her to step away from the edge of the river, she jumped in. Garda Hayes immediately reacted and followed the woman into the river. He quickly swam to her assistance and brought her back to the quayside where, with the help of his colleagues, she was removed from the water and taken by ambulance to hospital.

The award panel states, “Garda Hayes actions in this instance are to be highly commended especially when one considers the natural elements that he had to overcome. The River Shannon is tidal and at that time of the year, it can reach six metres. At the time the tide was coming in and the force and swell of the river was made worse by heavy rain that had previously fallen. The currents in such conditions are treacherous and Garda Hayes faced a real risk to his own life in saving this woman.

For his efforts, Garda Hayes was awarded a Bronze Medal and a Certificate of Bravery.

James Hanley of Ennis Garda Station received a bronze medal and certificate of bravery after his courageous actions helped save the life of a woman who fell into the River Fergus on January 13 (2013).

When Garda Hanley and a colleague arrived to the scene they found the woman hanging onto a life buoy in the river. As she was unresponsive to their calls Garda Hanley climbed the river boundary wall and waded out to her. The woman was conscious but very frightened and weak. Garda Hanley managed to keep the woman’s head above water and continued to reassure her until he was able to pull her out of the water with the assistance of his colleague and some onlookers. The woman was treated by paramedics and removed to hospital where she made a full recovery.

The awards panel stated, “There is no doubt but for the courageous action of Garda James Hanley entering the river, especially in difficult conditions as it was cold and there was a strong current, this incident may have resulted in a loss of life.”

A MICROSCOPIC extinct creature is providing scientist in the Burren with groundbreaking information about the climate on planet Earth, millions of years before the dawn of man.

Hundreds of tiny conodont fossils have been discovered in the limestone around Lisdoonvarna in North Clare. Using cutting-edge techniques, experts have been able gather information from the fossils which is helping them to map the rising and falling of sea levels during ancient ice ages.

Initial research into the Irish conodont indicates that in prehistoric times planetary cooling took place at a much earlier date than had been previously believed. This research is providing scientists with a new picture of how the climate operated on earth – hundreds of millions of years ago.

Dr John Murray of NUI Galway and Milo Barham carried out research St Brendan’s Well in Lisdoonvarna and at a number of conodonts hot-spots along the west coast.

“If you could go back in time about 500 million years ago and throw a net into the sea off the Clare coast, you’d probably pull out hundreds of these conodonts. They were so prolific in the past but they were so tiny, they are largely an enigma,” said Dr Murray.

“When you drive through the Burren you notice the terraced landscape. All of those big terraces were deposited when sea levels rose and fell and rose again over million of years. The reason for these rises and falls in sea level, is the world falling into and out of ice ages.

“We took a look at the oxygen isotopes, which we found in the conodonts, because this can give us an indication of the temperate in which that creature lived. We have published two papers on this subject and we are currently preparing a third and this paper is looking very closely at the chemical composition of the conodonts and also the evolution of the species. But we are still working on that paper.

“The real problem at the moment is the speed at which climate change is taking place. Milo’s work established that the cooling of the planet happened much earlier that anyone had previously thought, and much of that knowledge is down to these Irish conodonts.”

Conodont are tiny fossils, usually of just one millimeter in size, which are found in limestone. Up until recently, little has been known about the creatures, because the fossils usually only preserve records of their teeth.

Indeed, it was once thought that conodont and humans might have a shared ancestry as their teeth structure is similar to our own. Over the last decade however, scientists have discovered that conodonts are actually eel-like animals, which lived in large numbers in sea water.

Conodonts had teeth but no jaws, similar in ways to lamprey eels, and lived between 500 million years ago and 200 million years ago.

A LIMERICK man has received a 12-month prison sentence for his role in a spate of burglaries in Shannon earlier this year.

Joseph Mulcahy (21) broke into six homes in the Shannon area between January 11 and March 24 stealing items including cash and jewellery, while ransacking homes.

Mr Mulcahy pleaded guilty to burglaries at Tullyvarraga, Tullyglass Hill, Inis Sioda, Tullyglass Crescent and Dun na Óir, at Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

The court heard Mr Mulcahy, with an address at Riverview, Ballyhahill, Limerick, was visiting friends in Shannon when he and a group of others broke into and ransacked the houses.

Detective Garda Andrew Hayes of Shannon Garda Station told the court that in many instances the houses burgled belonged to elderly and retired people.

Jewellery valued at € 5800 was stolen from one house.

In another case, a retired couple re- turned home to find their savings of € 3200 had been stolen.

Mr Mulcahy told gardaí he was not involved in that theft.

The accused also pleaded guilty to two public order offences at Topaz petrol station, Shannon on September 20 (2012).

The man’s solicitor said his client, a father of one, was dependent on alcohol and drugs when the offences were committed.

He said Mr Mulcahy’s early plea obviated the need for a detailed forensic investigation into the spate of Shannon crime scenes.

Judge Patrick Durcan said he felt sorry for Mr Mulcahy, as his difficulties had affected his life.

He said he had sympathies for the victims who had their homes violated.

“I absolutely detest this type of carry on”, Judge Durcan added.

He imposed sentences totaling 12 months.

“The message must go out that anybody who breaks into a house will face lengthy sentences,” Judge Durcan said.

A WEST Clare farmer facing animal cruelty charges has been ordered to remove electric fences from his land and provide adequate feed to cattle after the Department of Agriculture expressed concern for the animals’ welfare.

Patrick Shannon (59) was ordered to comply with all directions of the Department of Agriculture after details of a recent inspection of his farm at Carnaculla, Kilrush were heard at Ennis District Court on Tuesday.

Supt Seamus Nolan of Kilrush Garda Station said while he did not want to prejudice the case against the accused, the court should hear from the Department as gardaí had ongoing concerns.

Veterinary Inspector Vincent Lambert told the court he found cattle confined behind electric fences on bare ground with no supplementary feed, when he visited the farm on Friday, October 18.

Mr Lambert said some cattle were on their knees trying to eat grass outside the fence.

The court heard in some cases the animals’ water trough was left outside the electric fence.

Mr Shannon, with an address at Carnaculla, Kilrush, has between 75 and 77 bovine dry and dairy stock, the court heard.

Mr Lambert said the Department had concerns for the animal’s welfare.

He requested Mr Shannon provide his stock with continuous access to food, water and shelter.

He said the Department was also seeking the removal of all electric fences from the land.

Solicitor for Mr Shannon, John Casey, said these terms were acceptable to his client.

Judge Patrick Durcan granted liberty to the Department of Agriculture liberty to inspect the farm at 24 hours notice.

“I want these fences removed today”, added Judge Durcan. Mr Shannon told the court he would remove the fences.

Judge Durcan told Supt Seamus Nolan the charges could be re-entered in any court on any day of the week, if the directions are not complied with.

Mr Shannon appeared in court charged with cruelly, ill-treating animals by failing to provide adequate feed, water and shelter to bovines on his lands and farmyard at Carnaculla, Kilrush on three dates – November 1 (2012); November 2 (2012) and December 11 (2012).

The alleged offences are contrary to the Protection of Animals Act as amended.

Judge Patrick Durcan said while he totally abhors cruelty to animals, Mr Shannon remains an innocent man.

The case was adjourned to November 12 to Kilrush District Court.

FIFTY five years after Aer Lingus first launched its transatlantic service from Shannon, 87 jobs are to be axed at Clare’s international airport. The refusal of cabin staff based in Shanon to fly new transatlantic routes using smaller planes with lower staffing levels has been held up by Aer Lingus management as the reason for the axe falling on the jobs.

The airline wrote to staff explaining that the base is no longer viable after failing to reach agreement with the Impact union, but there will be no reduction to the Shannon schedule or fleet.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Aer Lingus confirmed that it was entering into a 30-day consultation period with union representatives to explore the options which may be available for the affected staff.

The announcement came on the same day that Ryanair announced eight new routes out of Shannon beginning next year that will boost its passenger numbers by 300,000 from its current level of 450,000 to 750,00.

It is understood Aer Lingus staff will be offered the options of redeployment to Dublin or Cork, voluntary severance, or possibly redundancy.

Last July, Aer Lingus announced it was increasing its transatlantic services from Shannon and was leasing planes from ASL Aviation/Air Contractors Limited.

Serving Aer Lingus pilots agreed to fly the new smaller planes, but the cabin crew union Impact said it would not operate the flights with the four-member staff complement sought by the company.

Aer Lingus warned unions in recent weeks that if they did not accept the new staffing levels, they would instruct ACL to recruit the staff themselves and operate the services, which commence in January.

The company had said that if the new staffing levels were accepted, they would create 40 jobs.

Impact has condemned the move and described it as an act of “wanton destruction” on the livelihoods of loyal workers.

The union said its members will fight the decision and said the action of Aer Lingus management was entirely unnecessary.

It said cabin crew are balloting for industrial action, with the ballot due to be completed on October 30. In a memo to staff, Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller said that it was not a commercially viable option to retain a single short-haul crew base in Shannon.

LOCAL representatives are blaming companies in Shannon for causing the foul smell which has been present in the town for the last four weeks. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which have been testing in Shannon for the last three weeks, briefed local representatives last Wednesday and concluded that the Shannon sewage treatment and local sewage system was the source of the odour. The sewage plant, which will cost in excess of € 20 million to upgrade, services local residences as well as a number of large businesses in the Shannon area. A number of local representatives, including Fine Gael councillor Sean McLoughlin, believe that the run off from some local businesses may be to blame. “The Shannon treatment plant is similar to treatment plants in towns of a similar size all around Ireland and they don’t have a problem like this smell,” he told The Clare People yesterday. “The EPA are saying that the treat ment plant is not up to scratch, but what a number of us are questioning is the different materials which are going into the treatment system. The people of Shannon produce as much waste as the people any where else in the country so you have to look at the common denominator, which is the industries in Shannon.” Cllr McLoughlin said that the smell has been like receiving as “punch in the nose” each morning. “The smell has been very bad in Shannon for the past four weeks but it has been an ongoing problem for a long time. People describe in in different ways but to me it is like a very intense sulfur smell. I walked out of my house one morning last week and it was like getting a punch in the nose,” he said. “It will cost a lot of money to upgrade the treatment plant but something has to be done. The people of Shannon cannot continue to live with this smell.” The Environmental Protection Agency were called into investigate the odour in early October. The agency have concluded that while the smell is of public annoyance, it does not at present poise any immediate threat to people’s well being.

HALLOWEEN bonfires should not be seen as a novel way of disposing of waste, and Clare’s local authorities have warned that unauthorized bonfires are illegal.

Clare County Fire and Rescue Service said that last year it attended 10 bonfires at a cost of € 11,826 to the taxpayer.

Substantial costs are incurred each Halloween in responding to bonfirerelated incidents, as well as cleaning up after bonfires have taken place.

In the run up to this Halloween, Clare Local Authorities incorporating Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council, Kilrush Town Council, Kilkee Town Council and Shan- non Town Council are urging members of the public not to supply any waste material to persons who do not hold a valid waste collection permit.

The Environment Section of Clare County Council has warned that uncontrolled burning of waste, particularly in bonfires, is illegal under the Air Pollution Act, 1987, and The Waste Management Act, 1996, as amended.

A spokesperson said the burning of waste also releases toxic pollutants into the air which are known to be damaging to public health and the environment.

Anne Haugh, Director of Services, Clare County Council, appealed to the public to work with council staff during the forthcoming festivities.

“I wish to remind the public that there are significant risks arising from bonfires, including the illegal nature of the activity, the adverse effects on the local community and the negative impact on the general environment.”

“Bonfires are an illegal, dangerous and costly tradition,” added Adrian Kelly, Clare Chief Fire Officer.

“Bonfires are often built close to houses and other property presenting risks to personal safety and property. Halloween is one the busiest times of the year for the fire services and responding to bonfire call outs creates a strain on existing resources. I would like people to be aware of the fire safety hazards that arise from illegal bonfires, where the burning of highly combustible materials may lead to serious injuries or death,” ex- plained the fire chief.

Meanwhile, the Fire Service is also advising members of public not to buy, use or supply fireworks.

Mr Kelly noted that illegal fireworks may be manufactured without safety standards and can cause serious damage to users, particularly children.

“Parents should monitor their children and ensure they do not play with fireworks. Throughout the country, every year children end up tragically injured and often scarred for life, after using illegal fireworks.

“In the period before and during Halloween, Clare County Fire and Rescue Service will be assisted by an Garda Síochána to closely monitor the situation around the county,” Mr Kelly said.

A NORTH Clare student, whose third-level education was put in jeopardy because of changes to the student grants system, received the Dean’s Award when she graduated from NUI Galway last week.

Ballyvaughan student, Medb McCarthy, was one of three students used by the Union of Students of Ireland (USI) to launch a judicial review into changes made in the qualification criteria for the Non-Adjacent Maintenance Grant last year.

The review, which has still to be ruled on by the Supreme Court, is based around an increase in the distance from a third-level institution that a student has to live before they are classified as “non-adjacent”.

It meant that even though Medb lived outside Ballyvaughan, with no realistic opportunity to commute to or from college in Galway, she was still considered an “adjacent” or local student when it came to her grants payments.

“It was very difficult in final year. I managed to find accommodation in Galway that wasn’t expensive but it certainly wasn’t easy getting by in that last year. If it wasn’t for my parents I would have been able to afford it. There is doubt about that,” she said.

“I didn’t work [outside of college] in my final year. I knew a lot of people who worked in their final year and it really effected their results and I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

Medb was awarded the the Dean’s Award, which goes to this highest achieving student in each course, jointly with Eric Brockie. The pair received the award in the subject of Information Technology, after they designed an educational children’s computer game based on Homer’s Odyssey.

“We wanted to make a game for kids. I have a niece and nephew who are three and six years old and I know that age group well. I also studied Classics and for that reason I decided to loosely base the game on the Odyssey,” continued Medb.

“Eric, who made the game with me, studied Spanish so we also made a Spanish language version of the game. It was a lot of work but great fun too.”

THE Irish asylum system treats emigrants like “prisoners” and is need of urgent reform. That is the opinion of North Clare Senator and Fine Gael spokesperson on Justice in the Seanad, Martin Conway, who visited two direct provision centres last week. Conway, who is also heading up Seanad group of reform of the Irish asylum system, believes that delays in the speed at which applications are processed is creating major difficulties for asylum seekers and increasing costs for the State. “I found that the management in the centres were doing their best to deal with problems as they arose and the residents said that they felt like they were in jail. There could be six residents in one room in these facilities and eventually, living like that, they become worn down,” he said. “Their big issue is that they don’t know the length of time they will spend in the facility. Some of them could be there waiting for 10 years before their cases to be heard and that is not acceptable.” The cost of providing direct provision centres for asylum seekers in Ireland is drastically higher than in it in many of our EU neighbours. The Portuguese system costs just over € 1 million to run each year compared to € 55 million in Ireland. “While the Portuguese system is not perfect, the big difference between here [Ireland] and Portugal is that the most a person will be kept is a centre over there is six to 12 months, while in Ireland people are kept for anything up to ten years before their case is heard. “We need to get our act together on this issue. Million of Irish people have emigrated over the years, some were treated appallingly and other were treated very well. As a country with this history we need to do the right thing for the people who come into this country, especially asylum seekers. “If the system worked better and quicker it would certainly be cheaper. No one seems to be happy with the system. There is a better way of managing this situation and I think we have a duty of care to people which is not being met in this system.”