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last week — he be- lieved it then, but might just be im- bued with a little bit more belief on the back of his team’s second-half transformation that yielded two pre- cious points.

Certainly, he talked that way after- wards. “We should be able to beat Kilkenny and we’re two and o going into the Leitrim match and we have Leitrim at home. It’s set up nicely for us, if we continue to work hard and try improve on what we did, we should be well able to compete with any team in the division.”

He wouldn’t have said anything like this at half-time — he didn’t need to remind us of that fact, but was eager to single out Clare’s first-half failings. “It looked very bleak for us. I was very disappointed with the way we played in the first-half. The game plan wasn’t working at all.

“We did 26 training sessions, we had eight matches, three of them A v B. Everything we do is game specific — the players were put on a programme and they’re expected to adhere to the programme. In the first-half we didn’t execute what we

were supposed to do.”

But, credit where credit 1s due was McHale’s over-riding thought for this day, as he reflected on the second- half renaissance. “In the second-half we showed a little bit of spirit and a little bit of skill and got back in the game.

“We deserved to win the game in the end, even though we were bad in

the first-half, I thought we had two or three goal chances and had one of them went in it would have settled us down a bit.

“They had a lot more flair and con- fidence than we had at times. That comes from winning games — this Clare team has had a difficult four or five years and a lot of the play- ers have been around and have had

losing seasons. It’s very hard to pick yourself up, but the fact that we won today will give them a lift.

“We are approaching this league like the championship doesn’t exist. This 1s our championship right now. The county board, when they put the management team in place, wanted us to do well in the league and get out of the division. I think that’s the

only way to make progress.

“It would have been a huge disap- pointment for the players and man- agement if we didn’t win today, or at least get a draw. Now we can build from here.”

Build towards those stars, that is.

CLARE parents who paid up to €600 to have their young daughters vaccinated against cervical cancer last year will not have the cost re- funded, although the same vaccine 1s now free of charge.

However, some parents can get a percentage of the costs returned through tax returns. Provided the advice and treatment in question for cervical cancer vaccination was given by a medical practitioner, then the expenditure incurred in 2009 qualifies for health expenses relief.

This means that some of the costs in- curred can be recouped through the MEDI form as administered by the Revenue Commissioners.

Clare TD Joe Carey (FG) raised the issue with the Minister for Finance when he asked that parents be re- funded for the life-saving vaccine.

While some GPs nationally had de- cided not to charge for the vaccina- tion, for many the only way of avail- ing of the treatment was to pay.

‘Following the Minister for Health’s decision not to introduce a national vaccination programme last year, parents were forced to pay hundreds

of euro to vaccinate their daughters… When combined with regular smear tests, the HVP vaccine reduces the chance of developing cervical cancer by 70 per cent. The Government were wrong to ignore this fact last year. Because of the Government’s refus- al to roll out a national vaccination campaign many families decided to pay close to €600 to protect the well being of their daughters,” he said.

Now that the Government is roll- ing out the national vaccination pro- gramme, Deputy Carey sought to have some of their expenses recouped.

“IT am disappointed that the min-

ister in reply to my questioning has indicated that a refund will not be made,’ he said. “While I whole- heartedly welcome the introduction of the scheme this year, I don’t be- lieve that the public should have to pay for the Government’s dithering in 2009. Why should parents be pun- ished now for doing the right thing last year?” he asked.

The Clare deputy said, however, that there was consolation in the fact that some parents could recoup some of the cost through the MEDI form, but believes this does not go far enough.

THE Kilmurry Ibrickane player whose participation in the eagerly awaited All-Ireland Club semi-final against Portlaoise on February 21 is under threat will know his fate after a special hearing that takes place in Croke Park this Thursday.

The player, who was called to ap- pear before a GAA disciplinary meeting arising out of an incident in the All-Ireland quarter-final win over Tir Chonaill Gaels on Janu- ary 24 last, has not been named by GAA chiefs or Kilmurry Ibrickane officials.

However, speaking to

Matchmaker blames recession

published below.

The former Dublin South TD’s resignation from the Dail yesterday (Monday) was greeted with shock by his close Fine Gael colleague Pat Breen TD who described him as a great loss to politics and the party.

“He was an honourable man, obvi- ously this decision was preying on his mind for some time; and yet he took the time to honour a commitment he had given to me to deliver the key note address at the Kilrush Chamber of Commerce dinner on Friday night last,’ said Deputy Breen.

Mr Lee, who gave no clue of his 1m- pending decision at the chamber din- ner, did, however, signal his unease at his dual role of being a politician and economist.

In pointing to the need for solutions

to the current recession, he said that people were always “giving out” in the Dail.

“IT think, fair enough, that is Irish politics. But we really need to change. We need to work on solutions. These are going to be very difficult solu- tions. Finding the solutions to where we are now is new. It is difficult be- cause we have never been in this situ- ation before,’ he said.

Yesterday the former TD claimed that despite his best efforts, he had virtually no influence in shaping Fine Gael’s economic policies and felt he had no option but to go.

“Being a crowd puller can be a pret- ty hollow thing,’ said the man who addressed 140 people in the Kilrush Golf Club 60 hours earlier.

Deputy Breen last night expressed his sadness at his colleague’s deci- sion.

“T got to know George very well as we both sat along side one another in the Dail Chamber for voting, where we chatted on a daily basis.

“George was driven by passion and his address on Friday night reflected his knowledge of the problems that the Irish economy is facing for the future.

“TI believe that George found it dif- ficult to adjust to his new life in poli-

job from his previous lifestyle as economics correspondent for RTE,”

tics, it is a very difficult and tough he added.

“T respect his decision and I believe that the world of politics and the Fine Gael Party is at a great loss follow- ing his departure and I would like to take this opportunity to wish George and his family every good wish for the future.”

Clare TD Joe Carey said he was equally shocked by Mr Lee’s deci- sion “to resign from politics after such a brief time as an elected mem- ber of Dail Eireann”.

“He had the potential I believe to make a sizeable contribution to po- litical life in Ireland. However, polli- tics 1s a difficult profession requiring persistence and patience. The way the Irish political system works and Operates, no one person can change things overnight. I myself was lucky to have the benefit of cutting my po- litical teeth as a county councillor before being elected to Dail Eireann and that experience greatly helped prepare me for life as a TD. I wish Mr Lee every success in his future career.”

THE Government has revealed that ‘certain EU issues’ are holding up progress for an international logistics transport hub at Shannon Airport.

Last year, the Shannon Airport Au- thority (SAA) and the Lynxs Group signed a Memo of Understanding (MOU) for the purpose of jointly developing a major international lo- gistics hub and business facility at Shannon.

The agreement was seen as a Sig- nificant step towards the delivery of a state-of-the-art international cargo facility on a 200,000 square-feet site at Shannon Airport.

The Shannon-based Atlantic Way organisation believes that the devel- opment of a global freight logistics centre has the potential to create and support over 10,000 new jobs within a five to ten year timeframe.

However, chairman of the Task Force, Denis Brosnan said that in order for the hub to proceed, €7 mil- lion needs to be given to the Shan- non Airport Authority, which has not eleetiw Kee

He said: “The debate has been go- ing on for 12 months or longer, but the money hasn’t appeared.

In the Dail, the Minister for State at the Dept of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Dara Calleary said that the Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan has discussed the Lynxs project with the Minister for Transport, Noel Demp- TAs

He said: “It appears that certain EU issues need to be resolved if progress is to be made. We are addressing them at EU level.”

Minister Calleary said: “The Lynx Cargo Group and the Dublin Airport Authority are now completing an ex- amination of the feasibility of devel- oping a major cargo facility there.”

Fine Gael Limerick East deputy, Kieran O’Donnell said: “During the Dail debate, the minister, Deputy Willie O’ Dea, said that an announce- ment on the Lynx Cargo project was “imminent”. I would like to know how the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, would define “imminent”, as he appears to be suggesting that an announcement is a little further ee Nl

Clare Fine Gael deputy, Joe Carey said: “The potential benefits of de- veloping the Lynx international car- go facility at Shannon are endless. We are now at a critical juncture as rising unemployment and the loss of

inward investment means action is jLeXer (ore EDEN TL ONT

“In order to make this a reality Government must put their shoulder to the wheel and drive this project until it becomes a reality.

Mr Denis Brosnan, Chairman of the Mid West Taskforce has outlined how beneficial this project could be.

“The €7 million investment re-

quired from government would cop- per fasten the deal with Lynx and would be money well spent as it will create and sustain jobs into the fu- ture. Yet there is a total lack of ur- gency shown by government towards this project.”

He added: “There has been enough talk about this project. We now need to see the investment required from

government. The Lynx cargo facil- ity represents a viable way forward for the development of a major inter- national hub at Shannon. Action is needed immediately to make this a reality.”

THE long-awaited children’s play- ground for Lahinch looks set to get the final go ahead in the coming weeks following unanimous sup- port for a license to be granted to the Lahinch Playground Committee at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Seiee

A local group has been working on a number of proposals to construct a

playground on the promenade area of Lahinch for the last number of years. The group has raised tens of thousands towards the project while funding has also been secured from the council own funding for play- pace Uien

The project had become bogged down with choosing a site for the playground but it now looks almost certain that the green light will be given to construct the playground

on a piece of land belonging to the council supported by Lahinch Sea- (eyule

The local authority will lease a sec- tion of land belonging to Seaworld for £15,000 per year and will in turn licence the operation of the site to the Lahinch Playground Committee for a nominal fee, believed to be €1 per year. Some of this money will be recouped by Clare County Coun- cil through the provision of 12 extra

parking places as part of the devel- opment.

“A huge amount of funding has been raised by the community in Lahinch for this project and we are delighted to be able to proceed with this at last,” said Cllr Richard Nagle ¢3D)

“The playground committee have worked in very close co-operation with the staff here and in Ennis and we are now happy to start this

work.”

Councillor Martin Conway (FG) also complimented the local group on the work they have put in.

“The playground committee have done the rounds in terms of submit- ting the different sites that were up for consideration. They have done great work. This won’t be just a play- ground for the children of Lahinch, it will a playground for all the visitors who come to Lahinch and the people

THE parents of a young Clare school- boy have hailed as “incredible” the impact a special training programme for people with disabilities has had on their son’s life.

Nine-year-old Jack Caldwell and his new best friend, a two-year-old gold- en retriever named Aggie, officially

teamed up at a ceremony in Dublin last week.

Up until a month ago, Jack, who suf- fers from Ataxic Cerebral Palsy, had to use a walking frame to help him move around. The pair were brought together under a scheme operated by Irish Dogs for the Disabled.

Over a period of six to eight months, the charity trains dogs to meet the

needs of its clients.

Aggie has been trained as a stability dog meaning Ennis boy Jack can walk holding her harness on one side and a stick on the other.

In a letter, Jack’s parents John Cald- well and Emer Sherry expressed their delight at the positive impact Aggie has made on their son’s life.

“When we heard that Irish Dogs for the Disabled had identified a suitable dog for him, Jack was motivated to start practicing to walk using tripod walking sticks. Within four weeks, he was confident enough to leave the walking frame at home and just bring his walking sticks to Cork. This was an incredible achievement for a nine- year-old with balance problems and low muscle tone,” they said.

They say that the difference made to Jack’s life as a result of teaming up with Aggie has been “incredible”.

“Aggie is a beautiful two-year-old golden retriever with a lovely calm disposition. Jack adored her from the minute he met her. The difference this has made to Jack 1s incredible. On his second day of training, Jack said to us, ‘I love Aggie because no-one looks at me anymore.’ In his mind, the burden of going out in public with a visible disability had been lifted.”

Irish Dogs for the Disabled aims to assist people with disabilities to enjoy a greater independence and a better quality of life through the provision of specially trained Assistance Dogs.

THE Ennis woman behind a popular Facebook page has said she is over- Wwhelmed by the response it has at- tracted so far.

“You’re a true 30-something from Ennis if you remember…’ invites people to share their memories of growing up in Ennis.

The thread was posted on the social networking site Facebook by local woman Fiona O’Sullivan in early Jan- uary. So far it has attracted over 5,000 comments from the almost 1,000 people who have visited the site.

Fiona said she decided to set up the internet thread after seeing a similar one posted about the Cork town of Carrigaline. “I was using Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family. My husband is from Cork and I saw that there was a Facebook page about growing up in Carrigaline. It had got about 30 hits when I saw it and I thought Ennis could probably do a bit better.”

Fiona said she has been amazed by the popularity of the site.

“T never thought it would be this popular. It’s amazing the amount of people that have been on there. It has

918 friends and over 500 people have posted comments on it. It’s not do- ing so bad. And people are putting up pictures and links to YouTube, which is great. It really adds to it,” she said

‘I’d never heard some of the stories. I’ve laughed an awful lot at some of them. I loved the ones about the old characters from town and the old games like skipping and things like that. I loved the stories about old shops like Bridie Quigley’s chip shop.”

The site has attracted comments from Ennis people now living in various parts of the world. “There

are people living in Dubai and Aus- tralia who have put stories. There are people using it who I wouldn’t have seen in years. It’s great to see people using it to chat and catch up on old mbes lone

One of the Ennis characters re- membered is the late Michael Tier- ney. Fiona has now started a new site calling for a statue to be erected in memory of Mr Tierney in the market area of Ennis.

“It started off as a bit of a laugh but so far about 350 people have logged onto it so it’s getting kind of serious,” she said.

EVEN at knock down prices, Clare County Council is unable to sell its affordable housing stock as numbers on the housing list exceed 2,400. New figures provided by the coun- cil show numbers on the housing list have increased by 40 per cent from 1,716 to 2,408. However, that figure includes those on rent allowance, who in order to qualify for the allow- ance must go on the housing list. Excluding those who are on the list to secure rent allowances, there were 1,594 on the list on January | — an in- crease of 30 per cent on the 1,218 that were on the list at the start of 2009. Special Policy Committee Chair- woman, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said the increased numbers were “extremely worrying and a cause of

concern’.

‘There are real people behind these statistics. There is no way that the council can keep up with the de- mand, but we are managing as best we can. The numbers on the list are high and will continue to get higher,” she said.

The council completed 87 social houses in 2009 and 91 in 2008. A further ten affordable houses were provided through agreement with de- velopers but with the collapse in the housing market, the number of af- fordable homes completed under this scheme dropped to just two.

The council expects to complete 16 affordable homes in 2010 in Shan- non, where there is a strong demand for affordable homes.

However, uncertainty surrounds the number of new house starts for

2010 as local authorities are await- ing a capital allocation for 2010 from the Department of the Environment in relation to the social housing con- struction programme’.

The council has also confirmed that it has 15 unsold affordable homes for sale dispersed over eight locations.

A council spokeswoman – said: ‘These have been for sale for an av- erage of one year. The council has responded to changing market cond1- tions by reducing the purchase price of affordable homes. The reduction in price varies but averages at 15 per cent to 20 per cent below the market price,’ she said.