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KEEPING crime patterns under re- view and creating a multi-faceted approach to tackling crime will be among the chief priorities for the Joint Policing Committee for the county.

The committee, which met for the first time yesterday, will consist of the county’s four TDs, council offi- cials, gardai, several councillors and community representatives.

‘The important thing is we keep under review the level and pattern of crime and anti-social behaviour and things like the misuse of alcohol and drugs,” said Cllr Joe Arkins, who is the chairman of the group.

‘Every corner of the county is rep- resented,’ he added.

He said that members of the public will be invited to some of the meet- ings, where they will be given the scope to express their views on issues of concern.

Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley said the forum would be “very useful. It will give gardai and politicians from across the county an opportunity to discuss issues of relevance to them. It has to be seen as a forum for devel- oping policy across the county.

“It is going to be a two-way proc- ess. Gardai and local people will work together towards a satisfactory outcome. Gardai need assistance in developing policy at a local level, for example with the county council to

develop speed limits in certain ar- eas,” said Deputy Dooley.

Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said he is hopeful the committee’s formation will be worthwhile.

“I’d be hopeful it would be opened up to the public. I think it will be a useful forum and will sort out issues in the county,” he said.

Cllr Pat Hayes (Fianna Fail) has been appointed vice-chairman of the committee. The other councillors on the committee are Bernard Han- rahan, Flan Garvey, Patrick Keane, Tony O’Brien, Cathal Crowe and

Pat McMahon (all Fianna Fail); Paul Murphy, Oliver Garry, John McIner- ney and Joe Cooney (all Fine Gael); Pascal Fitzgerald (Labour); Inde- pendent councillor Martin Lafferty and Brian Meaney (Green Party).

The current mayor of Clare, Cllr Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (FG) is also a member of the committee by virtue of being mayor.

County Manager Alec Fleming and Director of Services with the county council Tom Coughlan are also on the committee. The commu- nity members on the committee are

Stephen Walsh (East Clare Area Net- work) and Paul Gaughran and Rich- ard Cahill (Shannon Area Network).

The committee will meet every quarter and the next meeting will take place in July.

THE swift actions of an eagle-eyed Ennis resident assisted in the pros- ecution in an investigation into a stolen sports car.

However, when it came to court last week, the case was struck out.

Paul Daly (19), of Considine’s Road, Cloughleigh, Ennis, was ac- cused of unlawfully taking posses- sion of a car without the consent of the owner, at Mill Road, Ennis, on May 20, 2008.

The owner of the car told Ennis District Court that he parked his sports car on the Mill Road in Ennis at 7pm on the evening of May 20.

When he returned 90 minutes lat- er, the car was gone.

It was later found by gardai, hav- ing been crashed.

A resident on the Lahinch Road in the town told the court that he was at home on the evening of May 24 Ee

He heard a car being driven past his house on its rims and it got ‘louder and louder”.

There were two individuals in the car. He took photographs of the two men who had come from the direc- tion of the car, as they passed by his house.

“Things didn’t seem right. The front number plate was missing,” he said. The court heard that this was the car that had been stolen.

The photographs were presented to the court – on a computer – and defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said, “The man in the stripy thing 1s my client.”

Garda Chris Power told the court that he was involved in the investi- gation and said he arrested the ac- cused in Ennis town on the evening of May 24, on suspicion of allowing himself to be carried in a stolen ve- hicle.

Ms Godfrey applied for the case to be struck out, on a number of

grounds.

She said that her client had been accused of an offence on May 20 and “there 1s no evidence adduced by the state to support the allegation that my client took possession of a car on May 20.”

She said the owner of the car did not see who had taken it and the res- ident’s evidence related to May 24.

She said one of the men in the photograph “probably was my cli- ent, but that’s irrelevant to the pros- Torn CO) 0 ae

Inspector Michael Gallagher said he accepted the solicitor’s point and Judge Timothy Lucey struck out the charge.

“What happened on the 24th can- not necessarily be connected with what happened on the 20th,” said the judge.

IRISH companies are operating in economic circumstances that have never been seen before, and facing severe challenges in terms of both securing their business and retain- ing jobs. Maintaining and growing exports is critical.

Enterprise Ireland is looking to mo- bilise all of its national and interna- tional resources and 1s working with clients to help them address two key priorities right now – securing the vi- ability of their business, and maxim- ising their potential for growth.

Enterprise Ireland is running a special series of business workshops throughout the country for exporting client companies to help them ad- dress three key areas that can have a real impact on their ability to weath- er the current harsh trading environ- ment:

A BIRTHDAY celebration turned sour when a row broke out at a disco in Scariff and the man celebrating his birthday was assaulted.

As a result, cousins Gary Quigley (19), of Riverview, Scariff, and Keith Quigley (20), of Callaghy, Tuam- graney, were convicted of assaulting Raymond Durek, at McNamara’s dis- co in Scariff on March 20 last year.

Inspector John Galvin told Killaloe District Court that something was said to Mr Durek’s girlfriend and Mr Durek was then knocked to the ground.

‘A number of people jumped on top of him. He got struck. Keith Quigley was identified as one of those,” he said. “Gary Quigley struck Mr Durek later that evening,” he said.

He said the injured party did not sustain serious injuries.

Mr Durek told the court that he had been out celebrating his birthday that night and said he was punched a number of times.

Defending solicitor Sauls Loughnane said that while he was not trying to diminish what had hap- pened, it was at the “lower end of the scale” in terms of assaults.

He said that Gary Quigley got in- volved because he thought his cousin Keith had been under attack.

Keith Quigley had no previous convictions, while Gary had been in court previously, on a minor matter.

A one-month jail term was imposed on Gary Quigley, suspended for two years. He was also fined €1,500, while a fine of €1,000 was imposed on Keith Quigley.

NEW figures show that east Clare is the part of the county hardest hit by the recession.

Live register figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yes- terday, show that there has been a 91 per cent rise in unemployment in the east Clare area.

Overall, between February of this year and February 2008, the numbers receiving welfare in the Tulla Social Welfare Office serving east Clare has increased from 610 to 1,168.

This compares to a 76 per cent in- crease across the county where the numbers on the live register have increased from 5,072 to 8,932 in the space of 12 months.

The figures from Ennis show there has been a 74 per cent increase go- ing from 2,946 in February 2008 to 5,136 in February 2009.

The figures for the north Clare area show that there was also a 74 per cent increase with the numbers on the live register increasing from 807 to 1,348.

The statistics relating to west Clare

show that the numbers in Kilrush on the live register increased from 709 to 1,216 — arise of 71 per cent.

Reacting to the figures yesterday, east Clare councillor, Cllr Colm W1- ley (FF) said, “These figures are of real concern and it is very serious. The indications are that it is going to get worse and I don’t know what exactly can be done about it at this stage.”

Cllr Wiley said that the companies located in east Clare, including Finsa and Olympus Diagnostica, “are hold- ing their own, but Finsa would be

vulnerable as it depends so much on the construction industry”.

Killaloe-based Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) also expressed his concern over the figures. He said, “East Clare is predominantly a tourist area and, in a world recession, they are the jobs most at threat.

“T would hope now that any tour- ism projects that are being proposed would be located in east Clare. | would also call on all the support agencies to provide assistance to any people considering start-up business- es in the area.”

INDEPENDENT councillor Taiwo Matthew has confirmed that he will be running as a candidate in June’s local elections.

Speaking yesterday Cllr Matthew said he is seeking to retain his seat in Ennis Town Council.

The Nigerian born doctor made history when he became the first im- migrant to be elected to local office in Ireland in 2004.

At the time of his election in 2004, Cllr Matthew addressed his support- ers in Ennis. “You have written the name of Ennis in gold in the book of history,’ the former Nigerian asy- lum-seeker said proudly to the sup- porters who helped elect him to En- nis Town Council.

“By electing me, the Ennis people have looked beyond the colour of my skin and accepted me on my indt-

vidual merits.”

Cllr Matthew said he is looking forward to again contesting the elec- tion.

[have had a great experience in the council. I have learned a lot in these last five years. I will be running for Ennis Town Council again.”

While he says that he is looking for- ward to getting out and meeting vot- ers, Cllr Matthew admits that regain- ing his seat in Ennis Town Council is going to be a tough challenge.

“Tam looking forward to it. It was a great experience when I first ran for office in 2004 and it is a process that I am looking forward to taking part in again. But I know that it will hard and that it will be very challenging to get elected again. But as I said, I am looking forward to the election,’ said the councillor.

Cllr Matthew explained that he had just moved house and was now con-

centrating his energies on the elec- tion campaign.

‘‘T have just moved house so things are very busy at the moment.”

Cllr Matthew’s election to Ennis Town Council occurred in the same year as the election of fellow Nigeri- an, Rotimi Adebari in Portlaoise. Mr Adebari made history when he was elected Ireland’s first black mayor in 2007.

In the same year Cllr Matthew missed out on election as Ennis’s first black mayor when he was defeated in a vote by fellow Independent coun- cilor Tommy Brennan.

, Dr Walsh writes that any Board of Management (BOM) un- able to commit to a common enrol- ment policy could be instructed, “not to engage in an enrolment procedure under the provision of their current admissions policy”.

A second option that could be pur- sued, the letter states, would be to “instruct the BOM to conduct enrol- ment under the joint auspices of the Chairperson of the BOM and the St Senan’s Education Office”.

All six primary schools in Ennis agreed to the implementation of a common enrolment policy follow- ing lengthy discussions through the Ennis Parish Forum and St Senan’s Education Office in Limerick.

Speaking in Ennis on Thursday night at the launch of the common enrolment policy, Bishop Walsh said he wrote to schools to ask them to

follow the policy for one year.

‘That was the reason why I wrote to them. I wanted to indicate very strongly that I wanted this admis- sions policy accepted,” he said.

Bishop Walsh added, “All the boards have signed up to it. I’m aware of the fact that some schools have some difficulties. They have made their unhappiness known to me.”

The letter is dated January 21, 2009, and is addressed to members of the Board of Management and En- nis Parish Forum Members.

In it, Dr Walsh states, “As of writ- ing, no Board of Management has

indicated to me that it wishes to re- scind this commitment. However, it has come to my attention that an issue regarding the implementation of the agreed admissions policy and application procedures has arisen in one school.”

The letter continued, “At this junc- ture, I request that each Board of Management recommits to the im- plementation of the admissions pol- icy and application procedure for the school year.”

The letter continued, “The prin- ciples of the Ennis Parish Forum underpin collaboration between the

Boards of Management of the Ennis Parish schools. As patron, I reiterate my total support for these principles and the functioning of the forum. With this in mind, I wish to inform each board that should it find itself unable to re-commit that I will pur- sue one or a combination of the fol- lowing. (1) Instruct the BOM not to engage in any enrolment procedure under the provision of their current admissions policy or (2) instruct the BOM to conduct enrolment under the joint auspices of the Chairperson of the BOM and St Senan’s Educa- tion office.”

BISHOP of Killaloe Willie Walsh has hit out at “unacceptable” school conditions in Ennis.

Bishop Walsh was speaking in En- nis on Thursday where he also stat- ed that the provision of new school buildings in Ennis had been a “prior- ity” for him since he became patron of the schools 20 years ago.

‘These are very difficult issues and very sensitive issues. None of us do everything perfect. I have no hesita- tion in saying that I didn’t do every- thing perfect over the past 20 years,” said Bishop Walsh, when asked if he thought mistakes had been made during his tenure as schools patron.

He continued, “But the whole ques- tion of buildings in Ennis schools as far as I am concerned is unaccepta- ble. I have at all times, over the years, done all in my power to try and right that situation. I don’t mind saying that it’s a source of real sadness to me to see pupils and teachers work in conditions which I regard as unac- ceptable in this day and age.”

Bishop Walsh’s remarks came at the launch of a common enrolment policy for all six schools in Ennis

vale

Feasibility studies for Ennis Na- tional School, Ennis CBS and Scoil Chriost Ri, Cloughleigh, were first carried out by the Department of Education in 1999. Despite these studies all recommending extensive building accommodation works, none have been carried out.

“The trap which the Ennis schools fell into is that the devolved grants scheme only applies to extensions. It did not apply to totally new schools. Unfortunately, three of the schools in Ennis had the assessment done 10 years ago, and the Department decided that all three needed new buildings,” he commented.

Bishop Walsh continued, “At the time, we were very happy that we were going to get three totally new schools in Ennis and that the other schools were in new buildings. So we were looking forward to having an excellent standard of new schools in Ennis. But unfortunately, despite our best efforts…And it certainly has been a priority with me. I have had more contact with the department in relation to the buildings in Ennis than in any other place in the dio- cese, but without success.”

CAR-PARKING charges at Shannon Airport are now more than double those at Dublin Airport.

Local county councillor, Cllr Patri- cia McCarthy (Ind) has called on the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) to review its charges. She made her call after it emerged that the Dublin Aiur- OLeummaUe Nee e AAO D.0n0 eel mB Lie OU (eer in response to a private competitor at Dublin Airport.

Last month, the SAA – which op- erates a monopoly at Shannon on car-parking – increased its long-term parking charges from €9 to €9.50.

However, in the past week, the DAA, which operates about 21,000 parking spaces at Dublin Airport, cut the price of long-term parking in half after private operator Quick-Park re- duced its charges.

Passengers who pre-book their spaces online can now park in the DAA’s long-term facilities for just €4.50 a day — the offer is open to a limited number of spaces. This com- pares with the normal rate of €9 a day at Dublin.

Short-term spaces can be booked for as little as €10 a day in Dublin, compared with a normal rate of €40 a day. In Shannon, the cost of car-

parking is €20 per day.

A spokeswoman for the SAA said yesterday that the authority has re- cently spent €800,000 on a new car-parking management system at Shannon to allow passengers to pre- book online. However, she said there is no timescale in which passengers will be able to book online.

Car park revenues have been a cash cow for the SAA over the past num- bers of years as passenger numbers soared in line with economic growth and charges to airlines dropped to at- tract new carriers.

The spokeswoman said there are no plans to reduce the car-parking charg-

es at Shannon. She pointed out that the long-term car-park at Shannon Airport is the most adjacent car-park at any of the three main airports.

Cllr McCarthy said yesterday, ‘People are finding the cost of park- ing at Shannon Airport prohibitive and some are parking in Shannon town rather than at the airport. The authority should review the charges because we don’t want them to be- come prohibitive.”

Last year, it emerged that the DAA earned €52 million in 2007 from its car parks in Dublin, Cork and Shan- non. This was roughly eight per cent of DAA’s overall turnover.

ENNIS Town Council have a big push on to get people on board to buy homes in an affordable housing scheme just weeks after it opened.

The three-bedroom affordable homes are for sale in the Westbourne Estate, Watery Road, Ennis, at €175,000.

The council is hoping to get would- be property owners to take up the offer for the knock-down price as quickly as possible.

“What makes these houses afforda- ble is that they are available at prices that are much lower than the market

value — that is what makes it an ‘af- fordable home’,” a release from the town council said.

It is possible to borrow up to 97 per cent of the purchase price of an af- fordable home, leaving the buyer to make up just the remaining three per cent.

The council is even advising which financial institutions are lending for the properties.

To qualify for an affordable home, buyers need to earn roughly from €30,000 for a single applicant and up to €60,000 on a joint application.

“These are the approximate limits only – lower and higher income lim-

its may apply,” the release said.

The properties ae being sold through Frank Cullinan at Paddy Browne and Co Real Estate Alliance at Woodquay, Ennis.

The latest official figures show that Clare County Council acquired 35 units of affordable housing in the period from January | to September 30.

In the same period, the local au- thority were in the process of acquir- ing 24 more units and were looking at proposals for four more.

During that time also, the council rented 133 homes under the social rental housing scheme and bought

12 more for rental. They were in the process of acquiring 250 more.

There were four homes completed under the voluntary and co-operative housing scheme, while 54 more were in progress at that time.

There was no housing processed under the voluntary and co-opera- tive housing capital loan and subsidy scheme in that period but the capital assistance scheme saw four homes aquired in Clare, 54 in progress and a start being made on 44 more.

The local authority completed 133 housing units in that time, aquired 12 more, started on 181 further units and were making progress on 252.