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A JURY was instructed to return a verdict of ‘not guilty’ against a Kil- rush man who faced two charges of erty

Simon Rogers (20) of Willowgreen Kilrush pleaded not guilty to charges of assault on Dylan Shannon and Luke Shannon at Mount Charles Ter- race, and Smith’s Gardens, Kilkee respectively on February 17, 2008.

A jury had been empanelled and Stephan Coughlan BL for the State told them that the prosecution case

would be that Dylan Shannon suf- fered a severe cut to his head in the assault while Luke Shannon was kicked in the ribs.

When called to the witness box, each witness in turn said they did not wish to give evidence against the ac- CITerer

Judge Ray Fullam told the jury that as there was no evidence being offered, they should find him not guilty.

EMPLOYERS body IBEC have announced plans for a practical in- formation briefing for employers in Limerick, Clare and North Tipper- ary on the critical people manage- ment issues that businesses have to face to survive this recession.

The event will take place between 8.30am and 10.30am on Tuesday, February 24 in the Strand Hotel, Limerick and is open to all, IBEC members and non-members alike.

“The economic downturn is of grave concern The role of manage- ment is to chart a course through these challenges. In doing this, IBEC can provide the support and advice that a business needs in order to po- sition itself to weather the storm and come out stronger at the other end.” stated IBEC Director for the mid- west, Chris O’Donovan

SW slomm oyulosibercamrsU0 mele (onlAU Ram nelommOyon tions and risks for businesses to con- sider when making decisions on pay costs, downsizing and absenteeism, among other issues, in the current economic environment. It will also highlight key legal issues involved when addressing people manage- ment issues.

A spokesman for IBEC explained what will take place during the brief- ing.

“Topic one of the IBEC briefing will specifically focus on under- standing your costs Payroll costs are a significant cost in every organisa- tion. IBEC will guide you in how to scrutinize your pay costs so you can ensure every element is adding value; what to examine in reviewing pay costs; how to measure the cost of absence; sector, national and interna- tional comparators.”

“Topic two will focus on reduc- ing costs. What are your options and what do you need to consider to make the right decisions? Redundan- cy, Lay-off and short-time working, Pay reductions, Leave, Implications of the national wage agreement”

“Topic three is about manag- ing people. For those left behind, how do you cope with the ‘survivor syndrome’; communications- who, when, how? Managing performance, cross-skilling; managing absence,’ he added.

“In 2007, National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) inspectors carried out over 14,000 inspections and detected 2,344 breaches of em- ployment legislation securing almost €2.5 million in arrears for employ- ees. Compliance with constantly changing employment law is becom- ing more challenging than ever.

“Membership of IBEC provides companies with access to specialists in a broad range of business areas including human resources. Local services include practical industrial relations assistance, including IBEC attendance at any third-party repre- sentation.

“Your local office is also a mecha- nism to ensure policy issues of local importance are raised at national level,’ he concluded.

If you would like to attend the briefing, please book online at www. ibec.ie/O/briefing.

TWO men who pleaded guilty to drug-dealing have been told they will not go to prison if they have clear drug-tests for the next two years.

James McCauley (23) from Kil- nasoolagh Park in Newmarket-on- Fergus and Glen Cullinane, Lodge Road, Sixmilebridge both pleaded guilty before the Circuit Court in Ennis to possession of cocaine and ecstasy for sale or supply.

Detective Garda Stephan Ryan told

the court that he searched the boot of a car on March 16 last and found 55.635 grammes of cocaine and 37 ecstasy tablets in a plastic box.

He told Judge Ray Fullam that the cocaine was contained in 32 self- sealed bags of two grammes each which sell for €100.

He told the judge that when they were arrested on the night in ques- tion, both men “co-operated fully” with the gardai.

“They both made a full admission. Both of them had a very serious co-

caine addiction and they got into se- rious debt. The were selling to fund their addictions and to pay their debts but the problem was so serious that a large portion of the drugs which I found were for their personal use,’ the garda told the court.

The court heard that both men were consuming large quantities of co- caine “on a daily basis”.

Counsel for Cullinane said her cli- ent was spending between €500 and €600 a week on cocaine.

Garda Ryan said that he advised

Loke]Hatmpee(oJ0 MMO er-LmmBeloyiam t(oic10 (ole mm KOM ore) help for their problem.

“Since then, they have taken that advice and made amazing progress. They have sought counselling and really turned their lives around,” the ee NOE MT B(G

‘*T believe these two men have posi- tively changed and it is unlikely they will be before the courts again,” the garda continued.

Judge Fullam heard that both men have been in counselling and are now giving regular urine samples which

prove they are drug free.

Noting that Garda Ryan had gone much further to advise and help the two men than was necessary in his job and the fact that he spoke posi- tively about the steps both had taken to tackle their problems, the judge said he would put the case back for two years.

The judge said that he would need a progress and probation report.

“If there is complete rehabilitation in that time, I will be applying the probation act,” he said.

60 council workers to lose jobs

Pay and expenses figures from mid- 2004 until the end of 2008 reveal that three of the six most expensive councillors in Clare came from the Ennistymon electoral area.

The six councillors have shared €§83,896.33 in total between them since mid-2004, an average of €147,316.05 per councillor.

Cllr Flan Garvey (FF) topped the list with a total of €167,511.58 in ex- penses and wages.

OT Cra (mao aio eme- ee \y EhVOmmOys Clare and received a special alloca- tion of extra expenses as a result of Wek

Some of the larger expenses claimed by Cllr Garvey include €1,515.64 for

a trip to the Milwalkee Tourism Pro- motion Conference and €1,733.34 for a twinning trip to Australia in 2007.

As well as this, Cllr Garvey, who is currently Chairman of the Board at the Institute of Technology in Tralee, received €2,829.50 for the completion of a Masters in Business hi wACLelor

Second highest earner in the area was Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) whose total of 161,255.20 includes a special allowance for his work as chair of one of the SPC.

Cllr Joe Arkins also serves as chair of an SPC and is third in the list in north Clare with a total of IRE orh Rope

The lowest total of expenses and pay in the area was to Michael Kelly (FF) at €131, 359.58 fol- lowed by Martin Conway (FG) at €133,359.58 and Martin Lafferty at €134,759.66.

Brennan crowned most costly Ennis councillor

Forum hits out at ‘anti-business’ policies

Council awaits funding for John Paul Estate works

THE husband of a woman murdered by a man who was last week jailed for attempting to abduct a child has said questions must be asked over decisions to grant him bail.

Gerard McGrath (24), was jailed for life last month for murdering Sixmi- lebridge resident Sylvia Roche-Kelly (below), in a Limerick hotel, in De- cember 2007.

At Clonmel Circuit Court last week, McGrath was jailed for 10 years for choking and falsely imprisoning a five-year-old girl who he tried to ab- duct.

McGrath, of Ballywalter, Cashel, County Tipperary, committed this offence in October 2007, just two months before he murdered Ms Ro- che-Kelly.

McGrath had previously assaulted a female taxi driver in April 2007.

MORE than 500 Clare farmers will be hit with interest charges and non- payment penalties following the Government’s decision to default on the payment of the Farm Waste Man- agement Scheme.

Farmers all over the county have taken out bank loans to fund the construction of storage facilities for farm waste following the introduc- tion of tight environmental controls in the 2007 EU nitrate regulations.

However, following the downturn in the public finances the Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, has confirmed that the Government will not be able to fully fund a Govern- ment scheme to help cover the cost of some of the construction work.

These have left many Clare farmers with large bank loans that they can no longer afford to pay. It is feared in some quarters that banks will not be willing to extend more credit to farmers who cannot meet repay- ments.

“We would hope that things don’t get as bad as that. We would hope that any farmer with a decent credit history would be given some backing by the banks on this issue, especially as the banks are to blame for a good part of this situation,’ said Clare IFA Chairman, Michael Lynch.

“We will hope that the Govern-

ment will be able to help out in in- terest and charges from the bank as a result of this. The minister will be meeting with representatives from the bank later this week and the hope is that some sort of arrangement can be reached.”

More than 17,000 farmers through- out the country will be effected by the Governments failure to fully fi- nance this scheme.

IFA National President, Padraig Walshe, accused agricultural minis-

ter of abject failure and of “breaking his word” on the issue.

According to Walshe, Irish farmers who have carried out work have up to €500 million borrowed in bridging finance, which is costing them be- tween €2.5 million and €3.1 million per month.