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that there has been no consultation with GPs in the county, who will be asked to take on extra responsibility as a result of the oe nee

“If casualty goes, there is an expec- tation that GPs will fill the gaps but no one has spoken to us to ask how this will be implemented. We feel we are not the appropriate people to become A and E doctors overnight,” he said.

He said insurance, manpower and qualifications won’t allow it and dis- puted the figures used by the HSE to change the 24-hour A and E service

to a 12 hour service to deal with m1- nor injuries.

According to the HSE, the average number of attendances between 8pm and 8am at Ennis A and E 1s 9.2 and of these many are self-referral who “would be more appropriately dealt with by GP out of hour services”. There 1s no indication if these figures are contemporary.

PUKE IE Noe Iioke) MORON eon cy ambulance calls in Ennis at night. While A and E will be transferred to Limerick, plans are also in place to transfer all surgical emergencies from July. The HSE said it is clos- ing the A and E service as the night numbers is so small.

The Ennis General Hospital Action Committee, who has campaigned against such an eventuality has de- scribed the plan as “a murderous pol- icy’ which will “sound a death knell to the ability of rural areas and pe- ripheral towns to attract investment and jobs into areas with restricted access to acute medical and surgical Services’.

‘The report is a missed opportuni- ty, containing very little primary re- search and recommendations which are based on inappropriately used Statistics.”

, the low cost of la- bour in Poland was the main driving force behind the move. According to figures produced by top US econo- mist Dr Robert Kennedy, Ireland’s average wage, when calculate as pop- ulation divided by GDP, is €37,000

compared to just €8,190 in Poland.

According to the latest statistics available from the CIA’s World Factbook, Poland had _ industrial growth rate stands at nearly nine per cent – far in excess of that in Ireland. Despite this growth however, the un- employment rate still stands at 12.8 per cent with inflation less than two ome ale

Both these factors help to keep wages in Poland low compared to Ireland.

‘Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990

and today stands out as a success story among transition economies,” said the CIA World Factbook.

“GDP has grown by an estimated 6.5 per cent, based on rising private consumption, a jump in corporate investment, and EU funds inflows. GDP per capita is still much below the EU average, but is similar to that of the three Baltic states.”

Meanwhile, an EU Commission in- vestigation into the €52 million pay- ment to Dell from the Polish govern- ment will commence this week.

The commission has doubts as to

its compatibility with the rules on regional aid for large investment projects and in particular needs to verify more closely the definition of the market for the products to be made at the plant, the extent of the increase in production capacity re- sulting from the investment and the extent to which demand for these products is in decline.

THE solicitor for a woman who had asked to be sent to jail in order to get treatment for her heroin addiction has now said that Limerick prison is ‘conducive’ to her habit.

The comments were made in the case of Cora Mulqueen, of Kin- cora apartments, Shannon, who has pleaded guilty to a number of charges under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.

She pleaded guilty to altering a Department of Social and Family Affairs cheque and three other of-

fences, arising out of an incident in December 2007.

She spent a week in jail in Decem- ber, after her solicitor had requested this, in the hope that she could enter a detoxification programme.

However she was released after her solicitor told a court that no treat- ment was made available to her in the prison. She has remained on bail since.

Jenny Fitzgibbon, representing Mulgqueen, told Shannon District Court last Thursday that she wished to have the matter disposed of that day.

“She is under the care of Dr Bhamjee at the moment,” she said.

She said that her client was clean of heroin and while she suffered a set- back during the Christmas, “she feels if she goes back to Limerick prison she will go back on the heroin.”

“The environment is conducive to her habit,” she added.

The case was adjourned for two months for preparation of a proba- tion report and the accused was re- manded on continuing bail.

THE sale of defective cars to young people is at the root of many serious road crashes. That’s according to a Fianna Fail town councillor, who has urged car buyers to ask questions as to the history of the vehicle.

Shannon-based councillor Sean Hillery said a lot of cars are being sold, “but not in a legitimised way”. Faults in steering or brakes lead to bad accidents, he said.

“If you buy a car, it 1s supposed to be of a certain standard. There are a lot of terrible accidents. I see cars for sale in the middle of fields. Is that a proper way? Is that legal? I see other cars stuck on the side of the road and in parks for sale,” he said.

“Young lads today have money to go out and buy them. It doesn’t take a massive speed to kill you in a car. I don’t believe all these accidents are caused by drugs or drink. I believe there are other causes. These cars that are being sold don’t all have MOTs,” he added.

He said the onus on ensuring all cars on the road are roadworthy falls with both the buyer and seller of a car. ‘There was a time when there was a lot of cowboys around who would sell anything. I thought it was wiped out. I don’t think it 1s,’ he added.

While gardai in Clare say that the matter is not a major issue, however several car owners have been pros- ecuted for failing to have a national car test (NCT) disc displayed on their cars. Cars fail the NCT due to one or more defects. Gardai have the power to seize cars that do not have

an NCT three months after it should have been tested.

Meanwhile, the number of penalty points issued to Clare drivers has just topped the 10,000 mark.

Since the points were introduced six years ago, a net 10,021 were handed to drivers with Clare addresses. The gross figure of points issued is sig- nificantly higher than this, as points

are removed from licenses after three years.

Up to the end of December, five drivers had been disqualified from driving for six months each, having obtained 12 penalty points, while another 25 drivers are on the verge of being disqualified: 24 drivers have 10 points each, while one driver has 11 points.

The overwhelming majority of drivers – 7,/44 – have two points on their licenses. 1,484 drivers have four points, while 354 have six pen- alty points.

Speeding is the main offence for which drivers in Clare are getting points on their licenses, with almost 9,000 drivers caught for this offence.

Since the introduction of the of- fence in September 2006 of driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone, 1,262 Clare drivers have been handed points for this.

Anyone caught using a mobile phone while driving faces a fine of €60 and two penalty points. Those who fail to pay the fine and end up with a conviction in court will re- ceive four penalty points and a fine of up to €2,000.

1,148 drivers have been penalised for failing to use their seat belts, while crossing continuous’ white lines, failing to obey traffic lights, failing to comply with traffic signs and driving without reasonable con- sideration have all resulted in dozens of points being amassed by Clare Cle Aone

A WOMAN sustained a black eye after she was pushed down the stairs at her place of work in Kilrush, a court heard yesterday.

Arising out of the incident, Michael Sweeney (20), of Wood Road, Kil- rush, admitted assaulting Bernadette Adams at Leahy’s accountants in Kilrush, on April 6, 2006. He also admitted stealing a mobile phone from the office.

Garda Donal Corkery told Ennis Circuit Court that Ms Adams had been pushed down the stairs, after two youths had entered the office.

She sustained a black eye and suf- fered from headaches in the after- math of the incident.

Gda Corkery said the two young men appeared to have entered the of- fice – located upstairs – after they saw the door open and climbed the stairs. However he said that Sweeney’s character had improved significantly since the incident.

‘He’s not associated with the peo- ple he used to associate with. These people were his downfall,” he said.

Judge Carroll Moran told Sweeney he hoped he appreciated that the garda had been very fair to him.

He imposed a 12 month jail sen- tence and suspended it.

Defective cars blamed for deaths

A WEST CLARE man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16 year old girl had to be extradited from America to come back and face the case, a court heard.

Ennis Circuit Court heard that the 32 year old had pleaded guilty to the assault on the young girl as she lay sleeping in her bed.

On February 9, Judge Carroll Mo- ran was told, the man had been out socialising with the girl’s parents and came back to the house with them.

Around 4am, the girl told gardai, she woke to find the accused naked in the bed beside her. He put his hand under her night-clothes and touched her breasts and private parts.

In a statement to gardai made three days after the event, the girl said she was crying and trying to push the ac- cused’s hand away.

The Judge was told that the girl had to go for counselling for a number of years and was skipping school, be-

lieving people were staring at her.

She is engaged but has had some strain on the sexual relationship with her fiancé as a result of the incident, the court heard.

Speaking in mitigation for his cli- ent, Mark Nicholas BL said he had a severe drink problem, which he has dealt with. “He has voluntarily brought urine analysis which shows week after week that he is not drink- ib ito

Mr Nicholas said the man is “thor- oughly ashamed of this despicable act and I offer and apology to the in- jured party.”

He added that while his client had gone to the USA “he was not hiding. He was working and had applied for a residency permit so he was on the iecTOre hal

Judge Moran said he did not want to make an instant decision and ad- journed sentencing to January 29 to the court in Limerick.

SUBSTANTIAL start up costs have resulted in a regional radio station, which has former Irish rugby captain Keith Wood amongst its directors and main shareholders, incurring losses of almost €1 million.

According to accounts recently returned to the Companies Office Spin South West, which broadcasts to the Shannon region, had accumu- lated losses of €996,341 at the end of 2007.

The station started broadcasting in the second half of 2007 and a spokes- man said yesterday that the accounts are for the initial six months of trad- ing and reflect the high set-up costs involved in launching a radio sta- tion.

“In our business plan submitted to the Broadcasting Commission of Ire- land (BCI), we anticipate losses for the first four years of trading, but we are confident we will not alone reach but exceed targets set out in that busi- ness plan given that we have already soared to the top in terms of listener- ship figures.

‘In the space of just twelve months , we became the number one listened- to radio station and top market share for 15 to 34 year olds in the region, which is unprecedented for newly launched stations and completely bucks the trend for regional radio stations.

“The 15 to 34 year old market is the biggest spending segment in so- ciety and the one the vast majority of

advertisers wants to reach. Because SPIN South West is already the dominant force in that sector in this region means we can look forward to a very bight future indeed.”

The accounts show that Kulla- loe man, Keith Wood has 200,000 Shares in the station and also sits on the board. Also on the board 1s chief executive of Clare FM, Liam O’Shea who owns 100,000 shares.

Other shareholders include the own- ers of Clare FM, Clare Community Radio Holdings plc, Communicorp Group Ltd, Stockbyte multimillion- aire, Jerry Kennelly, John O’Connor and Setanta Radio Ltd.

Spin South West beat off competi- tion from a consortium that included

Red FM from Cork that counted An- thony Dinan, the managing director of Thomas Crosbie Holdings which owns

PROTESTERS turned out in En- nis last week to hand out leaflets at O’Connell Street and O’Connell Square urging shoppers to boycott Israeli products.

The protest was part of a day of ac- tion in support of the people of Pal- estine.

The leaflets, designed by the Ire- land Palestine Solidarity Campaig n, were produced and distributed on their behalf by local Sinn Féin AYE WARSI

The partys Ennis — candi- date, Séan Hayes, speaking af- ter the event saidthe day “was about sh-owing support for the people of Palestine and in particu-

lar, those of Gaza, who are suf- fering appallingly As the hands of the Israeli military. It was also important to let’ the people of Clare know how they can help to force the Israelis to stop such savage attacks and ne- gotiate a two state solution with the elected representitives of the Palestinian people. Rock- ets fired by Hamas have killed 19 Israelis in the last six years so the massacre of hundreds of palestinians and wounding = of thousands more 1s totally dispro- portionate and unacceptable.”

Europe is the largest trad- ing partner for Israeli goods and last December the EU granted Is- rael further preferencial terms of tr

ade, Hayes said.

“It is worth noting that the EU cut all aid to Palestine follow- ing their democratic decision to elect Hamas to govern them. Sinn Féin’s MEPs will be fighting hard to have those trade terms reversed in light of Israel’s disre gard for the lives of innocent c1- aU br. N sh

IT’S days like this that Bunratty real- ly earn their badge as league leaders. A tricky away tie to newly promoted Bridge United, torrential rain, a driv- ing wind and treacherous underfoot conditions combined to thwart the form side of the division but through Sheer obstinance and determination, Bunratty dug in to complete their sixth successive league victory.

The key to the victory was strik- ing early and catching the home side cold. Bridge Utd have struggled to adjust to the top division this season but with a plethora of games in hand and coming into some decent form recently, they would have felt confi- dent in taking on the league leaders at home. Undoubtedly, their team talk would have consisted of keep- ing things tight in the early stages in order to frustrate Bunratty but that plan went out the window as early as the third minute when Con Collins stooped at the back post to guide a curling David Hogan free kick into the left corner of the net.

With Bunratty backed by a strong breeze, it was a sucker-punch for the home side who had to resort to long balls to their lively front pair- ing of Trevor Maxwell and Derek Fahy. Instead, Bunratty used the lead and wind advantage to control the midfield with Shane O’Connor pre- dominantly foraging alone up front as Peter Ballough dropped deep to make a midfield five. It worked well

as Ballough found space in the hole between United’s defence and mid- field but despite a 12th minute effort that went straight at goalkeeper Tuo- hy, the Oscar Traynor player often preferred to become provider rather than striker.

It took the home side 25 minutes to produce their first clearcut oppor- tunity but after a neat build up that saw playmaker Greg Deegan set up Tadgh Keogh at the edge of the box, the midfielder blazed his shot over the crossbar.

As the half wore on though, Bun- ratty began to up the tempo and it had to take some brave defending to keep them at bay. In the 34th minute, a Noel Collins inswinging corner had to be clawed away by goalkeeper Paul Tuohy and the subsequent shots were repelled by the Bridge defence. Then in the space of a minute, Bun- ratty had two efforts deflected to safety, first from Con Collins which ended up in Tuohy’s arms while the second from Shane O’Connor just squirmed wide of the right hand post for a corner.

Bridge Utd meanwhile had to de- pend on counter-attacks and right before half-time, the ball fell nicely to winger Geoffrey Flynn but his shot held up in the mud, much to the delight of Bunratty keeper Gary Mc- Gettrick.

The second half was a complete transformation as it was the home side who now had the advantage of the gale that blew towards the vil-

lage. They were also helped by the fact that Bunratty goalscorer Con Collins was substituted at the break and right winger Ryan Kelly soon followed after picking up a knock rN e base M atom Or nem

In fact, Bridge Utd could have equalised as early as the first minute when Greg Deegan’s free kick was spilled by McGettrick but neither Trevor Maxwell or Tadgh Keogh could reach the ball in time. It did give the home side confidence how- ever, and even though Bunratty did have a goal ruled off for offside, it was a rare attack in a sea of United EAU Ke

For all their endeavour though, the Sixmulebridge side’s final ball was repeatedly disappointing and Max- well and Fahy seemed to receive the ball in non-threatening areas and had to feed off scraps. There were several goalmouth scrambles but McGettrick was rather untroubled in goal and it led to increasing frustration for the home side.

In fact, for all Bridge Utd’s pressure, it was Bunratty who arguably creat- ed the best chances of the half, with Ballough the main threat. In the 63rd minute, his effort from distance went straight at Tuohy and twenty minutes later, he produced the best out of the Bridge goalkeeper with two succes- sive shots, the first from a free kick that was tipped over the bar and the second a stinging attempt from that set piece that made Tuohy scramble through the mud to save at the front

post. Substitue Christy Griffin also had a late effort saved but there was still time for one final opportunity for Bridge Utd when Derek Fahy re- ceived the ball at the edge of the area but his curling effort just evaded the top of the crossbar.

Bunratty’s relief was compounded by the news that Bridge Celtic had beaten second placed Lifford, thus Open up a seven point gap for the leaders at the summit. It’s still early days yet and their other rivals still have games in hand but if Bunratty can keep churning out results Ike this, it will be difficult to stop them.