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STRICT bail conditions have been imposed on a young man accused of assault in Shannon.

Dominic Hayes (18), of Inis Ealga, Shannon, is accused of assaulting a young man at Shannon Town Cen- tre on November 14 last. He is also accused of stealing alcohol, valued €3.20, at the Shannon Knights on August 8 last.

Sergeant Michael O’Connell told Ennis District Court last Friday morning that he charged the accused the previous evening.

Defending solicitor Jenny Fitzgib- bon applied for free legal aid for her client, who is currently undertaking a FAS course. She also sought bail for her client.

Inspector John Galvin applied for seven conditions to be attached to the bail.

These were that the accused would indicate where he would reside; abide by a curfew between 7.30pm and Sam; abstain from alcohol and illicit CHUA EA CB TORO rele Mma ltmsel gee named individuals; attend his FAS course daily and sign on at Shannon garda station daily, while the State was granted liberty to re-enter the case at 24 hours’ notice.

He was remanded on bail to appear again in court in January.

ENNIS traders say that despite pre- dictions of doom and gloom, their Christmas trade is looking good.

While there is definitely a drop in spending on previous years, custom- ers are not saying “bah Humbug” to Christmas, the traders say.

But the bad news for the town came in the form of a rates-hike, which is going to put businesses under se- vere pressure in the coming year, the Ennis Chamber of Commerce has eH ule b

Parnell Street trader and boss at Ennis Electrical, Paul Flynn, said at close of business last night that the customers “are still coming in. The throughput this year has been as good as any other year if not better and I believe the January sales will be a major factor this year.”

The Chairman of the O’Connell Street retailers association has said that while spending may not have skyrocketed, activity has been high in Ennis so far this Christmas.

Gearoid Mannion said pedestria- nisation of the town centre and in- creased parking had helped boost business.

“It is down a little, but pedestrian1- sation seems to have helped. Satur- day and Sunday were both busy days in the town. People are just being a little bit more cautious and taking stock of their situation,” he said.

Mr Mannion welcomed signage advertising parking availability and the decision by Ennis Town Council to commence pedestrianisation at OEbe

But he added that the “cumulative effect” of yearly increases in com- mercial rates was impacting on busi- nesses.

“Over all it (pedestrianisation) has improved on last year and I’m look- ing forward to a great atmosphere on the streets over Christmas,” said Mr WZ ETevebteyey

But Ennis Chamber CEO, Rita McInerney said the chamber is “very disappointed at Ennis Town Coun- cil’s decision to increase the com- mercial rate by three per cent, given our submission to the budget not to increase the charge for 2009.

Ennis businesses are suffering as a result of the current economic down- turn but are managing to survive only by strict cost control. As we ap- proach a time of zero inflation and customers having reduced spending power, there is no room for any price increases. Most businesses have already absorbed a VAT increase without passing it on to customers. They are about to experience an al- most doubling of water and waste tN exocne

IN a market where prices continue to decline, many property owners are cutting estate agents out of the equa- tion to save on costs. Consequently the ‘Sell it Yourself’, or ‘SITY’ sector, as it is known, is gathering momen- tum.

The company trading as Sellity- ourself.ie has been the major success story across Ireland in this arena, and it has its head office in Ennis.

Niamh O’Meara-Daly explained the company’s offer. “Sellityourself. ie provides property sellers with a complete selling package, everything from an online property listing, “For Sale’ signboard, pointer board and a newspaper advertising service.

“What’s more, the €195 fee on Sellityourself.ie is a one-time fee and your property is listed on the site until it’s sold.”

The key difference between this and high street estate agency serv- ices is that it’s down to the sellers to show their house to potential buyers and they handle the price discussions themselves, before handing the sale over to a Solicitor to deal with all the legal aspects and to close the sale.

While Sellityourself.ie do not val- ue property, they can advise on how to value property as well as recom- mending independent valuers if re- quired.

According to Niamh, “One of the main advantages of selling property

without an agent is the financial ben- efit. When you sell your property yourself you do not incur the cost of an agents commission. The average commission charged by agents in Ireland is 1.5 per cent, to which VAT is added at 21.5 per cent, so the sav- ing can be substantial.

As she sees it, “The other main ad- vantage of SITY property sales is that you have total control over the sell- ing process. Property owners sell-

ing direct know the exact number of buyers viewing their property online. They also know the precise number of phone and email enquiries they are receiving and they can speak directly to the buyers to gauge their level of interest.

If interest is low they can take meas- ures to increase it, whether through readjusting the price or through advertising. With an estate agent, you’re relying on their feedback. In

some cases, this feedback may not be entirely accurate, as the agent has their own reputation to protect”.

Many property owners choose to sell on Sellityourself.ie because they feel that they can do a better job of promoting their property to potential buyers, as they know it so much bet- ter than any agent could.

A recent survey by Sellityourself.ie showed that this is the main reason why people choose to sell on their

own.

Sellityourselfie is growing from strength to strength since its launch in 2006 and Niamh believes, “Prop- erty sellers are delighted at the pros- pect of having an alternative option to an estate agent, both in terms of saving money and dealing directly with the buyers. Also, because of the low cost, sellers have the option to advertise on Sellityourself.ie along- side an estate agent, provided they have not given sole selling rights to the agent.”

They also have the option of reduc- ing the price considerably if pushing for a quick sale as no commission will be incurred at the end of the sale. Many sellers have commented on the greater flexibility associated with selling themselves.”

There are currently 26 property listings in the County Clare area on the sellityourself.1e website. Two of the most recent properties are a three bed, semi-detached home in the Riv- erside Development of Ard Caoin, Gort Road, Ennis while in Tulla an impressive country house set on a half acre site has recently been add- ed.

Visit http://www.sellityourself.ie and select Clare from the search drop down in order to view all property listings in the county.

Sellityourselfie support staff are available to deal with enquiries, on Lo-Call 1850 663333 or on 065 6868630.

MAJOR increases in payments to elderly people are needed if they are to cope with the recession, with many retired people living on the poverty line as it is, it was claimed this week.

Age Action West is calling on the Government to act to prevent wide- spread poverty among older people living on a fixed income.

James Reddiough of Age Action explained that a weekly income of €203 1s considered to be the line be- low which people are living in pov- Saas

‘Most people living on a state pen- sion are living on between €219 and €232 per week. That close to the poverty line and when you consider that’s to clothe, feed themselves, pay bills and in rural areas, pay for their own transport that’s not a lot of mon-

ey.” Said James.

Age Action wants increases in the State pension, the Living Alone AI- lowance and other entitlements such as the €10 fuel allowance to help pensioners make ends meet.

There are between 1,500 and 2,000 additional deaths each winter, com- pared to the summer, many of whom are older people who die because they cannot afford to keep them- selves warm,’ Age Action chief ex- ecutive Robin Webster said. “Lives could be saved by increasing the fuel allowance paid to the poorest pen- sioners.’”’

DOMINIC Considine, founder and chief executive of Loyaltybuild, the Ennis-based marketing loyalty com- pany which has been acquired by US firm, Affinion for a sum believed to be in the region of €25muillion.

A native of Kilmihil, Mr Considine will remain as chief executive of the company which employs about 70 staff devising and managing market- ing loyalty programmes on behalf of client companies.

Other shareholders in Loyalty- build, which was established by Mr Considine as Shannon Showcase in 1999, are Sean Lyne and Domhnal Slattery, who are also investors in

Traveller families in need of permanent homes

Plan for Traveller accommodation ‘bodes ill

AHEAD of the four day National Hunt Festival at Leopardstown, which begins on Friday, St Stephen’s Day, trainer Willie Mullins has con- firmed he could run_ stablemates Cousin Vinny and Hurricane Fly in the same race for the second time in a month.

The possibility of the two meeting could arrive on Saturday as over the weekend, Mullins said that there was “every possibility” that Cousin Vin- ny will run.

Last year, Cousin Vinny was the first horse to complete the Chelten- ham and Punchestown bumper dou- ble and Mullins confirmed that is he does go on Saturday, it wouldn’t pose a problem to the trainer if he and Hurricane Fly run in the same race.

“Cousin Vinny’s hurdling debut was very pleasing and he obviously has loads of speed as you need that to win three bumpers,” said Mullins. ‘“He’s won on good ground and on soft ground but his best form is on good ground.”

Mullins also stated that Hurricane Fly has had some invaluable experi- ence of late. “He had a lot of expert- ence form his runs in the spring,” he continued. “He stepped back to two miles last time but two and a half miles isn’t a problem either as he was second in a Grade One and won a

Grade Three over that trip.”

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the big news from Thurles was that odds on favourite Solwhit failed to land the Jockey Hotel Hurdle on Sunday.

With Paddy Flood on board, Nine- tieth Minute was steered to success despite Charles Byrnes’ Solwhit go- ing to the track priced at 1-3.

To Flood’s credit, though, Ninetieth Minute looked to be in control of the race from start to finish and despite a strong fight from Solwhit, he was un- able to get ahead in the race and ulti- mately lost by three parts of a length at the line.

However, it wasn’t a total negative experience for Byrnes as Dromin Hill Echo, with Lenny Flynn on board, landed the Molony Cup Handicap Chase in emphatic fashion.

Afterwards, Byrnes also confirmed that he will go at Leopardstown and Limerick and will most likely go to Limerick under a mandatory pen- alty.

There was further positive news for Byrnes when his 50-1 shot Bit of a Devil took the INH Stallion Owners’ EBF Maiden Hurdle.

Two out, Bit of a Devil took control of the race and bombed home in what was a first winner for jockey Justin AY Lora) ens

CLARE County Council is to carry out upgrade works on two treatment plants to boost sewage capacity in Syavauksy

Senior executive engineer Walter Walshe told last Wednesday’s budget meeting of Clare County Council that work at a site in Clonroadmore, Ennis should be completed by Sep- tember 2009.

The move comes as progress con- tinues to be slow on the long mooted

Ennis Clarecastle main drainage scheme. The project, which would add extra sewage capacity in Ennis, was first proposed in 1995.

The meeting heard that work on the scheme is not expected to begin until 2010. Walter Walshe, senior execu- tive engineer, told the meeting that the process had been delayed in re- cent months pending completion of a cost/benefit analysis report.

‘Hopefully by the end of the year, we can finalise it and send it to the department.”

Cllr Tommy Brennan said the de- lays had negatively impacted on LoynaueassKoE DMO Coa Zed o)oyeeCornmnO me ONNNKS

He said, “There is to be no move- ment on the plant until 2010. What will people do in the meantime? We’ve been reduced to a situation where not even one more house can plug into the main sewer”’.

“Go ahead for this plant was given in 2002. Its high time the department were brought to book on this. How can you pay for something with de- velopment charges, if you can’t let

people develop”, added Cllr Bren- TENOR

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) called for the council executive to give a strong commitment to the Ennis Clarecastle Main drainage scheme.

“Development in the town is mori- bund. Even if we had a full time boom we would not be able to take advantage,” said Cllr Meaney.

Director of services David Timlin said assessments were still being carried out on the Ennis Clarecas- tle main drainage scheme. “There

is a very strong commitment from the executive to the project. We are looking for funding from the depart- ment”, said Mr Timlin.

Clare County Council estimates that it will spend over €22 million on water services for the county next year. That 1s an increase of almost €3 million from the estimated 2008 figure.

Deputy county manager Noreen Fitzgerald expenditure had _ swal- lowed up a large part of the council’s finances in recent years.

TWO Clare clubs are determined to take the fight to retain the Interpro- vincial hurling and football competti- tions on the GAA calendar to Central Council level, even though full-time secretary Pat Fitzgerald claims that the series now “faces a doomsday Nero tte CO ee

The commitment of both the St Joseph’s Miltown and Crusheen clubs to the Interprovincials — formerly known as the Railway Cups — that date from 1927 will be brought to the floor of Thursday’s annual conven- tion in the Auburn Lodge.

Both have tabled motions in a bid to give another strand to the long-run- ning Clare campaign to safeguard the competition and ensure that it forms an integral part of the annual GAA calendar.

Former GAA presidential candidate Noel Walsh from Miltown has been a Interpro loyalist for many years — championing the competition at local, provincial and national level — while Martin Donnelly from Co- oraclare has pumped over €500,000 into sponsoring it over the last five years.

The St Joseph’s Miltown motion reads: “That incoming Uachtaran appoint a Task Force to recommend and advice to aid the promotion and advancement of the Interprovincial Hurling and Football Champion- ethene

The Crusheen motion reads: “That the Railway Cups Interprovincial Hurling/Football competitions be retained and in particular hurling, where there is no international com- petition for players to express them- selves.

The competition to be played over

one weekend with the All-Ireland hurling and footballers winners host- ing the competition with financial Support from sponsors and Croke Park. This competition could be played early in the year before the start of all National Leagues if pos- sible.”

However, county board secretary Pat Fitzgerald paints a bleak picture on the future of the competition. ‘For the past few years I have con-

sistently expressed my reservations and questioned the commitment of Croke Park to the Martin Donnelly Interprovincial Championships.

“Is the end nigh? Reflecting on the Interprovincials over the past few years, one cannot but arrive at the conclusion that there is apathy in many quarters to the continuation of the series.

‘They appear to be on a stay of ex- ecution. It’s 1s difficult to see Martin

Donnelly continue to bankroll the much-maligned competition when the level of cooperation isn’t what it should be.

‘To me it seems there is an indiffer- ent attitude within the GAA hierar- chy towards the interpros and as long as that remains the former Railway Cup faces a doomsday scenario”.