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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

DESPITE the Doolin branch of the Irish Coastguard recording it’s high- est ever call-out figures in 2008, it now seem likely that the long await- ed modern facility for the lifeboats 1s at least three years away.

The matter was raised in the Dail last week when Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen said that he “hoped and prayed” that that facilities would be put in place as soon as possible.

“All that we know at the moment is that negotiations are still ongoing with the landowner and these nego- tiations are at a very advanced stage. We also know that the funding has been put aside by the Office of Public Works for the purchase of the site in Doolin in 2009,” said Matty Shan- non of the Doolin Coastguard.

“We are hopeful that it will happen sooner rather than later. Once we get the site the next challenge will be to get financing for a building, which could be another campaign in itself.”

“While an agreement for the pur- chase of a site looks likely to be completed in 2009, no funding 1s currently allocated for the construc- tion of a rescue centre.”

Speaking in Dail Eireann last week Clare TD Pat Breen said that, “this volunteer group 1s operating out of a building that is no bigger than an average garden shed. I hope and pray

that a proper facility will be put in place in the new year. Is it right that they should be forced to battle the poor infrastructure while they go about their life-saving work?”

The Doolin branch of the Irish Coastguard responded to 43 call out to date in 2008, 50 per cent more than last year.

“It’s seems that people are more aware of the rescue organisation that are operating around the county and are more aware of people be- ing in the sea. People are becoming more vigilant of the whole situation. We did have a number of situations where people spotted a buoy in the

sea and we were called out. They were rough seas at the time but it’s better to go out and rescue a buoy than if people don’t ring in if there was an emergency.

“This does create a disturbance for the team member because they are being called more often. But as long as people are aware then that is the main thing. What is more im- portant than people being aware of other people in the water is if people were very vigilant of their own safety while in the water.

COUNTY Board secretary Pat Fit- zgerald has put it up to the clubs of the county to decide on the next move in relation to Cusack Park.

It was the clubs that 12 months ago voted overwhelmingly for the sell- ing of Cusack Park for development and building a new stadium on the outskirts of Ennis — now in light of planning permission setbacks they’re being asked whether it would be pru- dent to revert to the original 2003 blueprint for the redevelopment of Cusack Park.

This question on whether the county board, with the mandate of the clubs, should finally abandon all hopes of cashing in on the potential development value of the nine-acre Cusack Park site in Ennis, will be formally put before delegates to this Thursday’s convention in the Auburn Lodge Hotel.

“The decision that now faces the clubs is where to next,” Pat Fitzger- ald has said in his first annual report to a Clare GAA Convention as full- time secretary. “Cusack Park is in a dilapidated condition, badly in need of a facelift. Do we retrieve the plans proposed by former county chair- man, Fr Michael McNamara and in- vest substantial resources, anything up to €10 million, in upgrading Cu- sack Park or do we bide our time and try with a renewed bid in a few years

to relocate to a new greenfield site? I would welcome the views of the clubs on this.”

Fitzgerald’s move to hand the con-

troversial Cusack Park subject back to the clubs comes only two weeks after former county board vice- chairman, Michael Lee, claimed that

the clubs wanted the existing Cusack Park site to be redeveloped in the first place.

“Five years ago we had the man-

date of the clubs,” said Lee, “‘and that mandate was to redevelop Cusack Park and try and get ten acres close to Ennis to develop a state of the art facility for training, not a farm of land in Tulla as they have now.

“T, as chairman of the fundrais- ing committee, with county board chairman Fr Michael McNamara had secured charitable status for the development that would allow tax re- lief in relation to subscription for the development. We had a financial pro- gramme in place. We were hoping to get €750,000 in lottery funding and Munster Council and Central Coun- cil grants to slot in the project. If I had been elected chairman it would have been finished a long time ago. We were financially set up to do the job and had the mandate to do it, but that mandate was changed. A mis- take was made.

“It is still an ideal venue and can be for the next 20 years. Then the next generation can look into where they want to go with Cusack Park,’ Lee told

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.