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BRENDAN Smith record as Minis- ter for Agriculture has been placed under the spotlight in the fall out from last week early budget. With the farming organisations in agree- ment that farmers took the hardest hit of all sectors in the budget, Fine Gael have labelled Minister Smith as ‘the weakest link’ around the cabinet table.

Speaking in the aftermath of Tues- day’s budget, the minister pointed to the €3.2 billion that would be spent on supporting the farming, food, fisheries and forestry next year.

This will be cold comfort to many farmers with overall spending down by 2.6 per cent and payments to dis-

advantaged areas and the suckler cow schemes facing reductions while no new applications would be accepted for the Early Retirement and Young Farmer Installation Schemes.

More worringly, the IFA now be- lieve that there will be a shortfall of €400 million in farm schemes next year.

IFA leader Padraig Walshe said the budget was particularly damaging to the drystock sector and disadvan- taged areas.

Meanwhile, ICSA president Mal- colm Thompson said that there was a sense of shock and horror that farmers were being made to bear the brunt of cutbacks in the Department of Agriculture.

“Minister Smith gave us the im-

pression from his statement that the priority was spending on the produc- tive capacity of the agri-food sector,’ said Mr Thompson. “The reality is that those at the cold face of pro- ductivity, the farmers, were the ones feeling the pain.”

Despite the general negative senti- ment, Clare TD and Minster of State in the Department of Agriculture, Tony Killeen, pointed to a number of positives.

“While there are reductions in the budgets of the Marine Institute, BIM and the SFPA, the seafood process- ing sector, which is recognised by Dr Noel Cawley in his “Steering A New Course Report” as a growth area, has doubled its budget,” he said.

“A further €1.46 million has been

set aside specifically to support com- pliance of fisheries and aquaculture with respect to activities in Natura 2000 sites.

In addition to this €5 million has been made available for aquacul- ture development while funding has been provided to enable the success- ful completion of the current De- commissioning of Fishing Vessels Scheme.

“I welcomed the prospect of the synergies and opportunities that will result from the integration of seafood marketing and promotion with the State’s food marketing body, Bord Bia, while BIM will retain the over- all role in driving the Cawley Report on the development of the Irish sea- food industry,” he said.

MEMBERS of the Ballyea Pastoral Council can reflect with a good de- gree of pride on a job well done at Killone Abbey.

The abbey and the surrounding grounds will hopefully provide the perfect setting for a mass to be cel- ebrated in the future by the local community.

A major clean-up opperation was undertaken by the pastoral council in cleaning up the site and improv- Tb NTear Neon

The restoration project was under- taken by a small group of local peo- ple who were keen to again make a place of holy and historical signifi- cance, a source of pride in the com-

munity.

Rosemary Meaney, Chairperson of the Ballyea Pastoral Council ex- plained that there was great support for the project.

“It has been years since there was a mass held in Killone. The work has been on-going there for many years, clearing it up and making sure ac- cess to the abbey was improved con- siderably. It is a beautiful place and it was very special to be able to hold a mass there.”

One of the key areas the council concentrated on was cleaning and cataloguing the headstones in the nearby graveyard.

For this, they received support from the Clare Roots Society. Thanks to that help, much of the informa-

tion gleamed from the headstones, will soon be available to access on the Clare library’s popular website. There is still some work to be done, though, and Rosemary is hoping that volunteers will come on board for the final push.

“Cleaning the headstones was a big part of the project. The Clare Roots Society are going to come down to record all the headstones and give all the information to the library.

“There is a lot of information there that people, particularly doing fam- ily history, things like that, would find very useful. There is still a lot of work to do.”

Rosemary said that the council has applied for a grant from the Heritage Ireland so the work at Killone Abbey

can continue.

Killone Abbey is located on the grounds of Newhall house. Among the other structures located nearby is St John’s well, once a place of pil- grimage for people in Clarecastle and Eire Og.

According to the Rocky Road, written by local man Paddy Brennan, The foundation of Killone Abbey is said to have been around 1189, but it may actually be older. Founded as a nunnery, the abbey provided many services to the surrounding commu- IATA

“It is a great thing to be able to see the abbey in good condition and to see people visiting. We want to keep the place alive. It’s a gorgeous place, very spiritual’, added Rosemary.

EVER imagine waking up with the beach on your doorstep? How about sleeping in the middle of a deep for- est with the sound of trees rustling in the wind? Or maybe you are more of a city stroller? Well whatever your preference you can do it in the comfort of your own campervan and recently I had the opportunity to ex- perience this in glorious French sur- TKOLebeLe nb ereace

I had the pleasure of travelling not only in good company but in the lat- est Cityvan campervan, the CV57P which is just one of several versions that Cityvan have to offer. If ever there was a campervan made for nar- row roads or city streets then this is the one. And on Irish roads this would be the ideal choice, especially for those of us who are not so com- fortable driving those back roads only known by “the locals”’.

Whether it’s a family holiday or sporting weekend, campervans are becoming more and more popular. In May 2007 Vanderlust camper- vans identified this growing market

and joined forces with the french motorhome giant Pilote. Vanderlust have the exclusive Irish distribu- tion rights to three of their brands namely, Cityvan, Bavaria and Moo- veo. With such an extensive range to choose from, which include over for-

thy five internal designs. Vanderlust offer Coachbuilt, low profile and for those who want it all.. the A Class motorhome.

Vanderlust also offer a conversion service for those wanting a truely individual motorhome and can also

supply accessories such as_ bike racks, reversing cameras, awnings, TV/DVD’s and consumables.

For me though the Cityvan was my desired choice, kind to the driver and even kinder to its occupants. It came with all the essentials that one re-

quires when touring from place to place. A stylish yet comfortable lay- out with a double bed, four dining seats, a table, fully equiped kitchen, shower, toilet and enough cupboard space for your entire trip. If you’re into water sports or cycling they also have all the holding space you’ ll need for the roadtrip of your life.

Our road trip took us from Nantes to La Rochelle and on to Biscarosse, a picturesque seaside resort west of Bordeaux. Here there is believed to be the oldest elm tree in the world planted in 1350! Interesting as that may be, it was the sun, wind, water and french way of life that we were looking for. Unfortunatey the weath- er wasn’t good to us at the beginning of our journey but having total mo- bility made up for it. We could go wherever the van would take us, so finding the sun became our primary objective. Finally after the second day we caught up with the sun or maybe we’d driven away from the clouds? Either way, we now had sun and the perfect conditions to get in the water for some kitesurfing and some lazing about on the beach.

FORMER Killaloe-based doctor, Paschal Carmody is to face a retrial on 11 charges of obtaining money by false pretences from terminally ill cancer patients.

Ms Carmody (60), of Ballycugga- ran, Killaloe, went on trial at Ennis Circuit Court, earlier this year, ac- cused of 25 charges in total.

At the end of a five-week trial in July, he was found not guilty by a jury on six charges. The trial judge, Rory McCabe directed that he be found not guilty on eight charges, while the jury failed to agree on 11 Ol omen Nexoe

SW slow ret -LAKMM Wem A (oOo) Cou Koe ml py:(e.< to the Director of Public Prosecu- tions, who would decide if he was to be retried on the 11 outstanding charges. Limerick Circuit Court was told last Tuesday that Mr Carmody will face a retrial on the 11 charges. Judge Carroll Moran heard that the prosecution would be seeking to have these case heard in Dublin. This application will be heard in court in December. The 11 charges relate to sums amounting to more than ©30,000, obtained from three cancer patients and their families who visited his clinic in Killaloe, between Septem- ber 2001 and October 2002. They were John Sheridan from Kil- kenny; John James Gallagher from Westmeath and Conor O’Sullivan, a 15-year-old boy from Co Wexford. All three died within a relatively short period of time of receiving treatment at the East Clinic. Mr Carmody had denied obtaining money by falsely pretending that he would cure the terminally ill cancer patients through photodynamic ther- “lO ae a DADE

A PLAN to manage and protect the quality of water in the Shannon and it’s lakes will have major effects on OCAVo) Co) o) eater LMU DOME Duct KMmIelUKOlUNNC MMH ETc waterways, mid-west representatives have been told.

Work on the plan has been on-go- ing for six years and a draft plan will be ready for December with a six- month public consultation period to follow.

But while initial details of the pro- posal will be available from then, concerns are mounting in the region

over a Separate proposal to drain wa- ter from the Shannon to help meet demand in Dublin.

A meeting of the Mid-West Re- gional Authority last week was told that “major changes” in relation to future development along the shores of the Shannon can be expected.

‘There could be no development in some areas,’ RPS consulting engi- neer, Alan G Barr told the meeting.

He added than an embargo on de- velopment in some areas will have to be addressed in terms of zoning by the Clare County Council and other local authorities involved.

Water purity testing has been car- ried out in the river by the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency since 2006 and this is one of the main parameters being used in formulat- ing the proposals for protecting the Shannon.

The plan is expected to recom- mend having protected areas along the banks of the river and the shores of lakes. Other recommendations are thought to include a ban on forestry, going as far as the removal of exist- ing trees and set-aside of agricultural land. Meanwhile, elected representa- tives in Clare have been expressing

varied views on the proposal to take water from the Shannon and deliver it to Dublin.

Cllr Colm Wiley said at a meeting of the county council that the author- ity could “take any compensation money and use it to drain farm land which is flooded for most of the year in Clare”’.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said that the reality for Dublin is that there are just two options “one is distillation which is too costly and the other is to take water from the Shannon. This will significantly affect the levels of water in the Shannon”.

THE spotlight falls on six of Clare’s brightest new bands at a concert in Glor on November 8. Six bands have been selected from the Clare Youth Service – Music Project Bands Com- petition, to perform at the Ennis venue.

The competition took place over two days in September will a strong line up of competition from fifteen bands throughout the county.

The music ranged from metal, rock, indie and rocktronica, after taking an hour to decide the judges finally

selected the winners from the com- petition to perform in Glor. Prizes awarded on the night were Joint Best Originals Marble Chips and Cities, Best Overall Band, Th’Rush and Runner-up Band, “Marble Chips” in addition to prizes on the night bands who won best originals will have their originals professionally recorded.

Youth Worker Jean Tierney said the concert in Glor provides a great opportunity for local talent to shine.

“The gig in Glor has always pro- vided something special and memo- rable for the audience, this is a fan-

tastic opportunity for people to get a taste of some of the exceptionally talented musicians in the county. It is obvious from the excitement and performances on the night how pas- sionate and dedicated the musicians are, this gig has always proven to be the highlight of the year and will be a night to be remembered.”

Doors open at 7.30pm on the night and tickets can be purchased from e1- ther Jean Tierney at the Youth Centre 065 6845356 or Gl6r box office, tick- ets are €15.

Meanwhile, CYS Music Project are running workshops for young mu-

sicians interested in working with other musicians who would like to develop new skills, improve their techniques, form a band and have the opportunity to take part in next year’s bands competitions to compete with other bands for a spot in glory 2009. Workshops are in drums, guitar, bass and singer-songwriting.

Introduction for the workshops is being held in Clare Youth Service Sunday 02nd Nov 2-4pm. Work- shops cost €30 and run each Sunday for four weeks.

To register or for further informa- tion contact Jean on 065 6845356

TWO months elapsed before a sam- ple of urine was tested for the pres- ence of drugs at the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, due to the Christmas backlog.

SUiiMoselucemnre meebo MmmClebubercams ele case of an east Clare man, accused of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. While his urine sample was sent away for analysis just days after he was stopped by gardai, the test for the presence of drugs did not take place for two months.

Niall O’Gorman (21), of MHur- lestown Meadow, Broadford, was charged with the alleged offence, at Hurdlestown, Broadford, on Novem- ber 23, 2007.

Garda Joe McGlynn told Ennis Dis- trict Court that he was carrying out a checkpoint shortly before midnight on Friday, November 23, 2007.

He said that a car was driven around a bend at great speed and in an er- Teele Com eaten evele) m

He stopped the driver, Mr O’Gorman. He said he got a strong smell of cannabis from him, his speech was slurred and his eyes were glazed.

He searched the car and found a half joint of cannabis in the ashtray. He brought Mr O’Gorman to Killa- loe Garda Station, where he provided a sample of urine.

The following Monday, the garda sent the sample by registered post to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety. On December 20, he received a certificate from the Bureau, which

stated the result for the presence of alcohol was ‘nil.’ Three months later, on March 20, 2008, he received no- tification from the bureau, indicating the presence of cocaine class and cannabis class in the urine.

Defending solicitor Daragh Has- sett said his client denied that he was travelling at speed. He said his client accepted that he had smoked canna- bis in the past.

However, he said the accused would deny that his speech was sounding slurred.

‘He didn’t say that was his joint. There were two people in the car,” said Mr Hassett, to which the garda replied, “No he didn’t, but I got the smell of cannabis from his breath.

“Judging by his driving initially, then the presence of cannabis in his car and the smell of cannabis from his breath and the presence of ash on his clothes would arise my suspi- cions,’ said the garda.

Mr Hassett asked the garda did he make a recommendation for the sam- ple to be tested for the presence of ora b ees

The garda said he asked the doctor to write it on the certificate which was Sent to the bureau, “to try and as- sist the Medical Bureau. I was under the impression the driver was driving under the influence of drugs.”

Mr Hassett then called two witness- es from the Medical Bureau. One of them, Grainne Harrington, said she received the sample of urine in the post on November 27, 2007, and be- gan testing it on December 12.

She signed off on the analysis on

December 20 and sent notification to Mr O’Gorman and also to the garda the following day.

She said the sample had not been immediately tested as “we are ana- lysing many, many samples every Chae

She said that while samples are awaiting testing, they are stored in refrigerators and said the time span would not be unusual.

Ms Harrington said that the sample returned a reading of ‘nil’ for alcohol and was then passed to a colleague to test for the presence of drugs.

Mr Hassett then asked her why the test for the presence of drugs did not take place for three months. She said the bureau was extremely busy over

the Christmas period.

Four or five scientists work on drug analysis, while six or seven are em- ployed in the area of analysis for al- cohol, she said, and the work is d1- vided out.

Susan McDonald, also from the bureau, told the court she tested the sample of urine between January 28 and March 20, 2008.

Mr Hassett put it to her that there was almost two months of a gap be- fore the sample was tested for drugs. She said this analysis was com- pletely different to the analysis for the presence of alcohol. Analysis for the presence of seven different drug classes takes place.

“There are lots of different proc- esses involved,’ she said.

“Two months and one day had elapsed before you began to test this sample. This is not in compliance with Section 19 which calls on the bureau to carry out a test as soon as is practical,’ said Mr Hassett.

She replied, “It was done as soon as was practical. Other samples were being tested.”

She said samples were stored in re- frigerators while they were waiting to be analysed, “so the content of the specimen is not in doubt.”

Asked by Inspector Tom Kennedy, prosecuting, had there ever been any difficulty with a sample due to the lapse of time, she replied, ““There has been no difficulty with analysis.”

Asked did the wording, by the doc- tor, on the sample, have any signifi- cance on the test, she said it hadn’t.

Inspector Kennedy said the critical

issue was that the sample remained good.

“It’s in accordance with procedures and that’s what is there,’ he said.

However, Mr Hassett said it was incumbent on the gardai to get the samples off to the bureau and for the bureau to analyse the specimens as quickly as possible.

‘Ms Harrington appeared to suggest the delay in the certificate of analysis was due to the Christmas backlog. I don’t think the Road Traffic Act had that in mind, sure there will be a lot of drink drivers at Christmas. There is a delay of three months here for a positive drug analysis,” said the so- licitor.

Judge Joseph Mangan then recalled Ms McDonald, asking her, “Am I to understand this sample stood in a queue for two months and one day for no other reason than there were other samples to test?” She said that was the case.

Inspector Kennedy then said the defendant had not been disadvan- taged by the delay.

“The State has six months to bring a case like this,’ he said. However, Mr Hassett disputed this.

“Of course there is prejudice. He got a certificate in December to say the sample was nil (for alcohol) so he assumed he was out of the woods. He was prejudiced by receiving the cer- tificate three months later,’ he said.

Judge Mangan said he would de- liver a ruling on the charge later this month.

A RELIGIOUS order is bidding to add millions of euro to the value of its property outside Newmarket-on- Fergus by applying to Clare County Council to have 32.5 acres rezoned for housing.

The Sisters of Charity of the In- carnate Word are seeking to have a sizeable portion of their landbank at Carrigoran rezoned for residential use.

The order purchased Carrigoran from the Fitzgerald family in 1925 and since 1974 have operated a 116 bed retirement centre, including a 20

bed dementia unit.

The centre is run on a not-for-profit basis and receives no direct state funding. With the Newmarket-on- Fergus by-pass, the lands at Carrig- oran have been cut in two and the nuns are seeking a large proportion of their lands on the Newmarket side of their landbank to be rezoned.

The submission states that the nuns own 95 acres, including 22 acres of Lough Gash and are seeking that 32.5 acres be rezoned for housing and 40 acres for open space.

The order has employed well- known architects, Murray O’Laoire to lodge a comprehensive submis-

sion which claims that the 72 acres of land on the Newmarket side of the by-pass was zoned for community use without consulting the existing landowner.

The submission states that this was done “apparently at the behest of a third party who had no proprietary interest in the land but who had an interest in developing portion of the lands for community use”

The submission argues that the area zoned for community use is dispro- tortionate to the scale of Newmarket and way beyond planned or projected need. The zoning also places a gross- ly unfair burden on the owner to pro-

vide such a disproportionate area of land for the benefit of community.

Making the case for the rezoning, the submission states that if the land is zoned as residential and open space it will help Newmarket-on-Fergus at- tract the critical mass of population required within the gateway corridor and allow the town grow commer- cially, socially and within a sustain- able framework.”

It is now up to councillors to decide if the lands should be rezoned or not. However, in a blow to the nuns’ pros- pects, council planners have opted to retain the ‘community zoning’ in the draft plan presented to council.

SIX years of voluntary service and dedication has seen students at St Flannan’s College raise €50,000 for vulnerable children in Calcutta.

The money was raised for the HOPE foundation, a Cork based charity that works to improve the lives of chil- dren living on the streets and in the slums of the Indian city.

St Flannan’s association with HOPE began in 2002. Since then and with the establishment of the Calcutta Youth Project, students and teachers have travelled with HOPE to work with in Calcutta.

In March 2007 two teachers, Shona Cahill and Liam Ashe, who had pre- viously worked in Calcutta, decided to bring a group of students to work with the Missionaries of Charity

The latest trip took place in Feb- ruary when four students (Stephen

Garry, Lucy Brannock, Ian Corbett and Lisa Grogan) and two teachers (Myriam Black and Elaine Dunne) travelled to Calcutta with the HOPE Foundation to see the work of the or- ganisation first hand.

In Calcutta, the group visited or- phanages and saw vocational train- ing projects.

One student described visits the group paid to some of the cities 5,500 slum area.

“Ultaganda Slum located in the center of Calcutta, is home to ap- proximately 6,000 people who live on an area the size of a soccer field. It was truly frightening and shock- ing to learn that the majority of these families live on 2000 rupees a month, the equivalent of €40. That means they live on just over €1 per day. The adults of this slum are em- ployed as van pullers, rag pickers and maids”.

The trip ended with a visit to the St. Flannans College/ HOPE/ PBK cricket coaching center. 60 children from the Kalighat area and Kid- dapore Slum travel here to train once or twice a week under qualified cricket coaches. After training the children also receive a meal.

Participating in the cricket coach- ing sessions could also provide an avenue for the skilled players to train as cricket coaches and find employ- ment as coaches in schools or cricket oils

The money raised by St. Flannan’s College pays for the coaching fees, hiring the cricket field and also pro- vides uniforms and playing equip- ment.

Preparations are already underway for next year’s Calcutta adventure. On Saturday October 25 St. Flan- nan’s College is running a concert entitled “A night of HOPE for the

street children in Calcutta” in the Friary, Ennis.

There will be performances by Gary Shannon, Michael and Fionnu- ala Rooney, Rachael Mullaly, Dean Power, The Ennis Gospel Choir and The Ennis Youth Choir performing. The concert will start at 8.30 pm and tickets cost €15 each. Tickets can be purchased from Veritas, Mary Kelly newsagents, the Cathedral parish of- fice and the school office in St. Flan- nans. All money raised will be do- nated to the Hope foundation and the Calcutta Youth Project.

A SHANNON man has applied to a court not to have his family’s court cases reported in the media – howev- er he was told the court does not have the power to make such a ruling. The application was made _ by Michael James McDonagh (34), of Ballymurtagh Halting Site, Shannon,

at Ennis District Court on Friday.

Mr McDonagh’s wife Kathleen (33), of Cronan Lawn, Shannon, was in court the previous week on public order charges and this was reported in the media.

In court on Friday, his solicitor Tara Godfrey said Michael James wanted to make an application to the court on behalf of himself, his wife and his

IeNOOvENe

‘He is taking exception to the fact that the papers reported on him. He wants to make an application to you on that,’ she said.

“He doesn’t want his cases to be reported on in the press,” said Ms CrerelsKay

However, Judge Joseph Mangan said the only case he was interested

in was the case before the court, where Kathleen McDonagh was ac- cused of breach of the peace at Bal- laghboy halting site, Quin Road, En- nis, on October 8 last.

“I have no power to make that or- der,’ he said.

The judge then asked Ms Godfrey, “How did your client find out there was something he didn’t like in the

paper if he can’t read?”

The solicitor replied, “It must be from looking at the pictures.”

Earlier, Mr McDonagh was ordered to stop reading a newspaper in the courtroom.

“When told by the judge he was not allowed to read the newspaper, he replied, “I’m just looking at the pictures.”