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ST VINCENT de Paul in Ennis is encouraging people with time on their hands to join up as volunteers. As the organisation launches its an- nual volunteer drive, its president Cathal Oakes is urging people to attend its open night on Wednesday next, January 27 (Temple Gate Hotel at 8.30pm).

With unemployment rates on the increase due to the downturn, vol- unteering across the board is on the increase in Clare.

Those who get on board as vol- unteers with St Vincent de Paul are assigned to various projects. These include becoming part of the hospi-

tal visitation team or as home volun- lo ie

St Vincent de Paul also runs a hos- tel and shop in Ennis, but these are primarily managed by staff rather than volunteers.

“We have a hospital visitation team and we go into St Joseph’s Hospital once a fortnight. We also have family visitations in Ennis and surrounds,” he said.

Young people interested in getting involved have the choice of joining schools branches of St Vincent de Paul. There is one up and running in Shannon and plans are in place to set up branches in schools in Ennis and Kildysart.

He is encouraging people to attend

the open night.

“We tell them what the commit- ment is like and if they are interested in becoming a member we set up training,’ said Mr Oakes.

“Those involved are from a very broad spectrum. We find that if one person joins, they tell people at work and more people join from that source,” he said.

The organisation is expecting to hear dozens of queries from people interested in volunteering, but would be hopeful of recruiting a dozen vol- OnE

“Countywide we have about 120 volunteers at the moment. We are looking to recruit 10 or 12 commit- ted members in the Ennis area,’ he

added.

“People used to come in in dribs and drabs, but now they come in and do three nights’ training and they are volunteers as quickly as possible,” said Mr Oakes.

Those who sign up next week will take part in training over the coming weeks and this will be completed by the end of February. They then take part in the various initiatives spear- headed by the organisation. The organisation is busy, particularly to- wards the end of the year.

“December is by far the busiest time of the year. It was particularly busy in 2009 because of the floods and the lack of the Christmas bonus,” said Mr Oakes.

AS SHANNON Development pre- pares to publish its end of year re- port, it 1s being speculated that the development agency may have to sell some of its property.

The Department of Tourism said no to an application for extra funding from the Mid-West Task Force.

The alternative for the regional de- velopment agency – which is also the regional tourism authority – may well now be to sell some of its property.

Good management of the property portfolio which it holds has in the past allowed Shannon Development to be largely self-financing.

But the recession has seen a down- turn in the number of occupied prop- erties and a subsequent drop in rental income for the development agency.

The loss of the majority of activity on the Dell site means also the loss of the largest tenant in the Raheen estate, which is managed by Shan- non Development.

The same circumstance has put further pressure on Shannon Devel- opment to provide initiatives which might lead to replacement jobs.

Dr Vincent Cunnane was appoint- ed to the leadership of the Mid-West Task Force last year and the report which it produced for the tanaiste

recommends increased development of tourism across the Shannon region as one of the key moves in promoting regional recovery.

The report recommended _ that Shannon Development should get an extra €5 million for the next three years from the department to “fur- ther tourism development and inno- e1n (Oy 0 lee

It also recommended that the mar- keting budget of the development agency should be directly funded by the department. Neither recom- mendations has been acted on in the department’s tourism budget, firing speculation that Shannon Develop- ment will have to dig into their own resources.

The amount which Shannon Devel- opment will receive in subvention fro the department will remain the same as it was in 2009, €832,000.

Meanwhile, efforts are continuing to have the €3 million fund for Shan- non Airport taken out of the hands of Tourism Ireland and put into the cof- fers of more local tourism control.

It had been expected that the mon- ey would be allocated to Shannon control to promote traffic and routes at Shannon in 2010 but it remained under the control of Tourism Ireland, despite lobbying by regional tourism stakeholders.

LEADING Clare students have re- ceived special awards for their aca- demic achievements and contribu- tions to their schools and colleges during their second-level studies.

A scroll and silver medal were presented by Clare Vocational Edu- cation Committee to the students in each of its eight colleges with high- est 2009 Leaving Certificate results and those nominated for outstand- ing participation and contribution to their schools. The top Junior Certifi- cate students were also honoured at the ceremony at the Woodstock Ho- tel, Ennis.

Vocational Education Com- mittee Chief Executive, George O’Callaghan said it was fitting that the committee recognise, appreciate and award the students for their ef- forts and achievements.

The awards went to the following students:

Leaving Certificate – Micheal O’ Loughlin, Ennistymon Vocational School; Paulo Rouque, Ennis Com- munity College; Cormac O Suilleab- hain, Gaelcholaiste an Chlair; Maria O’Brien, St Anne’s Community Col- lege, Killaloe; Suzi O’Gorman, St Joseph’s Community College, Kail- kee; Laura McCarthy, St John Bo- sco Community College, Kildysart; Eimear McNamara, Scariff Commu- nity College, and Eimear Pilkington, St Michael’s Community College, KGiieebtente

Merit awards – Cathal Sexton, En- nistymon Vocational School; Lisa Mullins, Ennis Community College;

Caitriona Ziemann, Gaelcholaiste an Chlair; Tom Prendergast, St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe; Clodagh Brew, St Joseph’s Commu- nity College, Kilkee; Nicola Hogan, St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart; Brian Corry, Scariff Com- munity College, and Imelda Hehir, St Michael’s Community College, KGareebtavl

Junior Certificate – Ennis Com- munity College, Igor Brodecki; Ennistymon Vocational School, Kieran Roche; Gaelcholaiste an Chlair, Genevieve Ni Liodain; St Anne’s Community College, Killa- loe, Christopher Balfe; St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee, Jim Downes; St John Bosco Community College, Kildysart, Laura Clancy;

Scariff Community College, Frank Blake; St Michael’s Community Col- lege, Kilmihil, Gearoid Johnston.

Junior Certificate Irish awards – Gaelcholaiste an Chlair: Yasmin De Blaca, Christina Ni Fhoughld-El- lis, Genevieve Ni Liodain, Cait Ni Mhurchu, Fionnuala Ni Niallghuis, Leanne Ni Ruairc, Bernadette Nic Chonmara.; Coldaiste Phobal Cull an Disirt, Laura Clancy; Colaiste Phobal Naomh Aine, Cill Da Lua: Christopher Balfe and Sarah Ann OT Es

AN EVENING of entertainment from some of Clare’s most talented musicians will help to raise funds for a charity which aims to support carers and help them cope with the stresses of the job.

The Feakle-based Ciunas Com- munity Centre for Complimentary Health has taken up residence in Feakle village since just before Oi tah aeet-ky

The service aims to help carers and their families cope with stress and to provide services which support Wetoeee

Ciunas, which is a charity, was set up by Anita Hayes, Catherine Pa- tience and Tonia Custers, three ther- apists who are themselves carers.

“Being a carer can be very tiring and what we want to do here is to provide carers – and the people they care for – with something which sup- ports and lifts them, whether that’s a massage, creative writing or sing- ing,” Anita explained.

Carers give a long-term commit- ment to looking after someone else’s needs and fatigue and depression are just some of the problems which can come with the job.

“We’re talking about preventative health care, we want to provide a bridge, an extra layer of support,’ said Anita.

Just opened in Feakle, the centre currently caters for a small number of clients but can cater for up to 100 and they hope to expand to these buss LeLSs ECR

“We are here for anyone who Is a carer, whether they are caring for someone with special needs or an elderly person and the people they care for can also come along,’ said Anita.

The centre can now call on the services of up to 15 fully-qualified therapists, from psychotherapists to massage therapists.

All of the professionals offer their treatments for €20 a session, about one-third of the normal fee.

The centre got a one-off grant from the JP McManus fund but the fees charged for treatments don’t come close to covering the costs so the mu- sical fundraising evening is vital.

“We think it will be a lovely evening and we’re keeping the cost of tickets down to €15 because we want carers

to be able to come too,” said Anita.

The concert takes place in St Mary’s Church in Feakle on Janu- ary 29 at 8pm and features Mar- tin Hayes, Mary McNamara, Mike Hanrahan, Tommy Hayes, Manus McGuire, Denis Carey and special guests. Paula Carroll is the MC.

Ciunas are located in the new building on the site of the old cream- ery and they can be contacted on 061 924837. For more information about the service, visit Www.ciunascentre. fey ene

CLARE County Council still needs more then €3 million to balance its books after the devastation reeked on the county during last month’s flood- ing.

The local authority was last month granted more than €1.1 million by the Department of the Environment to pay for the extra expenses incurred during the massive flood efforts in the county in December.

However, it has emerged that this money will only cover the direct cost of the actions taken during the flood- ing and will not stretch far enough to repair any of the damage to infra- structure. This will cost an estimated €3 million, which the local authority last week contacted the Department

of the Environment about securing. It is not clear yet how much, if any, of this money will be made available from central government.

“The estimates involved in relation to the flooding has amounted to €3 million. The first allocation made before Christmas was just in relation to the management of the council in managing the flooding,’ said County Manager, Tom Coughlan

“The €700,000 estimate in Decem- ber was just an early estimate and when that was all added up it came to €1.145 million, all of which has been recouped by the council. The next issue is the damage which was cause by the flooding and that is the €3 million, which has gone to the department and we are not sure what will happen with that at this stage.”

THE freezing weather conditions may be causing havoc across the country but at least one group in east Clare are happy that the big freeze has replaced the big flood.

Work has begun on the playground for Kilkishen after a delayed start because of the heavy rains and flood- ing.

‘“We’re making good progress now. It’s very cold but because the ground is dry, we’re able to get on with it,” said Mike Hogan of the Kilkishen Development Association.

Mike explained that the machinery was on-site two days before Christ- mas to begin clearing work but the ground was too wet.

The play equipment for the facility

has already been delivered and is be- ing stored until the area is ready for it to be assembled.

“We’ve very kindly been given a place to store it. There’s €18,000 worth of equipment there so it has to be kept safely.”

“We were planning to do the groundwork in November but couldn’t because it was just too wet. But if it continues dry and we are able to work on through February and March, then that would be a big help.

We’ve had plenty of volunteers on the groundwork which is going on at the moment and we have more for the time when the equipment needs assembling. People have been very good and are very supportive,” said Mike.

The land for the facility was donat- ed and €43,000 was raised through the local authority Playground Grants Scheme.

The local school and community were also closely involved, with the children themselves designing and selling Christmas cards, stag- ing a concert and locals organising a Thousandaire night and a bumper eNO ECee

The Clare Shout Festival also raised a sizeable sum towards the €60,000 which 1s needed in addition to the money from the county coun- cil’s fund.

The initial play equipment will be for the use of toddlers to 12-year-old and the playground committee hopes to go on and provide facilities for teenagers as well.

It’s hoped that the area will eventu- ally be able to boast basketball and skatebording facilities in addition to the slides, swings and roundabouts.

When the first sod was turned on the facility some weeks before Christmas, local councillors were invited and thanked for their support in getting funding, it wasn’t a politi- can or a celebrity who did the hon- ours. “We asked the children from the school to do the official first sod turning because it will be their facil- ity,’ said Mike.

The most important consideration, the Chmaber CEO said, is that a bet- ter response be put in place for future dramatic weather events.

‘The emergency services are doing an amazing job but the real disaster

would be if we don’t learn the lessons we need from this. This may have been a very rare weather event, as were the floods, but we need a faster response to keep the country mov- ing. How long does something have to go on before it’s considered a na- tional crisis? We need better plans in place to ensure that people are kept moving. If people keep moving then commerce will keep moving.”

Ms McInerney said that there were some good things during the very difficult weeks leading up to and im- mediately after Christmas.

“There were lots of stories of how people in business and communities reached out to help each other and it was good that this was highlighted.”

For some smaller towns and vil- lages, the dreadful road conditions meant increased business.

Traders in Kilrush said that more people than usual did their Christ- mas shopping in the town and they are putting this down to shoppers re-

luctance to drive very far.

While many businesses have suf- fered losses because of the double blow of flooding and freezing, one sector will benefit.

The building trade, which has been going through a massive slump, 1s now in demand to repair damage to businesses and private property and to supply grit for roads.

Meanwhile, Shannon airport was one of the few airports which didn’t close at all during the big freeze.

A spokeswoman for the airport said that while there had been some flights delayed, none were cancelled.

“We were lucky. We remained op- erational the whole time and what delays there were were mostly due to conditions in UK airports.”

THE region’s flagship tourism company sustained losses of over €250,000 in 2008 as visitor numbers continued to plummet last year.

Shannon Heritage Ltd operates Bunratty Castle and Folk Park along with King John’s Castle in Limer- ick and accounts just returned to the Companies’ Office show that the Shannon Development subsidiary in- curred losses of €254,476 to the end of December 2008.

This followed the company return- ing a pre-tax profit of €27,745 in 2007.

Confirmation of the losses coincide with the company absorbing a 13 per cent drop in visitor numbers last year to around 440,000. This follows a 13 per cent drop in 2008 resulting in a total drop of 141,000 visitors over two years.

This has resulted in the company — which employs 300 – imposing a 10 per cent pay reduction or 12.5 per cent reduction in hours worked, for staff and management.

Chief executive John Ruddle con- firmed the pay/hours reduction yes- terday, but stated: “Overall, staff numbers remain unchanged during 2009 despite the global downturn. The company is making the retention of its full staff a key 2010 priority in this very difficult climate.

“The Shannon Heritage operation is vitally important to tourism in the Shannon region as it continues to an-

nually contribute an estimated €20 million to the local economy and in- directly supports many more jobs in the wider region.”

In 2008, Shannon Heritage sus- tained a 10.5 per cent drop in gross profit from €9muiullion to €8&million that year. The €245,000 loss sus- tained in 2008 reduced the company’s accumulated profits to €621,237.

Describing 2009 as a very chal- lenging year when the company had to make adjustments to work- ing arrangements, Mr Ruddle said

that some visitor sites had a slightly shorter season, and minor adjust- ments to opening hours were also introduced in 2009. However, all ac- tivities are going ahead as normal for 2010.

“After five years of strong growth to 2007, Shannon Heritage, like most businesses 1n the tourism sector, has experienced the effects of the world recession. While 2009 results are not yet available, a 13 per cent decline in visitor numbers is anticipated. While any loss is disappointing, the

company is satisfied with the results given the dramatic fall in US visitor numbers to Ireland.”

The accounts show that visitor num- bers to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park dropped from 343,675 to 305,557, while visitors to Bunratty Banquets dropped from 65,878 to 57,911.

EMERGENCY services in Clare are warning people to remain vigilant in this inclement weather even as the thaw begins in some areas.

Clare’s local authorities, including the Civil Defence and Fire and Res- cue Services, are working with other public service authorities such as the Department of the Environment, the Gardai and the Health Services Ex- ecutive to ensure a co-ordinated ap-

proach for dealing with the various TSS CeSe

Last night, the HSE predicted more risks to the public from slips and falls on icy footpaths in the days ahead.

Hospitals across the country are reporting a significant upsurge in the numbers of cases of fractures dur- ing this spell of severe weather while emergency medicine consultants are reporting that a high percentage of these fractures are complex, requir- ing surgery.

The minimum increases in the number of people presenting with fractures in the last week are in the order of 30 per cent with a large number of hospitals experiencing a year-on-year increase for the period of 70 per cent or more.

Exact figures for Ennis and Lim- erick hospitals were unavailable last payee ole

Meanwhile, the HSE 1s advising the public to wear well-fitted shoes with non-slip soles if they have to go

out but try to limit walking during the current cold weather. Boots with rubber soles and solid ankle support that are preferably waterproof are es- sential to preventing slips and falls on the ice. Clear the ice from your footpath and around your house and assist less capable neighbours in do- ing the same. If you have a fall, even a minor one, make sure you visit your doctor for a check-up.

Meanwhile, gardai in Clare say that while there were no major accidents

related to the ice and snow, there were several minor accidents across the county over the weekend.

‘There were a number of accidents around the county. The advice is to slow down and treat the roads with caution. Roads may look well on the surface, but there may be black ice and hidden icy patches. Drive within your experiences and capabilities,” said the head of the Clare Garda Di- vision Traffic Corps, Inspector John Grate

EDUCATION #£Minister Batt O’Keeffe has issued a ‘call-to- arms’ to rally volunteer engineers to go into schools across Clare to enthuse students about maths as part of Engineers Week 2010.

Speaking at a photocall with busi- ness leaders, Minister O’Keeffe welcomed the Engineers Ireland initiative and called on engineers and businesses to support the day. “T strongly welcome the efforts of Engineers Ireland to promote eve- ryday understanding of maths in schools through Volunteer Day and Engineers Week more broadly. These initiatives support the Gov- ernment’s strategy to move more students into science and technol- ogy-based higher education cours- oe

“Our curriculum reform plan – Project Maths – will begin in all post-primary schools in September as part of efforts to radically re- form the way the subject is taught and make it more relevant and ac- cessible.”

Engineers Week is a campaign held annually by Engineers Ire- land to promote engineering as a career and the importance of the industry to Ireland. Volunteer Day on Thursday, Feb 11, Engineers Ireland’s first national volunteer day, will be a key day in Engineers Week 2010, which runs from Feb 8-13. On that day, it is planned that volunteer engineers, with the co-operation of local schools, will enter classes in Clare and across the country and spend a few hours working with pre-junior certificate students to improve their knowl- edge and appreciation of maths through puzzles and work sheets.

John Power, Engineers Ireland Director General, said: “Engi- neers Week is a critical campaign in the engineering calendar. En- gineers Ireland believes there is a direct link between the decreas- ing numbers studying maths and the shortage of engineers entering Irish industry. Leaving Certificate results showed that just 16 per cent of students took honours maths which is down on the 2008 figures. We need our students to become more comfortable with maths as it is a fundamental building block towards a career in engineering. Ireland already has a deficit of en- gineers and the situation is becom- ing more severe. A ready supply of engineers is critical to the Smart Economy and emerging industries such as the Green sector.”

Business Leaders came out in force today to show their support for the initiative. Representing in- dustry on the day was Paul Rellis, Managing Director, Microsoft Ire- land; Leonard Hobbs, Intel Ireland Research; Eamonn Quinn, Chair- man, Nualight and Paul Mallee President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

To get involved, please contact the engineering team on O1 665 1340 or email info@steps.ie. Engineers Week 2010 will run from Feb 8-13.