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SHANNON’S 300 Aer Lingus work- ers are to be asked to ballot on all out industrial action after hearing they are to be axed from the company Or NeRO ee

Responding to management plans to outsource all ground operations and introduce a pay freeze, SIPTU National Industrial Secretary Gerry McCormack said the plan “repre- sents a fire sale of good quality jobs by a management that can see no fur- ther than the next quarter’s profit and loss sheet”.

“Nobody in the company will emerge unscathed from this exercise. Even those who keep their jobs will have to sign up to new contracts, ‘a merit and performance based cul- ture’ and a pay freeze until the end of 2009. The company has also told us that it will continue to seek further savings so that surviving staff face the prospect of further reductions in pay and conditions.”

SIPTU representatives were offi- cially informed of the clean sweep of eround staff at a meeting with man- agement yesterday. It will mean 1,500 people being axed from the company payroll, 300 of them at Shannon.

The core of the package will see all ground operations, including ca- tering, cleaning and check-in out- sourced to third-party agencies.

Cabin crew based in Heathrow and Shannon are also victims of the cuts which are part of a plan to stem mas-

sive losses experienced by the airline in the last twelve months.

All staff will be subject to a pay freeze until late 2009.

“We are perfectly willing to discuss savings with the company and will be

entering the process to be chaired by Kevin Foley of the Labour Relations Commission. But, as we have made clear from the start, we are totally opposed to outsourcing. That mes- sage does not seem to have gotten

through to the management team and therefore we are in the place we are in,’ Mc Cormack said.

Meetings with shop stewards were on-going last night as the details of the jobs carnage were clearly out-

lined.

A SIPTU spokesman said that cab- in crew are the only ones who will be offered the direct option of taking up other employment with the airline.

“Everything on the ground is being cut. There will be a voluntary redun- dancy package on offer, where staff can decide to take a lump sum and then seek re-employment with the new agency, but there is no guarantee that they will be taken on. The other option is to stay on and to transfer to the new employer but there is no guarantee with that of how long it will be before the new employer re- negotiates contracts, probably with lower wages.”

Clerical staff will largely not be facing job losses, but it’s thought that they will have to enter talks on new contracts with pay being perform- ance related and possibly a change in the pensions scheme which will pos- sibly be contribution driven.

The company has told the unions it wants the deal wrapped up by No- vember 30 and the new scheme ready to go by December 1, a dateline that would allow the airline to carry out the changes during the traditionally flat business period in January and onarles

THE Armada Hotel in Spanish Point will become a refuge from the woes and worries of the economic reces- sion next week-end when guests will be treated to a “Recession Escape” break on the Clare coast.

Guests will be asked to leave their recession gloom at the front door as they arrive for a weekend with a number of unique events lined up on Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11, with a repeat planned for Novem- ber 21 and 22.

The Recession Escape programme will include an in-house newspaper, “Armada News’, which will feature only positive news and ensuring that guests start the day with the ‘feel good’ factor as they enjoy a cham- pagne breakfast

Internal news broadcasts through- out the day will be presented by members of the hotel staff includ-

ing a chef and housekeeper with real news, but good news. A Fortune Tell- er will read palms before dinner and predict all that is positive and happy. Every hour will be Happy Hour over the weekend with pints of Guinness reduced to pre-Celtic Tiger prices.

Guests will receive a gift of an in- spirational book with the Atlantic ocean as their perfect reading back- drop. There will also be complimen- tary advice from a personal trainer who will ensure that guests leave the hotel with a spring in their step

Price of the two-night stay, includ- ing dinner in the Pearl restaurant, is €159 per person and guests will be asked to leave the mobiles and black- berry’s off as well!!

THE people of Shannon are being urged to take part in a walk around scenic parts of the town, to mark Mental Health Awareness week, on Thursday evening.

“Because there is so much going on in Clare already to mark Mental Health Awareness week, we decided to organise a walk,” said organiser

Regine Steward, who is a commu- nity development worker with the Shannon Family Resource Centre.

“We just want to promote positive well-being and being active in a sub- tle way. Mental health doesn’t have the same connotation for everybody. We are trying to make it simple, like a social event,” she added.

Ms Steward said the possibility of running a mental health programme

in Shannon is also under considera- none

She is also encouraging members of the community to avail of the drop-in facility at the Shannon Fam- ily Resource Centre.

“We are hoping to open the centre to the community. People can drop in for information, to attend classes or to avail of a range of services,’ she Cr nLGe

“It is just a way of communicating with people and is for those who feel isolated and who don’t know what is going on in the community. We want people to join in the community spir- it,’ she added.

The meeting point for Thursday’s walk will be the Shannon Family Resource Centre and the walk will get underway at 6.30pm and will last for one hour.

A €5 million Clare county council ‘affordable housing’ scheme over- looking the Atlantic is facing local opposition in Kilkee.

Earlier this year, the Council lodged plans for the scheme on the Miltown Malbay road outside Kilkee as part of an initiative to reduce its waiting list for affordable homes, which now numbers more than 500.

One of those opposed to the scheme located in a ‘visually vulnerable area’ in the Clare County Development Plan is former councillor, Sean Mar- rinan who maintains that the plan 1s

committed to protect visual ameni- ties and must be upheld even where the local authority is involved.

The objection states that the afford- able housing scheme with the conse- quent concentration of first time buy- ers “would lead to the concentration of noise and light levels particularly at the nearby entrance.

In a separate objection, John Cos- erove claimed the proposed site would have a considerable impact on a visually vulnerable landscape and severely impact the amenity and pri- vacy of local residents.

In a third objection, Danny Mc- Donnell said the public water supply

in the area is deficient and the prob- lem will be increased not only in the Summer months, but all year round by the new houses.

“We have a problem with sewer- age and this will be also increased. There will be a problem of traffic as itis a very busy road in the Summer months and is a route to many scenic drives and Doonbeg golf course.

Unlike applications made by in- dividuals and companies, in ap- plications made by Clare County Council, objectors have no recourse to An Bord Pleanala and the local authority’sdecision on its own appli- cation 1s final.

can reveal this

in the wake of a serious aggravated

burglary in Sixmilebridge overnight last Wednesday.

Attempts were also made to steal

several cars in the Ballycullen area

of Sixmilebridge the same night. One car was stolen, while another car was crashed and burnt out in the same area that night. Gardai are trying to establish details about that car which has not been reported as stolen.

Some hours later, between 5am and 6am, the post office and shop premis- es in Cratloe was broken into. Three people entered the premises and at- tempted to steal a safe, but failed to do so after the alarm was activated and made way without any items of value.

Gardai believe that a car and van were involved in this attempted raid

and CCTV footage has been acquired by those investigating it.

Last week’s incidents follow bur- glaries in those areas over the past number of months, prompting anxi- ety among local residents.

While gardai say that the post of- fice incident was not connected to the Sixmilebridge attack, the inci- dents have prompted local concerns in relation to Limerick criminals tar- geting Clare.

Superintendent John Scanlan, who is leading the investigation in last week’s incidents, said gardai have grave concerns about crime in the

Ssixmulebridge area.

“We are concerned about the number of burglaries. We are con- cerned about the level of crime in Sixmilebridge. There has been an in- creased level of crime in that area,’ he said.

“We would ask for people to be vigilant. We are conscious of what is going on. We are putting in place po- licing patrols in that area, to prevent criminals coming out. People are go- ing to see a lot more of this activity,” added Superintendent Scanlan.

A STRONG, profitable and sustain- able future for our counties fishing industry is what Clare TD, and junior agriculture minister, Tony Killeen, was looking for at last weeks meet- ing of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Killeen was taking part in a discus- sion by ministers marked the start of the debate on the reform CFP, which will see a new policy in place by PAU

‘“T hope that the debate on the CFP will lead to a simplified policy for all the stakeholders concerned. How- ever, I will not support a policy that promotes the concentration of ac- tivity and benefits in the hands of a small number of large companies,”

he said.

“Our aim is for a policy, which maximises the development of all our coastal communities, and for this reason it is vital that quotas and their management are retained under na- tional competence and not moved to a market based mechanism.

“T strongly argued that restrictive days at sea were not necessary for the Celtic Sea south and west coast fish- eries. I argued that alternative meas- ures such as closed areas to protect spawning stock could be as effec- tive.” Ireland also hosted a meeting in Brussels last week on its initia- tive for a pilot project on eliminating discards in fisheries. The meeting brought together the European Com- mission as well as representatives of France and the UK.

“This 1s one of my key priorities as discarding of fish at sea is an 1s- sue which needs to be tackled im- mediately and I am pleased that to- day’s meeting advanced the proposal which I presented to Commissioner Borg recently,” he said.

“T am hopeful that the Commission will consider carefully the detail of our proposed scheme which seeks to work in partnership with industry on providing incentives to reduce the current unacceptable level of dis- cards.”

Meanwhile, Minister Killeen, also last week launched a new online service, Integrated Forest Informa- tion System (IFORIS) Internet.

The new service will allow ap- proved foresters and forestry compa- nies to track online the processing of

Forestry applications that have been submitted to the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

‘The service is the first phase of a planned development for IFORIS In- ternet. The second phase will enable foresters and forestry companies to submit pre-approval applications online on behalf of their clients,’ he nLOe

“This will streamline admuinistra- tion issues for foresters and the For- est Service. The provision of online access to IFORIS for approved for- esters via the Internet is one of the eGovernment initiatives being un- dertaken by the Department as part of its current IT Strategy, and under- pins its commitment to the delivery of improved online services.”

THE Shannon Homework Club, which provides assistance for pri- mary school children, has just been relaunched for the coming year.

The club, which was set up three years ago, is hosted by the Family Resource Centre at Rineanna View.

Twenty-six children, between the ages of five and 12, attend the pro- gramme four days every week, and engage in a variety of activities.

The project is funded by the Health Service Executive, under the Travel- ler Health Initiative, and the focus 1s on healthy eating, while there is also an emphasis on physical exercise.

The Cul Kids Club meets on Mon- day and Tuesday evenings, while the homework club meets every Wednes-

day and Thursday evening.

SW ileMeDAVIOr-lOh (cmp rMOnhrsle (cre mB DOMNU(olO mE. way as all children get the opportu- nity to do their homework and also take part in activities.

Barbara Molloy co-ordinates the Monday and Tuesday groups and facilitates visits by the children to places of interest in Shannon, such as the fire station or leisure centre. The children also get the opportunity to engage in activities such as arts and crafts, drama and music.

Debbie O’Halloran-Browne co-or- dinates the homework section of the programme. She said the programme was initially set up in response to lo- cal feedback.

‘Members of the community iden- tified a need for an after schools club that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.

It ran initially as a pilot scheme for one day a week. It then went to two days a week and the homework club was added as a result of feedback from children, last year,’ she said.

A number of children who are members of the Travelling commu- nity attend the club every week and this has greatly pleased the organ- isers. “It 1s about integration. They are keen to. be involved,’ said Ms O’Halloran-Browne.

“We were surprised by the feed- back. Children felt there was a lot going on at home and wanted to do their homework in a club like this,” she said.

Given that the club has gone from strength to strength over the past three years, its organisers are keen to attract volunteers.

“This programme has been a huge success with minimum input. We are depending on volunteers and fund- ing,’ she added.

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer should contact the Family Resource Centre in Shannon, where application forms are available.

“You need two references. Let us know why you would like to get involved and if you have child pro- tection training, that would be a bo- nus. Training will be offered,’ she added.

GORT’S water supply is being al- lowed to fall into a state of disrepair according to a local politician, who described Galway County Council as being “awash with fools”.

The south Galway town was last week named by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of 23 areas which exceeded the safe limits for lead in drinking water.

The town has been waiting a major development in it’s drinking water system for more than a decade with €15 million allocated for this in the last County Development Plan.

“There really is no water system

in Gort. It’s a joke. We were allo- cated €15 million for the creation of a system but when the time came to roll that out, we were told to see how the farm nitrates issue panned out before action was taken.We are still waiting,” said Adrian Feeney, of the Gort Chamber of Commerce and Independent candidate in next year’s local election.

“Gort is not represented in the council and that is the main problem here. It is very easy for towns on the edge of the county just to be ignored because they don’t have someone in their corner. At the moment, from what I can see the council is awash with fools.

“The reality is that the pipes in Gort were put in place way back in 1927 and almost without exception have not been changed since then. It’s not really a surprise that there is lead in the water.”

According to Mr Feeney, the state of the town’s water is seriously ham- pering the future development of the area.

“We cannot develop our town be- cause we don’t have the water, either the quantity of the quality. If you run a bath in Gort the bath will turn out brown, if you fill a glass of water it will be yellow, that 1s no condi- tion to have in a modern first world country,’ he said.

THE farming organisations has wel- comed what they described as a “bal- anced” stance taken by Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, at last week Council of EU Agriculture Ministers in Brussels.

Minister Smith spoke at the meet- ing about the need to measure the steps taken to combat climate change with the current needs and challeng- es of the agriculture and agri-food sector in Ireland

“This is a clear recognition by Ag- riculture Ministers of the importance of ensuring that the EU’s policy ob- jectives for the agriculture and food sector are upheld in the Climate Change negotiations,” he said

“While climate change actions are vitally important it 1s equally impor-

tant that any proposed actions are considered from an agriculture and food production perspective leading to greater coherence in the pursuit of EU policy objectives in both areas.”

Minister Smith said that Ireland fully supported the goals agreed by the Heads of State and Government at the 2007 Spring European Council for reduction in the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“Tam, however, concerned that the implementation of the reduction pro- posals should not result in unintend- ed impacts in terms of Ireland’s and the EU’s role in global food supplies and global greenhouse gas levels,” he Se AOR

“Given the relative size of the ag- riculture sector in Ireland’s economy and the high proportion of green- house gas emissions coming from

our largely animal-based production, the EU target posed particular dif- ficulties for us including the pros- pect of having to reduce our bovine ate) xe ad

The Minister referred to the fact that Ireland is one of the countries facing the highest target of 20 per cent under the effort-sharing pro- posal of the European Commission’s Climate Change strategy.

World demand for food is growing with the possibility of a doubling of meat and dairy consumption globally by 2050.

“It 1s important then to encourage our agriculture and food sectors to respond to these developments in the interests both of global food security and of the pursuit of important mar- ket opportunities,” he said.

“IT am anxious to ensure that Ire-

land continues to play a full role in the efficient production of food maximising its strengths in livestock husbandry that is heavily reliant on forage based on grass.

“We can do this only if a much greater level of flexibility 1s provided for in the Commission’s proposals and Ireland has put forward a number of ideas in this area including secur- ing recognition for carbon sequestra- tion from forest and other sinks.”

CLARE farmers could soon be counting the benefits of a number of new bio-energy crops which could soon be filling the fields of the coun- ty. SWEGEN is a new farm initia- tive covering Clare as well as parts of Limerick and Kerry and aims to show farmers the opportunities available in the production of alter- native energy sources.

The group has reported receiving a large number of visitors to their stand at the Nation Ploughing Champion- ships, with farmers seeming keep to find out how to get their own bio-en- ergy crops Started.

“The high standards of work done by SWEGEN over the last year has

been reflected in the large volume of interested parties at this years Na- tional Ploughing Championships,’ said the Director with SWEGEN, Liam Browne.

‘There was also a fantastic level of interest from national media, prov- ing just how relevant bio fuels and their production are to the public and industry.”

SWEGEN is currently working in tandem with both the GEGA and GESCO organisations.

GEGA was established in 2006 to facilitate the production and process- ing of bio energy crops and fuels.

The GESCO Network’s primary focus is to establish viable long term green energy supply services and is essentially a country wide network of

Green Energy Service Companies.

Their main aim is to develop real business opportunities for rural com- munities in the developing green en- ergy market and to ensure that rural communities continue to benefit long term from energy production. GEGA has doubled its crop production in the last year and expect to do the same this year by keeping in line with their organisational strategy.

The GESCO Network has an ongo- ing, rapidly expanding Miscanthus development programme and _ this year saw the first of large-scale field trials of industrial hemp to establish its suitability and application as a Bi- omass Corp. The crops both flourish in the Irish climate and the support of GEGA means that crop growers

can maximise the quality of their produce.

SWEGEN meetings will run in the Clare region between the end of October and January of next year. For more check www.swegen.ie, e- mail info@swegen.ie or contact the GEGA office directly on 1890 232 POE