Category: Uncategorized

THERE has never been a better op- portunity for first-time buyers in Ennis to enter the property market. That’s the opinion of Michael Ley- den of Leyden Auctioneers.

There are now approximately 150 newly built houses for sale in Ennis and he says that if people don’t buy now there is every chance that they could again be priced out of the mar- ket.

‘First time buyers have everything going for them at the moment. They don’t have to pay stamp duty on new or second hand homes assuming they are going to be owner-occupiers, there is a €10,000 room rent allow- ance available and there has been a substantial increase in owner-occu- pier’s mortgage interest relief. With conditions as they are at present, first-time buyers should be much more active in the housing market.

“There are statistics coming from the financial institutions to say that they are receiving as many applica- tions as before, however, there is less of an uptake on these. They are get- ting approval for mortgages, but they are waiting and waiting and waiting

for something to happen. The prices are as low as they are going to go and now is the time to act,” said Leyden.

With the advancement of the Budget date there are two schools of thought among those involved in the prop- erty market. Some are of the opinion that they should rush in to buy now before the budget announcements, in case they cause a shake-up in the house market that would lead to a rise in prices. The other school is that potential buyers should wait until af- ter the Budget and reap the benefit of possible incentives that the Govern- ment may offer.

“Ennis is bucking the trend at the moment. Other towns of the same size are not in the same situation. Some of them have a large amount of houses for sale. Despite all the furore regarding over-supply of new homes in the Ennis property market, Leyden Auctioneers have established after research that there are approximately 150 new homes built and ready for sale in Ennis town and it’s environs.

“This is alarming considering that around 450 students sit the leaving certificate in Ennis each year, mi- grants and returned immigrants can account for up to another 200 people,

and it is estimated that the popula- tion of Ennis will increase to 36,000 people in 2014 from a current 28,700. Also if there is a rebound in the mar- ket it will take builders at least a year to catch up, therefore a shortage is already looming,” said Leyden.

This shortage is coming on the back of market conditions, but Ley- den warns that if the market doesn’t kick-start itself soon, there will be a serious shortfall between supply and demand.

Padraig Howard of Drumquin Con- struction is of the opinion that we are very close to this. “The builders have cut back the amount of projects they are involved in. The number of starts next year will be negligible. Homebond registrations are down by something in the region of 80 per cent this year. This is the lowest level of housing starts in County Clare since 1994. We are now talking in single figures.”

There are certain factors that are stopping the market from kicking back into life, and while stamp duty doesn’t affect first-time buyers, ac- cording to Leyden, it has the biggest effect on the market.

“I feel that the 7 per cent rate

of stamp duty on purchases over €125,000 is penal and crippling and should be revisited. My view would be that a 4 per cent band should be introduced between €125,000 and €750,000 and a 7.5 per cent band over €750,000. The middle market and investment market are suffering because of the current 7 per cent and 9 per cent rates.”

Both Leyden and Howard are ada- mant that neither the building trade nor the auctioneering trade want to see house prices rise to the levels that they were at 18 months ago.

“We need a stable market. Drum- quin Construction was selling three houses a week in 2006. Now we are selling one every two months. The demand is there, but buyers aren’t taking the plunge. A microcosm of this happened in 2002 when buyers stopped buying for 12 months,” said Howard.

“Tf there is a rebound in the market, it will take the building trade 12 to 18 months to catch up to demand. There is a lot of planning in the pipeline, but due to the effective embargo on planning by Clare County Council development can’t start. From the date that planning gets the go ahead,

it will take a year to a year and a half until they are ready for sale. Next year the market 1s going to be in lim- bo and it will be 2010 before we see any serious action,’ says Leyden.

Howard agrees with this statement saying, “If this happens you’re going to have increased demand, but with no supply.”

Nobody wants to see history repeat itself and despite issuing warnings about the future of the property mar- ket, the pair are upbeat about what is ELOVb OTM UL

“The economic outlook isn’t so bad. There will be lower interest rates, it is rumoured that the budget will provide serious incentives for buyers and it is hoped that the credit crunch will be receeding,” concluded averore

BUSINESSES in Parnell Street are considering a two-point plan aimed at addressing parking problems in the area.

The plan, drawn up at a recent meeting of representatives from the business community, the Office of Public Works and the Taxi Federa- tion involves the OPW purchasing 30 parking passes for the Market Street multi-storey car park for business permit holders in the Parnell Street area.

Businesses say trade in the area has been adversely affected by the loss of parking spaces resulting from work being carried out by the OPW on the Ennis flood relief scheme.

It also proposes, according to town engineer Tom ‘Tiernan, banning parking permit holders from parking in the Parnell Street area, with a view to making as much parking space as possible available for shoppers and customers. Mr Tiernan outlined the proposal at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis electoral area where he also defended the decision to re-lo- cate the taxi rank from O’Connell Square to Parnell Street.

He said that during the public con- sultation process, Ennis Town Coun- cil received, “60 or 70 significant submissions and practically all of them supported the move. There has

been a significant improvement with 21 taxi spaces. The queuing system is as it should be, in one straight line. There were no objections to re-locat- ing, which is the first time in this type of process that that has happened.”

However, 1n a motion, Fianna Fail councillor and former Parnell Street resident, Pat Daly called for the council to consider re-locating the rank to other areas of the town.

He described re-locating the taxi rank as a “bad decision’, but conced- ed business owners in the area had made a mistake in not voicing their concerns earlier.

He said, “Business in the area is a disaster. Moving the taxi rank was a bad decision in the first place. One of the major causes is the loss of 30 parking spaces. It should have been re-located to another area, like Bank Place. It would make more sense. It can be a long walk up dark alleys from the Queens nightclub down to Parnell Street.”

Independent councillor Tommy Brennan said agreement over the move had been reached with the Taxi Federation. “There are plans to up- grade O’Connell Square. We need it as a centerpiece for the town,’ said the councillor. Mr Tiernan said he would consider reducing the size of the taxi rank, but added that all alter- native ideas and suggestions for sites had been exhausted.

A COMMUNITY grants scheme, which has existed in Shannon for several years, may have to be aban- doned if a breach of ethics is found to have taken place.

Under the scheme, several commu- nity groups are granted funding eve- ry year towards the running of their organisations and 16 groups have ap- plied for funding this year.

However, earlier this year an issue arose after the Shannon town man- ager Ger Dollard recommended that €50,000 be provided towards a ma- jor development of the town’s leisure centre. This was to be from money set aside for community initiatives.

While he said he was satisfied that the recommendation was lawful and proper, it was met with criticism by another group in the town and the

matter was then referred to the coun- cil’s ethics officer.

While Shannon Town Council be- lieves there was no breach of ethics, no decision will be taken on the dis- tribution of this year’s community grants, until after a ruling is made on the issue. The matter has been re- ferred by the council to the Depart- ment of the Environment. Their law- yers are currently looking at it and are expected to revert to the council within weeks.

If the ruling is that there was no breach of ethics, the grants are likely to be distributed during the autumn. However, if it rules that there was a breach, the community grants scheme may have to be abandoned entirely.

At a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, town manager Ger Dollard said that in the wake of

the issue arising earlier this year, ad- vice was sought.

As aresult of this, it was ascertained that under ethics legislation relating to the Code of Conduct for council- lors, ‘interests’ were described as family, close friends or business as- sociates of those applying for fund- ing, aS well as those arising to a position of responsibility in a club, society or other organisation. “It is wide ranging,’ said Mr Dollard.

He said that of the 16 applicants for funding this year, some of the members of the town council were involved in the groups.

id LY OlbN OMmore) pO OR-DOTXomB BME eLOLUUNTOID lors weren’t involved in community initiatives,’ said Mr Dollard.

Councillors will decide who will re- ceive the funding, under the project, but Mr Dollard recommended that the decision be deferred temporarily

until further advice is obtained.

“It may well be the community grants scheme cannot be operated as was, in the future,” said the manger.

The 16 groups that applied for funding this year were Clare Haven, Shannon Musical Society, Gleann an Oir Residents Association, Shannon Graveyard Maintenance Committee, Wolfe Tones Camogie Club, Shan- non region Talking Paper, Shannon Senior Citizens Club, Rineanna Ra- dio Ltd, Shannon Town United AFC, Shannon Meteors Trampoline Club, Shannon Olympic AFC, Clare Fed- eration of People with Special Needs, Cronan Park Environmental Group, Duchas na Sionna and two schemes under the remit of the Shannon Fam- ily Resource Centre.

The successful projects must be erant-aided and show a clear com- munity focus.

ENNIS Players are on the lookout for new members as they prepare to thread the boards once more.

The players are hosting an open night on Old Ground hotel on Thurs- day September 11, 1n a bid to unearth new and exciting talents. The open night provides an ideal opportunity for people to get to know what is in- volved in acting, producing, lighting, sound and all other activities that are required to get a show on stage.

Members are currently immersed in the process of selecting new plays

for its annual Supper Theatre series. Readings will be held at the open night. Away from acting, the Ennis players are also hoping that they can attract new members to assist with production duties and the logistics of taking a production on the road.

The Supper Theatre takes place in the Old Ground Hotel in November. It consists of three one-act plays, staged over three nights. The series has been running at the same venue for 22 years and has proven endur- ingly popular with local crowds.

The past number of years has been a roller-coaster ride for Ennis Play-

ers, having represented Ireland at the International Festival of Drama in Monaco with Geraldine Greene’s production of The Dandy Dolls and represented the Amateur drama movement on the Abbey stage with John Finn’s production of Kathleen Ni Houlihan. The group have en- joyed many successes in these fes- tivals qualifying for the All-Ireland finals in the past three years.

After Christmas the Players will be producing a three-act play, which they will perform in front of local au- diences. There are then plans to tour the show o the festival circuit around

Tee NiXer

A tour such as this requires a large number of people to get involved so the group extend and invitation to any persons with a wish to get involved in amateur drama to come along to their open night, where a good time is guaranteed. New members are particularly welcome.

who will present a programme on Exceptional Leadership at New- town Castle, Ballyvaughan from Thursday, 18 to Sunday, September 21. The insight into what the common denominator is between an Obama, a Churchill or a crack business team-

leader, will be given on a programme run under the auspices of The Bur- ren Leadership Forum (www.burren- leadershipforum.1ie).

The forum was established in 2006 in Newtown Castle, Ballyvaughan and it’s founders say that the “Bur- ren’s special natural environment with its rich botanical and archaeo- logical heritage provides an inspiring timeless space for learning, reflec- tion and debate and on the themes of leadership, creativity, purpose and effectiveness.

“In the liberating environment of the Burren and in the intimate set- ting of Newtown Castle, innovative and transformative leadership learn- ing can safely be undertaken.”

EQ is made up of two factors: in- trapersonal intelligence, or the abil- ity to know and accept oneself and to become self-managing and self-

motivating, and interpersonal intel- ligence, or the ability to interact ef- fectively with other people.

“The most powerful and insight- ful tool available to help develop an individual’s EQ,” claims Dr Lapid- Bogda, “is the Enneagram – an an- cient psychological and _ spiritual development system which is now rapidly gaining acceptance in the Fortune 500 companies as well serv- ice organisations, non-profits and Eas ntu selene

Dr Lapid-Bogda has consulted with many of these firms for more than 30 years as an organisation development (OD) expert.

The doctor has married under stand- ing of the ancient system with con- temporary organisational practice. “This synthesis gives unparalleled insights for self-mastery combined with powerful leadership develop-

ment practices tailored to specific leadership styles,” she said.

And to prove that leadership skills do not mean that a person cannot be creative, the programme will hear from Martin Salzwedel who, as well as being a concert level cellist, is an internationally respected Enneagram teacher and business consultant who specialises in integrating the insights of the Enneagram with the creation of high performance teams and ex- ecutive development.

Further information on ‘Excep- tional Leadership – What Makes and Exceptional Leader?’ can be had by contacting the Burren Leader- ship Forum, Newtown Castle Bally- vaughan on 065 7083 949/086 8049 432. Alternatively you can email info@burrenleadershipforum.ie or visit the website at www.burrenlead- SucvepNO)KOM besa loe

TEE off time 1s approaching for com- petitors taking part in a golf classic organsied to honour one man’s 1m- portant contribution to sport in En- he

The tournament, organised by Lif- ford AFC, takes place at Ennis golf club on Sepetmber 27. Those tak- ing to the course in two weeks will be competing for the Frank Flaherty Memorial Cup. The late Frank Fla- herty was a member of the Lifford club and a passionate follower of sport. A generous and committed clubman, Mr Flaherty was primarily

involved with the Ennis club’s hugely successful ladies soccer team. He also served as president of the Clare Ladies Soccer League.

But Mr Flaherty’s contribution to sport in Ennis extended beyond his associations with any particular club oy erere oe

Mr Flaherty was one of the found- ing members of the Ennis Sports Development Committee, a group of local people whose work and cam- paigning resulted in the development of the Lees Road sports facility.

Ferdie O’Donoghue, Chairman of Lifford AFC, said Mr Flaherty made a massive contribution to promoting

sport in Ennis and that the club were keen to honour his memory. “Frank was involved with Lifford for a long time, mainly with the ladies teams. He and everyone else on the sports committee did tremendous work get- ting Less Road of the ground. I don’t know where we’d be in Ennis if we didn’t have it”.

“Frank was a great person and a great supporter of all sports. He was a pure gentleman. We are delighted and proud to be able to keep his memory alive. We decided to name the cup in Frank’s honour, to honour everything he did for Lifford and for everything he did for sport in En-

nae

Tee off times for the Frank Flaher- ty Memorial cup will be decided by timetable on a first some first served basis. Ferdie is advising anyone in- terested in taking part to register early so as to avoid delays. He’s also hoping that his club’s junior team can maintain it’s winning start to the season. “We’ve made a good start alright, buts its early days. There’s a good bunch of lads there at the mo- ment and we have a great pitch in Cassidy Park, so hopefully we can keep it going”.

For further information and enquir- ies contact Ferdie at 086 3289041

AN EXHIBITION highlighting the work done by service providers in north Clare takes place in the Com- munity Centre Parliament Street, En- nistymon on Friday, September 19. Minister of State Tony Killeen will formally open the exhibition at 12pm and all are welcome to attend. Organisers hope that by bringing service providers together under one roof they can provide a useful first point of contact for many local peo- ple. The exhibition is being organ- ised by the North Clare Area Learn-

ing Network.

The network is made up of a number of local and national groups.

Organisations that will be repre- Sented at the exhibition include, local secondary and vocational schools, FAS, Clare VEC, Teagasc, Clare Supported Employment Service, Farm Family Support, Citizens In- formation Service and the Brother’s Om Or TulAys

The event will provide information on a wide range of topics and organ- isers are hoping for a large turn out on the day. The diverse range of or- ganisations and community groups

represented at the exhibition reflects the broad spread of services pro- vided in the north Clare area. These include Clarecare, the Irish Farmer’s Association, Burren Connect, Rural Resource Development, Job’s Club, Enable Ireland, Clare Immigrant Support Centre, National Learning network, Family Resource Centre, Money Advice and Budgeting Serv- ice, NUIG access programme, Clare Sports Partnership, the Alzheimher’s association and the Traveller Enter- prise Project.

Information will also be available to the public on many other serv-

ice providers currently operating in north Clare.

A spokesperson for the North Clare Area Learning Network encouraged local people to come along and sup- port the event and to learn more about the services in your local area.

“If you have a half an hour to spare, come along to the community centre and check out what is available in your area.

“You will get the opportunity to make contact with a variety of or- ganisations and meet the people who are providing the services,’ the spokesperson said.

THE issue of accessability and the barriers faced by people with dis- abilities will be addressed at a con- KUO NI DION IIS C Molo)

The event, organised by Enable Ire- land as part of Action Week, takes place at the West County hotel on Wednesday, September 17.

The theme of the week is Access All Areas and aims to promote ac- cess for people with disabilities to all areas of life, from social and leisure activities, education and employment to infrastructure and buildings. Dur- ing Action Week supporters can buy a Gold Badge to raise valuable funds to help take action on disability.

The conference in Ennis aims to provide information on a wide range

of topics related to accessibility, from education to leisure activities.

Speakers at the event include repre- sentatives from Clare County Coun- cil and Clare Accessible Transport and James Murrihy, the sports inclu- sion development officer for Clare.

Anne O’Malley from the Ennis branch of Enable Ireland said acces- sibility remains a significant problem in Clare.

“There are huge barriers with re- gards to accessibility whether that relates to transport or education. This is something we want to high- light, but at the same time we also hope to show that these barriers and problems can be overcome.”

Information stands and members of Enable Ireland will be on hand on the day to offer help and advice. People

with disabilities and their families are especially encouraged to attend, to share their experiences.

Anne explained, “We get a lot of en- quiries from people who maybe have children with disabilities, wondering ~VoJOlUL Mm UND CODN Orca: DeLG mu elO\, au KOmecxO mr: 1ele)011 making their homes more accessible. We want service users to come along and avail of the opportunity to share WeToJD MSD. 4 OLS U (oOo IRY ALO UR

A major focus over the past year for Enable Ireland in Clare has been in the area of leisure activities. The or- ganisation implemented a wide pro- gramme of sports and leisure related activities with particular focus on watersports.

Anne explained, “What we have done in Ennis over the past year is try to create a situation where peo-

ple with disabilities could have pretty regular access to wide range of sports. Watersports was one area we focused on. It’s been a lot of fun for everyone involved. We had two wheelchair users going windsurfing. There was a wheelchair soccer tour- nament, trips to the swimming pool, lots of different things.”

The water theme continues next week when Liam Griffin, water safe- ty officer with Clare County Council, will officially open the conference.

Enable Ireland supports 3,500 chil- dren and adults with disabilities and their families and provide services in local communities throughout Ire- land. Covering childhood to adult- hood, expert teams work with the individual and their family on a plan for each life stage.

REVIVING the traditions around holy wells has been part of the work of Beagh Rural Development Asso- ciation during the last 19 years.

One of the most documented wells in the parish of Beagh was the centre of attention as it held its first Mass in 15 years was held there.

Tobar Ri an Domhainaigh or the well of the King of the Sundays is situated behind an old RIC Barracks close to Tubber, on the Clare-Galway

boundary.

This was the sixth well restored in the parish with the help of FAS and Galway Rural Development. The role of the holy wells had been for- gotten by newer generations and had become overgrown.

On Sunday last however the lo- cal community gathered again for a Mass. Now the development com- mittee hope to make the mass an an- LOE oad OL

Traditionally the day for visiting the well was the last Sunday in July.

There remains just a few final touches to be completed at the well that was first mentioned the writings of a friar that took refuge in Prague Anthony McBroady in 1669.

Situated in the townland of Rath- willadoon the well whose origin lies in Pagan times has long been associ- ated with Christian pilgrimage.

According to tradition St Coleman blessed the well.

On the old alter a plaque dated 1717 reads, “Pray for the soul of Helen O’Brien alias Kelly O’Shaughnessy

who made the wall around the well, May 9, 1717.”

A stone plaque also adds historic data to the well. Situated at the west- ern end of the well the plaque is in- scribed with “Pray for the soul of Nelly Ffrench who made this monu- ment 1711.”

The artefact of most note from the well is a medieval bronze crucifix now situated in the National Muse- um in Dublin. A replica of this his- toric cross can be seen in Shanaglish Sie

A REPAIR works scheme for dozens of homes in Ennis has ground to a halt after funding for the programme “dried up”.

Even as Ennis Town Council nears completion of phase one of a reme- dial works scheme on the council’s housing stock, Town Enginneer Tom Tiernan has said that he “wouldn’t hold his breath” in anticipation of the commencement of phase two.

Mr Tiernan was speaking at the September meeting of Ennis Town Soniete

He said the council had success- fully pursued an application of €4.1

million to carry out remedial works in 46 houses in Shalee Drive and Gordon Drive.

“We have submitted an applica- tion for the second phase and we got a response from the department that more or less told us that fund- ing wasn’t available due to the down- turn’, said Mr Tiernan.

He added, “I’m not in a position to be able to tell people when they might be eligible for the scheme. All we can do is try to push our case with the department. But, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“All indications from the depart- ment are that funds have dried up SIRS TUBELOr-vOLO NYA

The scheme mainly involves repair- ing broken doors and windows, and dealing with other structural issues. The works do not cover repairs to central heating systems as that is cov- ered under a separate programme.

Raising the issue, Independent councillor Frankie Neylon asked Mr Tiernan for an updated report on the repairs programme.

He said, “Some people are being told they have to pay to have their windows fixed and others say they elena

Over the next month could we get a report on the type of repairs needed? There is a lot of confusion out there especially in the Cloughleigh area.

People see the work being done in Gordon Drive and then it moves somewhere else. They are just won- dering if the council are going to do this for all the houses”.

Mr Tiernan said there was no emer- gency funding available, but that help would be provided to households in “exceptional circumstances”’.

“We are dealing with the replace- ment of windows as best we can. When there is a need we will respond as positively as possible. We will look at exceptional circumstances. We are sympathetic to people in a lot of cases. We are trying to stretch our resources. We will see what we can Coe