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THE founder of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association, Jim Connolly has complained to County Manager, Alec Fleming about a verbal attack on him by a senior council planner.

Last month, Scottish-born planner Bill Sansum responding to a claim from Mr Connolly (below) that ru- ral dwellers are suffering from an imported “British ideology in the planning system” said that as a for- eign national and planner working in Clare, he took strong exception to this sort of “gratuitous, offensive and paranoid drivel’.

Mr Connolly has now written to Mr Fleming and the Ombudsman stating that any attack of this kind made by a local authority employee on a mem- ber of the public was in breach of the code of conduct for employees and brought the Council into disrepute ‘‘as well as shattering any confidence in the planning system vis-a-vis fair- ness and impartiality”.

“As a private citizen pursuing my

democratic right to lobby for legisla- tive change in planning and to public- ly challenge what the IRDA contend is a historically accurate planning ideology of forced urbanisation on rural Ireland which has its origins in the UK, I object in the strongest pos- sible terms to the personal attacks made about me in newspapers by planners employed by local authori- (one

“T also refer to the Ombudsman’s Guide to Standards of Best Practise for Public Servants which “clarifies citizens rights and the principles of good administration which include objectivity and impartiality and the need to avoid unfair discrimina- wo) eae

“It is not just a damning indictment of the planning process that indi- vidual planners are permitted to vent their spleen in the media on private citizens going about their legitimate, democratic pursuits, but confirms the behaviour of many planners as being personal, autocratic, arrogant and unaccountable.

In his comments last month, Mr Sansum said that by attacking local authority planners in this way and as a soft target, Mr Connolly did the IRDA no credit whatsoever.”

Mr Sansum said that the IRDA’s arguments in favour of loosening up the rules for more one-off hous- ing in rural areas don’t stack up as Government policy was moving the other way.”

He said that as a professional plan- ner, he was accountable to Irish law and Irish guidelines on planning.

through the Freedom of Information Act show that the Environmental

Protection Agency warned the coun- cil in January that the water supply was at risk of another outbreak of cryptosporidium.

Council officials did not make the public aware of the EPA concerns and a month later, an outbreak of cryptosporidium resulted in two children being hospitalised.

The documentation shows that de- spite a budget of €3 million for a

temporary water treatment plant, 25 to 30 per cent of the water go- ing through the plant was not being treated for cryptosporidium.

This was also kept secret and the EPA audit stated that when raw water conditions are poor, there is in effect no treatment barrier to the parasite in the Ennis public water supply.

“This places the supply at risk of another outbreak of cryptosporid-

tum’, the EPA concluded.

Clir Meaney said, “I don’t know if we can trust the officials anymore. This is appalling, people who were elected to represent the people are being kept in the dark, misinformed, told that the filtration plant was Oya ena

AN additional 18 charges have been brought by the State, as part of an in- vestigation into alleged damage to a Bank of Ireland pass machine. Romanian nationals Pavel Cirpaci (29), of Carrig Court, Fortunes- town Lane, Tallaght, Dublin 24, and Gabriela Lupo (20), of Stewart House, Dublin 1, had nine charges

each brought against them in court last week.

They were both charged with un- lawfully withdrawing money – to- talling €4,860 – from nine Bank of Ireland accounts at New Street, Kil- larney, on February 11 last.

The amounts allegedly taken from the accounts range from €220 and a L0eR

Both were previously charged with

damaging a Bank of Ireland ATM at SkyCourt, Shannon, on February 12 last. At a previous court hearing into the matter, Judge Joseph Man- gan declined jurisdiction of the case and it was adjourned for preparation of the Book of Evidence for the Cir- cuit Court.

Shannon District Court heard last Thursday that the new charges were included in the Book of Evidence.

Both were returned for trial. The defendants’ barrister Michael Hour1- gan applied for bail for Mr Cirpaci, who was in custody.

‘He has a wife and child here. He has lived here for the past six years. It’s his entitlement to bail,’ said the barrister.

However, Judge Joseph Mangan re- fused the application. Ms Lupo was remanded on continuing bail.

TO celebrate National Biodiversity Week, Coole Park in Gort will next week host a number of events de- signed to promote the diverse ani- mal, plant and habitats that exist in the Burren area.

Events begin this Sunday, May 18, with the Coole Park Family Day. The day’s festivities, which will run from 2pm to 5pm, will include storytell- ing, nature based games and activi- ties for children and the chance to discover what lives and grows along the woodland in the Biodiversity sheik

The following Saturday, May 25 from 7.30 to 10.30pm, environmen-

talist and artist Gordon D’Arcy will be joined by the Galway Bat Group for the Evening Bird Chorus and Bat Walk.

On Sunday May 25 a guided Tree Walk at 3pm will offer people the chance to learn more about the story of the trees at Coole Park.

“Biodiversity includes all living things – everything from micro- organisms to whales, bugs, birds, plants, animals, people and _ their habitats,” said a spokesperson from Coole Park.

“It is vital that we protect and pre- serve as much of the delicate balance of nature as we can.

“The variety of living things 1s enormous, and we all depend on each

other for survival.”

Meanwhile, a number of other events will take place in Clare to cel- ebrate Biodiversity Week.

On Thursday May 22, Clare Bat Group will host a bat walk and talk at the Burren College of Art in Bal- lyvaughan.

CELT have also organised evening walks on May 20 and 22 with guide Andrew St Ledger of the Woodland League.

On Tuesday May 20, at 6.45pm, a walk will leave from Tuamgraney Heritage Centre.

It will take in the Raheen Ancient Oak Wood and the ‘Brian Boru Oak’ which is said to be more than 1000 years old.

Then on Thursday May 22, also at 6.45pm, a walk will leave from Flagmount shop before taking in the Cahermurphy Oak Wood Nature Reserve. Both walk are free to the public.

All activities at Coole Park are free of charge and organised by National Parks and Wildlife Service and Peo- ple and Nature – the Galway Biod1- versity Project.

Coole Park is managed by the Na- tional Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

For more information contact Coole Park at 091 631804, e-mail info@coolepark.ie or check out www.coolepark.ie

STXMILEBRIDGE is set to become Clare’s fastest growing village with planning applications before Clare County Council valued at over €130 million set to transform the local community.

According to the 2006 census, the population of Sixmilebridge ex- ceeded 2,000 for the first time in liv- ing memory with the the population registered at 2,029, representing an increase of 15.7% on the previous

ere

Now, in a development expected to increase the size of the village even further, Cormac Quigley is seeking to construct a €55 million develop- ment comprising of 221 residential UUObLRSE

The plan involves 75 two bedroom duplex units; 38 three bedroom semi- detached dwellings; 25 three bed- room townhouses; 22 three bedroom duplex units; 34 two bedroom garden apartment units; 10 one bedroom garden apartment units;10 three bed-

room stepdown garden apartments; 6 three bedroom detached dwellings and three four bedroom detached OM ob b areas

Mr Quigley is also proposing a creche as part of the project.

Separately, Fordmount Develop- ment have recently lodged further information on plans for a mixed-use scheme comprising residential, retail, community and commercial uses on a nine acre site bounded by the Lim- erick Road. This plan involves retail floorspace of 13,367 sq.m and 79

residential units.

The retail aspect of the project in- volves a convenience anchor store; 9 retail units; an off-licence; an office/ commercial/community suite; 5 non- retail services units; a bar/restaurant; a bank facility; a hot food take-away and a creche as well as 389 sqm. an- cillary floorspace.

There is also provision for 276 car parking spaces.

These applications coincide with a proposal to develop the village’s first hotel while Clare hurler, Niall Gil-

ligan has also lodged planning ap- plications aimed at revitalizing the village centre.

Rinn Construction Ltd has already secured planning permission for 33 homes and is seeking approval for a further 32.

The local national school is already trying to cope with the rapid scale of expansion and secured planning per- mission for a temporary classroom last year, while the local GAA and soccer clubs are also expanding their facilities.

THE loss of the Shannon-Heathrow service has contributed to Shannon Airport suffering a six per cent drop in passenger traffic for the first quar- ter this year, new figures reveal.

Aer Lingus ended its Shannon- Heathrow service in January, with the consequent estimated loss of 331,000 passengers this year.

Low-cost airline Ryanair has in- creased its frequency and routes to London airports. However, Airport Director, Martin Moroney said that short-haul traffic numbers had suf- fered, due to the loss of the Heathrow

Tos ais eon

In the figures released, the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) confirmed that, from January to March, term1- nal traffic was at 569,000.

This is a six per cent reduction on the previous year. Transit totals for the same period were down by five per cent to 91,500.

In a statement, the SAA blamed the “single digit percentage drop in the first quarter due to recent airline route decisions,’ while it expressed confidence for the remainder of 2008 season, due to indications of increased traffic growth.

The SAA confirmed that terminal

traffic for the month of March de- creased by two per cent compared to the 2007 figure, with over 226,000 passengers using the airport, along with 28,400 transit passengers.

The authority also stated that tran- sit figures were reduced by 8,000 largely due to the decline in pas- senger numbers on combined Shan- non/Dublin transatlantic services as a result of “open skies’.

Mr Moroney said that a downturn in traffic had been expected due to a number of factors.

In relation to short haul, Mr Mo- roney said that the new Air France service is performing well with high

load factors, albeit with less capac- ity and frequency than the Heathrow service had offered.

‘A downturn in transatlantic traffic had been expected this year due to the effects of “Open Skies’ which are in fact in place since the beginning of the Winter 2007/8 schedule,’ said Mr Moroney.

“The recent confirmation by Aer Lingus of year-round commitment to their Shannon transatlantic routes was a welcome development, as was the announcement of additional pro- motional funding aimed at support- ing traffic development on all trans- atlantic routes to Shannon.”

IT’S taken almost ten years to be- come a reality but the determination of a few people backed by a whole community was being celebrated in Tulla at the weekend.

The people of Tulla came out to see the official opening of their new soc- cer pitches and clubhouse, on what was once a bog field in Cragg.

The aim to get a facility, which is second to none started with Christ- mas raffles 10 years ago.

€3 a ticket didn’t seem a lot at the time, but over 10 years the raffle brought in €100,000.

Five years into the plan, the pitch committee found a piece of land to suit the purpose and their ambitions were helped along with some fund- ing from the National Lottery.

“That was great but we still had €750,000 to fundraise,’ said Tulla United’s Michael Moloney.

“But all credit to Denis Cory, Mike Hoey, Stephan Brady and the com- mittee. They were the people who worked all the way to make this a re- ality and the people of Tulla were so generous and supportive. There was unbelievable work done but it would never have happened without Denis and the committee,” said Michael.

200 people linked to the club sup- ported the development, committing €20 a month to a club draw for three and a half years.

And there were also thousandaires, coffee mornings and sponsored all- sorts to boost the fund.

The result is two of the finest sand- based pitches anywhere in the coun- try, one which is floodlit.

There is a clubhouse which will allow players to change in comfort, space for meetings to take place, gear to be stored and a proper park- ing facility.

For the 100 under age and 50 adult players, it makes all the difference.

The facilities were officially opened by John Delaney, CEO of the FAI on Saturday after a dedicated Mass and parade through the town, led by the Tulla Pipe Band.

“This is a shining example of what community spirit can do,” said Michael.

‘“We’re hoping now that these fa- cilities will act as a magnet for peo- ple who want to play the game and for people who don’t have a club and we’ll be focusing on blitzes for the seven to Il age group, getting more youngsters involved. Now we have these facilities we can do these things,” said Michael.

ASURVEY of lump sum investments made by more than 25,000 custom- ers of Irish Life in 2007 shows that the average amount invested nation- ally amounted to €44,915, while the average sum invested in Clare was €32,636.58.

The figures show significant dif- ferences in the size of investment

between males and females, between the various Irish counties and in the types of investments chosen. The av- erage lump sum invested by male cli- ents in Clare was €40,000 (€52,000 nationally) while for female clients it was just over €21,000 (€33,000 na- tionally).

A breakdown of Clare investments showed that 52 per cent was in capital protected products (49 per cent na-

tionwide); 12 per cent in equity and managed products (20 per cent na- tionwide) and 36 per cent in property products (31 per cent nationwide).

Over €1.2 billion was invested by retail investors in non-pension relat- ed lump sums with Irish Life during 2007.

Irish Life spokesman Karl Symes said the size of the average lump sum invested reflected the growing

prosperity in Ireland in recent years. “The fact that the average investment amongst 20,000 different customers last year was as high as €45,000 highlights the transformation that’s occurred in personal wealth in Ire- land over the past decade,” he said. “Overall, the figures reflect a rea- sonably diverse selection of invest- ment choices. The key to choosing an investment is an individual cus-

tomer’s appetite for risk and what’s clear is that this appetite varies by customer,” he said.

According to the Irish Life survey, Clare – with its €32,636 average in- vestment – came 18th out of the 26 fo) tba alehe

Cavan topped the poll with an aver- age investment of over €71,000, with Monaghan propping up the table on SPA OWL OF

RYANAIR yesterday warned that its multi-million euro deal with the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) may not be renewed if the airport does not further reduce its cost base.

The threat was issued by the low- cost airline as it confirmed that while passengers and routes are ahead of forecast at Shannon, they are based upon at much lower yields. Yields are the profits airlines make per passen- ger and the spokesman said that the lower yields are not a trend at Rya- nair’s other UK and European bases.

The maintenance of the five-year

deal — worth €300 million to the west of Ireland according to the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) — is key to the airport’s survival and is up for re- newal in two years’ time.

The threat also comes as the airport authority negotiates its independence from the Dublin Airport Authority with the Department of Transport.

Asked if the low yields should be a cause of concern for interests in the west of Ireland anxious that Ryanair renew its deal with the SAA, the spokesman said, “No, but if the cost base at Shannon does not reduce fur- ther to reflect these lower yields, then the deal may not be renewed.”

Shannon Airport has become in- creasingly reliant on Ryanair since it established its base at Shannon in 2005, with the airline now flying to 32 destinations and accounting for over two million or two-thirds of passengers at Shannon.

Underlining Ryanair’s dominance at Shannon, the company has recent- ly erected a “Welcome to Ryanair Country’ billboard at the entrance to the airport.

SAA board member Tadgh Kear- ney said he would “caution against any scaremongering over a problem that hasn’t arisen yet.”

‘The facts are that we are halfway

through a five-year deal and in Year 3, we are going are to pass the targets for Year 5.”

Mr Kearney said that lower yields have arisen due to the global econ- omy being on the early stages of a downturn.

A spokesman for the SAA said, “Shannon Airport has enjoyed a very successful relationship with Ryanar, so much so that the targets for year 5S will be reached this year with two million passengers on Ryanair routes.

“We look forward to growing this business and to continue this rela- tionship when the current deal con- cludes in 2010.”

THE opportunities available through the family resource centre in Shan- non are set to dramatically expand, due to a number of key appointments in recent months.

That was the message relayed by the outgoing chairperson, at the an- nual general meeting last week.

Trish Fallon-Barry was replaced as chairperson by Greg Duff.

In her outgoing speech, Ms Fal- lon-Barry said the centre went “from strength to strength” during the past year.

“In many ways this was a year of transition. The year began with no co-ordinator in place, though we did have tremendous commitment from the voluntary board and the admin- istrator,’ she said.

She said that despite the absence of a co-ordinator, the work plan was completed with the assistance of some outside voluntary support and some paid consultancy work.

The appointment of an _ out-of- schools co-ordinator, a full-time co-ordinator and a part-time devel- opment worker will augur well for the centre and ultimately the entire community.

“With these staff in place for this year, the opportunities and work of the centre is expected to increase dramatically in the coming year,’ she said.

“The voluntary board underwent changes in membership due to vari- ous other commitments of individual members. However through success- ful active recruitment and training, the result is a much consolidated

board of directors committed to the work going forward,’ said Ms Fal- lon-Barry.

“Work has recently been done on the current plan and members of the board have visited at least one other centre and undergone various pieces of training,” she added.

She said that ongoing projects, in- cluding out-of-schools and parent- and-toddler groups, have continued to flourish at the centre.

A new homework club is also being initiated, under the auspices of the centre. This will cater for both set- tled and Traveller children.

‘The centre continues to support and foster the needs of the communi- ty by facilitating interest groups with use of rooms, while the Le Cheile In- ternational Club fosters the integra- tion of foreign nationals,’ she said.

“In the case of Le Cheile Interna- tional Club, the centre is not merely assisting with the provision of a ven- ue, but is grateful that much-needed Support and encouragement on the eround has been forthcoming from the co-ordinator Marie Rowland,” she added.

“Groups have been integrated pro- viding mutual support when possi- ble, for example, out-of-school chil- dren providing art work with various themes,” she said.