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THE former chairman of the Ennis General Hospital Development Com- mittee has produced a copy of a let- ter which he says he put in the health minister’s hands but which Mary Harney says she didn’t receive.

A spokeswoman for the health min- ister said last week that there was no question of the minister having et- ther received or ignored a letter from Mid-West Regional Hospital Con- sultant, Dr Terry Hennessy, warning about the dangers of an outbreak of C-diff back in April 2005.

But former chairman, Peadar Mc- Namara said he was part of a nine- person delegation which met Minis- ter Harney on that day.

“We read nine scripts to her and Dr Hennessy read his. All nine were presented to her in a folder, including Dr Hennessy’s letter. That folder was put in her hand.”

Mr McNamara said that he person- ally heard the contents of Dr Hen- nessy’s submission read to the min- ister “and it clearly warned about the dangers of cross-infection”’.

The letter made no specific refer- ence to a danger of cross-infection with the C-diff virus, but did sound alarms about overcrowding.

Dr Hennessy said in his submission that average occupancy figures in

the hospital in 2005 running at 120 per cent were “not just uncomfort- able and emotionally distressing for our patient population but it is also frankly unsafe from a medical and surgical point of view.

“Due to the serious overcrowding, there are safety issues with regards to cross-infection of patients and resuscitation of patients in confined spaces.”

Meanwhile, the HSE has lashed back at claims by Sinn Fein that dirty hospital laundry is being transported next to clean deliveries of sheets.

The party’s Limerick representa- tive, Maurice Quinlivan, said, “It has come to my attention that dirty laundry from nursing homes and hospitals is being transported around Limerick, Clare and Tipperary with the clean laundry, severely increas- ing the risk of contamination from infections such as MRSA.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the HSE said that clean linen is de- livered wrapped in heavy plastic and dirty linen is bagged and transported in metal cages.

‘This is normal practice here and in the UK but, in addition, in the mid- west there is a special sanitising unit in the truck, the only one of its kind in the country. The truck and laundry cages are disinfected daily and a log kept.”

THEY have four marathons under their belts, but the challenge isn’t even 50 per cent complete. Two young Shannon men, who are un- dertaking to run 12 marathons in as many months, in aid of charity, are making good progress in their mis- sion.

Darren O’Connell (32) and Alan Mullin (30) from Tullyglass have so far run four marathons out of the 12. Although they have had a few pains and aches, so far, neither have re- ported any major problems and are still vowing to complete the mam- moth task.

The duo have run marathons in Zurich, Valencia, Rome and Con- nemara and among those they will run over the coming months are Hel- sinki, Berlin, Dublin, New York, Lis- bon and a midnight run in Norway in

June. The final run will take place in Milan in December.

Alan has found that his times have improved with each run — he ran Connemara in three hours 33 min- utes — while Darren has found it dif- ficult to run the 26 miles in less than four hours. But, they readily admit, it is all about taking part and raising money for charity. “It 1s not about times,” said Darren.

The two friends are raising money for Cystic Fibrosis, after a friend of theirs died from the condition sev- eral years ago and are hoping that the people of Shannon will recognise their huge efforts in this challenge.

They found the Connemara run particularly tough, as it came just three weeks after the Rome mara- thon, but it has not put them off.

“I found it really tough, through- out the race in Connemara, but I will have a good rest now for a few

weeks. The next one is the Burren, at the end of May,” said Darren.

Darren lives in Shannon, where he trains, while Dublin-based Alan does his running in the capital. The dark winter nights were tough for training, but Darren is enjoying run- ning around Shannon, now that the evenings are brighter.

Now that the running is going well, the two are now increasing the em- phasis on collecting as much money as possible for charity.

“The fundraising is going well. A lot of people are helping us out, col- lecting money. We will organise a few table quizzes in Dublin and in Shannon,” said Darren.

Dublin law firm Whitney Moore, where Alan works, has come on board, to help them with the sponsor- ship. However they are still appeal- ing to the people of Shannon to help them with their task.

Further details are available on their website www.12marathons.org.

MORE than eight in 10 people in Ennis support the development of a major retail park in the town, a new SUT Voa Ol tbe the

The proposed RiverSide Quarter development at Cusack Park is sup- ported by 84 per cent of people in Ennis, according to the survey.

Crest Retail Excellence Ireland was commissioned by the Aisling Chiosoig Partnership to survey at- titudes of Ennis residents to current shopping choice in Ennis as well as shopping habits and attitudes of resi- dents to the Cusack Park project. “The results show that a world-class retail development within Ennis town centre will be unequivocally

welcomed by most people. It is also the opinion of the great majority of Ennis residents that the proposed Cusack Park development will vast- ly benefit the town’s prosperity,” a spokesman for the partnership said.

At a time when many town centre traders are closing their doors, the Aisling Chiosoig Partnership plans a €350 million mixed-use develop- ment to be known as the RiverSide Quarter.

The 10-acre Cusack Park is cur- rently the subject of a rezoning sub- mission to Ennis Town Council by Clare GAA.

The survey was carried out in En- nis town over the first week in March. A sample of 839 respondents were interviewed on three separate days.

OPPONENTS of a planned €10 million explosives plant outside Kildysart have claimed that due to ‘a contractual nexus” between Clare County Council and the Whelan Group, the council failed to rule on the plan in an objective and impartial manner.

The council granted planning per- mission last month to the Whelan Group-owned Shannon Explosives to construct the plant at Cahercon pier, Kildysart.

It was the latest twist in the coun- ty’s longest running planning saga that started nine years ago when plans were first lodged.

Ensuring that the controversy will continue, Cairde Chill an Disirt Teo have appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala with other appeals ex- pected to follow.

Pointing out that the council “is known to have substantial contracts with various companies associated with the Whelan Group’, Cairde Chill an Disirst Teo claimed that be- cause of this contractual nexus, there has been a failure on the part of the council to consider this application in an objective and impartial manner.

“It has not been established that there is any need for this facility in Ireland or at this location. Safety concerns have not been fully ad- dressed and it an essentially unsafe

development.

‘There is no evidence of the finan- cial capacity of Shannon Explosived Ltd to develop the site and serious questions must be raised as to its ca- pacity to proceed with the develop- ment at all.

“Both this company and its parent eroup are heavily borrowed and in the absence of up to date financial information as to its ability to pro- ceed with this development, permis- sion should be refused until further information 1s available.”

The group also claim that the devel- opment would constitute a breach of the County Development Plan.

“Ignoring the information supplied by the statutory bodies and submis-

sions made by third parties where legal issues are involved, the council has failed to act in compliance with its statutory duties and obligations.

The council gave the plan the go- ahead on the basis that it would not seriously injure the amenities of the area and properties in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety.

Without a sod being turned, the Whelan Group has spent almost €7 million on the project. They claim that it will provide employment for close to 35 people and contribute €3million annually to the local econ- omy through wages and outsourcing of services.

YOUNG Kilnaboy woman, Sadhbh Gaston, has just returned from a trip to Ethiopia with aid agency Self Help Galkoiwek- le Ceyer: Nema Wales mmole eCennitcae-l beeen! two weeks in the drought prone Af- rican country, Sadhbh is hoping to raise awareness among young people to the good that can be done in the third world.

“We went out there for ten days or so. There were eight or nine schools there – one from Belgium and the rest were from Ireland. We saw a lot of different projects out there like farms, SACCO’s that means Sav- ing and Credit Co-operatives and

schools,” said Sadhbh.

“We went out there to observe so that we could come back and work with them here. The idea is that in- stead of them having to go around to every school and tell them about it, they brought us over to see it first hand and then our job is to tell people about it over here.

“IT think young people wouldn’t be so inclined to listen to these or- ganisations rather than listening to a young person, from their same year, telling them about it. So will be do- ing interview and presentation to as many people as possible.”

Later this week Sadhbh will be sharing her experiences with the

young people of Kilnaboy Youth Club.

‘Self Help did bring us out there but we had to raise the money ourselves in the school to pay our way. We do a charity fashion show in our school each year, and this year we decided to put all of the money raised into Self Help,” continued Sadhbh.

“Self Help have been working in Ethiopia for 22 years. It’s their show country, it’s the country where they first started and they have done a lot of good work there. So we didn’t see the really really impoverished people. One think that some of the teachers noticed was that most of the children had shoes, while on other

trips to Uganda and Malawi most of the children were barefoot.

‘They have been working over there to put in drought resistant crops. So if a bad weather patch comes they are not going to be as effected as they might have been in the past.

“During the day we were complete- ly rushed off our feet while we were out there. But in the evening, while we were back in the hotel or wherev- er, we had a lot of fun with the people we met and made a lot of friends.”

THE INCOMING president of the Midwest Marketing Association has rubbished reports that says there are more shoppers in Ennis than ever.

Nationwide research carried out by Retail Excellence Ireland and CB R1- chard Ellis put Ennis in the top two in terms of percentage increase foot- fall in the main shopping areas.

The survey said that hourly footfall in O’Connell Street in March of last year was up 39 per cent. The only

other centre surveyed which enjoyed an increase was Patrick Street in Cork, which was up 50 per cent, ac- cording to the research.

The Ennis figures were up on the 1,917 shoppers recorded in March 2006 to 2,658. Ennis and Cork were the only two centres to show an in- crease. Others were down by up to 48 per cent.

But Ennis retailers say that if that was true then, it’s no longer the case.

Olwyn King, sales manager with The Gift Venue in Abbey Street and

soon to be chair of the Midwest Mar- keting Association, said that “this 1s definitely not the case. It’s absolutely dead around town. You’d do more business on Monday now than on a Saturday.”

Having been in retail in the town for 10 years, Olwyn says she “can’t see how there could be increased footfall. I think people just aren’t coming into town. It’s frightening to see how quiet town is. You only have to look at all the vacant premises.”

The situation with parking and the

opening of the bypass are contribu- tory factors, the sales manager be- WAVene

“There isn’t enough parking and there is virtually no parking for coaches – just a couple of bays at the Temple Gate which is a long walk. “The tourists aren’t coming in, par- ticularly the US tourists. It’s a combi- nation of a lot of things but everyone is feeling the pinch.”

CEO of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, Rita McInerney is not so convinced that the figures are

wrong. “Business is steady in Ennis. It’s possibly an exaggerated rise but they are a reputable company and it is encouraging that it is an indication of an upward trend,” she said.

She added that “as a county, we have done extremely well in recent times and you couldn’t continue at Webel eaten “We have to look at our competi- tiveness in terms of rates and energy costs and there needs to be some assistance for the retail sector from Government in those terms.”

CLARE County Council has taken the first step in seeking to develop a large-scale marine-related industry in the Shannon estuary.

One of the primary aims of the council’s enterprise strategy, launched on Thursday, is to under- take a feasibility study on the estab- lishment of a Shannon estuary deep sea port in Clare.

But before the study is undertaken, the council will have to bring the key stakeholders together to discuss, identify and raise the resources re-

quired to undertake the necessary research. The study will investigate if the north shore of the estuary can attract large cargo and other vessels and develop Clare as a marine-based Keyes tsi alex sltloy

Long-time critic of the council’s failure to facilitate industry on the Clare shore of the estuary, Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) yesterday welcomed the initiative but said it would be an empty slogan unless it is followed through by action.

He said the Clare County Develop- ment Plan was the single biggest ene- my of the development of the estuary

on the Clare side.

“A necessary prerequisite before any action is undertaken is that the area along the estuary is rezoned for maritime development. The present crisis in relation to the non-develop- ment of the estuary has its roots in a long-held belief that the southern side of the estuary was for industry, while tourism and aquaculture for the northern shore.

‘That has now proven to be wrong”, he declared.

Stating that the Shannon Foynes Port Company had “zero interest” in developing the Clare side of the estu-

ary, the Lissycasey councillor added that the council’s planning depart- ment needed to come on line in rela- tion to the initiative.

‘There is no point in one arm of the council doing one thing and another arms doing another.”

He claimed that the plan also faced an additional obstacle of Shannon Development being anxious to sell the remainder of its landholding at Ballylongford on the southern side of the estuary.

“Shannon Development is_ not putting Clare’s interest first. They are not even on a par,’ he said.

LOCAL legend, Tom McNamara, was the focus of the last Cuirt sa Cis- tin series of talks which took place in Crusheen last week. The talks, which are organised by the Heritage Inchi- cronan, invite interesting local peo- ple to come and tell their story in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. “Tom talked about the GAA and about the people who have come to the parish over the year like Father Minogue and Father Donoghue and people like that. They had a great interest in the GAA and helped it a lot,’ said Anne O’Doherty of Herit-

age Inchicronan

“He has his own inimitable way of telling a story and has a lovely turn of phrase. He told us about the early years and how things weren’t going so well at that time. About how peo- ple used to cycle to the matches, play the game and then cycle home again MAKIN EAU ROIS

“The also talked about his mother and the stories of the IRB. About helping different people on the run and escape routes and safe houses. There was a lot of spies in the area at that time to the locals had to work out some really good codes to get people into safe houses without be-

ing found.”

The Cuirt sa Cistin series has been ongoing since the Autumn of last year and in that time have welcomed a number of interesting local people for a cuirt into the Crusheen Com- munity Hall.

‘The whole point of the series was to get local people in who would give us their version of history. The ver- sion is not always the same as the official version but, of course, that is a Subjective version too,” contin- ued Anne. “In every parish their is a wealth of people who have different talents and knowledge. The point of this series is to get those people into

the kitchen, have a cup of tea, and get them say their piece about their own area of interest. The series was never meant to be academic, it was always a more personal look at history.

“We have recorded each of the evening on video we are not really sure what we will do with that. It would make a nice DVD for some- one. We will certainly run another Series in the Autumn, but wither it will be more in the Cuirt sa Cistin series or something else I’m not sure yet.”

For more information on the series check out www.aughty.org or e-mail heritageinchicronan@ gmail.com.

DESPITE more people on the streets, retailers in Ennis admit there has been a dip in the level of business ac- tivity in the town.

A more cautious customer, rising rents and rate levels and a reduc- tion in parking spaces are among the principal reasons behind a gradual slowdown, Say retailers

On a broader level, the overall downturn in the economy is high- lighted as another contributory fac- ro) a

Retailers also believe that a recent survey carried out by Retail Excel- lence Ireland and CB Richard Ellis doesn’t provide an accurate reflection of the business picture in Ennis. The

survey carried out in March 2007 showed that footfall on Ennis’ streets was up 39 per cent, bucking the trend at national level, which showed over- all footfall on Ireland’s streets to be down 17.3 per cent.

Gearoid Mannion, Chairman of the O’Connell Street Trader’s Associa- tion, said the findings were a snap- shot and didn’t factor in the changes in customer spending habits.

“Pedestrians aren’t necessarily shoppers. We had this before when Ennis Town Council tried to trum- pet the findings of a similar survey. Foottfall equals people on the street. That could be young children, babies in buggies. It doesn’t measure wheth- er or not people are buying.

‘Most businesses would be finding

themselves in a tight situation, with rents going up and rates too. It’s not completely drastic, that’s for sure, but the spender is becoming a bit more cautious and a small bit of reality is setting in. It is a competitive market- place and retailers are going to have to be more competitive.”

Oliver Moylan, owner of the Ennis Cash Company, believes activity has levelled off. He maintains this is due to the loss of parking spaces along Ennis’s main thoroughfares.

“At the moment, a lot of businesses in the town are struggling to sur- vive and a lot of places have closed down.

“When you take away parking on the main street, you keep away peo- ple who are in town to go shopping.”

MEMBERS of Clare County Council yesterday pledged their full support for a project which aims to preserve the unique landscape of the Burren and provide a living for its farmers.

aVMseleDupeslOvelmeU Avon Corl Mbereas rk immepecd elm members of the council heard pres- entations from Dr Brendan Dunfort, Director of the Burren Life Project and Ruari O’Conchtir, who heads the Burren Producers Group.

Both speakers outlined the aims and objectives of the five-year Bur- ren Life Project, which has another 16 months to run.

The project has aimed to identify ways in which the unique nature of the area can be preserved while pro- viding a living for its farmers.

After the years of work and re-

search already done, Dr Dunfort told members that “this time next year, we will have a blueprint for the best management of the Burren into the future”. Mr O’Conchuir told the members that the Burren Producers Group has the potential to become an employer in the area, giving jobs to 12 people within the next three years and providing a quality product in Burren beef and lamb, putting added value back into the economy.

Cllr Martin Conway (FG) proposed that the director of Planning and Economic Development should meet with the two speakers “to see what Clare County Council can do to sup- port their excellent work”.

He agreed to make the request a formal motion for the next council meeting when asked to do so by the chair, Mayor Patricia McCarthy.