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HORSE lovers from all over the county will descend on Quin later this month in an effort to raise mon- ey for the local national school.

The Clare Hunt Association has organised a special four hour cross- country charity ride which will take place this Sunday in the town.

“We will kick off with a jumping competition in Malachy Hassett’s field at 12pm. Following that we will have our charity cross country event, starting at lpm,” said Paul O’Neill, Head of the Clare Hunt Association.

“We have tried to make it accessi- ble for different levels of riders so we

have two routes. One route takes the riders through the fields, cross coun- try and over jumps.

“But if riders don’t feel comfort- able going cross country we have a second route along the road.

“Both routes begin and end in Malachy’s farm and should take between three and three and a half hours to complete.

“If people are interested in taking part they should come along on the day or get in contact with the hunt. We have sponsorships cards avail- able at the moment which can be col- lected easily by contacting myself or other members of the hunt.

“People don’t have to fill out the

sponsorship cards but we would ex- pect that everyone who wants to take part in the hunt would contribute €50 in some way towards the char- ra A

The Clare Hunt has raised money for a number of good causes over the years.

“We have done a bit of fundrais- ing in the past. Last year we raised money for the Sr Ethel Normoyle Project with an event is Lissycasey and we have organised a number of other events for worthy charities oversees,’ continued Paul.

“This year though we though it might be a good idea to focus on a good cause closer to home. We have

a number of hunts each year and we need to cross the land of a lot of farmers for that to happen.

“Each year we have four hunts in and around the Quin area so we felt that this would be the ideal way of paying back that good will.

‘The school have recently put up a state of the art sports facility and we hope that this money help the school out a little with the expense of that.

“But hunts take place all over the county so if someone has a good cause locally, we would interested in looking at that possibly next year or the year after.”

For more information contact Paul O’ Neill on 6825740 or 087-9176243.

AGRICULTURE Minister Mary Coughlan continued to talk tough at the World ‘Trade Organisation (WTO) talks last week, describ- ing them as representing a “serious threat to EU and Irish agriculture” while speaking at an EU Agriculture Ministers meeting on Thursday. Coughlan said that there were clear indications that the negotiations be- tween over 150 countries in Geneva may be reaching a critical point. The EU is represented in the talks, which are now in their seventh year, by the European Commission. “There is a real danger that, in an

effort to get a deal before the US presidential elections, there will be a temptation to agree concessions on agriculture which would be severely damaging to farming and the food industry in this country and through- out Europe,” she said.

‘This must be firmly resisted, and I and my Government colleagues have been and are working hard to build the widest possible alliance to pre- vent this happening.

“My worries in this regard have not been eased by the Commission, which accepts that there will be a major increase in imports into the EU if a deal is done along the lines currently on the table.”

The Minister said that it was huge- ly important that important sectors such as beef and dairy received the necessary protection.

“The European beef sector could not possibly survive the 70% tariff cut which is on the table in Geneva, and must therefore be treated as a sensitive product as provided for in WTO rules.

“While this is widely accepted, it is vital that sensitive product status must deliver real and effective pro- tection. Some proposals now being touted could seriously undermine Wena

Minister Coughlan claimed that Ireland has strongly pressed its case

in relation to the beef and dairy sec- tors in a wide-ranging set of contacts, throughout the EU and elsewhere in the world, as well as in every avail- able official forum in the EU and at WTO, most recently by the Taoi- seach at the European Council last Veto) @

Other member states have expressed equally serious concerns about other aspects of what is on the table.

Another key feature of the talks are the proposals to reduce domestic supports to agriculture.

Most of the supports received by Irish farmers are classified in a “green box” which is not subject to such reductions.

ENNIS Town Council has been ac- cused of “taking unfair advantage” by demanding over €300,000 in planning levies after “forcing” a fam- ily to lodge a planning application.

Earlier this year, Ennis Town Council granted Michelle Madden planning permission to redevelop the family-run furniture showrooms at Station Road, Ennis.

Mrs Madden lodged the application

after the council issued a Compulso- ry Purchase Order (CPO) for lands at the address to facilitate the develop- ment of the Ennis inner relief road.

However, the local business family were shocked after the local author- ity demanded €332,020 in levies if they wished to proceed with the de- velopment.

The family face a bill of €255,500 for car-parking facilities although the council don’t plan to provide car- parking in the area. The council is

also demanding €76,520 for a con- tribution to public facilities benefit- ing the development.

It is not known how much money the Maddens received in compensa- tion for the CPO.

However, consultants for Mrs Mad- den state in an appeal lodged to An Bord Pleanala seeking to delete the council’s financial demands, that the council “is taking unfair advantage of the situation”.

The consultants state that “Mrs

Madden has been forced to apply for planning permission in this instance and that all financial contributions should be dispensed with in this or Won

‘No allowance has been made for the fact that Mrs Madden’s business premises is long in existence. No al- lowance has been made for the dem- olition of existing areas of the build- ing and no allowance for the fact that substantial areas of the building are to be retained and compromised by the demolition to allow the CPO to proceed and further compromised by the resultant development”

The consultants states that Mrs Madden has been compelled to apply for the application by the actions of the council.

In response, Ennis Town Council has told An Bord Pleanala that the contributions were calculated in good faith, properly applied and that there was “no exemption from develop- ment contributions in circumstances where there is a CPO on site.”

The council asks, “Why should one development not be charged for parking when other businesses who extend their floor area or build new are charged for parking as per the scheme or provide it on site.”

They argue that the application has to be dealt with as an issue that is completely independent of any road development proposals.

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

AFTER 40 years and the odd meet- ing with a US president, Newmarket- on-Fergus man Joe McCormack has retired from Aer Lingus.

In a long career with the national carrier, Joe observed the many A aT betexeh Met IM ST MVom Cot OE-Com aCe Lingus, from the boom times of the nineties to the ending of the Shan- non-Heathrow link.

Joe left Aer Lingus around the same time as his friends and col- leagues Tony Lillis, Flann Fahy and Michael Culligan, and says he’ll miss the place.

“It’s a bit strange alright, particu- larly in the mornings,” he says.

“I would have been used to get- ting up early for the morning shift. But you have to move on, and any- way sure I’ll find plenty to keep me LeU A

Joe started and ended his career with Aer Lingus working in the load- ing section of Shannon Airport. He left the job as a supervisor, though with dwindling staff numbers, Shan- non has become a different place.

There was a time, Joe remembers, when the airport was busy, bustling re tleren

He explains: “For a while there, in

the nineties when you might have 150 people working during the day, you start at 6am and not finish till 12 that night. There might be 12 or 14 teams working in loading. It was very busy.

“You would be handling up to 50 flights, when it got really busy. The night shift was hectic. We worked very hard, but it’s definitely a lot qui- eter now.”

Its no surprise that along the way Joe met one or two famous faces on their way through travel.

“You got to meet a lot of different people. I remember meeting Telly Savallas and Bill Clinton. Bill Clin-

ton came over and talked with a few of us and shook our hands. I remem- ber Abba coming too, they came over to us. But the thing was, you wouldn’t go over to someone unless they came over to you.”

Joe may have retired but the Mc- Cormack family tradition continues at Aer Lingus. Joe’s daughter Emma works in the personnel section of Aer Lingus in Shannon and has been with the company for nine years.

EU laws governing the control of bluetongue has come in for stick this week from Clare farmer and Chair- person of ICMSA’s Beef and Cattle Committee, Martin McMahon.

“If bluetongue arrives in Ireland it will not only lead to considerable movement restrictions, but also lead to livestock mortality, poor animal health and performance, as well as imposing considerable additional costs on farmers with the negative impact on farm incomes that comes from that,’ said Mr McMahon.

‘The starting point in our efforts to control the threat of bluetongue must be to ensure that EU rules at least do

not hinder Ireland’s ability to keep the disease out. And ICMSA’s view is that the current rules are unfortu- nately more of a hindrance to our ef- forts than they are a help.

“For example, under the existing rules, if a vaccination programme is introduced, then zones have to be es- tablished and movement restrictions put in place. In addition, Ireland’s trading status for live exports would ost ahem

He continued, “It is absolutely ab- surd that we would face extra restric- tions because we vaccinate to try and prevent the disease. What kind of logic has you disadvantaged for trying to prevent a disease?

“It is ICMSA’s firm view that we

need to strengthen our defences against bluetongue in the whole of Ireland. In this context, preventative vaccination for bluetongue should be considered as soon as the vaccine be- comes available. And we should be able to carry through this preventive measure without being disadvan- taged by the EU.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Agri- culture, Mary Coughlan, last week noted that a draft proposals from the EU Commission in relation to blue- tongue has been compiled.

The Minister said that she and her officials had been pressing the Com- mission to make every effort to en- sure that those countries that are free of bluetongue remain disease-free

and the latest proposals from the Commission should be seen in this context.

“Following the introduction of im- port control measures last month, which suspended the importation of certain cattle and sheep from blue- tongue-restricted zones, I had again asked the Commission to consider revising the conditions under which live animals may be exported from bluetongue-restricted zones in the light of the then emerging informa- tion,” she said.

The new proposals will be dis- cussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) in Brus- sels on March 31.

STAYING safe at work has paid a double bonus for employees of a company in Clare.

CRH-owned Clare-based com- pany Roadstone Provinces has an- nounced that its employees have raised €10,000 for the Midwest S1- mon Community during the first six months of its partnership with the homelessness charity.

Launched in July last year, the CRH Simon Safety Challenge is an all-island initiative designed to assist the Simon Communities of Ireland’s important work in tackling home- lessness.

For every accident-free quarter (three months) achieved at any Road- stone Provinces company location across the country, a sum of money was donated to the Midwest Simon Community. Company locations that achieve a full accident-free year will have the opportunity to donate an ad- ditional 25 per cent bonus payment on top of the four combined quar-

terly donations, to be awarded at the end of the year.

In the first six months of the CRH Simon Safety Challenge, CRH staff across Ireland raised a total of €328,/44 for the Simon Commu- UI AYA

The challenge is on track to meet its national objective of raising a to- tal of €1 million by the end of June this year.

Speaking at the announcement of the monies raised to date, Michael Keating, CRH Safety Challenge spokesperson said, “There has been a fantastic response to the safety chal- lenge from our staff in Clare, who have really gotten behind the drive to help raise money for the Simon Sreseaveeltvayi nam

According to Sarah Birchett of the Midwest Simon Community, “This CRH-led initiative is a great example of how the business world can link with a charity to help raise awareness and promote a better understanding of a complex social problem like homelessness.”

PLANS to provide a skateboard park as part of major developments at Shannon Leisure Centre have been put on the back-burner after the centre turned down a grant of €50,000 towards the facility.

The funding was to have been provided out of the Town Council’s Community Development fund and had the full support of town man- ager, Ger Dollard, but controversy arose earlier this month about the allocation of the money.

The council had received two let- ters, from Wolfe Tones Camogie

Club and Newtown FC. In their proposals both clubs said they have spent considerable sums on provid- ing facilities but have a shortfall for finishing their projects.

Both asked the Town Council to contribute to their funds. But fund- ing in the Community Develop- ment pot is built up over a number of years and is limited, meaning the Council can only contribute to one major project every five years or so.

Speaking at the March meeting of Shannon Town Council, in her capacity as an elected representa- tive and a member of the board of directors of the Leisure Centre, Cllr

Patricia McCarthy said the solution was for the centre not to avail of the funding.

“At the risk of being accused of having a vested interest in all of this, I want to say that Shannon Le1- sure Centre have no intention of get- ting embroiled in any controversy, ’ she said.

“It was not their desire to seek to gain any preferential treatment. The Town Council was aware that the Leisure Centre were doing a major project. We (the centre) were asked to consider a skateboard park, we considered it. It’s adding a mini- mum of€56,000 on to the bill we

already have.

“We put a request in for money to the town council to support this. The town council agreed. But the board is now seriously concerned about the amount of damage that’s being generated and the amount of ill feeling that’s being generated against the Leisure Centre.

“The simple solution is that the Leisure Centre are quite happy to withdraw their letter and are quite happy to reject the offer of €50,000 and to let the town council provide the skateboard park themselves if they so wish and that will solve it,” she concluded.

FEARS that nursing staff at Ennis General Hospital will not be rostered for duty in Accident and Emergency between 8pm and 8am from the end of April have been rubbished by the Jett) ay

Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey said that he was made aware of the ru- mours circulating that this effective downgrading of the hospital and the implementation of the Hanly Report would take place before the feared Teamwork report was published.

The Irish Nurses Organisation said that it understood that the number of nurses were to increase in A and E in June when the 37-hour week came into play.

These latest fears follow on from the news that the €39 million origi- nally designated for the development of Ennis General Hospital has now gone to St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin.

“This news, 1f confirmed, will rep- resent a fatal blow to health service delivery in County Clare,” said Dep- uty Carey.

“In effect, what this means is that A and E services at Ennis General will be discontinued between those

hours and the care and attention cur- rently provided at the hospital will no longer be available.

“This means that 44,000 Clare people will be outside the golden- hour time for A and E treatment after suffering from an accident, stroke or a heart attack. Recent cases in west Clare have highlighted the need for patients to be able to access key medical services in the County. The closure of A and E services dur-

ing the times proposed will remove the last emergency birth services for Clare. Where will people go if they are involved in a serious car crash or a farm accident or have a sports in- jury?” he asked.

“The HSE cannot be allowed to fol- low this course of action. If you take into consideration the recent trauma bypass decision, abandonment of the €39 million redevelopment com- mitted to by Government before and

after the election, and the continued absence of an on-site CT scanner facility, all these decisions and inac- tions represent key elements in the implementation of the Hanly Report by stealth, and are huge backward steps in Clare healthcare provision which must be resisted at every op- portunity and reversed.”

Deputy Carey will meet with sen- ior HSE officials and the four Clare Oireachtas members next Friday to discuss these concerns.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin have called on the Government TDs for Clare to resign “if they have any integrity” in light of further delay in the develop- ment of the hospital.

Speaking at Sinn Féin’s Easter commemoration last Sunday, Sinn Fein’s Cathy McCafferty said, “This is appalling but not surprising news. Fianna Fail assured the people of Clare during the general election campaign last year that our hospital would be safe, even going so far as to get planning permission for the project. This latest news proves that promises from Government were oe

THE Mid West Regional Authority and Aer Lingus have agreed a joint approach to consolidating and ex- panding the flagship carrier’s trans- atlantic services at Shannon Airport.

During a meeting held in New York last week, both parties put forward a set of proposals for boosting regional support for existing services and de- veloping new business.

Representing Aer Lingus at the meeting in Ireland House, Park Av- enue, were Jack Foley, Executive Vice President in North America; Kate Kiernan, Director of Revenues

& Business Development; and Helen Maguire, Director Consumer Sales.

Councillor Lily Wallace (Chair- person) and Liam Conneally (Direc- tor) represented the Nenagh-based MWRA. Representatives of Clare County Council and Shannon Town Council, including both Mayors, were also present.

Councillor Wallace expressed de- light that Aer Lingus had pledged its commitment to developing trans- atlantic services at Shannon. She acknowledged that this was based on the mid-west’s relevant agencies pulling together to market the region as a desirable tourist destination.

“Aer Lingus indicated that it would be very interested in working with any parties that could assist in 1m- proving load factors on all routes,” she said. “The airline pointed out that it was not involved with destina- tion marketing but would be willing to work with the mid-west region if suitable packages and promotional material could be provided.”

According to Mr Conneally, “Aer Lingus is committed to providing competitive packages for air travel- lers as a result of the region working together to market its attractiveness, as well as developing competitive packages that complement Aer Lin-

gus fares. Such an understanding presents a win-win situation for eve- ryone. ”

Alec Fleming, member of the Re- gional Tourism Board and Desig- nated Manager MWRA, stated, “Aer Lingus were very open and expressed a willingness to open their books. I am especially delighted that they in- dicated they would travel to the mid- west to further discuss how transat- lantic services could be maintained, improved and expanded.

“The mid-west has been presented a tremendous opportunity to work with Aer Lingus, which has expressed its willingness to engage in cooperative

marketing initiatives. I would urge all relevant agencies, and the busi- ness and tourism sectors, to continue to enhance the attractiveness of the region.”

The MWRA, one of Ireland’s eight statutory regions, comprises the ad- ministrative areas of Clare, North Tipperary and Limerick County Councils and Limerick City Council. The authority has 26 elected repre- sentatives and has responsibility to promote the coordinated delivery of public services in the region. It is also Secretariat to the Government-ap- pointed Shannon Airport Marketing Consultative Committee (SAMCC).

ENNIS’ popular farmer’s market has re-opened, with traders promoting sustainability and green living.

The market has resumed for its fifth year at its usual location in the Upper Market Street car park on Fridays from 8am to 2pm.

This year traders are advocat- ing the benefits of eating fresh, lo- cal produce and minimising one’s carbon footprint by buying locally produced food. According to baker Mary Gray, there are sound environ- mental reasons for supporting farm-

er’s markets.

She explained, “The fresher the food the better it is for us, no artifi- cial preservatives. The less the food travels the less transport is involved and therefore less environmental 1m- pact.

“The money spent goes in to the local economy. And the fewer steps between us and the producer means less chance of dilution of quality.”

The market has been up and run- ning since 2004 and consists of a eroup of dedicated food producers and traders with a wide range of lo- cal, artisan and organic foods includ-

ing meats, cheeses and local honey, to name but a few. Most of the pro- duce is sourced in Clare with some coming from nearby Tipperary.

Mary explained that, apart from the easy access to fresh produce, the interaction between consumer and producer is one of the main reasons why farmer’s markets have grown in popularity

“When I began selling at the En- nis farmer’s market, I was struck by the number of customers of the older generation who brought regularly,’ she said. “Farmer’s markets seemed to have a reputation for being a bit

alternative, so it was interesting to hear why these older customers were so loyal.

‘Two reasons stood out. First, peo- ple who grew up in an era before shopping was dominated by super- markets really enjoy talking to the producers and being able to ask ques- tions about the produce. Secondly and more importantly, people really like to buy food that tastes “like food used to taste’.”

The market begins at 8am, a deci- sion popular with many customers who prefer to do their shopping on their way to work.