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ENNIS is Clare’s first Fair Trade sRedvaen

The county town is leading the way in tackling poverty by supporting the Fairtrade Mark Ireland.

As far back as 1999 Mairead Sheedy, chairperson of the Ennis Fair Trade steering committee, first became involved with Fair Trade produce when her daughter took over Fourth House Fair Trade on Francis Sake e

Since then the Ennis woman has worn down a lot of footwear encour- aging other shops and businesses to

take part in the fair-trade ethos.

It all paid off last October when En- nis was finally named a Fair Trade Oak

The Fair Trade town was launched by Luis Armando Choco a cocoa pro- ducer from Columbia in the Grove in Roslevan.

The Grove is the flag ship business in the town for Fair Trade, with Yum having the accolade as the town’s first every fair trade restaurant, ac- cording to Ms Sheedy.

“Tt is important that people can see it is fair trade in businesses in the town,’ said Ms Sheedy.

“There should be no trade but fair

trade,’ she added.

Ms Sheedy’s next ambition is to make the whole of Clare Fair Trade.

Fair Trade aims to tackle poverty by enabling disadvantaged produc- ers from poor countries to receive a better deal.

As part of a Fair Trade Town the town council passed a resolution sup- porting Fairtrade, and an agreement to serve Fairtrade coffee and tea at its meetings, in its offices and can- Koto th

The town could only secure the title when a range of Fairtrade is availa- ble in the town’s shops, and served in local cafes/catering outlets. Catering

outlets should serve 100 per cent Fair ‘Trade Mark coffee.

The Fair Trade Mark products must also be used by a flagship business as well as 12 other local businesses and organisations. This should include schools, churches, large offices and local voluntary groups.

A significant number of schools must also become Fairtrade Schools. The Colaiste Mhuire in Ennis is one such school. Girls from the school are planning to visit other schools to inform them of their work to date.

A special fairtrade sale is held in the Friary in Ennis on the second Sunday of every month.

; ese terday, larnrod Eireann spokesman Jim Gallivan claimed that it was far too early for any guarantees to be given regarding the flooding situa- tion but did confirm that a consultant would be brought in to examine the Ennis to Limerick line once the cur-

rent flood had subsided.

This is despite media reports last week which claimed that flooding would not be an issue in the work- ings of the Western Rail Corridor.

‘Nothing has changed. We have to wait until the flooding goes down and then we will be able to assess what the situation 1s like, not before,” steamy Ble

‘When that happens, the OPW have told us that they will hire a consult- ant to put together a set of recom- mendations as to what would be the best course of action for the future.

‘But at this point, we have no idea what is the best course of action. Will it be a major programme of drainage to be undertaken by the Office of Public Works or will it be a track-ris- ing programme by lIarnrdd Eireann, which would be very expensive? At the moment it is impossible to tell.”

Rail services between Ennis and Limerick have been suspended since February 7 due to intense flooding. The latest readings, taken last Fri- day, show eight inches of water still remaining on the line.

This is down from a high of 18

inches when the flooding was at its worst mid-February.

“It has come down a lot over the last few weeks. It was down to eight inches on Friday and dropping at an neem mer NA

“It is impossible to know what can be done until the flooding has com- pletely gone,’ continued Mr Galli- Web

“We have said to the OPW that we don’t want the corridor stopped and as far as we are concerned that is the situation. It will happen, but how and when 1s not clear.”

CLARE County Council intends to construct bypasses valued at a com- bined €32 million for the towns of Ennistymon and Kilrush.

Work will commence on the €20 million Ennistymon bypass and the €12 million Kilrush bypass in 2010, according to a council document out- lining its roads programme over the next four years.

The council will fund €100,000 towards the Ennistymon scheme to upgrade the infrastructure to link to the proposed bypass.

“No other sources of funding iden- tified as yet,’ the document states.

The council is to contribute €100,000 towards the Kilrush

project. In the document officials point out that €500,000 has been received from the ESB, but no other sources of funding have been identi- fied yet.

In recent years, Ennistymon has en- countered traffic grid-lock at week- ends due to tourism traffic visiting Lahinch, Liscannor, the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin.

The west Clare town of Kilrush has also encountered a large increase in traffic with construction work being carried out on the €400 million ret- rofit project at Moneypoint.

The council expects work on the €15 million Killaloe bypass to com- mence this year.

‘An indicative line for the Killaloe bypass is contained in the east Clare

local area plan. This project is classed as anon-national strategic route to be funded by the Department of the En- vironment,’ an accompanying state- ment confirms.

The council has also included a €2 million relief road for Miltown Mal- er WA

A Start is due to be made this year on the construction of the first phase Or: Ieee) use ColeO Ko) ECoMNKOy:(em DOM oy IDABIE

Shannon Development has provided €800,000 towards the scheme which is to be constructed on the edge of the new Information Age Park.

The second phase of the road, cost- ing €3.2 million, will commence in UGE

Deputy Timmy Dooley TD said that the N85, N67 and N68, which

form part of the national secondary route network, are in need of urgent funding.

“Revenue has been committed for the next two years for inter-urban routes, but I urge the minister to con- sider changing that funding structure when the inter-urban routes have been completed. It could then be put into some of the national secondary routes,’ he said.

“The Ennis to Kilrush road in par- ticular needs a complete upgrade as do the roads running along the west- ern seaboard of County Clare, and the Ennis to north Clare route. Those three significant stretches of national secondary routes require urgent at- tention and the requisite funding,’ he said.

A BUSINESSMAN in financial cri- sis borrowed money from “criminal elements” and ended up transport- ing more than €3.1 million worth of drugs for the gang – but was caught. Ennis Circuit Court heard yester- day that Thomas Lennon had gone through difficulties in his construc- tion business months before he was caught with the haul, which was one of the biggest seizures ever in Clare. Father-of-five Lennon (36), of Kill- estry, Killaloe, pleaded guilty to pos- session of an assortment of drugs in-

cluding cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis resin, with an aggregate market value of €13,000 or more, at Ross, Killaloe on July 14, 2006.

Lennon was stopped driving a Ford Transit van. The drugs were found in the back of the van contained in a wheelie bin, holdall bag and white Oe

Detective Garda Tom Barber of the Garda National Drugs Unit told the court that the haul included 269 kilos of cannabis resin with a street value of over €1.8 million; 10 k1- los of cocaine, valued at €691,000;: 18 kilos of amphetamine, valued at

€227,000 and 30,000 ecstacy tab- lets, worth €303,000. The accused took responsibility for possession of the drugs but refused to name those involved. Lennon, who had no previ- ous convictions, currently employs 25 people.

His barrister, Michael O’ Higgins, SC, said, “At Christmas 2005, his affairs were in crisis. He was unable to meet his €10,000 wages bill. He had to go outside the banking system to raise funds and got €10,000 from criminal elements,” he said.

He said that Lennon was subse- quently told, ““You owe us money now

and there’s another way by which you can work the money off.

“These are heavy people. When they put you under pressure it is un- pleasant,” he said.

Dt Gda Barber accepted that Len- non’s admissions made the investi- gation easier but said, “there would have been strong evidence anyway.

“Mr Lennon knew the people he was getting involved in. I don’t be- lieve he accrued any profit from this,” said the garda.

Mr O’Higgins said, “While the quantity of the drugs was sky high, there was no question of profit for

avben ee

He said that the court “need not apply” the mandatory minimum sen- tence of 10 years, given the circum- stances in the case.

Judge Carroll Moran said he would not impose sentence until next peeKeyelaee

“This 1s a difficult case. The facts are quite unusual. The offence is ex- tremely serious, as Serious as you can imagine under the Misuse of Drugs Xam

“There have been, on the other hand, extraordinary mitigating cir- cumstances,” he said.

IIB Homeloans has launched a new saver mortgage which allows pay- ments to suit flexible lifestyles.

Offering home-buyers two distinct benefits, the new IIB Homeloans saver mortgage is specially designed for existing and new home-buyers who wish to increase or decrease payments in line with their lifestyle Oath Xene

“This new offering means that a first time buyer looking to trade up, looking to switch his/her mortgage, or a residential property investor, can now tailor repayments to suit their personal fluctuating circumstances. They can channel savings into mort- gage repayments with the resultant savings that gives, or they can choose to withdraw such overpayments Should their circumstances dictate,’ said Pat Naughton, Manager of IIB Homeloans in the mid-west.

The new product offers mortgage holders two key benefits.

Firstly, home-owners/buyers can use their savings to pay off the mort- gage earlier.

The saver mortgage is a normal capital and interest repayment mort- gage, which allows the customer to make any additional repayments against the capital of the mortgage. With mortgage interest calculated daily, these additional payments re- duce the amount of interest that a customer will pay, over the lifetime of the mortgage.

By regularly overpaying against their mortgage a customer can cut years off the term of their mortgage and save thousands of euro in interest payments.

By way of illustration, a customer with a €240,000 mortgage over 30 years at 5.3 per cent APR can – by increasing his or her normal regular repayments by €250 a month – re-

pay the mortgage in only 21 years and save over €80,O000 in interest payments.

Secondly, customers can withdraw any overpayments. A special feature of IIB Homeloans saver mortgage is that the customer can also withdraw any overpayments that he/she makes. For example, if a customer chooses to overpay €250 a month, after five years the customer can withdraw the full amount of overpayments, ie €15,000. (€250 times 60 months).

However, in addition, to having ac- cess to their savings, by overpaying against their mortgage — even for a short period of time — the customer will also reduce the amount of inter- est that they pay on their mortgage.

By way of illustration, based on a typical €240,000 mortgage over 30 years at an APR 5.38 per cent, after five years of making regular €250 monthly overpayments, the customer will have saved up to €2,110.42 in

mortgage interest repayments.

IIB Homeloans Head of Marketing, John McAlinden says, “IIB Homel- oans has built up a reputation for product innovation, and the saver mortgage is a direct response to cus- tomer demand for excellent value financial products. It is particularly suited for home-buyers and home owners who also want to maximise the value of their savings.”

Whether you are a first time buyer, looking to trade up, looking to switch mortgage or an residential property investor, the saver mortgage can help mortgage holders save money over the term of their mortgage. Other features of the new product that cus- tomers will find attractive are;

‘ Customer is not required to open multiple accounts or to switch current accounts.

‘ Customer can make one withdrawal per month — minimum amount €500.

– Customer can make any amount of overpayments.

The application process is quick and easy as customers need only to complete a standard mortgage ap- plication. There is no need to open other accounts eg a savings account or current account and customers do not need to transfer current accounts to avail of the product.

IIB Homeloans offers customers flexibility through:

– Customers wanting to choose a fixed rate product can still overpay up to 10 per cent of the mortgage amount within the fixed term.

– Customers uncertain whether to

go fixed or variable can choose both with IIB Homeloans’ mix and match rate facility and still take advantage of the saver options.

‘ IIB Homeloans offers the best two and three year fixed rate (for LTV <80 per cent) and five year fixed rate in the market.

A MOTORIST who drove at a speed of 183kph on the dual carriageway between Ennis and Limerick has been convicted of careless driving.

Daniel McAuliffe (28), of Clontem- ple, Ballingarry, Limerick, was con- victed of the offence, relating to an incident at Carrigoran, Newmarket- on-Fergus, on November 16, 2007.

Garda Shane Kavanagh told Ennis District Court that he was operating a speed checkpoint at 11.20am.

He said that McAuliffe was driving a red Honda Accord at 183kph in a

100kph zone, on the dual carriage- way on the N18.

The garda activated the blue lights and siren and pursued the vehicle.

‘He was on the outside lane. The car broke heavily and drove into the left lane. There was a large volume of traffic on the road at the time,” he Sr HKOe

Some four kilometres down the road, the garda caught up with the Honda.

‘He pulled in immediately when he saw us. I showed him the speed on the speed gun.

‘He was shocked. He said he genu-

inely didn’t realise he was doing that speed. He said something about the speedometer not working properly,” said the garda.

The accused was initially charged with dangerous driving, but sought to have this reduced to careless driv- ing.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked, “Was the manoeuvre he executed while pulling in dangerous?” and the garda said it was.

Defending solicitor Siobhan Mc- Mahon asked the garda did any of the other cars veer or brake and he replied that they didn’t.

“I’d ask you to consider a plea to careless driving as it didn’t affect the other cars on the road,” said the so- licitor to the judge.

Judge Mangan said he was not ac- cepting a plea to the lesser charge, but he later did accept it.

Ms McMahon said her client, who had no previous convictions, said the incident “was a moment of mad- ehSiiae

‘“He’s not one of your typical boy racer young people who don’t pay any heed to the road traffic laws,” she said. Judge Joseph Mangan fined him €1,500.

BABY book worms were displaying their knowledge of books in Scariff library last week in a hotly contend- ed childrens’ book quiz.

Fourth, fifth and sixth classes from Scariff National School went head to head, answering questions on the whereabouts of Narnia and who lives in Toad Hall.

The event was to mark World Book Week and while most youngsters can answer just about any question relat- ing to computer games these days, the Scariff kids proved they are no

slouches when it comes to reading.

“It was a fun event and the ques- tions related to childrens’ books and movies based on childrens’ books said librarian, Caroline Ahearne.

55 children took part in the quiz and enjoyed other facilities at the li- e-VMCLUDUDOTom As (BMR ISM

The event is just one of the many which have been organised since the new library opened it’s doors in No- vember of last year.

Demand for the library services has been growing at a fantastic rate, particularly among teenagers.

“Our internet use 1s growing all the

time. That is proving very popular among young adults,” said Caroline.

Aside from the obvious borrowing of books, the DVD and CD lending section is also proving very popular, the librarian said.

“Our Wednesday afternoon story- telling sessions are growing all the time. We have more young children at every session,” Caroline added.

The session takes place each Wednesday at 3.30pm and is aimed at three to six year olds.

The new library is housed in the same building as the area council of- fices and has a full, modern range of

facilities and more events being add- ed to the library diary all the time.

“We’re still growing and we’re very pleased with the response we’ve had from our clients. We’re looking at ways to improve the service all the time and we’re happy to hear sugges- tions,” said Caroline.

FIRST we had the World Ploughing Championships, now we have the World Holstein Friesian Federation SroyaKo rere

Less than two years after staging one of the worlds biggest interna- tional farming events, Ireland will play host to another following the announcement that the World Hol- stein Friesian Federation Conference which will be held in Ireland from October 9 to 11. The Minister for Ag- riculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, last week announced funding of €100,000 towards the cost of staging the 2008 event.

It is the first time for this event to be held in Ireland. The Minis-

ter congratulated the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) in suc- ceeding in getting such a prestigious event to Ireland.

The Conference, which is_ held World Cup style every four years, will welcome delegates from over 40 member countries of the World Holstein Friesian Federation togeth- er with a large number of observers from Ireland and around the world.

The Conference will include a two- day scientific programme at Killar- ney and a one-day Livestock Show of pedigree dairy animals at Millsteet.

The Minister said that Irish Hol- Stein Friesian farmers, who consist- ently breed top quality animals, will be able to showcase to an interna- tional audience the high standards

OM Gr- LAO om) RcroLONDIToMGL UUM Re) ILON am ole) DOTS achieved in Ireland.

“My Department has _ invested heavily during the past decade in developing a top class cattle breed- ing infrastructure through the estab- lishment of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation,” she said.

The Conference not only provides an ideal opportunity to showcase the developments in cattle breeding in Ireland but also enables the promo- tion of our vibrant dairy industry to a global audience.

“The Conference will provide a timely international marketing plat- form for Irish Holstein-Friesian cat- tle and an opportunity to add value to the sector by creating export op- portunities for Irish Holstein-Frie-

sian genetics, through the sale of genetically superior live cattle, their semen, ova and embryos,’ she con- tinued.

Ui SCORN a eT ree arte hmelse Tt the mainstay of the dairy sector for many years now. Our dairy sector continues to grow in terms of value of output and last year dairy exports increased by 13 per cent to €2.36 billion, making it the most important sector of our agri-food industry.

Concluding, the Minister congratu- lated the Organising Committee on their efforts to date in planning for a successful Conference. She wished them well with the event and hoped that visitors to the South West of Ire- land will have an enjoyable and fruit- UU CE hYs

AN eight-month jail term has been handed down to a man who lashed out at two cars in Kilkishen, caus- ing more than €3,500 damage in the Reet

Before Tulla District Court was James Delaney (21), of Waterpark Heights, Ennis, charged with damag- ing two cars, on May 20, 2007.

Garda Michael Mulryan told the court that when he arrived on the

scene, a row was in progress, involv- ing two men and two women.

He said two cars which were near- by had been damaged. The owners approached the garda and told them that Delaney was the culprit.

He said that the accused was intox1- cated and had his shirt off.

The owner of one of the cars, Tommy Bentley, told the court he heard commotion outside his house. He looked out and saw a row taking je e-leror

He said that more than €3,000 damage had been done to his car.

He said his two young children were also looking out the window and saw the incident.

Ms Godfrey apologised to Mr Bentley on behalf of her client. He replied, “I know that but this car is after costing me €3,000.”

Denise Marsh, whose car was also damaged by Delaney, said she looked out the window of her home and saw the accused “circling the cars.

He was pounding on my car. He kicked out with his legs.” €240 dam- age was caused to her car.

The court was told that the total damage to the cars amounted to €3,561.54. Ms Godfrey said her cli- ent “had something of a blow-out.”

Judge Joseph Mangan jailed De- laney for eight months and fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

He was unable to meet the recog- nisances of €2,000 and was taken to prison.

RELIEF is in sight for long-suffer- ing residents of St Louis Villas in Killaloe after a local councillor was promised that works will be done to alleviate flooding in the area.

Cllr Tony O’Brien asked the en- gineering section of Clare County Council what could be done as the area has been badly flooded on a number of occasion in recent times.

“I asked that they explore getting funding for the project under the housing regeneration programme. People have put up with a lot in those houses because of flooding and it has to be sorted,’ the councillor said.

Senior Executive Engineer, Sean

Lenihan told the councillor that works will be done to stop the flood- waters rising in the villas.

He told Cllr O’Brien that funding would be found and the works com- pleted. The councillor was also given good news on a number of other mat- ters he raised in relation to the lake- side town.

“T’ve also been given assurances that work will be carried out on re- surfacing the road between the GAA field and Ballheigue Bridge. It has been completely worn away and it’s in a terrible state.”

There was also good news for east Clare councillor Pascal Fitzgerald who had asked that additional light- ing be put in place at the top of Par-

teen village “as this is a health and safety hazard at night”.

Mr Lenihan said that “following an inspection, I am satisfied that the necessary lighting infrastructure is in place in the area referred to. I will however, follow up to ensure that all lamps are working and if higher wattage bulbs are required to 1m- prove the situation there.”

Cllr Fitzgerald also called on the director of services to ensure that new road markings be put in place at Griffins Cross and Larkins Cross, Parteen as soon as possible.

The senior executive engineer said that “the members will be aware that our application for funding under the Low Cost Safety Scheme for 2008

for the much needed improvement works at Griffins Cross was success- ful. These works will be carried out in the coming months.”

He added that regarding Larkins Cross, “it 1S accepted that works are required here due primarily to the large volumes of traffic and re- cent infrastructure carried out in the area. It would not make any sense to upgrade the road surface and then shortly after come back and dig it up to lay water and sewer services. Having said that, I do accept that the works can’t be put off for much long- er. We will be reviewing the situation there shortly and in the meantime, maintenance works will be carried out.”