Category: Uncategorized

CHILDCARE facilities in Ennis are set for a significant upgrade as work gets underway on a new 5000sq foot community creche.

Mayor of Clare, Patricia McCarthy and Mayor of Ennis, Tommy Bren- nan yesterday turned the sod on the site on the Watery Road. When com- plete, the creche will serve all com- munities in Ennis, providing urgently needed childcare facilities.

An extensive programme in pre- school education will be delivered. The créche will also operate a full

Montessori run by fully qualified teaching staff, and provide for chil- dren with special needs with facili- ties to include state-of-the-art multi- sensory rooms and four classrooms.

The Clare Family Resource Centre will operate the creche with a staff of 33 full-time workers. There will also be a close working partnership with the FAS community employment scheme. A management committee will be made up of a voluntary board of directors.

The total cost of the project is esti- mated at under €2 million with the majority funded by the Office of the

Minster for Children. The remainder will be raised by the Clare Family Resource Centre (CFSC) through a series of fundraising initiatives.

The project was first mooted two years ago when it was established there was a need to expand the level of childcare services in Ennis. Mau- reen Keane of the CFSC said the cen- tre had received huge support from different organisations and groups.

‘There is a great need for a creche like this in Ennis. Since two years ago, when the idea was first put for- ward, we have received great support and it has made this project possible.

We received a lot of support from the HSE, Pobal and FAS,” she said.

The CFSC is currently based in Clonroad Business Park and provides creche services for 80 children.

Ms Keane added, “Our ethos is to provide an environment that is warm, safe and friendly, and supports and encourages children to be them- selves, grow and reach their potential at their own pace. And we will still be local and accessible to the town.”

Work at the site will commence in the next few weeks and should be completed in time for the creche to open in October.

PLANS have been lodged with Clare County Council for a €5 million tourism development in Bunratty.

The plan has been lodged on behalf of Kieran Flanagan who is seeking planning permission for two blocks that include commercial units and a café restaurant.

The site has been zoned for the pur- poses of providing tourism/leisure facilities and is located within walk- ing distance of Bunratty Castle — the main attraction in the area.

According to planning documents lodged with the council, “the modest

size of the individual units ensures that the development remains at a scale appropriate to the surrounding village context. The design of the de- velopment successfully reflects tra- ditional design character in a mod- ern idiom and is thereby in keeping with the established character of BLUbevestAATy

“The proposed development will consolidate the tourist retail presence within Bunratty and provide sup- porting facilities for existing tour- ist attractions and accommodation in the area. It will serve to increase and expand the tourist retail offer of Bunratty and in turn increase the

attractiveness and vibrancy of Bun- ratty as a tourist attraction.”

‘The site is one of the limited sites within Bunratty which has been zoned for the purposes of tourism AN OCO MD (sR UN Kon

“The development is compatible with the zoning objectives for the area which is to reserve lands for tourism related purposes,’ the plan- ning application states.

‘The urban design strategy for the development is to consolidate the village streetscape of Bunratty. This is achieved by the proposed design form and layout, which presents a streetscape to the main road through

Bunratty and also the access road to the development.

“The target market for this devel- opment is the substantial number of tourists who visit Bunratty each year as well as the local population. It is envisioned that the units will provide outlets for small, specialised stores, selling high order comparison goods suitable for the tourism market, such as crafts, gifts or clothing

“The development will serve to increase and expand the tourist re- tail offer of Bunratty and in turn in- crease the attractiveness of Bunratty as a tourist destination”, the planning application concludes.

, Cllr Meaney said that he had been in contact with his solicitor re- garding comments which appeared on the front page of a local newspa- per last week.

Meaney described the comments as being “wild rhetoric” and “tanta- mount to intimidation.”

Senator Dooley had last week threatened legal action against any members of Clare County Coun- cil who supported the ban on TD’s meeting planners in non-public areas of the planning office.

‘There is nothing cut and dry about this yet, the TD’s are certainly mov- ing among their own groups. There is talk of legal action,’ said Cllr Meaney.

“I have had to go and get my own legal advice in relation to comment I read on the front of a local publica- tion last week. My legal advice are watching the situation and have de- scribed the comments as idle threats and tantamount to intimidation.

“It was wild rhetoric and it was ill

thought-out. The notion of suing a councillor who chooses to support a motion is a limit to our free speech.”

Cllr Meaney was speaking after an in camera meeting of Clare County Council last night.

SW slow antec nestcom yd eNCONMM Nc: enrel sere LUE tere! to last just 45 minutes, spilled over

into the time allocated for the gen- eral council meeting and lasting for more than a two and a half hours in KO)E-YB

Journalists and spectators were re- fused access to the meeting, but, ac- cording to Cllr Meaney, the situation regarding access I’D’s gaining access

to non-public areas was clear. “There was an awful lot of resist- ance to introducing a procedure that would interfere with the County Councillors right to engage with the planning system. Certainly, it was made clear at the meeting that the TD’s have no rights in terms of ac-

cess to the planners,” continued Cllr Meaney.

“They have rights to make repre- sentations, they have rights in terms of making planning legislation’s, but they have no rights in terms of ac- cessing the non public areas.

“We don’t have to reinvent the Wheel on this issue. The four plan- ning authorities in the Dublin area do not allow any access by TD’s to the non-public areas of the planning office. It has to be done in a transpar- OLA Nl

According to Cllr Meaney, the situ- ation regarding County Councillor access to the non public areas of the planning section has been deferred to next Mondays meeting of Clare County Council.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Martin Conway described the pro- ceedings as “constructive”.

“I’m not in a position to discuss anything that was discussed at the in camera meeting, except that I felt that it was a very productive meet- ing,” he said.

“We had a very detailed and frank discussion and I would be confident that we will have a very satisfactory resolution to the issued that council- lors were faced with.”

A NEW service aimed at maintain- ing and providing links with people who feel cut off from their local community was launched in Ennis last week.

The Clare Talking Social Club was launched in the Woodstock Hotel on Thursday last by the Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy; Pauline Mc- Naughton, chairperson of the Sunset Foundation; and Fr Tom Hogan, ad- ministrator of Ennis Parish.

The idea for the Clare Talking So-

cial Club was conceived by the Sun- set Foundation, a Clare-based group established just over two years ago.

The service is maintained by Pauline Naughton and Sunset Foun- dation co-coordinator Patrick Mur- phy. So far the service has contacted 64 people and it has been well re- ceived in the local community.

Patrick Murphy explained why the Sunset Foundation set up the serv- or

‘There are an awful lot of peo- ple out there who are on their own. They might be living in the middle

of a few hundred houses but they are still isolated. So we made a few calls to people and we got good feedback so we decided to make it a regular den beteae

Patrick added, “I usually do three days a week and Pauline Naughton would do two. So far we’ve made around 64 calls. People do appreci- ate it.

“We make contact with all differ- ent types of people. Elderly people living on their own or two brothers living on their own.

“It might be the case that no one

calls them or checks in with them, so that is what we do.”

The Sunset Foundation was found- ed in 2005 by Ennis man Patrick Murphy and Michael McInerney from Sixmilebridge as an awareness eroup for visually impaired people.

It now boasts over 50 members and is regularly involved in organising charity events and outings.

Last summer, the Sunset Founda- tion sent 30 blind and visually im- paired people to Lourdes.

The Clare Talking Social Club can be contacted at 065 6824875.

CLARE County Council has turned down planning permission for a tour- ist hostel and 29 homes in the village of Fanore. The Council made the ruling on a submission from Tom Considine af- ter the Council’s Conservation Offic- er, Risteard UaCronin strongly rec- ommended that planning be refused. Mr UaCronin said that the proposal had the potential to do irreparable damage to the archaeological land- scape and visual amenity and the potential to set an unwelcome prec- edent for development in the vicinity of recorded monuments.

He said that the site was located be- tween various archaeological monu- ments including Kilonoghan Church, a graveyard and an archaeological complex containing no less than 25 monuments on the Record of Monu- ments for county Clare.

“The complex is one of the most im- portant collections of archaeological monuments in the country, most of which date from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period. The provision of a housing development in this area would seriously impact on the monu- ments both visually and archaeolog!- cally, would be unsympathetic to the setting of these groups of recorded monuments and contravene the

county development plan.”

“The proposed development is situ- ated on the Burren Coastline over- looking the Aran Islands and on one of the most scenic and popular visi- tor routes in Clare.”

The Council also refused planning because of the lack of a centralised waste-water treatment plant to serve the proposal and ruled that the plan would represent a piecemeal ap- proach to development and would be contrary to proper planning and sustainable development.

The proposal would contravene the development plan objective of providing for the sustainable growth of Fanore and retaining the village’s

unique and distinctive character.

In the planning application, devel- oper Tom Considine, who is a native of the area, claimed that the proposal was designed to create a village feel with a suitable range of uses at the appropriate scale and density with effective and useable links into adja- cent lands to facilitate future devel- opment in the village”.

He maintained that the develop- ment was consistent with the provi- sion of the North Clare Local Area Plan and would encourage “further appropriate development in Fanore”’.

Mr Considine now has the option of appealing the council decision to An Bord Pleanala.

A YOUNG man who was deliver- ing leaflets to homes succumbed to temptation and stole a wallet he Saw in one of the houses, a court has heard.

Igor Kudriashov (23), of Oakfield, Fr Russell Road, Raheen, Limerick, admitted entering a building as a trespasser and stealing a wallet with

€20 cash, on November 12 last.

Inspector John Galvin told Ennis District Court that the property has been recovered and the accused was co-operative.

Defending solicitor Vincent Shields said his client delivers leaflets to eters

‘On the date in question, he was de- livering leaflets and he passed by this open window. He put his hand in the

window and took the purse.

‘He had passed by the window earlier. When he passed it the sec- ond time, he was tempted,’ said Mr See else

“He doesn’t know what overcame him. He panicked and took €20 from the wallet and threw the wallet into the bushes,” added the solicitor.

JS omT-NICMMY Use MN CSIRO Iota e-em erO ee fronted by gardai, he immediately

brought them to the bush where he had thrown the wallet.

Kudriashov, a native of Lithuania, has lived in Ireland for more than a year and has never been in trouble before, the court heard.

Judge Joseph Mangan remanded him on continuing bail and ad- journed the case to establish if he has any previous convictions in his na- tive country.

has also learned that almost 180 new clients reported that they had been raped or sexually assaulted in the mid-west last year.

Rape Crisis Midwest, which offers support to rape and sexual abuse vic- tims in Clare, Limerick and Tipper- ary, believes this figure is “only the tip of the iceberg”’.

The Rape Crisis outreach centre in Ennis increased its counselling last year. It offered 258 counselling hours to victims of rape or sexual abuse last year, which is an increase on 223 hours in 2006. It provided 173 hours in 2005, after opening in May of that year.

14 new clients were seen at the out-

reach centre in Ennis last year. All of those clients were from Clare, while a number of other clients from Clare travelled to the centre in Limerick.

There is also a continuous waiting list of one or two people in Ennis.

The co-ordinator of Rape Crisis Midwest, Miriam Duffy, said there was a definite need for the outreach centre to be opened in Ennis.

“It was identified by a number of clients in Clare as it was much more difficult for them to have to travel to Limerick. It is a lot more convenient

for those who can access it,’ she Cr HOR

“We are constantly aware of the level of sexual abuse that is out there,’ said Ms Duffy.

The number of hours offered to cli- ents varies, depending on each ind1- vidual case.

‘There is a waiting list, but we al- ways prioritise somebody who is in crisis,’ she added.

Ms Duffy said that 90 per cent of victims know their attackers.

“This idea of being dragged down

a dark alleyway does happen but the risk of being sexually assaulted by someone you know is greater,” she added.

Some victims do not report the abuse for years and their bad memo- ries are triggered by media coverage of fresh cases.

Ms Duffy said victims should re- port abuse as early as possible. ““The earlier they can get on to us, the bet- ter for themselves, as it will be less negative for them as they get on with their lives,’ she said.

THE fight for the continuation of sustainable farming in the Burren is being taken to the streets of Dub- lin today as the BurrenLIFE Project Stages its first awareness day in the Cree

OW atom hirse-Nusdslotmer hymnal omelets pemRy alae] the official launch of the first ever conference on sustainable farm- ing ever hosted in Ireland, which will take place in Ennistymon next peareyeleee

Attending the official launch will be the chairperson of Teagasc and the Heritage Office, Dr Tom O’Dwyer; Senior Conservation Scientist of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Michael Berkery; Chief Executive Officer of the IFA and Clare TD, Tony Killeen.

“It is critical to get a focus on this in Dublin. We have learned from other projects like this all across Eu- rope that it is critical to get the infor- mation out there. It 1s important both to get the information out there but also to get political support for the project,’ said Ruairi O Conchuir of the BurrenLIFE organisation.

“It is critical that the politician, the media and the general public all buy in to this project. At the end of the day, it is EU taxpayers’ money that is being used to support this project.

It’s Irish taxpayers’ money that is be- ing used to support this project.

“It’s very important for us to let people know what this conference is about and more importantly to let them know what the project as a whole is about.”

Following the formal launch of the BurrenLIFE’s ‘Farming for Conser- vation’ conference, the organisation will then visit four Dublin schools and host presentations and work- shops designed to explain the work of the Burren farmers to the Dublin school teachers.

This will be followed by a formal evening lecture and illustrated talk and wine reception hosted by Dr Brendan Dunford, Dr Sharon Parr, Ruairi O Conchuir and Dr James Moran of the BurrenLIFE Project.

The three-day international *Farm- ing for Conservation’ conference will take place in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon from February 24 to 27.

The conference will include speak- ers from Ireland, the UK and a number of other European countries. It will also mark the first official en- gagement of a Green Party minister in the county as the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Green Party leader, John Gormley will attend along with the newly appointed director of Tea- gasc, Professor Gerry Boyle.

A DRIVER who failed to remain at the scene of a road accident has been banned from driving for five years and warned he will face jail if he fails to pay compensation.

Ennis District Court heard that De- clan O’Dea was involved in a crash close to Francie Daly’s garage in Ennis, on October 17, 2006, during which €1,500 worth of damage was caused to another vehicle.

O’Dea, of Hazelwood, Ennis, who

was driving a car, was ‘eventually lo- cated’, the court was told.

JS CSBUIDLSE-VO MAC CoreN(eOm POO) A(cre eles slmm alone later admitted his role in the incident. He pleaded guilty to a number of charges arising out of the accident.

Inspector John Galvin told the court that on March 30, 2007, the accused “admitted it was him when there was evidence put to him by the gardai”.

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client lost his job in Septem- ber 2007. Otherwise, he would have

paid compensation, he said.

Judge Joseph Mangan said _ to O’Dea, “You were working for al- most a year after this and you haven’t paid a penny compensation.”

He noted that the accused did not admit his role in the accident for sev- eral months, adding, “You dragged this out. You behaved dishonestly on the night.”

“I am giving you a month to pay that (€1,500) and you are going to prison if you don’t come up with it,” added the judge.

He banned O’Dea from driving for five years and fined him €1,600 for failing to keep his vehicle at the scene and failing to stop.

He imposed a two-month jail term for failing to produce appropriate in- formation to gardai, but substituted this with community service.

He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal, of his own surety of €6,000; €4,000 of which was to be lodged to the court.

He adjourned the case for payment of compensation.

Coie tre for Environmental Living and Training (CELT) in Scariff to plans for the development of eight 410 ft high turbines that will supply elec- tricity to 22,000 homes.

As part of the plan, the developers propose to remove 425 acres of for- est plantation.

Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the submission by Ventus Energy before the end of the month but local residents have

already lodged objections and the Department of the Environment has also expressed concerns.

In a fresh objection, CELT claims that “contrary to local community attempts to regenerate the economy, available data shows that house and farm prices in the vicinity of wind farms drop by up to 20 per cent”.

The group claims that this would be unacceptable to the local commu- nity who are “trying to regenerate the economy of this disadvantaged region’.

The objection continues, “Small turbines for single households or small communities are the only type acceptable. The proposal for new generation 3MW massive turbines is

totally out of the question; standard- sized turbines as at Derrybrien are unacceptable.

‘“Land-based wind farms should be a thing of the past. There is now the technology and opportunity to situ- ate wind farms at sea where they will maximise use of the Atlantic winds and minimise pressure on the envi- ronment, tourism and local commu- nities.

“If they must be situated on land, then it ought to be in an unpopulated area away from designated landscape and near to the coast and a smaller scale development.

“The size of designated areas is totally inadequate and on this basis CELT would be concerned that these

designations will be forcibly en- larged by intervention from the EU and any damage to the landscape/ ecology/habitats would then have to be rectified.

‘To interfere with this important ecosystem and habitats is contrary to all efforts to improve and enhance biodiversity in accordance with EU directives.

‘Several migratory bird species are known to frequent the area including protected greenland white-fronted geese, lapwing, golden plover, red erouse, merlin, peregrine, kestrel, snipe, curlew and a number of spe- cies of bat — all of these would be threatened by rotating wind turbine blades,” the CELT objection states.