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THERE are now almost double the number of holiday homes in Kilkee to homes used in the resort on a per- manent basis.

In statistics cited by Clare County Council in refusing to allow a por- tion of 64 new homes be used as holiday homes, the local authority points out that there are now just un- der 1,000 holiday homes in the west Clare seaside resort.

According to figures secured from the Central Statistics Office (CSO),

there are now 996 holiday homes in Kilkee representing 83 per cent more homes that the 544 permanent holiday homes in Kilkee.

The council points out that 67 per cent of homes in Kilkee are unoc- cupied. Last year, Keelgrove Con- struction secured planning permis- sion for 64 homes in the resort.

However, the council inserted a condition that the homes be used only for permanent occupation in response to the high percentage of holiday homes already in Kilkee.

In response, Keelgrove lodged a

fresh application seeking to modify the planning permission so that a percentage of the homes can be used as holiday homes.

Consultants for Keelgrove Con- struction Ltd argued that the clause insisting that the homes be for per- manent occupancy is not supported in the West Clare Local Area Plan.

The consultants argue that if the council applies the permanent oc- cupancy clause to all future housing in Kilkee, “then the plan is failing to provide for a key sector of the housing and tourism market and

this could adversely impact on the economy of the town”.

The developers argue that “in the interest of fairness and equality, only a percentage of the residen- tial units within the development should be restricted to permanent occupancy — similar to the concept of providing social and affordable jaLO)UESS EO Toa

However, in the planner’s report, the council cited an An Bord Pleana- la inspector’s report on a previous application for holiday homes.

The report stated that “having

visited Kilkee on June 2, albeit mid-week, it was starkly evident the extent of holiday home develop- ment present in the town and on its fringes and its underutilisation”.

The council planner recommended “that this development proposal be refused as it would further contrib- ute to the loss of community, lack of housing choice for permanent residents in Kilkee and lead to an unsustainable demand for all year round services and would therefore materially contravene an objective in a local area plan for the area.”

THE chairman of the Shannon Air- port Authority (SAA), Pat Shanahan is expected to advance the case for an independent Shannon Aijrport when he appears before a high level Oireachtas Committee tomorrow.

Mr Shanahan’s appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport on Wednesday follows on the SAA lodging with the DAA the 10-year business plan for an inde- pendent Shannon Airport.

Mr Shanahan resigned from his role as executive chairman of the SAA last October in protest at the failure of the DAA to inform the SAA of Aer Lingus proposals to transfer the Heathrow slots to Belfast.

Remaining as chairman, Mr Shana- han said that he would concentrate all his energies in securing autonomy for Shannon.

The State Airports Act 2004 envis- ages Shannon having full financial independence.

However, talks on a €36 million restructuring deal that went on for over 18 months were only complete last year involving the voluntary re- dundancy of 200 workers.

The restructuring plan allowed the SAA to formally lodge the business plan with the DAA last November.

The plan envisages Shannon’s €67 million debt being assumed by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and an injection of capital for a new US customs clearance facility and works to the airfield and other infra- Seg eCel ab cen

The business plan envisages just 20 per cent of the current level of US troop movements through the air- port.

Clare TD, Timmy Dooley (FF) is a member of the committee and said yesterday that he is looking forward to the SAA’s proposals being put for- ward in a very public way before the Loynabasblaneron

He said: “The critical focus will be on the business plan.”

CONCERNS for the safety of chil- dren going to school in Parteen have prompted a local councillor to call for agreement from lorry drivers to change traffic movements.

Councillor Cathal Crowe learned for himself what peril children are in going to and from school when he joined Parteen National School as a teacher this year.

“This is the only place in Parteen

where there’s no footpath and it’s a road that is used by trucks serving several companies in Parteen. We talk all the time about childhood obesity and encouraging children to walk and take exercise but it’s just not safe for them to walk on this road,” the councillor said.

Apart from the immediate danger to children. Cars meeting trucks find they have no room to pass each other and at school drop off and collection times, this brings other problems and

Cro ue

“Parents are entitled to get their children to school in safety. And at school times, there can be hold ups anywhere on this road between the school and Larkin’s Cross. The long- term solution is to widen the road but in the meantime, there are things that can be done to make the road safer.”

At a meeting of the Killaloe Area Committee of the council today, Cllr Crow plans to ask the director of services to put a traffic management

plan in place to limit the movement of heavy goods vehicles in both di- rections and to get agreement with all concerned to finance passing bays so that trucks and cars can safely pass each other.

“When the quarries were given planning permission, it was a condi- tion that they put passing bays on the roads. That is what is needed here in the short term, along with restric- tions on two-way traffic,’ Cllr Crowe said.

AS planning permission for a new hospital for the mid-west was lodged this week, a Clare County Council- lor was calling for work to begin on Ennis General Hospital, which has al- ready received planning permission.

Fianna Fail Cllr Bill Chambers, who is also one of Clare’s four rep- resentatives on the HSE Forum West, said that in order for work to progress, the long overdue review of acute health services in the mid-west region must be published now.

The Cooraclare man said the so- called Teamwork Report needs to be in the public domain so people can object to parts of it they disagree with and get on with securing acute health services for the people of Clare. It 1s widely believed that the report will suggest the closure of 24 hour A and E at the county’s hospital.

Meanwhile, a private company maintains that it can have a state-of- the-art hospital built on the grounds of the Mid-West Regional Hospital Limerick within 30 months of the start date.

The Beacon Medical Group (BMG) applied for planning permission to construct a co-located hospital on the grounds of the public hospital on Thursday. Plans for the €250 million hospital comprise 175 single rooms

with eight CCU (critical care) beds, six operating theatres, ambulatory surgery and full diagnostics incorpo- rating some €24.7 million worth of new generation equipment.

The hospital will mirror the case- mix of the public hospital, as all spe- cialities catered for in the public hos- pital will also be catered for in the co-located hospital – both medical and surgical, with the exception of national specialities. As recommend- ed by the SARI Report 2005, which made recommendations for infection control in hospitals, all rooms will be single occupancy, each with its own en-suite facility.

BMG is seeking the planning per- mission under the controversial Co- located Private Hospitals Project.

The project, which the Government claimed would free up additional beds for public patients in public hospitals, will see privately operated hospitals for the provision of health care to public and private patients on the grounds of public hospitals.

The new co-located hospitals will allow for 24/7 admission from the public hospital, the public Emergen- cy Department (ED), primary care centres and through GP referrals.

Critics of the policy have claimed, however, that this policy will further increase the divide in our two-tier health system.

NINETY-YEAR old Tom Casey from Sixmilebridge loaded the first piece of luggage on to the first Shan- non Heathrow flight fifty years ago.

Tom – who worked even before that laying drains on the site where the airport was to be built – was in Shan- non on Sunday to say goodbye to the Heathrow slots.

“It’s a very sad day but this airport could never close,’ an emotional

Tom said.

Among passengers checking in for the last flight, feelings were also run- uubereaseuhcaaw

Sharon McGann from London was a regular traveller on the route.

“Tm from Gort originally. I like to come home as often as I can. My fa- ther was ill recently and at the age my parents are, I want to be at home as much as possible. I live ten min- utes from Heathrow so it was very handy. I don’t know how often I’ll be

able to make it now,” she said.

Peggy Owers from Hampshire has a house in Clare and flies regularly. “It’s disgusting the flight is always fully subscribed. TV’ fly to Dublin now and travel down but I won’t fly Aer Lingus.”

Aideen Goggin from Shannon was flying out to Heathrow but will have to return from another airport. “And Pll have to stay an extra day. The course I’m doing finishes Friday but I can’t get a flight till Saturday.”

Bernadette Marren for London flew regularly to visit relatives in Clare and the west.

‘This is cutting off the west of Ire- land for everyone. Aer Lingus must have have got loads of money to move to Belfast but they shouldn’t have been allowed to leave Shannon Stranded,” she said.

Theresa and Tom Madden from North Tipperary say the loss of the flight means many lost family days.

Tom has to travel on business and

connect to a flight from Heathrow several times a month.

“IT could fly from here late Sunday or even early Monday – now I’II have to add the most of two days travel- ling to every trip,’ he said.

Thersa is angry that the move will mean more time away for Tom.

“Sundays are important days when you have small children – weekends are important. This is robbing us of time with our children growing up,” ORO KeKy Mr HUCe

THE need for more staff and equip- ment dedicated to maintaining the Killaloe and Westbury areas of east Clare has prompted two council- lors to take the matter to the local authority.

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald wants to see a road sweeper dedicated to keeping the roads of east Clare clean while Councillor Tony O’Brien wants council road workers who were let go before Christmas put back on the payroll.

Cllr O’Brien said that there is cur- rently a shortage of staff in the gen- eral operative section “and it shows in the state of the roads in Killaloe, Kilbane and Broadford. We cur- rently only have about half our full complement of operatives”.

At today’s meeting of the Killaloe Area Committee of the council, Cllr O’Brien will be calling for the num- bers to be brought back up.

“We let part time workers go at the end of November. They should be taken on again immediately,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald will be raising the matter of clean- ing and sweeping at the same meet- ibahee

Currently, he said, a road-sweep- ing machine visits the Westbury es- tate about once a week.

“This is not nearly enough. The population of this area has grown so much in the last few years with Westbury, Shannon Banks and Ar- dnacrusha that we really need a dedicated sweeper that will be kept in east Clare and can come several times a week to each area that needs

it,’ the councillor said.

He pointed out that just over the bridge in the Limerick City Council controlled area “sweeping is done four times a week”’.

Cllr Fitzgerald is also raising the matter of the need for lights on the road between Ardnacrusha Post Of- fice and Barry’s Cross.

‘This is a very dark stretch of road but there are a lot of people walking and driving on it. It’s another area where the population 1s growing and we need lights from a safety point of view,’ Councillor Fitzgerald said.

IT Tralee enter unchartered territory on Wednesday as they contest their first ever match in the Waterford Crystal tournament against Water- ford – with four Clare players on- board. The game marks a huge step for the emerging college and it’s a testament to the work put in over the past few years that they are now seen as one of the top hurling colleges in the province.

Hurling in Tralee IT has steadily improved over the last few years cul- minating in Ryan Cup success last season.

The Ryan Cup is the second tier competition of the Fitzgibbon Cup and to win it last year definitely boosted the hurling profile of the college as GAA Officer Eamon Fit- zgerald explains.

“Winning the Ryan Cup last year was a great achievement and with only four changes from last year’s

team, it will give us a good boost going into this year’s competition. We could have chosen to contest the Fitzgibbon Cup this season, but we feel that our players need to establish a firm footing first and as there is still such a big gap between the Fitzgib- bon and Ryan cups, it would be easy to fall back 1f we weren’t careful.”

A benefit of this success has been the attraction of more hurlers to the college and in addition, there are currently four Clare natives on the IT Tralee side: Stephen Kelly (New- market-on-Fergus) at centre-back, Stephen Guilfoyle (Eire Og) and Ja- son Murphy (Sixmilebridge) lining out in the full-back line while Eire Og’s Thomas Downes will be based in the forwards. Fitzgerald is quick to compliment the hurling talent that is now being attracted to the college, including an increasing Clare contin- ele

“The fact that we have been invited to take part in the Waterford Crystal

Cup shows how much the standard of hurling has improved in the College. This year we have four Clare lads on our hurling panel and they have strengthened and brought valuable experience into the squad.”

IT Tralee’s debut in the Waterford Crystal competition couldn’t have been any harder by drawing Munster champions Waterford but rather than dwell on such daunting opposition, Fitzgerald sees the game as a ben- eficial learning experience for the young side.

“The Waterford Crystal cup is a fantastic opportunity for the lads to play against players of the calibre of Dan Shanahan.”

“It will certainly be a learning curve for the lads and more impor- tantly it will give them valuable ex- perience for the future”.

THE Director of Shannon Airport, Martin Moroney was upbeat and optimistic on Sunday despite a Lon- don-bound Aer Lingus flight leaving the airport for the last time.

While politicians and commenta- tors predicted devastating conse- quence for the mid-west airport, Mr Moroney was taking a more positive approach.

“We are quite happy with the Air France (City Jet) service starting up

in February. I think we will go from strength to strength,” he said.

“We also have very strong trans- atlantic services which we are very happy with, having come through the open skies challenge – a major challenge for Shannon, when many said we would have no transatlantic services. We see Aer Lingus as being very important for Shannon – crucial for Shannon in the future of transat- lantic and we support them fully and its business.

“It was a commercial decision and

we accept that,” he said of the air- line’s decision to pull the Heathrow slots from Shannon in favour of Bel- eRe

‘Heathrow broke down into three main areas. One-third of the traffic connected on to Europe and global locations and two-thirds to London. We have increased flights to London with Ryanair.

“We have the Air France service to Paris so we believe we haven’t lost any connectivity. In fact, we hope that in the near future City

Jet could begin a service to London City which is right in the middle of London’s financial centre, probably better than Heathrow for business connections to London itself. Once we get that, I believe we will have a superior product for business peo- ple,” he said. Mr Moroney admitted that a link into London City was not imminent, however. “It is unlikely to happen this year,” he said.

While he would not reveal the economic loss of the link, as it was “commercially sensitive’, he said that the loss of 320,000 passengers was a “commercial challenge’. He said, however, that the new service to Charles de Gaulle and added serv- ices from Ryanair would counteract the loss.

“Obviously it is a blow and we would prefer if it did not happen but certainly it is not a major issue for the airport. And our strength in terms of financial contribution is coming from the fact that we restructured our cost base. We have saved 10 million off the cost base. We will expand our commercial activities. You will see improvements in retail and catering this year in Shannon and you will see additional car parks so we have no problem facing the future despite this loss,’ he said.

The airport director said while there will be no Heathrow service from Shannon in 2008, the airport would continue to work to restore it.

THE blueprint outlining the devel- opment of Kilrush during the next six years will come before Kilrush Town Council next month for its seal of approval.

The public consultation process for the Kilrush Development Plan 2008 to 2014 closed on January 4.

Five submissions were received from members of the public regard- ing the plan.

Concerns have been expressed however that the 2006 Census may hamper development in the town and the development plan must counter- act this and encourage development.

“There are those of us who dis- pute the Census 2006 figures which

show a slight three per cent decrease in population from the census 2002 figures,’ said Cllr Tom Prenderville (FF).

“The inaccuracy of that Census 2006 short-changed our town in terms of investment in that it pre- sented a false account on the state of economic planning and develop- ment of Kilrush. Yet we note in the Kilrush Town Development Plan a projected population increase of 11 per cent over the next six years and a 25 per cent population increase to 3,245 by 2020.

“It 1s interesting to note the projec- tions of the last Clare County Coun- cil Housing Strategy 2007-2012, which predicted that Kilrush would only need an additional 274 housing

units in 2020. Present figures availa- ble from planning applications would appear to refute that assertion.”

The Kilrush councillor said the pro- posal for a multi million-euro water- front development at the marina adds confidence to the town, but the town plan must set an overall strategy for proper planning, sustainable devel- opment and gainful employment.

Cllr Liam Looney (FF) said, “I do hope we get a lot more support from national organisations and agencies than we have been. We haven’t got a lot of support from the IDA or other bodies,” he said.

Acting Senior Planner, John Brad- ley reassured the council that there were sufficient zoned lands in the new plan to provide for the needs

of the town. He said the plan seeks to improve services and attractions within the town so as to maintain the town’s vibrance and curb urban drift to the adjoining countryside.

The senior planner also said the plan could stimulate the competi- tiveness of the local economy, pro- vide upgraded services, promote ur- ban renewal and the regeneration of brown field sites, complete the regen- eration of John Paul Estate, optimise the benefits of the MANS Broadband service, and facilitate and promote the development of the marina.

“If the above objectives can be achieved during the lifetime of the new Development Plan, Kilrush town will face a very positive fu- ture,’ he said.

ANOTHER ledge climbed and the summit of the McGrath Cup is com- ing into sight. Flanked by Kieran Kelliher and James Hanrahan, Frank Doherty, the leader of this group of men with the future of Clare foot- ball in their hands, is making for the dressing room in Cooraclare.

Alone on the plains of West Clare, the Galwayman says he’s satisfied that things are moving in the right direction.

“T hope people can see a little im- provement as we go along,” he says. “You have to remember that these players have been kicked around the place for the past number of years and their own self-worth was at an all time low. When I came in at the start, lads were fumbling the ball and it was difficult to get through even some basic drills. They’re train- ing hard now, there’s a smile on their face and there’s a buzz amongst them. They’re a good bunch of lads, a genu- ine bunch, but they’re been through the mill over the last few years. Now, hopefully, things are turning slowly and gradually.”

Doherty is transparent and honest. Unveiling the manager’s opinions on his team’s progression isn’t laced with the cryptic (football) or dismiss- ive (hurling) post-match comments that pockmarked Clare’s early GAA season last year. For that alone, let us be thankful.

‘The mindset at the moment is 1m- proving. You could see lads not want- ing it at the start, but having won the last two games, lads are starting to show for the ball and that’s great. The longer we can stay in the McGrath Cup the better, it brings us closer to Carlow in the league.”

As that game on February 3 edges closer, Doherty’s aim is to pin down a starting 15.

“I can see probably 11 or 12 guys from last week and this that will start the league. There’s maybe three plac- es that I haven’t seen enough of to make my mind up on. We’ve brought on a lot of young lads and nobody can say we’re not giving them a chance. We’re over two thirds of the way there with the team that played last week and this week and that’s down to games. It’s about filling in the rest of the spaces now.”

And on Sunday’s performance?

“UL beat Clare by a few points last year so you’re talking about some- thing like a twelve point turnaround. I believe we could have won it by another four or five scores with a bit more composure in the final third of the field.

“We were going well enough and lads got into the comfort zone again and lads started trying out these silly 40 50 yard screamers. I’d rather be more productive in the last third and use the ball properly to get ourselves into a scoring position, but you’d have to be satisfied overall.

A good solid performance in the first half is what did it for us and against a fairly strong wind that was positive. Lads took their scores clini- cally and we were well on top.”