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, the HSE was unable to say which specialist pa- tients in Ennis were waiting to see.

Meanwhile, the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which has helped to reduce the surgical waiting lists, only applies to people who have been seen by aconsultant and are scheduled for treatment or an operation.

The real wait for patients now 1s to see the consultant.

While those close to the hospital services in the region say that an audit of the waiting list is long over- due as many patients may have died or received treatment elsewhere, the wait is still highly criticised.

Fine Gael spokesperson on health Dr James Reilly, said he would be in- terested in knowing how many peo- ple have literally died waiting.

While Ennis hospital has recorded its longest waiting period as four

and a half years, the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Dooradoyle has a waiting list of three years with 13,074 people waiting.

Neighbouring hospital at Portiun- cula has a waiting list of more than four years, while patients have been waiting to be seen at Galway’s two main hospitals since 2000. A total of 18,206 people have been waiting.

These startling figures were re- leased in the same week that top acci- dent and emrgency doctors criticised HSE CEO Prof Brendan Drumm of having “limited experience” in emer- gency medicine and medical care.

The A and E specialists predicted that at least 360 people will lose their lives as a result of A and E over- crowding this year.

The president of the Irish Associa- tion of Emergency Medicine Dr Fer- gal Hickey called on the HSE to fol- low the UK example and introduce a mandatory waiting time for A and E beyond which patients would not have to wait.

A major report into the A and E cri- sis had previously recommended that a limit be imposed on patient wait- ing times in A and E departments nationally.

An analysis of the HSE national figures by emergency consultant Mr Patrick Plunkett found patient delays in A and E had become worse in re- cent months however.

THE Shannon Lions Club say its Christmas food appeal has been a huge success, with help given to doz- ens of families on the breadline.

The club decided, for the first time, to give financial assistance to four community groups who work closely with those in need.

The four groups then used that money to help people in need. The eroups – Meals on Wheels, Shannon Senior citizens, St Vincent De Paul and Shannon Mental Health Associ- ation – were presented with cheques by the Lions Club, in the run-up to Christmas.

Previously the Lions Club had

Operated a voucher system in that families in need were presented with vouchers, from which they could buy food and other necessities.

The club collects money and gets support from the community and its aim 1s to ensure that it includes every sector when the funds are distrib- WIKexe

The money was raised from church- gate collections, a flag day anda golf classic, which were held during the year. The Lions Club will also or- ganise a Valentine’s Ball, which will take place in Bunratty on February 9 next. The proceeds of this night will go to Milford Hospice in Limerick, which provides care to many people from Shannon and surrounding ar-

eas.

According to the PRO of the Lions Club, Tony McMahon, the generos- ity of locals in Shannon was essen- tial, in order that the poor and needy were looked after.

“It costs in the region of €7,000 to €8,000 to cover our running costs,” said Mr McMahon.

He said the organisers of the Christ- mas food appeal were pleased with how it worked out this year, with sev- eral people helping out.

While the Christmas campaign 1s out of the way for another year, the Lions Club will continue to provide much needed assistance to the peo- ple of Shannon.

“We go all year around. While the

Christmas food appeal would be the main occasion for us, the club is there all year around to help people. The food element is just at Christ- mas. We address other needs that arise, throughout the year,’ said Mr McMahon.

The club, through its president Ger- ry Flynn, has expressed gratitude to all its sponsors and supporters whose generosity enabled the club to carry out its programme of work during the past 12 months.

The club is encouraging people to support its Valentine’s Ball in Feb- ruary. Those who want to purchase tickets should contact Tony McMa- hon on 086-2359277, or any Lions Club member.

THE pre-Christmas partial ban on Brazilian beef imports into the EU has been welcomed cautiously by the farming organisations.

Speaking from Brussels, the IFA President Padraig Walshe stated that only an outright ban will fully safe- guard the European Union from the risk of Foot and Mouth Disease from Brazilian beef imports.

However, Mr Walshe had to con- cede that the restrictions decided upon for Brazil, particularly the re- quirement that all holdings for export to the EU must be approved and list- ed publicly, is a significant step for- ward. “The decision of the European Commission indicates that the new

restrictions on approved holdings should limit the number of Brazilian farms meeting the new criteria for export to Europe. These new restric- tions should limit exports to a small number of farms, if properly imple- mented,” he said.

“The IFA campaign over the last two years highlighting the failure of Brazil to meet EU standards has been fully vindicated. The commis- sion again have admitted that they have identified serious instances of non compliance with regard to hold- ing registration, animal identification and movement controls and a failure to respect their previous commit- ments to take the appropriate correc- tive measures.”

The Commission decision goes on

to state that, “it is only possible to al- low imports to continue on a secure basis by strengthening the control and surveillance for holdings from which animals eligible for export to the community are sourced and by establishing a provisional list of such approved holdings”.

“FMD is endemic in Brazil and only a total ban will safeguard the European Union. Previous attempts to regulate Brazilian beef imports to Europe have fallen down due to a lack of traceability and movement controls, ineffective vaccination against FMD and the inability of the Brazilian authorities to implement proper controls,” said IFA National Livestock Chairman, John Bryan.

The ban was also welcomed by

Irish MEP Marian Harkins. **The fact that it took the Irish Farmers Asso- ciation and the Irish Farmers Journal to expose the deficiencies inherent in the Brazilian cattle production and processing industry casts doubt on the efficacy of the EU’s veterinary and food safety system,” she said .

“The investigation of Brazilian controls in the beef sector by Irish in- terests was first rubbished by repre- sentatives of the EU Food & Veteri- nary Office and was not supported by our minister for agriculture. But the pressure maintained by the IFA, sup- ported by the Agriculture Commit- tee of the European Parliament and members such as myself has forced this reassessment of non-compliance by Brazil with EU requirements.”

DESPITE the fact that children in Clare as young as 12 are turning to alcohol and teenagers of 14 are using cannabis, the mid-west still has not employed a dedicated psychiatrist for adolescents. As a result, young people are falling between the child and adult psychiatric services. Neither is ideal for teenagers and young adults, according to Dr Moosa- jee Bhamjee, who said Clare people are now waiting up to one year for assessment by a psychiatrist. Research from a team of psycholo- gists and sociologists from Trin- ity College and University College

Dublin suggests that mental health problems among young people are increasing. According to Tony Bates of Headstrong, the National Centre for Mental Health, less than 10 per cent of young people with a mental illness engage in support services.

Dr Bhamjee agreed, saying, “A lot of them don’t see drink or drugs as a problem and that is a big issue.

“Drinking is now starting at the end of primary school, and cannabis smoking at the age of 14. These teen- agers are addicts by Leaving Cert and drop-outs at Junior Cert.”

The Clare psychiatrist maintains that peer pressure and body image are adding to the teen strain.

In what has become a vicious cir- cle, younger and younger children are turning to alcohol, drugs and other social problems in an attempt to justify their place in society.

Children at primary school level are presenting with anorexia and Obesity but most of these problems start at 14 and 15 years of age.

“We are beginning to see younger people with early onset of schizo- phrenia, manic depression and ma- nia, panic attracts and anxiety at- tacks due to social pressures.”

There is currently no psychiatrist for adolescents in the mid-west, for which the HSE and government must be chastised, said Dr Bhamjee.

The appointment of one, and a Support team, is estimated to cost €1 million. There are no admission places in Munster for adolescent pa- tients. Each year, an average of 16 adolescent admissions are made to Ward 5B in Limerick and at least one third are from Clare. Young “volun- tary” patients can also be accommo- dated at Ennis General Hospital.

Developing counselling services in colleges and a clinical psycholo- gist in primary schools when chil- dren are more receptive could help, said Dr Bhamjee. In an emergency, a child can be seen by the child psy- chiatrist department within days.

THE poor public transport system serving Newmarket-on-Fergus is a huge barrier for community groups in the area as it hinders people from accessing education and work.

Local community group Obair said the village has “lost some of an al- ready sparse bus service due to the bypass and this causes great difficul- ty for members of the target group in accessing education and work op- portunities in larger towns and cities such as Shannon and Limerick”.

The comment came last week as Obair received Government funding to maintain employment for three workers in the local community.

Obair was one of 11 groups across

the county to receive funding under the national Community Services Programme (CSP).

The three positions will support elderly services, people with dis- abilities, childcare services and local community facilities.

The funding has been a huge boost to Obair, which was set up in 1993, to address high levels of unemploy- ment at the time. Since 1996, Obair has been one of 34 groups around the county which administers the Local Development Social Inclusion Pro- eramme (LDSIP). The project for which the funding was announced will be located in the Newmarket- on-Fergus Family Centre.

According to Jackie Bonfield of Obair, “As always there are certain

barriers that continue to effect the implementation of programmes such as these, namely public transport and local childcare services. There is a continued need for more affordable childcare, both for the benefit of the parent and also the child.”

She added, “The diversity of facili- ties and services that will be avail- able from the family centre to the community will require management and support services. The CSP will facilitate this need through the pro- vision of management, administra- tion, group support work, caretaker/ maintenance and security/cleaning services. All services are crucial to the efficient management of the fam- ily centre and the services provided for the disadvantaged members of

the community.”

The project will provide supports to assist elderly groups in their work for “Meals on Wheels’. It will also help in the fight for equality for peo- ple with disabilities.

‘The group is conscious of the need to be inclusive of people with disa- bilities and is supporting the work of a disabled access review committee that was set up in 2006.

“This committee is reviewing a re- search project which was conducted a few years ago on disability acces- sibility and addressing issues still outstanding and any new issues that have arisen during this time,” said Ms Bonfield. The work of the after- school programme will also be sup- ported, under the initiative.

THE Western Development Com- mission’s, (WDC) investment arm, the WDC Investment Fund, invested €6.2 million in 17 projects during 2007.

Since it was set up, the investment fund has made investments totalling €27/m.

Gillian Buckley, WDC CEO, said, “The size of the WDC Investment Fund’s continuing investments 1s ev1- dence of the excellent stock of com- mercially viable projects in the west- ern region. The 2006 census shows the region has been able to attract an adaptable and educated workforce as evidenced by a population increase in line with the national average,” she said.

“There is a high demand for a fund of our kind that is the only source of venture funds specifically available

for enterprises in the western region. Through the fund we are success- fully filling the ‘funding gap’, allow- ing projects to get off the ground, erow more quickly and bring them to a stage where it is in a position to attract funding from the private sec- tor.”

WDC investment fund recipients during the past year include FMC Tech Ltd, based in Shannon, which has developed the Crystal System, which provides electrical utilities with the ability to locate, measure and predict faults on overhead me- dium-voltage power lines.

A YOUNG man who joined in a high-speed car race on the outskirts of Ennis, amid poor driving condi- tions, was pursued by a garda who was travelling in an unmarked pa- trol car.

Cathal Vaughan (19), originally from Kilkee and with an address in Middlesex, UK, was convicted of dangerous driving and with crossing a continuous white line, at Kilmo- rane, Ennis, on December 29 last.

Sergeant Mattie Molyneaux told

Ennis District Court that he was on duty in an unmarked patrol car at Darragh.

He noticed a car passing by “at very high speed.” As he went to pur- sue it, another car passed by, also at speed.

Sergeant Molyneaux said he 1m- mediately got the impression that the two cars were racing.

He pursued them at a speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour, but “made very little impression on them”.

He said at Kilmorane, the two cars passed a line of vehicles. Another

car, a golf – driven by the accused – pulled out from that line and fol- lowed the two cars.

Other cars were overtaken on con- tinuous white lines, he said.

Sgt Molyneaux said the two cars which had been racing veered onto the bypass, via the roundabout near O’Sullivan and Hansbury garage.

The other car, being driving by the defendant, continued on towards Cahercalla, where he was arrested.

The garda said that traffic was heavy at the time and road surface was wet. “Conditions were not great

for driving,’ he added.

Sgt Molyneaux accepted that the accused was not involved in the in1- tial race, but that he joined in.

Defending solicitor Joe Moloney said his client “cannot explain” why he followed the two cars. He said there was “no oncoming tralf- fic when he (Vaughan) overtook the vehicles.”

The garda said the accused “did co-operate. I cannot fault him for his behaviour after I stopped him, but it was the problems that led up to it.

“I didn’t get to stop the other two defendants.

“IT wasn’t in a position to radio for help,’ said Sgt Molyneaux.

The solicitor said his client has been working in the UK for a number of months and needs his driver’s licence for work.

‘There was no accident, there was no collision. He put his hands up im- mediately,’ said Mr Moloney.

Judge Joseph Mangan fined Vaughan €4,000 but did not ban him from driving, citing work exi1- gencies as the reason.

HELP is out there is the central message in a new song co-written by Ennis man Gerry Malone.

‘Clouds and Whispers’ was writ- ten by Gerry and Mattie Slattery and released as a charity single shortly before Christmas to benefit the Clare Living Links charity.

The two men are also members of the One and All group, established last year with the aim of promoting fellowship and helping those in soci- ety who find themselves in difficult situations.

All proceeds raised from the sale of Clouds and Whispers will also go

towards Clare Living Links. For five years the Living Links organisation has offered a suicide outreach sup- port service to families and individu- als in Clare who have been bereaved by suicide.

There are currently 10 fully trained volunteers staffing the service in the county.

In addition to healing programmes, volunteers respond to approaches made by a bereaved family or in- dividuals and can arrange to meet them inside or outside their homes or wherever the bereaved person feels most comfortable. All meetings are conducted in strict confidence. Gerry said he was moved to write the song

to address the tragic frequency of suicide in Ireland.

“There is an awful lot of despair and loneliness in society and suicide, sadly, seems to have become all too common in Ireland. It is an emotional song and acknowledges the fact that there are people in need of emotional support.”

Whispers and Clouds was produced by local man Mattie Purcell at his studio in Ennis. “I had the idea for a few years but I was never involved in a project like this before. I thought it would be good to give something back and I thought a CD would be a good idea,” added Gerry.

One and All is a community sup-

port group established by Mattie Slattery in Drogheda in 2006.

“It’s only in the initial stages at the moment in Ennis. There are other branches in Drogheda and Athlone. It mainly involves visiting people who are sick, the elderly and getting in touch with people in difficulty or who can’t help themselves,” said Gerry.

Clouds and Whispers is available in stores in Ennis. For further in- formation on One and All, contact oneanall@oceanfree.net.

A CLAIM by religious order, Sisters of Mercy that a housing development in the seaside resort of Lahinch will be a “concrete jungle” has been re- jected by its developers.

Last year, Brendan O’Doherty, Patrick Montgomery, Paul Mont- gomery and John McInerney lodged plans for 114 residential units, with a number of those holiday homes.

However, in an objection, the Sis- ters of Mercy expressed their opposi- tion to the proposal, describing it as

a concrete jungle.

The development has also attracted opposition from residents and the proprietors of Vaughan Lodge Hotel. It has now been scaled back to 94 units and developers’ planning con- sultants state that the Sisters of Mer- cy claim “is clearly not the case”.

The consultants add: “The propos- als are very carefully designed with careful considerations to the County Clare Rural House Design Guide. The site has been carefully designed in terms of plot widths, building height and material choice.

“The development is predominantly two storey with the only three storey portions located carefully within the development.”

The consultants continue, “The three storey parts are located so as to have no impact upon the residential amenity of existing homes adjacent to the site.

“The fact that local people are find- ing it increasingly difficult to buy houses in their home area 1s an unfor- tunate reality. This scheme provides a wide mix of residence types in an integrated and inclusive scheme.”

Meanwhile, Michael and Maria Vaughan of Vaughan Lodge Hotel have also expressed opposition to the proposal.

“The nature of development in Lahinch over the past 10 years has prevented many locals from fulfill- ing their aspiration to live locally. The transient population of summer house owners creates massive pres- sure on scarce resources for a period of 10 weeks in summer and leaves the village without community for long periods in the winter.

“The result is that it is difficult to

ensure sustainable life in the village as house prices are beyond reach and the developments thus far are not ap- propriate for long term settlement.

“All of the previous developments although they were promoted as ‘permanent’ in terms of planning, have all been built or purchased by short-term seasonable occupiers.

‘We have a real fear that unless the nature of this proposed development is altered, the village will suffer ad- versely.”

A decision is due on the application later this month.

SEVERAL shoplifting charges have been struck out, as the € sign did not appear on the charge sheets.

Frank Hassett (21), of Drumbig- gle Road, Ennis, faced a total of 13 charges, including criminal damage, theft and public order, at Ennis Dis- trict Court on Friday. All charges re- lated to a two-month period last year. However, seven of the charges were struck out, after Judge Joseph Man- gan noted that the € sign was not printed on the charge sheets.

“We now have the euro for about six or seven years. It should be possi- ble for the State to have acclimatised at this stage,” said the judge, dismiss- ing the charges.

Hassett was convicted of the six other charges. He pleaded guilty to breaking into an Ennis home and stealing <€1,900 cash along with small amounts of Sterling and US Dollars, on April 6 last. Some of the money was recovered but €900 was still outstanding. He also admitted breaking a win- dow of another home and stealing two bottles of Buckfast from a licensed premises in Ennis. He also admitted three public order offences. Hassett was jailed for two years at Ennis Circuit Court in November, for robbing a taxi driver at knifepoint. His solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client has had “a very severe ad- diction to alcohol and cocaine in re- cent times. He was in the throes of his addictions at the time of these offences.” Mr Hassett expressed hope that the sentence imposed in the Circuit Court wouldn’t be lengthened. Judge Joseph Mangan said, “I think it’s right to say he was given a lot of chances by this court. We have heard in the past in this court he had diffi- culties in his youth. It appeared at the time (previously) there was no end to the punishment he was prepared to inflict on society in order to get even for what was done to him. Perhaps he realises now he can’t keep taking it out on people who caused him no harm,” added the judge. He imposed two six-month jail terms, to run concurrently with the sentence currently being served.