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A 13-MONTH jail term has been imposed on a Kilrush man who as- saulted two gardai in separate inci- OLAS

Martin Burke (27), of St Senan’s Terrace, Kilrush, admitted assault- ing Sergeant Lavin; assaulting Garda Greg Gander; and criminal damage, arising out of various inci- eae

Garda Conor Flaherty told Kilrush District Court that the accused was arrested for public order offences on O’Curry Street, Kilkee, on Novem-

ber 30, 2008.

He was taken to the garda station. Handcuffs were removed from him at the public office.

He said that Burke refused to stand up to be searched. He was then re- strained and handcuffed and brought to a cell.

Gda Flaherty said that Burke was very abusive to gardai.

He became very violent and punched Sgt Lavin on the left shoul- Cloe

Defending solicitor | Eugene O’Kelly said his client was “so drunk he was unable to sign his own

name”.

‘He didn’t know what he was do- ing.

“No intention to assault Sgt Lavin had formed in his mind. He was completely out of it.”, Mr O’kelly explained

Garda Greg Gander told the court that the accused was highly abusive at Market Square, Kilrush, on June BEEN e

He was taken to the garda station, where he punched the garda to the stone

Garda Keith Hughes told the court that Burke broke windows on Crot-

ty’s pub and Central Sports in Kil- rush on March 27 last.

The total cost of the damage amounted to €2,250.

Mr O’Kelly, referring to that inci- dent, said his client told gardai, “My head isn’t right. I need to get help.”

Mr O’Kelly said that Burke’s grandmother had just died and he was very troubled as a result.

“He had no reason in the world for breaking these windows. It was some cry for help.

“Mr Burke needs help. He’s unfor- tunately far too regular a visitor to this court,’ he said.

Mr O’Kelly said his client would be willing to move out of Kilrush.

“He 1S sincere when he 1s sober, but unfortunately when he is drunk, matters get the better of him,’ he STH em

The court heard that Burke has 56 previous convictions.

One of those was for arson, for which a three-year sentence was imposed at Ennis Circuit Court in 2006.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed sentences totalling 13 months and fixed a bond in the event of an ap- peal.

A CLARE businessman, who along with his partners is paying ©20,000 in interest on a planned retail park in Shannon, has made a last ditch at- tempt to save the development.

Last month, Clare County Council refused planning permission to Sean Halpin and Greenband Investments for the neighbourood component of a €60m retail park planned for Smith- stown in Shannon.

Mr Halpin confirmed that he and his business partners purchased the 17.5 acre site zoned for commercial development for €8 million in 2005 and have since paid ©2 million in interest.

Confirming that interest payments are costing ©20,000 per month, Mr Halpin said, “The interest is some- where north of €2 million. This is not some cosy arrangement with the bank where we have interest rolled up.”

In all, Mr Halpin estimates that the exposure to date is €10.5m.

Now, in a last ditch bid to save the development, they have lodged an ap- peal with An Bord Pleanala against the council’s decision to refuse plan- ning to the neighbourhood compo- nent of the scheme.

The council stated that the centre would have an adverse impact on the vitality and viability of Shannon town and contravene Department of the Environment retail guidelines

relating to the location of neighbour- hood centres.

The Greenband development was due to create 250 direct jobs, 200 in- direct jobs and 180 jobs during the construction phase.

In their appeal, the developers “se- riously contest the reason for refusal of the neighbourhood centre of the proposed scheme.

‘The proposed development would in fact not detract from the town cen- tre but serve the remainder of the proposed development and immedi- ate surrounding areas.

“The reasons for refusal cited by the council do not accord with the retail planning guidelines, which specifically recognises the local role

neighbourhood centre’s play in the retail hierarchy.”

However, the plan faces outright rejection, with the McAllen family lodging an appeal against the coun- cil decision to grant planning to any aspect of the development.

The local family state that their health and safety is of paramount importance and “any detrimental environmental impacts in the area, that put our health and safety under threat, will be subject to full legal ac- tion on our behalf.”

‘There 1s an over-intensification of commercial use on the site; loss of privacy and the design is of poor ar- chitectural quality.”

A decision is due in 2010.

A MAN who dropped a packet of ec- stacy tablets to the ground at Ennis Garda Station almost nine years ago was yesterday jailed for 18 months.

Peter Burke (30), with an address at Glenanail Drive, Riverside, Galway, was convicted of possession of ecs- tacy for the purpose of sale or supply, in February 2001.

Sergeant John Brennan told Ennis Circuit Court that a car was stopped in Clarecastle on the evening of Feb- ruary 1, 2001 and the two occupants

were taken to Ennis Garda Station.

As the two were being taken from a car at the station, the accused dropped a package to the ground.

This was retrieved by gardai and it was found to contain 595 ecstacy tablets.

The market value of the tablets at the time was £5,940 (€7,500). Burke was arrested and detained overnight at Ennis Garda Station. He was charged the following morning.

However, he subsequently left the jurisdiction and went to the US. He returned in 2008 and on his return to

Ireland, he contacted gardai. He was then re-charged with the original of- oe

Sgt Brennan explained to Judge Carroll Moran that Burke had been returned for trial to the circuit court when he left the country.

Defence counsel Michael Collins, BL, put it to Sgt Brennan that his cli- ent was “not the main man in the op- eration.” Sgt Brennan replied, “That was our information at the time.”

Mr Collins said that the accused was “facing the music for these of- fences at this stage.’ He said there

were unusual features in the case “such as the accused absconding and going to the States and when he re- turns he immediately goes to gardai because he wants to face up to his responsibilities.”

Judge Moran said it was an aggra- vating factor that the accused ab- sconded, having been returned for trial to the circuit court. He said the accused was carrying a sizable quan- tity of ecstacy tablets.

However, he noted that the accused had pleaded guilty, was not the main player and has succeeded in kicking

his drug habit.

The judge said that a 10-year sen- tence could be imposed for posses- sion of drugs for the purpose of sale or supply, where the value exceeds Ja men OeL OF

“He had over half that threshold,’ he said.

“This could not be considered a minimalist case,” said the judge.

“Even having regard to all the fa- vourable matters, I’m compelled to impose an immediate custodial sen- tence,’ he said and jailed Burke for 18 months.

AS the close of the Clare camogie season comes in, Clare Camogie Board in conjunction with the Clare Camogie Suporters Club are hosting an awards night this Satur- day, November 21, at the Auburn Lodge Hotel, Ennis.

Medals will be presented to the Munster U16 Camogie Champions on the night, along with the U14 In- ter-County Blitz winners from the Galway Blitz.

As this is the 75th Year of Clare Camogie, the board have intro- duced the inaugural Club Star Awards. “These are a small to- ken of the appreciation which the board has for those who work so hard at club level but may never reach county teams, but without whom clubs would not survive,’ explained a spokesperson.

The medal and award recipients have been asked to be in the Au- burn Lodge for 7.30pm for a photo call, and presentation to begin at 8pm with buffet and disco after- SE K6 he

THE CASE OF a 29-year-old man who admitted sexually assaulting four of his cousins over 10 years ago will not be finalised for a year, as he continues to receive treatment.

The accused, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, pleaded guilty to 14 charges at Ennis District Court.

He admitted eight charges in rela- tion to one cousin; three charges in relation to another; two charges in relation to another and one charge in relation to another cousin.

The incidents occurred between 1995 and 1996 when the girls were aged between eight and 10.

The accused was a teenager at the nb eelon

The case initially came before the district court a year ago and was ad- journed to last Friday.

Counsel for the accused, Mark N1- cholas, BL, told Ennis District Court on Friday, that his client had pleaded ean iA

He said that a preliminary report from the Grenada Institute had been presented in court a year ago and an updated report was now available.

He said that while there was no

minimising what had happened, the report was “very positive.”

He said there had not been any in- cidents prior to or after the offences before the court.

Mr Nicholas told Judge Leo Malone that the issue of compensation had been addressed and €26,000 had been accumulated.

“The real tragedy in this 1s that it has divided a close family and that 1s irreparable,” he said.

Judge Malone said he sympathised with the victims and said he had read the reports from the Grenada Insti- tute and the probation service.

He said it was in the accused’s fa- vour that he was very young when the offences were committed and said it appeared that he 1s addressing his difficulties.

‘Because of the content of the Gre- nada Institute report, I am not going to finalise the case today. I need to be satisfied he has carried out all the treatment available to him and that he is not a danger to others,” said the judge.

He adjourned the case for a year and ordered that the accused con- tinue to attend the Grenada Institute and remain under the supervision of the probation service.

THE appointment of Micheal Mc- Dermott as new Clare senior football manager might just be a rallying call for an upsurge in the fortunes of the flagship football team in the county — that was the message delivered to the county board meeting on Tuesday by chairman Michael O’Neill as he con- firmed that the Cavan man has been given a one-year term in the post.

“It’s an indication of the interest we had in the post that there were four in the running,’ said O’Neill “and it went right down to the wire. We made a mighty trawl. We had Aidan Moloney, Michael Lillis, Micheal McDermott and Ger Lawlor. Aidan informed me last Friday he was pull- ing out of the contest. Micheal Mc- Dermott will manage the team with Liam McHale and James Foran, while one other person will be added to the team.

“T would appeal to football people. Every effort was made with this ap- pointment and we want anyone who has any ambitions to wear the coun- ty jersey to come forward,” added O’Neill.

Meanwhile, Munster Council del- egate PJ McGuane, who was part of

the committee that selected the new manager, said Clare must aim high in 2010. “The carrot is there,’ said McGuane, “because we are in Divi- sion 4 with Waterford and Limerick, while we play Waterford in the first round of the championship and if we beat them we have Limerick in the semi-final.

“The league will be a great barom- eter of our progress. Our first game

is against Wicklow. That will be a barometer. I would ask everyone to throw their weight behind the team for the next year.

“We are a Small county with a small pick but there’s an old saying that if you don’t aim high, you won’t strike high,’ added McGuane.

A MAN who upturned a table in a garda station, damaging a computer monitor, was sentenced to ten weeks in jail for his outburst.

Gordon Collins of Cahercallamore, Ennis, appeared before the District Court in Killaloe after spending a week in jail for an outburst in the court the previous week.

Collins pleaded guilty to a number of charges including public order of- fences and criminal damage to the computer at Ennis Garda Station and public order charges.

Judge Joseph Mangan heard, gardai were called to Cahecalla Es- tate, where they found the accused “drunk, extremely abusive and threatening and arguing with neigh- bours”’.

Because of his condition, he was arrested and taken into custody but while in the garda station, he over- turned a table in the custody area causing ©200 worth of damage to the computer monitor.

His solicitor told the court that Mr Collins, who has a number of previ- ous convictions, including some for public order offences, had “been in

jail for the last six days and has seen what lies ahead of him if he doesn’t mend his ways’”’.

The solicitor said that Mr Collins has “considerable difficulties. He has been diagnosed with an anti-social behaviour disorder and was pre- scribed medication. Unfortunately he has developed an addiction to those drugs and he sometimes mixes them with alcohol.”

Judge Mangan sentenced him to jail for the criminal damage charge and set bail at his own bond of €600 with an independent surety of 600 in the event of an appeal.

THOUSANDS of Clare farmers are still unable to make any provisions for 2010 as the future of the REPS scheme remains in doubt.

The Department of Agriculture failed to release any information on the possible restructure of the scheme at last week’s Teagasc REPS conference prompting the IFA to ac- cuse the Government of dragging its feat on the scheme.

The Department of Agriculture has been involved in a consultation proc- ess on the future of the scheme with stakeholders for more than three Tae) el ete

“It is high time the Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, in- structs his department to put in place a meaningful scheme for the 30,000 farmers who will be leaving REPS 3 over the next two years,” said IFA Rural Development Chairman, Tom shitelars

“The allocation of funding indi- cated, over the next four years of the scheme, is woefully inadequate and will translate into payment levels that will make the scheme unattrac- tive to farmers.”

Meanwhile, Minister Smith was talking up the importance of the Irish agri-food sector at last week’s

Ireland the Food Island Awards.

“The Irish food industry is deeply embedded in the Irish economy and is vital to our future. It draws on our natural resources and the expertise of key market players to produce nearly one third of the net export earnings from primary and manufacturing industry which are so vital to our economy,’ he said.

‘‘As a sector where huge investment has been made in high standards of food safety and quality, it is also well placed to continue to contribute to the food security of millions beyond WOT EsDOLem

“Developing strong business rela- tionships through the supply chain, leveraging the capability in food re- search now available in the country and considering strategic consolida- tion can contribute to holding current markets and positioning the industry for growth in the new markets, which will emerge in the upturn.”

Minister Smith said the shape of the CAP post 2013 will also impact on the future of the agri-food industry. Food security and climate change will represent key global challenges requiring a strategic and joined up approach. They will also influence the ongoing work on the 2020 strat- egy for the development of the Irish agri-food sector.

A 29-YEAR-OLD father of three went back to taking drugs after be- ing warned by gardai that his life was in danger because his name was on a ‘hit list’.

Edward McCarthy, of Cliona Park, Limerick pleaded guilty before Kil- laloe District Court to driving while under the influence of drugs.

Judge Joseph Mangan heard that the drug cannabis had been detected in his sytem after he was stopped by exN Oren

The court heard that Mr McCarthy

had previous convictions, some of which had resulted in his serving a long prison sentence.

His solicitor told the court that Mr McCarthy had “not been tak- ing drugs for a considerable period after he came out of prison. He was advised by gardai that his name was on a ‘hit list’ and that his life was in danger. This put him under a lot of pressure and he started smoking cannabis again.”

Judge Mangan fined Mr McCarthy €1,000 and disqualified him from driving for four years.

THE people of Clare are willing to pay for the long-term sustainability of some of the county’s most under threat natural environments.

According to anew survey commis- sioned by the Carron-based Burren- LIFE project, which was presented at the organisation’s seminar in Gort yesterday, it is estimated that the public was willing to pay farmers as much as €842 per hectare if it meant the protection of the biodiversity of the Burren.

“Using internationally recognised researched methods, we have been able to show that the Irish taxpayer

is willing to pay farmers to continue to deliver these services,” said head researcher Tom van Rensburg.

“This is a really interesting find- ing at a time when the national REP Scheme has been closed to new en- Wee D ea

The research also showed that the farming for conservation methods practiced as part of the BurrenLIFE’s method would improve water quality in the area.

The research found that many farm fields in the study did not have nutrient inputs that exceed the re- quirements of the animals and grass erowth. Areas at risk are those sub- ject to point sources of contamina-

tion, such as round feeders for silage, animals having access to streams and springs.

Other findings presented yesterday include those of Dr James Moran of Sligo IT who, together with Teagasc officials, developed a tailored feed- ing system using [rish-sourced GM- free ingredients to sustain cattle on Burren hills over the winter.

BurrenLIFE’s Dr Sharon Parr showcased some of the initial find- ings of the BLP’s ecological moni- toring work. This work indicated that grazing can help increase biodiver- sity of limestone grasslands but that scrub encroachment remains a major problem in the Burren, one that will

require direct intervention.

“Burren farmers are piloting a farm- ing system which has significantly increased their household income level through on-farm conservation measures including the maintenance of dry-stone walls, scrub removal work and the development of ‘con- servation grade’ Burren beef and lamb,’ said Ruairi O Conchuir of the BurrenLIFE Project.

The pilot phase of the EC LIFE Nature funded project is scheduled to finish in January 2010. Funding has been allocated for the roll-out of conservation farming in the area but no additional funding has been al- located as an operational budget for

BurrenLIFE.

“We can show that the Burren- LIFE model of farming can help increase biodiversity on our farms while maintaining animal health, water quality and farmer income,” said BurrenLIFE Project Manager, Brendan Dunford.

“What’s more, we know the costs involved in this and we now know that society is willing to meet these costs as they generate significant public benefits.”