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SPEAKING just before last Wednes- day budget, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, announced the commencement of balancing payments under the 2007 Single Payment Scheme.

She explained that for the majority of applicants under the Single Pay- ment Scheme, these payments, worth in excess of €575 million, represent the balancing 50 per cent payment due under the Scheme. This brings the total amount paid under the 2007 Single Payment Scheme to in excess of €1.1 billion with a further €250 million paid under the Disadvan- taged Areas Scheme.

“Following my approach to the

Commissioner earlier this year, agreement was reached on a 50 per cent advance payment, payable from 16 October last,” she said.

“IT was particularly conscious that the difficult weather conditions for farming, which prevailed in the late spring and summer, had adversely affected farmers’ cash flows.”

Minister Coughlan confirmed that she is continuing to press the Eu- ropean Commission, as part of the CAP Health Check negotiations, to amend the Regulations in order to provide for an earlier payment date for the full amount of the Single Pay- ment in future years.

She also confirmed that payments will continue to be processed by her Department in the coming weeks.

Coughlan said that almost half of the payments under the Single Payment Scheme are being paid directly into farmers’ bank accounts.

Under current European Commis- sion requirements, from mid October 2008 all payments to farmers must be made to a bank account so this is effectively the last year that the Sin- gle Payment Scheme will be paid by cheque.

She pointed out that her Depart- ment has written to farmers, still be- ing paid by cheque, requesting the submission of the authorisation to make payments to a bank account in order to meet this requirement.

The minister urged farmers to re- spond to this request and return their bank details to the department as

soon as possible.

“Tam greatly encouraged by the re- sponse of farmers to the introduction of this facility, which was introduced on a somewhat restricted basis for the 2007 Schemes.”

‘“‘However, given its success, I am determined that the facility will be vigorously promoted in advance of the closing date for the 2008 Schemes,” she said.

“It is my intention that all Single Payment and Disadvantaged Areas Scheme applicants will be written to in the coming weeks, outlining the benefits of the on-line facility for submitting applications and explain- ing the process of getting signed up to avail of it.”

WITH the older age categories of the Clare Juvenile Handball League now under way, last Thursday evening saw the start of the Under 11 age groups.

In action on the night were three Clooney teams held at the handball complex in Clooney. With action commencing at 6.00pm, Clooney | got off to a flying start when they overcame a very formidable Clooney 3 team on a 55 to 31 score line.

Next saw a real battle between Clooney 2 & 3 respectively with the former coming out on top to claim the win on a 52 to 45 scoreline.

Last but not least, Clooney 1, con- sisting of Fergal & Natasha Cough- lan, Barry Loughnane, Tadgh Shana- han, Emily Moloney and Luke Keane claimed full honours on the night by

claiming victory over Clooney 2 on a 57 to 45 scoreline.

In the under 13 A section, Tulla overcame Kilkishen on a scoreline of 60 to 45, while in the B Category Clooney | were victorious in their two matches, while Tuamgraney de- feated Tulla in their match on a win- ning score of 60 to 40.

Kilkishen 1 came out on top in an all club affair by defeating both Kil- kishen2 and Kilkishen 3 teams. Tua- mgraney also got the better of Kilk- ishen 2 team and ran off winners on a 60 to 19 scoreline.

Finally, but not least there was great news in The Munster Clare Schools Competion which was held at Tulla last Sunday, when Clare retained the A & B titles respectively. This is great news for Juvenile Handball in Clare and proves that handball is still strong at this level.

A SHANNON man who was found with a haul of cannabis resin in the boot of his car on the M50 in Dub- lin last year, has been jailed for 10 years.

Ernest Murphy (39) of Inis Ealga, Shannon, was caught with two bales containing 460 ‘nine-ounce bars’ of the drug in the boot of his car on the M50 at Ballymun. The drugs were valued at €815,000 and were des- tined for the Limerick market.

He had just picked up the haul from aman who arrived in a van at a near- by petrol station. The man advised Murphy it would be to his own ben- efit not to ask what was in the bales.

Murphy, who has worked as a bod- yguard for so-called ‘celebrities and dignitaries’, pleaded guilty to pos- session of the cannabis resin for sale or supply on March 4, 2006.

Judge Patricia Ryan at Dublin Cir- cuit Criminal Court suspended the final three years of the sentence hav- ing taken into account Murphy’s co- operation with the investigation and garda evidence that he was acting as a courier rather than a drug dealer.

She also accepted that a psycholo- gist report before the court indicated he was at a low risk of re-offending.

Detective Garda John Fitzgerald told the court that Murphy’s vehicle SE TOMm olocHOMMIDIC(OUMIIU ACUI DIGomEA-NEKOE

gardai were given a description of the car, its registration details and an indication of where it was going to be.

Murphy later told gardai he had received a phonecall earlier that day and was told to meet “a fella” at Port-

laoise. On arrival there, he was told to drive to Dublin and while en route he got other phonecalls which di- rected him to a petrol station on the Dublin-Belfast road.

Det Gda Fitzgerald said that when Murphy arrived there a van pulled in

and a man loaded the drugs into the boot of his car.

Murphy admitted to gardai that he suspected it was drugs but he didn’t know what type. “Your man wasn’t saying much,” he said.

Murphy had no previous convic-

tions and said he didn’t get paid for transporting the drugs.

Defence counsel Conor Devally said Murphy was “very far removed from those involved” and that as far as the hierarchy in drug operations went he was “as low as you can go”. “He was acourier,”’ said Det Gda Fit- zgerald.

Det Gda Fitzgerald agreed that Murphy was of the belief that the drugs were destined for Limerick. He said it would be “not too far off the mark” to describe Murphy as be- ing a vulnerable man who was easily ere

Mr Devally said Murphy had mar- ried at a very young age and his wife left him six years later to form ‘a permanent relationship” with his older brother. He was then effective- ly estranged from his two daughters but had since got back in contact wets aetss0eF

Mr Devally said he was “very re- morseful for finding himself as a cog in a very significant event” and added that he got sucked into some- thing that he should never have got into but he didn’t back out of it when he should have.

IN what is being heralded as a major moral victory in the campaign to ban imports of Brazilian beef, the Oire- achtas Joint Committee on Agricul- ture last Thursday backed the Irish Farmers Association’s (IFA) Brazil- ian Beef plan.

The IFA plan received unanimous Support from the cross party com- mittee.

“The latest EU Commission Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) report on Brazil contains irrefutable evi- dence that Brazilian beef imports fail to meet EU standards on that critical animal health and consumer issues of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and traceability,” said IFA President,

Padriag Walshe, addressing the com- mittee.

“Commissioner Kyprianou now has the detailed evidence of serious deficiencies in Brazilian controls from his own veterinary experts. He cannot continue to expose the EU to unnecessary risks and has no choice but to impose a ban on Brazilian beef into Europe.”

Mr Walshe told the committee that the primary focus of the IFA cam- paign is about the failure of Brazil to meet European Union production standards and food safety controls.

He said there must be a level play- ing field on standards for European producers and the current policy of double standards on imports was un- tenable.

“In fact, if the Department of Ag- riculture found the Brazilian failures on an Irish farm, the animals would be destroyed and removed from the food chain; the farmer could face court proceedings, and a possible jail Sentence,” he continued.

The IFA President said the FVO report fully vindicates IFA’s own findings and our insistence that there should be a total ban on all Brazilian beef imports into Europe.

In the European Parliament in Oc- tober, the EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou stated, if the situation in Brazil did not improve, then ‘the EU will take the necessary action includ- ing the implementation of a ban on beef imports by the end of this year’.

In presenting the detail contained in the latest FVO report, Walshe said the Brazilian FMD controls are total- ly inadequate and their vaccination is haphazard, jeopardising certification of beef exports to the EU.

He said the Brazilian traceability and movement controls are a sham- bles. Regionalisation has failed and the FVO found “meat from an animal declared non-EU eligible formed part of a consignment exported to the EU’.

Environmentalists have linked the five-fold increase in beef exports from Brazil in recent years with the rapid destruction of the rainforests in the Pantanal and Amazon regions that is a major cause of global cli- mate change.

THE keynote address to the Bord na nOg Convention in the Auburn Lodge Hotel on Thursday night by chairman Sean O’Halloran carried with it a veiled attack on high profile county managers who have criticised underage hurling in the county.

And, it could be that Ger Loughnane was the main target in the line of O’Halloran’s fire, given that earlier this year the former Clare manager lowered his blade on underage struc- tures in Clare.

“When you see a coach with an under 14 team and he’s putting fellas over hurdles and he’s running long laps,’ said Loughnane in a broadside before Galway’s All-Ireland qualifier against Clare in Cusack Park.

‘“There’s no staged development here in Clare. When young lads go from under 14, the next thing they’re

doing senior training. Next thing they’re totally pissed off with this kind of stuff.

“IT see a coach in north Clare and I saw a team he’d been coaching for three years and a least half of them were holding the hurley with the wrong hand on top. This is madness. There is no supervision whatsoever so how are you going to have devel- opment,” added Loughnane.

It wasn’t his first time to launch a scathing attack on underage struc- tures in the county, as he famously told The Clare People in 2005 that “they’re running off games. I think it’s absolutely scandalous that an un- der 14 club team beaten in the cham- pionship in May will not be playing again until next year. It’s a complete joke.

“The worst thing is this — the hurl- ing officer, who is elected in Clare, can be totally incompetent and has

been for the past 10 or 15 years and yet this officer is elected year after year just because he wants a position on the executive.” ;

Two years on, the Bord na nOg Con- vention was when Sean O’Halloran hit back. “It is regrettable in the high- est echelons of team management see fit to castigate underage hurling in this county on a regular basis,” he said in his annual report.

‘Their undoubted ability and exper- tise would be much better served by adopting a more proactive approach to the promotion and development of our games at this tender age.

O’ Halloran the evoked an old Irish proverb when saying “Mar a deir- eann an sean-fhocail ‘Is are scath a

ye]

chéile a mhaireann na daoine’.

ENNIS is to get a new bridge across the River Fergus if ambitious new plans by a Galway company are to lpTom usr NER oren

This follows Briarlane Develop- ment Ltd lodging plans for a major extension to the Abbey Hostel near the town’s Club Bridge.

As part of the proposal, the com- pany is seeking permission to erect a footbridge across the River Fergus

to link the development to the Abbey Street carpark.

The developers are proposing a 120-bunkbed extension to the exist- ing hostel building in a four-floor extension which will include res- taurant, internet café and a wine bar with all ancillary services.

The latest application by Briarlane follows An Bord Pleanala refusing the company planning permission for a contentious plan promising to transform the Ennis skyline and

provide a €25 million riverside erate

Earlier this year, Ennis Town Coun- cil gave the go-ahead for the ambi- tious project in spite of warnings from Conservation Officer, Risteard UaCronin that the plan “has the po- tential to do irreparable damage to a very attractive and uniquely ancient oo) TAIAYAN Kenya tae

This was endorsed last September by the appeals board which ruled that the proposal would seriously in-

jure the visual amenities of the area and the character of the architectural heritage area.

The development involved a six- storey building opposite the Abbey Street car-park, as well as a 30-bed- room hotel, 58 apartments and a pedestrian bridge across the River Fergus.

The board also ruled that the pro- posed apartments in one of the apartment blocks would result in poor quality accommodation and

would seriously injure the residential amenities of future occupants and of property in the vicinity.

The new planning application marks the latest attempt by the Gal- way based company to develop the site.

Plans were first lodged to develop the entire site in 2004. This follows a previous application for develop- ment of the site being turned down by the council and An Bord Pleanala new lOey

THE Government are to blame for the rampant spread of cocaine throughout Clare, according to north Clare county councillor, Martin Con- eM a OaF

Cllr Conway yesterday blamed the Department of Education for failing to take drugs education seriously in

schools.

“The Government seems to be completely missing the point when it comes to day-to-day education on the dangers of drugs. They are all fo- cused on points instead of the prac- tical things like drug education and road safety,” he said.

“They are so caught up with the whole Catholic Ethos on sex educa-

tion but yet when something is really important, something like this that is actually killing people, it isn’t a proper part of the school cycle.

“I know as a matter of fact that co- caine 1s rampant in north Clare, from Spanish Point all the way up to Bal- lyvaughan. The best we can do 1s ap- peal to the children about it.

“The whole Katy French incident

has focused the minds of everyone on the issue of drugs. Some people may have seen it as something that does not effect their lives, but every parent needs to look into their soul and ask is their child involved with drugs. It all needs to starts at home.”

Cllr Conway has called for a major overhaul of the Department of Edu- cation’s treatment of drugs and for the establishment of a targeted co- caine awareness campaign.

“It is alarming that cocaine use has become fashionable, particularly among the young.

“Cocaine has infiltrated all sec- tors of society, from professionals to young people in school or col- lege. That view must be dispelled by adopting a new approach to Ireland’s erowing drug culture.

“The drug barons and dealers are only interested in making money and do not care about the consequences for those who take drugs.

“We need a two-strand approach involving education and early inter- vention schemes in the community. The Government’s current educa- tional programmes are not working as effectively as they should.

‘There has been no systematic re- view of the effect of public aware- ness campaigns and these must be immediately overhauled.”

VOLUNTEERISM within coaching and management structures operated by Bord na nOg Iomaint could be at an end, because key men involved with county teams are being in dan- ger of being enticed “more lucrative” opportunities at club level.

Chairman Sean O’ Halloran praised the outstanding contributions made by those involved with the various underage teams, but warned that it can no longer be expected to give of their time for nothing.

“Development Squads and associ- ated County teams continue to be an integral part of the

Board’s rea ata La Coreae noted O’Halloran in his address to Con- vention. “A huge amount of time and effort 1s put in by the respective men- tors and even though we didn’t have the same success as in 2006, there are reasons for optimism.

“East Clare U-l6s were defeated in the Munster Divisional Final af- ter a replay, while the U-15s won the Shield in the Carrigdoun Tourna- ment. The U-14s didn’t qualify for the knockout states of the Tony For- ristal Tournament. Credit for these squads must go to Gerry O’Connor, Donal Moloney, P. J. Kelliher, Ea- mon Fennessy, Alan Cunningham, Brendan McNamara, Pat ‘Taaffe, Sean Sheehan, Sean Chaplin, Tomas Kelly, Pat McNamara, Donal Mc- Grath and Eoin Ruane.

“It is important to note these men-

tors do this work in a totally voluntary capacity and this has to be acknowl- edged. However, the time has come when these volunteers will have to receive some form of remuneration to cover out of pocket expenses.

“It has become increasingly diffi- cult to acquire the services of those people as many of them have drifted into the club scene which is more lucrative. Surely a percentage of the monies acquired by coaching and games should be specifically directed towards squads,’ added O’ Halloran.

The chairman also highlight- ed the need for further coaching initiatives.’ The whole area of coach- ing needs to be looked as the number of Games Promotion Officer (GPQOs) in the county who, despite doing Tro- jan work, is not sufficient to cover the demands of primary and post prima- ry schools.

‘Furthermore, many clubs could benefit from the services of those GPOs on a temporary basis in con- junction with the own coaching of- ficer to put proper coaching struc- tures in place.

“A clearly defined coaching policy for respective age groups would be of enormous benefit to clubs as it would bring equality and uniformity. The county’s allocation of funding accrued from use of Croke Park by rugby and soccer could be utilised in the whole area of games promotion and development,” he added.

CLARE County Council is bracing itself for a fire-fighters strike and has drawn up a contingency plan in case personnel in Ennis go ahead with the threatened action.

The Labour Relations Commission has already intervened in the dispute which could still see fire-fighters at the county’s busiest fire station go on strike before Christmas. Both sides met at LRC convened conciliation talks last Thursday but the meeting broke up without resolution.

The council was issued with strike notice last week by SIPTU, follow- ing claims that the local authority has breached agreements and refused to agree to the appointment of an arbi- trator to resolve long-standing issues.

SIPTU’s Clare County and Health Service Branch Organiser, Tony Kenny said, ““We have issued notice of official industrial action regarding our members of the Retained Fire Service in Ennis. We believe that in recent dealings, Clare County Coun- cil have breached agreements in spirit and content, transgressed the line of natural justice and put undue pressure on our members.”

Clare County Council’s Director of Services, Mr Ger Dollard said, the threat of action remains in place and formal notice is being taken ser1- ously.

“We are proceeding with contin- gency plans which will be in place

in the event of industrial action aris- ing. We have also sought engagement from SIPTU in relation to essential

cover which is a requirement under the LRC – Disputes Procedures for Essential Services.”

“The council participated in over two and a half hours of discussions on Thursday last, facilitated by the

LRC. On Friday, the council received notification from SIPTU indicating that the notice for industrial action would not now expire until Decem- ber 18,’ Mr Dollard added,

Ennis fire station, the largest and busiest in Clare, is a part-time serv- ice which responded to 570 calls last year alone in a catchment area with a population of 60,000 people. SIPTU also believes that the issue of provid- ing ‘day manning’ or making Ennis a full-time service also needs to be looked at.

At any one time, nine of the sta- tion’s 15 part-time personnel are on call, which only leaves six positions free for all staff to share for time-off, holidays, sick leave, course leave and special time. That complement has recently been reduced to 13, with one person on leave and another relieved of duty because he has not yet passed his truck-driving test.

Both sides are expected to meet again in the coming days under the auspices of the LRC and SIPTU spokesman, Tony Kenny also con- firmed that at the request of the LRC, the union has agreed to extend the expiry date for industrial action until December 18.

A FINE Gael TD yesterday raised the spectre of criminals with outstand- ing warrants for their arrests roam- ing free in the Clare countryside.

According to Deputy Joe Carey, the criminal justice system is failing people living in these rural areas who are becoming increasingly afraid of being victims of crime. Deputy Carey was responding to revelations that there are over 2,100 outstanding warrants in existence from the Clare area.

In the Dail last week, the Minister of Justice, Brian Lenihan revealed that there are 2,145 outstanding war- rants in Clare.

The breakdown of the figures show that there are 1,521 penal warrants outstanding, 541 bench warrants and 83 committal warrants.

Committal warrants relate to peo- ple convicted of offences in their ab- sence and who should be in prison but have not been arrested, while bench warrants are issued for people who have not turned up in court to answer a charge against them.

In response, Deputy Carey said, “I think these figures clearly show that the Gardai need increased resources to help them do their work compre- hensively and effectively.”

He added, ““The increases are wor- rying particularly as the number of warrants are increasing by about 25 per cent each year. In rural ar- eas, people are rightly worried that criminals with outstanding warrants, who should be in prison, are roam- ing free.

“These people should be brought to justice otherwise they will con-

tinue to re-offend and be a menace to society.”

Deputy Carey added, “The number of outstanding warrants in Clare is equivalent to the population of a large rural town. That is not accept- able. The system is failing people, particularly in rural areas, who are increasingly afraid of being victims of crime.”

A total of 111,453 court warrants remain outstanding nationally, in- cluding 36,000 bench warrants, is- sued after arrested people have failed to turn up in court.