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GENERAL practitioners in Clare had a bonanza last year with total payments to the county’s doctors exceeding €11 million for the first mb eaten

According to figures exclusively re- vealed to The Clare People under the Freedom of Information Act, total payments to the 41 doctors partici- pating in the scheme increased by 8 per cent on the 2007figures.

Dr Michael Kelleher’s practice in Lahinch was the top Clare earner with €379,094 in fees and €85,137

in practice support.

Three practices received over €350,000 – Dr Martin Fitzgerald who received a total of €384,077; Dr Jocelyn Ellis who received a total of €366,215 and Dr William O’Connell who received €351,602.

The figures — supplied by the HSE’s Primary Care Reimbursement Board — show that a further seven doctors received between €300,000 and €350,000. They are Dr Eugene Casey who received €346,843; Dr Patrick Bugler received €344,024; Dr Colm Hackett received €341,740; Dr Fer- gus Glynn received €321,/67, Dr

Anthony Cox received €320,968; Dr Blathneid Regan received €318,145 and Dr John O’Donnell received Sel OlsMeb ee

Eight doctors received total fees between €300,000 and €250,000 – Dr Conor Hanrahan who received €296,396; Dr Mary E O’ Sullivan re- ceived €294,311; Dr Michael Harty who received €289,177, Dr Manus Maguire who received €280,800; Dr Conor Fanning who received €272,650; Dr Raymond O’Connor who received €270,202; Dr Eoin Curtin received €269,274 and Dr Eric Carr who received €252,830.

A further 13 doctors received payments between €200,000 and €250,000, while a further 10 doctors received payments of €100,000 and €200,000 with six doctors receiving less than €100,000.

The fees set out in the HSE report are global figures and practice ex- penses have to be deducted from the amounts concerned. They reflect the cost of the provision of comprehen- SUAIoM od ISHN Um ov u-KeL NI M(ONS) MENTO MIA Leo MO LELI do not represent income for individ- ual doctors.

The practice support grants made available to doctors contribute to

the cost of the provision of practice nurses and secretaries.

They do not cover the provision of premises or other bills such as heat, light or insurance.

However, the figures do not include any payments made to GPs in respect of treating private patients.

Just over one quarter of citizens are covered by the medical card, about half are covered by private medical insurance and one quarter have no Oo

The cost of each new medical card issued by the HSE in 2008 was €1,650.

THE county final against St Senan’s Kilkee was only a few seconds over and Micheal McDermott was al- ready casting an eye into his crystal ball – rather than dwell on the signifi- cance of back-to-back championship triumphs he preferred to talk more about Munster.

That meant Dromcollogher-Broad- ford – the team that brought the cur- tain crashing down on Kilmurry’s unbeaten year that December 7 day in The Gaelic Grounds.

“Tt will take very little motivation to get our lads ready for a game against Drom-Broadford,” he said.

How right he was, something that was hammered home in decisive fashion over this hour of football.

“Yes they’re worthy Munster cham- pions but we felt that we left it behind us in The Gaelic Grounds last year,” said McDermott seconds after this 0- 11 to O-5 victory.

“We wanted another crack at them and knew all week that there would be no better motivating factor for us than to have them a here in Pairc

Naomh Mhuire.”

Cue Kilmurry’s most impressive championship display since last year’s demolition job on St Senan’s Kilkee in the county semi-final.

“People say that we didn’t play well in the county semi-final, that we didn’t play well in the county final. People can say what they like, but the Monday week after the county final we went out and destroyed a top- quality University of Limerick side.

“That night I said to Gerard (Mc- Carthy) and to Martin (Cahill) that ‘we’re getting right for this game against Drom-Broadford on Sunday week. We knew that this perform- ance was in us — it was a tremendous performance by everyone out there. They all produced.

“It was the best 60 minutes of the year — what better day to do it than a Munster championship game in our home ground against the Munster champions.

“It was a very strong wind and the one thing I told them was not to be thinking that they had to hit score after score quickly. It was a case of concentrating and then whenever the

scoring opportunities came it was a matter of taking them.

‘They took enough of those chanc- es in the first-half to give us a good lead. When we played in the Munster final we didn’t take our chances and that was the difference between the two sides.

“The most important was not to concede a goal in the second-half — we achieved that and the most sat- isfying thing was once we sucked them into a battle we knew we’d be able to turnover ball and get our own chances.”

It means that Kilmurry now go on the road to Stradbally in two weeks time – in what will be a repeat of the 2004 Munster final that went to a re- play in Tipperary Town before Kil- murry won the day.

‘Tough assignment,’ was McDer- mott’s initial reaction. “Waterford club football is very strong. We’re under no illusions as to the task fac- ing us down in Waterford. We’re up there to be knocked after beating the Munster champions. We have two weeks to prepare and try to get to a Munster final.”

TEACHERS, students and _ local businesses have all contributed to the total revamp of the Ennistymon Vocational School playground which was officially reopened last week. Students from the nearby Mol an Oige National School were invited by the vocational school to join in the opening of the facility. The de- velopment was made possible, not only through Department of Educa- tion funding but also the efforts of local people.

Indeed, much of the work for the playground took place over the sum- mer months – with staff and students pitching in to lend a hand.

One of the centre points for the new facility is a large handball alley, com- pletely re-plastered by Barry Chap- man with the assistance of teachers and students. The alley was then dec- orated with a mural completed by art teachers Bairbre Geraghty and Edel Hogan with the help of a number of students.

A number of local businesses helped out in the fundraising effort with Daly’s Pub raising €700 on Arthur Guinness’ Day, a golf classic – sup- ported by numerous local businesses – at the Lahinch Castle Course, while the students also raised much needed finances with a sponsored walks, a run and a church gate collection.

Meanwhile, the students also used

the day to mark their participation in SEV ONE ESM oro.e

Maddie Paine from the Samaritans spoke about the Christmas shoe box appeal, while Glen Guilfoyle from Clare Youth Service spoke to the students on developing the mental health initiative and policy in the school.

Indeed the school has been making strides in this area in recent times with a welfare care team hosting weekly meetings and different coun- selling services being made available for students.

In recent weeks, a young men’s eroup has been established which allows students to talk and get help from their peers.

“We take Mental Health Week very seriously. It 1s an opportunity to fo- cus On us aS acommunity of not just teachers and students but as a group of people coming together as a unit of care and understanding,” said a school spokesperson.

“As one student remarked during last year’s Mental Health Week in the school: we are like one big fam- raed

The school also used the day to present a cheque for €200 to Patrick Bogue of Clare Crusaders. The mon- ey will go to the Clare Crusaders’ Barefield-based clinic where spe- Cialists treatment is provided to more than 120 children.

ENNIS Leisure Complex has been honoured by the leisure industry for a decade of high standards.

The centre retained its White Flag status at the annual Institute of Le1- sure and Amenity Management (ILAM) White Flag Awards in Dub- lin last month.

It marks the 10th year in a row that the centre has been awarded white flag status, a national hygiene and operational standard for leisure fa- TELA Cone

In order to receive the award, En- nis Leisure Complex was judged on facilities for disabled users, staff training and qualifications, facilities on site, services provided, swimming water quality and record keeping, re-

cycling initiatives and in-house pro- Tel Kene

Inspection visits and audits are car- ried out throughout the year to the leisure centre, by an auditor under the auspices of ILAM. Inspections on management codes of practice, policies, facilities interior and exte- rior are also carried out.

Centre manager, Jackie Coote ex- plained that management, staff and customers worked hard to achieve high marks in each category as the standards increase year after year.

She added, “Ennis Leisure Com- plex caters for all sectors of the com- munity from the younger child to the older adult. Our competitive prices reflect good value catering for stu- dents, aqua tots, teenagers, adults and golden years. We provide both

membership rates or pay as you go admission prices to the gym and the pools.”

Ennis Leisure Complex is run by Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.

Daily usages now exceed 600 visits with clients availing of two swim- ming pools, two sauna and steam rooms, aerobics hall and large gym area.

This year’s White Flag Awards, which are supported by Ireland’s largest insurer Hibernian Aviva, were presented by Minister for State Aine Brady TD at a gala dinner hosted by RTE’s Michael Lyster in the Burling- ton Hotel, Dublin on October 23.

A record number of facilities ap- plied for the 2010 White Flag Award, with 87 leisure facilities achieving

the standard and being presented with a 2010 White Flag. Leisure fa- cilities in 23 counties were presented with the prestigious award.

Kilian Fisher, CEO of ILAM said, ‘There are over 650 leisure facilities in Ireland and the White Flag Award TEM DO Monicos 110C-D mb oer-De GRO JMmeLUr-UbIR ama er:TI any gym, swimming pool, spa or lei- sure facility must strive to achieve. It is a clear sign that the leisure facility has high standards and employs staff who operate to the industry code of practice.”

MEMBERS of Ennis Town Council have overwhelmingly rejected a mo- tion calling for Ennis to withdraw from the RAPID scheme.

After a heated debate at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, councillors voted by a margin of sev- en to two against the motion submit- ted by Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind).

Cllr Guilfoyle had called for the Council to withdraw from RAPID — a government initiative that provides funding for projects in 51 urban ar- eas around Ireland — because the De- partment of Gaeltacht, Community and Social Affairs refers to them as “disadvantaged” areas.

Cllr Guilfoyle told the meeting that there was a stigma attached to the term and said it was unfair that areas of Ennis should be referred to as dis- advantaged.

Opposing the motion, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said RAPID funding had enabled the council to install and carry out numerous works projects including white lighting, all-weather pitches, panic buttons in the homes of elderly people and playgrounds.

“There 1s no such thing as disadvan- taged areas. These are all figments of Mickey’s imagination. I have no intention of denying the people of Ennis of money coming down from Dublin,” said Cllr Brennan.

Town Clerk, Eddie Power said “‘dis- advantaged” was not mentioned in the description of the RAPID pro- gramme. He said the programme had resulted in “huge investment” to benefit communities in Ennis.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said he could not support a motion he de- scribed as “unfortunate”, “ill thought out and ill informed”.

‘“T do not want to be associated with

this motion” he said.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said resi- dential areas should not be referred to as disadvantaged. However he added that Ennis should continue in RAPID because it served as “mecha- nism to draw down funding”.

Cllr Guilfoyle’s motion was backed by Mayor of Ennis Frankie Neylon (Ind) who raised concerns over the structure of RAPID in Ennis.

In response, Cllr Flynn told the meeting that Ennis had been high- lighted as one of the most successful RAPID areas in the country. “As a process it is very transparent and it has been externally audited.”

Town Manager, Ger Dollard told the meeting that RAPID had been very successful in Ennis.

Clir Guilfoyle then challenged councillors to vote, angrily claiming that councillors were voting to keep people “down and living in disadvan-

taged areas’. His comments drew a stern response from Cllr Brennan, who reminded him that the motion to be voted on concerned the proposed withdrawal of Ennis from the RAP- ID programme.

The debate concluded on a stormy note with Cllr Guilfoyle referring to Cllr Meaney as “a clown”. Cllr Meaney requested that Cllr Guil- foyle provide “some background” to his comment. Cllr Guilfoyle claimed Cllr Meaney had been called a clown on local radio.

A vote was taken with seven coun- cillors — Cllr Tommy Brennan, Cllr Peter Considine, Cllr Johnny Flynn, Cllr Mary Coote Ryan, Cllr Mary Howard, Cllr Brian Meaney and Cllr Paul O’Shea — voting against. Two councillors, Cllr Michael Guillfoyle and Cllr Frankie Neylon, voted in favor of Ennis withdrawing from RAPID.

A MAN has been convicted of pub- lic order in what a court heard was a volatile and hot-tempered atmos- phere during the Matchmaking Fes- tival in Lisdoonvarna.

Fergal Neylon, of Laghtagoona, Corofin, was convicted of engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour on September 27, 2008.

Evidence in the case was heard last month and Judge Joseph Mangan ad- journed ruling. In court last week, he convicted the accused and imposed a two-month jail term. This was sus- pended on condition that he enter a bond to keep the peace.

The court heard that several people

were involved in a row in the early hours of the morning.

Gardai gave evidence of the ac- cused being highly intoxicated, high- ly agitated and acting in a threaten- ing manner to others. However, the defence disputed this.

Detective Superintendent Gabriel O’Gara told the court the situation was “very tense. It was very vola- tile. A large number of males present were all very intoxicated.”

He said from his observations, Mr Neylon’s intention “appeared to be to breach the peace and also to entice others to get involved. . .He remind- ed me of a person you would see out on a Saturday night, highly intox1- cated, shirt off, chest out, blood all

over him. This was the man who was going to solve everyone’s problems.”

The accused told the court that he had not consumed a lot of alcohol that night. He said that after he left the Hydro hotel, he had been struck and knocked to the ground, where he had been kicked and beaten.

“I was obviously agitated and prob- ably concussed from being kicked. I had no top on because it had been pulled off me while I was on the ground being beaten,’ he said.

“I was agitated with the guards for being arrested, because I was the victim of an assault, but I was not ag- gressive, he added. He denied that he was highly intoxicated.

RESIDENTS in the Cronan area of Shannon are calling for a bus shelter to be put in place in their locality. The previous shelter was removed, af- ter local residents complained about anti-social behaviour in its vicinity. Councillor Mike Fleming (FG) called for the shelter to be replaced, but was told — in a written response at this month’s meeting of Shannon Town Council — that “re-erecting a bus shelter at the same location as be-

fore would not be welcomed by local residents and is therefore not recom- mended”’.

Cllr Fleming said he was not happy with the response. “An 18-page peti- tion has been filled out in that area,” he said.

He added that a survey carried out showed that 78 people use the bus Shelter in the area, most of who are old-age pensioners.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said the shelter cannot be located in the same position as it was

previously.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said, “Somebody needs to do foot pa- trol down there and talk to the resi- Clonee

Labour Councillor Tony McMahon said that the bus service in the area is very popular. “There has to be a degree of consultation with all the parties in the area. A solution must be found and a bus shelter must be put there. If that means the council or somebody has to do surveys, that’s what needs to be done. It is the high-

est use of bus service in the town,’ JnTomcte BCG B

His party colleague, Councillor Greg Duff agreed. “I understand there 1s a need for a bus shelter there in the vicinity, not at that exact spot,’ |nTemcteBCG

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy McCat- ferty said there is a “dire need” for a bus shelter in the Cronan area.

The mayor of Shannon, Council- lor Sean McLoughlin (FG) said he would support the suggestion that a survey be carried out.

A MOTHER and son have pleaded guilty to drug-related charges, arising out of a drugs seizure in Corofin.

Fiona Keane (38) and Stephen Keane (19), of Main Street, Corofin, admitted possession of cannabis in Corofin on November 20, 2008.

Stephen Keane was also convicted of possession of drugs for the pur- pose of sale or supply. Ennis District Court heard that neither had any pre- vious convictions.

Defending solicitor John Casey said that Fiona Keane is a mother- of-four who has lived in Corofin for many years.

“This was an unfortunate incident. It has caused her an amount of dis- Keron OomncT= BLO

Referring to Stephen Keane, the solicitor said, “He will say he would gather money and buy drugs from somebody further up the ladder. He would have it and deal it out to his friends. He never made any money out of it.”

He said his client was an apprentice carpenter, but the business he was working with folded. He then went back to school. “Living in a small village, something like that is going to have an impact on him. This is a very serious conviction for this man

to have against him. was fined €100. The case of her son “It was between him and his was adjourned for two months for friends. He was not out on the street preparation of a probation report. corner selling drugs,” he said. Fiona Keane, who told the court she runs a launderette in Corofin,

CLARE County Council has sought funding for the demolition of the Tradaree Court flats in Shannon and the project will be a priority for next year.

Town councillors were told last week the council is hopeful that the funding application, from the depart- ment, will be successful. Funding has also been sought for site suitabil- ity and feasibility studies.

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy Mc- Cafferty raised the issue at a meet- ing of Shannon Town Council, where she called for the demolition of the flats to be discussed. “I don’t want

the same situation happening with the Tradaree flats as happened with Cluain Airne in the past,” she said.

“The front areas have overgrown to the extent they are tearing the legs off people passing. I don’t want to see the same going up again,’ she said.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said some of the flats are “old and dilapidated”. He said there are more than 300 houses in that area and he would like to see a green field site there when the flats are demol- ished.

Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy said, “I don’t know would we want that whole area a green area where we could have anti-social be-

haviour going on.”

Labour Councillor Tony McMa- hon said, “I’d be interested to know what’s the situation around these. I certainly wouldn’t like to see another structure of the same type and in the same place. I think it would be good to look at it and see could a differ- ent type of accommodation be pro- vided.”

“T believe if something gets fund- ing, it should be within an area or within the town,’ he said.

Fine Gael Councillor Mike Flem- ing said, “My biggest fear is the loca- tion where it would be removed to. The last thing I’d like to see going into an area like that would be apart-

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He said the option of building sin- gle houses, rather than apartments, should be considered.

The town manager Bernadette Kin- sella said that discussions on the fu- ture of that area were never brought to aconclusion, “but what is agreed is that they have to be demolished and that is one of our priority projects for next year”.

“What isn’t agreed is where any replacement dwellings would go. We need to carry out site feasibility and suitability studies. Any replacement development would require us to go through a consultation process,’ add- ed Ms Kinsella.

A JUDGE heard that a young wom- an who was found with a quantity of heroin in Killaloe was bringing it to her partner who is a paraplegic.

Annmarie Delahunty (22) of Hen- nessy Avenue in Killeely, Limerick, pleaded guilty to possession of €25 worth of heroin in Killaloe on April 23 of this year.

Her solicitor told Killaloe District Court that Ms Delahunty was “un-

der pressure from her former partner and the father of her child to get the drugs for him. Her partner unfortu- nately became paralysed from the waist down and by his own admis- sion 1s a heroin addict. She got this ‘fix’ and was giving it to him.”

The court heard that Delahunty has a number of previous convictions, in- cluding public order and road traffic offences. Judge Joseph Mangan or- dered that she do 100 hours commu- nity service if she proves suitable.