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MACRA na Feirme national presi- dent, Catherine Buckley reacted to Commissioner Fischer Boel’s speech on the Common Agricultural Policy Health Check by stating that any modifications to the current CAP policy must favour new entrants and young farmers.

“The potential impact on new en-

trants and young farmers who are trying to make a go at full-time farming and who traditionally are the hardest hit as the result of policy changes must be taken into account,” she said. Ms Buckley declared that her organisation welcomed the Com- missioner’s assertion that increases in milk quota should be part of the package to allow expansion for those who want to expand in dairying.

“If we are to attract young people into the industry we need radical changes. The targeting of increased quota to new and recent entrants is required to allow the farmers who are the future of the dairy industry to rapidly expand their businesses in the years ahead and to prepare for an environment without milk quotas,” she said. On the matter of the current proposals to raise the rate of modula-

tion to 13%, Ms Buckley said this was totally unacceptable as it would have a negative effect on farmers’ i1n- come and, under current modulation rules, it would not reward farmers who are trying to progress their farm LURID ASAT oIce

Ms Buckley concluded by saying that other aspects of the proposal would need further discussion and debate within her organisation.

THREE young men who went in search of alcohol in the early hours of the morning went into a home and took property, a court has heard. Darrell Corbett (23), Mark Hayes (21) and Stephen O’Donoghue (21), with an address in Corrovorrin, En- nis, all pleaded guilty to entering a

building at Abbey Street, Ennis, as trespassers with intent to commit AMERY ENA

Detective Garda Kieran Kelle- her told Ennis District Court that the three entered a home on Abbey Street and removed a personal organ- iser, camera and suitcase. He said all of the property was later recovered.

Defending solicitor William Cahir

said Mr O’Donoghue had celebrated his 21st birthday that night.

“All three had been out and re- turned to their apartment in Cor- rovorrin. They ran out of drink. They were aware there had been a party at a house on Abbey Street. By some mark of genius one of them thought of going in to try to get more drink. Unfortunately they took other

things,” said Mr Cahir.

He said Hayes is currently out of work and hopes to pursue an appren- ticeship. O’Donoghue is in full-time employment, while Corbett has one previous conviction – also for a drink- related incident. “This was a matter that got out of control,” he said.

He said the accused men were “‘be- fuddled by the influence of alcohol.

They took one stupid decision after another which landed them in court here today.”

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a three-month jail term in each case. He substituted Hayes’ and O’Donoghue’s sentence with com- munity service.

He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal by Corbett.

THE streets of Ennis will be off lim- its to cars in the run up to Christmas, despite concerns over the impact on retail activity in the town.

Abbey Street and O’Connell Street will be vehicle-free on Saturday/Sun- day 1-2, 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 of De- cember. The streets will remain pe- destrianised during Christmas Eve.

Eddie Power, Ennis Town Clerk said that the decision to pedestrianise the streets was taken following consid-

eration of submissions received and that, as part of the statutory process, gardai were also consulted.

Mr Power said, “Ennis Town Coun- cil will erect signage around the town indicating that Abbey Street and O’Connell Street will be pedes- WUTTIDRoOD

“In relation to parking, it should be noted that the new multi-storey car park at Dunnes Stores has resulted in an additional 250 spaces in the town. Other car parks are conveniently lo- cated adjacent to the town centre and

are easily accessible.”

Ennis Chamber of Commerce sup- ports the temporary introduction. But, in a statement, the chamber said the completion of the inner re- lief road must take place before the policy could be contemplated on a long-term basis.

The chamber has called for free parking to be introduced on the days set aside in December and for extra parking to be provided in town cen- tre schools.

Concern over the impact of pe-

destrianisation stems from a recent footfall survey commissioned by En- nis Chamber to examine the impact of the policy on retail activity in the town centre.

The footfall survey conducted on Car Free Day and October 6 showed a significant and proportional in- crease in Abbey Street and O’Connell Street.

However, researchers conditioned results with the views that on Car Free Day favourable weather condi- tions had an impact on figures and

that people brought more children into the town centre.

Welcoming the move, Mayor ‘lom- my Brennan said pedestrianisation would improve safety for increased numbers of shoppers.

Businessman Oliver Moylan, a vo- cal critic of pedestrianisation in En- nis and of the level of commercial rates imposed on businesses in the town centre, said the policy would depress activity and drive shoppers towards large-scale retail develop- ments.

THE Minister of State at the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Wallace TD, speaking at the Irish Equine Veterinary Con- ference in Killenard last week, ac- knowledged the contribution of the Irish bloodstock industry and vital role that equine veterinary practi- tioners play in “maintaining the high health status of the Irish equine pop- WIE LeCey ila

Minister Wallace described the bloodstock industry as one _ that “makes a tremendous contribution to the profile, culture and economy of this country and which also has

a well deserved global tradition and reputation”. The thoroughbred sec- tor has been the main flag bearer for the industry over the years with Irish bred horses winning some of the world’s most prestigious races, and Ireland was the world’s third largest producer of thoroughbreds. The min- ister added that the Irish sports horse had also flown the flag with great distinction and she predicted that the establishment of Horse Sport Ireland heralded an era of significant oppor- tunity for this sector.

The minister said that the reputa- tion of the industry was underpinned by the health status of the horse pop- ulation. In that regard, she described

equine practitioners as being “at the coalface” of animal health, and ex- pressed her appreciation and that of her department for the support pro- vided by the industry and the veteri- nary profession during the 2006 out- break of equine infectious anaemia. The minister also paid tribute to the “collaborative approach” taken by the bloodstock industry, the veteri- nary profession and her department in tackling and successfully eradicat- ing the disease outbreak.

Ms Wallace acknowledged increas- ing concern about the emergence of new disease threats facing the equine and other sectors for a variety of rea- sons, and the ongoing need for fur-

ther measures to enhance animal, and equine welfare in particular. Minister Wallace said that her de- partment was committed to playing its part through the introduction of new and robust animal health and welfare legislation to meet the com- mitments in the programme for Gov- ernment.

Minister Wallace also paid tribute to the late Michael Osborne, whose memory was honoured by the inclu- sion of the inaugural Michael Os- borne Lecture as a central part of the conference. Ms Wallace described Mr Osborne as “a man who made an enormous contribution to the Irish bloodstock industry”.

A WOMAN was heard telling her friends that she told “the f***ing judge her mother was dead” just min- utes after she left a courtroom, when, in fact her mother was still alive. The bizarre allegations were made in the case of a woman accused of stealing €99.84 worth of groceries from Dunnes Stores in Ennis in Oc-

tober.

Margaret McCarthy, of O’Halloran’s Lane, Ennis, appeared at Ennis Dis- trict Court on the shoplifting charge on November 9.

On that date she told the court that her mother had died. The case was then struck out by the prosecution, who took pity on her.

However, Inspector Michael Gal- lagher told the court last Friday that

the State has since established that her mother had not died and the case was re-entered.

In evidence to the court on Friday, Ms McCarthy said she had got a call from her sister in the UK before she went into the courtroom on the previ- ous date, telling her the bad news.

Inspector Gallagher said, “It’s one thing to lie but the lie 1s being com- pounded further today. You went out

the door skitting, laughing.”

Garda Doody then told the court that he had met Ms McCarthy three times before the court case and she had not mentioned anything about her mother passing away.

He said shortly after the case was struck out, he heard her saying, “I told the f***ing judge my mother is dead,” and she started laughing.

Gda Doody said her friends told

her to stop laughing as they saw him observing, but Ms McCarthy simply replied, “Let it be.”

Judge Joseph Mangan commended Garda Doody on his vigilance. He jailed Ms McCarthy for a month and fixed a bond in the event of an ap- peal.

He refused to substitute the one month jail sentence with a commu- nity service order.

PROJECTED growth in the number of people attending Sixmilebridge national school has prompted plans to be drawn up for a new school in STO BU UE RSXon

Currently, there are 329 pupils on the roll of St Finnachta’s National School and it is anticipated that this will grow to 600 within the next 10 years.

The Department of Education and Science has approved the building of new 24-classroom school to ac- commodate the future needs, on the current school site. The site itself has recently been enlarged through

the purchase of land adjacent to the original site. Based on current es- timates, the anticipated cost of the new project could reach €5 million and over the next few years and the fundraising committee hopes to raise €120,000 which will include the lo- cal contribution sum required for all such school development projects. Chairperson of the Parents Associ- ation Caitriona O’Reilly said growth in the village’s population is key to the development of the new school. “Sixmilebridge is very well located for Limerick and Ennis and Shannon and that is how it has grown so much. There has been a huge increase in the numbers of house built in the areas,”

she said.

While the funding has been sanc- tioned by the department, planning permission has yet to be sought and it should be four years before the school will be built.

The school’s teachers and pupils currently use the existing building, along with four prefabricated build- ings, on the same site. The space is not sufficient for the growing popu- lation of the school and given the anticipated increasing numbers, the new school will be a necessity.

“We really want a state-of-the-art school. It will be a challenge to raise the money,” said Ms O’Reilly.

“We are appealing to locals to help

out, particularly people coming into the area. A lot of young people are choosing Sixmilebridge to live in, given that houses are affordable and the location suits them,” she added. School principal Ray McInerney acknowledged “the early decision and foresight of the Department of Education and Science to invest in the new school here’. He thanked “the parents and supporters of the school, the Board of Management, the teachers and staff of the school and the sponsors of this important event”. He made special mention of “the organising committee who have dedicated time and energy to make this local fund raiser a big success”.

A MAN who kicked another man while he was on the ground has been jailed for four months, despite a plea from the victim’s father not to send him to jail.

Trevor McMahon (36) of Sandfield Centre, Ennis, pleaded guilty to as- saulting Owen Walsh, causing him harm, at Sheil’s garage, Gort Road, Ennis, in the early hours of on Au- gust 25 last year.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court that following a complaint, gardai viewed CCTV footage at the garage.

He said the footage showed that there was a scuffle in the forecourt and McMahon was “the major cul- ele

The injured party bled from the teeth, he said. Inspector Gallagher pointed out that the incident arose in the queue. Mr Walsh was knocked to

the ground and kicked.

Solicitor for the injured party, Stephen Nicholas told the court that his client suffered bad damage to two front teeth in the incident. “One is dead and has to be replaced,’ he said.

He said the cost of replacing the tooth will be between €3,000 and ono 0107

Solicitor for McMahon, Tara God- frey said her client is a voluntary worker and is currently in education.

‘There is an alternative for the in- jured party, the Criminal Injuries Tribunal can provide money. Mr Walsh might be able to find in that the means to have the tooth repaired,’ said Ms Godfrey. She said her client turned around and two men behind him seemed to be challenging him.

“In his mind, he was intimidated and he swung for Mr Walsh. Mr Walsh felt intimidated and pushed Mr McMahon,” she said.

“Mr McMahon stupidly lost the plot for the first time in 36 years,” SNToMCT BLO

Inspector Gallagher pointed out however that video evidence showed McMahon kicking Mr Walsh to the head while he was on the ground.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a four month jail term on McMahon and fixed a bond in the event of an appeal. Mr Walsh’s father then stood up and said he wanted to speak on behalf of his family.

“The family don’t want him to go to jail,” he said.

However Judge Mangan replied, “It’s not a case between you and the defendant. It’s a case between the State and the defendant. The courts must consider the community.”

A LEVEL playing pitch should be put in place for all water users, ac- cording to county councillors in the Shannon area.

In a joint motion at a meeting last week, Councillors Gerry Flynn (In- dependent) and John Crowe (FG) asked a number of questions relat- ing to the supply of water to bed and breakfasts and guesthouses in the Bunratty area.

They specifically asked how the

cost 1s calculated; are bed and break- fasts paying the same rate as guest- houses; and are families who use the bed and breakfasts as their family homes allowed a set discount.

In response, Senior Engineer Wal- ter Walsh said the flat rate charge and metered charge applies through- out the wider area of Bunratty and also throughout the county.

“Bed and breakfasts are paying by both systems, 1.e. some are me- tered and some are paying by fixed charge. This situation has arisen his-

torically and there is no explanation for the different charging systems to different customers. It is the policy that all new customers both domestic and non-domestic will have meters installed at the time of connection,” said Mr Walsh.

He pointed out that families who live in their own bed and breakfasts or guesthouses are given an allow- ance. All other water provided is charged at the current charge rate.

“At present, a complete survey of all known non-domestic water cus-

tomers is ongoing in the county. Fol- lowing on from the survey, meters are being installed where none exist at present or where existing meters are not properly functioning. It is expected that this contract will be finished in late spring 2008,’ added Mr Walsh.

Cllr Flynn said he raised the issue on foot of queries in Bunratty, while Cllr Crowe remarked, “All we are looking for is a level playing field. If one is paying for it, let everyone pay for it.”

UP TO 500 elderly people from east and south east Clare are to lose their local HSE centre that provides serv- ices such as home help, physiother- apy and other aids for independent living.

Staff at the care and case manage- ment provision centre in Raheen who had 500 east Clare people on their database are now being centralised to Ennis.

Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has written to the HSE General Manager in Ennis expressing his concern at the withdrawal of direct care and case management provision from the residents.

“Care and case management is vital in allowing many elderly resi- dents receive the home help and care they require. The plan to centralise services in Ennis will mean that resi- dents in east Clare will have longer journeys to travel for assessment and consultation appointments,’ he said.

“This project has been running suc- cessfully in Raheen for many years,” said Deputy Carey.

Care and case management is in- volved in many areas of home assist- ance from arranging physiotherapy sessions, assessing clients for home help, providing aids for independent living and organising respite in day-

care centres.

‘This scheme has provided eld- erly people with invaluable resources since its inception in 2001,’ said Deputy Carey.

“It is not acceptable that elderly people will now be asked to travel to Ennis for these services. Trans- port will be a major issue for many of these elderly residents. In my view

the system wasn’t broken, so why is there a need to fix it?”

“What we have here is another ex- ample of the HSE using the current recruitment freeze to rush needless changes through the backdoor of our health service. Front line patients will be most affected.”

A ROW is brewing over the post of- fice field after wildlife experts be- came the latest group to express con- cern over plans for the site.

The Clare Regional Game Council has expressed its opposition to plans to build a new state of the art public library in the centre of Ennis. Ac- cording to the Council, any develop- ment at the site would have a negative impact on the abundance of wildlife inhabiting it.

The proposed development in the Ennis Post Office field will incor- porate a new Public Library, Head- quarters, Local Studies Centre, per- formance arena, community meeting

facilities and a range of ancillary exhibition areas for Clare County L1- brary and the Clare Arts Office.

Council secretary, Jimmy Allard said the post office field is an impor- tant breeding ground for birds.

He said, “We are objecting to any building or development on any part of the field. We stopped a builder building a hotel there before. That field is a wildlife sanctuary, from there out to Doora. There are a lot of ducks and geese in the area where they want to build that use it to nest”.

One of Ireland’s most successful fishermen, Mr Allard is a three time All-Ireland fly fishing champion and international gold medal winner.

He was the first person to introduce ducks to the River Fergus at the post office field in 1990 and the popu- lation has thrived since. He fears though that construction work would damage the delicate eco-system that has developed in the field.

“The ducks hatch along the area Where they are proposing to build. There will be hatching boxes going in there in the spring. You couldn’t start building there. There are a lot of people in the town that aren’t happy with it. Everyone would like to see a new library in the town, but we feel that there is plenty of space on the present site that could be re-devel- oped”

Mr Allard said the Council is also

planning to call a public meeting to discuss the issue.

Last week Minster of State Tony Killeen announced the appointment of a project design team to explore the development of a three-story 45,000 sq ft library building and arts centre.

However members of the arts com- munity in Ennis have questioned the merit of the project given Ennis al- ready has two major arts and cultural venues in glor and the recently rede- veloped Cois na hAbhna.

Library and Council officials have said the need exists for a new library in Ennis and that re-development of the existing De Valera library site is unfeasible.