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HUNDREDS of thousands of euro are being needlessly wasted each year on house insurance in Clare, ac- cording to new research released by the Financial Regulator.

Clare was one of just 7 counties specifically targeted by the Central Bank’s consumer watchdog, which is attempting to promote more con- Sumer awareness and competition in the home insurance sector.

The research focused on the cost of insuring a 4 bed detached house

in the county with a rebuild cost of €245,000. This sample house was described as being some 20 years old and was being insured along with contents to the value of €55,000.

The Financial Regulator discovered consumers who opted for the most expensive provider were paying out more than 60 percent each year more than those who opted for the cheap- est provider.

According to the survey, FBD In- surance offered the most expensive quote at €379.00 per year, Quinn Direct was the cheapest provider at

€236.64.

Other brokers quoted included Ea- gle Star (€356.90), AXA (€342.00), Hibernian Direct (€320.38), Allianz Direct (€301.44) and Royal and Sun Alliance Both (€263.53).

“The purpose of this survey was to show people the benefits that could be gained by taking the time to shop around. | mean, in the Clare survey there was as much as €140 difference between the quotes being offered by some insurers,” said a spokes woman from the Financial Regulator yester- day.

“It is an important thing for people to consider; there are real savings to be made but at the same time money can be thrown away needlessly.

“We would be encouraging people to shop around and ask for quotes for a number of providers to see who has the best quote for your own circum- stances. You really need to look at each quote on its own merits, and it doesn’t always follow that the cheap- est quote would necessarily be the one for you.”

The other counties targeted by the Financial Regulator for investigation

were Kerry, Tipperary, Waterford, Meath, Leitrim and Dublin.

Meanwhile, in a parallel survey, the Financial Regulator has discovered that only two insurers were willing to give content insurance for resi- dents in a rented accommodation.

In this survey, which was carried out in Galway City, only FBD and Quinn Direct offered quotes for con- tent with FBD offering the cheapest yearly quote.

Other insurers Hibernian, Allianz, AXA, Royal and Sun Alliance and Eagle Star declined to give a quote.

IN THE past few years, camogie has become of the fastest growing sports in the county. The successful influence of the county junior side has contributed largely to this re- surgence as has the increasing pro- motion at ground level. In addition, this expanding interest in the sport has commanded greater exposure 1n the national media which in turn has further developed the sport’s profile. Better standards of coaching, facili- ties and personnel has also meant that the county has enjoyed great success at underage levels in recent years.

In order to hone this interest and progress Clare camogie to the next level, an open forum entitled “To- gether, Raising the Banner’ will take place in the Auburn Lodge Hotel this Saturday from llam to 3pm. The brainchild of Clare Junior captain and Munster Camogie Development Co-ordinator Deirdre Murphy, this exclusive forum which is open to all who are interested, is the most am- bitious and far reaching conference ever to be held in the county and boasts a star-studded line-up of GAA and camogie people which is sure to attract a large attendence. Among the speakers on the day are Donal O’Grady, an All-Ireland winning player and manager with Cork; Cyril Farrell who managed both Galway’s

hurlers and camogie players to All- Ireland success; Pat Fitzgerald, Sec- retary of the Clare County Board, Emily Hayden, a current member of the Tipperary senior camogie team and five time All-Ireland winner; Stella Sinnott, manager of this year’s All-Ireland champions Wexford and Mary O’Connor, National director of Camogie.

“The line up is really special” ad- mits All-Star nominee Deirdre Mur- phy, “What I hope will come out of the day really is that from listening to these speakers and being able to

have a questions and answers ses- sion, there should be a lot of valu- able information but also getting all of the people involved in Clare camogie and the people involved in Clare GAA into the one meeting in a proactive and vibrant setting, you would hope for clubs that it would in- crease the numbers of volunteers they would have working within their club structure and that it would develop a much more positive attitude towards camogie throughout the county and a proactive attitude I suppose.”

A qualified secondary school

teacher, Deirdre took the job as Mun- ster Camogie Development Officer at the beginning of the summer and after experiencing the varying levels of camogie in her role as a promoter of the game, she is certainly the best person to assess where Clare cam- ogie lies on the national map.

‘The standard of camogie amongst the strong counties has really, re- ally improved. The likes of Cork and Wexford that were playing in the senior final with the preparation and the work and the stardard that they can produce is just fantastic. But I suppose on the other hand, you have counties like maybe Water- ford, Kerry, Carlow and Wicklow where it’s a real struggle to try and give camogie a foothold once again. I think there has become a very big gap between strong and weak and I think in Clare we are somewhere in the middle of that gap and whether we move forward and close that gap and once again become one of the strong camogie counties or we are happy to remain a competitive jun- ior county which isn’t enough in my opinion. We should be there in a cou- ple of years time strongly challeng- ing for senior honours would be what I would hope that would happen in Clare in the next few years.”

TWO former heroin addicts who admitted stealing €5,000 worth of jewellery from an east Clare home have been warned they are facing suspended jail terms.

Carmel Duggan (23) of St Munch- in’s Street, St Mary’s Park, Limer- ick, and Nicholas Herdman (35), of Dooradoyle Park, Limerick, admit- ting entering homes in Meelick and Cratloe as trespassers, with intent to commit theft, last April.

Detective Garda Stephen Ryan told Ennis Circuit Court that a woman re- turned to her Cratloe home and saw a car parked in the driveway.

Aman, Nicholas Herdman, was sit-

ting in the car. He blew the horn and two people – Duggan and a man – ap- peared from the back of the house.

Sgt Oliver Kennedy told the court that €5,000 worth of jewellery was taken from a house in Meelick, when the owner was not home. He said both accused admitted the offence. None of the property was recovered.

Herdman’s barrister, Michael Fitz- gibbon, said his client developed an addiction to heroin.

“His involvement with these rob- beries was to do with obtaining money to feed his habit,” said Mr Fitzgibbon.

He said he used two or three bags of heroin a day to “keep himself right,” but is now heroin-free.

Duggan’s barrister Lorcan Con- nolly said his client also had a heroin problem, but feels she has now ad- dressed the matter.

Judge Michael White said the jew- ellery offence was “particularly mean and nasty” and the accused were in the “terrible throes of heroin addiction”’.

“The court is concerned both of you are at a high risk of re-offending because of that addiction,” he said.

He said he intends to impose sub- stantial sentences, suspended.

“IT want to make it quite clear to both of you if you do reoffend during the period of the suspension, you will be back before me again,” he said.

He adjourned the sentencing until paleo. qmpasleyelaer

A FUN new series of music classes in which children will play games and compose their own pieces will open the door to a lifetime of enjoy- ing and making music, according to a local musician.

“Learning music improves lan- guage skills, maths, reasoning and spatial intelligence. However, it also should be creative and fun — this is sometimes forgotten in the way music is taught in schools and one-

to-one lessons,” said Killaloe violin- ist Diane Daly.

“The new Saturday Music Club will focus on the fun while develop- ing skills, understanding and abil- ity,’ she added.

The classes will be held in Diane’s house in the Glen — a beautiful and historic area in the foothills of the Slieve Bernagh Mountains, two miles outside Killaloe — and will involve creative games, composition, improvisation, singing, movement NOLO mebue-N ent R

Terms start in January 2008 and will run for 10 weeks. Daly is one of Ireland’s most respected violin- ists. A member of the Irish Cham- ber Orchestra, she has performed across the globe with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Camerata Ireland, the European Union Cham- ber orchestra, the Killaloe quartet and many others.

In recent years she has built a paral- lel career as one of the country’s lead- ing music educationalists, running workshops in a variety of settings in

Ireland and the UK. Saturday Music Club will allow her to use these skills to benefit the children of her local community, she said.

She took her first degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and has _ post-graduate qualifications in performance, music education and community music. She is in wide demand as a teacher and workshop leader.

For further information, phone 061- 376639 or visit musicintheglen @ftml. ate

CLARE showjumping received a massive boost at the weekend when teenage rider, David Blake, based at the East Clare Equestrian Centre in Tuamgraney, took the top prize at the Cavan Two Star International Show.

Blake is fast making a name for himself on the national circuit and Sunday’s victory in what was the second most prestigious event in Ire- land, marks him out as a star of the JaUiaUN Ken

The Clare showjumper, on board Fabienne, eclipsed the country’s leading riders in the 40 strong event that saw the top performers over the course of the Cavan show compete for the weekend’s most coveted title.

Cian O’Connor, Shane Breen, Ed- ward Doyle, Francis Connors, as well as a number of top British riders all qualified for the event but it was the Clare kid that stole the headlines.

In the first round, Blake was among eight riders to go clear. First out in the jump-off was Tulla’s Shelia White, sister of Marie Burke. After her round, of eight faults, Blake was next out and he went clear in an im- pressive time of 34.52.

It set a clear marker for the remain-

ing six riders but slowly, it became obvious that Blake’s time couldn’t be surpassed. The quick time forced those who tried to match it into mis- takes.

“It was a nervous enough wait for the other six riders to jump, but we knew that David’s time was fast and it was going to take something special to beat that,” said his father, Michael on Monday.

“It’s easily his biggest win to date and we’re hopeful that he’s going to have a productive time on board Fa- bienne.”

On Monday, he travels to the conti- nent for a three event spell that will see him compete in Holland and Bel- cium. While Sunday’s victory brings some time in the spotlight, there are other headaches to sort out.

“At the moment we’re looking for a main sponsor,” said Michael Blake. “It’s an expensive sport especially when you factor in travel abroad, but we’ve a quality product and we’re confident that we’ll go from strength to strength.”

Sunday’s win, then, will be one stop on the road.

THE group constructing the €205 million Ennis bypass last year sus- tained an operating loss of €48 mil- lion, according to accounts filed with the Companies Office.

GAMA Construction Ltd last April missed its deadline to complete the Ennis bypass and is expected to com- plete the project next month.

Accounts filed by GAMA Con- struction show that the GAMA group of companies in Ireland suffered an operating loss of €48 million.

However, arising from the sale of its 40 per cent share in a power plant at Tynagh, County Galway for €55 million, the company recorded a profit before tax of €10 million last year.

This follows the company sustain- ing a €44 million loss in 2005.

The accounts show that the com- pany had a turnover of €81 million in 2006, but the cost of sales was €111 million, leaving a gross loss of €29 million. The profit before tax re- duced its accumulated loss at the end of the year to €49 million.

The accounts also show that the company employed 373 at the end of 2006, comprising of 304 Irish and 69 Turkish workers.

According to a statement accompa- nying the accounts, “Gama Construc- tion Ireland Limited commenced op- erations in Ireland in 2000 and is ina erowth phase of its development.

“It is reliant on the continued finan- cial support from its parent under- taking, Gama Holdings A.S. Gama Holdings A.S. has indicated to the eroup that it is committed to continu- ing to provide this financial support

to the group.

The principal activity of the group is that of a turnkey construction contractor for power and industrial plants, dams, buildings and roads.

Overall, results for 2006 decreased in terms of turnover and the company continued to incur operating losses in 2006. The company made a profit on the sale of fixed and financial assets in the year.

At the year end, the group had three main projects ongoing, the Ennis by- pass, the Monaghan bypass and Bal- gaddy C.

A NEW branch of the Clare County Library service will open its doors to the public in Scariff today.

Situated on the Mountshannon Road in the town, the modern and spacious building forms part of Clare County Library’s long-standing tar- get of providing a full-time branch library in every town with a popula- tion of more than 1,000.

The new branch will serve a population of more than 6,000 in Scariff and its hinterland. Clare Mayor Patricia McCarthy officially opened the new facility yesterday.

Noel Crowley, Clare County Librarian, said, “Staff hope the new library will be central to the life of

the local community and will become a cherished facility for the people of east Clare. It replaces the part- time service point which previously served residents of the Scariff area.

“The branch library will share the new premises with offices of Clare County Council, which means that the building will be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the people of the Scariff area.”

In addition to a stock of more than 19,000 books, the new Scariff Library will hold CDs and DVDs, daily newspapers, magazines, for- eign language fiction, audio books and large print books.

Facilities on offer will include free internet and email, a community notice board, photocopying, an on- line public access catalogue and a

local studies reference and research section.

“Games for children such as chess, draughts and jigsaws are available, while children’s story time and craft sessions will run throughout the year — all creating an atmosphere of fun and learning for the children of the area and ensuring that this library will be a great place to visit,’ added SOO

It is envisaged that book clubs for adults and children will be set up in the near future. The building also houses an exhibition area and a com- munity meeting room.

The building has been designed and constructed with accessibility in mind. This includes provision of a platform lift and automated openers

on sensors to entrance doors, as well as ramped access and level access from the rear of the building.

Contrasting colours in floor finishes and pedestrian routes make it easier for those with colour-blindness or other sight problems

Caroline Aherne, recently appoint- ed assistant librarian at the library, remarked, ““Remember — this is your library. Come and check it out.”

The Scariff Library opening hours are: Monday 10am to lpm and 2pm to 5.30pm; Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 8pm; Wednesday and Fri- day 10am to 5.30pm; Saturday 10am

Koay eeF For abeasetee information, phone O61-922893 or — email

mailbox @clarelibrary.ie.

TOURISM in the north west is get- ting an end of year boost as thou- sands of competitors, support teams and fans converge for the first ever Irish round of the world rally cham- pionship.

The event is sponsored by Failte Ireland and the Sports Council of Northern Ireland.

There is a big Clare involvement in Rally Ireland as a total of 110 Clare Motor Club officials will be travel- ling to Sligo for the weekend to help e)bie

Gerry O’Brien from Crusheen was appointed marshall safety co-ordina-

tor for Rally Ireland back in May. The Clare Club will be marshal- ling special stages four and seven (Lough Gill) on Friday. Some of the Clare marshalls will also be helping out on special stage 12 (Ballinamal- lard) which takes place around the

countryside of the late Bertie Fisher. Clare marshalls will also be on duty on Sunday in the Donegal Bay stage.

Meeting point for Clare Marshalls for the Lough Gill Stage is Newtown Manor Community Hall which is lo- cated close to the stage between 2am

and 4am on friday morning. Mar- shall’s have to be in place at Sam and the road will be closed at 6.15am. The first competing car will be on the stage at 9.15am.

Meeting point for the Ballinamal- lard stage on Saturday is 12 midnight at the service station in Trillick, County Tyrone, and the meeting point for Donegal Bay stage is Ball- intra Community Hall at 5am on SLUveleebapenleyusvntes

On Friday morning the restart will be in Sligo with three stages in coun- ties Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo. The cars will then return to the serv- ice park in Sligo town, then repeat the morning stages, and back to the

Service park again. Two different stages in counties Leitrim and Sligo and the final service and overnight halt in Sligo town.

The Saturday restart is from Sligo and takes in three stages in counties Tyrone and Fermanagh. There will be a midday service in Sligo followed by a repeat of the morning stages. The final service and overnight halt is back in Sligo.

After the Sunday Restart from Sli- go the drivers take in two stages in County Tyrone followed by a stage in County Donegal. The final stage 1s at Mullaghmore.

THE experience of an autistic man who made a new life for himself in west Clare was highlighted as an example of how people with intel- lectual disability can live full and independent lives as active members of their local communities.

Larry O’ Bryan, who is supported by Brothers of Charity Services in Clare, was among the contributors to the Brothers of Charity National Advoca- ASO Noo OOM MO BEKMN ino .e

Larry, who has autism, used to live in big institutions in the UK, which he described as ‘sheer hell’, before moving to smaller residential care in the UK. After visiting Ireland on holiday, he decided he wanted to live in west Clare and moved into his house in Kilrush with the support of his former service provider and the Brothers of Charity.

Although he cannot communicate verbally, Larry is now happily liv- ing as part of the local community

in Kilrush and Kilkee, where he is a member of the church choir and the Clare Poets Circle.

As he spelled out on his keyboard to the conference delegates, “There is a light at the end of the tunnel for me when people listen.”

The conference, which had as its theme *Close the Institutions — A Life In The Community For Everyone’, heard from a number of people with intellectual disability who shared their experiences of living both in institutions and communities.

Clinical psychologist Brian Mc- Clean presented John Caslin, who is supported by Brothers of Charity Services in Roscommon, with a film John had made where he revisited the various institutions he lived in throughout his life.

During his introduction, Dr Mc- Clean highlighted the extent of the problem of institutionalising people in Ireland. According to a recent study, 49 per cent of Irish people with intellectual disability who cur-

rently live in residential services are in large residential centres while in England, Scotland, and Norway, all of these institutions have closed.

In England, people with intellectu- al disabilities and their families pre- fer residential care in small houses, as it allows them live within a com- munity and benefit from wider social networks. It was also found that more medication was used in large institu- tions, where the treatment is less per- sonal and more routine.

Advocacy and Evaluation Training Officer Cabrini de Barra said that ending institutional practices, struc- tures and supports in Ireland would create an opportunity for people with disabilities to live ordinary lives where they can contribute to the life of local communities.

WORK on cleaning up Killaloe’s historic bridge is set to cost roughly € 100,000.

SW sTome bbs) em oro A (cot Oe CoMm AY ADO mmCe)o0t munities of Killaloe in east Clare and Ballina in Tipperary has become encrusted with weeds and foliage and will require careful treatment to remove when the project begins early next year. It’s also planned to

clean up the stonework. An initial plan to simply remove the vegetation couldn’t be acted on because a closer examination showed that the plants and weeds have taken root in the stone and just pulling them out could cause damage.

According to Sean Lenihan, sen- ior council engineer for the area, the bridge is also a protected heritage structure and measures would have to be put in place under the regula-

tions pertaining to these structures. Local councillors in the area were given details of the necessary repair work last summer.

After being told that the cost would be far greater than had previously been envisaged, councillors asked the engineer to get in touch with the Heritage Council in Kilkenny to see whether funding would be available.

Mr Lenihan contacted the group and was told that the Clare Local

Authority could apply under the Heritage Council’s Civic Structur- al Fund. He informed councillors this week that this money will be allocated in January and February of next year.

“There are maximum levels of grant aid available and extra money will probably have to be provided from the council’s own resources. But even so, work is expected to start in early 2008,” he said.