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A DEVELOPER in east Clare has been given to go ahead for conten- tious plans to build 27 homes in Tua- mgraney — only after An Bord Plean- ala disregarded the recommendation of its inspector to refuse permission for the development.

Earlier this year, Conor Daly se-

cured planning permission for the housing development in the east of the village. Mr Daly secured permission for the development in spite of strong local opposition. with local residents stat- ing that “it is not too late to learn from the mistakes made in other villages and towns that now have de- velopment but inadequate water and sewerage facilities, increased traffic hazards and a ‘commuter’ popula- nto) ae

However, local residents appealed

the decision and outlined their con- cerns in relation to a lack of public facilities and highlighted the serious lack of water pressure and supply, the traffic generation from the pro- posed development an implications for safety and the contemporary and suburban nature of proposed houses.

They stated that, “The present situation with regard to waste water treatment and public water facili- ties in the Tuamgraney-Scariff area is unsatisfactory and no further de- velopment should be permitted until iW slontomrsDUoMUN Osea eALOloLem

“Public water supplies are grossly inadequate serving existing develop- seTS ale

“We are aware that there are plans to upgrade the sewage system in late 2007, but are unaware of any plans to upgrade the existing water sup- ply that is already seriously deficient — we may be another seven or eight

years waiting for this.

An Taisce also pointed out that the development would be premature pending water and wastewater sys- tems installation.

The site is zoned for housing, how- ever, the inspector in the case recom- mended that planning be refused.

The inspector stated, ““Whilst ac- knowledging the land use zoning of the proposed site, I do not consider that its development should take place in the absence of a detailed master plan which should include the land to the east and address the crucial issue of traffic safety in the overall context.

“IT am not satisfied based on the information submitted that the traf- fic and safety implications of the proposed development are properly addressed. Arising from my assess- ment above therefore I recommend that planning permission be refused

for the proposed development for one reason.

However, the appeals board ruled that planning permission for the de- velopment should be granted, stating that further submissions made on ap- peal dealt with the concerns of the inspector.

The board ruled that having regard to the residential zoning of the site and the submissions made in regard to the appeal, it 1s considered that, subject to compliance with the con- ditions set out below, the proposed development would not seriously in- jure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudicial to public health and would be acceptable in terms of traf- fic safety and convenience.

The proposed development would, therefore, be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable de- velopment of the area.

focused on how schooling

was very different many years ago. Over 800 children attended the third annual FIS festival, which cel- ebrates outstanding achievements by primary school children involved in the FIS (Film In Schools) project. The FIS project is an initiative de- sisned to introduce the medium

of film as a support to the Primary School Curriculum.

Commenting on the awards, Minis- ter for Education and Science Mary Hanafin TD said “Children from Dun Chaoin, Kerry, to Sligo and from Wexford to Louth and many schools in between have made films using the FIS methodology. This year there is such a wide range of films – historical, comedy, horror and cinn as Gaeilge freisin.

“A special thanks to all the teachers involved in FIS who have risen to the challenge by providing such wonder- ful creative learning opportunities for their children.”

As part of the curriculum for pri- mary schools, children in over 100 primary schools throughout Ireland wrote, directed and produced their own five-minute films. Their ef- forts were supported by the National Centre for Technology in Education which provided training in film mak- ing techniques and digital and film editing equipment.

Anne White, National Coordinator with the National Centre for Technol- ogy in Education said, “FIS touches every nerve of the primary curricu- lum. It brings alive the immense cre- ativity of children and their ability to apply the technology in a collabo- rative way in filmmaking. It simply makes learning great fun.”

IMMIGRANT workers brought into this county through rogue recruit- ment agencies are being underpaid and ripped off for accommodation.

And the practice is commonplace, according to the findings of a new report on the needs and experiences of ethnic minorities in Clare.

The report indicates that some

recruitment companies are paying their immigrant workers well below the proper rate.

Other rip-off practices include pro- viding accommodation and charg- ing far more than the workers would pay if they made their own arrange- ments.

Sky-high accommodation charges, often for sub-standard barren rooms, is deducted from the workers’ wages

so they have no opportunity to com- eenbee

Poor language skills and a lack of understanding of rights and entitle- ments leaves some groups highly vulnerable.

Polish workers are among the eth- nic groups affected by the scam and the construction industry is one area Where pockets of exploitation were sKo)bn nen

KILRUSH Town Council and Clare County Council have launched a Fire Safety Initiative aimed at mak- ing householders more aware of fire safety routines and potential fire hazards.

The ‘Fire Safety In The Home’ initiative is being rolled out on a pilot basis and will initially involve 45 households in a number of areas throughout the town from November a.

Mayor of Kilrush, Councillor Tom- my Clyne said, “The initiative is part of ongoing efforts by Clare Local Authorities to improve the overall fire safety in the home. Sadly, the number of incidences of fire in Clare

remains unacceptably high, which 1s why I would encourage householders to use their own initiative to learn and do more about fire prevention in the home.”

The launch of the new scheme co- incides with the release of new fig- ures indicating a slight drop in the number of incidences attended by the County Fire and Rescue Service in Kilrush in 2006.

Approximately 126 emergency calls were made from Kilrush to the Fire and Rescue Service last year, representing a 5.5 per cent decrease on figures for 2005.

A total of 126 emergency calls were made to Kilrush Fire Station in paul eTes

There were 80 calls to Kilkee in

2006 up 43 per cent on the previous year.

According to Adrian Kelly, Chief Fire Officer, County Fire and Rescue Service, “Fire statistics from recent years reveal a continued high rate of chimney and domestic fires. The key to reducing such incidences 1s to 1n- creased fire safety awareness among householders.

“IT welcome the launch of this new initiative, as it will assist the public in preventing incidences of fire in deCoy bum ele) 08 (ona

The new programme follows on from a similar initiative in Ennis, which focused on approximately 70 houses in the McHugh Villas and Turnpike areas of the town. Where necessary, smoke detectors were

also provided by the County Fire and Rescue Service.

“The objective of this initiative is to reduce the incidence of chimney fires in Kilrush during the winter pe- riod, which is a peak time of year for chimney fires,” said Fiona Mooney, Kilrush Town Clerk.

“This initiative will result in greater awareness of fire hazards in the home with a reduction in the risk of injury/loss of life and should minimise property damage from fire related incidents. This initiative will have a positive impact on use of re- sources of the Fire and Rescue Serv- ice in Kilrush Town and should lead to further enhancement of quality of life for local residents,’ Ms Mooney AYOe(exen

DESPITE a disappointing perform- ance, Clare League chairman Jim Madden remained upbeat after Sun- day’s four nil defeat to East Cork / West Waterford.

The concession of two first half goals and the failure to exert sus- tained pressure on their opponents saw Clare suffer a costly defeat.

This was Clare’s only home game in the group stages and they now face tough away assignments against the Munster Senior League and the Lim- erick League.

There were a number of new faces on the Clare side and Madden was pleased with the performance and attitude of the younger players, most of whom were making their debut in the competition.

He said, “It was disappointing, we conceded a few soft goals in the first half. But a good feature of the game was that we were able to introduce so many new young players. There were a number of players missing through injury and others were unavailable because of prior commitments. We brought 22 players to a meeting in Newmarket and of that 22, six were missing on Sunday. It was disap- pointing but I was pleased with the attitude, they worked hard”.

Clare suffered an early blow with the loss of promising left back Eoin O’Brien through injury and believes this had an unsettling effect on Clare’s performance.

“We gave a lot of new players a run out. Guys like Derek Fahy, Eoin O’Brien and Evan Glynn. The injury to young O’Brien, I thought made

it hard for us. We had to make an early substitution and move our back line around. Because we were miss- ing a few players, we had to draft in a few new lads. Three of the back four were making their debuts in the Oscar Traynor and there were a few others who were making their first appearances as well. We couldn’t re- ally start David Russell because he is only on the way back from injury”

Though he admits preparations for Sunday’s game could have been bet- ter, Madden said it was important for new players to gain experience.

“We had a bit of experience in midfield with Mike O’Malley there. Gary Browne did well; he was an- other lad new to the scene. A lot of the squad that was there last year had been playing since 2003 and have given tremendous service to Clare. This year we needed to bring in a few new lads and we have been able to do that.

In advance of their meeting with the Munster Senior League, the Clare League will play two friendlies, one against Limerick side Hill Celtic on November 6 and another against the Desmond League on November 13.

THE future of the Clare surfing in- dustry is in jeopardy today follow- ing a landmark decision by British Airways (BA) to ban all surfboards on its flights from next Tuesday, No- vember 6.

The airline, which previously had no charge for transporting surf- boards, has decided to ban all hang gliders, windsurfing boards and sails, surfboards, kayaks and canoes from flights and concerns are now build- ing that other airlines will follow this example.

Thousands of surfers travel between the UK and Ireland to go surfing each year and local business people believe the decision will have a ma- jor impact on surfing 1n the county.

‘This could have a big effect on the surf industry in Clare. A lot of peo- ple fly from Gatwick or Heathrow in to Ireland to go surfing in Lahinch or whereever. There is an awful lot of surfing traffic back and forth be- tween Clare and Britain,” said Deb- bie Green of the Green Room Surf School in Lahinch.

‘IT don’t know what these people are

going to have to do now. They might be able to make alternative arrange- ments and maybe come by ferry but there is no guarentee that they will continue to come here.

“This decision is definitely going to affect surfers; it’s already affect- ing us. We have flights booked with BA and we are still waiting for con- firmation from them as to whether we can bring our boards or not.”

Almost 5,000 surfers, including hundreds from Ireland, have already signed an international petition re- questing that BA reverse their deci- sion. The petition, which was started by the British Surfing Association, 1s available from www.gopetition.com/ online/14891.html.

“T really can’t understand why BA is making this decision. There are lots of other airlines who charge for transporting boards; why BA has de- cided to ban them altogether is a bit beyond me,’ continued Mrs Green.

“We are going to try and do some- thing ourselves to help the situa- tion. We are looking at having more boards available for rent for people who are forced to travel without their own boards.”

A COORACLARE student made history last week with a group of colleagues from the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.

Thomas (Tommy) Breen was part of the determined GMIT Archery Club that broke the Guinness World Record 28-hour indoor shoot.

Through the gruelling feat the stu- dents also raised more than €4,000 for the People in Need Trust.

Ten per cent of the money was raised in Tommy’s home parish of Cooraclare.

The charity shoot took place in the GMIT Sports Hall from 2.30pm on

Friday, October 19 to 9pm Saturday, October 20.

Bandaged elbow and plastered fin- gers Tommy was one of the six to continue shooting to the bitter end.

The 21-year-old is the son of Tho- mas and Imy Breen and has a brother and sister.

He 1s a past pupil of Cooraclare Na- tional School and St Michael’s Sec- ondary School Kilmihil,

It was when he went to GMIT three years ago that Tommy found his sporting niche in archery.

Since then the architectural tech- nology student has won numerous awards in the sport.

Based in the Mayo campus, Tom-

my was one of 20 students including stewards that took part in the GMIT charity shoot, with many travelling from UL, DIT and DCU to support and take part in the event.

Eleven shooters took on the 28- hour challenge and six, including the Cooraclare man completed the task.

The €4,000 raised by the students was handed over to a representative of the People in Need Trust later that week. The proceeds will be distrib- uted to a number of charitable organ- isations throughout the county.

Thomas Barrett, Captain, GMIT Archery Club, who initiated the charity shoot, said it was a thorough- ly enjoyable experience.

“Thank you to everyone who sup- ported us, to the many sponsors, GMIT staff and students, and mem- bers of the media who helped publi- cise the event.”

GMIT Archery Club was estab- lished in the early 1980s by Hotel and Catering lecturer Robert Dagger and was the first college to start the Intervarsity competition in this sport. The club currently has over 30 arch- ers and up to one hundred members, with branches in the Dublin Road and Castlebar campuses.

WHEN Jim Gully took charge of Clonlara two years ago, they had just been relegated from senior and there wasn’t a large queue of candidates willing to take over the side. Their focus since then has been firmly on getting the club back to senior and even though they went out of last year’s championship at the semi-fi- nal stage at the hands of Killanena, Gully knew that his young side were heading in the right direction.

More than anything else, it was that drive and focus which brought them victory last weekend. Their deter- mination on route to this final was a major factor in their success but they brought that tenacity to a whole new level on Sunday with a huge second half display which epitomised their strength of character and never-say- die attitude.

This all stems from the manage- ment’s commitment and belief in their team which manifested itself on Sunday in Jim Gully’s post-match celebrations. As the final whistle sounded, Gully’s elation was obvi- ous for all to see as he lept and ran around Cusack Park, even dropping to his knees at one stage, to thank the man above.

Still out of breath, he still had time between handshakes and hugs to pay tribute to his side who won their first intermediate title in eight years.

“It’s a great day for the club. This is the culmination of two years work. Relegated the year before last, we took it on last year with a very young team and we were a bit unlucky to

lose the semi-final by a point to Killanena. But today just makes it all worthwhile. It was a long, long slog.”

Fifteen points in the second half was a reflection on how much this

final meant to Clonlara but Gully admitted it took a while for them to really get on top after half-time.

“TI thought at the start of the second half, things were going slow and we didn’t seem to be able to get the lead

down. We went down and scored two points and then they went and got two back and I thought ‘Christ it is going to be another one of those days’. But then we scored five points without re- ply and | think that really gave us the

impetus to go on. Our lads have great belief because even in the semi-final, we lost the lead with four minutes to go and we still came back and won it by four. So that belief probably car- ried through today as well.”

Six points down at half-time after leading by five midway through the half, Clonlara’s challenge looked to be petering out. Half-time could not come soon enough and as Killanena remained on the field for the inter- val, Clonlara retired to the dressing rooms to reflect on what had gone wrong. But Gully confesses there were no tea-cups thrown around, just a reaffirmation by the management of the team’s abilty and belief.

“Those guys are all well able to hurl so we just said “believe in your- selves’. | mean we were only five or six points down with a big wind so we said ‘don’t panic and the scores will come’. Probably five minutes into the second half, if I had a chance I would have withdrawn those words but anyway, they didn’t panic and kept it going and they got there in the end.”

They certainly did and they will have to do it all again next weekend as they enter into their first Munster intermediate campaign. Jim Gully reckons they won’t think about that until maybe Wednesday. Ampel time to digest this win first.

ZRE Katowicz, a subcontractor that worked on the €384 million environ- mental retro-fit in Moneypoint, has been reported to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, following successful moves to avert industrial action at the ESB power station. Following four days of negotiations at the Labour Relations Commis- sion, an agreement was reached be- tween the ESB, its contractor Lenjtes and sub contractor ZRE Katowicz. The proposal negotiated will now be

considered and voted upon by the ag- grieved workers, which are members of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU).

A dispute arose over pay arrears and security of employment for the 200 Polish workers employed by ZRE Katowicz, after the subcontrac- tors contract was cancelled.

The workers lost their jobs and are owed up to six weeks wages, holiday pay and payment in lieu of notice.

The TEEU said the proposed solu- tion found at the LRC goes “a sig- nificant way towards addressing the

erievances”

The main contractor at Money- point, Lentjes, has agreed to make an ex-gratia payment of €600,000 to the workers.

Under the deal ZRE Katowicz (Ire- land) has gone into liquidation. This will ensure the remaining pay owed to the workers will come from the State insolvency fund.

The workers have been given for- mal job offers with ZRE Katowicz in Poland by way of a letter signed by the company’s chairman. The com- pany will also pay for flights home.

THE countdown is on for the sixth annual Burren Sponsored Walk, which takes place in Fanore on Sun- day, January 6, 2008. Proceeds from the annual walk, which begins and ends in O’Donoghue’s Pub, go the Clare Branch of the Alzheimer’s As- sociation, who provide home care and home support for the families of Alzheimer’s sufferers in the Clare ussca (eye

‘We send in carers to help the fam- ily to deal with their loved one. It al- lows the family to get out to work, it allows them to get on with their own life without having to worry about

the person at home. A lot of people cannot afford to stay at home in this day and age,’ said Marissa Butler McCarthy of the Clare Alzheimer’s Association. We also have a daycare centre in Ennis. It’s small at the mo- ment but we would be hoping to ex- pand that in the future as well.

‘Alzheimer’s can be a great deal of work for the family of the sufferer. We provide support groups for fami- lies in Ennis, Kilrush and Ennisty- mon, where people come together and talk about what it is like to care for someone with dementia.

“It’s great for the families of peo- ple who have been newly diagnosed to come and talk to people who have

already been through it. They can get advice about entitlements and money as well, which is very useful.”

More than 980 people suffer from Alzheimer’s in Clare at present. The Alzheimer’s Society helps the fami- lies of sufferers by providing home care through a mixture of FAS- employed home helpers and others employed directly by the society.

“The walk is our main fundraiser. It brings a lot of money for us and it is a very enjoyable day as well. All the money raised from the walk goes towards subsidising the in-house car- ers,’ added Ms Butler McCarthy.

“It’s a great day, there is a great atmosphere and great craic. We have

music and food and a raffle with great prizes. The Radisson usually gives us a weekend away for our top prize. We get a group of people who come back each year.”

To get involved in the Annual Burren Walk or to learn more about Alzheimer’s, simple contact the Clare Branch of the Alzheimer’s society of Ireland on 065-6868621 or call into the office on the Clon Road Business Park in Ennis.