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MAYOR of Ennis, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) is hoping to include local representatives from across the county in the council’s meeting with the minister for health next month. Clare’s four TDs, Minister Tony Killeen (FF), Deputy Pat Breen (FG), Deputy Timmy Dooley (FF)

and Deputy Joe Carey (FG) along with four councillors are to meet with Mary Harney on September 20 to discuss the future of Ennis Gen- eral Hospital.

Prior to the election the Minister for Health gave certain guarantees regarding accident and emergency services at the hospital.

The Ennis town mayor said that the

delegation of councillors would now be looking for a guarantee of “24- hour doctor led accident and emer- gency services for Ennis in writing”.

“IT was hoping to include mayors from Kilrush, Kilkee and county mayor Cllr Patricia McCarthy from Shannon if possible to show that this is not just an Ennis issue but a county issue,’ said Cllr Brennan.

The meeting has been moved from 10am to 11.30am to accommodate the train timetable.

It is not yet known if the newly formed Clare Cancer Concern, which will lobby for the return of mammog- raphy services at Ennis General Hos- pital, will also meet with the minster on the same day.

Deputy Carey told the last meet-

ing of the group that he would try to secure a meeting between it and the minister for the same day.

Meanwhile a meeting will be held on Monday next August 13, at 8pm in the Auburn Lodge Hotel Ennis to discuss the future of the hospital and gage public support for the campaign to retain acute services at the coun- ty’s main hospital.

COMPLAINTS against members of the Gardai serving in the Clare juris- diction have increased by almost 42 per cent. A total of 44 incidents of complaints were made to the Garda Siochana Complaints Board about gardai serving in the Clare area in 2006. The previous year, 31 com- plaints were made, 13 less.

An increase in the number of com- plaints nationally was also recorded in the Garda Siochana Complaints Board Annual Report 2006, pub-

lished this week.

The number of complaints nation- ally increased by more than 15 per cent between 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the board received 1,173 incidents of complaints compared to 1,350 last year. The report also showed that of the decisions taken in 2006, a total of 814 complaints were deemed admis- sible, an increase from 650 in 2005.

The Garda Press Officer said that the Commissioner, Noel Conroy, was disappointed with this increase and did not condone discourteous_ be- haviour, abuse of authority or, in any

way, the misuse of powers by mem- bers of An Garda Siochana.

“While the level of complaints are a cause of concern to the com- missioner, this statistic must be put in context. In 2006, members of An Garda Siochana had in excess of one million interactions with members of the public, with less than 0.1 per cent resulting in admissible complaints.

“This compares to approximately 700,000 interactions in 2005, which resulted in approximately the same percentage,” the press officer said.

‘The Garda Commissioner and his

management team, along with all members of An Garda Siochana, are committed to improving the stand- ards adopted by our organisation. There is nobody with a greater vest- ed interest in dealing with wrongdo- ers in An Garda Siochana than the Garda Siochana itself.”

The Garda Siochana Annual Report for 2006, which is separate from the Garda Siochana Complaints Board process, said that seven members of the gardai were dismissed by the commissioner as a result of internal disciplinary investigations and a fur-

ther 94 members were the subject of a disciplinary sanction.

In his introduction to the 2006 re- port, Dr Gordon Holmes, chairman of the board, said that, year after year, the report highlighted the shortcom- ings of the legislation under which the Garda Siochana Complaints Board operated.

“At last some notice has been taken of it and the Garda Siochana Ombuds- man Commission is now a reality. In the first half of the coming year, the Ombudsman Commission will take over the duties of the board,” he said.

THE terms of reference for an inde- pendent investigation into the treat- ment of patients at an Ennis nursing home have been set.

The HSE ordered the external in- dependent review into Cappahard Lodge on May last, following con- cerns raised “by a number of parties including staff”’.

A separate Garda investigation was also ordered, following complaints made by some of the family mem- bers of Kilrush man Gerard Finn, relating to his treatment and care at the home.

The terms of reference for the re- view, Which will be chaired by Dr Donald Lyons, Mental Welfare Commission of Scotland, have now been set.

In the course of the review, Dr Lyon’s committee will “identify and collate all policies and procedures relating to patient care in Cappahard Lodge”.

The investigating committee will also examine the extent to which current policies and procedures are adhered to and the adequacy of cur- rent policies and procedures.

Finally, the review committee will be asked to make recommendations as to how policies and procedures might be improved and/or more ap- propriately implemented.

Relatives and other stakeholders are to be contacted and asked to make submissions. The late Mr Finn died at the home in June. The 69- year-old was admitted to the home in December 2005, with Alzheimer’s and angina.

Over an “extended period of time”, some of his family members, includ- ing his daughter, made a number of complaints to the HSE regarding his care at Cappahard Lodge.

The complaints were investigated by the clinical director and direc- tor of nursing, Clare Mental Health Services under the HSE Trust in Care policy document which is designed to deal with allegations of abuse.

The complainants were informed of the findings.

This “screening process” found that no abusive actions had taken place and that “nursing and medical care provided for Mr Finn was ap- propriate”.

However, following the Trust in Care investigation, the HSE contin- ued to receive complaints from some family members in relation to Mr Finn’s ongoing treatment and care.

The external review was then com- missioned, prior to Mr Finn’s death POM LUD ates

Mr Finn’s wife, Ann, has made it clear on numerous occasions that she was happy with her husband’s treat- ment at the home.

A 30-year-old Ennis man who was found with an open Stanley knife in his possession after a street row had more than 60 previous convictions, a judge heard.

James Clune, of 11 Ashville Park, Ennis, pleaded guilty before Ennis District Court to a charge of posses- sion of a knife on August 3.

Garda Gary Cooley told the court

that he was called to the Abbey Street car park at 1.30am where he found Clune and another man involved in an argument.

Garda Cooley said they the argu- ment had calmed somewhat from the time he had first received the call “but when we searched Clune, we found an open Stanley knife in his possession.’

Inspector Michael Kennedy read out some of the most recent of a

string of previous convictions for Judge Leo Malone.

These included three convictions for possession of knives, burglary, theft, possession of illegal drugs, criminal damage, illegal possesion of a forged prescription, failing to ap- pear in court and being intoxicated.

Clune’s solicitor, Tara Godfrey, said her client has a “serious addic- tion problem. His father was a very violent man and he suffered at his

hands. He subsequently found his father dead. He has recently been attending Slainte and a psychiatrist and, in what was a Trojan effort for him, remained sober for one and a half weeks just before this incident.”

She asked that the court might con- sider putting off sentencing for a time to allow Clune to continue tackling abismsKelenlen(eyee

But Judge Malone said that he could not let him walk free from the court.

“The first time, I might consider a non-custodial penalty but the second time round, if you carry a knife, you go to prison.

‘People cannot go around carrying knives in public.”

The judge sentenced Clune to three months and set bail at his own bond of €600 with €300 to be lodged and an independent surety of €800 of which €400 was to be lodged, he directed.

HUNDREDS of angling enthusiast have flocked to north Clare this week to take part in the Annual Interna- tional Angling Competition.

The competition, which has been organised annually by the Lisdoon- varna/Fanore Sea Angling Club ro- tates location between Ballyreen and Blackhead in Fanore.

The week long competition, which attracts competitors from a number of countries, has been ongoing since RY

‘People come from the Isle of Man and from Scotland mostly. We do get

people from other parts of the UK and Germans who live in Doolin, and a lot of locals of course,’ said James Linnane, of the Lisdoonvarna/ Fanore Sea Angling Club.

“We would normally get about 50 anglers each day. We would get dif- ferent groups of anglers, some would come for the first few days and others people would dip in and out through- out the week.

‘There have been some people com- ing here from more than 25 years and never ever miss a year.”

Anglers take a rest day today, but competition will recommence in Ballyreen on Wednesday from 12pm

to 4pm, and in Blackhead on Thurs- Cr MA

After a rest day on Friday the final day of competition will take place on Saturday in Ballyreen from Ipm to Spm.

“There is a great facility for an- gling up the north Clare coast. It’s not being used to it’s potential. Most angling clubs in the country fish off of the beach.

‘The thing about north Clare is that you are fishing off rocks, which is rare, and that means that the water you are fishing in 1s quite deep,” he continued.

‘There is a lot of fish in that water.

Each year we get a lot of numbers and a good weight of fish. The water there is very clean.

While the amount of people who are angling has not grown greatly over the the last few decades, num- bers have held steady at a time where new sports and pastimes are being offered to the public all the time.

“It’s not declining anyway. There are still a lot of people who are an- eling. You tend to get a lot of young- er kids and older people who get into it. People often go away from it in middle-age and come back to it when they get older,’ continued James.

AFTER taking a break over the bank holiday weekends it’s full steam ahead for underage soccer in the county.

There is a full programme of games down for decision with 19 fixtures due to be played.

Tonight the under 11 leagues takes centre stage with Moher Celtic look- ing to continue their solid start to the season when they take on Lifford in JBHIaVEIATanelOvee

Elsewhere in the same division Newmarket take on Moneypoint at McDonough Park.

In division three, leaders Burren United are another North Clare side that have made a winning start to the season.

They face a tough challenge in the form of Fern Celtic. In the under 13 league, Lifford will be hoping to get their second win of the campaign with a home tie at Cassidy Park where Connolly Celtic are the visitors.

Newtown take on Mountshannon at Ballycasey while in division two, St Pats will be hoping they can leapfrog Newmarket at the top of the table with victory over Moher Celtic in Kiulmihil.

It’s already getting tight at the top in

division one of the under 12 league. Moneypoint and Ennis Town are tied on ten points with four games played. Sitting in third are Avenue United on nine points and three games played.

Moneypoint take on Avenue United in Kilrush with Lifford and Bridge United meeting in Lees Road.

It’s a similar situation in the under 16 league where three games are tied on six points. Fern Celtic are among the early pace-setters and they travel to Lees Road next Tuesday night for a meeting with Turnpike Rovers.

A PLANNING dispute between two rival taxi firms has resulted in Ennis Town Council refusing planning per- mission to Ennis Cabs to retain a cab office in Market Street, after AAA Cabs objected to the proposal.

As far back as 2000, a planning application was lodged to retain the use of the premises at the corner of Barrack Street and the market from retail to a cab office. However, the application was refused and An Bord Pleanala upheld the decision result- ing in the council serving a warning RK meme semen silo

A subsequent application was lodged in 2001 to change the use from retail outlet to taxi control station and this was again refused in April 2001. In 2002, the council eranted 12-month planning permis- sion to retain the use of the cab of- fice as a taxi dispatch office. In 2003, the taxi office managed to remain operational after securing a further two-year temporary planning per- mission. Last year, two separate ap- plications for retention were refused to continue to retain the office as a taxi office.

On behalf of the current applicant, Frank Gleichman, consultants, P Coleman & Associates pointed out

“that between the hours of 9am and 6pm, the office will be closed to the general public. There will be no ac- cess to the premises except for a sin- gle member of staff who will operate a telephone-radio dispatch office”.

However, Martin White, John Longe and Tony Woods from rival firm, AAA Taxis called on the coun- cil to shut down the operation at its current location.

In the objection, they stated, “When the taxi rank was moved to Parnell Street car park, all taxi oper- ators were to operate from that rank. We object to Ennis Cabs being given preferential treatment and strongly contend that the firm must use the aforementioned rank like other taxi operators do.

“We request that you give favour- able consideration to this objection.”

In its decision, the council stated that the proposed retention of the dispatch office by virtue of associ- ated haphazard parking and traffic movements would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard and obstruct road users at a busy junction of the market with Barrack St and would not be in the interest of proper planning and orderly development.

Mr Gleichman now has the option of appealing the council’s decision to An Bord Pleanala.

IT was a bright February morning when we left Ennistymon and set out on the road less travelled. It’s a little daunting to leave the certainty of the yearly cycle at school and the secu- rity of family and friends behind but the adventure of life drew us towards Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

With the process of selection, train- ing and preparation completed we were posted here on Pemba Island, Tanzania where we have a one year contract teaching at a primary teach- er training college where there are about 280 students and 12 staff.

The holiday brochures recommend Zanzibar as the perfect destination for honeymooners with its long white beaches and coral reefs. Its neighbour Pemba, on the other hand, is very re- mote, poor and underdeveloped.

The island is 40 miles long and about 12 miles wide with one main road through the centre which is serviced by cheap local buses called KORE er Nebo

Unfortunately, the island is sur- rounded by mangrove swamps so the beaches are few and difficult to ac- cess. Weekends lying out in the sun

are not an option.

The greatest challenge we face here is that 99.5 per cent of the people are strict Muslims, with religion play- ing a central part in their lives and the daily routine revolves around the calls to prayer.

The people of Wete, the town where we work, have really opened

their hearts to us although they found it difficult to accept a woman riding a bicycle.

There is only one other ‘msungu’ living in the area so everyone knows us and small children cry at the sight of our white skin and ‘funny’ hair.

The most striking feature of life here is the sheer poverty of the peo-

ple, how they struggle to survive and how they value education as a means to a better life.

Over the last seven weeks the stu- dents have been on block teaching practice and this has given us an op- portunity to visit primary schools all over the island.

Polygamy is widely practiced here so there is a huge school going popu- lation with up to a hundred in some classes. The standard of teaching is poor, books are scarce and often there aren’t even desks.

NINE months after doing a solo run on the appointment of a Clare foot- ball manager, the county board has come full circle and enlisted the help of the clubs in finding the right man for the job.

When the Clare delegation trav- elled to Paidi O Sé’s pub in Ventry late last November, they did so under the cover of darkness. Only a select group of board members knew of the impending approach, prompting an- ger among certain delegates.

“I think it was very, very under- hand the way it was done,’ said Ber- nard Hanrahan, Clarecastle delegate of O Sé’s appointment at December’s GAA convention.

Hanrahan’s remarks were knocked back by chairman Michael McDon- agh at the time, but this week the chairman confirmed that the board are two weeks away from receiving final correspondence from the Clare clubs, in relation to who the next man in charge should be.

‘“We’ve made contact with the clubs and we’re waiting for them to get back to us,’ he said. “Once that’s done, it’s a case of drawing up a shortlist over the following ten days or so.”

That the clubs of Clare have a say in the process may ensure that an

exhaustive search will have been un- dertaken, but it’s not guaranteed that success will follow.

While O Sé’s tenure as manager ended without many high points, the board were lauded by most in the winter for going after and securing a big name to help propel Clare up the football ladder.

It didn’t happen and as a result, the search is on for a Clareman to lead the county team from bottom-rung football next season.

“We’re anxious to get the right peo- ple in as soon as possible, but we’re not going to rush anything,’ added McDonagh. “The most important thing is we get the right men to do the job.”

Next Tuesday’s meeting of the board promises to be another action filled event. Besides the expected debate on the next man to fill the football manager’s shoes, talk will also turn to the position of hurling manager following Clare’s departure from the championship against Limerick.

It’s an open secret by now that a certain section of the board wished to remove Tony Considine, despite his two-year appointment. If this fac- tion gets it way, the board could be looking at an unprecedented four in- ter-county appointments in less than one year.

IT TOOK six gardai to overpower an angry prisoner after he was arrested and brought to Killaloe Garda Station, it was claimed yesterday. It’s alleged that a large number of the officers involved in trying to restrain Declan Browne, of 19 Cecil Street in Limer- ick, were injured in the struggle.

Browne appeared yesterday before Ennis District Court where Judge Leo Malone was told he had breached a condition of his bail by getting in contact with the Cahill family in Mill- stream in Killaloe.

The court heard that the accused had previously had a relationship with a daughter of the Cahill family.

He allegedly caused €600 worth of damage to the Cahill family home and the mother, Mary Cahill, was in court

to give evidence that he further threat- ened her.

‘He rang me to say that he was com- ing back with a couple of people to finish the job he started two weeks ago,’ she said.

Browne’s solicitor, Tara Godfrey, asked garda witnesses if they were aware that his former girlfriend, Ms Cahill, had come to his apartment in Limerick of her own accord.

“He will say that they were trying to patch things up and that he called to the Cahill home because he was locked out of his Limerick apartment and didn’t have his keys,” she said.

But having heard allegations that Browne, who suffers from attention deficit disorder, was extremely vio- lent towards gardai, Judge Malone re- manded him in custody to appear be- fore the court again next Monday.