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THERE will be disruption to traffic flows around Ennis this month with the closure of one of the main ap- proach roads to the town.

A section of the Tulla Road (R352) at Corrovorrin Bridge will be closed for a period of eight days from Au- gust 20 to 27 to facilitate the renewal of major foul sewer infrastructure. Pedestrian and cycle access will be maintained at all times during the closure.

Upgrade work at the site has been delayed since April when the road was originally scheduled to close.

There have been long running prob- lems at the sewage station near the bridge that have caused difficulties to homes in the area.

Ennis Town Council earlier this year highlighted over-use as one of the main cause of problems at the SEIN

Diversionary routes for traffic us- ing the road will be in place for the

duration of the closure.

Traffic travelling to Ennis, west of the Corrovorrin Railway Bridge from Tulla and east Clare, on the R352 is advised to turn right approximately eight kilometres east of Ennis, at Feenagh Cross (500 metres south- east of Clooney Church) onto the L- 4074. ‘Travel north on the L4074 via Kearney’s Cross (known locally as Harrison’s Cross) and onto the N18 PAM Grabeel 08

At the junction of the L4074 and the N18 in Crusheen village, turn left and travel via the N18 southwards towards Barefield and Ennis. At the oynabaaleseCeresseCosmeval elo NORoM ey IpON KO) ce pass take the exit for Barefield and Ennis and follow directional signage to Ennis and onwards.

Local traffic from Ballymacahill and Roslevan north of the R352 at Roslevan is advised to travel via the L4608/L4102 to its junction with the L4100 where traffic should turn onto the L4100 and travel to the junction of the L4100 with the R458 (origi-

nally the N18) at a point one kilome- tre south of Barefield and follow the R458 (originally the N18) to Ennis and onwards.

Heavy Goods Vehicle Traffic (i.e. vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes laden weight) travelling to Ennis, west of the Corrovorrin Railway Bridge,

from Tulla and east Clare, on the R352 traffic is advised to divert e1- ther north or south, on to the R462 at its junction with the R352 approxi- mately 16 kilometres east of Ennis and one kilometre south of Tulla.

FORMER Green Party Leader and Minister for Food and Horticulture at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Trevor Sargent, has called on a partnership approach to be adopted to help farmers deal with challenges which result from the bad weather conditions.

With growth back my more than 50 per cent in many areas, farmers are facing serious problems, with more and more seasonal vegetable crops now being imported from abroad.

“Poor weather conditions bring huge uncertainty to harvesting and planting operations. Producers have

shown great resilience but they need some assurance about market pros- pects and returns if they are to con- tinue investing and supplying local products to the consumer in a sector where seasonality provides diversity and added interest,” he said.

Minister Sargent pointed out that the recent EU reform of the fruit and vegetable sector will bring new Opportunities to support producer organisations in production/sup- ply planning and in the promotion of greater consumption of fruit and vegetables, particularly by young people.

The new arrangements will also provide aid for producer organisa-

tions that undertake measures to prevent or manage crises such as ad- verse weather conditions.

“Nevertheless, the market relation- ship between the producers, retail sector and consumer is the key to the development of this important sec- tor,’ he continued.

‘Partnership arrangements _ be- tween producers and retailers will work best where they take account of seasonal variation in supply and of the need for continued investment in the sector to benefit the consumer seeking local food.”

Land conditions are so bad in some parts of Clare that first cuts of silage are still to be harvested, a situation

which could prompt a massive esca- lation in feed cost if a shortage hits WONKA OL Kode

Official figures obtained by The Clare People from Met Eireann re- veal that rain fall levels in County Clare were more than 40 per cent higher last month than the June av- erage, The figures also revealed that Clare had already matched it average July rainfall last Thursday, July 19.

Besides the under foot conditions, farmer have also being prevented from spreading fertiliser because of the heavy rainfalls. This lack of fer- tiliser spreading could impact on the condition of second cuts across the county.

A WEST Clare housewife will join a group of local tradesmen in a bid to construct numerous houses in one Neto) e

Mary Morgan is one of a group of six travelling from the west Clare pe- ninsula as part of the Niall Mellon Township Trust.

This year 1,300 people, the largest number ever, are making the trip to South Africa for the cause.

Of the record number of people, six will be travelling from the west Clare peninsula, four of which are

from the small west Clare village of Carrigaholt.

Kevin Shalloo from Kilkee, Joe Hasset from Cross, and Pa Mahoney, Denis McMahon, Richard Lynch and Mary Morgan all from Carrigaholt are making up the west Clare contin- gency travelling in November.

While she may be one of only 130 women taking part in the work, the Carrigaholt mother of three is no stranger to such projects.

Following the 2005 tsunami Mary headed off to the disaster zone to help out there.

Initially her offer of practical help

was refused, as she was not a trades- person, so she went alone and quickly got involved in building two houses.

This time around she will be in- volved in a weeklong project in Free- dom Town – a shantytown 20 min- utes from Capetown.

“I prefer to be involved and be hands-on,’ she said.

While the project will finish in one week, Mary intends to stay in the country for a month and continue to work there.

“T can’t wait,” she said.

The group has to raise €5,000 each – a huge challenge for such a small

area, but the fundraising is going well according to those involved.

Quizzes, auctions, hay barn nights and raffles all helped to raise funds.

Just last week they received the support of the Munster Rugby stars When they attended a fundraising barbecue in Carrigaholt and provid- ed signed jerseys and balls for raf- fling and auction.

On Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1 the group will have a bag packing session in Supervalu in OTF

All of the money must be collected within the month.

FARM incomes plummeted by a massive 25 per cent 2006 according to the National Farm Survey pub- lished by Teagasc last week.

The average national family farm income is now just €16,680 a drop of €5,779 or 25.7 per cent on the 2005 levels. While these figures are arti- ficially high because of the one off high level of direct subsidy in 2005, it still represents another blow for the farming community.

Perhaps a more worrying trend is that, according to the survey, direct payments now account for 98 per cent of all family farm Income.

The survey, which was conducted by the Teagasc Rural Economy Re- search Centre, also showed that on full time farms the average family farm income was €34,486 – down by 15 per cent on the previous year.

Reacting to the results, IFA Presi- dent Padraig Walshe, said that the figures are not as bad as they seem.

ml GI Tea e Durem peeeelomrPAU ee moore efited from a once-off boost due to the timing of the changeover to the decoupled payments system, and this is the main reason for the 25 per cent decline in national farm income in 2006,” he said.

“Looking at the income trends in 2007, there clearly has been a recov-

ery in dairy markets. While some price increases to farmers have come through, I believe there is major scope for further price increases this year. Also, world grain markets are quite strong as we approach the 2007 harvest.

‘However, cattle and sheep prices are very disappointing this year. Winter beef finishers lost heavily due to poor prices and higher costs. In the sheep sector, continuing low prices and margins are resulting in a serious decline in the national ewe ley ucreLeNbOTCaBE COle) eum

Meanwhile, ICSA President Mal- colm Thompson expressed his con- cerns at some of the income statistics,

particularly regarding the drystock sector.

‘These statistics are a wake-up call to policy makers, food processors and factories alike,’ he said. “There is an obvious and deep structural de- ficiency in the systems employed by the drystock sector, and these figures demonstrate that the current system of farming is inherently unprofitable. You cannot survive in an industry Where your production costs out- weigh profit.”

Commenting on figures, the Presi- dent of ICMSA, Mr Jackie Cahill, said they demonstrated conclusively the very low income figures for full- WUSSom Ec DUES oli

THE PEOPLE of Carrigaholt are planning for the future.

The local people will influence the future design of the west Clare vil- lage, as Clare County Council begins drawing up a Village Design State- ment.

Carrigaholt will be just one of two villages in the county to undergo the overhaul.

The local authority’s Planning and Economic Development Department intends to prepare the “statement”, in consultation with the public, over the coming months.

A Village Design Statement pro- vides planning advice directly ap-

plicable to the statutory planning system and is entirely community based.

According to Risteard UaCroinin, Conservation Officer, Clare County Council, “A Village Design State- ment sets out clear and simple guidance for the design of all de- velopment in a village, based on its character. It is an advisory document produced by the village community, not by the planning authority. It will not stop change from happening, but it can help effect how any new build- ing fits in to the village.

‘These statements are intended to influence the operation of the statu- tory planning system, so that new development is in harmony with its

setting and makes a positive con- tribution to the immediate environ- ment.”

Officials of the Planning Policy Unit following a series of public con- sultation workshops and meetings with local interested individuals and eroups will undertake the project. The unit will also be seeking the in- put of local public representatives.

“The main focus of the upcoming public consultations will be to turn the informed wishes of the local com- munity on the future development of both villages into part of develop- ment policy,’ said Mr UaCroinin.

Clare County Council hopes to ad- dress a number of issues during the drafting of the statements, including

the protection and conservation of important buildings, improving der- elict areas and structures, upgrading and enhancement of public spaces and facilities, appropriate develop- ment for infill sites and adjacent sites, and other relevant issues raised by the community.

The process will also attempt to identify the unique character of Car- rigaholt, with particular reference to the character of its landscape, setting and built environment.

Public information, consultation meetings and workshops will be or- ganised during the next two months. They will be held during weekday evenings and will be advertised lo- cally.

CO-OP are coming under increas- ing pressure to increase the amount of money being paid to farmers for milk.

The ICMSA launched a fresh at- tack on what they deemed an “inex- plicable and glaring milk price gap” between the price being received by farmers and the market returns being received by the country’s Co-ops.

The organisations milk chairper- son, Dominic Cronin, said last week that it is imperative that this “utterly unacceptable” gap was closed when a number of Co-op Board meetings take place this week.

“The gap between the Irish Dairy Board’s On-Account Price and the price being received by farmers now stands at 9c/litre.

In the case of a 50,000 gallon pro- ducer and in the event of the co-ops failing to fully pass back that in- creased price in July, the gap repre- sents a loss of €2,460 for July milk,” he said.

“These losses are simply not ac- ceptable and ICMSA is urging those Co-ops who have set their July and August milk prices to immediately IKeaTA CoA An te loa 08 i

Cronin singled out the state’s big- gest milk processor, Glanbia, as the Co-op ICMSA felt should be taking

a lead in the matter.

Meanwhile the IFA’s National Dairy Committee Chairman, Rich- ard Kennedy, said last week that he believed the Irish Dairy Board would soon have to adjust their SMP and butter prices further for the month of July, in view of continued EU spot market price increases for both prod- ucts, and many other commodities.

“The current EU average price for SMP is €3,600/t, 150/t more than the current IDB price including the June retrospective payment, while EU butter prices reach € 3,500 on average, €200/t more than the Irish Dairy Board are paying,” he said.

“Current EU butter and SMP pric-

es, calculated on the same basis as the IDB index, reach the equivalent of 47c/l. That is 4c/l more than the current Dairy Board index.

“It is clear to me that an adjustment to the IDB prices, which I believe must happen soon, will make those returns available to those among our processors who do not already have access to them because they do not trade outside of the Dairy Board.

“Contracted prices with manufac- turers of cream liqueur, infant formu- lae or chocolate crumb, are all based on the IDB index plus a premium – so that returns for these products are 1n- creasing every time the IDB increas- es its commodity prices.”

THIS year’s Scariff Harbour Festival has been declared a massive success. The programme for the weekend, particularly the family day, proved to be a huge attraction for visitors.

It was also an occasion to celebrate the links between Ireland north and south, via the country’s waterways, as Martin McGuinness arrived to of- ficially open the festival.

Michael Rodgers expressed his de- light that the deputy first minister had accepted the invitation to come to Scariff. “Over the years, the aim of the festival committee has been to develop a special relationship with the people of Northern Ireland at po-

litical, cultural and community lev- els, and each year we are delighted to welcome guests and acts from Northern Ireland. We are especially pleased that the deputy first minister is one of this year’s distinguished cuests,” he said.

Jeanette Ervine has also accepted an invitation by the festival commit- tee to come to Clare following David Ervine’s untimely death in January of this year.

The widow of David Ervine, late leader of the Northern Ireland Pro- gressive Unionist Party, will present a trophy named in his memory to the Young Angler of the Festival. The church concert this year featured multi-platinum singer/composer

Liam Lawton on Friday.

The star of the open air concert on Sunday was Derry folk singer, Cara Dillon who has recorded three successful albums with fellow band member, Sam Lakeman.

Saturday was Family Fun Day in the GAA Park and the younger fam- ily members were particularly happy being entertained with bouncy cas- tles, the Conor Lambert puppet show, a bungee rodeo bull, twister game, kiddies sumo wrestling, costumed characters, an airdancer clown, nov- elty races, nail and face painting.

There was music in the air too and the programme for the weekend fea- tured a mix with everything from jazz and folk to traditional music.

Everyone who turned out agreed that it was wonderful that most of the entertainment was free.

Sam and Pat Hyland, who hail from Athlone, came down the river on a cruiser with their two children to en- joy the fun.

“We came last year and moored up at the harbour,” said Pat. “We had such a good time that we made sure this year to organise our holiday so we could come here. There’s plenty for everyone to do and particularly for the children,’ she said.

AFTER all the excitement and razz- matazz of last years Irish and World Ploughing championships, prepara- tion are now well on the way for this year’s event.

Applications for exhibition space are reportedly flooding in to the Na- tional Ploughing Association offices in Athy in advance of this year event which takes place in Tullamore, from Tuesday, September 25, to Thursday 27

The championships will once again be one of the largest outdoor events held in Europe this year and organis- ers have concentrated on exceptional quality and diversification in their 60 acre trade arena this year with a huge

cross section of businesses being successful with their applications.

Government Departments, political parties, semi-state bodies, sporting organisations, hotels and education are just some of the businesses at- tending.

Financial institutes are also well represented with stockbrokers, 1in- vestment clubs and the Financial Regulator coming on board.

As in previous years health will have a strong presence at the cham- pionships with cholesterol and blood pressure checks from the Irish Blood Transfusion Board, the Irish Haemo- chromatosis Association and _ the Health Service Executive.

The National Office for Suicide Prevention will also be providing in-

formation on suicide prevention, an issue becoming increasingly com- mon in rural Ireland.

Renewable energy will have a big presence with wind turbines, bio- mass boilers fuelled by chicken litter, oats and barley. Solar panels, wood pellet stoves, science and engineer- ing stands will have you totally up to speed on the latest equipment and cost saving devices on the market.

The European Commission and the European Parliament will also be there to discuss the environmental challenges that exist in Europe, spe- cifically nature and climate change.

Northern Ireland departments will also have a presence with the De- partment of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Agri-Food and

Biosciences Institute.

The Road Safety Authority along with the Garda Road Safety Division will be carrying out seatbelt demon- strations for child car seats as well as free eyesight tests in conjunction with SpecSavers.

The ever popular overseas property exhibition returns this year, as does the fantastic Leader Food Village with its hand made chocolates, farm house cheeses, breads, cakes, honey and marmalades.

Leader Crafts are also making a welcome comeback with their mag- nificent displays that were so popular ETS more e

Tickets are now available by call- ing (059) 8625125 or for more infor- mation, visit Www.npa.ie.

TWO east Clare community organi- zations have been given a financial boost to the tune of €76,000 in to- re

Scariff-based East Clare Com- munity COOP has been allocated €40,000 while, Feakle Muintir Na Tire receives almost €36,000.

The funding was announced by Minister of State and Clare TD, Tony Killeen, who received confirmation from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs that al- most €116,000 has been allocated to County Clare under the Scheme of Grants for Locally Based Commu- nity and Voluntary Organisations.

A third grant of €40,000 has been

allocated to the Carrigaholt Commu- nity Hall and parish centre.

The Clare TD said that three sepa- rate groups would receive funding allowing for the refurbishment of premises and purchase of equip- ment, as well as training, education and research activities.

“These necessary funds important- ly recognise the voluntary effort of local community groups throughout Clare. The programme of grants for these locally-based community and voluntary organisations provides such groups with a valuable source of funding and allows them to under- take important projects in their com- munities,” Minister Killeen said.

He added that he looked forward to seeing the grant money put to good

use to serve needs in the commu- nity.

Welcoming the announcement, councillor Pat Hayes said, “The fund- ing allocated to Feakle Muintir Na Tire enables the community group to proceed with refurbishment and upgrading works at Feakle Commu- nity Hall. This widely used facility accommodates the local community, especially youth, musical and sport- ing organisations. I also welcome the funding allocated to East Clare Community COOP in Scariff.”

Under the Scheme of Grants for Locally Based Community and Voluntary Organisations, once-off grants are made available to help voluntary and community groups working with disadvantaged groups

or in disadvantaged areas.

The grants may be made for the ac- quisition or refurbishment of premis- es, or the purchase of equipment or transport. Grants towards wages or salaries or other running costs are not available under this scheme.

Organisations that qualify under the scheme include voluntary or- ganisations with a focus on disad- vantage, community development organisations and groups working in particularly disadvantaged areas or with disadvantaged groups, mutual support and self-help organisations, such as local personal development and community-based education groups, unemployed groups, Family Resource Centres and Family Sup- port Groups.

THE county solicitor has poured cold water on suggestions that a move by Doonbeg Golf Club to identify a so- lution over the contentious right-of- way at the €150 million golf course is linked to it possibly abandoning its High Court judicial review case.

Last month, the golf club held a public meeting in Doonbeg con- cerning a compromise proposal in relation to an ongoing right-of-way controversy at the fourth and 14th fairways at the course.

The meeting took place a week prior to a High Court judicial review application being brought by the club concerning an An Bord Pleanala rul- ing that the club built a wall across the right-of-way without planning permission.

The judicial review proceedings have now been adjourned to Octo- ber when the case is expected to be listed.

However, in a letter to the man who precipitated the controversy, David McNamara, County Solicitor, John Shaw said, “It is difficult to see how

any proposal put forward by Doon- beg Golf Club can in any way affect the judicial review brought by them against An Bord Pleanala.

‘The issue before the court is the decision of An Bord Pleanala and not the existence or otherwise of a right- OE eA

‘The proceedings before the High Court in our view cannot be deter- minative of the right-of-way issue. They are merely judicial review proceedings reviewing the decision of the board. The extinguishment of any public right-of-way is a matter

for the roads authority for the area in question pursuant to Section 73 of the Roads Act 1993.

“It would appear to the writer that the only way Doonbeg Golf Club Ltd can avoid a hearing of the proceed- ings is to withdraw their application to the court which would leave the decision of the board standing.

He added, “It is the Bord Pleana- la decision that is now before the courts, not the Clare County Council decision.

‘The case before the courts will not determine whether there is a public

right-of-way at this location or not. The proceedings before the court are not adequate for this purpose.

“Insofar aS we are aware, neither our clients nor ourselves have been involved in discussions with regard to the extinguishment of the alleged right-of-way over the golf club it- self.

“As indicated, it is not the inten- tion and has not been the intention of Clare County Council to extinguish the particular right-of-way referred to in the decisions which are now be- fore the High Court”.