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RESIDENTS in Doolin have warned that additional holiday homes in the village will result in a “dead” settle- ment for much of the year.

Residents in the resort have lodged an objection with Clare County Council to plans by Bespoke Devel- opment to construct four new holiday homes and a 20 bedroom extension to the existing Tir Gan Ean Hotel.

Bespoke Developments have been to the forefront in the building of holiday homes across Doolin.

A submission made on behalf of the company to the council stated a second phase of the Tir Gan Ean hotel was envisaged, however, the developers were not confident that a hotel development of this size would be economically viable.

It goes on: “However, after operat- ing the 12 bed hotel for the past year, a strong demand for more accommo- dation has been identified and this application reflects the operators’ ereater understanding of the require- ments of the market.”

However, the objection lodged claims that “there is no need for more holiday homes or for more long term rental properties in Doolin at present. There are already 65 holli- day homes built or in the process of

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‘Further development is premature in the absence of a public sewage sys- tem… acting on the precautionary principle, the development is prema- ture. We have no objection in princi- ple to the hotel extension when the public sewage system is installed.

Giving a breakdown of develop- ment in Doolin, the objectors state that there are 38 private homes in Doolin, 30 holiday homes and 28 homes with B&B accommodation.

The residents also point out that there are 35 holiday homes located at the Coogyulla Cross area of Doolin with only nine private residences.

The residents state: “Providing more owner occupied houses would result in a “dead” settlement cluster/ village for much of the year and will do nothing but adversely impact on the existing economy because there are a substantial number of locals de- pendent on a short holiday period to sustain their business. This “organic” economy will be sacrificed if devel- opments of this nature are allowed to Ree e

“The sewage treatment plant is out- side the zoned area and the village settlement boundaries and should not be permitted for this reason.”

A decision is due on the application later this year.

IF YOU want to cross the “Bridge to Health’, Ennistymon may hold the connection you’re looking for with the opening of new local healing and therapy centre.

The centre, officially launched last Saturday, will offer various health and relaxation treatments including reflexology, massage and reiki and classes in belly-dancing and Tai Chi.

The centre will also incorporate a gift shop selling local and outsourced crafts, homewares and jewellery.

Owner Celeste Davis and her hus- band Brian, who met in Miltown Malbay nine years ago, have done extensive work in natural therapy.

“We support the conventional sys- tem too but alternatives can work alongside it. There are often fewer side effects and my husband had great results using natural therapy to treat cancer and chronic illnesses in Sydney. The classes and shop add an extra element. We have had a lot of interest from people who want to come and teach here.”

Ms Davis, originally from Byron

Bay in Australia, said that Ennisty- mon’s Steiner-Waldorf school was a major factor in the family’s move to north Clare and this openness to alternative forms would benefit the Le LUKBE Lee

‘Bridge to Health’ will also offer bioenergy healing- a natural therapy which is rapidly gaining popularity.

“Bioenergy comes from Chinese medicine, where it is used widely in hospitals, and it works with a type of energy called ‘external chi-gung’. We are all surrounded by electro- magnetic fields and illness is outside

as well as in. Bioenergy clears the aura,’ said Ms Davis, adding that its two leading Irish practitioners are from Clare.

She added that she hopes the busi- ness will expand quickly to include counselling and psychotherapy as well as more classes and treatments such as acupuncture.

The centre will be open from 1lam to 7pm daily and later on weekends. It will close on Tuesdays. For more information, call 065 7071968 or 085 1390381.

AS ONE political campaign official- ly ended on Thursday, another began in earnest.

The opening of the 30th Dail may have signalled that the General Elec- tion was well and truly over, but for many the campaign had just begun.

Early on Thursday Clare Seanad

hopefuls Cllr Pat Daly (FF) and Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) arrived in Dub- lin canvassing for votes and nomina- tions.

This was like shooting fish in a barrel. Almost all of the Seanad members they would need to can- vass would be only one place that day with many of the country’s vote yielding councillors not far behind.

At llam while the newly elected Dail members assembled for Mass, canvassers from all over also assem- bled. In Buswell’s Hotel, Cllr Mulc- ahy had strategically placed himself inside the door, cup of tea in one hand, list of councillors in the other.

He was hoping for a parliamentary nomination having received the nod from Clare Fine Gael.

Cllr Daly arrived soon after. Hav- ing already received a nomination, he was now looking for votes for the Labour Panel.

The assistant to Tony Killeen had already canvassed most of Munster but the Dail seemed the ideal loca- tion before he started moving north.

Then Clare’s only sitting senator, Brendan Daly (FF), met briefly with

his colleagues in the famous political hotel. Senator Daly was also seeking a Seanad nomination before begin- ning his tour of the country canvass- ing votes.

Cllr John Crowe (FG) 1s to date Clare’s only other candidate seeking election to the upper house, having secured a nomination for the Indus- trial and Commercial panel.

CLARE Mayor Flan Garvey will meet with Nova Scotia’s tourism minister this week to discuss the possibility of establishing a direct air link between the

west of Ireland and

the Canadian prov-

nNeon

The Shannon-

Halifax link was

first proposed last

August when the

two public’ rep-

resentatives met

at the Milwaukee

Irish Festival in

Wisconsin. It 1s anticipated that this week’s meet-

ing will lead to a submission being made to a transat- lantic carrier regarding the proposed os ats (Len

Commenting on the proposal, Minister Len Goucher, a former em- ployee of Air Canada, said that the establishment of a direct flight from Nova Scotia to the West of Ireland would be of huge benefit to both re- gions.

“I would love to see a direct air link being established between our provincial capital of Halifax and

Shannon. Air Canada currently flies from Halifax to London but it is my intention to push for a similar service directly into Ireland,” he said. Mayor Garvey highlighted the cul- tural links between Nova Scotia and Ireland and _ said that a direct air service would not only serve to ce- ment these links but would provide a platform to boost tourism on _ both sides of the Atlan- non Nova Scotia 1s located on Cana- da’s south-eastern coast and is the country’s second smallest province with a population on just under one million people. Thousands of Irish people emigrated to the region dur- ing the 18th and 19th centuries. An estimated 500-1000 Nova Scotians are fluent Irish speakers. Most of these live in Antigonish County or on Cape Breton Island. Mayor Garvey is scheduled to meet with Minister Goucher in Halifax on Friday.

CONCERNED residents rb O’Callaghan’s Mills and Kilkishen are joining forces for a charity walk/ cycle to raise money for a defibrilla- tor unit for each village.

The event will be on Sunday, June 24, and will cover the distance be- tween the two villages, starting from Kilkishen at 6pm. People are asked to make a donation of any sum when registering to take part or simply do-

nate funds if not.

The target 1s at least €6,000 to cov- er the cost of both machines. Train- ing for up to 15 people is included in the price but further training costs 40 te

Local man Martin McMahon ex- plained that with the nearest hospi- tals in Ennis and Limerick, demand for local lifesaving measures was stronger than ever.

“We had two meetings- one in each village- and everyone thought that

it was a great idea. It might never be needed but if it saved one life it would be worth it. We saw commu- nities like Mountshannon and White- gate getting defibrillators as well as a large number in Limerick and we felt that it was time to do so ourselves. I would recommend that every village get one.”

The Red Cross will be enlisted to provide training and insurance and anyone can learn to save a life.

“T have gotten a lot of calls from peo-

ple interested in training to use them. It hasn’t been decided yet where we will put them but they will be kept centrally. In O’Callaghan’s Mills, we are lucky that the school, church, community centre and playing fields are all very close together.”

Mr McMahon added that donations from Overseas are welcome and also appealed for sponsors to come for- ward.

For more information, phone 086 “ORI oe

CLARE County Council has been accused of acting outside its pow- ers by imposing a condition that a €25 million housing development not be used as holiday homes but be the permanent homes of the owners concerned.

Last month, Clare County Coun- cil granted planning permission to Paddy Madden, Barry Madden, Jerry O’Sullivan and Paul O’Connell for a 60 home development at Dough, Kil- kee.

However, in granting planning for the homes the council states: “The dwellings shall be occupied as princi- pal placed for permanent residences. In this regard, the developer shall en- ter a legal agreement with the council under the provisions of Section 47 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000. This shall be included in the sales agreement of each dwelling.”

The developers’ planning appeal states: “It is submitted to the board that the zoning provisions do not re- strict the occupancy of houses on the site nor is it stated in any section of the plan that a restrictive occupancy condition will be attached to residen- tial developments in Kilkee…

“It 1s argued that the council have acted ultra vires in attaching such a condition to the grant of permission and in this regard, it is requested that

the board omits the condition.

The developers propose a require- ment to provide 20 per cent of the overall site for permanent occupa- tion, This would necessitate that 12 homes be restricted in use.

The appeal adds: “It is further con- sidered that such a condition would facilitate the integration of different housing needs within the town of Kilkee and would prevent secularisa- tion of holiday and permanent hous- iba

“It is not clear from the plan wheth- er the occupancy condition is to be afforded to all new development in the town. However, if this is the case, then having regard to the extent of residential zoned land in the town relative to projected demand, there will be an over-supply of houses restricted to permanent occupancy Visteon

“If it is case that the condition 1s to be applied in an ad-hoc manner to fu- ture development, such that adequate provision is made to meet projected demand as detailed in the plan, then the proposed development has been unfairly restricted to accommodate 55 per cent of the overall demand.

The developers argued that it would be unreasonable to hold them respon- sible for the future actions of poten- tial house purchasers.

A decision is due on the appeal later this year.

ENNIS Town Council has intro- duced a raft of new measures aimed at streamlining the chamber’s deci- sion-making process.

The council undertook a review of the standing orders governing meet- ings of Ennis Town Council follow- ing debate over the effectiveness of current procedures.

Changes were adopted regarding notices of motion, the order of busi- ness, the date of and timing of meet- ings and the suspension of standing orders.

Explaining the reasons for the changes, town manager Jom Cough- lan said greater clarity was needed for the council to operate more ef- fectively. Mr Coughlan was speak- ing at the June meeting of Ennis steam Oretiene

He said, ““We had a situation at one meeting where we took a decision on an issue and then changed it at anoth- er meeting. The discussion should be on the accuracy of the minutes as op- posed to the decision taken”.

Responding to a question put for- ward by Green Party councillor Donal O’Bearra, Mr Coughlan said councillors did not have to wait un- til monthly meetings to raise council

seek ne

“You can raise issues at any time and we will try to get you an answer. These changes are useful for the pur- pose of the council actually having achieved something at the meeting.”

The amendments, which drew the most debate, were those concerning notices of motion.

Under the new system “any mem- ber of the council may submit a ques- tion for inclusion in the agenda in the Same manner as a notice of motion maybe submitted under standing or- der number 14.

“Each such question shall be sub- ject to the rules relating to notice of motion as defined under standing order number 19. Questions shall be dealt with by written reply without discussion.

Concern was raised over the revised standing order that bans discussion of responses given to notices of mo- tion. Green Party councillor Donal O’Bearra question what councillors could do if they were unhappy with the response.

Mayor of Ennis Joe Reidy (FF) said the changes were needed.

“The order of business was being skipped from one meeting to the oth- er and the important stuff was being left out.”

RESIDENTS in Ennistymon have claimed that the water quality in the area is still bad despite extensive work being carried out on local pipes, replacing and upgrading them.

Margaret and Victor Mulcahy, own- ers of The Green Briar guest house on the road to Lahinch, said that the problem of what appears to be rust in the water supply has been going on for at least a decade.

“Work has been done on the pip- ing system locally and granted, the problem is not as bad as it was but I still don’t trust the water. For the last few weeks there has been an awful

chemical or disinfectant-type smell from the water that even filtering it overnight would not get rid of.

“There are also little brown blobs in it. If you put it in a glass, mate- rial settles at the bottom,’ said Ms WY TUN er Vas

She said that extra work and ex- penses were being created for her business as well as causing incon- venience to guests.

“If I put in a white wash of sheets or towels, they come out with little brown marks all over them. When we replaced napkins lately they were Amo tom ee) Celtbe

“Tiles and baths are stained so that is extra cleaning. The first thing

guests see when they come in is a no- tice about the water.”

She added that they have been told that the water is safe to drink but would still have misgivings and buy bottled water.

She said that her neighbours, par- ticularly next door, were having the same problem.

Councillor Martin Conway (FG) added that he had also been contact- ed by a local resident in relation to discoloured water that she had col- lected a sample of.

“Sewerage systems in Clare should have been upgraded years ago. There has been a huge amount of develop- ment but not in tandem with infra-

structure. I don’t blame local authori- ties but hopefully our four TDs will work to rectify the situation.”

Engineer for Ennistymon, Caimin Dillon, said that old cast iron pip- ing had recently been replaced and a new system was operating. He added that there had not been complaints recently and a scouring of the line had been done last Thursday and had shown up clear.

“As for the strong smell, that is probably chlorine and we will look into it. There could be a problem with sediment in internal tanks or something between the main pipes and the building. There should not be sediment in the line.”

DUMPING of bottles, cardboard and even household rubbish at the recy- cling bins in Kilrush is becoming an eyesore, a health hazard and could nobble the town’s chances in the tidy towns competition.

The matter was highlighted during a discussion at a recent meeting of the town council when councillors Colie Sweeney and Liam O’Looney raised the matter in motions calling for a proper recycling facility for the

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“It’s about time this council got real about recycling. The bottle bank at Place de Plouzane is an utter dis- erace, rats, flies and stray dogs are adding to the public nuisance there.

“Up in Kells and Mullingar they have brand new state of the art re- cycling centres through 75 per cent erants from the Department of the Environment. We have a tip head doubling as a bottle bank.,” Cllr Sweeney said.

Cllr O’Looney said that he had seen

the Kells facility and “it has every- thing. This town is growing and we should apply immediately for grant- aid for this project. We even have suitable land.”

ClUlr Tom Prendeville warned that “if the tidy towns judges go into Place de Plouzane and see the mess in there, we’ll drop by 100 marks”.

Town Clerk Fiona Looney, told the meeting that following a previous discussion about the facility, plans had been made to replace the collec- tion bins with a more modern design

and to reorient them in a block.

A CCTV system is planned to mon- itor the area so that prosecutions can be brought against people who use the recycling facility for dumping.

Councillors told officials that any plan to improve the situation at Place de Plouzane should not be used to side-track plans for a major recycling facility for the town.

It was agreed that an application for funding for such a facility should be drawn up for presentation to the De- partment of the Environment.

PLANS for a €30 million retail park for Shannon have been turned down. Clare County Council ruled that the plan would be premature pending the preparation of a masterplan for the area.

Last year Greenbrand Investments and Sean Halpin lodged plans to de- velop a mixed-use retail park devel- opment consisting of a DIY anchor store, garden centre, three retail warehouses, 10 retail units, eight of- fice units and one department store.

The council refused planning per- mission for the proposal as it would

materially contravene the South-East Clare Economic Plan.

The report also stated that the “over- all layout and design of the proposed development fails to exploit opportu- nity for development of a key-site in a manner which relates satisfactorily to its siting as a prominent location on the approach to Shannon. There- fore, the proposal seriously injures the visual amenities”.

According to developers the project, located at Smithstown with 15,777m2 in gross floor retail space and 1,336m2 in office space, would “promote growth in a sustainable manner by concentrating develop-

ment in an area adjacent to the town oe) Kemet

They also claimed that their pro- posal “would improve the socio-eco- nomic profile of Shannon and will create additional jobs representing a significant boost to the local econo- neha

A decision was due on the applica- tion in June of last year but the devel- opers requested a year long extension for the council to consider it.

The developers deferred a decision on the application after a planner’s report into the project recommended refusing permission on two grounds.

The developers failed to convince

the planners, while the public con- sultation phase for the drawing up of a Shannon area masterplan will start in a few weeks.

The proposal attracted a number of objections. The promoters of the €135 million redevelopment of Shannon also expressed concern.

The Shannon Town Centre Man- agement Company stressed that it was not opposed to appropriate retail development but said that to “dis- perse the focus of department stores and other large floorplates from the defined core area” was inappropriate with redevelopment still in the early SE Toe