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WATER shortages in homes in east Clare are becoming a major problem, councillors have told local authority officials.

At a meeting last week of the Scar- iff area committee, councillor Joe Cooney said that there “have been in- creasing incidents of water shortages. In Tuamgraney on the last two bank holiday weekends, there were some houses that had no water all through Saturday and Sunday”’.

The councillors were discussing motions from Cllr Cooney and Cllr Pat Hayes asking what the council intends to do about water shortages which are affecting Tulla and Tuam- eraney.

In a written answer, senior execu- tive engineer, Sean Lenihan told Cllr Hayes that pumps serving Tulla were upgraded in April and it has been es- tablished that there are no significant oF CSE PO MS aCemD ACK 80F

But he added that in the event of wa- ter shortages this summer, it may be

necessary to restrict supply to some of the lower areas in order to boost the flow to areas on higher levels in the town.

The council will have to ask for the co-operation of residents in conserv- ing water and reducing how much they use if this happens, the engineer Sr RIOR

Problems with water supply in the Tuamgraney area would be im- proved when work goes ahead on the €392,000 sewerage and water scheme for Scariff before Christmas,

the members were told.

A further €190,000 has been made available for work on the water sys- tem in Tulla while Feakle will benefit to the tune of €105,000 for work on the water supply there.

Cllr Hayes said that at a recent meet- ing of residents in Tulla, the issue of water shortages were raised. “It was also raised in the context of future development. I would welcome this funding but we have to consider that an adequate water supply is vital to the future development of our towns.”

ACTIONS speak as loud as words for Cooraclare School of Speech and Drama with five of its students win- ning awards for performing from the Irish Board of Speech and Drama. Three students won gold medals and two senior students were given special awards with distinction for their achievements after completing their final grade examinations. Grade Four student Jenny Ryan from Kilrush and Grade Three stu- dents, Saoirse Griffin from Cappagh and Breda Quinn from Cooraclare

were awarded gold medals by the board while the other distinctions were given to Kate O’Gorman from Cree and Edel Tubridy from Coora- OE NKeor

Founder of the school, Bernie Tu- bridy, said that the examiner had congratulated all of the girls on the high standard.

“They all put in a lot of work get- ting ready for the exams. Different exams consist of recitation of po- etry, reading, mime and dramatic solos. The younger students would have given an impromptu talk about themselves as well.”

Ms Tubridy added that all of the school’s students, over twenty be- tween the ages of six and 16 years, also took part in an annual show.

“All of the children performed on the stage in Cooraclare Community Centre for parents in March and there was a variety of short plays, solos and poetry that night. They all take a great interest in it- especially on the drama side of things. We put a big emphasis on that and communi- cation skills of course.”

Since 1994, the school has had many graduates from its weekly classes perform in local drama pro-

ductions.

‘“Cooraclare has a strong dramatic tradition with well-known producer Tom McNamara organising plays for the Doonbeg Drama Festival. One of our award winners, Edel, played Molly in this year’s Cooraclare Dra- ma Group play –

IT’S not everyday you see young- sters aged between 10 and 12 years taking to the stage to tackle the very serious issues of illegal drugs and alcohol abuse.

But the kids who have been taking part in the Clarecare sex education, drug and alcohol awareness pro- gramme have taken the challenge on board in a play specially written for

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The 25 youngsters who took part in the eight week course at the Molua centre have formed a drama group to stage “Friendship” at the Kuin- cora Hall Hotel tomorrow night. (Wednesday, May 30).

This is the second year that the course has been run by childcare worker, Sinead Corbett.

“We wanted some way of showing the public what the children have

been doing on the course and this seemed a good idea,” said Sinead.

Drama therapist, Deirdre Clair came on board to pen the play for the youngsters around the themes which they had been exploring.

The result was a chance for the children from fifth and sixth class in the girls national school and the boys primary school to come together and stage the drama.

As well as exploring the themes

which they encountered on _ the course, it gave the children a chance to have fun and learn some stage craft into the bargain.

And after intensive rehearsals they’re ready to show the world what they can do.

Curtain up 1s at 7pm and tickets can be bought at the door.

Clarecare also run youth summer camps starting shortly and details of these are available from the centre.

A NATIONAL charity won’t be looking a gift horse in the mouth this June bank holiday weekend as a line of horse-drawn carriages makes a 150 mile journey to west Clare in a bid to raise money.

The unusual cavalcade, benefiting the Barretstown therapeutic recrea- tion programme, will saddle up in Kildare at 6am on Saturday, June 2 before travelling south.

Local volunteer Noreen O’Brien said that at least 20 carriages as well

as horse boxes and support staff from the Kildare Horse Driving Club will pass through Killaloe on Saturday afternoon before stopping in Inagh for the night.

“I got involved because my kids are into showjumping and we have friends in this club in Kildare. One of the organisers, Pat Commane, 1s originally from Miltown Malbay so that inspired a ‘Kildare to Clare’ trip. We are distributing lines locally and there will be buckets for dona- tions as they pass through.”

The cavalcade will leave Inagh at

midday on Sunday, June 3 arriving in Miltown Malbay an hour later and finishing in Quilty in the afternoon. There will be more fundraising that night in the Quilty Tavern with mu- sic and a raffle as the club try to pass the post for their €15,000 target.

Ms O’Brien added that the entire operation would be massive.

“The line itself is only one thing. They will have lorries with horse boxes because they will change to fresh horses every 10 miles, as well as a bus in front of them. Barrets- town is the only facility of its kind

in Ireland. It is like a summer camp for children recovering from serious illnesses so it’s a huge effort but for a very worthy cause.”

She said that anyone with their own carriage can join the line along the way but regretfully sulkies are ex- cluded because they are not covered by insurance.

It is hoped that the event will be successful enough to ride again next year.

To make a donation and support Barretstown, telephone Noreen on 065-7084708.

THE smaller parties continue to keep the faith that they will be in the final shake-up when it comes to announcing Clare’s four TDs for the 30th Dail.

With the Green Party’s Brian Meaney tipped by many to be one of the contenders for the coveted “fourth seat”, the Barefield na- tive says that if “all of the positive feedback we’ve been getting trans- lated into first-preference votes, I’d have two quotas”.

“T think Clare people will recog- nise that I’m a safe pair of hands,” he said. Meaney feels the Green agenda is an idea whose time has fey nner

“The economic realities have en- sured there is a move towards the Green agenda. You only have to look at the cost of fuel. People see this and are seeing that the Green agenda makes economic sense.”

Labour candidate Pascal Fitzger- ald is also staying positive.

“IT am going out to win a Seat. People won’t make up their mind

until the day of the election,” he Said.

The Clare councillor is aware of the disadvantage of living just out- side the Clare constituency, in the Limerick east constituency, but believes this campaign will help raise his profile.

“Everyone had Bhamjee written off and we saw what happened there,” he said.

Progressive Democrat candidate, Murt Collins said on the canvass in Kilrush that he is getting “very positive feedback” on the door-

steps. “The future of the hospital and the state of the roads are is- sues that come up a lot, as does the creation of jobs in west Clare.” Collins said that it is “important to get a good vote. I’m looking for- ward to strong support on election day. A lot of people have promised me their number one or two.”

Sinn Féin’s Anna Prior has been experiencing a “very positive reac- tion’ for a new candidate, accord- ing to her spokesman. “The issues people are bringing up are the fu- ture of the hospital and healthcare

generally as well as maintaining the rural environment, provid- ing transport and services such as broadband.”

The spokesman said that the “northern situation doesn’t come up very much and when it does, people are pleased with the devel- opments there.”

In terms of party politics, the Sinn Féin candidate believes that people “are interested in who they can trust to deliver on the impor- tant issues. There is a lot of disil- lusion out there.”

THE IFA has reignited the war of words between farmers and factories this week by launching a blistering attack on the beef factories for the price paid to winter finishers.

IFA President, Padraig Walshe, lashed factories, describing it as “an outright disgrace and a body blow” inflicted by factories on the coun- try’s best and most committed beef producers.

Beef finishers have taken a ham- mering this spring and there was now a serious question mark over beef factories’ commitment to a 52-

week supply from Irish farmers.

The IFA President said the big play- ers now had significant investment in Brazil and he was highly suspicious that price manipulation was taking place, not just in the Irish market, but across Europe including Italy, which has always been a high-priced outlet for beef and cattle.

‘Factories that had talked up cat- tle prices in November and Decem- ber were now gone to ground and messing farmers around getting cat- tle killed, and at bad prices,” said Walshe.

“Tam so angry at factories that to- day I have called on Minister Cough-

lan to put a stay on the €50 million government grants she announced for the industry some weeks ago, un- til law and order 1s restored.

“T am demanding that the Depart- ment of Agriculture publish the weekly kill for each factory. This in- formation is available in the Depart- ment and I’ve repeatedly asked for it to be published in the interests of transparency.

“The Minister for Agriculture must stop the foot—dragging. If factories have nothing to hide, then the figures will make it quite clear that the beef leaving the plant was slaughtered under the supervision of the Depart-

ment’s vets in that plant.”

The IFA President said that unless the meat factory owners put forward real and coherent marketing plans to lift the price of Irish beef, there is no reason the government should fund their Irish plants and allow them in- vest their own capital in Brazil.

“IT am also calling on the Minister to ban trade in imported beef by li- censed exporters to preserve the integrity and good name of Irish beef, both at home and in our export markets. A factory with an export h- cence should not be allowed import or handle South American beef on the same premises,’ he added.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT is the main is- sue concerning people in the Shannon and Sixmilebridge areas, according to a survey undertaken locally.

The Shannon Community Network has concluded that people living in the area are most concerned about lack of suitable transport.

They believe that the re-opening of the railway station in Sixmilebridge 1s long overdue, while the frequency of bus services serving the area is insutf- ne toele

Secretary of the Shannon Commu- nity Network, Richard Cahill said the transport issue was identified at the re-

cent AGM.

“The main topic people wanted in- formation on was when will the train station be re-opened. Public transport was the main issue,” he said.

In response to the feedback, the Net- work has now organised a meeting on transport in Sixmilebridge next month (Thursday June 7, at Teach Cuirte, Sixmilebridge). Iarnr6d Eireann’s Re- gional Manager Jim Meade and the Regional Manager of Bus Eireann Paddy McGuinness will attend, as will Laura Ward of East Clare Accessible Transport (ECAT).

They will give powerpoint presenta- tions and will be the focus of a ques- tions and answers session, where issues

of concern will be addressed.

“We have asked politicians running in the election will they commit to come along, if elected,” said Mr Cahill.

The Bridge Complex provides a bus service for senior citizens, who travel from Sixmilebridge to the daycare cen- tre in Clarecastle every week. While this service 1s welcome, there 1s a need for additional bus services for people of AV Toe

‘People want more than that. For the past four years, ECAT has echoed that it would be wonderful to have services around the train station in Sixmilebri- dge,” he said.

He said that locals are also concerned about the state of access roads into and

out of Sixmilebridge.

‘The roads are poor. At best they are regional roads, with just enough room for a car and truck. If two trucks meet, one has to pull in so the other can pass,” he said.

sixmilebridge councillor John Crowe (FG) is hopeful, meanwhile, that the railway station will be built within the next year.

“The money has been allocated by the Government, Clare County Coun- cil now has to allocate funding for the development of a car park. The land has been sterilised for the car park. It is badly needed and we are hoping it will be started within the next year,” said Cllr Crowe.

THE inadequate public sewerage in- frastructure in the greater Ennis area is beginning to halt residential devel- opment on the outskirts of the town.

Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council jointly refused plan- ning permission for a development that would have opened up lands at Bunnow, Doora, Skehanagh and Clar- eabbey for housing development.

The council refused to grant plan- ning permission to Gareth Kelly on

four grounds. One of these is that the council “is not satisfied that there is sufficient capacity for the existing Clareabbey treatment plant to ac- commodate the proposed develop- nates Laan

It is understood that a new €50 mil- lion plant may not be in place for two to three years and further planning applications may be refused, pending the completion of the new plant.

Mr Kelly had lodged plans seeking planning for a sewerage and water supply scheme to facilitate the devel-

opment of the lands 1n question.

The proposal was said to be “pre- mature, pending the completion of an integrated sewerage design scheme to serve the general locality”.

Mr Kelly applied to have a total of 150 acres of land in those areas re- zoned from low-density housing to residential/commercial and remove the flood risk designation as part of the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

A further impediment to future housing growth around Ennis has

also been identified with the council refusing planning permission pend- ing the completion of a flood risk study of lands around Ennis.

The council pointed out that the proposed development encroaches on an area of land zoned as “flood risk” in the 2003 Ennis and Environs De- velopment Plan- the role and future of which is under review at present.

The council also ruled that it is not satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated sufficient legal inter- est to enable him to carry out the de-

velopment and that the route of the proposed Quin Road to Skehanagh roundabout ‘link road’ is not in ac- cordance with part of the develop- ment plan.

The Department of the Environ- ment and the National Roads Au- thority (NRA) also raised concerns about the application.

The department stated that a major development in this low-lying coastal floodplain area could create a need for upgraded flood defences in the OUTRUN Kon

THE Shannon Airport Authority is seeking a significant cash injection from the Dublin Airport Authority to upgrade the airport.

In an interview with Shannon Com- munity Radio Jet-FM this week, Ex- ecutive Chairman Pat Shanahan ad- mitted that the airport has suffered from under-investment in recent years.

“Shannon needs some equity now. Up until fairly recently, it was loss- making but with the restructuring we have made it profitable and it will be able to sustain its capital programme

into the future.”

“We have catch-up investment to put into the airport and it is impor- tant we consolidate that and Shannon gets a significant equity injection and moves into an environment where it is profitable and can pay for its own capital programme.

“We are now talking to the DAA about that. It is about putting the company on a good financial footing So it can invest in infrastructure,” he added

Mr Shanahan said the airport has offered discount deals for airlines operating transatlantic services over the winter.

“We are doing our bit from a com- petitive point of view so that these airlines are making money year round in Shannon and if they are making money year round, they will continue to serve Shannon.”

Mr Shanahan also revealed that a customs and borders protection fa- cility will be in place in Shannon by April 2008, when the ending of the Shannon stop-over will be complete.

Explaining the significance of the move, he said airlines could fly into any domestic terminal in the US, without going through international hubs. Shannon would be the first air- port in Europe to have that facility.

ILLEGAL parking outside SkyCourt in Shannon is being addressed and offenders are being hit with fines.

This was revealed to councillors last week, during a meeting with lo- cal garda representatives.

Inspector Tom Kennedy and Ser- geant Dermot O’Connor met with Shannon-based county councillors, Where the issue of unauthorised parking was top of the agenda.

Councillors expressed concern about cars being parked on double yellow lines, close to Xtra Vision and the pass machine, outside SkyCourt.

The mayor of Shannon, Cllr Tony McMahon said the traffic situation is becoming “hazardous” outside the shopping centre.

‘There seems to be a difficulty with applying the law to the problems that arise here. I fear there is going to be a serious accident in that area,’ he Sr AKOE

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Independ- ent) said the issue of unauthorised parking is of huge concern.

‘There are Road Traffic Acts there. If they are being broken, they should be enforced,’ she said.

Inspector Kennedy said, “It would seem to me that there is a danger by people parking there. We will con- tinue to enforce the Road Traffic Act.”

Sergeant O’Connor said the issue had been discussed previously.

‘“T understood there were plans in place to put in parking bays. The gardai are issuing several tickets

there in relation to illegal parking. If people continue to park there, they will continue to be fined,’ he said.

Councillors rose a number of other issues with the gardai, at the meet- ing.

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independ- ent) said there was a need for Shan- non Garda Station to be upgraded, Where a Superintendent would be located, permanently.

Currently, Superintendent John Scanlan, who is based in Ennis, is responsible for the running of Shan- neve

Cllr Flynn said the addition of the garda bicycles in Shannon has been welcome, adding, “You might see fit to get a motorbike too.”

He also expressed concern that the majority of gardai who are attached

to Shannon garda station live outside the area.

“The percentage of gardai liv- ing locally has changed and that is a backward step. There have been a few forward steps, but there also have been backward steps,” said Cllr ahaa

SC NINe mo. qo) Keniore CONC UI UTR te tion to drinking in public in Drum- geely. This, he said, stopped one family from walking in the area.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said there is a problem in relation to speeding between Clonmoney and Sixmilebri- dge and between Sixmilebridge and Cratloe.

“It is unbelievable. The speed go- ing down that road is phenomenal . . well in excess of 120kph,” said Cllr WZ TUN Core N ahve