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A WEST Clare school has been learning all about life down under while playing host to a contingent from Australia.

A group of 13 students, two teach- ers and three parents enjoyed the hospitality of St Joseph’s School in Spanish Point and the homes of Clare families for the duration of dates Bm YB ES) |

The school visitors from the Clare Valley High School, near Adelaide, were part of a larger contingent of visitors from the area, which is

twinned with Clare.

The youngsters spent two and a half weeks in Clare, sharing class- es with their new Clare friends on some days and going on trips for Oli toace

“It was a great experience for eve- ryone involved,” said school princi- pal, Mary Crawford.

“They all stayed with families in the area and they got to see a lot of the county. They went on trips to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. Then the host families took them to hurling and football matches and days out as well.”

The visiting students took classes with the St Joseph’s pupils, but it was anything but hard grind.

They had set dancing lessons from an All-Ireland set dancing cham- pion, traditional Irish music lessons and even learned a few words as CF oerxer

And the adults were not left out of the culture or the craic. They enjoyed pub trad sessions in the evening.

The visitors were treated to a Civ- ic Reception in the county council offices as part of the larger group, which included the mayor of Clare Valley.

“They also went to Dublin and Cork, so they packed quite a bit in,” OME Na Ye

This is the second visit which students from the high school have made to Ireland. The last visit was two years ago and it was so suc- cessful that the school arranged last week’s visit.

Now the west Clare school is con- templating making a return trip to Australia.

“It has been on the cards. We haven’t done it as yet but we are cer- tainly considering it now,” said the principal.

MEMBERS of Clare County Council have warned that some of the houses in the local authority’s Affordable Housing Scheme are over priced.

At the Kilrush area meeting yester- day (Monday) Marie Commane from the Housing Section told members the council is continuously having the houses revalued by its own auc- tioneer as the price of houses drop.

Clare County Council currently has properties available in eight lo- cations around the county valued in price from €138,000 to €175,000.

In Moinin on the Circular Road in Kilkee, the local authority are sell- ing three-bed semi-detached houses for €162,500 and €170,000.

These homes, it maintains, are available for purchase on the open market for €220,000.

Local councillors Pat Keane (FF) and Gabriel Keating (FG) raised ob- jections however to the valued price of these houses.

Cllr Keane told the meeting that as the houses are not selling at the guide price, the valuation is falsely high.

Cllr Keating said he follows the housing market closely and a house in Carrick-on-Shannon, (Leitrim) which is much nearer to Dublin, can be purchased at €100,000.

“You won’t get that in Kilkee. It is overpriced,” he said of the affordable atelursentee

To date 990 people have expressed an interest in affordable housing in Clare. Of these 564 were valid ap- plications, 163 properties have been allocated with 18 on hand and avail- able for purchase.

The council have received 79 refus- ES

The price of an affordable home in Clare varies from €138,000 to €175,000, and houses are available in Kilkee, Doonbeg, Miltown Mal- bay, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ennis, Clarecastle, Crusheen and Lisdoon- varna.

Affordable housing is the provision of homes at a discount to the market price for people who cannot afford to buy a home on the open market.

Applicants must have sufficient in- come to meet mortgage repayments, usually an income of €30,000 per annum, although all income is con- sidered.

Applicants must pay a booking de- posit of three per cent, and can sell their home at any stage. If they sell their home within 20 years at a profit however, they must give 25 per cent to the council.

If they sell the property at a loss, then this “claw back” no longer ap- plies.

SCORES of budding GAA stars turned out across the county over the last two weeks to pay a special trib- ute to one of Ennistymon’s sporting aera

Youth teams from every corner of the county togged out for the first an- nual Joe McCaw Memorial Cup or- ganised by Bord na nOg Peil and the Ennistymon GAA Club. The final of the U-11 mixed tournament drew a host of players and spectators to La- hinch and Ennistymon last weekend.

“We had great interest in the com-

petition, from every corner of the county. So much so that we had to organise heats in west Clare, En- nis and north Clare before the final weekend, with the final eight teams getting through to the final in Lahi- nch and Ennistymon last week,” said Gerry Murphy, secretary of Ennisty- mon GAA Club.

“We had great interest from all the clubs and a lovely atmosphere at the events. For the final we had tea and sandwiches for everyone, with all the parents helping out, and there was a great family atmosphere about it. The sun was shining, what more

could you ask for.

“The children had a great time and there was a great following from each club. It’s from the family up to the club, that is the whole ethos of the GAA. The matches were very sporting affairs, the referees were very good and everybody had a good mbes

There was also a large measure of home success in the competition with Ennistymon overhauling Wolfe Tones to win the shield while St Breckan’s returned to Lisdoonvarna with the overall cup.

The competition was organised

in the memory of Joe McCaw, who passed away in 2007. Joe was in- volved with Ennistymon teams at all levels throughout his life and served as club president before his death.

“Joe was involved in the club for years and years, the club was really in his blood. He also trained the U- 12’s before he passed away so a youth competition like this was very appro- priate for him,” continued Gerry.

‘This is the first time that we have held the tournament in his honour but we are hoping to continue it on from here and make it into an annual event.”

CLARE County Council paid out more than €1.39 million in legal fees alone last year, with the bill reaching almost €574,000 so far this year.

The largest earner from the coun- cil’s legal costs during the last two years has been Michael P Houlihan Solicitors, receiving €404,291 or 70 per cent of the council’s legal fees so VMOU (or

The figures were revealed at last night’s meeting of the council when Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) asked for an account of all legal fees paid out by the local authority last year, and

up until the end of September this year.

Of the €1,391,892 paid out from the council coffers last year, 687,138 was paid to Michael P Houlihan Solici- tors, €345,896 to A & L Goodbody Solicitors and €94,525 to Patrick G Quinn.

When asked by members of the council who was the county solicitor and why the payment was Michael P Houlihan Solicitors, Acting Head of Finance Noleen Fitzgerald said that John Shaw was the county solicitor, but he was supported by the staff of Houlihan’s.

Cllr Martin Conway (FG) proposed

that the council consider employing its own “in house”’ solicitor for legal work and minor disputes. He said that even if the council was to go outside this solicitor for specialised expertise, he believed the cost to the council would be significantly less.

“Unfortunately we are signed up for seven years contract and we are tied up until then,” he said.

The biggest legal cost to the coun- cil so far this year was in relation to roads which has reached €175,223 with water services reaching €148,845. Housing, including house and land purchases reached €81,165 up to the end of September.

Last year almost half the legal budget – £610,254, went on roads, including capital schemes and the Ennis Bypass.

Traveller Accommodation account- ed for €279,252 of the legal bills, while €166,079 was paid out in legal fees for water services including in- vestment programme, and €155,756 in planning legal fees.

The legal cost associated with the county’s fire service has multiplied by almost 10 this year.

Last year €1,454 was paid in legal fees associated with the fire services, while €10,206 has been paid out so far this year.

A TOTAL of 46 jobs in ground op- erations are to go at Shannon.

Meanwhile workers faced with re- dundancy at one of the handling com- panies have been told that if compul- sory redundancy is necessary, those with the best skills and performance will be kept while people who have been late or absent may go regardless of seniority of service.

Servisair workers are currently vot- ing on whether to accept a proposal from management that there will be 20 full-time voluntary redundancies at the company, which looks after

baggage handling and other ground operations for many of the airlines using Shannon.

A SIPTU representative said that the union is not making any com- ment on the matter at the present as the ballot is on-going. There are cur- rently 65 people employed by Serv1- sair, 40 of them full-time.

In a letter to the union last week, Servisair management outlined it’s proposals, which include a redun- dancy package of statutory plus two weeks per year of service, with the weekly calculation capped at €600.

The company has said that if it does not get enough volunteers, it will ap-

ply a “matrix” selection process, which is not the tradition ‘first in first out’ redundancy process.

A spokesman for the company said this would be based on factors in- cluding workers’ “level of training, their skills, attendance record and any disciplinary matters.”

Sources in the company have de- scribed the process as too objective and a “carte blanche” for the com- pany.

Citing the “dramatic downturn in business at Shannon” as the reason for the cuts, Servisair management said its preferred option “is to secure as many positions in both the short

term and the long term and to mini- mise any redundancies.”

If agreement is not achieved on the proposal by October 26, all staff will be put on short time, the letter WEN @ Ole b

Meanwhile, Shannon Airport suf- fered yet another jobs blow with the news of 26 lay-offs at Sky Handling lantoe

The company says it has been forced into the decision because of a decline in air traffic at the facility. The company provides ground and cargo handling services and employs around 350 people in Shannon and DTV) ere

and employs 7,000 world- wide. The Dutch-owned company has its Irish base in Shannon and last year recorded total revenues of €35.5 million.

The Shannon based firm last year paid a dividend of €12 million and this followed a dividend of €20 mil- lion paid out in 2007.

€87,000 was paid in restructur- ing costs last year with the numbers employed at the firm dropping from 124 to 106. €273,000 was spent on restructuring costs in 2006.

The Shannon base also manages the production of a number of jour- nals owned by other members of the

Elsevier Group.

The company continued to show impressive profit margins with a gross profit of €30 million on its turnover of €35 million while oper- ating profit was recorded at €23 mil- lion after operating expenses of €7 million.

According to the directors’ state- ment, they “are pleased with the lev- el of business and year end financial position. The present level of activity is expected to be sustained for the foreseeable future”’.

The company had accumulated profits of €11.5m

The Shannon firm exports all its products with no business carried out in Ireland.

Staff costs last year increased from €5 million to €5.1 million.

According to the directors, “the principal risks and uncertainties fac- ing the company arise from the com- petitive and rapidly changing nature of its markets, the increasingly tech- nological nature of its products and services, legal and regulatory uncer- tainties and economic conditions”.

Aer Lingus drops axe on Shannon

A COURT has heard allegations that a man walked into a Clare hotel and demanded money, stating that he had ceca tee

The claim, by gardai, was made in respect of Timmy Casey (31), of Clonlong, Southill, Limerick, who is accused of demanding money from a cash register, at the Clare Inn Hotel OPMENT e as Lee ehiE

Garda Timmy Killeen told Ennis District Court on Friday that it would be alleged a manager was approached

at the front desk at 9.50pm.

‘He had a hood over his face and a scarf. He stated he had a gun and he wanted money. There was no sign of a gun, but the man had his hand in his pocket. The manager didn’t appear to be put in fear. He left the hotel after a short time,” said the garda.

Judge Joseph Mangan declined ju- risdiction. He was told that the DPP had elected for summary disposal of the case in the district court, on a plea of guilty.

The case was struck out, without prejudice to it being re-entered.

THE proposed National Assets Man- agement Agency (NAMA) will do little to ease the pressures on small businesses opreating in areas like Parnell Street, Clare Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen has claimed.

Deputy Breen was speaking was during the debate on NAMA in Dail Eireann where he warned that un- less credit begins to flow in the Irish economy many more small business-

es will go to the wall.

Deputy Breen, the party’s spokes- person on Foreign Affairs, cited the example of the Parnell Street trad- ers in Ennis when he questioned the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan as to whether “NAMA will make any difference to the traders on Parnell Street, or any other traders in this county or nationwide.”

He claimed that the majority of people in this country are against NAMA and that when it came to

dealing with developers “there is one law for young couples setting out to buy their first home and another for developers”. He also claimed that NAMA will do nothing to address the huge demand for social housing. “Credit flow 1s the life blood of any economy and in spite of statements from the banks to the contrary, many small businesses are being squeezed because they are unable to secure credit from their banks. I refer to the €54 billion being made available by

the European Central Bank,” said Deputy Breen,

He added, “The belief is wide- spread among Fine Gael members that many commercial banks – which have borrowed money at a rate of three per cent and which will now gain access to this money at a rate of 1.5 per cent – will repay their original debts instead of allowing credit flow to customers who badly need it. I will cite the example of Parnell Street in Ennis, County Clare. Ten business- es have closed there in the past 12 months with the loss of more than 50 jobs and there are 20 vacant premises on that street now. The question must be asked whether NAMA will make any difference to the aforementioned traders on Parnell Street or to other traders throughout the county or na- tionwide.”

In September, traders told a meet- ing of Ennis Town Council that Par- nell Street was “dying” due to a com- bination of factors including the poor condition of the street, lack of invest- ment, poor lighting, drainage and the overall impact of the recession.

Speaking at the October meeting of Ennis Town Council, Town En- gineer, Eamon O’Dea said the coun- cil was currently examining how best to deal with drainage problems on Parnell Street. He said that this would involve “substantial elements of work”.

WHO says that there is no entertain- ment in local soccer? This league cup final would put it up to any Pre- miership game in terms of goals, last gasp tackles and anxiety for on-look- ing fans.

SUUUUE ROD biccceM (once elem. eurvelo nm DE the end after extra-time but this game had so many twists and turns Kilrush will certainly feel that they left this cup behind them.

It was Tulla who got the ball rolling when they grabbed the first goal of the match. After some good build up play, striker Keith Lenihan nodded his team into an early lead.

Kilrush were not in the mood for putting their heads down and they immediatly fought back. After 25 minutes Stephen O’Gorman equal- ised, cooly lobbing Shane Collins in the Tulla goal after some great pass- ing between Brian Harte and Trevor SET Tea

Both sides continued to attack and create chances but another goal was not found before the referee brought the first-half to an end.

A few minutes into the second-half Tulla were back in front. This time it was a Crusheen man Alan Brigdale who restored the advantage for Tulla. His long range effort crept over the line when Kilrush goalkeeper Joe Griffin failed to deal with his at- Koa oelel me

Kilrush’s frustration was clear but once again they must be admired for how they got back into the game again. It only took them ten minutes to find a second equaliser. Sub Eoin Fitzgerald who finished off a good move, again with Clancy and Harte at the centre of the move.

The momentum had now certainly switched over to the west Clare men. They still looked very positive and had completed their mission when they went in the lead for the first-time after 65 minutes. Clancy throughout

had been fantastic in build-up play but this time he switched roles from playmaker to goal scorer. He picked up a loose ball outside the box and hammered his shot into the corner of the net.

Tulla had lost the lead twice and were now trailing while Kilrush had completed a miraculous recovery so a tense final quarter was certainly brewing. Kilrush looked to have held on to claim this title but incredibly there was one more headline maker in the 95th minute. Again the impor- tance of subsitutes was evident when Andy McMahon claimed a dramatic levelling goal. Kilrush with another defensive error had blown it and ex- tra-time was now the only solution.

It was clear after the first-half of ex- tra time that both teams had tired but their was still some clear cut chances being constructed.

Man of the match James O’ Hagan missed a number of header opportu- nites but he certainly made up for this

in the opening minutes of the second period of extra-time. An inswinging corner kick was headed on target and Tulla had restored their lead.

Kilrush spirits had been damaged beyond repair. Brigdale with his sec- ond finished off the game a few min- utes later with another cool finish.

Tulla had the game and the first di- vision league cup in hand.