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FOLLOWING the Taoiseach’s visit to Ennis on Saturday, a notice seek- ing planning permission for the de- velopment of Ennis Hospital will appear in the press at the weekend, according to Fianna Fail election candidate Senator Brendan Daly.

“The move is a clear signal of our intent to get work started on the En- nis Hospital development as quickly as possible” he declared.

“On his visit to Ennis, the Taoi- seach reaffirmed his commitment to the development which has the Government’s full financial backing and political support. It’s now time to progress the project.

“Vd urge the HSE to get on with

securing plannng permission so that the people of Clare can finally get the medical services they deserve. The Taoiseach’s ongoing support for Ennis Hospital should allay any local fears, largely stoked by cynical Op- position politiking, that the future of Ennis Hospital was in doubt.

‘When the project is complete, the people of Clare will have a new day ward, upgraded radiology, A&E and pathology departments.The wards in the hospital will also be refurbished.

‘“We’ve made real progress on 1m- proving our health services in Clare. We’ll continue to drive that progress with the full support of the Govern- ment and the explict commitment of the Taoiseach,” Senator Daly con- cluded.

GRAVE concerns about Crusheen Garda Station lying idle have been aired at a national Garda conference. The Crusheen station was closed due to damage in January 2005 and has since been refurbished.

However, a dispute between the owner of the building and the Office of Public Works (OPW) has prevent- ed gardai from gaining access to it, for work.

As a result, Garda Declan Keavey, who is based in Crusheen, is forced to work from Ennis, or from a car.

Clare representatives attending the annual Garda Representative Asso- ciation (GRA) conference last week in Westport, Co. Mayo raised the 1s- sue and received support from their counterparts across the country.

Clare delegate, Garda Tom Keane said the people of Crusheen were forced to suffer because of a dispute which they had no control over.

‘The Garda station has been ready for the past 12 months. It is disgrace- ful that the people of Crusheen do not have a station, an area where the population has increased substantial- ly,” said Garda Keane.

The conference heard calls for the OPW to be removed from all in- volvement in the Garda buildings programme.

The Clare delegates attending the conference raised a number of other

issues Of concern to them.

One of those was the procedure which is currently in place to deal with bullying and harassment. Under the existing procedure, grievances and problems are dealt with inter- nally. Rank and file gardai want this to be an external process.

“It is an internal grievance proce- dure and we feel it is not working,” said Gda Keane, who is the chair- man of the GRA’s Health and Safety sub-committee, which is currently compiling proposals for changes in this area.

He said that gardai were particu- larly concerned that complainants were victimised. Once a complaint had been dealt with, they were often subjected to disciplinary action.

“We are looking for an outside in- dependent body to investigate issues like that. There are a lot of issues. People should be entitled to make complaints and have them treated in- dependently,” he said.

The four Clare gardai attending the conference also called for an inde- pendent review on pay.

“The last commission on pay was back in 1979. We feel that the current system, which is based on concilia- tion and arbitration, does not work as it is too bureaucratic,” said Garda WO aler

He said that gardai will receive a pay increase of two per cent this year, which “isn’t good enough.”

A TALENT fulfilled is a joy for all the world. The life and talent of one of traditional music’s best loved young musicians, Joseph Browne, is to be further celebrated by the first ever series of musical bursaries offered to young musicians in his name, it was announced this week.

These bursaries, which are open to all young traditional musicians in Clare and Galway, come as a result of money raised during this first an- nual Joseph Browne Spring School of Traditional Music which took place in Gort earlier this year.

A Crusheen native, Joseph Browne tragically lost his life in 2005.

Two bursaries to attend the Meitheal Residential Summer School in July of this year, as well as three bursaries to attend the 2008 Joseph Browne Spring School of Traditional Music in February 2008, are on offer.

Young musicians of 13 years of age and over are invited to submit appli- cation for the two Meitheal Residen- tial Summer School bursaries.

Each applicant should include a written presentation of less than 1,200 words entitled ‘Me and My Music’.

This application should outline the applicant’s musical journey, includ- ing past musical experiences, mu- sical influences, important people in his/her musical life, what music means to the applicant now and where it could go in the future.

Young musicians who wish to ap- ply for this bursary should also sub- mit a recording of their own playing on tape or CD.

Meanwhile, there are three bursa- ries on offer for next year’s Joseph Browne Spring School of Tradition- ZV MAY RUS Com ders sel matbemRKe)ee Malco) aee ary 14 to 16, 2008.

The competition is open to all

ages, with one bursary each being awarded to seven- to 10-year-olds, 11l- to 14-year-olds and 15- to 19- year-olds.

Each applicant is asked to submit a written presentation of up to 800 words entitled “Me and My Music’ while a recording 1s not required.

All applicants should send their presentation to the Joseph Browne Spring School of Traditional Music, Cnoc Maol, Crusheen, on or before Wednesday, May 9, 2007 with name, address, contact number and age.

For further information, contact 087 0674335 or www.josephbrowne. oes

A WOMAN has won her battle to transform a 19th-century school building into a holiday home.

The former primary school is lo- cated at Ballyfaudeen, Liscannor, in a remote, sparsely populated rural area. Nora French lodged plans to convert it last year.

The school dates from 1882 and has not operated for around 10 years.

However, Clare County Council turned down the proposal over site

drainage issues. Ms French appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala.

The board inspector who investi- gated the case agreed with the coun- cil, stating that the proposal would be prejudicial to public health. The inspector was not satisfied that the site could be drained satisfactorily by means of a new Envirocare unit with peat-based system and outfall to an existing trickling filter on site.

However, the board over-ruled its own inspector to give Ms French the go-ahead.

It stated that having regard to the long established use of the existing building on the site as a school, the proposed development would not be prejudicial to public health and would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable de- velopment of the area.

The appeal lodged on Ms French’s behalf stated that the building had become derelict since its abandon- ment.

“Taking account of the prominent location of the building, and its his-

tory, it is appropriate to preserve and protect the local community spirit as many of the school attendees con- tinue to live in the area.

“Appropriate and imaginative re-use will provide for the general enhancement of the area. The ‘do- nothing’ scenario for a building in this location does nothing more than present a ‘no-confidence’ vote in the multiplicity of projects, which are undertaken countrywide to provide remediation for sites with similar drainage issues.

“On a broader note, the develop- ment is located in an area in which the houses to serve the increasing tourist market are not being permit- ted, and are only infrequently com- ing available on the local market.

“At the outset, it 1s important to make the distinction between a pro- posal for development on a green- field site and a proposal for rede- velopment of a building, which is constructed, has been used and is part and parcel of the local commu- ia Ae

PLANS for a rail-link to Shannon have suffered a major setback with news that the early results of a fea- sibility study on the project are “ex- tremely poor”.

The Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen confirmed that “the analy- sis, figures and economic case in the original draft” were not good enough.

He said that “he did not go with it” because of the poor figures.

“A different set of requests and questions were sought and these have gone into the mix. The local author- ity is dealing with it at present. I ex- pect to receive the final report soon and it is hoped that it will be posi- tive,’ he added.

It is understood that the consultants involved in drawing up the feasibility study, MVA Consultants, estimated the cost of the rail-link at €700 mil- |bTeyee

Chairman of the Shannon Rail Partnership, Councillor Sean Hillery (FF), disputed the €700 million cost on the rail-spur yesterday and said that the partnership’s own costing put it at €240 million.

“We accept that a rail-spur to Sixmilebridge is not viable and the approach to take is a direct rail-link between Limerick and Shannon. This is not going to happen this year or next year and will depend on popu- lation increases. A rail-link between

Shannon and Limerick would attract a public-private partnership, whereas a link between Shannon and Sixmi- lebridge would not,” he said. Councillor Hillery added that he hoped the route for the rail-link would be frozen in anticipation of it being built in future years. Meanwhile, in a Dail debate on Shannon Airport, Deputy James Breen (Ind) asked Minister Cullen if he would provide Shannon with debt free status. The estimated debt of Shannon is believed to be around

€100 million.

Minister Cullen stated, “It is not an issue because Shannon does not have a debt. I am not bothered about it.”

Deputy Breen also asked Minister Cullen about the possibility of fur- ther investment in the airport.

“Absolutely. There is no question about it,” said the minister.

WORK on the new playground in Sixmilebridge is due to get under- way within two months and a major fundraising drive will be launched locally next week.

Planning permission for the project was secured from Clare County Council five months ago. However the council did not grant permission for the area to be fenced off. The committee behind the project felt DOE NOON ECMAY’c-RN Rol O1UUDKCLO MEDI MEBOCCMN DOI) te ests of security, and appealed this condition to An Bord Pleanala.

This appeal was successful last week and now means that the eroup’s full plans will get the go-

ahead.

Funding, to the tune of €110,000, has been granted by Clare County Council and various Government agencies, while locals have also raised money for the project.

Now that the start of the work is in sight, a major fundraising drive is to get underway in the local area. A public meeting will take place at Teach Cuirte on Thursday, May 10, where the fundraising plan will be made public.

“Donations are more than welcome. We are looking to raise €14,000 to complete the construction and we will have to raise €3,000 to €4,000 every year to fund the insurance. Local businesses have been excel-

lent and we will now start a big ap- peal,’ said chairperson of the com- mittee Gwen Bowen.

“We will be moving forward from then. We would be hoping to start building within eight weeks,’ she added.

The boundary will consist of a two-metre high green-coated steel fence, at the site, which 1s located at Cappagh Lodge. To offset the visual impact of the proposed boundary treatment, the committee has been asked to submit a revised landscaping plan, indicating trees and shrubs, which are to be planted along the perimeter of the site.

In its ruling, An Bord Pleanala stated that the boundary was neces-

sary “in the interest of ensuring the facility 1s secure out-of-hours and does not present a threat in terms of damage or injuries to unsupervised users.”

“The playground will be located in the middle of a green space and will be surrounded by a cycle track. We have been on the road for a while. The hiccup was the planning condition, which we had to appeal. We have been ready to go since last Summer,’ said Ms Bowen.

When completed, the facility will be run by the local community and will be a huge asset for the people of Sixmilebridge, where the popu- lation has grown hugely in recent years.

CLARE farmer and Chairperson of ICMSA’s Beef and Cattle Commit- tee Martin McMahon, last week said that there is no basis for the down- ward pressure on beef prices over the last few weeks and that prices should be rising to bridge the gap that ex- ists between Irish prices and prices in other EU markets.

According to McMahon, farm- ers who are selling cattle this week are losing money, particularly in the context of the significantly higher feed costs relative to 12 months ago.

He said that the prices farmers are receiving are not adequate to com- pensate for these additional costs and prices need to rise to reflect that reality.

“Irish beef prices are still 23c/kg below prices in England, 1lc/kg be- low Northern Ireland prices and 25c/ kg below French prices with this rep- resenting a massive gap equivalent to up to €80 per head,” said the Beef and Cattle Committee Chairperson.

‘There is an ongoing and growing deficit in EU beef markets and it is now well past the time that the meat plants closed this gap and returned

improved prices to farmers.

“The gap that exists is simply not warranted given developments in the EU beef markets in the past number of years. The latest attempt this week to cut beef prices is very short-sight- ed and can only serve to undermine the future of the Irish beef sector.

“There had to be a realisation, in all quarters, that the future of the beef industry itself 1s what is at stake and if the sector is to develop further then prices will have to increase to a realistic level.”

Meanwhile, the IFA’s National Livestock Committee Chairman,

John Bryan, last week accused the factories of managing and manipu- lating cattle numbers and prices.

“The factories’ latest move this week, to cut prices, was a real kick in the teeth to winter finishers who have endured losses of in excess of €100 per head this winter,’ he said.

“At a time when prices were ris- ing in our main market in the UK, it was a scandal that Irish factories were attempting to cut prices. It is an even bigger scandal that some facto- ries were importing cattle and telling their farmer clients that they must cut the price.”

THE controversy surrounding the Mary Shannon rape case is poised to prevent other rape victims coming forward, according to the Rape Cri- sis Centre in the mid west.

Ms Shannon waived her right to an- onymity in March, after a three-year suspended term was handed to Ennis man Adam Keane (20), of Barnagee- ha, Darragh, Ennis.

He was found guilty by a 10-2 majority of the jury of raping Mary Shannon (33) at his trial, at the Cen- tral Criminal Court.

Ms Shannon was outraged by the sentence, the leniency of which is be- ing appealed by the Director of Pub-

lic Prosecutions.

Figures published by the Central Statistics Office last week showed that there was a huge decrease in the number of sexual offences reported during the first quarter of the year.

Nationally, the number of reported sexual offences dropped by 44.5 per cent, when compared with the same three-month period last year.

The co-ordinator of the Rape Cri- sis Centre in the mid west, Miriam Duffy said the “furore over the statu- tory rape case” last year is bound to have played a role in the huge de- crease.

SY eTomcr COMA OT-LMmy OND CoMmMeCoM\Y EDavane)oretoee non case was not likely to have had an impact on the figures for the first

quarter, it was likely to have an ef- fect on figures for the remainder of this year.

‘There has been a knock-on effect from the statutory rape case,” she Sr AKGe

“What happened with Mary Shan- non’s case…you would want to assess it again in six months,’ added Ms Duffy.

“A lot more training needs to be done with the gardai. We are con- cerned that this is a big reduction in the number of sexual offences re- ported,’ she added.

“There has not been any dramatic fall-off in incidents of rape reported to the Rape Crisis Centre,” she add- ed.

GARDAI in Shannon welcomed a delegation from Canada including a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to County Clare on Friday as part of a scheme to pro- mote a transatlantic literacy pro- eramme involving dozens of schools and libraries in Ireland and Canada.

Constable John T Kennedy of the RCMP, or Mounties as they are affectionately known, met with members of An Garda Siochana at Shannon and later with some of the participants of “The Reading Chal- lenge. Cst Kennedy was accompa- nied on his visit by Eric Stackhouse, Chief Librarian, Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

The visit is the culmination of a link forged last year between Clare County Library, An Garda Siochana, Canadian Libraries, the Royal Cana- dian Mounted Police (RCMP) and 21 National Schools in Co Clare aimed at promoting reading among chil- Clone

‘The Reading Challenge’ forms part of the ‘Adopt-a-Library Literacy Program’, which was established ten years ago in northern New Bruns- wick by the RCMP. The police act as the ‘bridge’ between the commu- nity and the library, and in return the library develops programs and ac- tivities that directly impact literacy amongst children.

Explaining how the Challenge works, Patricia Fitzgerald, Assistant Librarian, Children’s Services, Clare

County Library said, “Gardai and public library staff visit participat- ing schools where they explain the importance and fun of reading to the children and encourage them to use their local library. Once a month, a designated teacher in each school counts the number of books read before registering the tally on ‘The Reading Challenge’ website.

The Reading Challenge began in late 2006 and has proven to be hugely successful. The participating National Schools are Tubber, Bur- rane, Clouna, Carrigaholt, Doonaha, Lackyle, Killaloe Boys National, En- nis Educate Together School, Coore, St. Senans National School Kilrush, Moy, Mullagh, Corofin, Flagmount, Crusheen, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Cratloe, Moyasta, Feakle, Doora and

Inagh.

At the end of the school year, the school that has read the most books overall will receive €2100 worth of books, sponsored by Scholastic pub- lishers. Clare County Library is also awarding the school who reads the most with €2000 worth of books.

County Librarian Noel Crowley said, ““We are delighted to have been able to partake in such an important and unique program. The Library Service looks forward to further developing the initiative in county Okan

SHERRY FitzGerald Hussey Mad- den, Ennistymon, have a limited number of semi-detached properties left in the latest phase of the Cuirt Merriman development, priced at €240,000. These houses are beau- tifully designed and represent great value for money.

Only minutes walk from the town centre, these properties have the add-

ed bonus of being just 1.5 miles from Lahinch beach and golf course.

The properties have three bed- rooms, with the master bedroom, en- suite. They also have large gardens. The selling agent assures that “the highest level of construction and fin- ish is guaranteed with PC sum allow- ances of €4,200 per house.”

Finishes include wooden floors in the living room and all bedrooms, and the houses will be painted ex-

ternally plus the ceilings and wood work are painted.

The first phase of this development sold from plans and despite hiccups in the property market, the quick sale of all but these two remaining units of the 28 units in Phase 2, attests to the popularity of this development and the popularity of Ennistymon as a location.

For full details contact 065 7072833.