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THE vote by staff at Shannon Air- port to accept the airport authority’s restructuring deal has been widely welcomed.

The Clare County Development Board described the result of the bal- lot by SIPTU members as a, “defin- ing moment for the future develop- ment of the local airport”.

The ballot followed last month’s agreement reached between airport trade unions and management.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind) acknowledged that 200 jobs would go

under the restructuring plan.

“T am confident that these jobs will be compensated for by the new serv- ice providers at the airport,” said Cllr McCarthy, Cathaoirleach of the County Development Board.

Tom Coughlan, Director of the board said that it looked forward to working with the Shannon Airport Authority to promote Shannon Air- port.

“With passenger numbers last year of 3.6 million, the County Develop- ment Board sees ongoing investment in the development of the airport as critical in determining the growth

potential of County Clare and the entire Shannon region. Shannon In- ternational Airport is at the heart of the success of the Atlantic Corridor and is fundamental to its potential to deliver innovation, economic growth, and a competitive industrial and tour- ism base,” he said.

Limerick Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the result. Chief Ex- ecutive, Maria Kelly said that with the advent of Open Skies, it had “become even more critical that the Airport reduces their cost base to be- come more competitive and attract new business”.

Shannon Airport management and the Dublin Airport Authority were among the first to react to the news on the vote. It will allow savings of €10m annually for the airport.

Shannon Airport Authority Execu- tive Chairman, Pat Shanahan said the acceptance was the “next step to en- suring Shannon Airport has a viable platform from which to grow. I would like to acknowledge the commitment shown by staff representatives”.

He added that the “implementation of the programme is vital if Shannon Airport is to successfully meet the challenges of Open Skies”.

UNA FITZGERALD, a community nurse in Tulla believes that health 1s- sues will be very important in this election.

‘Health is one of the big issues and particularly community health fa- cilities. I would have huge concerns about elderly people who are trying to look after people with a disability at home. We need more support fa- cilities for carers who are doing a job round the clock, seven days a week. There are not enough respite facili- ties and supports’, she said.

Una would like to see the next gov- ernment provide a much better range of facilities at community level for social and health purposes. “People need day-care facilities, they need drop-in centres and carers need res-

pite places. These are all important and people will be looking to Gov- ernment to provide them.”

Una says people are also becoming increasingly alarmed and concerned about the number of road deaths, particularly among young people.

“It will have to be tackled. There are just too many tragedies on our roads’, she said.

The Rural Transport Initiative will also have to be delivered on and in a meaningful way, said Una. “Isolation can be a big problem in rural communities, particularly for elderly people who are living outside the towns and villages and for people who are living in isolated areas with- out transport. They need a means of getting to the services they need, to get medical attention, or to shop and to meet people”.

ALMOST €60 million in funding was allocated to Irish forestry plan- tation holders for 2007, representa- tion one of the largest payments ever made in the history of the state. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, Mary Wal- lace, made the announcement last week of €57 million to be allocated to the 15,000 forestry plantations na- tionwide. This is the annual forestry premium payment under the Forest- ry programme of the Department of Agriculture and Food. With the aver- age size of forestry holdings being in the region of eight hectares, and the average payment per forest-owner will be approximately €3,800. “New planting of forestry is vital

to sustain the forestry sector into the years ahead and it is important that the package on offer is most attrac- tive to landowners,” said Minister AWETEE Teron

“I was particularly pleased there- fore that planting grant levels have increased in some cases by up to 25 per cent in the last two years, while the annual forestry premium paid to farm foresters has increased by 15 per cent, with a new maximum pay- ment of up to €574 per hectare per annum.”

In addition to this the newly intro- duced Forest Environment Protec- tion Scheme (FEPS) providing a top up grant of €200 per hectare bring- ing the €574 per hectare to €774 per hectare per annum. This scheme was designed to encourage the establish-

ment of high nature value forestry on farms that participate in REPS.

“Properly planned forestry is one of the most environmentally friendly end-uses to which we can put our land, directly affecting the sequestra- tion of carbon from the atmosphere. Forestry in Ireland already delivers a significant range of environmental goods in addition to its timber out- jouulm

“I believe that every landowner should seriously examine forestry as a land use option taking into account the returns, both short and long term, and how it would fit in with their cur- rent enterprises and activities.”

Meanwhile, Minister Wallace also warned forest owners about the risk of forest fires in the coming weeks. Every spring in Ireland, several hun-

dred hectares of forests and wood- land are destroyed by fire.

Recent good weather conditions indicate a serious risk of forest fires over the next few days and weeks.

‘Forest owners have a duty to make themselves aware of these threats and to take appropriate actions to se- cure the safety of their forest invest- ments,” she said.

“The highest risk period occurs between February and June, when eround vegetation is dead and dry following winter. The areas at high- est risk from wildfire tend to be lo- cated adjacent to or within moorland areas. Prolonged dry periods and seasonal high winds in spring help create ideal conditions for wildfire to spread quickly through highly flam- mable moorland vegetation.”

THE people of Kilmurry Ibrickane are planning to buy the election, and the news is unlikely to lead to any controversy or tribunal.

The plan is all legal and above board – as the election is the local mayoral election and buying the position 1s all part of the fundraising for the Leon XII celebrations later this year.

The Leon Committee in Quilty are moving full steam ahead with a number of projects in the run up to the centenary celebrations of the Leon XIII rescue.

The main event of the year, the Leon festival, will be held during the last weekend in September. One of the highlights of the festival will be

the open currach racing competition, with teams from Connemara and Kerry providing strong competition for the local crews who are practic- ing hard. Some of the local people, including their priest, never even sat in acurrach before they started train- ing for the event.

Another part of the build up to the festival is the Mayor of Kilmurry Ibrickane and Deputy Mayor “elec- tion”.

Once elected both dignitaries will act as the official representatives of the area for the centenary year.

With attendance of other dignitaries from far and wide already confirmed for the festival, the new mayor and deputy will be responsible for pro- viding the Céad Mile Failte.

The Leon Committee are now look- ing for nominations for the office.

All nominations are to be placed in the official nomination boxes by April 15. The nomination forms and nomination boxes are located in shops in Kilmurry Ibrickane and anyone can enter.

Once nominated the candidates must buy their way into office, with the help of friends and generous pa- triots.

The “election” will be decided by the number of tickets each candi- date sells for the June Bank Holiday weekend fundraiser in the Quilty Tavern.

The candidate who sells the most tickets will be elected the Mayor of Kilmurry Ibrickane for one year.

A comedian and live music have been lined up for the fundraiser on June 2, before the mayor is presented with the chain of office.

The official mayoral candidates will be announced in the local media and will start selling tickets as early as April 16. The funds raised will go towards the running costs of the OORT Ee

Full details are available from members of the Leon Committee or on official nomination forms in- Store.

THE Association Secondary Teach- ers in Ireland (ASTI) 1s today to be- gin legal action against the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, over the appointment of a school manager at Seamount Secondary School in ree

The Rescue Seamount Campaign and the ASTI last week accused the

minister of acting illegally by ap- pointing a school manager, instead of replacing the board of management at Seamount.

Both groups have accused the edu- cation minister of acting unlawfully in her decision to allow the board of management to be dissolved. Last Tuesday, they gave her seven days to withdraw her approval.

“This issue is not about the future

of the school. Even if the school is only opened for another 5 years, it is essential that there is a board of management,” said Jane Joyce of the Rescue Seamount Campaign.

“It gives parents a stake in how the school is run. When we sent our children here, we did so on the un- derstanding that there would be a board of management and that is not the case. This is not what we signed

up for,” she added.

The Rescue Seamount Campaign and ASTI have received separate legal advice suggesting that the min- ister has acted unlawfully in her de- cision to allow the school’s trustees, the Sisters of Mercy, to dissolve the board.

Responding, a Department of Edu- cation spokeswoman said that Minis- ter Hanafin acted lawfully in accord- ance with the 1998 Mercy Act.

“The Mercy Order, as patron of Seamount College, notified the min- ister of its decision not to appoint a new board of management when the term of office of the outgoing board expired,” said the spokeswoman.

“The Education Act 1998 provides that a patron may, subject to the ap- proval of the minister, appoint any person or body of persons as the patron thinks fit to perform the func- tions of a board of management.

‘As the patron had decided not to appoint a new board of management, the minister has, at the request of the patron, conveyed the necessary ap- proval, under section 16 of the Edu- cation Act, for the appointment of a manager to perform the functions of the board of management.”

The future of Seamount College has been in doubt since the Sisters of Mercy announced its intention to phase out the school over a period of five years, last October.

The Rescue Seamount Campaign has been appealing for the Sisters of Mercy to give them more time to ne- gotiate the construction of a new co- education school by the Department of Education in Kinvara.

THE people of Kilrush and west Clare have raised €4,500 for Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin after a local boy spent months recovering in the hospital’s leLerwermbnsy Le

Kyle Carmody suffered severe burns last November when his pyja- mas caught fire while playing in his Kilrush home.

More than 12 per cent of the five year-olds little body was burnt, in- cluding half of his chest and under his arm as a result of the accident.

The brave little boy endured treat- ments, which included the removal

of the burnt skin and skin grafts, be- fore being discharged from hospital POM EVILUE Dae

As a result of his treatment and care, Kyle’s parents Flan and Tanya wanted to give something back to the hospital, and organised a fundraiser for Sunday, March 25.

The couple have been amazed by the support that the fundraiser re- ceived and will now donate €3,500 to St Ann’s ward in the Burns Unit at the children’s hospital.

The remaining €1,000 is to be do- nated to the hospital’s physiotherapy Weenie

“We would like to thank all the people who supported the event and

thank people for the wonderful spot prizes,’ said Flan.

He paid tribute to local artists Patrick Roche and Morgan Roughan who gave their services free of charge at the special fundraiser held in Tubridy’s Bar Cooraclare.

‘People are great, there is so much going on and they still support this,” he said.

The relieved father also paid trib- ute to the treatment his son received, and the dedicated professionals that continue to help the young boy back to health.

‘We have seen first hand the serv- ice Kyle got. No money could buy that service. Nurses don’t get paid

half enough,” he added.

‘Doctors and nurses can only work with what they have. From the time he got burnt in Kilrush, we saw how fast they can work with what they have.

‘People that do this work see it as a job, but for parents like Tanya and I, it means a lot to us. That is why we like to do something to give some- thing back.”

Kyle has returned to school in the Gaelscoil. He has his dressings changed three times a week and con- tinues to have regular physiotherapy.

Kyle’s parents continue to sing the praises of the medical staff in Ennis, Crumlin and now in Kilrush.

Wer WYONE Le there are a lot of representatives from the community on the Doonbeg Community Development Company it was important that everyone was

asked to give their views.

“In order to keep ideas fresh we need to go back to the people to get a broad sense of the issues,” she said.

“T think it 1s important that people have their say. There will be other issues that we won’t be aware of or haven’t thought of.”

She said that this was the ideal op- portunity to present the issues to the election candidates.

The PRO said it was also important that the potential TDs saw that there was an active community group, which was “a catalyst for ideas and a vehicle for delivering projects”.

The availability of such a group would ensure that grants could be located to the area for use on com- munity projects.

Among the issues already raised in the growing and changing communi- ty is the future planning and develop- ment of a rural community.

“We now have large housing estates and we need to be aware of their af- fect on a small community. It is very difficult for a community group. We want the community to survive and grow and at the same time it can’t be over run because the services aren’t there and the community spirit could be lost.”

McInerney said that concerns have been raised regarding holiday homes and the need to cater for the people that live in the area all year around.

A number of the issues raised to date have been unique to Doonbeg, but many others reflect concerns in

communities across Ireland.

Included is the need to protect the local post office and its service and the work of the FAS community em- ployment scheme.

“We want to be proactive, rather than reactive,’ she said. Anyone wishing to contribute to the docu- ment can do so by submitting his or her ideas in writing to the Doonbeg Community Development office lo- cated in the Community Centre be- fore April 18. “We will try to encom- pass aS much as we can,” said Ms McInerney.

The “manifesto” will be sent to all the Clare candidates and distributed to all the houses in the community. The candidates will then be invited to meet the community.

HIKING boots are being dusted off all over the county in preparation for two highest profile walking events of the place in north Clare over the Lovee nesta eE hace

First up is the fifth Annual Dun- leavy Walk which takes place in Doolin on Sunday April 15, while just seven days later walkers from the Burren Chernobyl Project have their fundraiser in Liscannor.

Work is ongoing in six Ukrainian hospitals where children and adults effected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster receive life changing help from the Ennistymon based project.

New initiatives this year include a

programme allowing effected chil- dren to leave the orphanages and re- turn home while another sees groups of trained physiotherapists travel to help the children regain some physi- cal mobility.

“At the moment we have 300 chil- dren in Gorodishche and we are feeding them with yoghurt and fruits. They never get out so it is important for them to get the vitamins,’ said Carmel Mescall of the Burren Cher- nobyl] Project.

“It cost €1,000 to buy nappies for the children each month. The money raised helps to organise volunteers to travel from Ireland and help. There is also the Special Olympics Summer Camp who are a group of physios

trained at the time of the Special Ol- ympics in Ireland.

“They go over and work with the children and help them with their mobility. It’s really great that some- thing good like the Special Olympics can go on producing another good thing like this.”

Besides the work at Gorodishche, the Burren Chernobyl Project also helps 200 children at Cherven, 500 adults at Cylb, 300 adults at Tarasik1, 300 adults at Cosovo and 400 adults at Yazouk1.

“In the future we are looking at running workshops for special needs children and their families,’ contin- ued Carmel. “We feel the way for- ward is to get the children back into

their own homes and give them day care support.

‘They can get the support and en- couragement of their families while the parents can still work during the CP haat

For more information on sponsor- ship cards contact 7071130.

Meanwhile, The Dunleavy Spon- sored walk will take to the road this weekend in Doolin. The walk will begin at lpm this Sunday, April 15, at the Russell Community Centre in Doolin.

Walkers can choose from walks of three or five miles and refreshment and entertainment will be available for all participants at the centre after Woe

ENNISTYMON will play host to a very special musical event next week as America’s foremost high school orchestra pay an historic visit to north Clare to perform a one-off concert.

Muinnesota’s Moorhead High School will offer young and old the unique chance to experience the very best of classical and contemporary music when it’s 50 piece wind ensemble takes to the stage at the Falls Hotel next Monday, April 16.

This is one of only two Irish con- certs for the touring orchestra,

with all proceeds going to Ennisty- mon’s Mol an Oige Steiner Primary School.

“A few months ago I was contacted by a person from Hibernia Ireland organisation who had heard about the school and wanted to help. She mentioned that the ensemble were coming and offered them to play in Ennistymon free of charge,” said Roisin Garvey of Mol an Oige.

“Tt will be really great for young people to be able to come along and experience this concert. Adults get to go and see concerts all the time and this is organised to take place at seven to allow young people to come

along.

“We have contacted all the national schools in the area and hopefully as lot of children will come along. It would be a real thrill for them to see this live music, especially when it is being played by other young people. It is a real coup to get them here, be- sides Ennistymon they are only play- ing in Dublin.

“Fundraising is so important for the future of the school. At the moment it is paying three full time teachers without any support for the Depart- ment of Education. We began last year with 11 students and now it is up to 41. The school caters for everyone,

we have children in every class and are fully compliant with the new pri- mary school curriculum. The wind ensemble has toured and competed in music festivals all over the United States, Canada and attended music schools throughout Austria and Ger- many. The ensemble will perform under the direction of Douglas C Engstrom who has been Musical Di- rected at Moorhead since 1976.

Tickets, at a cost of €12 are avail- able from The Falls Hotel, Unglerts Bakery, Sergeant Pepper’s Sandwich Bar and Custy’s Music Shop in Ennis or call 086 1043528 for more infor- mation.

THE Doonbeg Drama Group has made it to the finals of the All-Ire- land Drama competition.

The group will take to the boards on Monday next, April 16, in New Ross for the final showdown. Their performance of ‘Atta’ Boy Mr Syng’ has already earned them numerous plaudits.

The group has competed in five fes- tivals in Doonbeg, Charleville, Ross- more, Scariff and Claregalway, with one win, three second placings and one third placing.

Mark May took best actor and Ann Marie Doyle best actress at two fes- tivals. Mary J Egan was best actress at another. Mort McInerney got best producer at two festivals while the production also picked up awards for best presentation, best lighting, best sound and most entertaining play.

Remaining cast members, Rita McInerney and Declan Hayes were nominated at festivals in the best supporting actress and actor catego- ries.

“Everyone is very excited about getting to the finals and we will be putting everything into the show,” a spokesman for the drama group Sr HOn

Audiences in Clare will have an- other chance to see the performance this week when it is staged in Doon- beg hall on Thursday night. Doors open at 7.30pm and curtain up is at 8.30pm. There will be tickets at the door.

The festival, which is run under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland, is one of the pre- mier events of its kind in Europe. 1953, it is one of the most enduring festivals in Ireland and is a major cultural event.