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SIPTU representatives at Shannon Aerospace Ltd have reacted angrily to suggestions in a national news- paper that they have resisted efforts aimed at bringing about efficiencies in the company.

In a statement, union representa- tives said that the union and it’s mem- bers in SAL “accept we are in a com- petitive business. With this in mind those members have always worked for greater efficiency in the past and

towards the future through the pres- ently sought LEAN manufacturing structure in the organisation. This LEAN structure has been highlight- ed by management as the future of SAL and is in no way being resisted by SIPTU. On the contrary, union representatives have participated at the highest levels that the company permitted, in the design and model- ling of the proposed system.”

In a published interview last week, SAL’s managing director, Martin Kaiser, 1s quoted as saying that the

future of the company could be at risk, putting a question mark over the jobs of 700 people employed there.

In a statement on behalf of the company, a spokeswoman said that it recognised that SAL was “facing a most difficult situation in Shan- non and this can only be resolved by management and employees working together. We are keen to do that and are actively involved with SIPTU in this process.”

The SIPTU statement said that union representatives had engaged

with management over pay and costs since October 2006. It continued that, “Martin Kaiser MD is quoted as stating that agreements currently in place ‘may have been right 15 years ago…’ The agreement present- ly in existence was negotiated by the present management team headed by Mr Kaiser in SAL, as recently as Oc- tober 2002.”

Union members at the Shannon air- line servicing company voted for in- dustrial action in Aug 2006 in pursu- ance of the final two phases of the SP

National Wage Agreement, due since May 2005. These phases were paid when the members accepted changes to rostering guidelines. “While the pay increase thus achieved by agree- ment and brokered by LRC, applied to all staff at Shannon Aerospace, only the SIPTU members gave up anything in return,’ the statement said.

Councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn has urged all parties to engage “in meaningful negotiations which will preserve the jobs at Shannon.”

TRANSITION year students in Clare will be taking a step back in time to learn a craft which was part of everyday life for our forebears – in the language which they would have spoken while working at it.

An Irish language course in stone- wall building for the students is just one of the events organised for biod1- versity week in May by the Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) based in Capparoe.

Biodiversity Week runs from May 20 to 27. The week celebrates the continual work of the ISSA and other

conservation organisations in Ireland preserving traditions that are part of our heritage.

As part of the week the ISSA will be running a course on rare potato varieties and traditional growing techniques will be held for primary schools.

Courses for the general public in- clude the native tree course on May 19 and 20, which will help partici- pants identify native trees and the many uses of timber.

The introduction to garden design course to be held on May 23, will help participants to plan an edible sus- tainable garden for a rural or urban

home, school or community garden. Enquires and booking of courses can be made by phone or email.

The big event of the week, Biodi- versity Day will be celebrated on Sunday, May 20, at ISSA centre.

The day will include local, fresh produce and stalls, workshops on native fruits, vegetable seed process- ing, rare Irish grains, planting an or- ganic garden, bee keeping, and rare poultry.

There will be plenty of fun for the younger visitors including nature walks, wildlife drawing, the Kerry bog pony and Kerry cattle.

Booking is essential for Biodiver-

sity Day.

The cost is €15 for adults and €30 for families (four people). This also includes a return shuttle transfer from Scariff town.

People needing special assistance or wheelchair users may park at the centre. Check out the Seedsavers website www.irishseedsavers.ie for more information.

A CLARE County Council official has moved to dispel suggestions made by a Shannon councillor, alleg- ing misappropriation of money.

Last week, Councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind) alleged that money relating to a Neighbourhood scheme in Shannon, which involved the felling, removal and planting of trees, was “misap- propriated” or “wasted”.

At a Shannon area meeting last Tuesday, Cllr Flynn addressed Ger Dollard – who is the Shannon Town manager – and said, “You took your eye off the ball and money was wast- ed. The money was taken out of the town. It’s an absolute disgrace what you let happen to this town.”

However, Mr Dollard said he hadn’t a notion what the councillor was talking about and said he was “talk- ing absolute nonsense.”

In a subsequent statement issued by Clare County Council, the allega- tions were rejected as “wild.” It stat- ed that Cllr Flynn’s statements were

“misleading.”

Mr Dollard said the cost of the project increased from €59,000 to €97,000, because there were addi- tional works involved, which were sought by the local community.

‘The main area of additional cost arose from the removal of timber residues off site.

‘This was not proposed as part of the scheme, but following consulta- tion with residents and councillors, a separate tender process was under- taken,” he said.

Mr Dollard said that Cllr Flynn was fully aware of the reasons behind the difference and that it was “mischie- vous” and “misleading” of him to suggest that the council had handled the situation wastefully.

Development Officer in Shannon, Padraig Mac Cormaic, described the councillor’s attack as “over the top and inaccurate”’.

He said that Cllr Flynn’s claim that the council had not been forthcom- ing in progress reports on the scheme was completely unfounded.

SHANNON airport worker’s lobby eroup, SIGNAL has called on the Minister For Transport to immedi- ately sign over the €53 million in funding promised in the wake of agreement on Open Skies.

The money is to support a five-year action plan to sustain transatlantic air services at Shannon following the end of the stop-over.

The money would be split between a tourism promotional fund of €44 million and a route support fund of €9 million.

A spokesman for SIGNAL said that it is “critical that Minister Cul- len sanction the €53 million plan. He must act as quickly as possible to demonstrate confidence in the re- gion.”

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen has claimed that Aer Lingus Heathrow landing slots serving Shannon were in danger of being sold off, following weekend speculation that the airline’s 23 pairs of slots were now worth up to €700 million.

Deputy Breen said that with Heath- row being “the most important trans- atlantic gateway in Europe, with 40 per cent of European-US traffic, it is vital that Shannon receives an as- surance from Aer Lingus chief ex- ecutive Dermot Mannion that the existing slots serving Shannon will be retained.”

Deputy Breen said that while Man- nion recently re-stated his previous verbal commitment that 400,000 passengers would be put through Shannon annually “there has been no mention of new services, expan- sion of existing services or the mar- keting of existing routes through seat Sales. Indeed, direct services have been cut back since yesterday with the rescheduling of the daily Boston direct service through Dublin”

Independent Deputy, James Breen, warned that the agreement will lead to “cherry picking” by airlines.

“In the immediate aftermath of the announcement of Open Skies Aer Lingus announced new routes to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington. Significantly all of those new routes

will operate from Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport is to be the subject of a €2 billion investment while Shan- non struggles to receive even a few million to overhaul the existing ter- minal’, he said.

And Fine Gael election candidate, Madelaine Taylor-Quinn said that “it is critically important that Shan- non airport gets control of its own destiny and is not dictated to from Dublin, and I am calling on the Taoi- seach and the Minister for Transport to make a clear and unequivocal commitment that Shannon will be handed over debt free immediately.”

Indenpendent MEP Marian Harkin said that the transitional arrange- ments in the Open Skies Agreement are “virtually worthless for Shannon Airport

TWO courses in acupuncture will be on offer at a college in Shannon, starting next month.

Representatives of the College of Medical Acupuncture and Tradition- al Chinese Medicine were in Shan- non over the weekend, to promote its part-time courses, which lead to a licentiate in acupuncture with full professional qualifications.

One of the courses is a one-year course, designed for medical doc- tors, physiotherapists and dentists. The other course runs over three years and is for non-medical, nurs- ing and complementary health prac- titioners.

The courses will start at the end of

April, at the college’s office at Bal- lycasey Park in Shannon.

The college runs courses all over the country, but its office in Shannon is the only centre it actually owns. It is located adjacent to Sang Man’s practice – he lectures on the courses – in Ballycasey. Mr Man is the presi- dent of the Chinese population in Ireland.

The other lecturers on the course are Bruce W Du Ve, John O’Bourke and Eilin Ni Riordain, who all have a huge amount of experience in this area, on an international level.

According Ms Ni Riordain, there has been a huge growth in interest in this particular area over the years.

“We started off in Barrington’s Hospital in 1994. Since then we have

set up a practice in Galway and Ath- lone and in Merrion Square, Dublin,” she said.

“Three years ago, we decided to buy a property and we bought a place in Shannon. The Chinese Ambassa- dor did the official opening for us at Wee ND OOeMMMEC)OLomy-BLOM

The building in Shannon has three classrooms and courses have been run there over the past three years.

“We try to keep class numbers to around 15 or 20. We have doctors, dentists and physiotherapists, tak- ing the one-year course. In the other course there are shopkeepers, thatch- ers, teachers and accountants. We have had a range of professions,” she said.

“This is growing at such a rate it 1s

incredible. The physiotherapists are using it in the hospitals. People are seeing amazing results from this,” she said.

As part of the course, students are invited to visit China, for periods ranging from between one and three months, to the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is affiliated to the college here.

The courses cost €3,500 and fur- ther details, and a prospectus, are available by phoning 090 9678202.

RURAL communities in Clare are being offered a chance to win a new EU Competition valued at €50,000. Shannon Development, in partner- ship with Failte Ireland, is promot- ing a new EU competition, the Eu- ropean Destinations of Excellence, to identify the Best Emerging Rural Tourism Destination in each of the Member States.

The competition is open to any town, district, village or area in Ireland with a population of up to 10,000. Entrants must represent an area which has defined geographic boundaries, is primarily rural, but can include urban areas, and must have undertaken tangible marketing activity promoting approved opera- tors.

The winning destination in Ireland will receive a prize valued at an es- timated €50,000 which includes an

energy and waste audit, an energy and waste management plan, a three- year marketing plan and a DVD of the destination.

The winner in each member state will have their area promoted on the international stage.

“This is a unique opportunity for communities around County Clare and the Shannon Region to compete for a major award which will not only enhance the physical infrastructure of their community, but also supple- ment promotional efforts,” says John Quinlivan, Shannon Development, Regional Development Manager- Orie

Full competition details and an ap- plication form are available at www. shannonregiontourism.ie/eden — or www.failteireland.ie/eden or call Siobhan King Clare Tourism Of- ficer, Shannon Development, at 065 6895004. The closing date for appli- cations is Friday, April 13.

KILRUSH Town Council have be- gun work on a new blueprint for the erowing town.

This month its town councillors agreed to move forward a new town plan to draft stage.

A report was presented to the members in February outlining the out come of the pre-draft pubic con- sultation process for their considera- soe

The councillors then took part in a workshop to discuss the report fully prior to giving any direction to the manager in relation to the drafting of the plan.

The workshop focussed on discus- sion of the issues raised by the writ- ten submissions and observations made by the public.

The council adopted the manag- er’s recommendations subject to six amendments.

Fifty submissions were received from the public for the draft cover- ing wide spectra of social, commer- cial and economic development.

Formally proposing the prepara- tion of the draft proposal Cllr Tom Prenderville (FF) said the new de- velopment plan encapsulates the council’s vision of where the west Clare capital will be in 2013.

“Kilrush is most fortunate in hav-

ing an infrastructure capable of sustaining a population of 10,000. Recent residential, retail and com- mercial development undertaken in the urban area have been undertaken in this knowledge and has placed the town in a most advantageous position in attracting inward invest- ment,” he said.

‘This council rejoices in the record number of submissions received to date in the KTDP review process. It indicates a welcome interest by po- tential investors and developers in the native place.

“We celebrate this new-found op- timism that permeates the local economy. Kilrush, to all intents and

purposes, stands on the threshold of prosperity. Current retail and com- mercial proposals underway give credence to this happy state of affairs in Kilrush,’ said Cllr Prenderville.

‘There is an onus to frame a devel- opment plan that sustains, supports and facilitates an inclusive society. The provision of adequate social ed- ucational, and recreational services must form a core vision in the plan,” he added.

The preparation of the draft propos- als will take 12 weeks to complete.

The resulting Kilrush Town De- velopment Plan will cover the years 2008 to 2013, and it is hoped it will be adopted by October this year.

CLARE County Council has refused planning permission for a housing development in west Clare because it interferes with the defunct west OE Teoma Dea e ha eneler

The planning authority refused outline planning permission to M&S Bond for outline planning permis- sion for 16 homes at Dough, Kilkee.

The council made its ruling after an objection was lodged against the proposal by the West Clare Railway

company and the council’s Conser- vation Officer, Risteard UaCronin.

Mr Ua Cronin said, 1n an internal memo now released with the deci- sion, that “it appears from the draw- ings that it is proposed to construct the homes on the former west Clare DOME RYas DDO Loa

He said, “This appears very inap- propriate as plans are very much advanced to provide a steam railway service between Kilkee and Kilrush which will require this section of the line to be protected for this pur- eNom

Mr UaCronin pointed out that the line was protected through the Clare County Development and the West Orewa ter walle

The planner’s report points out that the “development is located on the line of the old west Clare railway where it is the policy to safeguard the route of the railway and to con- serve and promote it as a transport corridor for public use”’.

It ruled that the plan would be prej- udicial to the proper planning and development of the area.

“The proposed development rep-

resents piecemeal haphazard, dis- orderly development and conflicts with the long-term sustainable and comprehensive development of these lands.”

According to Jackie Whelan of the West Clare Railway Company, “This application would allow for the de- struction of part of the original track bed of the west Clare railway in or- der to provide a road access to the site.

“We have understood that the track bed of the development may take place upon it unless the development

is of a heritage and recreational na- ture, leaving the whole, existing way open to the general public for recrea- tional walking, riding, cycling pur- Leon mel Ken

“Indeed, two citizens have, during the past 12 months, fallen foul of this directive and have been required to replace the track bed that they in- tended to, and partly, destroyed.

“We believe that our plans are in accordance with the council’s inten- tion for the line and that the track bed of the railway should be left alone,” said Mr Whelan.

A NEW project being organised at Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna is helping to revo- lutionise the relationship between young people and the rest of the community in North Clare.

The project culminated last week in Promoting Courtesy, Care and Con- sideration week which saw students from the school organising a series of events involving members of the wider community.

One of the main focuses was a post- er, painting and poetry competition which attracted hundreds of entries from primary schools, community groups and individuals from all over north Clare.

The inspiration for this initiative came from a committee set up last

year which included students, teach- ers, parents, community representa- tives as-well-as project leader Mau- reen Droney.

“One of the thing that came from the group was the Courtesy Care and Consideration. It has been going for a number of months now but this week is really the culmination of all of that work,’ said Maureen.

“We all worked together on how we would involved the community with the students and we came up with the poster or painting and poetry com- petitions. We wanted to create an awareness. To try and understand the needs of other people. Consideration is the best way to describe it.”

One of the areas specifically fo- cused on was the relationship be- tween young people and the elderly. The group has forged a connection

with the Stella Maris day care centre in Lisdoonvarna and last Wednes- day and Thursday students from the school entertained the people there with a collection of music and danc- ing.

“It has been wonderful to be in- volved the Stella Maris. I’d say it has been a powerful lift to them, but the children will get a lot back from them as well. They are getting a lot back already some of them, with grand parents in the home. It can have a huge positive effect,” she continued.

In the school itself each class and subject, from Business Studies to Home Economics, has been incorpo- rating the theme of consideration.

One of the more interesting ele- ments of this has seen students write a series of poems which are now be- ing used as the ‘thought for the day’

at the school.

“Each day this week the winning poems have been read out by the stu- dents over the intercom,” continued Maureen. “It has been a really suc- cessful part of the programme. We will also be putting a booklet togeth- er of all the poems.”

On Friday March 30 at 8pm, poet John O’Donohue will give a talk in Mary Immaculate Secondary School. Tickets are €10, €5 OAP, with all money raised going to the Stella Maris Day Care Centre.

GORT’S Adrian Feeney became the latest candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the General Election When he announced his candidacy last week.

Feeney, who has been Chairman of Gort Chamber of Commerce since 2004, will run in the hotly contested Galway East constituency as an inde- pendent candidate.

Indeed, Feeney may be one of three non-party candidates to run in this constituency come election time, as Kinvara group RESCUE have not ruled out putting forward a single-issue candidate to campaign for Seamount College. Cairde Cuan Chinn Mhara could still announce a candidate to campaign for a sewer- age treatment facility in Kinvara.

Community issues are likely to form a large part of Feeney’s mani- festo. “These days, our economy is booming. The country is awash with money,’ he said. “I know that with- out the volunteers, many vital com- munity services and facilities simply would not exist.

‘Almost everything requires fund- raising. As chairman of Gort chamber for two years, I know how much time and energy is spent trying to source

funding and fill out grant application forms for community projects. This should not be the responsibility of volunteers or community organisa- tions. It makes no sense to me.

“What are we paying taxes for? Surely if there 1s a need within acom- munity, it should be met by our gov- ernment. Why are we paying twice for the one facility or service?”

This is not Feeney’s first attempt to enter the world of politics as he ran an unsuccessful campaign as an In- dependent Community Candidate in the 2004 local election.

“We elected representatives to speak on our behalf. Public office is about accountability. I am ac- countable to my employer. Who are politicians accountable to, if not to the community? What they have produced is a litany of failures,” he continued.

“Tuam is still without a hospital. Gort is still without a reliable water service. Kinvara still waits for a sew- erage treatment plant. 50,000 gallons of raw sewage pour daily into the waters of a prime tourist area.

‘“Kinvara School is threatened with closure. Farmers spend their time form-filling and dealing with ap- plication procedures for grants and payments.”