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A YOUNG man who is accused of driving a noisy sportscar is to bring his car and a mechanic to court, to prove that the noise is not excessive.

Jason O’ Toole, of Drumline, New- market-on-Fergus, appeared before Ennis District Court on Friday, ac- cused of not having an exhaust si- lencer fitted to his Honda Prelude car, at Station Road, Ennis, on August 20 last year.

Garda Cyril Daniels of the Clare Traffic Corps told the court that he stopped the accused on the morning in question. “In my opinion, it was not fitted with an exhaust silencer,” he said.

Mr O’ Toole, who represented him- Self in court, said the car’s exhaust system conformed to Honda stand- ards. He said he later brought the car

to Shannon and Henry Street Garda Stations and the gardai who inspect- ed the car expressed views that the noise was not excessive.

“TI didn’t see any reason to change the exhaust system. That is the stand- ard for a Honda Prelude,” he said. “There was nothing malfunctioning with the exhaust. It is in no way ex- cessive,” he said.

He said he would accept the noise level of his car would be louder than a Ford Mondeo or Ford Focus but added, *““The manufacturers make the cars these ways.”

He told the court that he had carried out research on the matter and had been told that the issue of exceed- ing the decibel limit – 80 decibels – was purely on the basis of opinion. There was no means of carrying out a mechanical test. ““There is no way my car is over 80 decibels. I have re-

searched this,” he said.

Inspector Kevin Moynihan, pros- ecuting, told the court the defendant could call a mechanic to give evi- dence, in his defence. He said that the legislation stated that the opinion of a garda in a given case was relevant.

“The defendant has admitted the noise iS more excessive than any normal car. On the day, Garda Dan- iels was of the opinion the noise was excessive. It is up to you to decide, on the evidence before you,” said Inspector Moynihan to Judge Joseph Mangan.

The judge asked the defendant, “Would you bring the Honda me- chanic to court? … Would you bring the car to court?” and the accused replied, “Yes,” after he had told the court the car was at home.

The judge adjourned the case for a peeKeyeleee

THE anticipated start date for con- struction of the €80 million Car- nelly House nursing home has been thrown into jeopardy by the decision of two local residents to appeal its planning permission.

Last month, the council gave Stam- er Ltd the go-ahead to proceed with Ireland’s first full-scale retirement village at Carnelly.

The company was hoping to be on site by the end of the year, with the facility opened by the end of 2008.

However, two sisters living locally, Maura and Helen O’Donoghue, have appealed against its development.

An Taisce opposed the planning application when the plan was before the council. However, a spokesman confirmed that the organisation had not lodged an appeal.

In their original objection against the development, the O’Donoghues stated, “The proposed development of 150 houses would be located in rural countryside away from village and services.

‘Therefore, it would be inappropri- ate. It would severely impact on the beautiful character of the area which is comprised of woodland and a vari- ety of wildlife undisturbed for many years.”

The O’Donoghues state that the

wildlife includes the red squirrel, deer, birds and woodcock. These would be disturbed for ever and eventually driven out of the area.

Financial director with the Stamer Group, Tim Kelliher said there was already “a high level of interest be- ing shown by potential residents in the development plans”.

He said, “As part of this €80 mil- lion development, in excess of €3 million is to be expended on restor- ing Carnelly House, its currently derelict courtyard, the grounds and woods, as well as comprehensive conservation measures including the accommodation of a small maternity roost for the Lesser Horseshoe Bat specie.”

Mr Kelliher said, “Once the devel- Opment is complete, Carnelly will be home to up to 300 residents and will create over 100 jobs in the local economy. The retirement village will include 95 houses, 40 apartments and a 64-bed continuing care facility.

“Village facilities include a spa with a 12-metre pool and a specially- equipped gym, a shop, restaurant and bar. The 50 acres of open parkland and woods situated to the front and side of Carnelly House will be com- pletely restored and preserved.

“This parkland and woodland set- ting will offer residents a tranquil setting for a relaxed lifestyle.”

A BID by a west Clare primary school to prevent an 80-ft-high mast from being erected in close proxim- ity to the school has failed.

Clare County Council has granted planning permission to O2 to con- struct a telecommunications mast at Torr, Lahinch.

The council gave the plan the go- ahead despite stiff opposition from the Board of Management of Rineen National School and the Moy-Torr

Action Group.

In their objection, the Board of Management of Rineen National School stated that they were object- ing due to the close proximity of the mast to the school, that there were already three masts in the area and that the proposal would be visually harmful to a highly scenic area and beautiful natural landscape.

In their objection, the Moy-Torr Action Group pointed out that the proposal was located adjacent to the route of the west Clare railway.

They said, “If the development were to go ahead, it would conflict with this policy as it will have a negative impact on the amenity provided by the walking route and the enjoyment of the Black Hill along the route at this point.

‘Furthermore, the proximity of this development to the proposed route raises questions about public safety and the security of the proposed de- velopment.”

The Action Group also lodged a petition with their objection and stat-

ed, “The proposed development is contrary to policy in both the Clare County Development Plan and the North Clare Local Area Plan.”

They state that the proposal is ad- jacent to a designated scenic route and is clearly visible from both ap- proaches and that it will have a nega- tive impact on the residential amen- ity of adjoining properties.

The Action Group also stated that as the proposal was located close to two national schools and adjoining residential properties, the “precau-

tionary position” with regard to pub- lic health should be adopted.

They also claimed that O2 had not demonstrated “reasonable effort” with regard to co-location. However, despite the opposition, the council gave the plan the go-ahead, ruling that it wouldn’t seriously injure the amenities of the area.

The council made its decision hav- ing regard to Department of Environ- ment guidelines, the rural nature of the site, the lack of a specific visual designation and the pattern of devel-

This compares with just seven ar- rests, during the St Patrick’s week- end last year.

14 of the arrests were made in the Ennis District, which also takes in the Shannon area. There were six ar- rests in the Killaloe District and one

in west Clare. There were no arrests in the north Clare area.

The 21 arrests bring to 125 the number of people arrested for drink driving in the Clare Garda Division, so far this year. This compares with 66 during the same 11-week period in 2006 – an 89 per cent increase.

Several additional checkpoints set up over the weekend, as part of a na- tionwide crackdown on drink driv- ers. The arrests were made at differ- ent times of the day and night, with a significant number made on the evening of St Patrick’s day and again on Sunday evening.

The increase is due to a combina- tion of the enlarged Garda Traffic Corps in the division – a new traffic

unit was set up in Killaloe last year – and a tendency by some people to ignore repeated warnings.

The Head of the Clare Garda Divi- sion Traffic Corps, Inspector Kevin Moynihan said the latest figure is WOrTying.

‘People have to realise the figures don’t lie. People should adjust their habits accordingly, if they want to re- tain their licences. In relation to road safety, if people have alcohol on them while driving, there is a danger they will get injured or killed,” he said.

A number of drink driving cases which were heard in court in recent weeks yielded particularly high read- ings, with a number of drivers three or four times the legal limit.

TALKS are continuing today be- tween SIPTU representatives and management at Aer Lingus concern- ing the Labour Court recommenda- tion on the airline’s proposed cost- cutting measures.

SIPTU National Industrial Secre- tary Michael Halpenny wrote to Aer Lingus management offering to meet for discussions centring on the Pro- eramme for Continuous Improve- ment, following a four-a-half-hour meeting of shop stewards at Dublin airport last week.

Mr Halpenny said in his letter to the Aer Lingus Human Resources Director Liz White that he request- ing a meeting to “flesh out all of the issues in the Labour Court Recom- mendation”. He said the union offer to enter talks was made “without Ke een ome

If some agreement can be reached, it could avert a possible strike action at Shannon, Dublin and Cork.

The two sides had a lengthy meet- ing which continued into yesterday evening at the airline’s head office in Dublin Airport.

The discussions are expected to

cover some of the most contentious issues, including cutbacks in leave and overtime payments and reduc- tions in payments for bank holiday N00. e

The union is expected to make a strong case for substantial compen- sation for workers affected, although some changes in work practice may be seen as inevitable.

SIPTU represents almost 1,800 workers in Aer Lingus, half of the entire workforce. The union had threatened an ongoing overtime ban and work-to-rule, including with- drawal from callout, except for air-

craft emergencies if the company pushed through cutbacks.

In introducing the plan, the airline iS aiming to cut its cost base and to reduce the overall cost to the com- pany of each employee. The talks coincide with the expected release today of the Aer Lingus annual re- port. It is believed that profits will be down, but this is largely due to the cost allotted to restructuring and to the company addressing the question of the pensions deficit.

Union sources are expecting dis- cussions to go on for as long as three weeks.

THE high number of foreign nation- als living in Shannon its reflected in the establishment of a new group, which aims to integrate newcomers to the town.

‘Le Chéile na Sionna’ was set up last week and its aim is to ‘foster the integration of all ethnic groups through enjoyable contact’.

The interest in setting up the group came after a programme on Shan- non Community Radio – called “The New Irish’ – which encouraged the new residents in the town to get in- volved.

This programme ran two years ago

and expanded last year to include lo- cal Shannon residents. Everybody who was involved in the programme expressed an interest in developing the friendships they had experienced and the idea of setting up Le Chéile emanated from that.

A committee, chaired by Trish Fal- lon, was set up and the wheels were put in motion. The local Family Re- source Centre agreed to facilitate the eroup and Shannon Town Council provided a €200 community grant.

More than 30 people attended the launch of the new project last week and all of those present were very Supportive of the idea.

The mayor of Shannon, Councillor

Tony McMahon is behind the project and was keen to see it set up during his year-long tenure as mayor of the town. He is optimistic that it should have a social and entertainment fo- CnISS

Trish Fallon said non-nationals liv- ing in Shannon were keen to have some form of a social outlet.

“It would be like an international club. We thought we could use the Family Resource Centre in Rineanna Hall, or we could meet once a week in a coffee shop. We aimed to have two monthly social gatherings. The Irish club in Shannon has agreed to joys ar-D es Dw e mp ONESd eLiMMmnSOCoMCT- BLO

“Through this, people can form

friendships and help each other in- formally. It will be good for people to get out of their own group. We all have to make an effort to join some- thing and we will try to stay away from a formal environment,” she pointed out.

“It will go whatever direction peo- ple want it to go. The main thing is to be totally open, regardless of na- tionality, creed, etc. It 1s good for the Shannon people too,” added Ms Sion

She said that for the new group to become a success, “everybody has to make an effort. Integration is a two- way thing. We will all change as a Ken U 0 ae

SENATOR Timmy Dooley’s criti- cism of his own Government’s handling of the Open Skies deal has come in for a hammering from Clare general election candidate and county councillor, Madeleine Taylor- Quinn (FG).

She said it was “nauseating to listen to Senator Timmy Dooley decry the withdrawal of the transatlantic status of Shannon and criticise the minister for transport”.

She added that that “if Senator Dooley feels the Government have let down the people of Clare he should have the moral courage to stand as an independent rather than as one of the

flagbearers of a Government party that has downgraded Shannon”.

Cllr Taylor-Quinn also called for a number of immediate measures to offset any loss of business as a re- sult of the ending of the compulsory Stopover.

These measures include the com- missioning of an independent eco- nomic study to formally assess the economic fallout for the region.

Meanwhile, Shannon Development Chief Executive, Kevin Thompstone, said proposals for Open Skies under- lined the “necessity to accelerate the implementation of the recommenda- tions in the Tourism and Economic Development Plan”.

This was submitted to Government

last year by the Mid-West Regional Authority and regional stakeholders including Shannon Development, the Shannon Airport Authority, IBEC, SIGNAL, chambers of commerce and local authorities.

He said the possible introduction of an Open Skies regime later this year would “pose a unique set of challeng- es for Shannon [International Airport and for the Shannon region and the wider west of Ireland which rely on transatlantic air services to drive in- ward investment and overseas tour- ism in their economies”.

The Open Skies proposal was wel- comed last week at the Irish Hotel Federation’s annual conference. The IHF believe that the deal will see two

million high-spending American tourists come to Ireland on holidays.

The Shannon Airport Authority last week outlined its plans to secure one million transatlantic passengers within five years of the ending of the Stopover.

SW stew-leidsleminymeer-nemeercviPmer-lmeyer-vilce han said that the retention of a year- round service to the United States was achievable with a strong market- ing campaign and a substantial re- duction in the airport’s cost base.

He said the imminent phasing out of the stopover had been prepared for some time. The airport had “built up an extensive range of transatlan- tic services which carried almost 800,000 passengers in 2006”.

EDITH Van Burgh decided to change her lifestyle last year. She had spent her life living in The Netherlands, where she was born and bred. Edith knew that, at 46, the time was right to move to another country. She had al- ways had a love of Ireland and when she saw a job advertised in Shannon company Digital River, she decided to apply.

From her home in The Netherlands, Edith sent off her application and was delighted to get the job. In February 2006, she packed her life into a few Suitcases, bade farewell to her native country and headed for Shannon.

Edith had always had a preference for the west coast of Ireland and was

thrilled when she found her dream job in the Digital River call centre in Shannon.

And Shannon did not disappoint Edith. Given that Shannon is home to hundreds of people from all over Ireland and overseas, there was eve- ry chance that she was going to settle in quite fast and that is exactly what happened.

Although she misses her husband Taco – she is hopeful he will leave his job in the fire department in The Netherlands and join her in Shannon later this year – she is delighted to have made the move to Ireland.

“It was not difficult to settled in. The social side is very easy. I speak English, but it would be very differ- ent if I didn’t. It is not hard to talk to

people here,” she said.

Through her work at the interna- tional call centre, Edith has got in contact with various people of dif- ferent nationalities – including from her native country – and this has also helped her settle in to Shannon.

She believes that she would not have settled in to Shannon as quickly if she had been younger when she took the decision to move here.

“T imagine there is not a lot to do for young people in Shannon, but for me, there are a lot of things to do,” she said.

Asked does she miss home, she replied, “I am home…of course you miss some things, but Iam not home- sick. I plan to stay here.”

‘Ireland has much more space than

The Netherlands. I like Irish people. They are more gentle than Dutch people. I have waited for 20 years for an opportunity like this,’ she beamed.

Edith is just one of the many people who have chosen to move to Shan- non and start a life there. Locals are keen to embrace the outsiders into their community.

THE sight of wandering cattle with big horns on a busy stretch of road near Sixmulebridge caused grave dis- tress to passing motorists, a court has heard.

Before Shannon District Court was Christy Grady, of Rath Beg, Sixmile- bridge, accused of allowing beasts to wander, at Feenagh, Sixmilebridge, on January 10 and 11 last.

Sergeant Con Ryan told Shannon District Court the defendant’s frie- sian bullocks were wandering on the road. It resulted in a lot of motorists getting frustrated.

‘He had been warned a few times about them. A lot of people were con- cerned. The animals hadn’t been de- horned,’ said Sgt Ryan.

He said the first report was made to Sixmilebridge Garda Station, at 3.10pm on January 10, from a driver who became “very distraught” on seeing what he described as “bulls with big horns”.

Sgt Ryan went to Feenagh, where he found two long-horned friesian cows wandering. He and another man moved the animals off the road.

A local farmer told him the cattle were belonging to the accused.

The following day, gardai received further reports, that cattle were wan- dering on the road near the mart at Sixmilebridge. Sgt Ryan found one long-horned friesian and put him back on land.

He said he met the accused and told him he would have to move the cattle. He co-operated fully with him.

“He undertook to move them. He is an elderly man. I don’t think he realised the significance of this. It 1s a busy stretch of road. He did move them the third day,” he said.

Mr Grady told the court he did not have cattle on the road at Feenagh – which was named on the summons – and for that reason he was not guilty.

His solicitor Caitriona Carmody said her client was adamant his cattle wouldn’t wander at Feenagh. If they wandered anywhere, it would have been at Ballysheen.

Sgt Ryan replied that the accused admitted to him that the cattle were Nhe

“T’ve seen Mr Grady on that road, tending to cattle and at that field,’ he nem

Ms Carmody said there was an ele-

ment of doubt. She pointed out that none of the complainants were in court and Sgt Ryan said they did not want to give evidence.

Mr Grady told the court that he removed one of the cattle to County Limerick.

“He was a bit wild. He might be used to mountainous country. They’d be used to be not confined. I took him to County Limerick and he hasn’t broke out since. He won’t ever stand in Clare again,’ he said.

Sgt Ryan said if the accused un- dertook to fence the land, he would agreed to withdraw the summons.

Mr Grady replied, “I will, but there’s no cattle breaking out since January 11. I have very good fences.”

Judge Joseph Mangan struck out the ores

ILLEGAL parking of caravans in Shannon is posing huge problems for the people of the town and flies in the face of the county’s Traveller Accommodation Programme.

That was the view expressed at a meeting of Shannon Town Council last week, where councillors hit out at the trend of illegal parking.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Independent) called for a height restriction barrier to be placed at the entrance to the laneway, ad- jacent to the Shannon Olympic yiKe ee

She said while she does not want to see the town being “fenced off”,

parking restrictions should be put in place there, as it is “too easy to open the gate and get in there”.

“There is very obviously a loop- hole in the legislation, where some- body who has accommodation can up and leave,” said Cllr McCarthy.

“Unauthorised and illegal park- ing is detrimental to Clare County Council’s Traveller Accommoda- tion Programme,” she said.

Cllr Gerry Flynna (Independent) said, “There is a huge problem of illegal parking all over the town. There doesn’t seem to be legisla- tion there to deal with it at a local level. I think it 1s a huge problem.”

Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) said it appears that some areas are ex-

posed to “this type of behaviour” which is not acceptable.

“If there are areas with a history of this type of parking, we should be protecting these areas,” he said.

Clir Greg Duff (Labour) agreed with this view and pointed out that there was “a long history” of this type of behaviour.

He said if a barrier was put in place beside the Shannon Olympic pitch, he would be afraid that the problem would just move a short distance down the road.

Cllr Mike McKee (Independent) agreed with this and said he felt that if one area was blocked off, then another area would be used to park caravans.

Clir Sean Hillery (FF) made the point that Travellers should be in- tegrated, “but in a controlled man- ner”.

Shannon’s mayor, Cllr Tony Mc- Mahon (Labour) said Shannon ap- pears to be getting “a right lash- ing’, in relation to illegal parking.

‘The whole issue needs to be re- visited. There is no use in us trying to provide accommodation, if we have new people on the block next week looking for accommodation,” he said.

“It has to be addressed at national level. It is doing no good for either the settled community or the trav- elling community,” said Cllr Mc- Mahon.