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A CALL was made yesterday to re-appraise spending on security at Shannon Airport after it emerged that it cost the State over €3 million to protect the airport last year.

Minister for Justice, Michael Mc- Dowell confirmed that the cost of ongoing Garda policing arrange- ments at Shannon Airport in 2006, including normal salaries, was ap- proximately €3.85 mullion.

Minister McDowell said that the Garda authorities allocated resourc- es in accordance with the assessed threat, so it was the Garda which ultimately determined the associated costs.

He was speaking in response to a Dail question from Green Party lead- er, Trevor Sergent.

He said, “I am informed by the Garda authorities that local Garda

management is satisfied that the con- tinuance of the ongoing policing ar- rangements at Shannon Airport is es- sential for the integrity of the airport itself and of both its employees and clients.

“Accordingly, I remain satisfied that Garda policing arrangements at Shannon Airport continue to be both necessary and appropriate.”

Last year, the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) made an estimated profit of €9 million from the 280,000 US troops that passed through Shan- non, keeping the airport in profit.

However, Green Party election can- didate, Brian Meaney said yesterday, “It is time to re-appraise the security operation at Shannon.

“A significant amount of Garda resources is being spent on the op- eration at Shannon and this must be having an effect on policing levels elsewhere in Clare.”

THE amount of waste landfilled at Ballyduff Beg last year was the low- est since the facility was opened in 2002.

Almost 34,000 tonnes of waste were landfilled last year, which is a significant reduction on almost 53,000 in 2005. Almost 44,000 tonnes were deposited there in 2004, and nearly 56,000 in 2003. During the first seven weeks of this year, almost 7,000 tonnes of waste were deposited there.

The annual report of the facility, presented to councillors yesterday, stated that the reduction last year was mainly due to a decrease in quanti- ties brought by one major collector.

The maximum licensed intake of 56,500 tonnes per annum was almost reached in 2003 and 2005.

The facility’s expenditure last year was €1.78 million for landfill, €223,000 for the recycling centre and €7,000 for composting. Pay- ments to suppliers of goods and serv- ices accounted for 38 per cent of the landfill operating costs; machinery was 33 per cent, with payroll 29 per Cone

The gate fees last year were €125 per tonne, for quantities up to 10,000 tonnes per annum and €120 per tonne, for quantities over that. These fees are reduced by €5 per tonne this year.

The income budget for the facility is €3,750,000 this year.

The report confirmed that off-site odours have been detected from time to time, as a result of inspections by the council and the HSE.

‘The main odour being reported 1s that of landfill gas, with some reports also of fresh waste odour. Landfill gas consists mainly of methane and carbon dioxide, which are green- house gases, but are odourless, but a small fraction of landfill gas is made up of volatile organic compounds, Some of which are odorous,” stated the report.

Two non-compliance notices, cov- ering four subjects, were received by the Environmental Protection Agency, in the year ending March 2007. Odour off-site and the felling of trees outside the dates specified in

the licence were referred to, 1n one of the notices. The council asserts the trees were felled in late February, to facilitate construction of Phase 3 of the facility, which got underway last August.

The report also pointed out that complaints were made about ma- chinery noise and surface water run- off, relating to Phase 3 construction.

According to the report, the prob- lems raised were discussed at the Community Liaison and Monitor Committee meetings.

“Odour management in particular has been a recurring subject. Com- plaints about site noise, early entry to site and late departure, and quality of surface water run-off, have been raised at this stage,” it stated.

LISDOON VARNA National School are on the road to repeating last years heroics in the Credit Union All-Ire- land quiz competition as their U13 team qualified for the national final last week.

The team saw off stiff competition from schools from all over Munster to finish first in their age grouping. It was however, a bitter sweet evening for the school as their U1] team nar- rowly missed out on qualification themselves, finishing third in their age group.

“We give them encouragement at

the school but they do most of the work themselves, off their own bat. Each of them gets a lot of support and help at home as well but at the end of the day they do all the work themselves.” said school principal John Hehir.

‘Both teams qualified to represent the school at the regional final in Limerick. The UI3 team won it and got through to the nationals but the U1] team finished third.

“Only the first two teams qualify so the U1] team were very unlucky not to make it. They were unlucky but at the same time they will have learned a lot from the experience and they

have more years in front of them.”

Indeed, this year the U13 team fea- tures three students, Orla Burke, Rob- ert Hillery, and Eimear O’Sullivan, who claimed the U1] All-Ireland last year.

The team in completed by Eleanor Collins who will be looking to taste her first All-Ireland success in Dub- lin on April 1.

“It is a 32 county, All-Ireland com- petition, so there will be more than 100 teams involved. All these teams would have come through two or three qualification rounds to make it this far so they really are the best of the best,” continued Mr Hehir.

“The whole competition is very well run. From local level in En- nistymon, through the other rounds in Ennis, Limerick and on to Dublin. The Credit Union deserves a lot of credit for it.”

Lisdoonvarna has been one of the most consistent performers in the competition over the last decade. The came joint sixth when they first reached in national final in 2001.

They came second in 2005, first in 2006 and have given themselves eve- ry chance of a great finish this time around.

The competition takes place in Dublin’s RDS on April 1.

SUNDAY has to count. To get any- thing from this league Clare knew at the start of the year that two home wins were vital. In reality, Wexford should have been a banker. It wasn’t. Clare looked stale and had no appe- tite for the two points in a game that was surely earmarked as a chance to return to on-field matters. Because of all that’s gone on, this is vital to Clare but already the fizz is going out.

As a buffer to the sideshow of Feb- ruary, the party line was thrown out that training was tough but go- ing well. It didn’t look that way last Sunday week and now the task of beating both Waterford and Cork in Cusack Park is on Clare’s shoulders. It weighs heavy.

The scribes who openly stated that Tony Considine wouldn’t see out his two-year term as manager of Clare had the first domino fall their way. While a home defeat to Wexford – considering the injuries Clare had and their previous tepid challenge of Down – isn’t a league breaker, it will become that should Waterford arrive in Ennis and take the points.

And that’s the likely result. All the momentum is with the visitors. They travelled to Wexford for their league

Opener and destroyed them by Il points. On Saturday they played Cork in the re-fixture and looked comfort- able throughout with four points to Spare at the end, Ken McGrath and Eoin Kelly backboning things.

Clare had a run out themselves at the weekend. Travelled to Na Piar- saigh on the Ennis Road in Limerick and had five points to spare over a Limerick side that had a number of new faces.

Clare, on the other hand, had some familiar names and gave starts to Fer- gal Lynch, Gerry O’Grady and Frank Lohan after injury problems. And at least the presence of the latter two on Sunday, should they start, will be a

calming influence in the full back line. It was a sector Tony Considine was quick to take the carving knife to against Wexford, hauling in Colm Forde after just 15 minutes.

The form of Tony Carmody should be on the up as well. He’s had three games for Clare since he was talked back into the set-up by a group of sen- ior players, scoring well throughout. At times against Wexford he showed flashes of what he’s capable of but a flicker of sharpness was missing. He bagged four points against Limerick at the weekend and the extra game should propel him further again.

Diarmuid McMahon and Barry Nu- gent were both missing against Lim- erick with injuries, but the problems seem to be abating generally.

It’s not yet crunch time for Clare, but it’s approaching. Two back to back losses in Cusack Park would be a tough one to swallow and Water- ford come with the scent of blood on i eCod Dam BT ON

The bottom line is simple: just like the last time, Clare need a win and a performance against Waterford. If not, their backs are to the wall.

MEMBERS of Clare County Coun- cil have voted to adopt a public con- sultation strategy for the preparation of Development Plans in the county.

They accepted it, after a debate on the issue at yesterday’s month- ly meeting of the Council, during which some councillors voiced their views on the formulation of develop- ment plans.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said, “It’s about communication with the ordinary people out there.”

Councillor Martin Lafferty (Ind) said, the document was “very well written. My experience of the last plan was it came in as an item. There wasn’t one word. It was proposed, seconded and adopted,” he said.

Councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) said it was not about a development plan as such. “We are talking about

local representation,” he said.

“The Department has laid out, in euldeline form, how we should con- sult with local groups. I would ask members to go forward,’ he added.

Councillor Richard Nagle (FF) said, “It is up to members here if they want to amend or change the County Development Plan. What we are talking about here is the public consultation strategy.”

“Some people seem to totally un-

derestimate the knowledge of the electorate. What we are talking about here is that we have a clear ap- proach,” he added.

He said that the document should be put on view for public consulta- tion, in libraries and public offices.

The Director of Services in the Planning Section, Bernadette Kin- sella said the document sets out how the council wished to engage in the process of consultation.

WHILE the politicians are on the campaign trail which they hope will lead them to the Dail, a Clonlara girl is on a votes trail of a very different kind last week.

You’re a Star competitor Maeve O’Donovan was raising support for her bid to win by visiting schools in her area and rallying support from the local community.

SRT eB WY ETAVor rasa oee EK Mh (cle) ats knock-out at the Helix in Dublin and was preparing for her next perform- ance at the weekend when she took time out to meet youngsters at Clon- lara and Parteen national schools.

The curious kids were delighted

to have a budding star in their midst and were full of curiosity about what it is like to appear on TV and per- form for an audience of thousands of critical people.

For 16-year-old Maeve, taking part in the competition has been a lesson she will never forget and one which many professionals would give their eye teeth to experience.

“lve learned so much from being involved and I could never have en- visaged staying in to this stage when it all started,” said Maeve.

The secondary school student stood out as the last female competitor in bolle iowa UNl ele

Fellow-Clare competitor Susan O’Neill from Ennis was voted out at

an earlier stage.

But Maeve has made firm friends among the other competitors. Speak- ing last week, she said that if she was eliminated, she would like to see Scuba Dice take the prize.

“They were getting such a hard time but I think they’re brilliant,” said Maeve.

With two songs to sing for Sunday’s heat, Maeve was upbeat during her school visits last week.

“When I’m jut singing one song, I get a bit nervous but by the time I get to the second, I’m into my stride and I can perform better,’ she said.

Sunday was week nine of a gruel- ling 12 weeks of competition which sees one hopeful act voted out by the

audience each week.

The prize is a valuable recording contract which could kick-start a showbiz career for the talented win- ner.

And she was non-plussed about the previous week’s criticism of her outfit for the show, an item which prompted radio presenter Ray Darcy to leap to her defence on air.

“We have stylists who advise us what to wear and I asked for some- thing a bit more casual for Sunday,” Maeve said.

THE dark hours and difficulties of putting a squad together given senior commitments and college football finally paid off on Saturday. Reward for Joe Garry and his team.

He stands outside the Clare dress- ing room door, inside the door just 40 minutes earlier he was planning the next phase of attack. Just one point up with the greedy share of posses- sion, he wasn’t panicking.

“We just said to the boys we were pleased with the way things were go- ing, because we were well on top in all sectors of the field,’ Garry says. “What wasn’t going too well for us was our scoring. We were on top, we should have been more ahead going in at the break. We knew that. We felt we probably deserved to be seven points up at half time but in fairness we felt if we kept at it, kept playing the way that we were playing that we’d win the game.”

Fourten chances and a return of four scores doesn’t make for positive reading but still, Garry says his play- ers were on top of things.

“I’m always in favour of lads tak- ing the ball on. To have a cut at it. It’s very easy to pass the ball off. You won’t get every shot you take but on other days you might get 17 or 18 scores. I think we only had what I’d class as two bad wides in the whole game. Everybody else was entitled to have a shot at it. I’d be very annoyed NiO OCoM BD OOCom UNO eleaarenlet lam

We’re delighted but in fairness to the lads they’ve been doing that all year long.”

Challenge games and training ses- sions gave them the foundation, but nobody was sure how they would come out when the traps lifted. Whether a layer of rust or doubt would linger. Garry didn’t have any doubts though.

‘These boys are unbelievably unit- ed. There’s a great unity in the team.

Everybody works hard for each other, from one to 25 on the panel. They deserved this win and they’ve two weeks to get ready for the next one. It’s a great win. A massive win. But there’s a good bounce in Clare football at the minute. From the mi- nors down to the under-14’s, there’s a feel good factor there. You can sense that in the crowd that came out to see Clare playing today. There’s good days ahead for Clare football and it’s a matter of keeping at it.”

Off he goes with back slaps still raining down upon him. Job done.

THE transport infrastructure in towns and villages in rural Clare has fallen into disrepair due to years of neglect.

That was the picture painted at last night’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council. Independent coun- ATE Key en Ol eve AA Orel a stem ec iNce MA elem t(on He called for the council to provide an inventory of the towns and vil- lages in north, west, and east Clare Where road surfacing and footpath improvements have ceased for the

past two to three years in anticipa- tion of new or upgraded sewerage schemes.

It was revealed that more than 15 areas across the county missed out on works while only a handful have been approved for works pro- grammes. However, work has not yet taken place in any of the towns or villages listed.

The Department of the Environ- ment is reluctant to grant foreshore licenses to proposed sewerage schemes in coastal communities and this is one reason for the delay.

Cllr Curtin said people living in rural areas were becoming increas- ingly frustrated.

‘The delay is causing huge difficul- ties. There has been no work carried out in Mullagh for over 25 years. There has been no improvement car- ried out in Miltown Malbay for four or five years. People understand there will be a delay, but that delay is undue. Inertia is creating an undue delay.”

Clir Joe Arkins (FG) said the situ- ation in some areas was a disgrace. “We have a situation in some towns and villages where footpaths are not

being maintained because of immi- nent sewerage schemes – if only we knew what imminent meant. The footpath from Miltown Malbay to- wards Spanish Point is an absolute disgrace.”

Cllr Michael Kelly (FE) said, ‘These services are needed if devel- opment is to take place. This is sti- fling development.”

Cllr Bernard Hanrahan (FF) said, “We are waiting on a sewerage scheme in Clarecastle. I don’t see any reason why this should hold up work on a footpath.”

Senior Engineer Walter Walsh ac- knowledges the council’s frustration. He said, “I can understand there is frustration out there. We are too frustrated too; we will talk to the en- gineer. But we must be prudent in the way we spend the money. It wouldn’t look too good, from a public rela- tions point of view, if we carried out repair works to roads and footpaths, only for us to go back a year later and Ch Tem detosenmel oy

“We have to strike a balance. I can say though, that we are more than anxious to advance these schemes.”

ONGOING concerns over infrastruc- ture in the Cronan area of Shannon have prompted the local residents eroup to request a meeting with the town council.

Residents say that their requests for an upgrade of footpaths and roads in the area have fallen on deaf ears, over the past four years. They will air their grievances in a meeting with councul- lors next month.

Chairman of the group Jim Dutfy said residents will put pressure on officials, if local councillors fail to assist them. Mr Duffy said that resi- dents have a lengthy list, which they intend to put to the local elected rep-

resentatives.

“We are going to the council. It is the last time we are going. If we don’t get their support, we are going to meet the county manager. The talking is over after this meeting,’ he said.

Mr Duffy said that while the public order issue in the area has improved in recent months, the roads problem is getting worse and cannot be toler- AICerem

‘There are serious problems in Cro- nan, which we brought to the atten- tion of the council, three or four years ago. The footpaths are in a bad state and have subsided over the years. They are carrying water and as a re- sult, children are getting wet, going to school.

“We are also looking for litter bins. People are very angry. We will be bringing in a big hefty agenda to this meeting,” he said.

He said that residents are concerned at the lack of car parking spaces in some of the estates in Cronan.

“Parking will be another issue. We find that homeowners’ spaces are being taken. When the houses were built, they were suitable for one car, but people have more than one car per house now. A lot of green areas could be turned into parking spaces,” he added.

Four years ago, locals carried out a survey in the areas of Cronan Park, Cronan Lawn, Cronan Grove and Cronan Gardens. A number of 1is-

sues of concern were highlighted and some of them were addressed. How- ever other burning issues continue to pose headaches.

“We needed lights and we got them. We wanted a pedestrian crossing at St Caimin’s and we got it. The two out- standing serious issues are the elimi- nation of water from footpaths and for the roads to be resurfaced, with extra culleys,”’ he said.

“We have had a reduction in anti- social behaviour. We met the young people and we talked to them. When the young people were told this was happening, it eased off. We would also like to see the town council pro- viding amenities for the young peo- ple,” he said.

WORK on the long-awaited perma- nent water treatment facility for En- nis is set to commence in summer and expected to last 78 weeks.

Tender applications for the €7.5 million project will be finalised next week with a detailed report to follow soon after.

Speaking at Monday’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Joe Carey (FG) requested firm assurances from the council that the timetable would be adhered to.

“People are outraged in Ennis re- garding the water supply. There are people putting their hands in their pockets every week to pay for wa- ter. It’s hard on parents with young children. Will people be expected to boil water for year and a half? That is not acceptable, it is highly unsat- istactory. | have been going round to people’s doorsteps and seven out of 10 people have mentioned it to me.”

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab) said problems with the water supply had damaged the image of Ennis as a tourist destination.

He said, “We’ve been waiting and waiting for something to happen. The people of Ennis deserve a proper service. When people visit Ennis and stay in hotels and they are told they have to go out to the shop to buy bot- tles of water, they must think it’s an absolute disgrace.”

Councillor Martin Conway said, “I have heard that the Dunnes Stores branch in Ennis is the number one in Ireland for selling bottles of water and that says it all. Clean water is a basic human right.”

Senior Engineer Walter Walsh said

the contractor would determine when the project was completed.

‘We have been assured by the de- partment that when the application is forwarded to them that they will deal with it as swiftly as possible. The contractor has the right to change the period of construction. We can’t instruct him to change the contract period.”