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PLANS for a hostel and 39 homes for the north Clare coastal village of Fanore are encountering opposition from local residents.

In September, Tom Considine lodged plans for the 18-bedroom hostel and 39 homes on zoned land at Craggagh, Fanore. According to a statement with the plans lodged, the hostel “will be a major contribution to the tourism industry in Fanore as at present, it is not possible to stay overnight in Fanore, except for Bed and Breakfasts.”

Mr Considine also encloses a let- ter from auctioneer, John Vaughan, which states that property is in huge demand in Fanore and it is rare property of any kind to come on the market.

However, the proposal is en- countering opposition from local residents. In an objection lodged on behalf of Rita Dowling, it states that Ms Dowling has no objection in principle to development but has

serious concerns about the scale of the proposal, the negative impact on the laneway to the side of the devel- opment and the absence of public sewerage.

“The anticipated growth over the Development Plan period from 2005 to 2011 1s for an additional 10 units

for permanent residential units. The applicant proposes 39 houses within five years and argues that there is a demand for this scale of develop- ment for permanent occupation,” the statement continues.

‘The locals do not want more holi- day homes, nor would such homes

lead to any sustainability with re- spect to the proper planning and de- velopment of the area.”

A separate objection lodged on be- half of Margaret Leyden stated, “One has to remember that until about 15 years ago, Fanore was by and large an idyllic virgin landscape. However, since then development pressure has increased and is, at present, serious- ly threatening the very existence of this visual amenity, some in part by the Council in trying to reinvent the house in the vernacular, others not complying with their permissions.

“The housing scale as proposed is totally out of scale with any lo- cal vernacular. It must be pointed out that in the County Development Plan, this whole area is deemed to be a ‘vulnerable landscape’ on a scenic route. How does the proposal comply with these objectives. We would suggest that they are in direct conflict.”

A decision is due on the applica- tion later this month.

APPROVAL has been given to try to make safe a junction which was the scene a recent fatal accident.

38-year-old Shane Browne from Meelick lost his life in a two-vehicle collision at Harold’s Cross, an acci- dent black-spot where dozens of cars have crashed and many people have lokero em Oleba me

The November meeting of Killaloe area councillors was told that cash had been set aside and stop signs or- dered for Harold’s Cross.

Councillor John McInerney, who put a motion to the council request- ing the safety measures, was told by officials that signage had been or- dered and that every effort will be made to highlight the junction.

But calls from other councillors for changes to speeding controls in the area met with a mixed response from gardai and road engineers.

Of 21 requests from Cllr Cathal Crowe for alterations to speed lim- its, just three were granted.

These were at Barry’s Cross, where the 60 kph limit will be extended to a point 10 meters west of the post of- fice junction, on the Roo/Broadford road and the Roo Post Office junc- tion where the limit will be reduced from 80 kph to 60 kph.

Cllr Paschal Fitzgerald had asked for an increase in the 50 kph limit at the Longpavement and it was agreed that this would go up to 60 kph, while Cllr Tony O’Brien was grant- ed an extension of the 50 kph speed limit at Hill Road in Killaloe.

The meeting was attended by members of the gardai who, along with the county’s road engineers, had been involved as consultants on the list of requests for advised re- strictions.

Cllr Crowe said that he was not happy with the refusals. “There’s no doubt that East Clare is being used as a rat run. These are requests based on what the residents in these areas are telling me.

“These are the people who have to live in these areas and they are

crying out for speed controls,” the councillor said.

Clir Tony O’Brien said that while he understood that his colleague was acting on behalf of residents, ““These decisions were made in consultation with people who are experts in traf- fic management and I feel we should

accept their recommendations.”

Officials told the meeting that all of the limits and restrictions on roads in the area will be made public to give residents a chance to make any submissions they wish to, once the regulations have been adopted at a full council meeting.

KILRUSH brothers, Anthony Kelly (26) and Joseph (23), have pleaded guilty to assaulting two men in the town on April 11, 2004, at Ennis Cir- cuit Court.

The assault by the brothers, who were armed with a hurley and a bow- saw, resulted in two men being hos- pitalised. One of the victims, Martin Walsh, told the court he was hospi- talised for seven days, had 11 staples

put into his head and an operation on his arm. He has been on disability al- lowance since the incident. The other victim, Tony McNamara, had 14 sta- ples in his head and spent two days in hospital. Detective Sergeant Dav- id Sheedy told the court that Joseph Kelly hit Mr Walsh on the head with the hurley. Mr Walsh fell to the eround and was hit several times in the body by the two assailants. Tony McNamara witnessed the incident, and was also knocked unconscious.

Det Sgt Sheedy said the two victims were completely innocent.

Asked about the background to the assault, the garda said, “It’s hard to say, but it’s going back to an incident of a car belonging to a brother of one of the injured parties being burnt out. The problems relate to two groups of people and there are ongoing tit-for- tat problems. There are still prob- lems with the situation in Kilrush. It is important that the two Kellys don’t live there. If they did, they would get

dragged back into this feud,’ said the garda.

As part of their bail conditions, the Kellys have resided in Cork since April. The court heard that Antho- ny Kelly had 32 previous convic- tions, and Joseph 16. In both cases, a number were for road traffic of- fences. Counsel for Anthony Kelly, Michael Collins BL, asked Judge Carroll Moran to take into account his chent’s guilty plea.

“Mr Kelly is crime-free and hassle-

free. His is not a record of violence. Mr Kelly has no future whatsoever in Kilrush,” said the barrister.

Judge Moran said that a compensa- tion offer of €2,500 to each victim was inadequate. He ordered that the monies be paid over and the Kellys pay additional compensation at the February sittings of Ennis Circuit Court. He remanded them on con- tinuing bail with the same conditions attached that they remain out of Kil- Mets ep

CLARE County Council has been warned that policing rates of pay or conditions of employment on the new Ennis bypass, is not its role.

This was one of a raft of cau- tions from County Solicitor, Michael Houlihan to members in a “secret” document circulated at the local authority’s May meet- neta

The contents of the document have until now been confidential, because of a vote by councillors that the press be excluded from the meeting. But, The Clare Peo- ple can now reveal those contents, despite Mr Houlihan warning that the information is legally privi- leged.

In his letter, Mr Houlihan warned the council, “You know how important the Ennis bypass is to the council and the region. We must do nothing that endan- gers the contract.

‘There are statutory authorities charged with policing rates of pay and conditions of all employees. It would be foolhardy for the coun- cil to jeopardise its relationship with the contractor at this vital stage of the development.

‘The council is not a competent authority to police rates of pay or terms and conditions of employ- ment, and should be careful not to assume this role either now or in the future.”

Mr Houlihan continued, “There is nothing to prevent GAMA from contracting with its employees for the payment of wages in a manner different to our standard practice, provided the wages are not lower than those established for the in- dustry where the work is carried out.”

Mr Houlihan warned of serious potential consequences, in terms of cost, of a breach in the con- tractual relationship between the council and contractor.

“Alternatively, this may trigger a potential action from a disap- pointed tenderer who may take the view that GAMA may have an unfair advantage, and this may expose the council unwittingly to a claim for damages of a very se- rious nature,’ he wrote.

“T deem it vital that there is no publicity emanating from man- agement or members of the coun- cil which could interfere with the contractual relationships that cur- rently exist.

“IT emphasise that this advise is given not to inhibit or muzzle the comments that you choose to make, but merely to preserve the legal status of both the council and contractor and its existing re- lationship in the light of the cur- rent difficulties.

“T would also like to empha- sise my personal concern that all workers employed in contracts with the council are properly treated.”

BROADFORD farmer and Vice-Chair- man of the ICMSA beef committee Martin McMahon was in Birmingham this week to represent the organisation in a unique Farmers For Action (FFA) summit meet- ing.

Mr McMahon, who was joined by the IC- MSA’s dairy committee chairman Domin- ic Cronin, joined with leaders from farm- ing organisations representing farmers on both sides of the Irish Sea to ward that fur- ther actions are planned to highlight the erowing plight of farmers.

The FFA organised a three day strike for its organisations members earlier this month. The purpose of the summit was to co-ordinate efforts in the wake of the strike by farmers on both sides of the Irish Sea to secure fair prices for their produce from the so-called retail giants.

Along with the ICMSA, the National Sheep Association (NSA), the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), the Northern Ireland Agri- cultural Producers’ Association (NIAPA), and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’

Association (ICSA) were in attendance. “There was unanimous agreement on a course of further action to drive home the message that farmers are not receiving a fair share of the retail price for key prod- ucts such as dairy, beef and lamb,” said FFA leader David Hanly.

“One thing that has become clear is that consumers want farmers to get a fair share; in fact, one pole showed that 78 per cent of consumers would be willing to pay more.” He added that there 1s a commitment from all the organisations to co-operate further, and more protests and activities are being looked at. In the meantime, he challenged the retail giants to publicly accept that farmers are not getting a fair deal and to do something about it immediately. Speaking after the meeting Dominic Cronin said the ICMSA was absolutely de- termined to focus attention on farm prices, and he repeated the demand made by ICM – SA for legislation to govern the minimum price retailers can pay farmers. Mr Cronin said ICMSA was willing and able to build alliances with any other organisations ded- icated to protecting farm income.

NORTH Clare County Councillor, Flan Garvey, (FF) has spoken out against the decision to grant preferential treatment to groups living closest to the controversial Ballyduff Beg waste manage- ment facility when the second round of commu- nity funding is allocated.

Councillor Garvey’s comments come in the wake of a decision made by the local Liaison Committee, ratified at the October 10 meeting of Clare County Council, to allow groups living in the Ballyduff area favourable status when the €55,440 in funding is distributed.

The decision was made on the foot of allega- tions of “obnoxious smells” emitted by the Bal- lyduff Beg facility which are causing discomfort to those in the area. Applications for the second round of funding for sustainable community- based environmental initiatives in Inagh, Kil- namona and Cloonanaha were requested last week.

“If the people around the edge of the dump have a problem then that is a different issue (from the funding) and they should bring their grievances to the County Council separately,” said Cllr Garvey. “It was made clear from the word go that this is a community environmental project and any group or organisation in the par- ish who fulfils the terms as set out is entitled to apply for a share of the €55,000.”

Responding to these comments the Chair- person of the Community Liaison Committee, Councillor Joe Arkins, stressed that funding is only being made available to organisations

rather than individuals and said that it was “un- fortunate” that Cllr Garvey had not attended the meeting when the matter was discussed.

‘As chairperson of the liaison committee it is my responsibility to bring the decision of the majority of the community to the council,” said Cllr Arkins. “It was the decision of the meeting that the next tranche of funding would favour the projects of those who have been adversely effected by the landfill. It 1s up to them to decide

how the funding is to be dispersed and they have done that.”

The local community receives €1.27 for every ton of waste disposed of at the Ballyduff Beg landfill. Since its opening in September of 2002 some 150,000 tonnes of waste have been dis- posed of at the site. It is predicted that the landfill has a capacity of close to 900,000 tonnes which represents more than €1 million of funding be- ing made available to the local community.

THREE Limerick men who came to the atten- tion of the gardai while on a stag party in Lahi- nch last week do not plan to return to the seaside town, their solicitors told a court.

Seamus Corbett, of Garryspillane, Knock- long, and Oliver Hayes and Billy Lynch, both of Knocklong, were all convicted of an offence un- der the Public Order Act, on November 13, last, at Main Street, Lahinch.

Sgt Brian Howard told Lisdoonvarna District Court the three defendants were members of a Stag party.

He said Hayes was extremely drunk and abu-

sive, and told gardai “f*** off for yourselves”. He resisted arrest, fell on the ground and refused to get up.

Sgt Howard said Lynch was extremely drunk and very loud. He got into the patrol car and re- fused to get out. When he eventually got out of the car, he thumped the back of it with his fist.

Gda Denis Curtin said Corbett got into an altercation with Lynch, as Hayes was being ar- rested.

Corbett’s solicitor, Jim Finnegan said his cli- ent, a 33-year-old carpenter, had never been in trouble before and does not drink regularly. Mr Finnegan, who also represented Hayes (30), said his client was very drunk, and when asked to go

home was incapable of complying with the in- structions. Eugene O’Kelly, solicitor for Lynch (35), said his client very much regretted the of- fence, which was completely out of character.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked how frequently did the three visit Lahinch and was assured that none plan to return there.

He remanded them on continuing bail, for a professional report re. substance and alcohol abuse to be carried out and presented to the court next January.

“It might be a good idea if they bring a sub- stantial sum of money the next day, and not for the usual purposes people bring money to Lis- doonvarna,” said the judge.

A letter, written by a Lebanese woman, which praises the efforts made by Irish soldiers in the Lebanon was the high- light of the commemoration day which took place in Ennistymon last week.

The day, which was organised by the North Clare War Memorial Committee in conjunction with the Irish Lebanon Veterans, began with a special mass in Ennistymon Church. Following the mass Limerick piper and Irish Army Captain, Michael Egan led the memo- rial parade through the town.

The parade travelled down Main Street and Parliament Street before

coming to a halt outside the commemo- rative plaque at the old cemetery on Church Hill.

A short prayer service will be held at the plague for all Irish soldiers who died in the service at home and all who were lost during peace keeping opera- tions, especially those who died in the Lebanon.

“The letter is something that I think every Irish peace keeper who served any time in the Lebanon should see or hear about,” said event organiser Ger- ard O’Halloran.

The parade was attended by a number Clare County Councillors as-well-as the Mayors of Clare and Limerick.

THE hard work and com- mitment of the people of Ennis was recognized at the Ennis Tidy Towns Lo- cal Awards Ceremony held on Friday night.

Since 1997 Ennis has garnered 27 national awards, but this years vic- tory in the overall Tidy Town’s category 1s, of course, the biggest yet. Fri- day’s ceremony at the De

Valera library paid tribute to the individual efforts and contributions of com- munities, schools and local business in enhancing the reputation of the town on a national stage.

In attendance on the evening were parents, school children, teachers, Ennis Town Councillors, town officials, members of the local clergy along with Library staff and rep- resentatives of the Ennis

Tidy Towns Committee and Shannon Develop- ment.

On the night awards were presented in four catego- ries; Primary School Art Competition Awards, The Green Area Awards, The Best Kept Garden Awards and the Shop Window Flo- ral Display Awards. There was great excitement in the crowd as Bishop Wil- lie Walsh presented the Primary School Art Com-

petition Awards. This year there were over 700 entries in this category and judges Lovee Neates eI Keke MmNOFsT MEO eCommcim- UICC ard was exceptionally high. Presenting the awards Dr Walsh praised the efforts of the Tidy Towns com- mittees in engendering a strong sense of community spirit in the town: “each person took ownership of their own area and this All- Ireland title belongs to all of you.”

The Woodlands Estate scooped the top prize in the Green Area Awards when it was named the Overall AbehlomGineosee~Vacr Maa sehl le a special award was pre- sented to St. Flannan’s Ter- race for its floral display.

Over 15 residential areas from across Ennis were honoured, highlighting the widespread community ef- fort that helped make this year’s Tidy Towns effort OTe sire eersise

THE sponsored slim for Chernobyl has reached the half way stage and so far has proved very successful.

All funds raised over the eight-week period will go towards the Beschanagovichu orphan- age in Belarus, which is home to 170 chil- dren.

Since the Slim-In began four weeks ago, participants have been meeting regularly to discuss their progress and have benefitted from the advice of a number of guest speakers

who have attended the meetings.

On November 2 Carmel form Carmel’s Health Shop spoke about products on the mar- ket that can aid weight loss while Take 30 Wo- mens Fitness have allowed participants to use their facilities for the weigh-in.

Future speakers include Brian Moore from the Hypnotherapy Clinic in Ennis and Dr Travis McDonagh of the Advanced Chiro- practic Clinic, who will offer advice on fitness and nutrition.

Organizers would like to thank all partici- pants for the commitment shown so far.