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MORE than 3,500 Clare school children are struggling for attention in classes of up to 34 pupils.

Hard-pressed teachers are also strug- gling to cater for a further 3,000 pupils in classes of up to 29 pupils according to INTO Executive Representative for Clare, Declan Kelleher.

Teachers, parents and management groups are now to take part in one of the biggest school demonstrations in the county on Monday next at 8 pm in the West County Hotel to highlight con- cerns over class sizes.

As well as over crowding the educa- tion partners are also concerned about “multi classes” in small schools. Ban- She National School, near Kilkee is a two teacher with 52 pupils and eight classes. Under current Department of Education legislation they will have to wait until next year for the third teacher, as legislation says they require.

There are many other small schools in the county in a similar situation, said Mr Kelleher.

Last March the INTO and a number of schools from the county met with local politicians in Ballyea National School to highlight their concerns with over crowded class rooms.

This time round hundreds of parents and teachers from affected schools are expected at the meeting. Elected rep- resentative from Clare have also been UO Aloe b

“The meeting will highlight the unac- ceptable number of pupils per primary school class as well as the failure of the government to make any moves to implement the promised reductions in class size contained in their programme for Government. Inputs to the meeting will be made by the national Parent’s Council Primary, Primary School Man- agement and the INTO,” said Mr Kel- leher.

WANDER EI place in Shannon later this month.

Irish Country Pottery is to hold a factory clearance sale of €180,000 of its stock, over three days.

The stock being cleared 1s a mixture of first quality and a selection of slight seconds, which have built up over the years, since the company was formed almost 40 years ago.

The decision to sell the stock at a reduced rate — up to 50 per cent off — was made in advance of the launch of a new range, which is expected to hit the shelves early next year.

Among the items on sale include lamps, wooden ac-

cessories, hand painted shades and various kitchen ACCESSOTIES.

“We haven’t done this be- fore and the main purpose 1s to clear out the stock. All of the items on sale are of high Standard,’ said Alec Good of Irish Country Pottery.

People from a wide range of countries are among the 70-strong workforce em- ployed at Irish Country Pot- tery, including those from South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and Ro- mania, while a number of people with disabilities also 0) U.N SESE

The clearance sale, at Shannon Community Work- shop, in the Shannon Indus- trial Estate, will take place between 10am and 6pm on Friday and Saturday (No- vember 25 and 26) and be- tween 12 noon and 6pm on Sunday (November 27).

Clare County Council is set to become a major player in the pro- motion of tourism in Clare, as part of a shake-up of regional tourism SB uC R EN KeNE

The Government overhaul of the current structures is aimed at ad- dressing the growing imbalance between visitors to Dublin and the west of Ireland.

Under the changes, the coun- cil will, for the first time, have a strong voice on issues such as product development. The council will become an integral part of the tourism planning of the region by way of participation on the Re- gional Tourism Partnerships and strong links at executive level.

The plan also states that council will be in a position to assist in the funding of particular initiatives led by the regional tourism centre.

OU stomata mecca Oye VeeMbCe RUD RoKIRYa08| pose a threat to Shannon Devel-

opment’s future role in promoting tourism.

The report commissioned by Failte Ireland and carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, contains a dedicated section on the Shannon region.

‘The Shannon Development eco- nomic development role has influ- enced the tourism activity under- taken by the agency in the region, with a strong emphasis on product development as a response to mar- ket failure.

“In line with overall thrust of the recommendations, which favour the integration of national and re- gional tourism policy, considera- tion should be given to the integra- tion of the Shannon tourism region into the proposed revised regional Structure.

“It would be important, however, to ensure that the strategic tourism capability built within the Shan- non Development over-time is not lost to the region.

“As a potential future ‘gateway’ to the west of Ireland, this knowl- edge and know-how should be har- nessed to manage the flow of visi- tors to and through the region.”

This week, Tourism Minister, John O’Donoghue told the Dail: “At the end of July, I indicated to Failte Ireland that I was satisfied it should proceed with the proposed revision of regional tourism struc- tures on the basis of the PWC and ‘Travers reports.

“An implementation group is being established to assist Failte Ireland in implementing the rec- ommendations. Mr. Finbarr Flood has agreed to chair this group and has already begun his work. Failte Ireland expect that changes will be seen in the regions by the middle of next year.

“At a time of overall national tourism growth, I remain con- cerned that the issue of regional spread should be proactively and energetically addressed.

INDUSTRY and opposition politicians have slammed the agreement which will see the Shannon stopover grounded from April 2008.

IBEC — which represents 500 busi- nesses, employing 50,000 people in the region — has branded the announcement that a deal has been cut to phase out the stopover as “a black day for the west.”

IBEC Mid-West Regional President, Mr Damien Clancy, added that the impact on industry, business and tourism would be devastating given that Government has not outlined measures to minimise the negative effect of this decision.

“The harsh reality is that, under Open Skies, US-Shannon flights could easily be reduced from 50 to 7 per week with an equivalent drop in US passengers of up- wards of 500,000 per annum as airlines seek to consolidate their Irish operations

for cost reasons,” he said.

Beginning next November, the number of flights serving Shannon will be re- duced to one in four on all scheduled routes. “This drastic reduction in serv- ices outlined by Minister Cullen will no doubt have a significant impact on invest- ment and jobs in Shannon and the greater West of Ireland region unless action is taken to plan for this change,” the IBEC President said.

Mike Halpenny of SIPTU, the union representing workers at the airport, says the deal is a disaster. “The big problem is that it’s a poor deal, not just for the air- port workers but also for workers in the industrial estate and the backward link- ages. And this has all been done without even the courtesy of an impact study.”

Joe Buckley of the Shannon Signal eroup said that it was “an appalling day for Shannon.” He added that, while the

Government had neglected to carry out any impact statement before the deal, in the US, a bill is moving through congress to examine fall-out for American indus- try in the Mid-West.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen has criticised the one-in-four deal for Shannon over an 18-month-period as a drip-feed solution. He said, “This is a sellout of the West. It is a ridiculous sop which takes no ac- count of the threatened effects of an Open Skies agreement on the airport.”

But the plan has received a welcome from tourism interests and from the Lim- erick Chamber of Commerce, who said that “Open Skies could offer opportuni- ties and Shannon Airport’s business plan does make provision for its advent but it is now critical that they get their cost structure in order to attract carriers and compete on transatlantic business by of- fering lower landing charges.”

A LONE Clare fisherman, reported missing late last Wednesday night in Galway Bay, was found safe and well, stranded on an island, in the early hours of Thursday morning. The 43-year-old from New Quay in North Clare went fishing at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon and was due home at around nightfall. When

there was no sign, his wife raised the alarm and reported him overdue at around Ilpm. A major sea and air search was launched soon after- wards.

The Aran Islands and Galway Bay lifeboats, along with volunteers from the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, rushed to the scene and began a water-based search in the area of New Quay. Shortly af-

terwards, the Shannon-based Irish Coastguard helicopter, which is equipped with specialist search and rescue thermal imaging technology, joined the search.

The man was located a short time later by the chopper crew as they carried out a low level sweep over Deer Island in Galway Bay, about two miles north of New Quay.

According to a Coastguard

spokesperson, “The helicopter crew spotted the man on Deer Island waving his hands in the air but for safety reasons did not immediately attempt to airlift him. It appears he got caught in some bad weather and sought shelter on the island”’.

The presence of large colonies of birds on the island prevented the chopper crew from immediately airlifting the man to safety. It was

feared that if disturbed, birds could fly into the chopper’s engines and scupper any rescue bid.

The pilot decided instead to await the arrival of a lifeboat which used spotlights to illuminate the area so that an airlift could safely take place.

The man was taken to safety short- ly before 2 am and was reported to be safe and well after his ordeal.

AN ENNIS man who held an elderly woman and a 23-year-old girl at knifepoint before rob- bing them, in separate incidents, did so because he was on heroin, Ennis Circuit Court has been told. Robbie Nestor (25), with an address at Tulla Road, Ennis, and formerly of Hermitage, Ennis, pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery in En- nis in September 2004.

Det Gda Jarlath Fahy told the court that a 75-

year-old woman was sitting in her car in the car- park of the VEC building in Ennis, on Septem- ber 16 when she was approached by the accused. He produced a knife and said he wanted her bag. She handed it over and he left the scene with the bag and its contents, which included €600.

Ten days later, the accused was buying match- es in Liddy’s Gala in Ennis. He held a knife to the 23-year-old shop assistant and held her by the shirt, before getting away with more than €500 in cash.

When asked about the circumstances which led to the robberies, Dt Gda Fahy replied, “the fact that he was on drugs.” He said Nestor has 21 previous convictions.

Defending barrister Mark Nicholas said his client’s real problem is his addiction to drugs.

“If he takes drugs, that seems to be it. He gets into trouble and commits crime,’ replied the garda.

“TI think this was hardly the work of a pre- planned criminal brain,” said the barrister.

Judge Carroll Moran pointed out that Gda Fahy had been extremely fair to the accused.

‘This was a despicable crime, particularly tar- geting a 75-year-old lady,” said the judge.

“Garda Fahy is of the view, if this man stays off the drugs he will not get into trouble. Let’s put it to the test,” he added.

He said he would adjourn the case for 12 months and will impose a three or four year sentence then. He may consider suspending the sentence, he said.

THE families of the two men missing following last Monday’s tragedy are said to be “furious and very upset” that the men were named in the me- dia “without their consent or any consideration for what they are going through.”

“The families of these two men are going through hell and the coverage of the story and the insensitive and unsubstantiated speculation published by certain elements of the media at such a heart breaking time 1s not helping the situ-

ation any bit,’ according to a close relative of one the men.

“T understand that the media has a job to do, but it also has a responsibility to handle any sto- ry with the sensitivity is deserves. In this case, certain organisations named the two missing men without the permission of the families. You cannot imagine what these families were going through and then they read in the papers or hear on the radio the names of their loved ones,” said the family spokesman.

‘There has to be a humanness to all of this. It

is not easy for the families involved. I can only speak for the family to which I am closest and they are furious and very upset by the media cov- erage on a local and national level. I have been in touch with the garda Superintendent in Ennisty- mon who has been extremely helpful and under- standing,’ the family spokesman added.

It is known that the father of one of the miss- ing men is seriously ill and was not immediately told of the tragedy while the family of the other man has already been bereaved by the loss of his father at a young age.

HAND hygiene in the accident and emergency department of Ennis General Hospital is one of the poor- est in the country, and the worst in the Mid-West Region, at 32 per one

According to the first national au- dit of hygiene practices in the coun- try’s hospitals, published in the past week, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, has a 100 per cent cleanliness rate when handling and disposing of linen from ICU. This unit was rated the cleanest area of the hospital and described as hav- ing a “fair” standard of cleanliness.

Ennis was also found to have a “good” method of disposing of and handling sharp objects, with a rate of 89 per cent.

However, the remaining areas of the hospital were regarded as hav- ing “poor” hygiene, with A&E re- cording the lowest standard at 62 per cent.

Hand hygiene at the hospital was found to be worryingly “poor” in all areas except ICU, which record- ed an 86 per cent cleanliness rate. Hand hygiene in the surgical and medical wards was only rated at 59 per cent.

The handling and disposal of de-

partmental waste was also low at 57 per cent, while disposal of waste from the ICU recorded a low 47 per cent. The 88-bed hospital was also recorded in the audit as having 94 beds.

While in-house cleaners cater for the hygiene needs of Ennis, the au- dit insisted that whether cleaning

was carried out in-house or con- tracted was no guarantee of good or bad hygiene.

The national audit was conducted over July and August 2005, and vis- its by auditors were random and un- announced.

Hospitals were given an overall score, indicating a good (85 per cent

or above), fair (76 per cent to 84 per cent) or poor (75 per cent or below) standard. Accordingly, nine per cent of hospitals visited received a good rating, 43 per cent were rated as fair and 48 per cent were consid- ered poor.

Two further national audits are due to be carried out in 2006.

THE final of the Tote A2 sweepstake was the main source of attraction at the Galway track over the weekend.

Slick Leo, owned by the ever popular Tommie Gallagher of Cooraclare, came out on top here having three and a quar- ter lengths to spare as they crossed the line. Tommie will be delighted with this win as the dog had shown good form in recent weeks. The West Clare owner has nursed the dog back to top form and collected prize money of €1,000 with a run of 29.01 seconds. This was the fastest time on Friday nights card.

Kengelvin Pilot owned by Martin McDermott of Kilrush had got Clare owners off to a tonic start winning the first race in a time of 30.40. Tiermana Hill owned by Noel Moroney and Pat O’Connor of Ennis will take his place in the semi-final of the Connacht All Backs A3 Sweepstake this coming weekend.

Carhue Dazzler owned by Ann Carey of Cooraclare obliged at the first time of asking with a time of 18.64 seconds. Tom Flanagan of Ennistymon kept up his good run of form with two winners over the weekend.

Dromoher Wood will go to traps

next Thursday in the A6 Galwegians stake semi-final in a repeat perform- ance should be good enough to secure a place in the final. Tom’s second win- ner was Mythical Ash who came home ahead of the pack to win the first race on Saturday night.

Slattery’s Up, who knows his way around Galway, took race nine for on- wer Michael Mulqueen of Kilrush. Distance is proving to be no problem for Ennis boys Fiachra Hennessy and Noel Coote with Drimeen Rumble. He followed up his recent success with an- other in Shelbourne Park last week.

HEALTH services in the Mid-West have de- scribed the “poor” hygiene findings in the re- gion’s hospitals as “a wake-up call” for every- body working in the hospital service.

In the first ever national acute hospitals hy- giene audit, undertaken by Desford Consultan- cy Limited on behalf of the National Hospitals Office, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, received a rating of 68 per cent, with the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, re- TORY Data On Ooo) 81m

The HSE Mid-West region said it fully ac- cepted the findings of the report and would immediately intensify efforts to make hospital staff of all grades more hygiene-conscious.

Among the audit’s suggestions to combat hygiene problems are training of staff in hand hygiene, basic cleaning techniques and the use

of cleaning chemicals and dilution rates.

Patient groups across the country have been calling for stricter hygiene regulations in hos- pitals for over a year in an attempt to control the antibiotic resident MRSA virus, which is rampant in hospitals.

Acute Hospitals network manager for the Mid-West, Mr John O’Brien, said, “We have to put our hands up and say that the results are disappointing and, clearly, we are going to have KoMClOMoloiiKompeMAUIAUD use

“On the positive side, Croom and St John’s received a ‘fair’ rating and Ennis, Nenagh and the Regional Maternity, while being classed as ‘poor’, were close to achieving ‘fair’ rat- ings. Our objective now is to ensure that all our acute hospitals are categorised as ‘good’ next time out.”

He continued, “We have to acknowledge, however, that the performance of the Mid-

Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle, was particularly disappointing, and that action must be taken to remedy the deficiencies identified by the auditor, particularly in surgical, medical and ICU. I will be taking immediate steps to prepare an action plan to address the findings of the audit.”

Dr Nuala O’Connell, consultant microbiol- ogist at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick said, “Considering the amount of ex- penditure in terms of resources and effort, the results give no room for complacency. We have to go back to the drawing board over the next few weeks and get everybody on board so we can do better.

‘Hygiene is the business of every single per- son working in our hospitals and it is also the business of patients and the public. All of us must work together to achieve a behavioural and cultural shift.”