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THE Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh has agreed to meet residents demanding that En- nis Council increases the height of the walls surrounding their estate to 8 foot, before the Council proceeds with plans to build an adja- cent scheme of social and affordable houses.

The houses are to be built on land that the bishop sold to the council for €1.5 million five years ago.

The Bishop’s Court residents want the coun- cil to ensure that only people with “proven records’ on housing are placed in the new Westbourne estate.

They also want security lighting to be fitted

and the council to carry out repairs, “should anti-social behaviour become an issue”’.

In the €10 million scheme, the Council is seeking planning permission to develop 82 so- cial and affordable residential units.

Dr Walsh this week confirmed that he is to meet the residents after a request from the as- sociation to discuss their submission to the Council. He said: “I haven’t studied the sub- mission in detail and would be reluctant at this stage to comment on it. It is an emotive issue.”

Bishop Walsh’s predecessor, Bishop Michael Harty sold lands at the Westbourne estate to a private developer who built Bishop’s Court. Dr Walsh said that he may comment on the issue after meeting with the residents.

, but was very excited to be part of a centre of excel- lence.

The Carrigoran Hospital already provides 26 beds in an inpatient dementia unit.

Cllr Pat McMahon said that the service in Carrigoran would not just benefit Newmaket- on-Fergus but Shannon, Sixmilebridge, Quinn and Ennis.

The report on the development of dementia services in Clare set out a number of plans for an area of growing demand, in view of the age- ing of the population in the county.

Among the services recommended was the development of dementia specific day services at various locations within existing day centers in the county. This will be achieved through the extension of services at these centers or the provision of extra services at weekends.

The Old Age Psychiatry Team in Clare will also be enhanced.

CLARE County Councillors last night voiced their concern over the disruptive impact that moving the local authority’s offices around En- nis was having on Council business.

Last night, at the council’s October meeting, County Manager, Alec Fleming said that he hoped the council would be in a position to sign the contract for the €27.44 million works for the provision of a new Corporate Headquarters in the next couple of weeks.

The new HQ — to be built on the council’s former site at New Road, Ennis — is expected to be ready in 2007 and until then, council depart-

ments have been dispersed to various parts of Ennis.

Construction work on the HQ was due to com- mence in June, but was delayed due to negotia- tions between the council and the contractor, Michael McNamara.

Councillors from three separate electoral ar- eas, Cllr Brian Meaney, Cllr Christy Curtin and Cllr Martin Lafferty expressed concern over the impact the dispersal of the council’s offices is having on the services the council provides.

Cllr Lafferty said: “It is a great inconvenience to have different departments in different areas of Ennis. It is particularly affecting staff and council members.”

FOLLOWING the worrying news of positive tests for birds in Turkey and Romania with Avian Influenza the Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan TD has announced a number of controlling initiatives in what she described as ‘a measured response.’

Firstly Minister Coughlan has welcomed the EU ban on all imports of live birds and untreated feathers from the countries and noted that imports of live poultry, eggs and fresh poultry meat from Turkey were already banned.

She has instructed her officials to request the assist- ance of Customs and Excise officers to provide further

support for her Department’s efforts at border inspection posts and she has arranged for the deployment of addi- tional Departmental resources at Dublin airport.

The Department has also issued detailed information to poultry flockowners on measures to reduce the risk of the introduction of Avian influenza into Ireland has published updated advice for travellers to and from af- fected countries.

Officials from the Department also met with colleagues from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland to co-ordinate their strategies.

Avian Influenza has seen millions of chickens being culled in Asia with almost 60 people dying as a result of the flu.

THERE are spaces available at Hlaunamanagh cemetery for families in need of graves, according to Clare County Council. Last week, a family had to move their father’s funeral to another cemetery after being told their local graveyard is full.

Larry Crampton, who passed away last week, was buried at Lemenagh cemetery, Newmarket- on-Fergus, after his family was told there was no double grave available at [launamanagh in Shan- non. There was a single space available, but his family requested a double space.

The decision to move the burial saddened the Crampton family. There are plans to extend Illau- namanagh but this will not be completed until next March. Shannon Town Manager Ger Dollard has apologised to the family concerned and pointed

out that the problem “should not recur.”

‘There are spaces marked. We are gone out to tender for the extension but, in the interim, we can mark out spaces and any sized plot is available,” said Mr Dollard.

He said the caretaker of the cemetery has been made aware of where the spaces are available and, if last weekend’s issue had arisen during a work- ing week, there may well have been a more suit- able conclusion.

“If it had happened on a Monday or a Tuesday, for instance, it would probably have been resolved. We have no difficulty in making an apology. It is a pity it happened and it won’t happen again,” said Mr Dollard.

Councillor Sean Hillary, who was one of those behind the establishment of the cemetery four

years ago, says this is not good enough, as the Geren elKeyemeTeeVUAAWLolnom ENO OVo Tle) Nee

“If it was known that there was a shortage of graves, the Council should have moved rapidly with emergency graves. I am not satisfied with it. This man [Larry Crampton] lived in Shannon for most of his life and a lot of people in Shannon are not happy that he could not be buried 1n the town,” PCM OuUbmsRIUE Dare

He said when it was known that people were keen to buy graves at IIlaunamanagh, Clare Coun- ty Council should have taken immediate action in extending the cemetery.

“The Council is dragging its feet. If the graves are only for emergency purposes, then contractors should be sent in immediately. That is not good enough and questions must be asked,’ he added.

A 25-YEAR-OLD man who stole 12 bars of chocolate from a shop in Shannon has_ been handed a one month suspended jail sentence. Thomas McDonagh, with an address at Bal- lymurtagh halting site, Shannon, stole the choc- olate — valued at €10 — from a shop at Cro- nan Park in the town, on February 26 last. Inspector sKoyne] Kennedy told Shannon district court the choco- late was recovered. Defending solici- tor Tara Godfrey said her client — the father of two young children — carried out an “act of monumental stupidity.” She said it was a lapse

of judgement, one which item usstauoa Koren

The court heard a bench warrant had been issued for the arrest of Mr McDonagh at a previous sitting of the court, on May 12 last. Gda Pat Broderick gave evidence of arresting the accused prior to last week’s court sitting, on foot of that warrant.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed a seven-day jail term for failing to ap- pear in court in May. He jailed him for a month for stealing the choco- late and suspended it on Foy aTONTW (Oye MmNOer:1 mn OCommnSL R-Y out of the shop in ques- tion for six months and enter a bond to keep the peace for two years.

THE poor condition of the flyover footbridge at Drum- geely is forcing people to cross the dual carriageway, ac- cording to the Mayor of Shannon.

Cllr Tony Mulcahy says the surface of one of the plat- forms 1s ‘pooling’ with water and, as a result, people can- not pass it.

“It is like a sponge and the water is making the bridge unpassable. We are looking for this to be repaired for the past year-and-a-half,” he said.

He believes that the situation will deteriorate further over the winter months and says someone must take re- sponsibility to repair it.

‘Everyone is blaming everyone else. We need to get it fixed, as a matter of urgency,’ he pointed out.

WercNMmO elem E-NRortE boil notice to Ennis householders would be lifted in the next couple of days.

Mr Tiernan said that tests received by the council on Monday were clear.

He said that the on-going caution to pre-school children and those vulnerable to infection was there because the town’s lack a fully-fledged treatment plant.

Last Friday, the Health Service Execu- tive (HSE) deemed Ennis’s water unfit for human consumption for the third time in four months. Some 30,000 residents in the greater Ennis area are affected.

Tests on Friday showed a bacterial contamination of the supply. It was as

a result of a system malfunction at the town’s treatment plant, which led to con- taminated water being pumped to homes in Ennis and surrounding villages.

Mr Tiernan said yesterday: “The tem- porary glitch in the system was an unfor- tunate and freak occurrence and could’ve happened anywhere, but Murphy’s Law PTS OOM RUUD NBEO Roan 1 mae

Mr Tiernan said that the system mal- functioned for a “number of hours over- night” and once detected was corrected.

However, Ennis Town Mayor, Cllr Frankie Neylon yesterday called on the Minister for the Environment, Dick Ro- che and County Manager, Alec Fleming to intervene, by providing tankers or bot- tled water to the community.

“Through EU Drinking Water Regula- tions 2000, the Minister for the Environ- ment is required to supply clean drink- ing water and as a result should provide

tankers and bottled water.

“Families can’t afford to be spending €40 per week on bottled water over the next two years until the new plant is in place.”

Chief executive of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, Rita McInerney said: “This is an extraordinary situation and cen- tral Government should step in to fund an interim solution as the Town Council doesn’t have the funds.”

Councillor Brian Meaney (GP), who brought 40 litres of the Ennis water sup- ply to the gates of Leinster House on Wednesday for TDs to sample, said:

“We have forgotten what it is like to have a safe water supply in Ennis where anywhere else in Ireland it would be tak- en for granted. The people of Ennis can’t wait two more years .. . this situation has come about as a result of not planning for the future.”

ONGOING delays with postal services in Clare have been blown out of all pro- portion according to An Post.

The organisation blamed sections of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) for exacerbating the worries of the public by spreading miss-informa- tion about the quality of service being provided by An Post.

According to Anna McHugh, spokes- person for An Post, the CWU is trying to deflect attention away from the ballot on possible industrial action currently being Ce Sor6 b

“It most certainly is blown out of pro- portion and their is massive propaganda and mis-information being spread about mail centres, volumes and quality of service” she said on Monday.

She also stated that An Post wouldn’t be able to guarantee next day delivery until

new work practices had been adopted.

“Quality of service is not where we want it to be and that’s why we need these work practice changes. The target set out by COMREG 1s 94% and we have someway to go before achieving that fig- ure, but we are addressing the whole is- sue of timing to do with Clare and have given it a priority”.

The CWU has decided to ballot its members on possible industrial action after a failure by An Post to pay wage in- creases under the current national wage deal Sustaining Progress.

Staff at the Post Office in Ennis have been forced to work longer hours since the introduction of a new mail delivery system, which sees all mail distributed through regional mail centres. The de- livery delays, which are now into their second month, have been the source of much frustration to local residents and the business community.

Just last week Pat Breen T.D. high- lighted the problem when he claimed that only one in four letters posted within Clare were been delivered the next day. According to Rita McInerney from the Ennis Chamber of Commerce business- es in Ennis are bearing the brunt of An Post’s new policy.

She has criticised the reliability of the new delivery system which she said 1m- poses an extra cost on businesses.

“It is an extra expense. A lot of busi- nesses in Ennis have had to register their post because An Post can’t guarantee the service’.

She added that businesses were often forced to follow up postal deliveries with phone calls or faxes to ensure they had been delivered.

‘That is time delaying and in this day and age we should have an up to date postal system.”

DOONBEG golf course will host an open day at the Old Ground Hotel on November 5, as part of their recruitment drive.

80 new jobs are set to be created next year at the Greg Norman de- signed course. Work on the next stage of the $150 million development is about to commence.

The new _ facilities which includes a spa, res- taurants, bars and mem- ber facilities are due to open in Spring 2006.

There are a wide range of facilities on offer at the internationally renowned course, including restau- rant manager, spa man- ager, fitness room per- sonnel and bartenders.

Other areas where em- ployees are being sought include the kitchen, ac- counts administration and front office. The west Clare golf course cur- rently employs 50 people and this number is ex- pected to rise to 130 once the new facilities open.

While most positions are full-time there will also be some seasonal work during the high season April through October. “We believe that the opportunities available at Doonbeg offer success- ful candidates meaning- ful and really worthwhile employment in a profes- sional environment.

“Training will be an important component of all jobs. In anticipation of interest from all over the country we have been sourcing possible accom- modation in the area so we are confident that will not be a problem,” said Barry O’Connor assist- ant general manager at WeKomeyLbloy

Doonbeg will also hold an open day on October 22 in the community hall Doonbeg. Any interested applicants are invited to bring an updated copy of their C.V. to the Old Ground Hotel between 9.00 am and 5.00pm, and to the community hall, Doonbeg between 9.00am and 2.00pm.

PLANS for a commercial development that 1s expected to further rejuvenate the Drumbiggle area of Ennis have been thrown into doubt.

This follows residents from the Buttermarket area of Ennis appealing to An Bord Pleanala.

The group are contesting a decision by En- nis Town Council to grant planning permission to Pat Hansbury, Alan Collins and Donie and John Dillane for a four storey building.

The planned building will 18 apartments and four retail units, along with an underground car- park to accommodate 46 car-parking spaces.

Currently, the site 1s wasteland opposite En- nis town Council’s Drumbiggle headquarters.

The site was the former site of the rundown Drumbiggle flats before they were demolished by the Council. The Council subsequently sold the property and plans were lodged for the de- velopment earlier this year. The Council ruled that the development would not seriously injure the amenities of adjacent dwellings, that it is acceptable in terms of traffic safety and in the interests of proper planning and development.

The Council granted planning permission in spite of opposition from the Buttermarket resi- dents. The development has now been put on hold with the appeal lodged.

The residents state that “the development is excessive in scale and density for the site and cannot be contained adequately within its own boundaries in an acceptable manner without undue negative impact on the amenity and val- ue of surrounding properties.”

The group also contends that “the visual de- sign, massing and scale of the development is totally inappropriate to the area.

“If granted it will represent a missed opportu- nity to provide a building, or real architectural merit in this Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) near to a protected structure.

“The effective covering of almost all of the site has resulted in a development that adversely impacts on adjacent development.

“It sets a poor precedent for further develop- ment in the area. It has a visual and structural presence well in excess of what is appropriate to the area. And it would be more suitable to city centre high density forms of development than the centre of a medium order traditional atte as wrsem Key, ‘s0 ee

The residents state that they “are very con- cerned about the likely impact of the develop- ment on their properties.

“Some of the residents live in the small sin- gle-storey houses immediately to the north of the development site. Our clients have been sur- prised by the way their legitimate concerns for privacy and amenity in these rear garden areas have been dismissed by the Council in its as- sessment of this issue

“It is not acceptable that for reasons for prop- er planning and sustainable development that the amenity and privacy of houses in the vicin- ity should be compromised in this way by pro- viding a ‘wall of development 6.8 metres high along the rear of their garden areas.

“The board should note that this street is used extensively by school children walking to the nearby national school. Traffic generated by the development in these circumstances would be a serious traffic hazard.

A decision is due on the appeal in January of next year.

CHRISTMAS may still be a little bit too far away for most to think about, but there are some in Ballyvaughan who have already started planning just how to make this festive season a little bit different for the people of North Clare and beyond.

This year Ireland’s first European style out- door Christmas market will take place in Bal- lyvaughan with a whole host of activities, shop- ping and cheer which is sure to warm the hearts of locals and_ visitors alike.

The idea of an outdoor Christmas market has been popular in Germany and Austria for several fonabnw lee

These markets, the most famous of which takes place in Nurem- berg and Vienna, allow shoppers to buy presents outdoors in a leisurely atmosphere where the stopping is mixed with an occasional glass of mulled wine and some local delicacies.

The markets were orig- inally began by traders who would lay out their goods for a few days in a town’s market area.

As it developed the market became more sophisticated with fairs being held over a longer period before Christmas, and always around the town’s main church.

Indeed, these markets became so popular that a priest in Nuremberg complained in 1616 that he couldn’t hold the after- noon service on Christ- mas Eve because nobody attended mass because of the market.

Last year the Bally- vaughan Christmas mar- ket started out as a spon- taneous idea born only two months before the start of the market.

This year however, the organisers have gone one step further with the purchase of traditional wooden huts which will

be erected in St John’s Hall.

The stall will sell a wide range of products and serve food and drink from these huts.

The stalls will decorat- ed with fir garlands and chains of lights while inside the hall there will be a large array of crafts, gifts and food.

This year there will be 28 traders, the major- ity of which will be lo- cal craftsmen, as-well-as horse trap rides around he village and _ carol singing. Aside from the market visitors to Bal-

lyvaughan will be able to take in performances from Galway’s award- winning Cois Cladaigh Chamber Choir and John SUE Teen

As-well-as these con- certs there will also be a series of workshops on topics such as Christmas entertainment, Christmas decorations using natural materials and floral dec- orations. The Christmas market will run from 10 am to 6 pm on December 3,4, 8, 10, 17 and 18.

For more information: www.bally vaughanire- land.com