Category: Uncategorized

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy, who pleaded guilty to eight charges including burglary, larceny, criminal damage and unauthorised taking of a vehicle, was remanded in custody to St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin for one week and will appear in court in Lisdoonvarna again tomorrow (Wednesday).

The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, faced four new charges when he appeared at Miltown District Court last Wednesday. The accused opted to be tried in the District Court, waiving his right to have his case heard in the Circuit Court before a judge and jury.

The teenager faces charges relating to a se- ries of incidents in the Miltown Malbay and Spanish Point areas between October 2004 and February this year. The youth is alleged to have broken into houses and a school and to have stolen property, including a video player, a camcorder and a van. He 1s also accused of stealing €380 worth of wine and beer.

A professional report provided to the court claimed that there is a history of alcohol abuse in the teenager’s family, that he was poorly supervised and that his father smelled of alcohol at the interview. Judge Mangan ordered a probation report in respect of the teenager to be prepared ahead of tomorrow’s hearing.

FINANCIAL guru, Eddie Hobbs has turned his at- tention from rip-off Ireland to letting smokers know how much they are being ripped off by their bad habit.

The average Irish smoker spends nearly €2,300 a year on cigarettes and for a top rate taxpayer this takes €4,000 off their gross income.

The newly launched Nicorette Freshmint Gum Minting It Guide – which Hobbs compiled – reveals that while the health benefits of giving up smoking are significant, the financial benefits cannot be ig- nored.

Aside from the direct cost of smoking, life cover insurance, life assurance and serious illness cover can often be more than double the price for a smoker versus a non-smoker.

The Guide gives advice and tips for smokers and non-smokers on how to manage their finances, save money and provide for the future.

Hobbs suggests keeping a diary of your spending and taking the necessary steps if you are overspend- ing.

He also advised consumers to “reduce your outgo- ings by shopping around. If you don’t pay your credit card balance off in full each month, move to a credit

card offering zero per cent interest for the first six months, and keep moving until you pay it off!”

Other cash-saving hints include: ¢ transferring your mortgage to an institution offer- ing a lower rate, which could save thousands of euros over the lifespan of the loan.

e Take advantage of competition in the mobile, land- line and internet market by changing providers to avail of better offers.

¢ Claim tax relief, which is available for things like renting a room, being a carer, certain medical ex- penses and contributing to a pension. Make sure you are getting all you are entitled to by checking out Www.revenue.ie.

The guide has been developed to support the launch of the new nicotine replacement therapy Nicorette Freshmint Gum.

According to Hobbs, “It’s hard enough to make ends meet in Ireland’s hugely over-priced economy besides blowing a huge sum of money through your lungs on cigarettes. Consider a pack of twenty a day, pretty close to the daily average of Irish smokers, is now costing nearly €2,300 a year. You put two smok- ers in one household and the combination would fund a small mortgage or a fantastic annual vacation”.

Copies of the guide can be obtained in pharmacies and GP’s surgeries nationwide.

A man who attacked and kicked a 52-year-old woman outside his Miltown Malbay home was fined, ordered to pay medical costs and was bound over to keep the peace for one year after he appeared in the lo- cal court last Wednesday.

Father and son Matt Keating Snr and Matt Keating Jnr, both faced one charge each of as- saulting Patricia Clancy outside their home at 16 Ballard Road, Miltown Malbay on September 26, 2004. Patricia Clancy, who lives at 35 Ballard Road, also faced one charge of assaulting Matt Keating Snr on the same CF Ken

Miltown Malbay District Court was told that the assault occurred after Mrs Clancy, a first cousin of Mr Keating Snr, drove him to his home after an evening’s socialising. Mrs Clancy said Mr Keating Snr “ran at me and kicked me and kicked me.”

She said that Matt Keating Jnr came to the door in his boxer shorts and pulled the two of

them apart, but assaulted her.

Matt Keating Snr claimed he had been offered a lift by Mrs Clancy but that he made his own way home that night. He claimed that when he arrived at his home, Mrs Clancy was al- USrKO MANN Slo) KOR

He said, as he accompanied Mrs Clancy to the gate of the house, “she struck me with her fist.”

Solicitor for Mrs Clancy, Gearoid Williams, showed pho- tographs of injuries sustained by his client to the accused. “I don’t know how it happened, I didn’t do it,’ he said.

The court also heard a tran- script of a heated telephone call to Mr Keating’s home after the incident.

Matt Keating Snr was convict- ed of assaulting Mrs Clancy and was fined €1,500 and ordered to pay €300 medical costs. The case against Matt Keating Jnr was dismissed.

Judge Mangan further or- dered that professional reports relating to alcohol be prepared in the cases of Mr Keating Snr and Mrs Clancy.

VANDALS have caused serious damage on the grounds of Ennis Rugby Club. The vandalism was carried out late on Saturday night, when a support railing that runs along the edge of the pitch was up- rooted and dragged across a section of the pitch. Concrete slabs that had held the six uprights and the crossbar in position were pulled two feet out of the ground, before being pulled over the pitch. Three large scar marks have been left on the pitch as a result. “It’s not so much the expense, it’s the mindless attitude of the people that did it” said Tony Guillfoyle, President of Ennis Rugby Club. He went

on to add that the club has suffered from anti-so- cial behaviour on a continuing basis over the past few weeks. “There must have been a large number of people in it and they would needed a tractor to do the damage they did,’ he said. There are problems with trying to build on the current boundary wall that borders the Cahercalla estate, as it may be a pro- tected structure. The club are hopeful of coming to some solution but, until then, there are concerns that anti-social problems will persist. The incident is the second act of vandalism to occur at a rugby ground inside a week. On Wednesday, damage caused to the pitch in Thomond Park in Limerick forced the grounds to close for a month.

THE Tanaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney admitted this week in Clare that she is concerned about hygiene in our hospitals, as basic precautions such as washing hands are not being carried out.

‘Hand washing is one of the most effec- tive ways of ensuring that we don’t pass on infection. That is hand washing by profes- sionals, all the staff but also by those visit- ing patients. I think we need to heighten the awareness of the importance of hand wash- ing,’ she said.

Ms Harney said she was also confident that the HSE would get to the bottom of what was happening about MRSA in hospi- tals in the region.

While the Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis reported that just over 1.25 per cent of its patients were discovered with the an- tibiotic resistant bacteria, the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick has so far been unable to provide any figures relating to the bacteria.

“The results of the MRSA audit or the hygiene audit, which we will have later this month, I think will tell us a lot of informa- tion like what is happening at the moment in the hospitals. We are paying huge money for hospital cleaning contracts and we have to make sure we get the best for that.

The Minister also outlined plans in the fu- ture to ensure there were more single rooms in hospital and more isolation facilities.

These plans will not be implemented in

the short term, due to the cost, Ms Harney admitted. New buildings and refurbished facilities will have a larger number of sin- gle rooms and greater isolation facilities for OTM NLA

“We have a large number of hospitals in the country. It will be extremely expensive and take some time before we will move to that situation in Ireland. But, certainly in the context of building new facilities, and in refurbishing existing facilities, we will be looking at a larger number of single rooms and greater isolation facilities for patients that are affected with an infection. ”

Yesterday the Tanaiste launched a new campaign encouraging hand washing in health care buildings through out the coun- try.

per month working 6 to 10 hours part-time. For further information contact Maura 087-2038130 or O1-258 7041

RESIDENTS in the Ballybeg area of Ennis have claimed that conten- tious plans for a 120-residential unit proposed by McCarthy Bros will lead to a devaluation of property in iW elom-N Kore

In the next number of days, Clare County Council is expected to rule on the plan by the Ennis construc- tion firm to develop 120 homes at Ballybeg on the western side of Ennis near the main Ennis-Kilrush IWXey- (ee

The development comprises of 40 three-bedroom homes, 47 two- bedroom homes, 5 four-bedroomed homes and 28 apartments.

However, in an objection, backed by a petition from Ballybeg resi- dents, they claim that they are con- cerned that “with an estate of this size, it may have a negative effect on

the value of our property.”

The residents state: “The exist- ing residential housing on the Bal- lybeg Road, consists of low-density Owner-occupied detached family dwellings. The proposed high-den- sity development consisting of apartments and two and three bed- room semi-detached houses would alter the character of the area very significantly.

“The type of development pro- posed would suggest that many of the units will be rental properties and that in general the occupiers will most likely be transitory and car-reliant. It is obvious that such a development would not be in-keep- ing with, or appropriate to, the exist- ing adjoining and surrounding resi- dential houses in the area.

“The availability of an adequate water supply to the proposed devel-

Opment is seriously open to ques- tion. The houses on the Ballybeg Road are already subjected to an in- adequate flow of water.

“Should flow 120 houses be grant- ed, this will do nothing for the water pressure in the existing houses. We request that a hydrological report be completed for this proposed devel- Opment and we are furnished with the information as to how this will affect our already inconsistent water supply.

“The environmental impact of this proposed development would be to destroy an area of natural karst and wildlife — amongst others, a wild goat herd of 38, foxes, hedgehogs and a number of protected floral species.

The residents claim “that the pro- posed development will add noth- ing to the overall atmosphere and

well being of this area. The density of this proposed site is not in keep- ing with the ‘established planning and development practices’ of this area.

“We further raise the question, what potential impacts would a phase two of this type of housing have on the area. We feel that such a development, if allowed, would be used as a precedent and other such developments would quickly follow.

“We, the residents of Ballybeg, are of the opinion that this development should be refused in its entirety.”

On traffic safety, the residents state that “the sightlines for an exit from the proposed development on to the Ballybeg Road is in a danger- ous hollow and will remain totally inadequate and a danger to traffic already on the road and to the traffic emerging onto the road.”

A CLARE county councillor has suggested that TV consumer ana- lyst Eddie Hobbs should carry out a “Rip Off Clare” investigation.

Councillor Christy Curtin (Ind) was speaking at yesterday’s monthly Clare County Council Meeting, on hearing a report of the council’s draft financial re- port.

A reduction in the amount of waste going into the county’s JE NeTeNCUUMAY SOU uciUllambemr:MenKejomti mets county council’s coffers.

This, coupled with a reduc- tion of €208,000 in Government funds, is likely to put financial pressure of the council over the coming year.

Following the presentation of the report covering the first six months of the year, councillors agreed to write to the Environ- ment Minister, to request he re- think the current funding system for local authorities.

Members of the council will also outline their concerns about the effect the overall reduction will have on the local authority.

The financial report showed that 48 per cent, or €45 million of the annual budget was used in the county from January to June, keeping the budget on target for the end of the year.

“Maintaining this position will be challenging,’ the report warned. The reduction in funds from the Government “will nega-

tively impact Local Government Funds receipts in the second half of the year.”

The members of the council are claiming that the rates they are collecting from industries, such as the ESB in Moneypoint, are being off set by the reduction from the Department.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) asked where else the council was to get the money from, if the Minster didn’t provide it.

“On one hand, he is telling us to look after the ratepayers and not to be too hard on them and on the other hand, he is cutting our funding because we have a few big ratepayers in the county,” she said.

Cllr Madeleine Taylor-Quinn

(FG) said the on going monitor- ing of the landfill at Inagh needed constant attention.

‘Are we going to ask ratepayers of Clare to make up deficit by the Minister?” she asked.

She said that €10 million in rates were going to the govern- ment every year from Money- point, yet funding was not avail- able to upgrade the roads for the increased traffic to the planned JON) owe sKevie

The County Manager assured the councillors that the financial situation “should be okay for this year’. But he said it was the ex- ecutive’s duty to flag stormy seas ahead.

CONTENTIOUS plans by fast-food g1- ant, McDonalds, to develop a drive-thru restaurant in Ennis hang in the balance.

An Bord Pleanala has informed the company that its present proposal for the Sheils’ garage site on the Ennis-Galway Road may seriously injure nearby resi- dential amenities through noise, general disturbance and fumes.

As a result, the appeals board has re- quested McDonalds submit revised draw- ings for an amended proposal.

In a letter to the appellants in the case, the appeals board stated that the Inspec- tor’s report in the case was complete and that the matter was now at board level.

One of the opponents of the McDonalds proposal, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP), this week welcomed the board’s intervention.

He said, “It shows that the appeals board is considering all aspects of the proposal and that is to be welcomed.”

Earlier this year, Ennis Town Council refused planning permission for a fast- food outlet in the Lifford area, ruling that it would injure the residential amenities of Wetomr- Baste

Cllr Meaney said: “I would hope that

An Bord Pleanala would follow the exam- ple of the town council in refusing plan- pup panee

It is just a pity that the council did not recognise the negative impact the Mc- Donalds proposal would have on the resi- dents on the nearby Galway Road, when allowing the proposal to go ahead.”

Cllr Meaney and the other appellant in the case, Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) will now have an opportunity to make submis- sions on the revised proposals put forward by McDonalds.

Last year, the McDonalds proposal sparked a national debate on the impact of fast food on diets, after the Mid-West- ern Health Board’s Department of Health Promotion objected because of concerns about children’s health.

The Department demanded that Mc- Donalds carry out an Environmental Im- pact Statement (EIS) into possible health impacts on the local population, before the application be further considered.

However, the Health Board soon dis- tanced itself from this objection with the then chief executive, Stiofan de Burca de- claring that the objection was a personal statement by the community dieticians fey ileroru ileee

‘(01 HONDA ACCORD