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PLANS to build the long-delayed €25m sewage plant at Clareabbey, Ennis, have taken a major step for- ward, it was confirmed this week.

A developer has dropped a series of objections against Compulsory Purchase Orders for the plant, made by Clare County Council.

The new plant will replace the creaking system already serving Ennis’s fast-increasing population and help reduce pollution into the River Fergus. It will cater for a pop- ulation of 50,000.

Earlier this year, the bid to de-

velop the sewage treatment plant was Stalled after the Killaloe Di- ocesan Trust and local landowner, Peter Anthony Liddy objected to the CPO in its current form going ahead.

The Trust subsequently sold 35 acres of land to a property devel- oper for €8.5 million and the de- veloper took on the objection.

The objections lodged resulted in An Bord Pleanala calling an oral hearing into the case held on Tues- day, September 6. However, County Engineer Tom Carey confirmed this week that the two objections were withdrawn at the oral hearing.

Mr Carey said that it was hoped that work would proceed on the new system next year. Currently, the contract documents are with the Department of the Environment and the Council is awaiting their go-ahead to proceed.

With the 35 acres of land being sold for €8.5 million, it is expected to cost the Council over €2 million to compulsorily acquire the lands.

The Environmental Impact State- ment (EIS) into the scheme was published at the end of 2002 and planning permission was secured for the proposal last year.

The EIS states that a ‘do noth-

ing’ option in relation to the current sewage works “is not viable” and “the existing problems will be ex- acerbated over the next few years as increasing demands are put on the drainage system and treated plants due to expanded environment”.

The EIS also point out that the failure to put in place the proposed new water treatment plant will re- sult in the Council contravening the EU Council Directive concering waste-water treatment.

In his objection, Peter Anthony Liddy described the Council’s CPO as “ill-conceived, uninformed and Ure ALN koe

THERE was no playing politics with the Clare County Council Play Pol- cy when it came before the members of the council yesterday.

Supporting the policy, the council- lors present suggested that the play- ground plan could reduce a prevalent ‘“yob culture’ and prevent anti-social behaviour in the future.

The plan includes a long awaited and much welcomed Skateboard Park for the town of Ennis.

The county council plans to apply to the Department of the Environ- ment for funding for the Skateboard Park in the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Facility, in Ennis.

A representative group of parents of skateboarders must in the interim develop a safe solution as part of the application.

The play policy, which was pre- sented to the council by Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), also states funds of up to €2 million should be provided for playgrounds over the next four years.

Some €300,000 of the annual budget will go towards a playground in each of the electoral areas, while

the remaining €200,000 will ensure playgrounds for areas in need.

The new policy also proposes that in residential developments of more

than six houses, developers should be required to make provision for a hard surface play area and for active recreation.

This met with some concern from the County Manager, who said that the burden of this section of the poli- cy “might just be a little to high.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) was adamant however, that the funding should be found and the policy in its entirety, implemented. She said the council had shied away from such a policy for too long.

The Shannon councillor said that anti-social behaviour was getting worse. Early intervention with such facilities would help prevent a “yob culture”.

‘We have to go for it and hope we meet our aspirations,” she said.

Meanwhile, the council is to apply for funding through a department playground grant scheme.

Should this funding become avail- able the council considers Bally- vaughan and Kildysart play ground committees in a position to respond immediately to the funding. If these two communities are not in a position to draw down the possible funding, it will go to Lisdoonvarna, in the case of Ballyvaughan being unable to ac- cept, and Sixmilebridge, if Kildysart is not in a position to avail of it.

A PROSECUTION be- ing taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) against a Shannon- based = pharmaceutical plant has been adjourned to October for the service of a Book of Evidence.

The | German-owned Schwarz Pharma firm is accused of nine separate breaches of its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licence.

State solicitor Martin Linnane told Shannon District Court that the Book of Evidence is not yet ready and the case can, on consent, be ad- journed to the October Ota Mae te te

Initially, the prosecu- tion against the company was being taken by the Environmental — Protec- tion Agency (EPA). How- ever, after Judge Joseph Mangan heard an outline of the evidence against the company in March, he deemed the case too serious to be heard in the

district court.

As a result, the prose- cution is now being taken by the DPP and the mat- ter will be heard in the Circuit Court, where the company faces fines of up to €10 million.

At the company’s ini- tial court appearance in March, the court was told Schwarz Pharma would be pleading guilty to the nine alleged breaches.

The court was told that air emissions from the plant in August 2004, oyale-NeenbarS suspected cancer-causing substanc- es, were found to be 36 times the legal limit.

The company is also facing two __ separate charges of breaching air emission limits in rela- tion to an organic solvent that can affect the central nervous system and cause irritation and headaches.

The company is also accused of filing mis- leading reports with the EPA between November 21, 2003 and August 24,

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Six days after the dis- trict court appearance in March, Schwarz Pharma decided on a voluntary basis to suspend certain production ROCA ers which could give rise to emissions exceeding the levels in its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) granted by the Environ- mental Protection Agen- OVA @ 8) 0 ¥P

The partial shutdown lasted for six weeks be- fore the company recom- menced production in April. To-date, this year, the company has spent €6 million on enhanced environmental controls.

This includes €3 mil- lion on putting in place liquid scrubbers on its pharmaceutical plant and an additional €3 million Spent on a new waste wa- ter treatment plant.

The company currently has an application with the EPA for an updated Integrated Pollution Con- trol (IPC) and a decision is due later this month.

after Shannon town councillors called for a superintendent to be based in the town. Ennis-based Supt John Kerin currently has responsibility

for Shannon.

A letter circulated to councillors from the Department of Justice stated that local Garda management in Clare did “not believe that the necessity exists for the creation of a fifth district headquarters station” in the Clare division. It added that local management was satisfied that the existing available resources at Shannon (53 gardai) were adequate to meet the present policing needs of the town.

Chief Supt Quinn said, “Shannon now has a population equivalent to other areas served by a superintendent and that is where the argument comes from. However other factors come into play and the situation is unlikely to change at the moment.

‘When it comes to making decisions like that, statistics and logistics would influence that decision. It has been raised and examined and con- sidered. We have an inspector – Tom Kennedy – who has responsibility for Shannon, which we don’t have in any of the other stations,” said Chief Supt Quinn.

He accepted that there were anxieties about the lack of a superintend- ent in Shannon. But he said, “It wouldn’t necessarily improve the service there.”

However, Cllr Gerry Flynn said it was “absolutely ludicrous” that the second biggest town in the county did not have a superintendent based in the area and so operated as a sub-district, rather than a district.

Cllr Tony McMahon agreed, “We need to be upgraded to a district sta- tus. We don’t have a courthouse here. We don’t have anything”’.

Cllr Greg Duff said, “Because of increased US military travelling through Shannon in the past six months, the airport is a priority and because of the commitment to the airport, we need more people.” If there was an air-rage incident at Shannon Airport, six gardai would be sent in to deal with it, he said.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy said the town had lost quality gardai who left the town when they saw no opportunities for promotion.

‘Kilrush had a long history of gardai staying for a while and the prob- lems there got out of control,” she said.

THE success of the book, ‘Name your place’— the brainchild of Club na Sionna — which was printed last year has prompted an updated second edition to be published.

6,000 copies of the book, which is based on placenames (logain- mneacha) were printed last year and an additional 15,000 copies of the second edition will be printed shortly.

Club na Sionna, which incorpo- rates Conradh na Gaeilge and Glor na nGael in Shannon, 1s responsible for the publication.

A large group of people from the Shannon area were involved in the publication of the book, with La- bhras O Donghaile and his wife Sorcha to the fore.

The book is bilingual — the in- troduction in written mainly in English, while the logainmneacha (placenames) are explained in Eng-

lish, throughout the book.

“We have been involved in pla- cenames since 1973,’ said Sean O Nuanain, chairman of Club na Sionna. “People are very interested in placenames, household names and names of businesses and office blocks,” he added.

“There was a great demand, among builders, councillors and es- tate agents. The second edition will include a wider number of business names,” added Mr O Nuanain.

It will be available shortly at branches of Glor na nGael, County Councils, estate agents, tidy towns committees, gaelscoileanna and all Irish organisations throughout Ire- land.

Meanwhile, the Ciorcal Com- hra meets every week at the Wolfe Tones’ clubhouse between 8.45 and 9.45pm. Everyone is being encour- aged to get involved and use the cu- pla focail. The theme is ‘Don’t lose it — use it.’

A CLARE County Council demand that a 5,000 year old bog oak tree that forms part of a sculpture be cut by one metre, was described as “impractical and crazy’, this week.

The criticism came from the Kilballyowen Development Association, which has defiantly refused to reduce the height of the tree to three neo b Rene

The sculptor of the piece, rural-rights cam- paigner, Jim Connolly said this week: “The tree can’t be reduced. I have never heard the likes of it in my life. I hope the Council accept the sense of what I had to say.”

The tree is to be complimented by two three- quarter size bronze figures of Diarmuid and

Grainne. It forms part of a twin-memorial ded- icated to the memory of five west Clare men, who lost their lives just off Loop Head in 1862, and ties with west Clare. The men were all pi- lots who helped navigate ships up the Shannon estuary in the 19th century.

Kilballyowen association chairman, John Bonfil explained this week: “The pilots went out in a currach to a ship that was about to come up the estuary. It was a case of whoever got to the ship first, would get the bounty in steering the ship Unfortunately, they all lost their lives.”

A song, “The Five Pilots” had been written in their memory.

In response to the association’s planning

proposal for the monument, the council raised concerns over the height of the proposed struc- tures on the boat house site and the Diarmuid and Grainne site. The Council stated: “Please reduce height of both structures to three as well.”

In the initial documents lodged with the Council, no mention was made by the appli- cants of the age of the tree. It formed part of the Diarmuid and Grainne display, which was initially on show at Shannon Airport. It was removed due to major renovations at Shannon, according to Mr Connolly.

In May, the applicants lodged a photomon- tage of the memorial, stating that the Diarmuid and Grainne display was 5 metres. In August,

they stated that the memorial was now 4 metres high and refused to go lower.

Mr Bonfil said this week: ““We are confident that the proposed memorial will get planning permission. It is a community-based project. It is a positive for the community.

“We have received €20,000 for the two me- morials through Leader and also a contribution from the Foynes Harbour Authority. We hope to unveil the memorials at the 3rd annual Loop Head Gathering Festival next July.

“Both the Shannon Airport Authority, who commissioned the sculpture, and Jim Con- nolly the sculpture who created the piece, have agreed to donate the work to the community in Kilbaha to form part of the proposed develop- ment of the area,” he said

A CLARE family, whose brave little daughter died last week, are determined to make other families aware of the great work done by the Jack and Jill Foundation.

Olivia Quinn, or Lily as she was known to her family and many friends, was a bubbly, gentle little girl. She knew what she liked and Sao USrD UNAM BH Coxe MOSER (en

When she was four months old, doctors told her parents, Claire and Flan, that their first-born girl had progressive neurological problems and was blind. She would also suf- fer from intractable seizures, which meant they could not be treated with medication. The prognosis was not good.

What the doctors didn’t know was that the four-month-old baby had already developed a steely determ1- nation and had a gentle, but strong, soul to deal with all the tribulations life threw at her.

When her little sister Roisin was born, she loved to hear her cry and play, and when her little brother

Daniel made his appearance, she was equally delighted. Olivia was well-aware that she was the apple of her father’s eye and laughed at her mother’s loud kisses.

Although she suffered from se- vere disabilities, Olivia went out with her family regularly, once even taking a trip to Lourdes with her father and granny.

Despite her determination and happy demeanour, the little girl from Ballyea just outside Ennis, had a lot of battles to fight through- out her five and a half years on this earth. Likewise, her parents worked hard to care for her at home.

The Quinns maintain that her life and theirs would have been so much more difficult without the support of the Jack and Jill Foundation.

The charity provided counselling to the family and paid for a nurse or carer to come to the house to help care for Olivia. Although the organisation only provides serv- ices for children with disabilities up to the age of four, 1t came to the Quinn’s aid again towards the end of their beloved daughter’s life, just

over a week ago.

The organisation offered to pro- vide a nurse for Olivia for eight nights, a Godsend to the couple who had grown used to getting up numerous times every night, for over five years.

“When the Jack and Jill Founda- tion rang to say they would provide an expert nurse for eight nights, I burst out crying,” Claire told

CONSTRUCTION work on Ennis’s_ long-delayed €24 million flood defence system is expected to commence in [PA veteyeisatcmmnb eaten

As the Gulf States in the United States struggled to roa} 0) oom ALO ME NO CoMmB ENON O:CeLmmEO)E Hurricane Katrina, Ennis Town Councillors heard how irretrievable damage has al- ready have been done to the town’s flood plains.

Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) said, “What has happened in New Orleans has shown that you cannot mess with nature. Ennis had severe flooding in 1995 and 1999 and every winter it is something that we worry about.”

Cllr O’Bearra said that Ennis had already made the same mistakes as New Or- leans in allowing housing be built on flood-plains.

He said, “New Orleans didn’t have the proper flood

defences in place, so it is 1im- portant that the government ensures that there is adequate protection for Ennis”.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said that the delay in putting in place the defences was “unacceptable”’.

He said, “As a resident of Mill Road at the time of the 1995 and 1999 floods, we were told on both occasions that the council would be treating the issue with urgen- cy, yet we are now 10 years on and no relief system has been put in place.”

Cllr Flynn claimed that the “unacceptable delay at cen- tres such as Clonmel, Kil- kenny and Carlow receiving flood defence works is more evidence of the lack of prior- ity that the Fianna Fail-PD Government is giving to En- TN

He said: “At the moment, what is going on is only a pa- per exercise and I will only believe that work will com-

mence on the flood defences when I see a contractor on site. Of course, the delays in commencing the scheme has resulted in the cost of it dra- matically increasing.”

In a report to councillors on the issue from the council’s executive, they were told that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and planning documents were substantially completed.

The report states, “It is envisaged at this stage that

exhibition — the planning process used by the Office of Public Works — will com-

mence on October 3 next. The project will be on exhibition in the Council’s headquarters for a period of four weeks to facilitate members of the public who wish to make sub- missions. All going well, the target remains to be in a posi- tion to commence construc- tion work some time during the third quarter of 2006.”

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IFA National Livestock Committee Chairman John Bryan said factories are having to pay €2.52/kg for beef.

“Tighter supplies and an increase in demand means €2.52/kg has been paid by all the main factory outlets this week.”

Mr. Bryan said most factories are quot- ing €2.46/kg for R grades and €2.35/kg for O grades. However, they are having to pay €2.52/kg to get supplies.

The IFA livestock leader said heavy continental steers along with beef heif- ers are extremely scarce with prices of

up to €2.30/kg paid to secure supplies.

‘Following the recent visit to Egypt by the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia, the stage 1s now set for an immed1- ate resumption of the beef trade. Posi- tive changes to the age limit, testing and veterinary inspections, opens the way for a resumption of trade. It is essen- tial the factories proceed immediately as Ramadan commences early this year on October 4th” he said.

According to the IFA livestock leader the EU market for beef has also im- proved as the end of the holiday season approaches. “Beef prices in the UK have stabilised and prices in all the ma-

jor markets across Europe are up, with most well above the €3.00/kg mark for prime cattle,’ he added.

In France, R3 grade steers are mak- ing €3.41/kg incl. VAT, R3 bulls are making €3.11/kg and R3 heifers are at €3.60/kg.

In Italy, R3 bulls are making €3.43/kg and heifers are at €3.85/kg. Young bulls in Germany are making €3.06/kg. In Spain, R3 bulls are making €3.06/kg and heifers are making €3.16/kg.

Mr. Bryan said the market for cow beef has also improved with prices of €2.10/kg to €2.24/kg being paid.