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FUNDING has been made available for a study to see whether it’s pos- sible to prevent future flooding on the Limerick-Galway railway line at Ballycar and other locations. Recent flooding at the location closed the line for more than 70 days. Members of Clare County Council were told last night that the funding has been made available by the Department of Transport and a team of experts will be brought on- board to see what can be done.

A representative of the rail com- pany came to the council’s monthly meeting to fill elected representa- tives in on what efforts are being made to deal with the situation.

He said that the committee of various experts will look at the fre- quency of the flooding, the likely solutions and the cost of any such solutions.

“T have to say that cost will be a considerable factor in a decision on what will be done,” he told the meeting.

Councillors welcomed the fact that

a study is being put in place.

Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) said he hoped the report would not be an- other which would gather dust.

“What locals have said to me is that at least part relief could be gained by re-opening the channel that runs through Newmarket and Sixmilebridge. That would not be an expensive solution.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) welcomed the funding of the study saying, “I appreciate that we may find this 1s a once-in-20-years event but the de- velopment of the line represents an

investment of €156 million so fur- ther investment at Ballycar is surely warranted to protect that.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) asked if there was “any reason that the OPW and other agencies should not be contributing to the cost of solv- barca mab swam

Cllr John Crowe (FG) said that lo- cal knowledge should be brought to bear on the study and Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said that “if the railway line between Dublin and Kildare was wet, it would be sorted out within 24 hours. This problem must be

solved.”

The issue of the rail link between Limerick and Galway – which is due to open next month – was also raised and Cllr Meaney asked whether it was correct that the journey will take two hours?

The Irish Rail representative con- firmed that would be the case and added that there are six stops to serv- ice various stations along the way.

“Tf you got into your car and went on to the motorway, obeying all the rules, you wouldn’t do it much quicker,” he said.

KILRUSH paid posthumous tribute to one of its great community activ- ists and an all-round gentleman on Thursday night last when the late Charles Glynn was named the over- all winner of the 2009 Gradaim Ui Ruachain Civic Awards.

The annual awards were established in 1993 by Kilrush Town Council in memory of its late chairperson, Cissy Roughan. The awards were to give public recognition to the great work, commitment and dedication of Cllr Roughan, a member of the coun- cil from 1980 to 1991.

In doing so, these awards were also promoting and encouraging partici- pation and achievement in the arts, social, business, entrepreneurial, education, sporting and general life of the town.

The awards, which are usually pre- sented during the summer, were de- layed last year due to the local elec- tions.

The awards were instead presented on February 4 by Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG).

The presentation and celebration was also attended by the 10 2009 nominees and their guests, and by council representatives Cllr Ilan Lynch (FG), Cllr Mairead O Brien (Ind) and Kilrush Town Clerk John Cosas

The 10 nominees that were recog- nised on the night included Mary Hamilton, Martin Cahill, Mat Kelly, Brendan Egan, Kilrush RNLI Fun- draising, Kilrush Ladies Football, Therese Young, Vinny O’Hallaron, John Fennell and the overall winner, the late Charles Glynn. Charles’s son Charlie accepted the award in mem- ory of his father.

The Cissy Roughan awards are open to everybody. Those nominated do not have to be from Kilrush or resident there but are considered to have made an outstanding contribu- tion to Kilrush society.

“Kilrush Town Council is aware of the vital importance of community spirit and activity to the town, and of the positive contribution and ef- fect of those who strive for commu- nity spirit and welfare in a range of endeavours. Such people play a vital role in sustaining and improving the quality of life to be enjoyed here,” said Cllr Lynch.

TWO men charged with assault causing harm to the late teacher and county final footballer, Brian Casey (26) were further remanded in cus- tody last Friday.

The Lissycasey man died in hos- pital two days after an incident at O’Connell Square in Ennis on St Stephen’s night.

Harry Dinan (29) of 10 Waterpark Heights, Ennis and his nephew, Kevin Dinan (22) of 3 Clarehill, Clarecas- tle are charged with the assault of Mr Casey at O’Connell Square in En- nis on December 26-27 contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

The two were initially charged on December 28 and were yesterday making their fifth appearance in court.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Insp John Galvin sought a remand in custody for a further four weeks due to the complexity of the inves- tigation.

Insp Galvin said that the file has been submitted to the state solicitor’s officer for the preparation of a Book of Evidence.

Solicitor for the two, Tara God-

frey said that the remand in custody should be for two weeks “as the real- ity is that we are on the first stage of a very long procedure’”’.

Requesting that the remand be for two weeks, Ms Godfrey said, “I ac- knowledge that it 1s a very sensitive matter.”

However, State Solicitor Martin Linnane told the court that the Book of Evidence “won’t be ready in two weeks”.

Insp Galvin said that a further four weeks is required and Ms Godfrey consented on condition that an accu- rate clarification of where the case 1s at is provided on the adjourned date.

Judge Joseph Mangan remanded the two in custody to re-appear be- fore Ennis District Court on March a

Mr Casey was buried on New Year’s Day in his home village of Lissycasey. He is survived by his parents, Martin and Eileen, sisters Martina and Aileen, brother Niall and girlfriend, Cecila.

NEXT weekend is a busy one for children of Clare, as they compete in three very different events in the Golden Vale Clare Community Games calendar.

On Friday evening, the Table Ten- nis (Boys and Girls, U13 and U15) takes place in St Anne’s School in Ennis, starting from 6pm.

On the following morning Saturday, one of the biggest county events, the

Art and model-making, brings hun- dreds of children from U10s to Ul6s to the CBS, again in Ennis with the competition starting at 10am. Artists and model makers must bring their own equipment and paper, and are asked to arrive in plenty of time.

Then on Sunday, attention switches to north Clare, when the Girls’ In- door Soccer competition takes place in Ennistymon Leisure centre. Ac- tion starts there at 10am.

Winners in the Table Tennis and

Indoor Soccer qualify for provincial finals at the end of March, while the Art and Model-making winners will be the first to qualify for this year’s National Finals in Athlone. The first weekend of Nationals will be at the end of May this year.

The events calendar in Clare is now in full swing, and the county draughts, handball and badminton are still to come this month.

Off the field of play, Quin/Clooney were presented with the Most Active

Area award for Clare at the re-sched- uled National Area Awards cer- emony in Ballinasloe last weekend. At the same ceremony, long-serving county President John O’Sullivan of Ennis received the Vounteer Recog- nition award for Clare, and a Young Volunteer award went to Stephanie Griffin of Sixmilebridge/Kilmurry.

Quin/Clooney also received a Spe- cial Merit award, as they just missed out on the overall award for best area in Munster.

The Labour Court has thrown out complaints made by a group of east- ern European workers that they were discriminated against by well-known Clare engineering firm, Clare Civil Engineering Ltd.

The Labour Court threw out the complaints by general labourers: Lat- ivans, Vladislavs Arbuzovs, Valerijs Myjasojedovs, Sergejs Plonkins and Croat, Igor Ostojic after finding that they failed to establish the primary facts and accordingly their claim must fall at the first hurdle.

The Labour Court official dealing with the case, Caroline Jenkinson concluded that: “Documentary evi- dence reviewed by the court further showed that in some cases the com-

plainants enjoyed superior rates of pay in comparison to some of their Irish counterparts. The court there- fore cannot draw a conclusion that discrimination on grounds of race occurred in this case.”

According to the report, the claims of discriminatory dismissal by Mr. Arbuzovs, Mr. Plonkins and Mr Ostojic were withdrawn at the hear- ing of the appeal before the Labour Court on December | last, while the claim by Mr Ostojic that he suffered victimisation and a _ victimisatory dismissal was also withdrawn at that hearing.

However, the complainants’ case that each suffered discriminatory treatment on account of their race contrary to the Employment Equal- ity Act on foot of non-implementa-

tion of the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) for the Construc- tion Industry proceeded.

Counsel for the company denied the allegations of discrimination against all four complainants.

She informed the court that the company was a small family owned business with no dedicated human resources representative. She submit- ted that both Irish and non-national employees were all treated the same. At the time of the complainants’ employment they employed approxi- mately 50 staff, about 10 per cent of whom were foreign nationals.

The company submitted “that they did not issue any staff with contracts of employment and the terms and conditions of employment of all staff were dealt with in the same way.

Therefore, not issuing contracts to the complainants and not employing them in accordance with the REA and other legislation could not be seen to be discriminatory”.

She submitted that all employees were treated the same way in rela- tion to pay. Their pay was negotiated when they started on an individual net basis and was dependent on their experience.

In the report of the Labour Court officer, Caroline Jenkinson said: ‘In relation to the more specific dis- crimination claim that their race was a factor in the non-implementation of the REA, the evidence adduced at the hearing was that all workers, Whether of Irish origin or non-Irish origin, were treated in the same man- ner.”

SOME of the world’s leading edu- cation experts will speak at a major conference announced for Ennis in May.

‘When Children Learn Differently’ – aconference on teaching and learn- ing resources for difficult times, will take place at Glor from May I- 2.

Speakers already confirmed for the event include Paul Cooper, a pro- fessor of education and chartered psychologist who has developed re- search and teaching interests, along with a list of over 100 publications (including 14 authored and edited books); Suzanne Horgan, founder and director of Eating Disorders Ire- land; Dr Terry Lynch who will speak on understanding, responding to and preventing self-harm, suicidal intent and suicide in young people; and Rosemarie Mason who will give a lecture entitled ‘Understanding the many different ways children learn – an overview of the HANDLE (Holis- tic Approach to Neuro Development and Learning Efficiency) Approach’. The event is being organised by the recently formed Irish Conferences.

Born out of Orchid Book Distribu-

tors, Irish Conferences was set up with a view to organising and host- ing top-quality conferences and seminars in Ennis.

Organiser Ian Smulders said the conference will look at the area of special needs education “in the broadest possible sense”’.

“This will mean everything from the whole area of emotional educa- tion to spotting suicidal tendencies in teenagers,’ explained Jan.

Other speakers confirmed for the conference include representatives from the Blue Box Creative Learn- ing Centre, Limerick; Carmel Tier- ney, a nurse and midwife and neuro developmental therapist; and Cliona O’Rourke, Assistant Dog Trainer, for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

The conference will be made up of a series of lectures and workshops. Workshops are specifically aimed at teachers.

Tickets can be purchased for individ- ual lectures and workshops. For tick- ets visit www.irishconferences.com, Creer Be contact@irishconferences. com or telephone 065 6842862. Tickets can also be purchased at the The Crow’s Feather on Woodquay, Spay AvEse

THE decision to keep the €10 travel tax after the announcement of the Finance Bill has been branded as “short sighted”.

Reacting to the publication of the Finance Bill 2010, Fine Gael’s Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Clare TD Pat Breen has slammed what he terms “the short sighted decision not to axe the €10 air travel tax”.

“This air travel tax is depressing our tourism and aviation industries. It is a disaster, especially for Shan- non Airport where the airport is set to lose several European and UK destinations. Ryanair are on the brink of transferring several of their sun routes to Cork Airport and the franchise agreement which Aer Lin- gus has signed with Aer Arann will see that airline open up several new short-haul routes from both Cork and Dublin. Iam also expecting the year- end passenger figures for Shannon Airport for 2009 to show a signifi- cant decline,” he said.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has been a vocal critic of the tax, citing its introduction as one of his reasons for decamping aircraft to other cheaper cost-base destinations in Europe.

This week, O’Leary produced fig- ures revealed by Europe’s airline monitor, showing traffic into Ireland down by 18 per cent, while in Den- mark and Spain, where charges were reduced, traffic grew by seven and

two per cent respectively.

The criticism comes as the region’s tourism concerns prepare to hear what Shannon Development, Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have planned for the region for the com- ing year.

The three bodies will brief tourism concerns on their plans on Thursday morning at a special conference in the Radisson Blu hotel.

“Much of the economy in Clare is

dependent on the tourism industry and with the trend in unemployment on the rise again in the county – up four per cent for January 2010, from 10,404 at the end of December 2009 to 10,818 at the end of January 2010 – this tax is affecting our competi- tiveness,” the Fine Gael spokesman renee

THE €1 million cost of refurbishing a community centre, described as “one of the best” in Clare, means En- nis Town Council is unlikely to take over the running of the building, a meeting has heard.

The future of the CYMS Commtu- nity Hall in Ennis was discussed at the February meeting of Ennis Town Council, following a motion submit- ted by Mayor of Ennis, Clir Frankie Neylon (Ind).

Cllr Neylon’s motion called on the council to state whether or not they intended to accept the offer of the CYMS Community Hall, Chapel Lane, Ennis, made to them by the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh.

Cllr Neylon told the meeting that he believed the council should take over a building he said was “owned” by the people of Ennis. Highlighting the

building’s town centre location, Cllr Neylon described it as “one of the best facilities in the county”.

Responding to Cllr Neylon’s mo- tion, Town Clerk, Eddie Power stated, “As you are aware, Bishop William Walsh met with the council in relation to the Ennis Community Centre. Consultations subsequently took place between officials of the council and representatives of the Diocese in 2008. The members were subsequently briefed on these dis- cussions. The building is used for a multiplicity of purposes involving a number of different tenants.

“The council is not in a position having regard to the availability of finance to assume responsibility, for the management, maintenance or the future development of this building. It is understood that the refurbish- ment of the building would require significant capital investment in the

order of €1 million, which is not cur- rently available to the council.”

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) supported the proposed takeover of the build- ing. He said, “You couldn’t ask for a better location. The youth centre has been running a very successful youth OF Nem ORONO MNS Koma

Cllr O’Shea also requested that the council provide a full report on the costs associated with running the building.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said the council should not take over the building unless it is assured of “va- cant possession”.

“T don’t believe that we could run it given the way finances are at the moment. There are three or four dif- ferent organisations using it at the moment. We were told in the meet- ing with the bishop that we couldn’t get vacant possession,” he said.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) agreed

that the council would first have to be ensured vacant possession of the building before it could take owner- ship. He said money collected from development levies could be used for refurbishment. Cllr Flynn later pro- posed that the council purchase the building.

Town Manager, Ger Dollard told the meeting that it was costing the Diocese of Killaloe an estimated €150,000 a year to staff and run the building. “It’s not just a simple mat- ter of taking over the building. There are a number of complex issues as- sociated with it.”

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) warned that members should be “wary of what you wish for’, stating that itis a lot more expensive to repair a listed building than a standard one.

The proposal to purchase the build- ing was later withdrawn, pending a full report on costs.

THE NUMBER of people sign- ing on the live register in Clare last month is up a massive 2,336 on this time last year.

The latest breakdown of figures on a county-by-county basis from the Central Statistics Office shows that the numbers signing on jumped to 10,818 in Clare during January.

This is an increase of 414 on the numbers who were claiming dole in December.

The biggest increase was in Ennis, where the number signing on jumped from 10,404 in December to 10,818 in January.

The latest figures come as business agencies warn that action is needed if more jobs are not to go in the mid- west region.

New jobs in the mid-west will come from the existing base of mul- tinational companies in the region according to Bill Doherty, Chairman of the American Chamber Mid West Keres (OE

The focus of agencies such as Shannon Development and IDA Ire- land and local government should be on creating the environment which will allow companies in the region to flourish, he said.

‘The mid-west region has a higher proportion of its workforce employed in the manufacturing and industrial sector than any other region. The IDA Ireland client base in the mid- west employs in the region of 8,000 people. While it is absolutely true that Ireland must seek to become a smart economy and support knowl- edge based businesses, it must be acknowledged that core manufactur- ing is the foundation stone on which many additional investments are built,” said Mr Doherty.

SHANNON’S Senior Citizen’s Club is celebrating its 30th birthday this year by urging some not-so-senior people to get involved.

The group meets socially to organ- ise outings, art classes, swimming and offers various clinics as well as a dinner and meals on wheels serv- ice.

“We have great craic and it’s a great social outlet,” said Club PRO, Pauline Cronin.

Pauline explained that the club would love the see new members joining as well as some new volun-

teers to help out.

“We have our regular members but we would love to see some new, younger faces. We want to be sure there are people who will step up and help organise the club and take part after the older members step down.”

The club has it’s own premises at 9 Purcell Park and dinners are served there twice a week. Volunteers also bring hot dinners out to people who can’t make it to the club.

“We could do with new members and helpers. Members should be over sixty and you have to be a member for six months to take up a post on the committee so we’d love to see

people joining this end of the year,” said Pauline.

Volunteers to help serve and wrap dinners can be any age.

The club had its annual dinner dance at the weekend and now be- gins a year of fun, with walks in the Burren and outings to Galway, Knock and other destinations.

Members also arrange transport for trips into Limerick to socialise with the senior citizens club there and the club there comes out to Clare.

Members can also avail of the serv- ices of a chiropodists and a physio- therapist, both of whom have regular clinics in the clubhouse.

The newly elected committee from last week’s AGM are Kay Cosgrave, Chairperson; Tess Barry, Secretary; Treasurer, Mary Farrell and PRO, Pauline Cronin.

The chairperson thanked the outgo- ing chair, Loui Byrne for all his work of the last three years. The commit- tee also thanked the Health Service Executive for their support along with Frances Kelly who provided teams for the meals on wheels, Mar- garet McDonnell, the kitchen staff and all the volunteers. ““We’d be lost without them,’ Said Pauline.

Anyone interested in joining can contact Pauline on 061 472518.