The Clare People Archive

THE restructuring plan at Shannon Airport, which includes 185 volun- tary redundancies, has already be- gun. Current workers expect the first instalment of their “loyalty bonus” on June 20.

The €10,000 payment to around 350 workers will be followed with another €6,000 within four and half months according to the original agreement, which was given the all clear after management and trade unions resolved outstanding differ- ences under the auspices of the La-

bour Relations Commission (LRC) last week.

A spokeswoman for the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) said that some redundancy dates had already been agreed.

‘Some people have been given an exit date but the majority will be phased out over the summer. That is our busiest time so changes will be gradual. We also have catering busi- nesses taking over so everyone will be working together as the structure undergoes a major transformation.”

The catering companies, HMSHost and EFG In-Flight, will also start

providing terminal and services from June 20.

The SAA fell 15 short of the origi- nal redundancy target of 200 but this was not a major stumbling block.

‘Between the number that applied and their gradings, we are satisfied that we will make the savings we need. Workers with over 24 years experience will get redundancies of approximately €100,000 and other payments will be decided on a slid- ing scale,’ she added.

“The airport is in a good position with a bright future and lots of new routes have been announced. We

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SIPTU Industrial Organiser at Shannon Airport, Tony Carroll, said that although redundancies were al- ways disappointing, SIPTU tried to negotiate for the best result.

‘We had to work on the basis that the company wanted voluntary re- dundancies and if people wanted to go, they could. The important thing was to structure and secure the jobs for those remaining. We are satisfied that the remaining staff have viable jobs.”

MEP Jim Higgins (FG) has lent his support to efforts by Shannon Town Council to get the Government to ap- ply for an EU subsidy that could see a return of daily flights from Shannon to Dublin.

It comes despite Ryanair announc- ing the commencement of its service from Shannon to Dublin from this November.

The Public Service Operation (PSO) scheme gives financial assist- ance to certain essential but unprofit-

able transport routes offered out for tender. It currently supports several routes in regional airports such as Kerry, Sligo and Galway.

“The Government would have to apply to the EU Commission in Brus- sels for this assistance. There will be conditions to do with competition law and negotiations but the commission is very Sympathetic towards Shannon since the introduction of Open Skies. Once an application is made, my col- leagues and I can enlist support and stress the importance of it.”

As Fine Gael transport spokesman,

Higgins was instrumental in con- vincing the Government to apply for a PSO ruling for commuter routes to and from Knock Airport.

“The Knock commuter flights are packed because there is such a huge demand,” he added.

Shannon councillor Sean McLough- lin (FG) said that the council agreed last week to send a letter on the matter to the incoming minister for transport.

‘“PSOs are not restricted to internal flights but the return of a daily Shan- non to Dublin route would be wel-

come. If properly timed, this route would allow people to fly to Dublin, get a return flight to Europe and be back in Shannon that night. This would really benefit business people. Ryanair is planning a Shannon/Dub- lin route but the times have not been announced and they are key for con- necting flights.”

“If this was subsidised, the pressure would be off. Up to 200 people a day were using this route at its height and it could run all year around… Shan- non will survive once the infrastruc- ture and financial support are there.”

OUTGOING Agriculture Miu£inis- ter, Mary Coughlan, has put a shot across the bough of the EU ahead of a Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting which takes place later to- day, June 12.

Setting out her stall ahead of the meeting, Coughlan pointed to the contentious issue of cross-compli- ance as one of her main targets for reform. With the areas of concern for farmers already well established, Coughlan has called for a number of amendments to the commission’s proposals to be agreed upon and made operational in a reasonable time-frame.

The Donegal TD commented that she had made the ministers in the council, the commissioners and the president of the council well aware of the principal concerns of farmers in the areas of cross-compliance and simplification.

“Tam happy about Ireland’s initia- tive on many of the issues, not least the need for adequate advance notice of inspections which recognised the practical realities of modern-day farming,’ she said.

“Tam well aware that there is still a long way to go to convince the com- mission and to secure the necessary changes to cross-compliance = ar- rangements.

“T will be doing my utmost at the

council to get my fellow ministers and the commissioner to understand and accept the need for reform of the cross-compliance requirements in a way that reduces red tape and recognises the practical situation on Teena

In tandem with the commission’s proposals on its review of cross- compliance, the minister said that her department had undertaken a review of the paperwork associated with cross-compliance inspections with a view to simplification and a practical approach.

The inspection report forms have been substantially reviewed and will now be discussed with the farming bodies.

Coughlan pointed out that the pa- perwork involved in the inspections is internal department documenta- tion for use by the department in- spector only and under no circum- stances do these documents have to be filled in by the farmer.

“The fact is that the farmer being inspected does not have to complete any paperwork apart from signing the inspection report if he or she so wishes,” she continued.

Two thirds of the 7,000 or so farm- ers to be inspected in 2007 will be checked for no more than two of the 18 cross-compliance requirements while the number of inspections at 7,000 is down from approximately 18,000 before decoupling.

THE chickens and ducks of Clare can once again sleep soundly in their coup as the latest Bird Flu Scare has passed. Following a week on high alert, the Department of Agriculture and food last week announced the revocation of a ban on the participa- tion of poultry imported from Great Britain in bird gatherings in Ireland. The ban, which was introduced on May 25 in the immediate aftermath of the confirmation of an outbreak of low pathogenic H7N2 Bird Flu near Corwen in north Wales, mirrored similar moves in Northern Ireland.

The departments of agriculture, north and south of the border, have been working together to create an all-island strategy for dealing with the problem which has, to date, been NA ECLECC OSI EUTE

Last Wednesday’s decision to lift the ban follows the revocation of a ban in Britain on gatherings of ducks and chickens introduced following the outbreak in Wales.

The Minister for Agrigutlure and Food, Mary Coughlan, confirmed that her decision was taken after consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Northern Ireland, which

also confirmed the revocation of its ban.

During the period the ban was in place, the Department of Agriculture and Food maintained very close con- tact with DARD and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in Britain, par- ticularly in relation to the possibility that poultry purchased at a market in Cumbria on May 7, which had a con- nection to the H7N2 outbreak, might have been imported to Ireland.

From inquiries made, no connec- tions were established between the Cumbria market and the importation of poultry to Ireland.

“On the basis of information from DARD and DEFRA and the passage of time since the market in Cheshire, we are Satisfied that the Welsh out- break of low pathogenic H7N2 avian flu no longer posed a threat of the introduction of the virus to Ireland and that any risk of an outbreak of avian flu in Ireland remained low,” said Mary Coughlan.

“It is appropriate that the precau- tionary ban now be lifted. My of- ficials will continue to work closely with their colleagues in Belfast, Lon- don and Brussels and will maintain the all-island approach which has worked so effectively to date.”

CLARE County Council has ap- pealed the decision by An Taisce to remove the prestigious International Blue Flag from White Strand, Doon- leeren

While the International jury con- siders the unfavourable verdict, the local authority is continuing to carry out works on the beach, and other beaches along the west coast.

The Doonbeg beach lost its blue en- vironment flag this week, not because of inadequate bathing water quality but due to improvement works at the beach, which Clare County Council expects to complete in the near fu- neko

Sean Ward, Senior Engineer, En- vironment & Emergency Services Directorate, said “we are very dis- appointed with the loss of the blue flag for Doonbeg. Major improve- ments works have been underway at this beach to improve access, and we hope to have them completed by the end of this month. We have appealed this decision to the International Jury and look forward to a favourable out- ey anton

To date this year the council has re- paired steps to the southern part of the beach and provided a new view- ing area on promontory that provides a general outlook and a facility for people with limited mobility who may not wish to go down on to the

beach.

The council also expects to restore the “Biocycle” unit to serve seasonal toilets, guard rails along the south- ern steps, a new ramp to the northern part of the beach to replace existing steps in place in the near future.

Further back the peninsula in Car- rigaholt, on the north side of the Moyarta river plans are in place for ramped access to the beach.

With the support of the local devel- Opment committee the council plans to erect a barrier at the entrance to the pier. The local authority also plans to repair and restore low walls, shrub beds and picnic areas, and de- fine and mark parking spaces.

Repairs and restoration works at

Glasheen Cove, Doonaha are to be completed before the end of the year.

The council has planned short stretches of new footpath to link the car park with existing paths and steps inside the stonewall, as well as providing suitable information and signage at the cove, the picnic area is to be extended and a viewing plat- form provided.

At Brew’s Bridge in Kilrush, the council is to demolish the shelter and replace it with a new, more transpar- ent one.

The derelict swings are to be re- moved and seats installed, with the railway embankment landscaped.

THE long awaited sewerage scheme for the coastal village of Carrigaholt came a Step closer this week, as the council prepared to send a revised proposal for the scheme to the De- partment of the Environment and Local Government.

The fortunes of the scheme has made a complete turn around in the last three months when it appeared that it was facing even further de- JE WAS

At the end of March a preliminary review of the cost of the scheme

had shown that the unit cost for this scheme was still at a high, unaccept- able level.

A further review of the scheme has shown a marked reduction in the cap- ital cost and seems to satisfy specific Department of the Environment and Local Government requirements.

Senior executive engineer for Clare County Council Hugh McGrath, told the west Clare councillors, “we are confident that the revised proposal now meets this criteria, and follow- ing an internal review of the revised document we expect to be able to forward the proposal to the Depart-

ment of the Environment and Local Government in the next week. We also need to submit a new Part III Planning Application.”

Initially a report was prepared for the Carrigaholt/Labasheeda/Co- oraclare Sewerage Scheme bundle and submitted to the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government, but this proved unsuc- COSINE

Cooraclare was then separated from the grouped sewerage scheme and the submission of a revised and reduced proposal for the village was drawn up. As a result approval was

received from the department for the Cooraclare sewerage scheme.

The design review is also complet- ed for Labasheeda. It proposes a re- duced outfall length and the installa- tion of a tidal valve and storage tank arrangement, allowing discharge of treated effluent on the falling tide.

The foreshore licence could hold up the Labasheeda project however by up to two year. Under the new proposal for Carrigaholt it will not require such a licence. The people of Carrigaholt have claimed that they were first promised a sewerage scheme more than 30 years ago.

THE citizens of Kilkee will don their berets, prepare a few baguettes and gather in the Diamond Rocks Cafe this Thursday to celebrate 25 years of twinning with the French town of Plouhinec.

By celebrating the silver anniver- sary organisers hope to form a new twinning committee and reinvigor- ate the relationship between the west Clare seaside town and the small French town.

Kilkee Town Twinning Steering Group is looking for new blood to join the Kilkee-Plouhinec Twinning Association as ordinary, affiliate, or junior members.

It is proposed to form a new man- agement committee to revitalise the twinning arrangements between Kilkee and Plouhinec and realise the benefits of town twinning for the community.

The group are particularly encour- aging young people to get involved as it promises opportunities to travel and broaden language experiences and provide alternative work place- ments.

The steering group is also encour- aging clubs, groups, and organisa- tions in Kilkee and surrounding ar- eas to contact the association with a view to exploring the potential of twinning.

Those interested in joining are

asked to part take in the 25th anni- versary celebrations in the Diamond Rocks Café at 7.30pm.

Kilkee was formally twinned with Plouhinec, the small town in south- ern Brittany, in 1983 after initial con- tacts were made in 1982.

The aim of the Kilkee Twinning Association is to promote and foster friendship and understanding be- tween the people of Kilkee, Plouhi- nec and their hinterlands and associ- aK

It also aims to encourage visits by individuals and groups and the de- velopment of personal and organisa- tional contacts, thereby broadening mutual understanding of social, cul- tural, educational, sporting, recrea-

tional, civic and commercial activi- Woe

The idea of twinning was born after World War II when it was felt that establishing links between lo- cal communities from former enemy countries would contribute to secure peace in Europe. Since then, thou- sand of villages and towns in Europe have established twinning links.

Twinning aims at developing mutu- al understanding and cross-cultural awareness between people from dif- ferent cultures. It helps develop val- ues such as citizenship and tolerance. Above all, twinning is a fun way to discover how other European people live and make friends from different felt bau lone

SPANISH Point got a new meet- ing point last week as local people celebrated the official opening of a much-awaited community hall for the area.

The one-storey structure, based at Christ Church (Church of Ireland) in the town, was blessed by both Catholic Bishop Dr Willie Walsh and Church of Ireland Bishop Michael Mayes in a ceremony last Wednes- day.

Rector Bob Hanna led the service to open the hall, which cost €30,000 to build and has been open since January.

Committee member of The Christ Church Community Project, Vicky Lynch, said that the hall was the re- sult of three years of fundraising.

“Eight of us got together to form a committee and we organised annual barbeques in the Armada Hotel for the last two years, raising around €12,000. Johnny Burke was bDril- liant in helping us with organisation and finances. His daughter, June, is now on the committee since he sadly passed away. Bernadette Queally was great too. Everyone made a big effort.”

The centre will be called “The Johnny Burke Community Hall’ in honour of the local businessman and

his wife Claire cut the ribbon to open the hall on the day as well as giving a “beautiful speech”.

Committee chairwoman Judith Ironside said that everyone was very pleased that the project had brought the community closer together.

‘Various community groups are us- ing the hall including the COI Sun- day School, a Grief and Loss Sup- port Group, Caring for Carers and a Mother and Toddler Group, which was our aim. We are lucky that there is a marvellous relationship between the Church of Ireland and the Catho- lic congregations in Miltown. They have done so much to help us.”

Ms Lynch added: “The barbeques

attract a huge crowd and have re- ally captured the imagination. Years ago there would have been more big community events so they’re like a blast from the past. We are at the half way mark with funds so we will keep working on the project. The next bar- beque is on August 12.”

GORT is preparing itself for its sec- ond new music and cultural festival in a fortnight, with the arrival of Life Festival 2007 to Lough Cutra Castle this weekend.

Following hot on the heels of last week’s hugely successful Changing Colours Multicultural Festival, Life Q7 is a different take on the institu- tion of the Irish summer festival.

After a successful beginning last summer at Charleville Castle in Tullamore, Life Festival 2007 has modeled itself to out-boutique self- proclaimed boutique festivals such as the Electric Picnic and the Garden Party.

This means small crowds, lots of space and more niche acts and artists.

Indeed, event organisers Neutronyx Events Management have put huge energy and resources into bringing together an innovative and quality line-up for Life Festival 2007.

The acts on show will be split more or less in half between European dance and electronic acts and root, folk and trad acts from Ireland and the UK.

Among those headlining the festi- val are London’s Dreadzone who top an international line-up. Also featur- ing are Grooverider, Electric Uni- verse, Alex Peterson from the Orb and Highlight Tribe.

The list goes up to over 100 acts that span a range of styles from DJ shows in reggae, dub, electronica, ambient, down-tempo, folk, psych- edelic, gipsy, african, drum and bass,

latin fusion, breaks, progressive and minimal tech.

The festival models itself loosely on the Glade Festival in the UK, which combines various alternative styles and workshops, environmental awareness presentations, alternative therapies, magic, juggling, perform- ing and music.

Other musical hightlights of the festival include Ronan O Snodaigh from Kila, the DMX Crew, Electric Penguins, Dilinja and Lemon D, Chris Clarke, Talamasca, Wiggle, Intinn, Rootical Reggae Soundsys- tem, Zubzub (ex-Ozric ‘Tentacles) and Ciaran Byrne.

Last year’s festival attracted some 1,500 revellers from over 20 differ- ent countries and organisers are ex- pecting to double these figures next

week.

It is being organised by Neutronyx Events in collaboration with Mantua Project from Roscommon and Brea- kology Dublin and will be the first of its kind to take place anywhere in the west of Ireland. Life Festival takes place in Gort’s Lough Caltra Castle on June 15, 16 and 17.

For more about Life Festival 2007, check out www.life-festival.com, Wwww.myspace.com/thelifefestival, www.loughcutra.com, WwWww.mantu- aproject.com or www.breakology.ie.

Check out page 41 of this week’s

HEINZ has discovered a new and exciting 58th variety. This new fla- vour comes in the shape of promis- ing Dublin artist Orla Walsh, whose latest sole exhibition, “The Ketchup Collection’, is currently on show at Lahinch’s Kenny Gallery.

Walsh’s pop-art still-life collec- tion proudly features the deep crim- son Heinz ketchup bottle in a range which is both striking and instantly recognizable.

Her work examines a range of old and new objects, with food the com- mon thread that joins the collec- tion. She strives to capture the very essence of her subject matter while always treating it with great warmth

and humour.

Indeed, Orla’s unique work could very easily have never made it as far as Lahinch. During one of her early exhibitions in Dublin, a representa- tive of Heinz approached her, stating that she was in breach of copyright and should take down the exhibition.

After studying the quality of the work, however, the employee changed his mind and returned later in the week to purchase six pieces. Indeed, four of Walsh’s pieces now hang in the boardroom of the HJ Heinz Company in Pittsburgh.

Kenny’s is Clare’s oldest art gallery and hosts a wide variety of exhibi- tions all-year round.

The exhibition was opened by May- or of Clare, Flan Garvey, last week-

end and will run until June 23. A representative selection of the work is available to view on www.lahin- chartgallery.com or by calling 065 OLOrdKeterer

Meanwhile, down the road in En- nistymon Courthouse Gallery, more than 50 artists from all over the county have contributed to the Art on the Wall exhibition. The exhibition, which opened last Thursday and runs until June 16, features one work from a wide range of local, national and international talent.

“Tt really is a very interesting exhi- bition. We are talking about 50 artists who have each submitted one piece of work for this exhibition,’ said Catherine Comber of the gallery.

“Essentially, one of our exhibitors

postponed an exhibition, leaving us with two free weeks in the calendar. We put out the call for pieces of work and had a fantastic response.

“We will have work from renowned artists like Fionnuala Graham, Der- mot Tuohy and Sarah Foust to more local artists and a number of com- pletely amateur artists.

“We have pieces on show ranging in price from €2,000 to €100.”