The Clare People Archive

PLANS for a €10 million windfarm seven kilometres from the east Clare villages of Tulla and Feakle have come under fire from local residents.

Last month, plans were lodged by Ventus Energy to develop eight tur- bines to supply electricity to 22,000 |aXeyaatercy

As part of the plan, the developers wish to remove 425 acres of forest plantation.

But in a strident appeal, residents say that the turbines proposed for the

site “are next generation machines optimised for off-shore use”’.

They state, ““As far as we are aware, there are no onshore wind turbines of comparable size operating anywhere in Ireland. The blade span is 93m or nearly twice as large as the turbines at Derrybrien for instance.

“The maximum blade tip height 1s 127m. The turbine tips will exceed the summit of Maghera mountain.”

The residents point out, “The pro- posed site is in a ‘preferred area’ for windfarms specified in the East Clare Development Plan. This is because

of its upland location and sparse hu- man habitation.

“However, the site is also desig- nated as a ‘vulnerable’ or sensitive landscape. Not all preferred areas for windfarms in Clare have this dual designation. Indeed, ECDP shows preferred areas nearby which do not have a vulnerable landscape designa- tion.”

ftom rons (eCcoe acum ontcaeUetcd elm aston eles landscape in close proximity to the proposed windfarm, close by to Lough Ea, which the residents state “is associated with Biddy Early in

local folklore. It is a uniquely Irish place and frequently visited by walk- ers, anglers, birders and the contem- tek ome

They say that the scale of the devel- opment would “represent a profane intrusion into this serene and private landscape.”

“The turbines will be visible form huge tracts of Clare and even Galway and Tipperary…

“Despite its huge visual impact, the power output of this development is very modest. With a rated capacity of 24 MW, the development will con-

tribute only OMW on average.

“The trend in responsible wind industry is towards larger off-shore installations. The project proposed by Ventus Energy has only seven per cent of this capacity, but may well come at a much higher cost in terms of our landscape heritage.

“The wind power developer has a strong financial incentive to employ larger turbines on higher ground. Unfortunately, both of these aspects are detrimental to the long-term in- terests of residents and visitors of County Clare.”

MICHAEL McDowell’s decision to retire from the political scene last Friday has been greeted with sadness by the party faithful in Clare.

The Progressive Democrat’s candi- date in Clare for last week’s general election, Murt Collins paid tribute to the former Tanaiste.

“TI think that the people have let us down. I think that they have made the worst mistake of all with the Minis- ter for Justice, Michael McDowell. He was one of the best ministers for justice that we have ever had. He took on the IRA, he reduced overtime in certain state bodies, and what did he get from it?” said Mr Collins.

“We took a hammering but it was a bad day for all small parties. It was bad for us but it was bad for the coun- try. The PDs were keeping Fianna Fail on the straight and narrow.

“They drove the economy and tax reform. We have all the tribunals out

of the PDs, we’d never know what was going on in the country if it hadn’t been for the PDs.”

The Kilrush general election candi- date also blamed Fianna Fail’s reac-

tion to Michael McDowell’s handling of leaks from the Mahon Tribunal as one of the main factors in the PD’s disastrous election campaign.

“This 1s my opinion, it was all about McDowell’s statement there a couple weeks ago about Bertie. What happened then is that Fianna Fail de- cided not to cross vote. It was very obvious there in Limerick when Wil- lie O’Dea got a huge vote and Tim O’Malley didn’t get the transfer. I think McDowell got Fianna Fail’s backs up a small bit,” he said.

“Whatever happened in the last week there was a whole swing to the big parties. Having the vote on the Thursday didn’t suit some of the smaller parties because they are depending on youth. In the last few days, the bigger parties pulled out all the stops and brought out all the voters.”

TWENTY years ago, the maternity unit at Ennis General Hospital was closed and since then, the only babies born in Clare are to the few women who hire independent midwives for home births, and those women who do not make it to hospital and give birth at the side of the road. A new group, Birth Choice Clare, has launched a cam- paign for the es- tablishment of a midwife led, com- munity based, stand-alone ma- ternity — facility in Ennis to serve the more than 105,000 ~~‘ popu- lation of Clare. Because 85 to 90 per cent of births are normal, mem- bers say such a midwife led unit would be as suc- CIAO MECISMECIDOOUUEADE units in the UK and elsewhere. Birth Choice Clare says women and their babies should not be subjected to the dangers of roadside births un-

necessarily and travelling from some parts of the county could involve journeys of up to two hours, depend- ing on traffic.

The campaign will be highlighted this Sunday, June 3, in a special re- port on RTE’s regional and commu- nity affairs programme,

MANAGEMENT and unions at Shannon Airport are to meet under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) this Thursday to resolve any outstanding issues over the €36 million ‘survival plan’ at Shannon.

However, the LRC will not be deal- ing with the thorny issue of discount travel for those who will be taking voluntary redundancy. That is being dealt with by the Labour Court.

The delay, which is clarifying the various issues connected to the re- structuring plan, is holding up two new private companies coming in to assume control of the ground cater- ing and in-flight catering at Shan- Wey F

Also, it 1s understood that secu- rity staff at the airport won’t allow ex-catering staff take up their new positions in the security sector un- less they receive the first part of the €16,000 sum that will be provided for each of the 350 staff members that are staying on.

Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) staff have enjoyed free and discount- ed Aer Lingus flights while working for the company and after retire-

ment. In the 10-page document, no mention is made of the discounted flights. The ensuing row resulted in unions and management meeting un- der the auspices of the Labour Rela- tions Commission.

It is understood that over 185 staff members have signed up to take the voluntary redundancy programme.

Prior to the package been put on of- fer to the airport’s 550 workers, the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) stated that 200 voluntary redundan- cles were needed in order for the Shannon deal to be viable.

While the SAA may not reach the 200 target, it is believed that the high number taking up the offer will be enough for the deal to go through.

As part of the deal with the air- port’s workers, the SAA is to exit completely from catering. It is be- lieved that the rates offered by the two catering firms that will provide eround catering and in-flight cater- ing have disappointed workers.

In the deal, those workers with 24 years experience or more who opt to leave the SAA will receive over €100,000, while the 350 who remain are to receive a payment of €16,000. The deal is expected to save the SAA €10 million per annum.

MILTOWN Malbay may have to wait for five years before much needed re- surfacing work can take place, it was revealed yesterday at the local area meeting of Clare County Council in Ennistymon.

Responding to a motion put for- ward by Councillor Richard Nagle (FF), Senior Executive Engineer in Ennistymon, Hubert Newell said that road works couldn’t be completed until planned sewage work takes je e-leror

“Does this mean that nothing can happen in Miltown Malbay for the next five years?” asked Cllr Nagle.

“T wouldn’t mind if the develop- ment was near, but this is years away. There has to be some work done in the meantime.”

Lisdoonvarna-based — Councillor Martin Lafferty (Ind) pointed to a lack of confidence in the local au- thority felt by some people in Mil- town Malbay.

“We cannot wait for this to happen because it will take years upon years. There is a problem in Miltown Mal- bay, that the people of the town feel agerieved. They feel that if they had a councillor that he could wave his

magic wand and everything would be finished.”

Meanwhile, local tourism is being put under pressure because of Clare County Council’s inability to provide a passing out bay on the roads at the top of Corkscrew Hill. Responding to a motion put forward by Cllr Laf- ferty, Mr Newell said that a bay could not be put in place until the comple- tion of a diameter pipeline between Lisdoonvarna and Ballyvaughan.

“It is mitigating against tourism,’ said Cllr Lafferty. “The buses have to continually reverse in order to get by each other.”

Buses and tourists stopping at the Cliffs of Moher could soon be clamped if they fail to park in the official parking lot as the council is to regularise the double yellow lines at the site following the construction of the multi-million euro interpretive centre. A number of new car park- ing places are to be made available in north Clare in the coming months with 20 space being created on coun- cil property and 30 spaces on private property in Ennistymon while the council plans to double the capacity of the Miltown Road parking lot in Lahinch to some 120 cars.

A TOTAL of 578 patients from County Clare have been treated un- der the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) since 2002.

The NTPF has arranged treat- ment for more than 75,000 people nationwide since it was established, including just over 115 people from OA a aero

According to its annual report launched this week, the average waiting times for the most common surgical procedures are two to five months, in comparison with waiting times of two to five years in 2002.

Since its establishment, the NTPF has provided operations in every specialty area, with the largest number of 9,536 in the ear, nose and throat category.

This is followed by ophthalmology

with 8,481 operations and general surgery with 8,064 operations.

The most common procedures in 2006 included hip and knee replace- ments, cataract surgery and tonsil extraction.

The number of patients calling the NTPF’s lo-call number 1890 720820 more than doubled to 20,000 en- quiries in 2006, showing a growing awareness of the fund’s work and greater empowerment of patients to self-refer.

Speaking at the report launch, NTPF Chief Executive Pat O’Byrne said, “Our message to patients is simple — there really is no reason to wait a long time for an operation.

“Anyone who has been waiting longer than three months for an in- patient operation can contact us d1- rectly and in most cases treatment can be arranged within weeks.”

can reveal.

Folklore, which is being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, is scheduled for a worldwide release in October of this year and is set in a fantasy version of the north Clare AUN ETSXon

Little is presently known about the game but it 1s believed to be a “dark fantasy” inspired by fairy tales and ancient adventure stories.

The game’s version of Doolin is de- scribed as a “mysterious town” where it is said that the living can speak to the dead. It follows the story of two strangers, Keats and Ellen, who are drawn together to uncover a myster1- ous legend of the town, which serves as a gateway between Earth and a number of fantastic other worlds in- habited by creatures, fairies, spirits

and monsters.

“Doolin is a worldwide tourist at- traction and it doesn’t surprise me that Playstation would decide to model a game on the town,” said lo- cal councillor, Martin Conway (FG).

“It is a unique spot, there is a magi- cal feel about the place. I think that Doolin itself is the best attraction for tourists but this could also be a help, not just for Doolin but for the whole north Clare region.

“With Fine Gael going into Gov- ernment, I would be fighting to see supports put in place for more projects like this as well as films and TV to be promoted in the area. Look at the boost that Fr Ted had for the area when it was shot here. It was a brilliant boost, especially as it came in off season times of the year.”

Folklore is due for release on the PS3 later this year.

THE inadequate public sewerage in- frastructure in the greater Ennis area is beginning to halt residential devel- opment on the outskirts of the town.

Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council jointly refused plan- ning permission for a development that would have opened up lands at Bunnow, Doora, Skehanagh and Clar- eabbey for housing development.

The council refused to grant plan- ning permission to Gareth Kelly on

four grounds. One of these is that the council “is not satisfied that there is sufficient capacity for the existing Clareabbey treatment plant to ac- commodate the proposed develop- nates Laan

It is understood that a new €50 mil- lion plant may not be in place for two to three years and further planning applications may be refused, pending the completion of the new plant.

Mr Kelly had lodged plans seeking planning for a sewerage and water supply scheme to facilitate the devel-

opment of the lands 1n question.

The proposal was said to be “pre- mature, pending the completion of an integrated sewerage design scheme to serve the general locality”.

Mr Kelly applied to have a total of 150 acres of land in those areas re- zoned from low-density housing to residential/commercial and remove the flood risk designation as part of the review of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

A further impediment to future housing growth around Ennis has

also been identified with the council refusing planning permission pend- ing the completion of a flood risk study of lands around Ennis.

The council pointed out that the proposed development encroaches on an area of land zoned as “flood risk” in the 2003 Ennis and Environs De- velopment Plan- the role and future of which is under review at present.

The council also ruled that it is not satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated sufficient legal inter- est to enable him to carry out the de-

velopment and that the route of the proposed Quin Road to Skehanagh roundabout ‘link road’ is not in ac- cordance with part of the develop- ment plan.

The Department of the Environ- ment and the National Roads Au- thority (NRA) also raised concerns about the application.

The department stated that a major development in this low-lying coastal floodplain area could create a need for upgraded flood defences in the OUTRUN Kon

THE IFA has reignited the war of words between farmers and factories this week by launching a blistering attack on the beef factories for the price paid to winter finishers.

IFA President, Padraig Walshe, lashed factories, describing it as “an outright disgrace and a body blow” inflicted by factories on the coun- try’s best and most committed beef producers.

Beef finishers have taken a ham- mering this spring and there was now a serious question mark over beef factories’ commitment to a 52-

week supply from Irish farmers.

The IFA President said the big play- ers now had significant investment in Brazil and he was highly suspicious that price manipulation was taking place, not just in the Irish market, but across Europe including Italy, which has always been a high-priced outlet for beef and cattle.

‘Factories that had talked up cat- tle prices in November and Decem- ber were now gone to ground and messing farmers around getting cat- tle killed, and at bad prices,” said Walshe.

“Tam so angry at factories that to- day I have called on Minister Cough-

lan to put a stay on the €50 million government grants she announced for the industry some weeks ago, un- til law and order 1s restored.

“T am demanding that the Depart- ment of Agriculture publish the weekly kill for each factory. This in- formation is available in the Depart- ment and I’ve repeatedly asked for it to be published in the interests of transparency.

“The Minister for Agriculture must stop the foot—dragging. If factories have nothing to hide, then the figures will make it quite clear that the beef leaving the plant was slaughtered under the supervision of the Depart-

ment’s vets in that plant.”

The IFA President said that unless the meat factory owners put forward real and coherent marketing plans to lift the price of Irish beef, there is no reason the government should fund their Irish plants and allow them in- vest their own capital in Brazil.

“IT am also calling on the Minister to ban trade in imported beef by li- censed exporters to preserve the integrity and good name of Irish beef, both at home and in our export markets. A factory with an export h- cence should not be allowed import or handle South American beef on the same premises,’ he added.

IN her first major speech, the newly inaugurated national president of Macra na Feirme, Catherine Buckley, has called on the political parties to commit to devising and implement- ing a national strategy to encourage employers to facilitate employees in working from home through ‘e- working’.

Speaking last week, Ms Buckley, who is the first woman Macra presi- dent said that employers should be incentivised into allowing workers the option of “e-working’.

‘“Work-life balance has been a buzz- phrase for a few years now, but the

concept should not be discounted,” she said.

“It’s widely accepted that working from home can bring huge benefits, helping workers to organise their time more efficiently, work more effectively and reduce the stress of commuting.

“Studies have also shown that by offering employees a flexible work- ing environment – such as the op- tion to work even part-time from the home — productivity and employee retention levels are increased while costs can be reduced.”

She pointed out that giving people the opportunity to work from home would also be an effective way of al-

lowing local people in rural areas the chance to work in the areas where they are living, providing them with more time to become involved in community life rather than wasting hours commuting.

“If more people were facilitated in this way, it would reduce the number of commuters on our roads, improve peoples’ family hfe and would also mean that less people are wasting hours and hours per week stuck in their cars increasing carbon emis- sions and having a detrimental im- pact on the environment,” she con- abOLeCoe

“While everybody pays lip service to balanced regional development,

it has only had limited success. Yet if companies were to adopt a more enlightened approach in facilitating working from home, I believe they would benefit significantly in terms of staff retention and increased pro- Clie UAL AYAae

According to Buckley, many em- ployers and employees may not be aware of the fact that equipment provided to an employee by his/her employer is not assessed for tax as a benefit-in-kind so long as it is used primarily for business use.

She pointed out that an employer can also provide expenses to cover costs such as heating and light, with- out the employee being taxed.