The Clare People Archive

GARDAÍ in Clare are satisfied with the level of resources available to secure Shannon Airport. Last week, an Islamic cleric advocated an attack on an Irish airport.

Omar Bakri Mohammed, who is a founder in the UK of the now disbanded al-Muhajiroun movement, advocated an attack on Dublin Airport.

He referred to Dublin as the airport where American forces flew to reach Iraq, “to kill our brothers”, suggesting he was mixing up Dublin with Shannon Airport.

Last July, Garda resources at Shannon intensified, in the wake of a threat by anti-war protesters who claimed they would “shut down” Shannon.

The warning came after five antiwar protesters were acquitted of damaging a US military aircraft at Shannon in February 2003.

Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn told The Clare People that he is satisfied that sufficient resources were available at Shannon, in the wake of the latest threat.

“We have always relied heavily on good intelligence. We have felt so far we have called it about right,” he said. He said he was aware of the latest threat and said the security that had been there for months was still in situ.

“We take any information that we can get our hands on, however that comes, be it through the Internet or otherwise and we gauge our responses accordingly,” he added.

Clare Junior Minister Tony Killeen said, “There is no evidence that I have ever seen that there is an attack planned on Shannon. The Government has decided to continue to make the facilities available for the transportation of troops.

“I agree with that decision. It would be a sorry day if the Government was to bend to threats, whether real or imaginary.”

THE rising numbers of non-nationals coming before Clare’s court system is highlighted with a massive jump in spending on providing interpreting services this year.

In response to a Freedom of Information request from The Clare People , the Courts Service confirmed that over the past three years, almost €30,000 had been spent on interpreters by the Ennis Circuit and District Office.

Underlining the growing numbers of non-nationals coming before the courts, the spend in the District Court to the end of October in 2006 is almost double the spend in the entire of 2005 and five times the spend in 2004.

The figures show that in 2006, the District Courts Service in Clare spent €14,741 on interpreters. This compares to €8,806 spent on interpreters in 2005, while €2,552 was spent in 2004.

As the Circuit Court has four criminal and a number of civil sittings each year, the spend in the Circuit Court in Clare is smaller with the spend this year coming in at €501. The spend last year was at €952 and €2301 in 2004.

Court lists for sittings of Shannon and Ennis District Courts are showing an increasing number of non-nationals, especially from the eastern European countries.

Each Friday, there are interpreters on hand acting on behalf of citizens from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and other eastern European countries.

The figures nationally show that €2 million has been spent on interpreters in the court this year – a rise of €800,000 on the €1.257 million spend in 2005. The spend nationally in 2004 was €553,761.

A large proportion of the interpretation and translation spend is going to companies that are capitalising on the influx of people from the accession countries.

The figures show that €1.39 million was paid to Word Perfect Translation over the past three years, €1.1 million was paid to Forbidden City while Access Translations scooped €446,818 over the past three years.

The figures show that the District office at Chancery Street in Dublin has the highest amount in fees paid to translators with €782,138 between 2004 and the end of October 2006 while at Cloverhill District Court Office, €404,604 was paid over the past three years.

In Limerick District Court area, the costs for interpreters are €107,821, while in Nenagh District Court office, the costs are €29,232.

AN UNANNOUNCED Health Service Executive (HSE) inspection of the Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe found the standard of hygiene all over the nursing home to be very poor.

The inspection took place in September. In a formal response to the HSE, mananagement at the home blamed ongoing building works, stating that they did not expect a repeat of these exceptional circumstances in future.

In the HSE report, the inspectors stated “at the inspection, the standard of hygiene all over the Nursing Home is very poor”.

To date, the HSE has now inspected six Clare nursing homes.

In the latest tranche to be published, a clean bill of health was given to Cahercalla Nursing Home, St Domnic Savio, Liscannor and St Theresa’s Kilrush.

The Lakes nursing home is registered for 57 patients and during inspection, there were 48 residents on site.

The hairdressing room was very dirty on the day of inspection with a large amount of cut hair swept towards the wall but left on the floor . . . the overall condition of this room appeared very dirty, according to the report.

It found that several bedrooms were in need of repainting and that a thorough cleaning of the premises should be undertaken immediately.

It goes on: “The Nursing Home Inspection Team was concerned to see a very large crack in the floor in room 50 . . . the team strongly advise a structural assessment be undertaken immediately and remedial work be undertaken as soon as possible in the interest of health and safety.

“The Nursing Home Inspection Team is disappointed to note that the promised recovering of the sitting room floor has not yet been done.”

A spokeswoman for the Nursing Home said yesterday that all items that were highlighted by the HSE inspection were addressed within seven days.

The formal response to the HSE Inspection report stated: “The building of the 28 assisted living units in the adjacent site has generated a large amount of dust over the summer which was beyond our control. . .

It goes on: “We have spoken with the hairdresser – who is not in our employ – and we do not expect a recurrence of this control failure.

“We are currently seeking quotations from our builders on a repainting of the interior . . .

“We would like to confirm that a cleaning schedule for the home is in place and . . .the crack in the upstairs floor in room 41 and 50 had already been previously inspected by our architect and he confirmed that it is a settlement crack and not a structural crack.

THE plummeting price of milk is forcing Clare farmers off the land according to the Chairperson of ICMSA’s Beef and Cattle Committee, Clare farmer Martin McMahon.

Speaking at last Friday’s ICMSA Clare AGM in Feakle, Mr McMahon called on the co-ops to stop putting more and more pressure on farmers.

“The Co-ops cant keep squeezing the farmers every time they come under pressure themselves,” said McMahon.

“The price of milk is a big issue for farmers in Clare. It now looks likely that Kerry Co-op will drop the price of milk by 6 cent per gallon in the new year. The cost of producing milk continues to go up and the farmers just can’t cope with it.”

McMahon has also pointed to the new milk quota scheme as a source of concern for Clare farmers.

“Farmers don’t know what is going to happen. The first round of transaction is due to take place before the end of November and it doesn’t look like there will be too many transactions taking place,” continued Mr McMahon.

“They are just too unsure of what will happen. Sellers need to know what the price is going to be and so do the buyers.”

Other topics discussed at the meeting included the current state of the beef trade, the nitrates situation, the partnership talks and the possible extension of BSE testing from 30 to 36 months.

A SHANNON family is deeply distressed after receiving two threatening letters during the past week, The Clare People has learned.

The letters were intended for the family of a young man who came to Garda attention in recent months, but were inadvertently addressed to a neighbouring family.

The family that has received the letters lives a number of houses away from the family of the young man in question.

One of the letters was posted and the other was hand-delivered to the family last week. The handwritten letters contain threats against the family of the young man.

The youth has been interviewed by gardaí in connection with burglary, criminal damage and theft from cars in the town over the past few months. His case is currently with the national Juvenile Liaison Office, which deals with young offenders. A Garda source confirmed that the case was being investigated and the matter was being taken very seriously.

“These letters were received by a totally innocent family, who have no connection whatsoever with the family they were intended for.

The family is extremely concerned about this.

“We have no idea where the letters came from,” said the garda.

This revelation comes in the wake of local councillors expressing their concerns in relation to families arriving in the town and engaging in anti social behaviour.

Members of Shannon Town Council have called for background checks to be carried out on people who move to the town.

CAIRDE Cuan Chinn Mhara will present its case for the creation of a sewage system in Kinvara on RTÉ’s Pobal programme this Sunday, November 26.

The organisation will also officially announce its intention to run a candidate in next year’s general election, but will not reveal the identity of the candidate until after an date for the 2007 election has been chosen.

At present, almost 70,000 gallons of untreated sewage is pumped directly in Kinvara Bay each day.

“We are going to leave it until closer to the election, we don’t even know when the election will be at this stage, but we will definitely be running a candidate,” said Richard Broad of Cairde Cuain Cinn Mhara.

“When we go to the politicians, they sit and nod and say that it is terrible that nothing has been done, but it is a situation that the politicians are not doing their job.

“It is not a frivolous expenditure, it is a basic service – water, electricity and sewage treatment – they are as basic as it gets. And the politicians seem unable to deliver.”

Cairde Cuain Cinn Mhara have been campaigning for sewage treatment facilities in Kinvara since 1999.

Local resident, Maeve O’Toole, will present the piece on Pobal which will be screened at 5.30pm this Sunday on RTÉ 1.

CLARE County Council planners gathered in the council chamber last evening to hear accusations of incompetence, failure to listen and shows of contempt.

The planning department were attending a special meeting to review implementation of the County Development Plan 2005-2011, a plan the council members say has been plagued with inconsistencies and misinterpretation by the planners since it was adopted in February 28 last year.

Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) accused the county’s planners of not listening to the councillors, an accusation that was supported by Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind). “The image of the planning section is at an all time low,” added Cllr Flynn.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) told the meeting “It is only in the last number of years members are being treated with contempt. Last Monday I asked for a list of the planners in Clare County Council and their qualifications. I still have not received the list.”

The Ennis councillor suggested rewriting the plan. “I want to start at page one and write it in a language that all can understand.”

Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) described the plan as flawed, while Cllr Christy Curtain (Ind) said he was concerned the text of the County Development Plan was “vague and ambiguous.”

He said there was inconsistency in the reading of the plan and there was “two sets of criteria being employed”.

Former mayor Pat Keane (FF) said while he was happy with the plan, the interpretation “There are some sites from practical perspective that cannot be sorted,” he said.

“We do want to issue as many planning permissions as we can, but as long as they comply with the public’s health,” he added. would have to be agreed upon.

“Every day people are suffering because we have not solved the problem,” he said.

And the suffering is to continue, as the next meeting on the issue will not take place until January.

The county manager Alec Fleming told the councillors that he did not accept what they were saying about incompetence in the planning department. He said issues surrounding wastewater, septic tanks and road safety went far beyond the County Development Plan.

THIRTY new jobs are being created at GE Money’s call centre in Shannon.

The Shannon call centre is regarded as a centre of excellence and recognised globally as an example of best practice within the service industry.

The recruitment day will be held in Jury’s Inn, Lower Mallow Street, Limerick from 9.30am to 2pm on Saturday, November 25.

“The new jobs will be of interest to people who are considering returning to work, school leavers and college graduates, as there are positions available ranging from entry to senior level,” a spokeswoman for the company said.

The latest good news on the jobs front comes one week after another Shannon company, Digital River, announced it was to recruit 300 people.

The spokeswoman added that GE Money, “offers employees real opportunities and a realistic career path. Their personal development and training schemes are among the best in the world and internationally recognised.”

The company hopes to appoint up to 30 people from entry to senior executive level on foot of the open day.

“Working and developing talents within an international organisation like GE Money can open up many doors. Being one of the world’s largest companies, there are opportunities to travel, live and work in different places, build up experience and develop a strong career path. People who train with and work within GE Money become extremely recruitable, desirable employees. There are many success stories to reinforce this,” the spokeswoman said.

ONE of the two victims of convicted paedophile Joseph Nugent has instituted High Court proceedings to secure damages as a result of the crimes perpetrated upon him.

The case – which was launched in June 2001 – is due to be heard on February 13 on the High Court personal injuries list.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has rejected claims by Deputy Pat Breen (FG) that Minister Michael McDowell was to blame for identifying Nugent’s victims.

The victim taking the legal action against the child rapist is now in his 30s.

Nugent (74) of Drumellihy, Cree was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment at Kilrush Circuit Court in November 2004 on one count of buggery and one count of indecent assault against the man who is taking the proceedings.

The man said that he was first assaulted by Nugent aged eight and the abuse continued until he was 15.

The man said that Nugent has never apologised.

He said, “There has been no apology. He doesn’t feel sorry for what he did. I will never forgive that paedophile for what he did.”

The man said that he was upset at reports that Nugent had transferred the land that he farmed out of his name.

The man said, “There should have been a move made to freeze his assets.”

He said, “I’m also very mad that there has been no compensation as there are still legal and psychiatric costs and it is wrong that I would have to pay that and I won’t be paying it.”

The man said that the outstanding bills amounted to around €8,000. He asked, “Why should I pay it?”

Meanwhile, the Dept of Justice has rejected Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen’s claim that the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, answered the Dáil question on Nugent “in unusual and extensive detail about the case which clearly identified those involved”.

Last week, Deputy Breen blamed the Tánaiste and sections of the media for causing the controversy that followed his tabling of a Dáil question enquiring into the early release of Nugent.

However, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said, “The Department of Justice rejects any assertion that Deputy Breen’s Parliamentary Question was not answered in the normal way.

He said, “Deputy Breen asked the Tánaiste when a prisoner (with details supplied) would be eligible for early release and if he would make a statement on the matter.

“Where a Deputy requests a statement on a case, and to ensure that the Deputy asking the question is fully aware of the facts behind the case, it is normal practice for information relating to the conviction, sentence and nature of offence to be given by the Tánaiste in replies to such Parliamentary Questions.”

THE prospect of a new, state-of-the-art library for Ennis is one step closer with the identification of a possible site, Ennis Town Councillors have been told.

But the plan will have to be moved on quickly, the members were warned.

Council officials told the meeting that the plans to build a new library had met with a positive response from the national library body and from the Department of the Environment.

But they are aware that capital funding for library building projects “may not be available in the future so we must move this on.”

The site that has been identified is in County Council ownership and fronts on to Bank Place, taking in one-third of an acre of the Post Office Field.

Options for carrying out the development are that the County Council could undertake it from start to finish, or a joint project could be developed between Ennis Town Council and the local authority, as happened in the Lees Road.

The old library building would be sold to help fund the new project, which Town Manager Tom Coughlan said, would “not be repeated for the next 150 years so we need a state-of-the art facility.”

The part of the current library building that is listed would remain in public ownership, he said.

Before work can go ahead, Town Council members were told, the site would have to be re-zoned and the process of design and tender gone through.