The Clare People Archive

Business organisation ISME, has questioned the Government’s commitment to competition, “in light of their policy of protecting Aer Lingus at all costs.”

According to ISME Chief Executive, Mark Fielding, the business community is “perplexed at the hypocrisy of, on the one hand fighting tooth and nail to ensure competition in the air, but on the other preventing competition on the ground through disallowing the break-up of the ESB and not allowing competition in other State controlled sectors of the economy, such as Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus.”

Fielding is claiming that the motive behind the Government’s move is to “protect the interests of the unions as opposed to any belated Pauline conversion to the merits of competition.”

The ISME chief criticised the Minister for Transport, whom he claimed was “loathe to fully deregulate the bus market where the bus licensing system discriminates against private sector operators. Consequently, we are left with an inefficient public transport system that does no justice to the public it serves.”

With electricity costs due to increase by a further 20 per cent in January, Fielding said it “beggars belief that the Government continually refuses to break-up the ESB to generate competition.

“How can a Government that outwardly proclaims to encourage competition, dismiss their own consultants’ recommendations to increase competition and in the process bolster the ESB’s dominant position?”

Fielding called on the Government to “put the same commitment into opening up competition in other parts of the economy as they have belatedly applied to protecting competition, when it suits, in air transport.”.

WHILE the drama of the Ryanair takeover bid continues, Shannon Development have been drawing up plans to bring in tourism revenue from the destinations served by the airline out of Shannon.

As part of its regional tourism development role, the development agency plans to forge links with a number of tourism authorities in key countries where Ryanair routes have emerged.

“The launch of the new Ryanair routes this month from Shannon Airport to Biarritz and Carcassonne in the South of France, Faro in Portugal, Krakow in Poland and Venice in Italy, and newly announced routes from Madrid in Spain, Edinburgh and Bournemouth in the UK, as well as increased frequency on routes from Shannon to Barcelona Malaga and Milan, gives us an ideal opportunity to form strategic partnerships with local tourism authorities in these cities to facilitate a marketing alliance, and ultimately attract more visitors to the Shannon Region”, says John King, Heritage and Tourism Director, Shannon Development.

The first initiative of this type will see key Shannon Development tourism executives head to Biarritz early next month for what they are calling a ‘Biarritz Blitz’.

While in the area, they will target tourism travel media and invite them to a briefing on the Shannon Region as a tourism destination.

“If this pilot run proves successful we will roll it out in other Ryanair destinations important to Shannon Airport.

“We believe that we must keep aggressively marketing these routes to ensure the best return for the Shannon Region in terms of attracting additional tourists to our region”, said Pat Daly, Tourism Marketing Manger, Shannon Development.

He added that as “part of our ongoing tourism strategy we will be working with our colleagues in Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland and Ryanair, we will be inviting travel media from these destinations to visit the Shannon Region.”

SHANNON Aer Lingus workers concerned for their jobs were reluctant to speak on the record at the weekend about the Ryanair bid and proposed cuts.

With Ryanair making an aggressive bid for the airline and promising major cuts and job losses, Aer Lingus bosses are fighting back by promising cost-cutting measures.

On Friday, staff were concerned about reports in the national media that job-cuts might also be on the agenda for Aer Lingus management.

Those who did speak to The Clare People declined to be named but revealed how staff felt they are caught in the crossfire.

“If Michael O’Leary gets his way, then none of us can be certain whether we’ll have jobs this time next year. Now our own bosses are saying there will have to be cut-backs. Seems we’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” one woman worker said.

Another man working in the catering department said that staff generally were “concerned. We’ll see what the union has to say about it all, but people are worried, particularly if it looks like Michael O’Leary will take over. But it’s not even a question anymore of who you want to be paying your wages, so long as you have a wage.”

Last week, the national media carried reports that Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion called in union representatives to tell them that there would be drastic cuts if the airline was to meet the Ryanair low-fares challenge.

The 100 employees involved in sales and marketing in the US were reported to be under scrutiny. In its bid for the airline, Ryanair said it could run the department with just a handful of people. But SIPTU had a clarification meeting with Mannion in the wake of the media reports.

A spokesman for SIPTU in Shannon said that Mannion, “clarified the position. All he said was that costs would be kept under constant review. He said nothing about cutting jobs. Keeping costs under review is normal procedure for any company. All of the agreements we negotiated with Aer Lingus are still in place.”

Meanwhile, the chances of success for the budget airline’s bid for a hostile takeover now seem unlikely. O’Leary had built up a 19.2 per cent stake in Aer Lingus, but on Thursday, Aer Lingus pilots added to their existing 4 per cent stake.

A HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) inspection of Carrigoran House nursing home near Newmarket on Fergus has given the facility a clean bill of health.

However, Age Action Ireland has questioned the value of such reports “as they tell us nothing about the homes in question”.

In relation to Carrigoran, the HSE Inspection Team concluded that the nursing home, which can accommodate 152 residents, “was found to be in substantial compliance with the Health Act 1990 and subsequent regulations”.

The published report runs to less than 200 words. It acknowledges that Carrigoran Nursing Home in conjunction with the Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit of the HSE are developing policies and procedures for “person centred care” at the Nursing Home.

The inspection related to an unannounced visit to Sancta Maria nursing home in Cratloe also stated that most of the items of a previous inspection had been addressed.

There are eight private nursing homes in Clare and there are currently reports available on the HSE website in relation to two – the other homes are Cahercalla Community Hospital Ennis, Kilrush Districk Hospital, Kilrush, Lakes Hill Rd, Killaloe, Riverdale House, Ardnacrusha, St. Domnic Savio, Liscannor and St. Theresa’s, Kilrush.

Sr Christina Murphy of Carrigoran said that the home was “gratified” by the comments made in the HSE Inspection report.

She said: “We strive for a holistic approach in relation to the residents here and the HSE has recognised that. It was an announced inspection and was a very thorough examination of the home. The inspection team examined everything. They were very professional, checked all the charts and all aspects of the operation of the nursing home. They didn’t leave any stone unturned.”

Sr Christina said that the inspection team commenced their examination of the facility at 9.30am and remained until 2.30pm.

“We are quite pleased that the inspections are going on. They can only help to improve your standards in the quality of care.”

A spokesman for Age Action Ireland said: “The reports tell you nothing about the care facilities. What do we know about the social activities at these homes, the diets? Nothing. The details in these reports are so scant as to render them meaningless. All the details in relation to these facilities need to be published. An independent inspectorate needs to be put in place. The Government has promised it since 2002, but we are still waiting for it to happen.

LOCAL councillors in Kinvara have warned the Sisters of Mercy that they will block any attempt by them to sell the grounds of Seamount College for commercial use.

In a joint statement, seven county councillors of the Loughrea electoral area last Friday stated that the Kinvara local area plan had now been adapted to designate Seamount College and its grounds for community use only.

The Sisters of Mercy announced earlier this month that they were to wind down the 80-year-old all girls school over the next three years.

While they have not yet announced any plans for the college and its grounds, one local auctioneer estimated that the area would be worth a minimum of €1million if sold as a commercial site.

“We believe that a need currently exists within Kinvara for a post-primary school. With the population increase forecast for Kinvara and its hinterland over the coming years, this need will become even more apparent in the near future,” read the statement.

“We have recently adapted the Kinvara Local Area plan in which we designated Seamount College and its grounds to be used solely for community facilities.”

Meanwhile, parents and teachers group RESCUE have stepped up their campaign to save the school. They are seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin.

Each of the 243 pupils of the college posted hand written letters to the Sisters of Mercy head office in Ballinasloe last week begging for time to save the school.

“We have no idea what the Sisters of Mercy have in mind to do with the site and we have had no correspondence with them since the announcement,” said Jane Joyce of RESCUE.

“What we are trying to do now is to establish the education need for the minister, to show her that we can sustain a school in Kinvara. After that it is at the minister’s prerogative what she wants to do.”

RESCUE are also urging the Sisters of Mercy to re-appoint the school’s board of management who were not ratified by the Sisters at the start of the school year in September.

WATERWAYS Ireland is carrying out a series of inspections to ascertain whether cruise boat companies are complying with by-laws which prohibit the dumping of toilet waste into canals, rivers and lakes.

The move follows recent claims that a leading Irish cruise boat company told a customer to dump the contents of their on-board toilet into the River Shannon. Waterways Ireland has also said that this was the first complaint of its kind it had received but that it immediately launched an investigation. Clare County Council has also initiated a probe of the claims.

A Waterways Ireland spokesperson said the complaint was the first of its kind to come to their notice and an investigation was initiated immediately. They had also instigated a phased programme of inspection of vessels to ascertain the extent of non-compliance with the by-laws. However, Waterways Ireland said it would not necessarily prosecute the company at the centre of the allegations.

“If a customer is found to have breached the by-laws, Waterways Ireland would advise them of the breach. If the company rectifies the situation, Waterways Ireland would deem the matter settled. If the situation isn’t rectified then we would consider taking the matter further,” the spokesperson said.

According to the Shannon Navigation by-laws, “A toilet fitted to a vessel shall be so constructed and fitted as to prevent polluting matter from being discharged or passing into the navigation”.

Waterways Ireland provides pumpout facilities at some locations along the Shannon, others are provided and maintained by the relevant local authorities at other sites along the river.

CLARE County Council has paid almost €7 million to three landowners, including the Killaloe Diocesan Trust, for the provision of the long-delayed €25 million sewage treatment plant to serve Ennis.

The council has also confirmed that an additional €436,212 has been paid on auctioneering, legal and surveying fees as part of the project – these fees relate exclusively to land acquisition.

Last year, the council overcame a vital obstacle in proceeding with the works after objections to the ComOVER 100 companies throughout the Shannon region have signed up for a unique waste reduction project involving wanted and unwanted pallets.

‘The Pallet Exchange’ – an 18-month pilot project officially launched this week by Supply Network Shannon – will result in thousands of pallets being reused by participating companies in Limerick City, Shannon and counties Limerick and Clare.

The main objective of The Pallet Exchange is to address the imbalance that exists between companies requiring to source pallets and companies with excess pallets. A central clearinghouse has been established in the Shannon region to facilitate the storage and subsequent reuse of pallets.

Already, a number of companies in Tipperary and Kerry have expressed an interest in joining The Pallet Exchange program, Mr Whelan concluded.

Supply Network Shannon (SNS) is an open sectoral network of engineering and elecpulsory Purchase Order (CPO) were withdrawn.

The council was seeking to CPO a total of 20 acres: 17.41 acres from the Killaloe Diocesan Trust and 2.6 acres from local landowner, Peter Anthony Liddy.

After the CPO was first published, the Diocesan Trust sold the site as part of a 35-acre plot to Crystal Partners Ltd, which is operated by Ennis businessmen, Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan.

Prior to the CPO going to hearing in September of last year, the council withdrew the CPO after negotiations

with the parties resulted in the council

agreeing to purchase a greater site than

the 20-acre site – it has now agreed to

purchase 23.86 acres.

As a result of the larger portion of

land now purchased, the Killaloe Di-

ocesan Trust has sold, according to a

spokesman, “a very small portion of

land” to the council that was not within

the original CPO area.

The council in response to a Freedom

of Information Act request from The

Clare People confirmed that €6.83

million has been paid for the site,

though declined to state how much has

been paid to each landowner. tronics sub-supply companies located in the Shannon region. Since being incorporated as a limited liability company in 1999, SNS has introduced a number of initiatives aimed at reinforcing the Shannon region’s position as a world-class source of sub-supply products and services.

According to Maurice McLernon, Chairperson of SNS, “The Pallet Exchange is designed to benefit all sub-supply companies in the region, regardless of size or activity. The uptake so far has been very encouraging and is indicative of the benefits of collaborative networks.”

Further information on The Pallet Exchange is available on www.snshannon.com. Companies wishing to participate in The Pallet Exchange should contact Dick Whelan at 061329744/086-8198188 or email dw@almir.biz.

CLARE County Council has expressed “serious reservations” over plans to construct a €50 million retail park on the outskirts of Clarecastle.

Earlier this year, Galway developer Stephen Harris unveiled a €50 million master-plan for a series of developments on a 48-acre site near the village of Clarecastle.

The 48-acre site was purchased last year from Clarecastle man JJ McCabe for over €18 million and is zoned commercial under the 2003 Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

Now the council has requested a raft of further information on the scheme, and has expressed serious concern at the retail impact of the development, its impact on traffic flows and volumes in the area and on the flooding regimes of the area.

The council points out that the Retail Impact Assessment (RIA) fails to take into account several other retail developments, including the Curley Development, Kilrush Rd, the Westgate Development, Kilrush Rd, a retail warehousing plan for Shannon and Clonroadmore Business Park.

The council has also requested Mr Harris to factor in the Gort Road mixed-use development in Ennis and the proposed Lyne/Connellan retail development south of Ennis.

The authority points out that, in the layout for the current development, little effort has been made to avoid areas of ecological value and the main fen area will be impacted directly.

“Within the overall 48-acre site, it would be possible, through the consideration of alternatives, to avoid major habitat losses.”

The council says that a comprehensive flood risk assessment for the entire area development and surrounding areas is required and should be based upon supporting detailed data to establish and assess these risks.

Plans lodged to Clare County Council by Mr Harris show a retail warehouse park, a motor sales village, a travel lodge hotel, drivethru restaurants, storage and distribution, and a petrol station for the 48-acre site at Skehanagh, Clarecastle.

Planning permission is only being sought for the retail park at this time in the south-east quadrant of the site.

CLARE farming leader, Joe Carrick, has called for stiffer sanctions to be put in place against people who break the speed limit – including a system of fines based on income.

The Clare Macra na Feirme president also called for a graduated licence system which would only allow inexperienced drivers behind the wheel during daylight hours and would place an automatic ban for provisional drivers caught speeding.

“You should be fined in relation to what you earn,” said Mr Carrick. “A fine of €80 can mean the world for some people, but it is nothing at all to others. If you look at business executives, flying around from meeting to meeting, they would put down an €80 fine as a business lunch. It means nothing to them. You only ever have a driving test during the day time. I think that they should have tests at night time, or bring in a licence that only allows inexperienced drivers to drive in daylight hours.”

Speaking after a special road safety workshop organised as part of the Macra National Conference over the weekend, Mr Carrick also called for driving to be introduced as a subject in secondary schools.

“You have to learn from someone and education in schools is the best place to reach everyone. When you first get your provisional licence, you start to learn all of these bad habits. And then you try to lose them again before your test.

“Education would help people not to pick up the bad habits in the first place.

“If you are on a provisional licence and you are caught speeding, I would be in favour of an automatic ban. A car is not a toy, it is a deadly weapon and should be treated as such.”

Macra na Feirme launched a national road safety proposal last week calling for major overhauls to the current system.

“It is a big big problem. If you look at that village last week, there were five people killed out of a village of 200,” continued Mr Carrick. “A minute of madness can cause a lifetime of agony. That village will never get over that tragedy.”

Macra na Feirme have also proposed the introduction of a trainee license, which a person would be required to get before graduating to a provisional. This would involve young drivers only being allowed to drive while accompanied by a qualified driving instructor. After the completion of five lessons, the learner driver would then be eligible to apply for a provisional license.

THE Government’s decision to require Romanians and Bulgarians to gain permits to work in Ireland, even after both countries become full members of the European Community next year, has been described as “offensive” and “discriminatory” by a spokesperson for the Romanian community in Clare.

It is estimated that there are in the region of 200 Romanian nationals living in Clare at present, while the numbers of Bulgarian nationals is believed to be much lower.

“There are about 20,000 Romanian immigrants in Ireland and, while most are located in Dublin, there are thousands all over the country, including in Clare,” said Cezar Gaman of the Romanian Society of Ireland.

“We are quite offended by the decision and we hope that the Government will change its mind. We believe that it is very discriminatory compared to Polish people and people from other countries.

“It is not very realistic in any case because it will be impossible to police.”

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has also criticised the decision, describing it as “politically motivated” and accusing the Government of failing to take account of the positive impact that foreign workers have had on the Irish economy.

“Freedom of movement of workers is one of the key fundamental freedoms for EU citizens,” said a spokesperson for the immigrant council. “It is therefore essential that hard evidence and rational policies inform fundamental decisions such as the right of EU citizens to work in Ireland.”