The Clare People Archive

SHANNON-based charter airline Eirjet has confirmed it will continue to attempt to secure funding in an effort to save the cash-strapped company, after it voluntarily suspended all its flight operations last Wednesday.

It’s thought that the ailing company needs a cash injection of €5 million following the collapse of a €20 million leasing deal in Indonesia.

A rescue plan is due to be submitted to shareholders and directors this week.

Eirjet was issued with a 10-day “temporary licence” by the Commission for Aviation Regulation on Tuesday last amid fears that the airline would cease operations before the end of the month. Eirjet, however, cancelled all flights the following day.

A company spokesman said, “We have voluntarily suspended all flights so as to minimise inconvenience to the public. We are endeavouring to secure further financial support to try and save the company and remain in negotiations with the Commission for Aviation Regulation. We are in very difficult financial circumstances at the moment. We have ceased operations but we have not ceased trading.”

The Commission for Aviation Regulation issued a temporary air carrier licence to Eirjet that will expire on Friday October 27 next. But the commission was reluctant to give any details about the move and would only confirm that it had been notified by the airline that it was “not in a position to fulfil its current obligations to its tour operator clients.”

A spokesperson for one of the airlines customers, Falcon Holidays, confirmed, “Our summer season has come to an end and we only have one flight programme with Eirjet for the 06/07 winter holiday period and that is to our new destination Cape Verde. We are monitoring developments regarding Eirjet’s future plans. As far as our summer 2007 schedule, we are in negotiations with a number of airlines at the moment.”

Eirjet commenced operations in 2004 with an inaugural flight to Agadir using an Airbus A320 jet. Another two aircraft were added in summer 2005 to cater for flights from Cork and Shannon while the airline acquired a fourth jet in July of this year.

A SHANNON man has been awarded €45,000 after it was found that he was unfairly dismissed from his job for allegedly falsifying an expenses claim.

Pat Clune of Cronin Gardens in Shannon took his case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal after being fired from his post of 25 years at SPS International Ltd in Shannon Industrial Estate.

The tribunal learned that Clune was given €400 by management to take visitors and some of his own colleagues out for a meal and drinks in December 2002. But after the meal, one of the visitors paid the bill.

After being presented with an expenses sheet to fill out, Clune documented having spent €300 on a meal and €150 on drinks. Management became aware that there was a rumour that Clune had not paid for the meal and Clune was called to a meeting.

Company witnesses told the tribunal that Clune did not “come clean” about the situation and later said that the group had gone to a lap dancing club for which he could not produce receipts.

He later repaid €140 to the company.

Clune said that he had not been asked before to fill out an expenses form, nor did he get an opportunity to refute the allegations.

The tribunal found in his favour on the grounds that the company did not carry out a full and detailed investigation and that the employers treated Clune differently after evidence from another employee that he did not have to complete a claim form after travelling on company business.

CLARE TD Síle de Valera is standing over a statement made last February that she would not vacate her junior ministry at the Department of Education until December.

The Minister of State, who last November announced she would retire from politics at the next election, will not say however on what date she will stand down.

Several young politicians are in line for her coveted position in the run up to a General Election, but the front runner is believed to be son of the late controversial Taoiseach Charles J Haughey – Sean Haughey.

Minister de Valera had promised to go by the year’s end after the Taoiseach declared at the beginning of 2006 that there was a tradition in Fianna Fail that TDs not standing in the next election passed on their ministerial position. Minister de Valera said the time of departure had been decided when she told the Taoiseach of her retirement.

She said she “had a job of work to do” and “intended on completing it”.

The Dáil is due to rise on December 15 and if the minister decides to resign in the latter part of the month, her replacement could not be formally appointed until the Dáil next sits on January 3.

Síle de Valera was first elected to the Dáil in 1977, and has represented the Clare constituency since 1987 She has already outlined her plans to write her memoirs and study for a PhD on her retirement.

EXTRA difficulties are being imposed on the public due to Clare County Council departments being dispersed around Ennis.

That’s according to North Clare Councillor Martin Lafferty (Ind), who has claimed it is now harder than ever to deal with the council.

Clare County Council currently has its offices and departments spread out at locations around Ennis, while work continues on a permanent home on New Road.

In requesting a progress report on the likely completion date, Cllr Lafferty (Ind) said the current situation made it very inconvenient for the public and public representatives alike, to work with the council departments.

“I understand that the new building will be completed on time, but I want to get across the inconvenience this is causing. Anyone trying to deal with the council is experiencing extreme difficulty on account of the heavy traffic flows around Ennis”

According to County Manager Alec Fleming, construction work on a new home for the council should be completed on time and on budget by November 2007 Mr Fleming also revealed that the council was spending €83,000 renting temporary accommodation and said the costs were in no way excessive.

“We have signed a contract for €83,000. Some of the buildings are on lease from Shannon Development and this is a very reasonable agreement. As for the new building, we are on target and expect work to be completed on time”

THE break down in the Ennis town water supply, which led to the discovery of ecoli and colifrom bacteria in tap water tests last week, could happen in any water supply and there are no guarantees it will not happen again.

That’s according to Ennis Town Engineer Tom Tiernan, who said that giving a guarantee that a similar problem would not happen again was like guaranteeing that the town would not flood.

“We cannot predict the future but we are confident we are moving in the right direction,” he said.

The €2 million interim temporary filtration system installed during the summer was turned off when power returned to the system after an outage in the Drumcliff area.

The council was forced to revert to the old system, which was the subject of ongoing boil notices when cryptosporidium was discovered in the supply.

Mr Tiernan said the interim system has been up and running for the past few months and running well.

“As with any new plant there are teething problems. It takes a while to fine tune any new plant. When it is put in place quickly it does not help.”

He said, “practically all of the problem had passed through the system when the notice was called.”

The water was further analysed and tested during the weekend and all results returned have been clear for any harmful bacteria.

“The boil notice remains in place however as protocol dictates that a number of consecutive clear analyses must be returned before it is removed.

The HSE and the two local authorities will work together to decide when it is safe to drink the water without boiling again.

Consumers of the Ennis Public Water Supply should also boil the water for drinks made with water (including Baby Feeds), food preparation, brushing of teeth and making ice.

They are advised that water filters should not be used as substitute for boiling.

ORTHODONTIC consultants in private practice have been accused of “driving parents to use their service” by preventing delivery of adequate orthodontics through the public sector.

Speaking in the Seanad, Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley said for a number of years it had been “recognised that there has been an effort by consultants in private practice to drive parents to use their services.

“They are using a dominant position to prevent the delivery of the service through the public service,” he said.

“That is a pity, particularly with the pressures on parents of teenage children. It is right that the State should have a proper and coherent policy on orthodontics.

“We are aware of the difficulties young people have at that vulnerable age.

Their physical appearance is most important to them,” he added.

‘”Parents are obliged to pay large fees to private consultants.”

Last week The Clare People revealed that teenagers in Clare were waiting up to five years for essential orthodontist services; while those considered less serious were forced to go private or not have their teeth treated at all.

Almost a third of the teenage population of the county require orthodontic treatment.

The HSE Mid West Consultant Orthodontist Ted McNamara has left the responsibility for the backlog squarely at the door of the Department of Health and Children and what he describes as vested interests in the dental profession.

He said parents were often told that if their child was a less serious case they should consider going private as the wait in the public sector was now so long they might never be seen.

The startling figures released by the consultant may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Many parents feel pressured into an expensive move to the private sector, but the figures for those waiting for the public service is distorted as patients are removed from the public list once they decide to go private.

Mr McNamara last week addressed members of Clare County Council and called for the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children 2005 to be implemented immediately.

Some of the recommendations included a return to the system used in the nineties, which saw dentists trained to assist the Orthodontists in routine check ups, therefore speeding up the process.

AER LINGUS has strongly urged its shareholders to spurn the Ryanair’s take-over offer for the airline.

In a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange less than 24 hours after the publication of the offer document by Ryanair, John Sharman, Chairman of Aer Lingus said the offer from Ryanair was “without merit”.

Workers at Aer Lingus Shannon – who are among the staff whose jobs are under threat should Ryanair take over the airline – are today anxiously awaiting the shareholders’ answer to the Ryanair offer.

The statement said that Aer Lingus would “formally respond in detail when it issues its response setting out the views of the participating directors on the offer within the next 14 days”.

But the offer may well run into trouble in trying to secure the shares held under the Aer Lingus Employee Share Option Scheme Trustee Ltd (ESOP), despite offering €2.80 per share when the shares were floated at €2.20.

Ryanair’s claim that the average payment to staff would be €60,000 is being challenged by Aer Lingus, who say that €31,000 would be a more realistic figure.

Meanwhile, ESOP said that it has asked its advisers to review Ryanair’s offer document.

The ESOP said it would make no further comment on the offer document until after it had time to consider the views of its advisers.

In its takeover offer yesterday, Ryanair said it was offering €500m to the Government for its shareholding and a total of €220m to members of the airline’s employee trust.

MORE than 200 pupils of Seamount College in Kinvara will take part in a silent march this morning, October 24, which will see them walk from the school to the Kinvara Post Office to post letters begging for their school to be saved.

The letters, which are individually hand written by each the students, are addressed to the Sisters of Mercy head office in Ballinasloe, who announced the winding down of the school last week. A new board of management for the school was due to be appointed on October 14, but the Sisters of Mercy revealed last week that they intended to introduce a manager to oversee the phased closure of the school instead.

“We have two main objections at the moment,” said Jane Joyce of newly formed organisation Retain Education at Seamount College United (RESCUE).

“We really feel that we need an intake of students in 2007, or we are in real trouble. If we miss one year, people will lose confidence in the school. Our next step is to re-instigate the board of management. They are needed now more than ever.”

Parents have appealed to the Department of Education to intervene in the dispute and RESCUE are hopeful of organising a meeting with the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, in the next few weeks.

“The students all wrote personal letters to the sisters,” continued Ms Joyce.

“They wrote them all themselves, not prompted by us. They say how fearful and panicked they are about it. They are begging the sisters to let them stay.”

ILLEGAL fireworks are wasting the resources of the lifeboat crews along the western coast, as their bright lights are often mistaken for distress flares.

The crew of Kilrush’s RNLI Rose West Inshore Lifeboat have been the latest victims of a false alarms.

Lifeboat Press Officer Charles Glynn told The Clare People that false alarms associated with fireworks were prevalent this time of year.

“It is a tricky situation as once the call comes in, the station is given the option to go out or decide if it is a false alarm.”

The Lifeboat PRO said that to date the Kilrush RNLI has reacted to 100 per cent of the calls by launching the lifeboat and carrying out a detailed search of the area.

Late on Sunday week last, the crew were contacted by the Irish Coast Guard following reported sightings of a white distress flare located between Glin Pier, Co. Limerick and Colman’s Point, Labasheeda on the Shannon Estuary.

Lifeboat Operations Manager, John Lamb said, “This is the third time that Kilrush lifeboat has responded to reported sightings of distress flares in the Glin/Ballylongford area and it is a cause for concern if unauthorised use of fireworks results in the waste of search and rescue resources.”

Both Mr Lamb and Mr Glynn said it was important however that all cases be reported.

Mr Glynn said that while most distress flares were red in colour with a parashoot attached to slow their landing, some of the flares on older boats were still white in colour.

He said that while most sailors and boat enthusiasts carried mobile phones and VHS for alerting the authorities in case of an emergency, flares were only used in extreme cases.

He said once a call reached the lifeboat station the crew preferred to err on the side of caution, but false alarms tied up a lot of its resources as up to ten people could be used in any one call out.

He said to date the majority of the “firework” false alarms had come from the North Limerick and Kerry area.

New legislation was introduced this year to put an end to such “displays”. Under the new laws those accused of misusing fireworks in public can face a €100,000 fine or a jail term, with those found guilty of smuggling fireworks into the State for sale, likely to face prison.

There is also a €10,000 fine for possessing fireworks.

THE Health Service Executive in the mid west has sought funding to replace what ambulance staff have described as “obsolete” cardiac equipment but can only do so when the money is made available.

The HSE had been accused by ambulance staff of being “slow” or “reluctant” to replace portable defibrillators. The executive has already admitted that some of its older cardiac equipment cannot be upgraded to meet the recent changes to international resuscitation guidelines.

Emergency Medical Technicians have claimed that defibrillators on board ambulances across the mid west are up to ten years old and are not in line with the recently introduced codes from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

“All these defibrillators need to be replaced because the software in the older machines cannot be upgraded to meet the new guidelines. As it is, if we are shocking a patient we have to switch off the defibrillator in the middle of the treatment and start it up again. It is a disgrace,” one EMT has claimed.

“All we want is to have the same standard of equipment as other ambulance services have had for years. We know that our colleagues in Cork, Dublin and the south east all have the most up-to-date defibrillators but with the machines we have, we can’t provide optimal care to the patient,” another Emergency Technician said.

Staff accept however that the money is simply not available in the mid west but say it must be provided from somewhere.

The HSE (Mid-West) said it had some equipment which couldn’t be upgraded with new software to meet the recent changes to the ILCOR guidelines. However, they had been advised by their suppliers that the current equipment could be configured to facilitate the recommended two minute interval between each defibrillation. In future, cardiac monitoring/defibrillation equipment will be purchased nationally on a phased basis in accordance with the national procurement policy and through national procurement.

The HSE spokesperson confirmed that submissions had been made for funding and the defibrillators would be replaced when that funding was made available. Asked whether it was a case of the money not been made available from HSE head office or the Department of Health, the HSE spokesman said the ambulance service had to work within its budget.