The Clare People Archive

THREE local landowners have opposed plans by Michael Lynch Ltd to construct a road-link to the Ennis bypass that would open almost 60 acres of land for commercial development on the outskirts of the town.

The Lynch project is the latest in a scramble by developers to exploit the commercial opportunities provided by the opening of lands by the €190 million Ennis by-pass.

One of the options put forward for the Lynch lands near Clareabbey is the development of a 42,000 capacity G.A.A. stadium.

The company has lodged an ‘expression of interest’ in the Clare County Board’s search for new stadium and the proposal to provide a new county grounds at Clonroadmore is the focus of the Lynch bid.

However, three landowners, Richard O’Connell, Pat Hynes and Paddy McInerney have come together to oppose the plan on the basis that the development of the distributor road takes no account of their right of access to their lands.

They claim that the proposed distributor road cuts through the existing farm and right of way and makes no allowance for a sustainable access to their lands which are zoned as ‘other settlement’ in the Ennis Development Plan.

The three also point out that the proposed new road would raise land levels around their property.

This week the Council planning department confirmed that the application was invalidated on a technical issue and it was open to the applicants to re-submit their application. It is understood that the company has now opted to re-submit their plans.

The proposed development of a 1.5 km long single-carriageway is to connect the Clonroadmore industrial estate where the Lynch company headquareers is based and the western relief route of the Ennis by-pass.

One option put forward by the company is the development of the stadium along with a 70 bedroom hotel, gym, all-weather pitch offices, conference centre, 240 houses, a public park around Clareabbey as well as a train stop and park and ride facilities.

Another option involves the development of 400 residential units, retail warehousing, a public park around Clareabbey along with the train stop and park n ride facilities.

However, before any of these scenarios can be contemplated, the company has to secure planning permission for the road and it points out that this is a key objective of the Ennis Development Plan.

WORDS of caution have been issued in relation to the latest political poll in the county.

Among its critics is Councillor Joe Carey (FG) who polled just seven per cent of the first preference votes in Ennis (five per cent in the constituency), despite topping the poll in the county town in the last local election.

“There was an over-emphasis in this poll on Shannon. Both Shannon and Ennis were coupled together as an individual polling area, thus diminishing the influence of the Ennis vote,” he said.

“Given the fact that Ennis and its environs is by far the biggest population area in the constituency, with over 30,000 people, one has to question the validity of such a poll.”

“Because Ennis was not given a proper weighting, this poll dramatically underestimated my vote. As an Ennis-based candidate I was put at a disadvantage. The same can be said of the Green Party candidate, Brian Meaney,” he said.

“It’s not the first time TG4’s poll was way off the mark, as evidenced by the poll which was conducted before the 2002 General Election,” he added.

While believing that the poll showed her “well positioned to win a second seat for Fine Gael” in Clare, Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn was equally cautious of the poll’s finding.

She said when last TG4 sampled her support – just two years ago on the eve of the European Elections – they underestimated her actual vote on the day by 50 per cent. She added that, in recent years, for various reasons, Irish political polls had become less accurate and required a wider margin of error.

“A final point I will make is that even when it is viewed with appropriate caution, the TG4 poll casts in a rather peculiar light the last poll published in the county just a fortnight ago,” she said.

Deputy Pat Breen, who according to the poll will retain his seat, said “With four candidates in the field, there was bound to be fragmentation of that first preference vote, which will make the gaining of a second seat all the more difficult. I have always stated that my preference was for two or three candidates seeking to regain two seats in the county.”

Meanwhile, Deputy James Breen said he was happy with his showing but said the only poll that matters was the one on the day of the election.

FIANNA Fáil is maintaining the support of more than a third of the people in its traditional stronghold of Clare, while Fine Gael has 18 per cent of the vote.

According to the most recent poll taken in the county between September 18 and October 2, 35 per cent of the electorate said they would vote for the party, with 18 per cent opting to give their first preference vote to Fine Gael. 22 per cent were undecided, four per cent opted to support the Green Party, three pre cent Sinn Fein and three Labour.

When asked to give votes to particular candidates however, Fianna Fáil’s first preference vote increased to 42 per cent and Fine Gael’s to 33 per cent.

According to the TNS/MRBI poll for TG4, Minister of State Tony Killeen would top the poll with a surplus of five per cent, a marked increase on his 2002 outing when he received 16.32 per cent of the number ones on offer.

He received a quarter of the first preference vote in the poll of 500 people.

Not surprisingly the junior minister received 30 per cent of the first preference vote in the Corofin, Ennistymon and Ballyvaughan area. He also received 29 per cent of the vote in the Ennis area, which for the poll included Shannon and Sixmilebridge, and 25 per cent of the number ones in what is considered Timmy Dooley land – Meelick, Tulla, Scariff.

Independent James Breen who topped the poll in the last election harnessed a strong first preference vote again -18 per cent – in areas similar to Killeen.

He received 22 per cent of the first preference vote in the Ennis/Shannon area and in North Clare, while he polled ahead of Killeen in the west.

The survey outlined the west as Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen’s stronghold, with 26 per cent of the KilrushKildysart vote.

He also polled well in east Clare at 15 per cent, but showed just seven per cent of the vote in Ennis and Shannon.

Senator Brendan Daly is, according to the poll, the most likely to take the seat vacated by Síle deValera.

Not surprisingly, Daly’s stronghold is in the west, where he polls 20 per cent of the vote, six per cent behind Pat Breen.

The senator is also strong in east Clare at 18 per cent and in north Clare at 11 per cent. If he is to secure the fourth seat with ease, he will have to build his support in the urban areas of Ennis and Shannon, where he showed a first preference vote of just five per cent.

Former Mayor of Shannon Tony Mulcahy received eight per cent of the first preference vote polling ahead of colleagues Madeleine Taylor Quinn on seven per cent and Joe Carey on five per cent of the vote. Brian Meaney (GP) showed at 6 per cent first preference.

Mulcahy received 17 per cent of the vote in Ennis/Shannon, but got no vote in the west . The poll shows that a lot of his votes were personal with just 48 per cent transferring.

FÁILTE Ireland have given Clare County Council the green light to develop and implement the €1.4 million tourism management plan for the Burren.

The three-year scheme aims at improving the regions infrastructure by using new technologies such as touch screen digital information kiosks.

The plan will also incorporate the development of themed walking routes and the promotion of entry points to the Burren at five locations.

The project is entitled “Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative” and is the first time that the local authority and community groups have come together to plan for the future of the region.

Organisations such as Burrenbeo Teo, the Heritage Council and the North Clare Local Area Network have come together with Clare County Council and Shannon Development in planning this project.

“The Burren Region is long recognised as one of Europe’s most important landscapes due to the wealth and diversity of its natural and cultural heritage,” said Tomás Mac Conmara, Acting Heritage Officer with Clare County Council.

“It’s feared, however, that the unmanaged expansion of tourism in the Burren may potentially threaten the very resource on which the region depends. The Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative project has been initiated in response to this threat.”

CAIRDE Chuan Chinn Mhara (CCCM) are to put forward a candidate to fight next year’s General Election because they have “lost all faith” in the Government’s willingness to complete the promised €3 million sewage scheme for the Kinvara area The Clare People can reveal.

The identity of the candidate is likely to be decided upon at a meeting of CCCM in two weeks time, but the organisation confirmed yesterday that the candidate would be one of the ten people currently sitting on it’s committee.

“This is really an act of desperation at this stage,” said Stan Mac Eoin of CCCM. “We feel that we really have no choice now but to go down this path. Raw sewage is being pumped into Kinvara Bay every day. The ecoli count is huge and the sailing club have been told that it would be very dangerous if any sailor or child fell into the water.”

The campaign to construct a sewage treatment facility in Kinvara has been ongoing for the last 19 years. Funding for the project was announced in 2003, with details for the plant being submitted to the Department of the Environment in February of that year.

The project stalled at this point, however, with no progress being made until June of 2005 when the department referred the plans back to Galway County Council for modifications. To date, no further movement has been made by either organisation.

“CCCM has lost faith in the political process and the ability and will of politicians, both national and local, to provide sewerage treatment for Kinvara,” read a statement from CCCM. “Our experience in lobbying for a treatment plant for more than a decade reveals, we believe, a deeper malaise at the heart of Irish politics.”

CCCM believe that a lack of political will is at fault for holding up the project and are hopeful that they would stand a good chance of having a candidate elected.

“The frustration level is huge in Kinvara about the continued delay of this project,” continued Mr Mac Eoin. “We have been told that we are fifth in the priority list in the county but it’s hard to imagine anywhere that could be worse than this.”

This move could be more bad news for Fianna Fáil who currently hold two of four seats in the constituency. The Kinvara candidate could increase the pressure on Deputy Noel Treacy (FF) who polled the lowest of all elected candidates in the 2002 election.

FIGURES released by Clare County Council show that it cost more than €15,000 to send a five-strong Council delegation to the Milwaukee Irish Festival last August.

The delegation, which was led by Mayor of Clare, Councillor Flan Garvey (FF), included the Council’s recently appointed PR consultant, Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Public Relations and three officials.

The figures show that €7,840 covered the flight and accommodation costs for Cllr Garvey and the three Council officials, Cliffs of Moher visitor centre Director, Kathrine Webster, paid for her own flight to the US.

The former Head of News at Clare FM was paid €2,470 for work before, after and during the Milwaukee trip; €2,197 covered his flight and accommodation and €550 went towards subsistence. The flights and accommodation were paid by the Council through the Clare Tourist Council.

According to Mark Dunphy, the agreed fee covered a service provided for the local authority over a three-week period. This work included the production of three radio documentaries on the Council’s visit which were subsequently broadcast on Clare FM; seven press releases which received local, national and international coverage; promotional work for Clare County Council at the Festival site; and the organisation of radio interviews at local, national and international level.

Mayor Garvey said the cost of the trip “offered very good value for the Council. It was the biggest Irish promotional event in the world and it was imperative that the Council had a presence there.

“There is proof that it has paid dividends with a number of choirs visiting Clare, while the Minister for Tourism in Nova Scotia has called for direct flights from Nova Scotia to Shannon. These are the direct benefits that I have proof of, but I’m sure there are others I am not aware of.

“There are hotels from Ireland spending a lot of money promoting their businesses, but we are promoting all of Clare. The value of the trip for Clare is undoubted and we had to be there.”

According to a press release issued by Mr Dunphy, over 3,000 tourists are expected to visit Clare via Shannon Airport over the coming months as a result of a tourism promotion drive launched in Milwaukee.

At the annual festival, an estimated 135,000 festival goers were offered discounted airfares to Shannon from Boston,Chicago and New York.

LISCANNOR is to be featured in the first episode of a new RTÉ regional and community affairs programme, Pobal .

The bi-lingual programme, presented by Síle Seoige, offers communities around the country the opportunity to tell their own stories in their own way from their own localities.

The first report will feature some of Liscannor’s locals on an issue which is becoming a problem in the community, the imbalance between a declining population and the increase in the numbers of holiday homes.

The access television segment, called ‘Guth an Phobail’, is unique in Irish broadcasting history as each week it give one community the opportunity to talk about issues that are important in their own area.

The aim of the programme is to take a fresh look at what people are talking about in the four corners of Ireland and the first in the series will highlight an issue important to the residents of Liscannor.

Locals interviewed for the programme include Councillor Martin Conway (FG) who talks about how a cull is needed on further holiday home development in the village in the light recent census results showing a fall in the population. Local publican, Patrick Egan, talks of his fear for the future of the village as land prices soar and locals are priced out of the market.

Pobal will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Sunday’s at 5.30pm from October 15.

THE Health Service Executive in the mid west has denied that it has refused to replace “obsolete cardiac equipment”, but has confirmed that it has some defibrillators which cannot be upgraded to meet the recent changes to international resuscitation guidelines.

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in the mid west 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.

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 medic said.

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

“We accept that this is not the fault of our own service. The money is just not being provided to the ambulance service in the mid west. Money has to be made available from the department or somewhere, so that we can also have the proper equipment we require to adequately care for the public,” a technician said.

EMT’s claim they are operating machines which used to be serviced only once a year. Now though, because they are so old, equipment needs to be serviced four or five times annually.

The HSE (Mid-West) has confirmed, “The ambulance service has not informed staff that cardiac defibrillators would not be replaced. We currently have some equipment which unfortunately cannot be upgraded with new software to meet the recent changes to the ILCOR guidelines.

However, we have been advised by our suppliers that the current equipment can be configured to facilitate the two minute interval between defibrillations as recommended by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).”

THE Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) has generated over €30 million in revenues from the 250,000 US troops that have passed through the airport in the first nine months of this year.

However, the figures for the third quarter of 2006 show that there has been a drop of 49 per cent in troops numbers on the corresponding period for 2005.

This follows the withdrawal of the main carrier of troops, World Airways at the end of June. The airline decided to transfer its operations to Leipzig, Germany.

The SAA yesterday confirmed that 250,220 have passed through Shannon to the end of September. Last year was a record one for Shannon, with 340,688 troops using the airport’s facilities.

It is estimated that the 250,220 troops have produced revenues of €30.8 million for the SAA this year.

However, figures for the third quarter of this year show that 41,146 troops used Shannon, compared to 81,371 troops for the corresponding period in 2005.

The figures show that 11,670 troops passed through Shannon in July; 16,770 in August and 12,706 in September.

Meanwhile, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) confirmed that it is to meet with unions in Limerick next Wednesday (11th oct) under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commissions (LRC) in a renewed bid to kick-start talks on the future of Shannon Airport.

SHANNON Development has said that tenants who rent space from them can “conduct their business as they see fit” despite the involvement of two of its former client companies in separate multi-million Euro fraud probes in recent years.

Last week, Clare businessman Dylan Creaven, who ran his company from a Shannon Development subsidised unit in Ennis, paid over €26 million to the Criminal Assets Bureau and the British Asset’s Recovery Agency.

Another company, Smyth Aerospace Ltd, which was raided by gardaí and FBI agents in 2000, also operated its business from a unit owned by Shannon Development.

Shannon Development has declined to comment specifically on the activities of Creaven’s Silicon Technologies or Smyth Aerospace Ltd while they were tenants of the development agency and would only say: “If a client complies with the conditions of tenancy then we must observe their rights as tenants to conduct their business as they see fit.”

While Silicon Technologies Europe Ltd, operated sales offices in Europe, the US and in Asia, its headquarters were based at the Clare Business Centre at Francis Street in Ennis, where Creaven rented two units from Shannon Development.

Silicon Technologies did not however receive any grant funding from the development agency during that time.

Silicon Technologies’ reported turnover for the year 2000/2001 was €416 million in respect of its Irish operation.

Creaven was paying less than £80 a week for the units in Ennis where he employed six people.

Company founder Creaven was arrested on November 19 2002 following a joint British-Irish investigation codenamed “Operation Chipstick”.

Creaven faced two charges of conspiracy to defraud the public revenue of stg£14m.

He spent eleven and half months on remand at Wandsworth Prison but was acquitted on all charges against him in May 2005.

In October 2000, gardaí assisted the FBI when they raided a premises in Shannon also owned by Shannon Development, as part of an investigation into a multi million Euro aircraft parts fraud.

The US authorities had alleged that Joseph Patrick Smyth Jnr was the leader of a criminal enterprise.

The US authorities had sought his extradition from Ireland last year. However Smyth has since fled to France.

Smith’s sons, Joseph Patrick Smyth (III), aged 43, and Thomas Edward Smyth, 39, both of whom lived in Ennis for several years, have already been sentenced to five years probation each in a U.S. court for their part in the fraud.