The Clare People Archive

AFTER making the single biggest tax settlement in the history of the State, Clareman Dylan Creaven will this week be allowed to return to his €800,000 home in Ennis.

The Newmarket-on-Fergus businessman has managed to hold onto his Woodstock mansion, despite having to pay more than €26 million to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in Ireland and the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) in Britain.

In addition to the cash settlement, Creaven (32), was also forced to sign over a villa in Marbella and four race horses, including last year’s Galway Hurdle winner Latino Magic. Indeed Latino Magic’s victory in the €79,000 McDonagh Handicap came while the horse was being leased from Garda control by trainer Robbie Osbourne.

An agreement was reached in the High Court to split all winnings received from the horses between trainer Osbourne and the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The other horses seized by the Garda were Moon at Midnight, Lafayette and La Mandrigola.

Along with the Ennis property, Creaven had also managed to hold on to property in the Knightsbridge District of London, worth in excess of €2 million and several million Euro in cash.

The former owner of Silicon Technologies in Shannon was acquitted of a £14 million VAT fraud by a London court last year. He has been the subject of a number of investigations on both sides of the Irish Sea in the last four years and spent more than a year Wandsworth Prison awaiting trial.

Creaven was initially accused of defrauding the British taxpayer to the tune of £162 million but was eventually charged and acquitted on charges relating to just £14 million.

He was accused of operating a ‘carousel’ scheme, by repeatedly charging VAT to high value customers but not declaring this to British revenue. This investigation was part of a much longer but failed £2 billion revenue investigation in Britain involving hundreds of business people.

It is believed that Creaven’s legal cost could run to as much as €6 million in total.

Both the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Assets Recovery Agency had sought a full prosecution of Creaven on a number of occasions but the record breaking deal was struck after successive attempts failed to bring a verdict.

CAMPAIGNERS have moved to allay fears of local residents over a proposed homeless hostel in the Ennis area.

Local residents have expressed concern over the proposal, but those in favour have pointed to the excellent track record of the St Vincent de Paul in running such facilities.

The St Vincent de Paul have applied to Clare County Council for the construction of a transitional housing facility for homeless persons at the former site of the Laurel Lodge B&B on the Clare Road. While saying it would be inappropriate to comment on a matter that was still the subject of a planning application, Councillor Joe Arkins (FG) Chairperson of Clare County Council’s Homeless Persons Forum stressed that the St Vincent de Paul had proven experience in running such facilities around the country.

“Earlier this year, members of Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council visited St Patrick’s Hostel, Killree Lodge, Limerick, and were very impressed by the policies and practices that are in place there. It is extremely well run and strives to be a good neighbour in the community”

He said that in view of the experience of the St Vincent de Paul, he was confident the hostel would have no adverse impact on the locality.

Cllr Arkins (FG) added that the type of hostel proposed was designed to find people permanent accommodation as quickly as possible.

“The proposed facility on the Clare Road is not a permanent home for anybody who does not have anywhere to live. It would be run with the view of securing accommodation through the local authority and the outreach system would continue to provide support when people left. The real success of the hostel would be gauged on its non-occupancy levels as opposed to its occupancy levels”.

Consumption of alcohol would not be permitted on or near the vicinity of the premises.

“It should be borne in mind that in many cases there is no link between homelessness and alcohol. People become homeless for many reasons, marriage break up, trauma, unemployment. One of the main reasons is the lack of quality individual accommodation at the lower end of the market”

Locals say they were not adequately consulted with when the project was mooted. They are worried about the potential impact on the community. They have submitted an objection to the proposal which is currently being considered.

AS FIREWORKS continue to plague communities all over Ennis, households have again been reminded to keep pets indoors in the run up to Halloween.

Clare ISPCA Officer, Frank Coote has reminded pet owners to leave their animals indoors at night due to fireworks being let off

He said many more dogs go missing at this time of year than at any other, with recent figures showing that up to 12 dogs a week are reported lost.

“Dogs get frightened and run away but there’s also a risk with cats, horses and cattle. With dogs I would advise people to keep them in and leave the radio on. Dogs on the street don’t seem to mind as much, it’s mainly dogs that have been well-looked after. If they get out they could go for miles. Just because a dog is found in Scariff doesn’t mean it couldn’t have come from Ennis”

In relation to injuries resulting from fireworks and bonfires, Mr Coote said Clare had a good record compared to ther counties.

“Luckily it doesn’t seem to happen as often in Clare as other places. I’ve talked to animal welfare officers in other counties and you hear some real horror stories. There is the issue of bonfires. Kittens are likely to climb into them as they are being made”

Mr Coote also reminded people if they find a lost animal they should report it straight away.

“We are legally obliged to keep animals for five days around this time but we would usually keep them for eight days”

Meanwhile, residents living in the vicinity of St Flannan’s College say the area is being used by gangs of young people to let off fire works.

Fed up residents say noisy fireworks are being let off at night and that large groups are congregating and drinking in the grounds at the weekend.

Fireworks of various descriptions with names like Black Cats, Screamers and Texas Rangers are said to be on sale in the town, with prices ranging from 50c to €20.

The Gardaí have warned they will continue to take a firm stance on anyone caught in possession of fireworks.

Crime Prevention Officer Seargent Joe Downey said,“I would re-iterate what we would have said before and that is that anyone found in possession of illegal fireworks will find themselves in the local district court. People should have more consideration for their neighbours and also for animals”

COMPLETING the N18 GalwayLimerick dual carriageway by 2010, providing a €52 million dedication fund to market the west of Ireland gateway in the US post Open Skies and accelerating RAPID area rejuvenation in rural Clare are just some of the targets set out by the Atlantic Way.

Launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Shannon this week the Atlantic Way aims to promote the Galway-Shannon/Limerick corridor so that it is recognised worldwide as a location for superior quality of life, leading opportunities for creative and challenging work, education and flexible business potential.

The people involved are mainly leaders and decision-makers in business, education, community organisations, local government, voluntary services and community development.

They say they want to bring coherence, co-ordination and a sense of urgency to infrastructural development, excellent technological services, quality employment, lifelong education and quality of life to counties on the western seaboard.

By creating “joined up thinking” between the counties around Limerick, Shannon and Galway it is hoped that the Atlantic Way will create a viable counter pole of economic activity to he Greater Dublin region.

In his address the Taoiseach acknowledged that the BMW region is still some way behind the south and east region.

“Rather than argue about this I prefer to focus on the future,” he added.

He told the Shannon audience that the quality of life and standard of living in the west was “better than anywhere else, so you win out anyway”.

CLARE County Council is facing two legal challenges over claims that it failed to give planning decisions within the eight week time limit.

The news caused anger and demands at last night’s county council meeting for an explanation as to why decisions could be delayed, exposing the authority to expensive legal action.

In answer to a motion he put before the meeting, Councillor PJ Kelly (FF) was told that there were two cases between January 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006, in which it was claimed that the council failed to give a decision on applications within the time limit.

In one of these cases, the applicant exercised his right and went to the High Court demanding permission. It was refused, but that is now being appealed to a higher court.

The second applicant’s High Court case has been “adjourned, pending steps being taken subject to a confidential agreement.”

Cllr Kelly said that there should be “no confidential agreements. If our staff make a mistake, we should be informed about it. And I believe that these mistakes are made because of ad-hockery.”

Cllr Kelly asked that the manager come back and inform him whether there had been any settlements or offers of settlements made in similar planning cases in the same period and to supply details of these.

Cllr Joe Atkins (FG) said that he wanted the file numbers of the two cases made available to all members of the planning authority.

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said that it was the duty of the executive to inform the members of any decision that could cost the local authority money.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) called for a copy of the confidential agreement mentioned in the official response to be made available to the councillors.

County Manager, Alec Fleming, told the meeting that there were in the order of 5,000 applications in the period in question and there were alleged to be problems with just two.

“Planning is not always as straightforward as taking a decision within the eight week period specified. If further information is requested then that has to be dealt with in four weeks and so on.

“We have a very robust system in place for dealing with this, but any kind of fall down is worrying,” he said.

The manager told members that he would have to seek legal advice before responding to many of the queries raise by Cllr Kelly and other members.

CLARE County Council’s Director for Planning, Bernadette Kinsella has said she is satisfied that the decision to grant planning for a home near Lemanagh Castle “was made in a fair and transparent manner”.

The Council has come under fire from An Taisce following An Bord Pleanala’s overturning of planning to Anna Maria Murphy for a home at Lemanagh Castle.

The recommendations of the area planner and the council’s conservation officer to refuse permission were disregarded by Senior Executive Planner, Brian McCarthy after he visited the site at the request of Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) and discussed the application with Senior Planner, Liam Conneally.

Ms Kinsella said that the decision was in accordance with the provisions of the Planning Acts and the Clare County Development Plan.

“In relation to the inspector’s query as to how the reasons for refusal in previous applications have been resolved, it should be noted that this application is on a different site, and is located further from the castle than the previous applications,” she said.

“The council notes that the inspector did not agree that the refusal reasons of public health, scenic amenity or ribbon development attached to the previous applications were relevant in this application.

“It is also noted that the inspector in his planning report on the visual assessment stated that ‘the design and layout of the dwelling is acceptable and will not interfere with, or impact upon, the character, integrity and uniformity of the landscape’.

“The council in making its decision had regard to the 2005 Government Guidelines on ‘Sustainable Rural House Guidelines’ which came into effect in April 2005 and which seek to accommodate persons who are intrinsic members of the local community. In this respect, the planning authority was satisfied that the applicant met the requirements as a local rural worker. An Bord Pleanala has taken a more stringent view on persons qualifying as intrinsic members of the local community. The planning authority notes the precedent set in this regard.

“The council is satisfied that a number of reasons for refusal on previous applications have actually been resolved, contrary to the inspector’s suggestion, and that the circumstances in this case have materially changed thus warranting a fresh assessment. All files relating to decisions made by the planning authority are available for public viewing as are the grounds and reasons upon which the council makes its decision,” she said.

CLARE County Council are hoping that its first successful prosecution for backyard burning will act as a deterrent to up to a fifth of Clare people who dispose of waste in this manner.

Last month the first ever Clare defendant in such a case was fined by Ennis District Court and ordered to pay costs arising out of the incident in the town in March.

The council has described the successful prosecution as a “significant development in Clare County Council’s strategy to reduce backyard burning and other illegal activity involving waste in the county”.

The prosecution followed an incident on March 28 when an estate manager for Ennis Town Council and a litter warden for the same authority observed a fire at the rear of a dwelling in Ennis.

The Waste Management Act 1996 – 2005 states, “a person shall not hold, transport, recover or dispose of waste in a manner that causes or is likely to cause environmental pollution”.

The incident was then referred to the Waste Enforcement Unit of Clare County Council. On September 28, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge at Ennis District Court. The judge fined the defendant €100 together with costs of €580 with 120 days to pay.

According to Betty Devanny, Environment and Emergency Services Directorate, Clare County Council, “In the draft waste management plan for Clare/Limerick/Kerry, it’s estimated that 38 per cent of households do not avail of a waste collection service. It doesn’t necessarily follow that 38 per cent of households are illegally dumping or burning their waste, as an increasing number of people take waste directly to transfer stations and Recycling Centres – this is perfectly legitimate.

“However, estimates still suggest that between 10-20 per cent of waste is being burned, or in some cases illegally dumped,” she said.

Ennis Town Councillor Frankie Neylon said “We have serious issues in parts of Ennis whereby backyard burning is being used by individuals as an alternative to the proper disposal of waste.

“I look forward to seeing Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council making further successful prosecutions in a bid to curb this illegal activity,” Councillor Neylon added.

SHOWJUMPING champion, Cian O’Connor, was in East Clare at the weekend to launch an innovate health and stressbusting programme which is the first of its kind in Europe.

The Olympic showjumper used the Japanese Nikken programme personally in the stressful time he went through after the Olympics and says he found it “invaluable”.

The East Clare Golf Holiday Village, which opened its doors in May of this year, is the first in Europe to have a Nikken Wellness Room Programme.

Nikken produce wellness products which focus on rest and relaxation, fitness, nutrition and environment and they have teamed up with the East Clare sporting retreat.

Guests visiting East Clare Golf Holiday Village will have the opportunity to sleep on the Nikken Kenkopad – lightweight pads that can be laid on a conventional mattress and are specially constructed with magnetic technology and hygienic breathing foam for extra comfort and massaging effect.

The KenkoDream pillow and quilt contain far-infrared technology for balanced temperature control and strategically placed magnets for more restful, invigorating sleep.

Other aspects of the programme are the Nikken PiMag Maxi water filter and the Air Power5, a unique filter that energises the room with fresher, cleaner air that meets the clean air standards applied in scientific laboratories.

The products were introduced to the owners of the East Clare holiday village by another showjumping connection, Kathryn Duffy, wife of show jumper Paul Duffy.

In April 2003, Kathryn Duffy suffered from a clot in her lung, two bleeds in her brain and a stroke which left her without the use of her right side.

To help her recovery, she created a “wellness home” and now says that her son – who used to be hospitalised on average three times a year for asthma – no longer experiences any breathing challenges.

Her daughter Aisling who is 10 years old has never taken an antibiotic and Kathryn puts this all down to the Nikken products.

QUESTIONS have again arisen over the decision to wind down the former Ennis Information Age Services (EIAS) following the circulation of a letter advertising the company AGM.

Last year the decision was taken to wind down EIAS at a cost of €100,000 with the remaining funds of €750,000 distributed to over 50 sporting and community groups around the county. EIAS was established as a subsidiary of the Ennis Information Age Task Force.

However, board members of EIAS have since been notified in a letter that an Annual General Meeting of the company will be held later this month.

Speaking at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Councillor Frankie Neylon (Ind), a former board member of EIAS, queried why the letter had been sent out when the company had already been dissolved.

“I had sought legal advice in relation to EIAS and I was told that it no longer existed and that I was no longer under any obligation to said company. I’ve since got a letter saying that an AGM would be held. The company didn’t exist six months ago and now there is an AGM. I assumed the company has been wound up. Did it disappear and re-invent itself?” he asked.

Tom Coughlan, Town Manger and a former member of the Task Force, said he was reluctant to comment on a document he hadn’t seen.

Speaking this week Cllr Neylon (Ind) said he was disappointed with the legal advice he received at the time.

THE Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) faces an uphill battle to have in place its plans for a €20 million greyhound stadium on the fringes of Limerick city by 2008.

As part of its ambitious plan, the IGB is planning to construct the five storey stadium and a three storey office building at Meelick and will employ 100 people. The proposal is to also include betting facilities, two restaurants and four bars with a dance floor and function areas.

At the time of lodging the plans for the stadium last July, the IGB anticipated that the staidum with a capacity of 3,000 would be in place by 2008.

However, in a submission to Clare County Council, the NRA has indicated that the stadium should not be in place until the €349 million tunnel under the River Shannon is operational in 2010.

As a result, the council has informed the greyhound board that, “it is not favourably disposed towards the proposed development as currently proposed for a number of reasons”.

The council stated that the proposed development was “premature pending the completion and operation” of the Shannon tunnel.

It also stated that the proposed development would, from a road safety point of view, endanger public safety and be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

In relation to the impact the proposed stadium would have on otters, the council requested that a comprehensive survey be repeated and the ecological mitigation measures be reviewed and revised as appropriate in the light of any findings.

The council has also stated that proposals to connect to the Limerick public main and foul sewer are not acceptable and are contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

The board has written to Clare County Council requesting a meeting with council representatives. Following this meeting the board expects to be in a position to respond to the additional information requests in a manner that meets the approval of Clare County Council.