The Clare People Archive

THE chairman of the Regional Health Forum West, made up of local representatives from the west of Ireland, including Clare, will have to elect a new chairman later today when it returns from its summer recess.

In a shock move, chairman of the forum, Sligo councillor Aidan Colleary (FF) resigned the chair, the first ever in the history of the HSE to do so.

The HSE west has a history of firsts. It was also the first of these groups ever to meet in the new look health service.

It is unknown why the Fianna Fáil councillor resigned the position mid-term, but he is to remain part of the forum.

He was supported in his nomination to head up the HSE forum by Clare Councillors Pat Daly (FF) and Bill Chambers (FF).

The deputy chair, Cllr Kieran Walsh from Limerick will lead the meeting today, and his first order of business will be to elect a replacement for Colleary.

The Fianna Fáil/Labour coalition in the HSE forum is likely to return another Fianna Fáil councillor to the chair.

The Regional Health Forum, West meetings take place every two months in Galway.

The meetings are marketed as a way for county and town councillors to bring local health issues to the HSE executive.

The other two Clare representatives on the HSE forum are Fine Gael councillor Joe Cooney and Green Party councillor Brian Meaney.

THE Mayor of Kilrush this week threatened to vacate his office if councillors did not conduct the monthly meeting in an orderly fashion.

In a highly charged meeting, after which one councillor claimed there was “a ploy” to remove the female members from the authority, Mayor Stephen O’ Gorman (FF) told councillors, “If ye don’t follow standards, we won’t have a council or you certainly won’t have me as mayor.”

The mayor made the threat after he refused to allow any further discussion on a proposed amendment to the minutes of the July meeting.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) had asked that a heated exchange between herself and Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) in July be included.

“Cllr Prendeville referred to matters on traffic management that were not even on the agenda. He also made numerous comments which I felt were personal and, on requesting that he return to the agenda, he continued with his badgering,” Cllr McMahon Jones said.

The Fine Gael councillor was also critical

of the mayor’s handing of that meeting, say ing she requested that he would, “not allow such badgering again, and instead of taking control of the situation he actually added his own views.”

Cllr O’Gorman refused to allow other councillors to comment on the minutes, which were proposed and seconded by Cllr Prendeville and Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind).

In a statement afterwards, Cllr Deirdre Culligan (Ind) said “if the badgering that went on at the July meeting is a ploy to get me or Cllr McMahon Jones out of here, you (Cllr Prendeville) are sadly disillusioned.”

“The day of women being full time in the kitchen is gone and, if you can’t take the heat, I recommend that maybe it should be you that gets out of the kitchen, because I am here for the long haul.”

The councillor, who was not at the July meeting, said she made her apologies in advance.

“That was the time for Cllr Prendeville to state if he had a problem with me, but he decided to wait and speak about me in my absence,” she said.

Cllr Prendeville reacted by saying, “This is typical of the negative attitude adopted by Cllr Culligan since she came into the council. In my opinion, she has contributed little or nothing to the positive development in Kilrush Town Council in the last two years.”

SEVEN men charged in connection with a serious disturbance in Ennis last May will face further charges.

The seven – six of them from Limerick and one from Ennis – were charged following a serious public order incident in the town, in the early hours of May 3 last.

The seven are Alan (20) and Luke (22) O’Brien, of Castleview Estate, Newcastlewest; John O’Brien (18) of 13, Ash Crescent, Newcastlewest; Michael Qulligan (21) of Knockane Road, Newcastlewest; William Kavanagh (18) of 12 Castleview, Newcastlewest; and a young person from Newcastlewest.

The seventh accused is Bernie Mongan (18) of Clancy Park, Ennis. All are charged under the Public Order Act.

Inspector Kevin Moynihan told Ennis District Court last Friday that the charges arose out of a serious disturbance on O’Connell Street, Ennis. “Further charges will be brought,” he said, and asked for an adjournment until next month.

Solicitor Daragh Hassett, who represented a number of the accused men, said some time had elapsed since the alleged incident.

Inspector Moynihan said, “This was a very serious disturbance, which requires a lot of Garda investigations. A lot of resources are involved. We are working as fast as we can.”

Judge Angela Ní Chondúin said, “I appreciate that, but I won’t wait forever.”

Mr Hassett asked that any further charges be brought on the next occasion and Inspector Moynihan said he would be confident that they would be.

A 19-YEAR-OLD Ennis man has appeared in court, charged in connection with a robbery of a shop in Liscannor earlier this month.

Christopher Donovan, of Clancy Park, Ennis, appeared before Lisdoonvarna District Court last Wednesday morning, facing two charges.

He is accused of entering Kitty Barry’s shop, Main Street, Liscannor, as a trespasser, and stealing €2,000 in cash, on September 9 last, contrary to the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act. He is also charged with entering Matt O’Dea’s garage, Ennis Road, Ennistymon, as a trespasser, and stealing €300 in cash, on September 5.

Outlining evidence of arrest, charge and caution, Sergeant Michael Gallery told the court that he formally arrested the accused last Tuesday, at Ennistymon Garda Station.

In reply to each charge, the accused said “yes.”

Superintendent Eamon Dolan said the accused was on station bail and applied to have him remanded on continuing bail, to appear in court in Ennistymon later this year.

He sought to impose a number of bail conditions. These include that the accused stay out of the Ennistymon District Court area, that he sign on daily at Ennis Garda Station and that he have no contact with the alleged injured parties in the case before the court.

Solicitor Michael Petty, who acted as agent for the accused’s solicitor Tara Godfrey, said he was consenting to this application.

NATIVE fish stocks in Clare were dealt another blow last week with the first recorded finding of a Roach in any lake west of the River Fergus. The fish was discovered by local angler Michael Quinlivan in Lough Achryane or ‘Crown Lake’ near Lissycasey and is a serious threat to the future viability of trout on the lake.

When Roach enter a new lake they breed very rapidly, destroying the lakes population of zooplankton rendering it uninhabitable for other fish.

“They will actually change the ecology of the lake and magnify the effect of any pollution that is there already,” said Fran Igoe, of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board. “As their population explodes they decimate the zooplankton in a lake and allow the phytoplankton or algae to take over.”

This change in the lake’s ecology diminishes the food available to the native trout, but also inhibits the lakes ability to process pollution.

“Some people do fish Roach but they are extremely common all over Europe and the UK and they will destroy out native trout,” continued Mr Igoe. “People should be aware that moving fish around will cause serious problems for angling in County Clare. They should be aware of this but they still seem to be moving these fish around.”

This news follows the discovery earlier this month that the Artic Char has now become extinct in lakes in County Clare.

A CONTROVERSIAL new fare structure for the taxi industry has come into force.

Yesterday saw the first day of the new fare structure implemented by industry regulator Ger Deering. The new regulations were the cause of work stoppages and protests from taxi drivers around the country.

The new basic national fare now stands at €3.80 during the daytime with that increasing to €4.10 between 8pm and 8am and on public holidays.

The fare will consist of an initial charge followed by a distance or time related charge, depending on the speed the vehicle is moving

Luggage charges and airport pick up charges have been abolished. Other changes being introduced include a more accessible complaints system for consumers and access to more information within the vehicle.

Consumer information displays in all taxis and hackneys are being introduced and all taxis will have to display customer rights and responsibilities as well as the new national maximum taxi fare chart showing all tariffs and charges. Among the other regulations being introduced is a €125 soiling charge.

A final compliance date for operating the new fare structure and displaying the in-vehicle information is set at October 16. According to the office of the taxi regulator, “a more simple and more transparent fare system will make it easier for people using the service to understand how fares are calculated and will ensure that taxi operators are rewarded in a way that reflects their cost base”.

MIGRANTS attending hospitals in the area are using an informal network to communicate with medical staff, as it is impossible to provide around-the-clock translators for the 17 languages now spoken in Clare.

The Director of the Regional Health Office West, Dr Sean Conroy, told a meeting of the regional HSE Hospital Committee that informal translation networks were often in place before full networks were put in place.

The HSE West chief was responding to a series of questions on the health requirements of migrants from Clare County Councillor and HSE representative for the county, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP).

Cllr Meaney told the meeting that inward migration to Clare has meant that English is the minority language in one class in Ennis.

“What are the HSE putting in place for translation when people present at hospitals?” he asked.

The Clare councillor also asked if there were “illnesses that are not prevalent in native population that may need to be addressed.”

Dr Conroy told the councillor that it was not possible to provide translators for all of the languages presenting in each hospital.

He explained that to-date, hospitals have successfully dealt with nonEnglish speaking patients by asking a friend or family member to translate. In some cases there has also been hospital staff working in other departments, who may be fluent in some of the languages and are able to provide assistance.

This informal network is often in place before an official team of translators are employed, he said.

EIGHT members of the Crusheen senior hurling panel returned to their dressing room after their quarterfinal win over Kilmaley at Cusack Park on Sunday evening to discover they had been robbed.

Mobile phones and wallets containing cash were taken during the game, which started at 3.30pm. The Kilmaley dressing room was not targeted. A van belonging to a Crusheen supporter, parked just outside the grounds, also had industrial tools and a CD player – valued at €2,000 – stolen.

Secretary of Crusheen GAA Club, Tony McMahon told The Clare People that the incident marred what should have been a fantastic evening for the club, after the 1-17 to 0-6 win over Kilmaley.

“We are extremely annoyed. This is unheard of. There is a lot of talk about it in Crusheen. Hopefully the players will get their phones back,” said Mr McMahon.

The players made statements to gardaí after the game on Sunday evening. County Board Chairman Michael McDonagh said the board was working with the gardaí, in an effort to solve the crime.

“It is unbelievable to think that people can target players in such a manner. We are furious. It is a very, very low act. Dressing rooms would sometimes be left open. There is a great trust there and this brings things to a new level, where security may have to be employed. We have to look at our procedures. It is a sad day we have to lock our dressing rooms. This has never happened before, in my involvement in the GAA,” said Mr McDonagh.

Ennis Superintendent John Kerin said gardaí believed the thieves were locals. “We believe a number of males and females in their late teens, early 20s, were around the area at the time. This is a particularly nasty crime, when people are out playing sport. We would be anxious to solve this,” he said.

Gardaí say they were not linking this incident with the theft of a mobile phone and €15 in cash belonging to a player from a dressing room at the Wolfe Tones GAA clubhouse during training on Friday evening.

RUSSELL Crowe and the late Richard Harris became friends after working together on the Oscar-winning Gladiator in 1999.

The two were due to meet for an Irish rugby international against Australia in 2002 but Harris died aged 72, weeks earlier. It’s reported that, as he watched the game alone, Crowe figured Harris was indeed there and making Australia play badly.

It was after this match that Crowe penned the song that he will sing at Kilkee next Saturday. The words of the song are:

The New Zealand-born actor has been nominated a consecutive three times for Best Actor Oscars, winning with Gladiator – but missing out with The Insider and A Beautiful Mind .

Between 1997 and 2003, he also starred in two other best picture nominees, LA Confidential and

.

Crowe has been involved in a number of altercations in recent years which have given him a reputation for having a fiery temperament.

CONCERNS have been raised by local residents over a proposed new homeless hostel for Ennis.

Residents living in the Clare Road area of the town say they have serious concerns over the St Vincent de Paul Society’s plans for a €2.1 million homeless hostel in the area.

Last week, the society lodged plans with Clare County Council to convert the former Laurel Lodge B&B into a hostel suitable for accommodating 13 men.

The hostel will provide support and rehabilitation to those experiencing homelessness. The St Vincent de Paul say that measures will be in place to ensure that no disruption is caused to homes in the Clare Road.

Concerned residents are to outline their reservations in a submission to Clare County Council.

Locals say they have serious concerns about the siting of the hostel in an area with close proximity to the town centre and have fears it will lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour.

“We are very concerned about having the hostel in this area. We don’t want to see anti-social behaviour and have people drinking and carousing,” said one concerned resident

“You have mainly elderly people living there and the fact that it is so close to the town is a big thing. There is a pub just down the road and you are going to have people coming out of the town looking for a bed and not being able to get in, and what is going to happen then?”

Latest figures show that 490 people accessed Clare County Council’s homeless unit in 2005.

Locals acknowledge there is a need for the service in the town, but are concerned that the hostel will be providing transitional housing.

“I think it is the wrong place for it. There are people walking the road every night. There is a need for it, but it is just the wrong place. The transient aspect is the major thing.

“If people are refused entry, they’ll be hanging around causing anti-social behaviour.”

The St Vincent De Paul society along with Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council and the Health Services Executive examined a number of properties in order to identify a suitable location with close proximity to the town centre.

“They dropped leaflets in the door and said they didn’t get much of a response, but that doesn’t mean that people want it there” added the resident.

A planning decision is due in late October.