The Clare People Archive

PLANS have been lodged with Clare County Council for an expansion of the Ballymaley Business Park that will generate an anticipated €20 million in retail revenues each year.

In 2001, Clare County Council granted planning permission for three industrial units and 12 small factory units on the site.

However, the three companies involved in the venture, Galvin Construction, Ennis Industrial Properties and Gainsbridge Properties Ltd, are seeking to amend this to three large retail warehouse units.

The companies are also seeking to construct seven retail warehouse units and two light industrial units on the 23-acre site.

It is intended to take advantage of the claimed €101 million spent on bulky goods in the greater Ennis area each year.

Already, two freestanding office buildings are in place at the park. Four separate blocks are currently under construction to add to the large retail unit at the entrance.

The developers state that, “there is a clear need for the proposed development when taken together with other retail warehouse proposals in the area and the development would see the introduction of a retail warehouse offer in the north of Ennis that will better service the shopping needs of a growing population in that area of Ennis”.

They claim that the, “development would not have an adverse impact on the town centre of Ennis, or any other centre as established in the retail impact assessment accompanying this application”.

“There is more than sufficient capacity for a retail warehouse development of the proposed scale at this location,” they state.

The developers also say that the proposal, “would ensure that the rural population of the catchment has easy access to a full range of retail warehouse operators in one location”.

The developers point out that the vast majority of existing retail warehouse space is located outside the defined Ennis town centre.

“In terms of retail impact, any diversion of trade and retail impact would occur outside the defined town centre is not considered material to making the final planning decision,” they concluded.

A decision is expected on the application later this year.

SEVENTY-FIVE individuals who own land along the Crusheen-Gort bypass have lodged objections against the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the the €187 million road.

As a result, An Bord Pleanála is now to hold an oral hearing into the contentious scheme in the next number of months.

The board has also confirmed that submissions have been made on the environmental impact of the scheme by An Taisce, the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board (SRFB), the Department of the Environment, the Gort Regional Alliance for Community and Environment (GRACE) and environmental consultant, Peter Sweetman.

A spokesman for An Taisce yesterday described the scheme, “as one of the most complex road-schemes ever to be proposed because of the environmental impacts it will have on the limestone area where you have variable watertables and a number of turloughs”.

Galway County Council, the lead agency for the bypass, is intending to compulsorily purchase almost 500 acres contained in 103 farms.

The scheme – which involves the construction of 22 km of new dual carriageway – will also involve the severance of 845 acres of farmland along the route. The farmers concerned are set for a bonanza. As a result of the CPO of 500 acres of land for the Ennis scheme, €22 million was paid to 67 landowners.

“It is typical to have this number of objections at this stage and I would be very surprised if there were a large number when the oral hearing takes place,” infrastructural services manager with the IFA, Tomas Ryan told The Clare People .

“The objections are practical objections to get negotiations going. A lot of the objections will be resolved through negotiation. Our hope is that active negotiations will resolve as many objections as possible.”

The construction of the scheme is expected to commence towards the end of next year and will involve the bypassing of Crusheen and Gort.

According to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) published, the construction will lead to a reduction in road injuries on the N18 where, between 1989 and 2002, ten people died as a result of traffic accidents with 126 personal injuries recorded.

The EIS states that 14,000 vehicles a day currently use the road between Crusheen and Gort and the route, “fails to cope with the demand of motorists and residents frequently experiencing delays during periods of peak movement”.

A SIX-lane motorway passing through Clare, surrounded by thousands of acres of native woodland where people can live, is the way forward, rather than “Mickey Mousing around with bypasses,” a transport expert has said.

And Transport Minister Martin Cullen has promised to try to “frontload the dual carraigeway between Limerick and Galway and I hope to make an announcement on it in the coming months.”

Professor Ed Walsh of Limerick University made the call for the construction of the highway between Limerick and Galway while addressing a business lunch organised by the Shannon and District Chamber of Commerce at which Minister Cullen was the guest speaker.

Professor Walsh said that providing a high-speed corridor between the two cities and having the two come together to create an “Atlantic counterpole” as a counter-balance to Dublin.

He cited the example of the US State of North Carolina which “offers a fine example of how a neglected region moved from the fringes, prospered and became a remarkable model for knowledge-age development.

The prospects for North Carolina were bleak, as cotton and tobacco farming went into decline, until the State Governor, Luther Hodges moved to bring together three universities to form the Research Triangle Park.

The associated cities of Raleigh and Durham grew together with the Raleigh-Durham airport as the transport hub at the core.

This partnership of universities and cities has acted as a catalyst for investment in North Carolina and transformed a once-poor State into a prosperous and progressive one.

“A similar opportunity and challenge presents itself to the cities of Galway and Limerick, to their universities and to Shannon Airport at the core of the interurban corridor,” the professor said.

The professor said that the motorway “would significantly improve the prospects for Shannon and for the creation of the Atlantic Cities counterpole.

“The energies of the Mid-West and West regions should be directed towards ensuring that the current defective plans are upgraded and a Motorway to normal EU standard is built between Galway and Limerick.

“Provision should be made for eventually upgrading this to six lanes, anticipating the development of the Atlantic Cities counterpole.”

In his address Minister Cullen said that he believes that having Galway and Limerick come together is the right thing to do.

“On their own, none of the cities can be a counterbalance to Dublin,” he said, adding that the Government is ‘Mickey Mousing about with bypasses’.

“We’re spending ten million per day of taxpayers’ money – the difficulty for me is that everybody wants their road first.”

CLARE’S 2,300 registered Fine Gael members are focused on this Sunday’s selection convention in Ennis where five party members, including sitting TD Pat Breen, will fight it out for two nominations to run for the party at the next general election.

The other four candidates seeking selection are former TD Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn; Cllr Joe Carey, the son of former TD Donal Carey; Cllr John Crowe; and Cllr Tony Mulcahy.

Deputy Breen said the number of people seeking selection was a mark of the vibrancy of the party in Clare.

“Unfortunately there will be losers as well as winners at the convention but I know that everybody has their eye on the greater goal of regaining a second seat in Clare,” he said.

“I am looking forward to a dynamic convention where the party faithful in the county will get an opportunity to assess the candidates.”

With five of the better-known members of the party vying for a position on the blue team’s ticket in 2007, one Fine Gael insider has predicted, “it will be a right dog-fight.”

Fine Gael won two seats in Clare in the 1982, 1987 and 1989 elections. Deputy Breen added that it was apparent from this weekend’s Ard Fheis in Dublin that there was a new mood of optimism in the party which had built itself up and unified itself under the leadership of Enda Kenny.

“Leading the Fine Gael team going into the next election will be an honour,” he said.

“I have spent the last four years seeing at first hand what the problems and issues are for people in Clare and after nine years of the same Government, people are looking for change.”

The party selection convention is scheduled for the West County hotel in Ennis this coming Sunday.

The Fine Gael party has seen a 2,000 per cent increase in its membership in Shannon town in the past year.

Membership has increased three fold across the county.

The Shannon town branch has swollen to 21 and a half times its original size, from 24 to 516 in the run up to its election convention now pencilled in for mid-May.

Across the county the party figures have also increased to more than 2,400 members as the party prepares for its one member, one vote general election candidate selection process.

DRASTIC traffic calming measures are to be introduced in a Clarecastle estate to curb mounting traffic problems in the area.

Temporary speed ramps are to be installed in St Joseph’s terrace after a petition containing 100 signatures from residents in the area was presented to council officals. Locals are said to be very concerned that the estate had become a “rat run” for traffic avoiding delays on the N18.

Councillors had originally wanted to install two permanent ramps in the area but agreed a temporary solution after Hugh McGrath, senior execuCALLS were made by a Clare TD at the weekend’s Fine Gael Árd Fheis to liberalise the Irish insurance market by allowing EU-based competitors greater freedom.

Speaking on a motion proposed by the Sandymount, Dublin, branch of Fine Gael, Clare Deputy, Pat Breen, tive engineer, expressed reservations about such a course of action.

The petition was presented by Cllr Joe Carey (FG) at yesterday’s Committee Meeting for the Ennis Electoral Area. Cllr Carey’s motion called on the council to urgently provide speed ramps as the heavy volume of traffic using the road posed a definite risk to children living in the area.

Cllr Carey said residents’ concerns had been ignored for too long and that urgent action was needed.

“There is potential there for a serious accident,” he said. “I know that this is tied up with the bypass being finished, but I don’t want to be the one explaining to parents that said that in a market such as Ireland’s, the insurance industry was relatively small and despite a lowering of prices in recent times, many analysts felt there was room for improvement.

“A small market restricts choice and leads to high prices. In any survey comparing profits, Irish insurers always come out better than insurance companies, for instance, in the ramps didn’t go in because the bypass wasn’t finished. Clare County Council must deliver speed ramps to the people of Clarecastle. It’s like a rally circuit down there at eight in the morning.”

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) supported Cllr Carey’s call, saying other forms of traffic management had a negligible effect on speeding.

“I’m living in an area where there were traffic calming measures imposed and you might as well have been lighting candles. If residents want that, then we should accept it.”

Mr McGrath said he was against the idea as speed ramps represented a last resort. “Speed ramps are the very UK market.

“In one notable survey by the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, it found that motor insurers in Ireland reported 11 times the profit earned by their UK counterparts between 1983 and 1999,” he said.

Deputy Breen, his party’s spokesman on small business, added that he received many queries from young last option on a list of traffic calming measures. We would conduct a traffic flow survey of the area to assess its needs. Lighting and signage are far more effective. Ramps have a detrimental look, feel and sound.”

There were some heated exchanges over the issue. When Mr McGrath asked whether councillors now determined engineering policy for Clare County Council, Cllr Brennan replied that as elected officials, wanted their decisions carried out.

Tom Coughlan, director of services, intervened and proposed a compromise. “There has never been a vote at an Ennis Electoral meeting. We could put in temporary ramps.” people in particular who are frustrated at the prohibitive cost of motor insurance.

“I feel that new entrants would encourage more attractive packages for such people,” he said.

He pointed out that if the Irish insurance market was healthy and competitive as was often claimed by the industry here, then they have nothing to fear from competition.

“In the same way that entrants such as the Bank of Scotland are shaking up the mortgage market, I feel the entrance of new insurers to the market would have a positive effect for consumers.

“If Ireland is to shake off its ripoff image then the underlying reality has to be tackled. It’s not just about marketing the image but tackling the cause,” he said.

Deputy Breen said afterwards that any person unable to get a quotation for motor insurance could contact the Insurance Information Service (016761914) who would assist them and arrange for their case to be considered under the terms of the Declined Cases Agreement.

Among the other Clare Fine Gael members who attended the weekend Ard Fheis for a special meeting of the party’s councillors were cllrs Madeleine Taylor Quinn, John Crowe, Martin Conway, John ‘Mashen’ McInerney, Oliver Garry, and Joe Cooney. Councillor Crowe missed by one vote being elected to the executive committee of Fine Gael councillors.

SHANNON Airport bosses have confirmed that there will be more than 2,500 extra seats from the airport to Cardiff and Bristol to help Munster’s Red Army travel to the Heineken Cup Final. Details of the flights and tour operators are available on www.shanonairport.com.

But supporters determined to have a ticket for the showdown are prepared to travel much further than Cardiff to get what they want. Last week, fans were turning up at the French side’s stadium, Stade Aguilera, where tickets for the Cardiff game were in plentiful supply.

Two supporters went as far as buying up 100 tickets which they say they will charge just face value for to friends, sources in the Munster supporters side said.

And when the Red Army goes overseas, there will be no shortage of red flags to mark their passage. The Limerick company with the franchise for the official Munster flag has used contacts in China to help produce enough flags for the supporters.

DJ Daly will turn out more than 40,000 Munster flags at his factory in Pallaskenry, County Limerick but his company has been swamped with orders.

To met demand, he contacted a friend who runs a similar business in Beijing and they have obliged with a shipment of flags for Munster supporters to wave.

A 19-YEAR-OLD Kilmaley learner driver with 17 motoring convictions has been put off the road until he passes his test.

Noel Keane of Kilcolumb, Kilmaley, Ennis, must also pay a fine of €1,300.

He was found guilty of operating his car without a silencer fitted to his exhaust and of having defective number plates at Liscannor Road, Lahinch, on January 13.

Garda John Cleary of Lahinch Garda Station told Ennistymon District Court last Wednesday that Mr Keane had 16 driving-related previous convictions.

Three of these were for having no silencer fitted to his exhaust.

Garda Cleary said that the other previous convictions were of a minor nature, relating to driving without Lplates and having no NCT certificate displayed.

In imposing the conviction, Judge Joseph Mangan banned the accused from driving for six months, but imposed a continuing ban until Keane produced a completed driving test pass to Clare County Council.

His license was also endorsed. Recognisance was set in the event of an appeal.

Judge Mangan’s ruling was described as “innovative” by a member of Clare County Council’s Road Safety Committee, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP).

“I would very much welcome the judge’s ruling, though I believe that it discriminates against provisional drivers and legislation should be put in place to punish drivers with full licenses who continually flout the road traffic laws in a similar way,” he said.

“For example, I believe that repeat offenders with full licenses should be made re-sit their driving test.”

Conor Faughnan of AA Roadwatch declined to comment on the individual case.

However, speaking generally, Mr Faughnan said it was possible to have anti-social behaviour in a car in a way that was not dangerous and there were laws there to prevent this.

“It is open to the courts to prevent such behaviour and it is a good thing to see that in action.

“Most people would welcome a firm hand with that sort of behaviour,” he said.

ALMOST 10 per cent of Clare’s drivers have not yet passed the driving test, with 605 of them on their fifth or successive provisional, according to Government figures.

There are 9,725 Clare people driving on provisional licenses with 5,527 on their first license, 1,549 on their second, 559 on their third and 557 on their fourth.

Nationally, there are 410,602 people on provisional licenses.

Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen said yesterday that the high number of provisional license holders in Clare was “symptomatic of the nationwide crisis in driving test waiting lists”.

He added, “That there are almost 10,000 people in Clare on a second, or subsequent, license demonstrates that these people are frustrated at the waiting periods involved.

“This is contributing to the sense some people have of not feeling compelled to go for a full driving license. This situation has been calling for an effective solution for years now. We need to have driving tests held in a timely manner and when they are in place, for road safety reasons, we have to move to stop provisional license holders being able to reapply for those licenses indefinitely.”

Deputy Breen added that figures released to him earlier this year showed that there were approximately 3,000 people on the driving test waiting list in Clare. According to those figures, Shannon has a waiting period of 45 weeks, Ennis, 32 weeks; and Kilrush, 27 weeks.

Senator Brendan Daly (FF) said it was unacceptable that there are so many provisional drivers on the road and it had to be dealt with.

“The unions and the Department of Transport have to resolve their difference,” he said. “There is a need for more driving testers in order to eliminate the backlog and that needs to happen now.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said he would be concerned at the 1,000 or more people who were driving on their fourth and fifth licenses.

“These people have failed their test multiple times and continue to drive on our roads,” he said.

“More should be done to ensure that these people pass their tests. They should be compulsorily required to have more driving lessons to ensure that they pass.

“That said, I know of many provisional drivers who are competent drivers. I would also like to know the proportion of L-plate involved in traffic accidents.

“This type of information could feed into proper Government policy on the issue.”

THE Diocese of Killaloe has been forced by Clare County Council into drawing up a masterplan for 85 acres of land in Ennis that could net the diocese a massive €30 million windfall.

Last night (Monday) Clare County Council voted unanimously to rezone 85 acres of land at Ashline to facilitate the relocation of Ennis National School.

The diocese proposes to construct 590 houses which would place a €150 million value on the development.

However, a diocesan spokesman confirmed to The Clare People yesterday that the diocese was forced by the council to draw up the tentative masterplan, as part of a proposal to relocate Ennis National School.

The diocese originally lodged a submission to rezone a small parcel of the land for ‘community use’ to allow the relocation of the school.

But, as the spokesman explained, “In order for the proposal to be evaluated, the council demanded that a masterplan be drawn up in relation to what would ultimately happen with all the lands owned by the diocese, before deciding on the school issue.”

Local auctioneer, Philip O’Reilly of Property Partners said last night that the rezoning would place a €30 million value on the diocesan property, based on a cost of €55,000 per site.

The masterplan has yet to be published.

However, The Clare People understands that the diocese’s consultants have told the council that the lands are better suited for high density housing than the three areas zoned for such at Roslevan, the Lahinch Road area and Clarecastle.

Along with 590 homes, the Diocese also proposes the development of sheltered housing for Cahercalla Hospital.

The proposal will allow the creation of distinct residential sub-areas, while community facilities will be placed at the centre of the area. The diocese also proposed a park area to separate the new development from existing housing.

They added that the proposal is also intended to facilitate the redevelopment of Ennis National School into a three-stream, 24 class school with the capacity for 707 students and a staff of 45.

The masterplan further proposes a commercial development to the entrance of the area that would be visible from the N68 roundabout.

The development of the lands is to be carried out in four phases over a 21-year period, with the first phase commencing in 2007-09 with the construction of the school.

THE largest carrier of US military personnel through Shannon Airport has confirmed that it is “reviewing possible alternatives to Shannon” for some of its operations, a move which could see the airport lose millions of euro worth of business.

There has been speculation in recent days that World Airways will relocate part or all of its refuelling and technical operation at Shannon, to the German city of Leipzig. The company made a similar move in February 2003 when it diverted 17 of its regular flights to Frankfurt, all of which returned to Shannon some months later.

World Airways, which is the world’s largest transporter of US military personnel, uses Shannon as a refuelling and technical stop for aircraft transporting troops to and from Afghanistan, the Gulf and US bases in Europe. Two other carriers, North American Airlines and American Trans Air, also use Shannon. However, World Airways is at present Shannon’s largest “technical transit airline partner”.

“We are reviewing possible alternatives to Shannon for some of our operations but no decision has been concluded,” a spokesman for World Airways confirmed. “We are looking at operational factors for us, including better aircraft and crew utilisation, because we already have several operations in Germany.”

But, he added, “Shannon has always been one of our preferred locations in Europe and will continue to be so, regardless of the outcome of our current review.”

Shannon is understood to have earned an estimated €14m during the first three months of this year from US military flights, with over 116,450 service personnel transiting through. This represented a 21 per cent increase on the same period last year. The Shannon Airport Authority is believed to have earned around €100m from the Pentagon in the past four years.

A spokesperson for the SAA said, “We have not been made aware of any plans by any airline to withdraw services from Shannon Airport and continue to have an exceptionally good working relationship with all our technical transit airline partners.

“But the technical transit business is ad-hoc in nature and subject to intense competition between many international airports”.

Prominent anti-war activist Edward Horgan said he was sceptical of a World Airways pullout: “They moved briefly from Shannon in Feb 2003 and came back again. Can we bring back to life all those little children who have been killed by soldiers who we allowed pass through Shannon?”