The Clare People Archive

NEWS that Clare will most likely be ruled out of any boundary extension to Limerick City has been welcomed by local representatives.

Councillors in the South East Clare area have been campaigning against a bid to take parts of the county into Limerick city, under an extension of the city boundaries.

Labour councillor, Paschal Fitzgerald, said that he was pleased with the decision. “Now that Clare will not be touched, we can hopefully get on with other business.”

He added that now that the county was to keep the South East area, the local authority would have to fully take ownership of it.

“The county council will have to recognise that East Clare needs more facilities, such as community centres. The authority needs to show East Clare that we are staying put.”

Cllr John McInerney(FG) said that he was “delighted” with the decision. “If Limerick moved in from that side and Galway from the other side, we would be left with a county no bigger than Leitrim.”

He added that on the ground “most people are very pleased. It is a sensible decision. Limerick gets Limerick and Clare keeps Clare.”

But there was some disquiet among the local representatives about the fact that the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, was bringing the Clare County Manager to the table of the boundary commission.

The move puzzled Councillor Cathal Crowe(FF), who said that there should be no need for Clare to be involved with talks on the boundary extension.

“I am glad the Minister has taken this decision, particularly at a time when we are voting in the county council on important plans for the area. For instance, we have money for play facilities and Parteen and Meelick need playgrounds. I am pleased that we can now move ahead on these issues.”

“I’m still a bit dubious that our county manager is being called to Dublin.

“We should not need to be at the negotiating table if Clare has been ruled out of consideration for inclusion in the extension.”

He added that Clare County Council could continue to work alongside Limerick, as it had been doing in the spatial strategy, but should not be dragged into the formal decision on the boundary extension.

A CLARE politician who supports the use of Shannon Airport by US troops, has welcomed calls from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to have Shannon planes searched for rendition prisoners.

Green Party Councillor, Brian Meaney, said that the “taint of having any involvement in this inhumane business should be removed from Shannon.”

Councillor Meaney said that it was a “source of great shame that Shannon should be considered as a wayleave for these appalling flights where people are deprived of their basic human rights.”

The Clare councillor said that the “only thing we can do is to have any suspect flights searched. The US should allow us this freedom to ensure that Shannon is not tarnished with these allegations.”

UN Commissioner Louise Arbour said that more proactive initiatives on checking planes from states that could be involved in “extraordinary rendition” would be welcomed.

Arbour made the remarks while in Dublin last week to receive an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland and to visit the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC).

Earlier, the Government had restated that it was satisfied with assurances from the US that planes that landed here were not carrying prisoners bound for torture, after Amnesty International published a report, which stated that planes regularly used for rendition had flown through Shannon.

But speaking in Dublin, the commissioner said that the Government’s position represented an unsatisfactory approach.

“Wilful blindness on the part of

states to the ultimate purpose of ex-

traordinary rendition is unacceptable.

Where there is a risk of torture, there

shouldn’t be any resort to diplomatic

assurances,” Arbour said.

She said she understood that the

Government could board CIA flights

if there was any evidence that the

flights were being used for an illegal

purpose.

“In the current climate, I would wel-

come even more proactive efforts on

the part of all governments,” she said.

“I would welcome initiatives that

go beyond the legal requirements,

like seeking authorisation for random RESPONDING to question put to him by The Clare People , the acting Chief Fire Officer for Clare County Council, Anthony Travers, said that it is unlikely that John could have been saved if a better supply of water had been available.

“When the fire services arrived at the scene the fire was already well developed with flames coming through the roof,” said Mr Travers. “Any fatality that had occurred would have already occurred at this time.

“There is a programme ongoing in conjunction with the Sanitation and Water Services to map the locations of all the fire hydrants in County Clare.”

With each fire engine carrying approximately 400 gallons of water it is

searches. It would be a very good sig-

nal from governments to see for them-

selves what is happening rather than

rely on assurances.”

The IRHC commissioner, Michael

Farrell, welcomed Arbour’s com-

ments.

“We very much welcome the com-

ments of the High Commissioner on

the issue of extraordinary rendition

and her supportive attitude on the is-

sues in which the IHRC are actively

engaged, including the drafting of the

proposed UN disability treaty and the

position of migrants in Ireland.” not an uncommon practice for water ‘ferrying’ to occur in rural areas.

The Kilshanny and Kilfenora communities have been left devastated following the tragic fire.

“The first thing is the state of shock at what has happened,” said local Priest Fr Joe Roche. “He had been in the village earlier in the evening. He was a very well liked man from a very well known and liked family.

“There hasn’t been a tragedy like this in the area in a long time and the people are awfully shocked at what has happened. Words are fairly useless at occasions like these and it is the presence of friends and loved ones that will be of real support to the family.”

THE Chairman of the Green Party has called for a comprehensive investigation into revelations that Shannon Airport has been used to export military helicopters to Israel.

John Gormley TD said that revelations that a cargo aircraft used to transport Apache helicopters, passed through Shannon in February, called into doubt the position of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern.

“This matter must be comprehensively investigated by the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Foreign Affairs and if it is established that the Department lied about this, then the Minister for Foreign Affairs will have no option but to resign,” said Mr Gormley.

On Saturday, it was revealed that the cargo plane landed at Shannon Airport and that the Departments of Transport and Foreign Affairs, which are responsible for foreign civilian flights and foreign military flights respectively, initially denied any knowledge. Photographs have now emerged of the controversial plane on the ground at Shannon.

“It is bad enough that Shannon has effectively become a US military airport for the occupation of Iraq. Now that it is implicated in the suppression of the Palestinian people as well, it confirms that this Government’s foreign policy is ad idem with US foreign policy,” he said.

The massive Antonov 124 cargo aircraft landed at Shannon only hours before US President George W. Bush made the first of two refuelling stopovers at the airport, on February 28th last.

The plane, and a second aircraft owned by the same company, parked overnight in a specially constructed high-security corral.

According to the Department of Transport, the original information provided to it by the aircraft operator showed that the flight in question intended to travel from the USA to Israel, via Iceland and to return via Shannon.

“We were informed that the flight landing at Shannon on the return leg would be empty,” said a department spokesperson.

The aircraft, operated by the Volga-Dnepr Group, which has a maintenance base at Shannon, diverted to Shannon so that company engineers there could attend to a technical problem with one of the planes.

“I am not at all surprised by this,” said former Irish Army commandant and well known anti-war campaigner Ed Horgan.

“The Government has been caught out by denying that these flights landed at Shannon. Only when presented with the evidence did they come clean”.

CLARE patients awaiting neurological assessment at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital are being forced to wait years, according to Labour TD, Jan O’ Sullivan.

A single visiting neurologist, who works at Limerick two days a month, has not taken new patient referrals for two years, resulting in them being sent instead, to hospitals in Galway, Cork and Dublin.

Deputy O’ Sullivan said that thousands of people in the mid-west, suffering from conditions such as such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and many other conditions, were effected.

“This is a matter of urgency because the visiting neurologist no longer accepts new patients,” she told the Dáil.

“The situation is woefully inadequate and very distressing for patients. General practitioners have been instructed to refer new patients to Dublin, Cork or Galway”.

Deputy O’ Sullivan revealed that a circular sent to GPs in the mid-west region, two years ago, confirmed the waiting list for neurological assessment had “grown substantially and waiting times for routine appointments of several years are not uncommon.”

Yet the situation had not improved since then. She pointed out that the Comhairle na nOspidéal report on neurology and neurophysiology, of April 2003, recommended that a post be developed in Limerick. The national task force on medical staffing recommended further neurological posts in the country.

“I have raised this issue by way of parliamentary question at least three times and we are still waiting for a most essential service in the midwestern region”.

In response, Minister for State at the Department of Health, Tim O’Malley, said that as part of the estimates for the health services in 2006, additional funding of €3 million was allocated to the Health Service Executive specifically for the further development of neurology and neurophysiology services nationally.

“The Mid-Western Regional Hospital has the services of a visiting consultant neurologist two days per month. The consultant provides an out-patient service for review or return patients and an in-patient consultation service.

“Due to pressure on the existing service, new patient referrals are forwarded to the neurological services at Cork, Galway or Dublin. ln view of the pressures, the development of neurology services at the mid-western regional hospital is an urgent priority for the Health Service Executive in 2006.”

He said that the Government was committed to the continued development of neurology services nationally and that resources had been made available to commence neurology services in Limerick in 2006.

THE world’s best Irish dancers have descended on Ennis for the annual All-Ireland and International Irish Dance Championships.

This is the fourth year that the championships organised by An Chomhdhail have visited Ennis and as usual the venue is the West County Hotel.

Ennis had previously been the venue in 2002, 2003 and 2004 with Dublin being the venue in 2005. Hundreds of competitors, parents and interested spectators have been circulating the Ennis venue since the competition kicked of in style on Sunday (April 9).

The seven day festival runs from April 9-16 with the concluding event taking place on Easter Sunday night. The event is a huge boost to the local economy with most local accommodation taken up.

This year there is a truly international field with competitors Ireland, England, Scotland, USA and Slovakia taking part. Mattew Donoghue, Chairperson of An Comhdhail said the event has been a major success do far.

“It been pretty hectic alright. There’s been dancers, parents, uncles, friends, cousins, aunts, granparents, everybody you could think of, has been around”

“Over 200 competitors will compete in the event. The people are really enjoying it and everybody is settling in after Sunday’s opening ceremony.

“Everything is going according to plan and as usual Ennis has been an excellent venue. So far we have had the five solo championships and the competition will finish with the senior championships next Sunday,” he added.

The event willl return to Ennis for 2007.

PLANS by Kilkee publicans, Gerard and Helen Lynch, to extend their pub in the west Clare resort of Kilkee are facing opposition from neighbouring publican, Kevin Marrinan.

Earlier this year, the Lynchs lodged plans to extend Lynch’s bar at O’Connell Street, Kilkee.

However, Mr Marrinan, in his planning objection, claims that the extension “will constitute a considerable loss of privacy to my adjoining property.

“This building if constructed will result in the overlooking of my property from the proposed fire escape stairway and the overshadowing of my property by virtue of height and size.

“The proposed development will, if constructed, result in the overdevelopment of the site and result in almost 100% site coverage.”

He claims that the development does not comply with a policy in the West Clare Local Area Plan which stipulates that “developments in the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) should respect the scale, massing, proportions, design and materials of existing structures and reflect the character of the area”.

Mr Marrinan also points out that there is no provision for off-street car-parking, or cycle parking, in compliance with Chapter Nine of the Clare County Development Plan.

“I believe for this reason this development is not in keeping with the Clare County Development Plan 2005, or the West Clare Local Area Plan 2003 and has issues on complying with the Building Control Act.

“Considering the size of the site and existing development, I believe that this site has already achieved its full potential and any modernisation or alterations should be confined to the existing building.”

CLARE County Council’s controversial €8 million landfill site near Inagh will be around for another 30 years, if the current disposal levels at the facility are maintained.

But that’s because disposal rates of waste have plummeted in recent months, to 42 per cent of their permitted levels, according to a council report.

If this continues, the landfill will have a licensed capacity that will allow it remain open until 2036.

The landfill is licensed to receive 900,000 tonnes, or 56,500 per annum. If the landfill were used to its maximum capacity, it would be closed by 2018 and the council would have to locate a new landfill elsewhere in Clare.

However, in the first 11 weeks of 2006, the Inagh facility accepted just 5,002 tonnes of waste, the equivalent to 23,645 tonnes per annum.

The dramatic fall off occurred after the landfill’s biggest customer opted to go elsewhere, in search of cheaper prices.

“The number of options now available to waste collectors is such that there is no guarantee that any particular collector will use any particular facility,” said Senior Engineer, Sean Ward, in a report to council.

“Collectors will dispose of their residual wastes at the landfill which is most benefit for them commercially, having first minimized the quantity to be landfilled.”

At the adjourned March Council meeting last night (Apr 3rd), councillors were told that a total of 15 non-compliance notices, incorporating 38 items of non-compliance had been served on the council from the EPA, since work started on the project in November 2001.

“All the non-compliance items in 2002 were related to construction activity rather than operation of the facility,” said the Director for the Environment, Ger Dollard, in his report

“It is impossible to guarantee that a landfill accepting a mix of municipal waste will never emit an odour, but the highest possible standard has to be aimed at.

“The most effective means of mitigating fresh waste odour are to keep the area of the active landfilling face as small as possible. The face area has at all times been kept as small as possible.

“The foregoing demonstrates that the council has been and remains committed to sourcing the best cover materials, in consultation with, and where applicable in compliance with the instructions of the EPA.

A DOOLIN pub’s wastewater exceeded its legal limits by up to six times, a court has heard.

Ennis District Court was told that an environmental technician from Clare County Council visited the waste water treatment plant at O’Connor’s pub in Doolin last August.

Karen Hayes said certain limits were set out for discharges from a wastewater treatment plant.

She analysed samples and found that Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) was six times the legal limit and suspended solids exceeded the legal limit by four times. BOD is an indicator of organisms in the water.

She stressed that the pub’s proprietor, Patrick Sexton, had authorised considerable works to be carried out at the site over a number of weeks and this was ongoing.

In this regard, a company employed by Mr Sexton attended the site. Ms Hayes said work got underway in January and had been ongoing since.

She said Bord na Móna had also been employed on site.

“Bord na Móna have been on site and have recommended works to be carried out,” she said.

Solicitor for the council, Mairéad Doyle, said, “He was slow in taking steps but Clare Council is happy he is carrying out work on the plant.”

She said there had been reductions in the levels of both BOD and suspended solids, since the summons was served.

Judge Joseph Mangan asked what were the effects of BOD and suspended solids.

Ms Hayes said when effluent was not treated property, the number of bugs increased and took oxygen out of the water. This affected plant and animal life.

She said the river discharged just outside O’Connor’s public house and was not used for fishing at that point.

Judge Joseph Mangan said he was declining jurisdiction and adjourned the case until June, for a Book of Evidence to be served.

A PIGEON loft in Marian Avenue, Ennis, that has been the source of a bitter neighbours dispute, has been granted planning permission. Ennis Council has granted planning permission to May Guilfoyle to continue housing 30 racing pigeons from a loft at 24 Marian Avenue, in spite of neighbours John and Mary Flynn claiming that they are “prisoners in their own home” due to the presence of the pigeons.

Commenting on the outcome, George Guilfoyle said, “We’re happy with the decision. The loft is kept up to a very high standard and the pigeons are very well looked after.”

Mr Guilfoyle said that Marian Avenue has had a long history of involvement in pigeon racing. “As kids, we didn’t have Playstations or anything like that,” he said, “All we had were the pigeons.”

Relations between the neighbours have broken down due to the bitter fued. “We don’t talk at all,” said Mr Guilfoyle, “We could really do without the hassle that this has caused and I would be prepared to do anything to stop the bickering. I don’t want any trouble and my parents are elderly and they don’t want any hassle.

“We’ve not done Mrs Flynn any wrong by having the pigeons here. They have been here since 1982 so I can’t understand why she objects now. We’d like everything to go back to the way it was. I have nothing against the woman.”

Mr Guilfoyle said that he hopes Mrs Flynn doesn’t appeal the Council’s decision to An Bord Pleanala. He said that if she does, his pigeons won’t be able to race this season.

The Town Council’s planner stated that the details submitted by the Guilfoyles on the management and care of the pigeons would not adversely interfere with the amenities of adjoining properties. The planner stated: “The objectors have not submitted any details to prove their claim that the pigeons have not been kept since 1985 at No 24.”

The Council granted planning after the Health Service Executive (HSE) kept the number of birds to 30 and instructed that the birds are vaccinated annually and that they are checked by a vet on a regular basis.

Efforts to contact the Flynns for a comment failed.

BUSINESS people involved in renewable energy in Clare have welcomed the introduction of grants totalling €27m to install renewable heat technology in homes.

The scheme was agreed in last year’s Budget and is part of a multiannual finance package of €65m for renewable energy that will also include grants for a range of renewable heat, electricity and transport initiatives.

The “Greener Homes” scheme will allow householders to get grants for the installation of renewable technologies including wood pellet stoves and boilers, solar panels and geothermal heat pumps. Grant aid of €1,100 to €6,500 will be given, depending on the individual technology used.

Michael Neylon of Solargen, an Ennis company which provides solar panels and collectors for hot household water, said that the new grants “will help more people become aware of the benefits of renewable energy and will certainly encourage householders to install this technology.

“It is a major boost to the whole renewable energy field.”

Neylon explained that using renewable energy, such as solar panels, could save up to 70 per cent of the cost of household hot water bills in the year.

“And it doesn’t have to be hot and sunny. Solar panels work on light and will do their job even on a dull day,” Neylon added.

Dick Whelan, project manager of Renewable Energy Skills, a company which trains people in the installation, workings and maintenance of renewable energy technology, says he has had a huge increase in calls.

“We have certainly seen a raised level of interest.

“This is a very welcome announcement, both as part of the Kyoto agreement and with a view to de-coupling from oil prices,” said Whelan.

The company has been training people such as plumbers and electricians over the last two years.

“It will be more important than ever now to have people who are trained and accredited in this technology.

“Qualified people in Clare meet regularly and have now built up an extensive bank of expertise and knowledge which they can share,” said Whelan.