The Clare People Archive

HEALTH services in the Mid-West have de- scribed the “poor” hygiene findings in the re- gion’s hospitals as “a wake-up call” for every- body working in the hospital service.

In the first ever national acute hospitals hy- giene audit, undertaken by Desford Consultan- cy Limited on behalf of the National Hospitals Office, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, received a rating of 68 per cent, with the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, re- TORY Data On Ooo) 81m

The HSE Mid-West region said it fully ac- cepted the findings of the report and would immediately intensify efforts to make hospital staff of all grades more hygiene-conscious.

Among the audit’s suggestions to combat hygiene problems are training of staff in hand hygiene, basic cleaning techniques and the use

of cleaning chemicals and dilution rates.

Patient groups across the country have been calling for stricter hygiene regulations in hos- pitals for over a year in an attempt to control the antibiotic resident MRSA virus, which is rampant in hospitals.

Acute Hospitals network manager for the Mid-West, Mr John O’Brien, said, “We have to put our hands up and say that the results are disappointing and, clearly, we are going to have KoMClOMoloiiKompeMAUIAUD use

“On the positive side, Croom and St John’s received a ‘fair’ rating and Ennis, Nenagh and the Regional Maternity, while being classed as ‘poor’, were close to achieving ‘fair’ rat- ings. Our objective now is to ensure that all our acute hospitals are categorised as ‘good’ next time out.”

He continued, “We have to acknowledge, however, that the performance of the Mid-

Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle, was particularly disappointing, and that action must be taken to remedy the deficiencies identified by the auditor, particularly in surgical, medical and ICU. I will be taking immediate steps to prepare an action plan to address the findings of the audit.”

Dr Nuala O’Connell, consultant microbiol- ogist at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick said, “Considering the amount of ex- penditure in terms of resources and effort, the results give no room for complacency. We have to go back to the drawing board over the next few weeks and get everybody on board so we can do better.

‘Hygiene is the business of every single per- son working in our hospitals and it is also the business of patients and the public. All of us must work together to achieve a behavioural and cultural shift.”

HAND hygiene in the accident and emergency department of Ennis General Hospital is one of the poor- est in the country, and the worst in the Mid-West Region, at 32 per one

According to the first national au- dit of hygiene practices in the coun- try’s hospitals, published in the past week, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis, has a 100 per cent cleanliness rate when handling and disposing of linen from ICU. This unit was rated the cleanest area of the hospital and described as hav- ing a “fair” standard of cleanliness.

Ennis was also found to have a “good” method of disposing of and handling sharp objects, with a rate of 89 per cent.

However, the remaining areas of the hospital were regarded as hav- ing “poor” hygiene, with A&E re- cording the lowest standard at 62 per cent.

Hand hygiene at the hospital was found to be worryingly “poor” in all areas except ICU, which record- ed an 86 per cent cleanliness rate. Hand hygiene in the surgical and medical wards was only rated at 59 per cent.

The handling and disposal of de-

partmental waste was also low at 57 per cent, while disposal of waste from the ICU recorded a low 47 per cent. The 88-bed hospital was also recorded in the audit as having 94 beds.

While in-house cleaners cater for the hygiene needs of Ennis, the au- dit insisted that whether cleaning

was carried out in-house or con- tracted was no guarantee of good or bad hygiene.

The national audit was conducted over July and August 2005, and vis- its by auditors were random and un- announced.

Hospitals were given an overall score, indicating a good (85 per cent

or above), fair (76 per cent to 84 per cent) or poor (75 per cent or below) standard. Accordingly, nine per cent of hospitals visited received a good rating, 43 per cent were rated as fair and 48 per cent were consid- ered poor.

Two further national audits are due to be carried out in 2006.

AN ENNIS man who held an elderly woman and a 23-year-old girl at knifepoint before rob- bing them, in separate incidents, did so because he was on heroin, Ennis Circuit Court has been told. Robbie Nestor (25), with an address at Tulla Road, Ennis, and formerly of Hermitage, Ennis, pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery in En- nis in September 2004.

Det Gda Jarlath Fahy told the court that a 75-

year-old woman was sitting in her car in the car- park of the VEC building in Ennis, on Septem- ber 16 when she was approached by the accused. He produced a knife and said he wanted her bag. She handed it over and he left the scene with the bag and its contents, which included €600.

Ten days later, the accused was buying match- es in Liddy’s Gala in Ennis. He held a knife to the 23-year-old shop assistant and held her by the shirt, before getting away with more than €500 in cash.

When asked about the circumstances which led to the robberies, Dt Gda Fahy replied, “the fact that he was on drugs.” He said Nestor has 21 previous convictions.

Defending barrister Mark Nicholas said his client’s real problem is his addiction to drugs.

“If he takes drugs, that seems to be it. He gets into trouble and commits crime,’ replied the garda.

“TI think this was hardly the work of a pre- planned criminal brain,” said the barrister.

Judge Carroll Moran pointed out that Gda Fahy had been extremely fair to the accused.

‘This was a despicable crime, particularly tar- geting a 75-year-old lady,” said the judge.

“Garda Fahy is of the view, if this man stays off the drugs he will not get into trouble. Let’s put it to the test,” he added.

He said he would adjourn the case for 12 months and will impose a three or four year sentence then. He may consider suspending the sentence, he said.

PRESIDENT of Ireland Mary McAleese will visit Clare today (Tuesday), where she will address three functions in Ennis and one in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

Mrs McAleese’s first port of call will be at Glor at llam, where she will address Ennis parish “Trid- uum celebrating community” on the theme of “Young people — the hope of our tomorrows.”

The triduum of prayer and cele- bration will honour everybody who

contributes to a sense of belong- ing and community. The President will address Leaving Certificate students in Ennis and meet young people from primary schools at a liturgy at Ennis Cathedral.

She will then deliver the keynote address at the eighth Céifin confer- ence, “Filling the vacuum,” at the West County Hotel at 2.15pm.

This conference will address the vacuum in Irish society, amidst a warning that more and more young people are growing up alone in the midst of great economic prosper-

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Organiser Fr Harry Bohan says the Céifin conference aims to chal- lenge leaders from every walk of life to confront the reality around them and take steps to fill the vac- uum. The event will highlight the facts surrounding this challenge and explore possible responses.

The President’s third function will be the official opening of homes for people with intellec- tual disabilities, at the Brothers of Charity Clare Housing Association at Dormer’s Lane on the Gort Road

in Ennis, at 3.30pm.

This initiative will allow every adult with an intellectual disability in the county to have his or her own room, and supports people in living independently in their own commu- nity or location of their choice.

The Housing Association sup- ports adults with an intellectual disability in acquiring good quality housing, and ensures they have full tenants’ rights.

Mrs McAleese’s final function will be the official opening of the Obair family centre in Newmarket-

on-Fergus at 4.30pm. Her visit fol- lows preparation and planning over the years at the facility, which of- fers a wide range of services for the local community.

“It is one of very few centres in the country, owned by the commu- nity,” said Jackie Bonfield, Manag- er of the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

“The community benefits from everything we do. We are trying to support the community in every area that we work in.”

A RUAN publican in his late fifties, who was beaten repeatedly with his walking stick in a frenzied random at- tack, has told how he feared he would be beaten to a pulp.

Michael Moloney was giving evi- dence in the case of Fergus Casey (23), of Ruan, who pleaded guilty to assault- ing the publican and also assaulting Donal Brohan, in Ruan on September 7, 2004.

Gda Brian O’Donnell said Mr Molo- ney was going for a walk, shortly after closing his pub, when he heard a noise.

He went to see where the noise came from and saw the accused, Fergus Ca- Seas

Casey took his stick from him and struck him up to 30 times. Some of the blows were to the head and he was still being beaten while he bled.

Fr Pat O’Neill went to the assistance of the man being beaten as did another man, Donal Brohan, who was hit with a rock to the head.

The accused said to the publican: “you think that you own the village,” the court heard.

“There was no obvious cause to it. It was a frenzied attack that happened when he was out waking his dog,” said Gda O’Donnell.

Casey’s barrister said his client was involved in two altercations with Mr Moloney prior to this incident, but Gda O’Donnell said he had no knowledge of that.

Casey, who has four previous convic-

tions, including two for burglary and one for assault causing harm, took his victim by surprise.

“I know Fergus Casey since he was a child and I wouldn’t expect he would do this,” said Mr Moloney, adding that the accused was in his pub earlier that night.

“He was in a frenzied mood. It was very frightening.

“From that day to this, I get night- mares. Only for Fr O’Neill I wouldn’t be here.

‘He would have beaten me to a pulp.”

When the accused’s barrister apolo- gised to Mr Moloney, he replied, “‘apol- ogies aren’t much good to me if I was found dead in Ruan, part of the stats. This man needs to get help.”

Casey’s sister told the court he has en- dured considerable difficulties through- out his life.

‘Fergus needs help. It’s been a con- tinuous cry for help,” said his sister, who accepted that Mr Moloney could have been killed.

Judge Carroll Moran said, “Mr Molo- ney got a dreadful hiding and whether or not there was something behind it, there was certainly no need for it.

“It was a cowardly, mean thing to do … nasty.”

He said a lengthy prison sentence might go nowhere towards solving the accused’s problems.

He adjourned the case for a year to see how he behaves and said he would not rule out a prison term of three to four years.

PROPERTY owners across the county are being pursued under leg- islation to curb derelict buildings. Shannon Town Manager Ger Dol- lard has confirmed that owners of 15 such properties in Shannon – mostly houses – are currently being pur-

sued, as are owners in other parts of the county.

According to Mr Dollard the council’s main aim is to bring these properties out of dereliction.

This could be partly achieved by applying a levy of three per cent of the market value, payable by the owner, onto such properties.

“It was never meant to be a rev- enue generating thing,” he said.

Mr Dollard added that it was par- ticularly important to deal with the issue if better results were to be achieved in Tidy Towns competi- tions.

“IT wouldn’t say it 1s a crisis, but there are examples. We are serving

notices, which give people an op- portunity to do something about it.

“They will have plenty of oppor- tunity to sort it out,’ said Mr Dol- lard.

A number of Shannon ‘Town Councillors spoke out on the issue Clerks NM N else NN OTSe

Councillor Geraldine Lambert

(FF) said that, in some instances, the landlords were only interested in collecting rent and not maintaining the property.

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said, ‘People should be aware of how se- rious it is.

“Until such time as the council takes action, it will carry on.”

CLEAN drinking water must be supplied to the residents of En- nis in the event of another boil notice being issued.

That was the call being made last night by members of Ennis Town Council who are seeking a guarantee from the County Man- ager that more will be done for the residents in the event of an- other boil notice being imposed on the water supply for Ennis and its surrounding environs.

“It is so serious at this stage that a guarantee should be sought” said Mayor Frankie Neylon at Monday’s meeting. Cllr Neylon went on to add that providing a suitable solution can be arrived at, a temporary water filtration system should be installed while the town waits for a new €13 million water treatment facil- ity due to be constructed in two years time.

The Council was debating the issue following a motion tabled by Councilors Donal O’Beara (GP) and Johnny Flynn (FG),

calling for the continuing un- acceptable quality of Ennis drinking water be declared an emergency and that the County Manager use his available pow- ers. “The supply is unsuitable for the weakest in our society, that is children and the elderly, while others can take their chances if they want, is the approach sug- gested by the Council. This is totally unacceptable” said Cllr O’Beara.

Also present at Monday’s meet- ing were members of the newly- formed Campaign Committee who were protesting outside En- nis Town Council about the poor quality of the water supply. The committee was formed after a public meeting was held in En- nis on November 2 to discuss the contamination of the Ennis wa- ter supply. It is composed of lo- cal political representatives and members of the public.

Town Engineer Tom Tiernan said that the council was cur- rently reviewing a number of proposals concerning temporary water filtration systems for the town’s water supply. He said that the Council is treating the prob- lem very urgently but that any solution must be appropriate for the Ennis supply.

Mr. Tiernan stated that the er- ratic nature of supply in Ennis imposes extra complications on any solution and that there very few examples of successful 1m- plementation of temporary wa- ter filtration systems around the world. He revealed one of the proposals before the Council is a Russian system that has yet to be used outside the country and that any proposed project would cost between €600,000 and €1m.

THE number of people arrested for drink driv- ing continues to rise in Clare, despite repeated warnings and images of its devastating ef- ee

Up to this weekend, two hundred and twenty motorists had been arrested for the offence so far this year. This is a ten per cent rise on the same period last year.

There were further arrests over the weekend. Up until Sunday, two motorists had been ar- rested in west Clare. On Sunday, another driver was arrested in Shannon, in the early hours.

The head of the Clare Garda Traffic Unit, Inspector Kevin Moynihan says the growing number of arrests is as a result of increased Garda enforcement, allied to the fact that peo- ple are not listening to warnings on the dan- gers of drink driving.

“It is a sizeable increase. People don’t seem to be heeding the warnings. . . and it’s also down to increased enforcement in the traffic corps,” he said.

Accident & Emergency Consultant in Ennis and Limerick, Cathal O’Donnell says while many people believe young men are the main culprits, offenders range in age and class.

“Young males are a large part of it, but I have seen people from every social class and every age group involved. It is still happening despite warnings and despite active measures from the gardai,” he said.

Mr O’Donnell said drink drivers are, on oc- casion, responsible for leaving “innocent peo- ple dead.”

Mr O’ Donnell believes that old, careless hab- its are again returning to some motorists, after an awareness campaign in recent years.

“We have personal responsibility to other hu- mans. My impression is that there was a dip a

couple of years ago, but it seems to be creeping up again.

“Tt [drink drivers] has a huge impact on our departments at weekends. Road traffic acci- dents take from our time. We don’t mind doing it but it is preventative, as opposed to a person who has a heart attack, for instance.

“It happens on week nights and at weekends, day and night and doesn’t seem to be going away, he said.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen expressed disap- pointment that the drink driving figures had again increased in Clare.

“Obviously the message hasn’t been driven home. We must have zero tolerance in relation to drink driving. Gardai will have to reinforce their campaign coming up to Christmas and Garda resources have to be increased in rela- tion to inspections late at night,” said Deputy Dior

that two fresh complaints had been made to him this year, one against a priest in Ennis and another against a priest in the ‘wider Ennis area.’ Both were relat- ing to incidents in the 1960s and both priests are now deceased.

Dr Walsh confirmed that the diocese made the most recent payment of €70,000 this year. He said that €100,000 was paid out last year, with €265,000 paid out in 2003. The money came from the proceeds of a €1.5 million land sale at his Westbourne residence in 2001.

Dr Walsh said that if the need arose, the diocese would sell off further land to make payments to victims. “We will do everything in our power to support and help victims.”

He stressed that no money towards the pay- ments had come from Sunday offerings. How- ever, in future, “1f it happens that we have to use other money to make payments, full information will be made to the people and priests”.

Dr Walsh said over the past 11 years he had re- ceived 25 complaints relating to 10 priests, who were now all deceased. The complaints date back to 1957 and all the complaints relate to incidents before he became Bishop in 1995. Multiple com- plaints were received about four priests.

“I do believe the complaints. I have no evidence of complaints coming to me which were not true,”

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Dr Walsh said he was devastated by the con- tents of the Ferns report.

‘We knew that the Ferns report was going to be quite bad news, we really had no idea that it was going to be that bad.

“There is a sense of pain and shame about the whole thing and that goes right across the priest- hood, up and down the country. I’m devastated by it and people who are suffering the real pain are the victims themselves.”

The Rape Crisis centre in the mid-west has re- ceived an increased level of calls, in the wake of the publication of the Ferns report.

“When something like this is prominent in the media, it triggers calls,” said spokeswoman Miri- am Duffy.

THERE has been angry reaction to Clare being left out of recycling grants totaling €9m nationally, including a €2.6 million cash boost for Limerick recycling projects.

Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Env1- ronment, Heritage and Local Government announced last week that he was making a further €9m from the Environment Fund in capital assistance for local authority recy- cling facilities.

Limerick’s grant is the highest in the list with projects for the county and Mungret at- tracting €2,605,547.

An angry Green Party representative and Clare County Councillor, Brian Meaney, said that blame for the dearth of cash com- ing the Clare way had “to be laid firmly at the feet of our lacklustre national represent- atives. Limerick has strong clout in terms of its TDs and Ministers and it shows, when it comes to the amount of money that has been allocated.”

OTA rian y Ne Mdet-lmmaelomcet iA ae moe ce ing out for proper recycling facilities. The main recycling facility in Ennis doesn’t even open until noon. We need bring centers and we need a substantial facility in East Clare and Shannon, in particular, needs a bring centre. I’m just at a loss to see how Clare can be left out.”

He added that there should be “urgent investment in facilities in Clare if we are serious about diverting waste from landfill. Clare has got the rough end of the stick in Web ne

Announcing the grants, Minister Roche said that he was “aware that other local au- thority proposals are being developed or be- ing evaluated by my Department and I will be announcing further allocations as local authorities develop and formally submit their proposals.”

The Capital Grants Scheme 1s provided for in the Regional Operational Programmes (2000-2006) which are managed by the Re- gional Assemblies and is targeted towards the provision of recycling infrastructure, which reflects the waste hierarchy.

Other areas given grants under the scheme included Wicklow County Council, which received €1.1 million, Cork County Council, which received €530,400 and Fin- gal County Council, which was awarded €541,650.

In a statement accompanying the an- nouncement of the grants, the Minister said that he was “confident that these additional projects now being funded will help to build on the already significant awareness of the need to recycle and will further improve the levels of recycling throughout the country.”