The Clare People Archive

THE case of a 16-year-old Clare girl who a Judge said was “deprived” of a right to education is to be referred to the Minister for Children.

Judge Patrick Durcan said last week that in not receiving her constitutional right to a minimum level of education, the girl was subjected to “abuse and severe neglect” by her parents and agents of the state.

In March her parents pleaded guilty to failing to comply with lawful requirement that their daughter attend school.

The case was brought by the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB). Judge Durcan was strongly critical of aspects of the Board’s handling of the case, describing it as a “shambles.” On Wednesday, Ennis District Court heard that girl had an absenteeism rate of 68.68% from school between 2010 and 2012.

Her mother contacted the Health Services Executive (HSE) last August due to concerns over drinking. She was advised to do so after receiving an eviction notice from a local authority.

The court heard that the girl had been coming to school smelling of alcohol and hungover.

The NEWB subsequently raised the matter with the HSE. Judge Durcan said that he could not understand why over a four period, the NEWB had not referred the case to the HSE. He said, “This child has been immeasurably and permanently dam- aged.” Reading from a report submitted by the acting CEO of the NEWB, Judge Durcan said the case was not deemed to have crossed the “threshold of serious harm and neglect” that would compel the Board to contact the HSE.

He said the Court was bound to the inescapable conclusion that the failures amounted to a “serious and flagrant abuse of a child and a child’s constitutional right.”

He said one of the reasons the child had been deprived of an education was the “abject failure of the NEWB to liaise with the HSE.”

The court heard there was substantial non-cooperation from the parents with the NEWB.

The court heard that the family are from a Traveller background and there may have been “cultural” reasons why the parents did not insist their daughter go to school. However Judge Durcan said cultural issues do not give parents a right not to send their children to school.

Dan O’Shea, NEWB Regional Manager, told the court that there were no other child protection concerns that would have lead to the involvement of the HSE.

Judge Durcan said this was probably the most serious case he has dealt with during his time on the bench.

He ordered that the case be referred to the Minister for Children and that a meeting take place between the HSE and NEWB at the earliest possible date.

He made no order against the girl’s parents.

MORE than two thirds of people in Clare with disabilities are out of work and are more likely to face challenges and barriers when it comes to finding, securing and retaining a job.

That is according to the Clare Irish Association of Supported Employment (IASE), who say people with disabilities are less than half as likely to be at work when compared to the rest of the working age population.

According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as many as 14,775 people in Clare have a disability.

Working age people within this group, which makes up 12 per cent of the county’s population, are more likely than the rest of the general population, to be out of work.

36 per cent of people with disabilities are active in the labour market compared to 77 per cent of other adults.

Pat O’Neill team leader at EmployAbility Clare, and Census 2011 supervisor for Clare explained the latest data from the CSO shows people with a disability face challenges in securing job placements.

“The emphasis in Clare is on inclusion and expanding the range of placement opportunities,” he said.

The IASE is hosting a major European conference next month to address some of the challenges, innovations and latest developments in the area of supporting people with disabilities and other marginalised groups into jobs.

Clare is to play a central role in this conference.

The artistic endeavours of a group of artists, who are clients of Employ- Ability Clare, will be showcased.

Mr O’Neill worked with clients of EmployAbility Clare to design the delegate gift for hundreds of people travelling to Ireland the conference.

The design and creative process was hosted by the Burren College of Art.

A video documentary has also been produced and will be shown for the first time in Croke Park to the international audience.

EmployAbilityClare will also present their experiences on supporting clients into self-employment opportunities.

ALMOST 6,000 patients from across the mid-west, which includes county Clare, have been waiting more than four years for an outpatient appointment. The most serious offender in the region, and country, is the Mid-Western Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Croom. Here 10,347 outpatients are on waiting lists; 4,109 or 39.7 per cent have been waiting more than four years to be seen by a consultant. According to the Department of Health’s Patient Treatment Register the Mid Western Regional Hospital, in Dooradoyle, Limerick, where most Clare patients are now referred, has the second highest number on a waiting list, with 1,716 outpatients waiting over four years. Nationally, there are now 9,784 patients waiting more than four years for an outpatient consultation in a public hospital, most of whom have been waiting between three and four years for an appointment. The total number of people on outpatient lists, according to the PTR figures for the end of January, is 386,643. The HSE West vowed to reduce this figure significantly back in January, bringing the waiting list in line with the Health Minister James Reilly’s pledge that no patient would be waiting more than a year for an outpatient consultation by the end of 2013. The HSE West claims that they can achieve this by November. The health service has been validating waiting lists to ascertain which patients still need appointments. In October last year 10,970 orthopaedic out patients in the mid-west were waiting for an appointment with a consultant. By May that figure fell to 7,477. “It is our objective to have the entire list validated by the end of May and to have no patient waiting longer than 12 months by the end of November for an outpatient orthopaedic appointment,” it said.

PRIMARY and secondary level students are being called on by Ennis Tidy Towns, to enter their school in the Ennis Schools Sustainability Challenge 2013.

Schools who do their best to reduce waste, recycle and who are environmentally sustainable will be included in this year’s Tidy Town’s entry to help Ennis shine.

Feídhlim Harty of FH Wetlands System Ltd, has said Ennis Tidy Towns are looking for schools who have begun “composting apple cores, who have started a school vegetable garden, or who have even organised a second hand book sale”.

Being environmentally friendly means taking pride in your hometown, school and environment. The involvment of schools is of great importance to Ennis Tidy Towns and is critical to the future of Ennis.

“It’s really important that we can read and write but we must be able to look after the world around us. It is vital that young people get a sense of what it means to reduce waste and be environmentally sustainable,” according to Féidhlim.

“By doing this we can protect the environment and also help the pockets of our local schools.”

To enter your school into this year’s challenge, write a short description of your waste minimisation or sustainability project, when it started and what the results have been.

“We need you to keep it brief,” according to Feídhlim, “time is short, so from one line to half a page with bullet points will be perfect.

“The more initiative the better but it’s about highlighting the work students have done this year. It’s probably a bad time with exams and school trips around now but we want to give students the recognition they deserve for their hard work.”

Féidhlim has said that there is great hope for Ennis in the Tidy Towns competition this year and “each year the town has been going from strength to strength”.

Entries must be sent to reeds@wetlandsystem.ie. before May 17 to take part in the Ennis Schools Sustainability Challenge.

ENNIS is getting ready to rock for the annual Fleadh Nua festival, which kicks off in the town on Sunday.

A fixture on the town’s calendar since 1974, this year’s festival features an expanded programme of events. There will be a special celebrity concert in honour of one of Clare’s foremost musicians, Brendan Mulkere. Recognised as an accomplished fiddle player, Brendan’s dual achievements as a teacher and musician will be recognised at a concert in the West County Hotel on Saturday, May 25.

Brendan’s guests will include brothers, John and James Carty, Niall Keegan, John Bowe, Terence O’Flaherty, Sinéad Egan and the Whelton Family. There will also be a performance by double All Ireland winners the Thatch Céilí.

Trad super-group ‘Four Men And A Dog’ will bring their high-octane live show to the West County Hotel on Friday, May 24.

The Gathering provides the inspiration for ‘Spraoi’ – The Kilfenora Ceilí Band’s latest concert presentation on Sunday, May 26.

The concert will also feature the vocal talents of Don Stiffe as well as the dancing skills of the West Clare Set Dancers.

Following a successful streaming of last year’s concert, which was viewed by almost 10,000 people in 40 different countries, ‘Spraoi’ will be available on www.livetrad.com.

Thursday, May 23 is Ladies’ Night at the Fleadh as the spotlight shines on musicians Joan Hanrahan, Bríd O’Gorman, Geraldine Cotter and Paul O’Regan.

CD launches are a relatively recent addition to the Fleadh Nua but have already proven hugely popular with festival goers.

There will be launches by Niamh Ní Charra and The Bonnymen in The Old Ground Hotel on Saturday, May 25. Enda Seery and Michelle Mulcahy will launch their album at the Temple Gate Hotel on Sunday, May 26.

Other events to look out for are the Gathering Parade, photographic displays, open-air entertainment, street entertainment, café music sessions and a tribute night for Ennistymon Comhaltas.

The popular Riches of Clare, free lunchtime concert series, will also continue to run during the Fleadh. The usual residency in the Clare Museum, Ennis, begins during the Fleadh Nua festival and continues each Wednesday afternoon during June and July.

THE death of a homeless man on the streets of Ennis earlier this month may draw greater attention on the plight of people badly in need of help, a court has heard.

Judge Patrick Durcan was speaking last week following the death of Czech Republic national Josef Pavelka (52).

Mr Pavelka’s body was found in a laneway beside Supermac’s Fast Food restaurant on O’Connell Street on Saturday May 4.

Mr Pavelka and his Polish friend Piotr Baram had lived rough on the streets of Ennis.

Their plight attracted nationwide attention in April when Judge Durcan described as a “scandal” a situation whereby Mr Pavelka had spent time living in a public toilet.

Judge Durcan read about the men’s circumstances in a report handed into court by the Probation Services. Mr Pavelka appeared in court on public order charges.

Emergency accommodation was secured for Mr Pavelka and Mr Baram at a tourist hostel in Galway but they returned to live rough in Ennis.

When his case was called at Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Durcan was informed that Mr Pavelka had passed away.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said no evidence was being offered in the case.

Judge Patrick Durcan said, “This man’s life in this country is a matter of which nobody can be proud.”

Acknowledging that Mr Pavelka had serious “self-inflicted difficulties” with alcohol, Judge Durcan said;

“It is shameful and sad that this man died in the circumstances that he did.”

The court previously heard that Mr Pavelka acquired a certain “celebrity status” after his plight came to national attention.

Judge Durcan said this status reflected the generosity of the people in Ennis towards Mr Pavelka.

Judge Durcan said he hoped that Mr Pavelka’s death would alert more people to the plight of people in need and “impel them to act.”

Judge Durcan added, “He always struck me as a kindly gentleman.”

Ennis Town Council has denied that the men lived in the two public toilets, saying it has no evidence that they were used for accommodation purposes.

Judge Durcan said he was “concerned” by the denial of the men’s living conditions by the local authority.

Mr Pavelka was a client of solicitor Daragh Hassett of Ennis based lawfirm, Hassett Considine solicitors.

Mr Hassett said that through his involvement with Mr Pavelka, he witnessed the enormous good work that charities and other organisations do for people in need.

He said that unfortunately help came too late for Mr Pavelka. Mr Hassett said, “He was a gentle man in every regard.”

Inspector Tom Kennedy said Mr Pavelka was always easy to deal with from a garda perspective. He added; “Most of our concern was for his own safety.”

Insp Kennedy said very good progress had been made in contacting the deceased’s daughter and sister in the Czech Republic.

He said discussions were ongoing with Czech authorities with regard to burial arrangements.

Judge Durcan commended the gardaí on their handling of the matter.

TWO local men are set to jet-ski from Clare to France this coming September in aid of three local charities.

The voyage, which begins in Liscannor on September 8, aims to raise vital funds for TLC4CF, the William Winder Rainbow Foundation and Burren Sub Aqua Search & Recovery.

Darren Hayes and Liam Cleary completed a round Ireland Jetski in 2010 and are now trying to raise corporate funds to support the cost of their check list and ensure that 100 per cent of the funds raised go directly to the charities.

According to Katie Murphy of TLC4CF, “we are thrilled that Darren and Liam are taking on this immense challenge again this year and this time going even further afield. “We are still falling short of approximately € 500,000 to completely the new state-of-the-art Cystic Fibrosis adult unit in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

The charity has said that they are overwhelmed to be chosen to benefit from this unusual yet wonderful fundraiser yet again alongside two other great charities.

“All of the funds raised from this challenge event will contribute to providing life-saving facilities for our members and of course it is so important to continually raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis both locally and nationally,” Katie continued.

Katie lives with Cystic Fibrosis and stressed the importance of having isolated rooms for CF patients in hospitals to reduce infection and prevent further illness.

“It is through fundraisers like this that we are making these advancements to reach international standards of care for people with CF.

“Liam and Darren have been wonderful supporters of TLC4CF throughout the years and we would like to acknowledge their hard work and dedication.”

The 1,300 miles trip to France is hoped to be completed in seven days return, according to Darren, “covering 240/250 miles a day”.

For more information visit their Facebook page, Ireland to France Charity Jetski.

IRELAND’S oldest matchmaking festival is going pink this September with a gay and lesbian weekend being added to the month-long Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival.

This year’s matchmaking festival will begin with The Outing – a lesbian and gay weekend involving concerts, matchmaking and other events, all hosted by drag-queen Panti.

The event is the brainchild of local hotelier Marcus White who has contracted the organiser of the Dublin Pride Festival, Eddie McGuinness, to manage the event.

According to McGuinness, the event will the biggest gay and lesbian matchmaking event ever to take place, anywhere in the world.

“At the end of the day it’s about love – that what the matchmaking festival has always been about. Ireland is leading the world on gay issues and hopefully we will have gay marriage soon, so the time is right for something like this to take place,” said Eddie McGuinness.

“Nothing on this scale has ever been done anywhere else in the world. We are taking matchmaking into the 21st century. We have a five-year plan for this event. This year we are looking at attracting people from Ireland and the UK but this is going to become a very big international event.”

The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival has been in operation for more than 150 years and attracts thousands of singles from all over the world to the North Clare village each September.

It is not as yet clear if Ireland’s last matchmaker, local man Willie Daly, will be directly involved in the gay and lesbian festival.

“We are trying to put a different twist on the festival. It is going to be same as any other matchmaking weekend – we will have entertainment, music and dancing – but this will be a gay and lesbian weekend,” said hotelier Marcus White.

“There will be matchmaking going on throughout the weekend. We are hoping to get Willie Daly involved as well. We are in talks with Willie at the moment and hopefully he will come n board.

“This has not been tried been tried anywhere else in the world. We are very open-minded up here in Lisdoonvarna. As Willie Daly says himself – love doesn’t distinguish, if you’re in love, you’re in love.”

The first ever Lesbian and Gay Weekend of the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival will take place from Friday, August 30 to Sunday, September 1.

CLARE County Council has ruled out the possibility of allocating a caretaker specifically for Ballyalla Lake.

Speaking yesterday, Ennis Town Manager Ger Dollard said there is a much bigger council presence at Ballyalla Lake than was the case 18 months ago.

Mr Dollard was responding to motion tabled by Ennis councillor Tony Mulqueen (FG) at a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West electoral area.

Cllr Mulqueen called on the Ennis area engineer to provide a caretaker at Ballyalla Lake “as this amenity had a caretaker in the past who carried out excellent work”.

Cllr Mulqueen told the meeting that it might be beneficial to have a caretaker in the area during summer season.

In his reply, senior executive engineer Eamon O’Dea stated that the council is providing the services required from existing operation personnel in conjunction with the local residents.

He continued, “The litter bins are collected by Ennis Town Council, the grass cutting is done by the grass cutting contractor covering the Ennis town and environs area, the gardening section of the council maintain the hedges near the car parking and the council area staff maintain the walks. The council has carried out improvement works at Ballyalla amenity area under the Smarter Travel Funding in 2011 and are seeking funding for further works.”

Mr O’Dea told the meeting that he could not see the caretaker position being re-introduced. He said area staff have been allocated to carry out maintenance work around Ballyalla and the system is working “reasonably well”. Mr O’Dea said the council is aware of issues that arise in the area on weekends.

Mr Dollard said that given the current financial climate, it is hard to see a caretaker being allocated to Ballyalla.

The meeting heard that one major works scheme is planned for Ballyalla. However that has been delayed pending approval of funding under the LEADER scheme.

A working group comprising residents, councillors, businesses and wildlife services has been established to examine proposals in relation to Ballyalla.

The group, former following a public meeting in Ennis last month, are due to hold their first meeting in June.

THERE have been renewed calls for the installation of a pedestrian crossing near the Eire Óg GAA grounds.

It follows concerns expressed for the safety of children attending the club every week.

Concern was also raised over the lack of a pedestrian crossing on the Gort Road.

At yesterday’s meeting of councillors in the Ennis East electoral area, Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF), requested an update on a proposed pedestrian crossing at the Eire Óg GAA grounds.

He told the meeting that as many as 200 children are attending the club every week. He described the situation as “treacherous” and “deadly dangerous”.

Cllr Daly warned that someone could be killed if a crossing is not put in place.

Senior executive engineer Eamon O’Dea stated that Ennis Town Council will carry out the evaluation process for the provision of a pedestrian crossing on Clonroadbeg this year “and subject to evaluation will proceed to consultation process”.

He continued, “The available resources are being used to develop works where funds are provided this year and the evaluation process will follow this work. The provision of a pedestrian crossing will be subject to the evaluation and available funding.”

Mr O’Dea told the meeting that Eire Óg is one of a number of areas around the town where the council has been asked to install a pedestrian crossing.

There were also calls for pedestrian crossing on the Gort Road, close to Ashfield Park. The request was made by Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) at a meeting of councillors in the Ennis West electoral area.

Cllr Meaney said there has been an increase in the number of people crossing the road since the opening of the Lidl store. He said there is also a need for a crossing to assist some people with special needs who are living in the area.

Mr O’Dea stated that the council will carry out an evaluation process. He added, “The available resources are being used to develop works where funds are provided this year and the evaluation process will follow this work. The provision of a pedestrian crossing will be subject to the evaluation and available funding.”

Mr O’Dea told the meeting that the council will engage with residents throughout the process.