The Clare People Archive

A €22,000 NEW Year windfall in last Saturday night’s National Lot- tery Winning Streak television game show will enable a Clare youth sup- port co-ordinator to fulfill his dream of going on safari.

Eddie Keane from Quin, who works as with the Clare Vocational Education Committee as co-ordi- nator for the Ennis Youth Support Scheme, purchased his winning ticket at O’Keeffe’s Roslevan Stores in Ennis.

With his winnings, Eddie said he would like to upgrade both his and his wife Pauline’s car and go on a Sa- fari holiday. Eddie and Pauline have two sons Dean who is 18 and Luke who is 12.

School enrolment numbers increase

SHANNON Airport’s commercial needs compromising Ireland’s neu- trality isn’t just a modern day phe- nomenon brought by US offensives in Iraq and Afghanistan – State pa- pers from 30 years ago have revealed that the Government wrestled with the same dilemma in 1979.

That year the US authorities sprung an informal request on the Govern- ment to allow 12,000 soldiers to transit through Shannon Airport en route from a NATO exercise in Ger- TneT-B ONY

The US proposal to land troops in Shannon only came to the authori- ties’ notice when the Department of Transport and Foreign Affairs were phoned to ask for facilities at Shannon for two customs officers to observe troop transports on the ground.

Allowing the troops land was worth £250,000 in revenue to Shannon in landing fees and duty free shopping, a request the Government acceded to in early 1979.

The State papers reveal that gov- ernment officials were concerned that allowing the stopover would compromise the country’s traditional policy of military neutrality and that the stopover request had not gone through the proper diplomatic chan- nels.

One memo relating to the stopover request suggested “checking with the US Embassy fairly courteously but firmly on the issue of principle in or-

der to ensure that it does not become general practice. “It is possible at least – even though

is a ‘try on’ to see how we react to such requests “It would be instructive to think

it seems unlikely – that the approach how we would react if the Soviet Un-

ion wanted to fly troops back from Cuba in Aeroflot planes and took us similarly for granted,” added the | Xe) Kes h:4 0a WOE: Nunc o nto eley

Officials from the Department of Industry and Commerce and _ the Department of the Taoiseach were concerned that refusal to accede to the stopover request could have a negative impact on US investment in Ireland.

However, another government memo wondered whether agree- ment would facilitate “even if only marginally, acts with which the Irish Government would not wish to be involved.

‘“Lobbies exercised about neutrality would exploit this situation and see it as a further indication of our alleged gradual and ‘de facto’ involvement with NATO.

“Tf it were allowed, even on a one- off basis there would probably be some public controversy or question- ing about or position on NATO and it would be well to be prepared for Wee

“Agreement would also indicate our goodwill to the US and our will- ingness to facilitate the defence of Europe and with that part of it which we were involved in constructing a new political entity.”

PRESIDENT Hillery’s twin passions of golfing and sailing were subject to strict protocol by the Government, State papers for 1979 have revealed.

The papers released under the Gov- ernment’s 30-year rule showed that specific procedures were in place, which dictated how President Hillery might be able to engage in leisure ac- tivities such as golf and sailing while abroad.

In 1979 he wanted to embark on a two-day yachting cruise outside Irish territorial waters, a move that had government advisers deferring to the attorney general and consulting with the Constitution about what law ap- plied to being outside Irish territorial waters.

Eventually, officials in the De- partment of the Taoiseach advised Taoiseach Jack Lynch that the Gov- ernment could give consent for Presi- dent Hillery’s yachting excursion un- der Article 12.9 of the Constitution which states “the President shall not

leave the State during his term of of- fice save with the consent of the Gov- ernment”.

However, when it came to President Hillery going on a golfing holiday to Boston in August of that year, the De- partment of the Taoiseach bunkered the invitation that came from the Lt Governor of Massachusetts. The in- vitation for President Hillery to golf in a tournament in Boston from Au- gust 16 to 18 came via a phone call to the Irish Consul General in Boston.

“It seems to me to be extraordinary that the Consul General in Boston should recommend favourable con- sideration of a suggestion that the President should go to America to participate in a golf tournament and it is even more extraordinary that the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs should envisage that the President might accept such an invitation,’ a memo from the Depart- ment of the Taoiseach said.

THE Government was left holding a very big baby after President Paddy Hillery’s state visit to Tanzania. The problem arose after Tanzanian Presi- dent, Julius Nyerere presented Presi- dent Hillery with a baby elephant during his visit.

The Tanzanian Government came looking for the transport charges to be paid for transporting the elephant to Aras an Uachtaran.

When the elephant arrived in Ire- land in September 1979, President Hillery contacted Dublin Zoo to find out would they be interested in pro- viding a new home for the elephant.

“I left a message to say that we would be very happy to receive the elephant,’ Dublin Zoo Director Ter- ry Murphy said in a letter to Presi- dent Hillery.

However, by this stage the Tanza- nian Government just wanted to be paid, with the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs in Tanzanian writing to the Irish Embassy in Dar es Salaam with a reminder that the Irish Government had undertaken to pay all air freight charges.

“It is in accordance with this un- dertaking that the ministry has the honour to request the reimbursement of the sum of 66,063 shillings, being the cost of transporting by air the live elephant as referred to above.”

By December, Irish officials were becoming frustrated about the fail-

ure to pay the bill. “Do you have £4,000 to spare,’ wrote one official. ‘None of the three departments we have had to contact in an attempt to sort out this mess has either. The up- shot of the whole affair is that we are left holding this weighty baby and PVCCMCIAUCG GRY GINO Nao RRo) Tana

The bill for President Hillery’s baby elephant was finally paid before the end of the year.

FEARS have been raised that Clare’s three Community Development Projects will be swapped if the Gov- ernment goes ahead with plans to subsume community development into local development.

There are three Community Devel- opment Projects (CDPs) in County Clare funded by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Af- fairs under the Community Develop- ment Programme/ National Develop- ment Plan.

“These project in any democracy provide a health tension between state and community on the margins who strive for justice and equality,” said Ennis CDP chairman, Dermot Hayes.

There three Clare projects are: the Clare Womens Network, which works to address women’s issues in Clare; the East Clare Community Support Ltd, which supports the communi- ties of rural east Clare, specifically people with disabilities, carers, older people, new and LGBT community; the third is the Ennis Community Development Project (CDP) which works with the Travelling commu- nity and immigrants in Ennis and environs and works to build capacity so that people can engage in com- munity life, raise awareness in local policy-making arenas of issues such as equality, integration, different cul- tures, and social inclusion and sup- ports the effective delivery of serv-

ices through interagency work.

Mr Hayes said that if the plan goes ahead, “We believe that there is eve- ry possibility that this will mean the loss of valuable skills and experience built up over the last twenty years of the programme.

The implications of closures are stark. Disadvantaged communities will be further undermined and there will be consequences for employ- ment, training, education, and anti- social behaviour.”

Ennis CDP is appealing to all local councillors and TDs to “please take a look and examine the impact in most marginal and disenfranchised com- munities.”

CDPs are run by a voluntary man-

agement committee which includes representatives from the community affected by discrimination and pov- erty. The projects are also supported by volunteers who help to ensure the work of the programme is carried out CSA m AO

“This voluntary contribution needs to be acknowledged as a significant resource which complements the goal of the Community Development Programme,’ Mr Hayes said.

Protests and demonstrations will be organised countrywide should the plan go ahead, he added.

Fears for CDPs in cutbacks

HONEST Clare people are at the bottom of the tax-dodgers league, with just seven spongers per 10,000 of the population.

According to figures just published which outline the figures relating to tax defaulters over the last nine years, there were just 83 people in Clare’s 110,950 population – 7.48 per 10,000 head of population.

This puts Clare third from the bot-

tom of the league, bested only by Kildare, which had 7.30 defaulters per 10,000 head of population and Dublin, which had 6.48.

Of those who were named and shamed in the county, 15 were farm- ers, 18 were company directors, 15 were builders, seven were in the re- tail trade, two were publicans, four were employees, two worked in the restaurant or fast food trade, one in the motor trade, six in the hotel or guesthouse business and one was a

landlord.

There were no Clare towns named in the top 30 tax defaulter towns, and no Clare names appeared in the list of top ten overall tax defaulters or the top 20 Ansbacher case de- faulters.

Top of the league for being in trou- ble with the Revenue Commission- ers were Kerry people, who had 403 defaulters unmasked in the same period, 28.82 per 10,000 head of population.

Dublin had 769 declared defaulters but because of the massive popula- tion – 1,187,176 – remained at the bottom of the league of shame.

Limerick was also well down, eight from the bottom with 11.52 defaulters per 10,000 population and Tipperary was fourth from the top at 19.30 for the same number of people.

Over the last nine years, the Rev- enue Commissioners have published the names of 4,961 people who have

made settlements with them.

The names are published in the Iris Oifigidil, the Irish State Gazette, by the Revenue Commissioners each quarter. The names of tax default- ers are published where the settle- ment was in excess of €30,000, or €12,700 if pre 2005, and if the amount of fine or penalty included in the setthement exceeded 15 per cent of the tax and where the taxpay- er did not avail of the opportunity to make a voluntary disclosure.

ENNIS’S reputation as one of the cleanest towns in Ireland took a hit yesterday when it tumbled 42 places in the latest Irish Business Against Piro mOlsyaN Relais

Ennis was listed in second place in last June’s survey but has since fallen to 46th position, from a sta- tus of ‘clean to European norms’ to ‘moderately littered’ in IBAL’s final results for 2009. Shannon has leap- frogged Ennis to become Clare’s ti- diest town, according to IBAL.

Shannon rose to 20th place and 1s described in the report as “Clean to European Norms’.

IBAL’s report for Shannon stated: “Half of the sites surveyed in Shan- non were clean to European norms, with the remainder ‘moderately lit- tered’. Some of the top ranking sites included Ballycasey Business Park, Bothar Mor approach and Bothar an Aerphort approach. Newmarket-on -Fergus road approach just missed getting the top litter grade. The town centre was moderately littered and care needs to be taken to ensure it doesn’t deteriorate.

The report looked at ten areas in Ennis and was particularly critical of the town’s approach roads.

The report stated, “There has been a very significant drop in the per- formance at Ennis since our previ- ous survey. Being clean is a 365-day responsibility for the local authority. Five of the sites surveyed in Ennis were clean to European norms but it was let down by two very poor sites – the Department of Social Welfare was a litter blackspot – clearly it has been completely neglected for quite Se) seem BDO tome

The report added, “The link road at

Citroen / Camus Garage to Cahercal- la Road had a serious litter problem – it was the worst of all the approach routes which were surveyed coming into Ennis.”

However, speaking yesterday, May- or of Ennis, Frankie Neylon (Ind) rejected IBAL’s assessment, saying IBAL should look at Ennis’s track record in Tidy Towns competition.

Town Clerk, Eddie Power told yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town

Council that half of the areas sur- veyed in Ennis were found to be clean to European norms.

“It’s hard to accept their comments because they don’t stand up to scru- tiny,” he said.

However, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said Ennis’s fall illustrated a “real credibility” in IBAL’s ratings sys- c0e8

He said the council should look at the survey as constructive criticism.

He told the meeting that approach roads to Ennis are “a mess of rub- bish”’.

“Anybody who walks around Ennis will see that. It’s people who are go- ing around and dumping rubbish. It’s a substantial problem,” he said

Cllr Meaney praised the work done by the council’s environmental war- dens and added that it was “vital we identify the wholesale dumping of rubbish by an underclass’. He said

people who engage in illegal dump- ing should receive jail sentences.

A MAN in his 20s, arrested in con- nection with a robbery involving a knife in Shannon during Christmas, has been released without charge.

The alarm was raised after a man carrying a kitchen knife demanded money at an off-licence in Shannon on St Stephen’s Day.

The incident happened at the off- licence attached to the Crossroads Pub in Drumgeely at around 5.30pm

that evening. The man, who wore a scarf over his face, demanded mon- ey before making way with around €200 in cash.

A staff member and a customer were on the premises at the time. Although traumatised by the inci- dent, they did not sustain injuries.

Gardai have secured CCTV foot- age of the area and have viewed this as part of the investigation, while a forensic examination has been car- ried out at the scene. A man was ar-

rested in Shannon last Tuesday and was questioned at Shannon Garda Station.

He was later released without charge and a file is being prepared for the DPP, who will decide if charges are to be brought.

“The investigation is ongoing. Statements have been taken. CCTV has been secured and is being ex- amined in order to assist the identi- fication. A forensic examination has been carried out and we are await-

ing the results of that,” said a garda spokesman.

“We are appealing to witnesses who were in the area at the time to come forward,” said the spokes- ner Ob

Shannon Gardai can be contacted on 061 361212.

Meanwhile, gardai in Tulla are in- vestigating an incident in which an elderly woman was robbed of mon- ey over the Christmas.

Two people, posing as workers,

called to her door in Tulla village shortly before 6am last Wednesday, December 30, on the pretence that they were checking for flood-related TSS oh

While one of the two distracted the woman, the other searched the house and made way with what gardai are describing as a small sum of cash. The two people – a man and woman – are described as being in their 20s. Gardai in Tulla are investigating the incident.