The Clare People Archive

AER LINGUS passengers flying to US destinations from Shannon will not be able to use pre-immigration facilities at the airport until late next year.

Yesterday, the chairman of the Shannon branch of the Irish Hotels’ Federation (IHF), Michael Vaughan expressed concern that Shannon would lose market share and passen- gers over the situation.

Over the past 23 years, all trans- atlantic passengers flying to JFK in New York and Boston have been able to avail of the pre-immigration clear- ance at Shannon.

The facility avoided long queues at JFK and Boston at immigration.

However, with the introduction of new €21m Customs and Border Pro- tection (CBP), the immigration and customs clearance is now combined.

Unlike the other three transatlantic carriers, Aer Lingus has opted out of the CBP service until a similar facil- ity is in place at Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport late next year.

The airline has cited operational and logistical reasons and Aer Lin- gus passengers will now not be proc- essed until they reach JFK and Bos- ton, with the closure of the existing immigration pre-clearance post at Shannon as it has got subsumed into the larger CBP facility.

The chairman of the Shannon branch of the IHF, Mr Vaughan yes- terday expressed concern that Aer Lingus passengers not being able to

avail of pre-clearance facilities for the next year. “It is a big thing for passengers to be able to fly and have the immigration pre-clearance out of the way. It is very much valued by the business traveller, who doesn’t want any delays.

‘Aer Lingus not participating in the customs and border protection down- grades the status of Shannon.

“IT would be worried that Shannon would lose market share and passen- gers over this. It is another negative for Shannon,” he said.

Mr Vaughan said that the IHF

hopes to meet with Aer Lingus exec- utives to discuss the situation. “With the New York route under threat this winter, this is something that Shan- non Airport could do without.”

Earlier this month, the new facili- ties opened with Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) chairman, Pat Shanahan describing the opening of the facility as “a milestone for the oy ola mae

“It is a great innovative opportunity for Shannon, and offers us the oppor- tunity to grow our transatlantic traf- fic,’ he said.

The introduction of the facilities comes against the background of traffic on US routes out of Shannon falling by 19 per cent for the first six months and a drop of seven per cent on all routes.

The facilities are in place following a bi-lateral agreement between the US and Ireland, and Mr Rooney said that the new pre-clearance facilities will offer economic and security benefits.

Forget the flu, get back to school

THERE were more people signing on in Ennis last month than signed- on in their entire county just one year ago.

New figures release by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed that 6,279 people claimed unemployment benefit in the county capital last month, compared to 6,023 in the en- tire county in July of 2008.

The total number on the live regis- ter in Clare last month was 10,513, up 344 or 3.5 per cent on the previ- ous month and the highest numbers

on record of County Clare. If the cur- rent trend continues the number sign- ing on in Clare will tip the 13,000 mark by the end of the year.

The increases were spread around the county with Ennis reporting a month-on-month increase in the un- employment level of 207 people. The upward trend was mirrored in En- nistymon, Kilrush and Tulla which reported increases of 39, 53 and 45 respectively.

These new figures were described as “horrendous” by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Associa- tion (ISME), who have called on the

Government to immediately intro- duce a comprehensive employment plan to address the current employ- NAINLMD KONE

“While the Government have at last taken the issue seriously by in- troducing the Employment Subsidy Scheme, the reality is that the initia- tive is a mere drop in the ocean with regard to what needs to be done,” said Mark Fielding, ISME Chief Ex- ecutive.

‘Many sectors of the business com- munity continue to struggle with no assistance. What is urgently required is a coordinated approach to address-

ing the crisis and not piecemeal pro- erammes that may only have limited SUCCESS.”

ISME warned that unless decisive action is taken, the dole queues will continue to lengthen and have sug- gested that the government introduce a National Employment Plan. Ac- cording to the ISME chief executive the plan should address the barriers to business, which are contributing to job losses, including costs, late payments and lack of credit.

In the last 12 months the numbers signing on in Clare have increased by 75 per cent, from 6,023 to 10,513.

MORE than 100 youngsters have spent a portion of their school holi- days doing sums and learning sci- ence – and there hasn’t been one murmur of complaint.

In fact it’s just the opposite for the kids who have been attending cours- es at the Atlantic Airventure Avia- tion Education centre in Shannon.

Mesmerising maths and painful physics become transformed when youngsters strap themselves in to the cockpit of a Boeing 747 and have to calculate speed and fuel consump- tion before taking off or landing.

“This flight simulator is a great op- portunity because it’s the only one in Ireland which allows access outside pilot training. The only other way for them to experience being a pilot is to go to England, where flight simula- tions cost hundreds of pounds,” said Jane McGill, one of the people be- hind the aviation education facility.

The courses cater for young flying fans in two categories, ages eight to 12, and 12 to teenagers.

As well as learning some basics about how airplanes actually get up and stay there; they get instruction in flying from commercial and private pilots; get to talk to airline crew and air traffic control officers; as well as a stint in the simulator.

‘Foremost, it’s great fun but it’s also a way to introduce them to science. When they start planning a flight, and you have to have so much fuel and learn about how to take the weather into consideration, then things like maths and science begin to slot into place and the kids think ‘Hey there

2 99

1s areason for this stuff’.

Air Atlanta take a keen interest in the courses. “They are very good to us – all the airlines are. The air- lines, which have apprenticeships, can often spot potential among the older students. They’re here because they’re interested in aviation in the first place and the talent out there, particularly among the girls, is phe- nomenal,’ said Jane.

The aviation facility grew out of a project known as The Young Ea-

gles, where youngsters are taken for a flight in a light aircraft.

“They really love it. I was involved at the time it started up in Clare and saw this, but they had nowhere to go after that flight. So we did a lot of research, saw there was a need and set up Airventure.”

As well as running courses for chil- dren, the centre facilitates trainee pi- lots, air crews going for interviews and even has a ‘fear of flying’ course.

‘When people understand a bit more about what goes on they get much better about flying,’ said Jane.

The final summer courses are now being enrolled, the next one starting on Monday next at a cost of €80 for the week. Airventure can be reached at 061 363687.

Bord Snip to put the brakes on rural transport?

Boil notice still in place

A PRECAUTIONARY boil notice 1s set to remain in place on the Ennis water supply after further problems were encountered with the town’s new €8 million water treatment plant.

In statement released last week, Sean Ward, Senior Executive Engi- neer with Clare County Council, said “The new treatment plant has been in full production since August 7, but there is further work to be done before the 30-day commissioning period can recommence. A full 30 days without interruption must be completed before the plant can be deemed to be fully in operation. On completion of this, the council can have discussions with the Health Services Executive about possible removal of the current precautionary oe) 0m te) 8 (een

“The new plant started treating water on 2nd March 2009, and since that date it has treated all the water supplied to the consumers in Ennis town and the surrounding supply area. The quality of the treated wa- ter has been consistently high. Dur- ing times of heavy rainfall, in March and April, the plant experienced dif- ficulty in treating a sufficient quan- tity of water to meet the consumers’ needs. The contractor designing and operating the plant, EPS Ltd, made a number of alterations to overcome these problems, and the first speci- fied eight-day period of commission-

ing was successfully completed dur- ing June 2009,” Mr Ward explained.

“The second specified period of commissioning, for 30 days, started on Wednesday 22nd July 2009. How- ever due to a mechanical problem this had to be interrupted on 26th July. The problem was not related to the quality of the incoming raw water, but it affected the throughput of the plant. The interim treatment plant, located beside the Drumcliff spring, was used for 12 days (26th July to 6th August) to back up the new plant, and there was no effect at any time on either the quality or quantity of water being supplied to our consumers,” he added.

This is the second time in the space of four months that the plant has failed during the commissioning process. In May, problems emerged regarding the long-term capability of the plant to produce both the required quantity and quality of water.

A boil notice has been in place on the Ennis water supply since an out- break of cryptosporidium in 2005. The boil notice advises that for peo- ple regarded as immuno-compro- mised, infants, pre-school children and visitors, water should be boiled.

ANDREA Corr may be hosting the most expensive wedding of the year when she ties the knot with mil- lionaire boyfriend Brett Desmond in Doonbeg this weekend, but the award for the most unique wedding will be staying in north Clare.

North Clare couple Marianne Pot- terton and James Slevin celebrated their marriage last Friday with a pa- gan ceremony in Doolin, followed by a fancy dress reception in Ennisty- mon. The theme for the wedding was ‘kind people from history’, with each of the guests dressing up as a person like Gandhi or Mother Teresa.

“We do things a little bit different anyway so we decided to turn the whole thing into a very creative af- fair. The idea of the wedding was a bit of an art piece, to be honest with you,’ said Marianne.

“Art is very important to my part- ner and myself so we figured, why not bring it all together and have an extra special, crazy fun day? My dress is a kind of bridalwear but it is not conventional bridalwear.

“We had several different elements to the wedding itself. We got married at a registry office in the morning. After that, the ceremony took place in our garden. We had a man and a woman who performed a blessing for the wedding and James has written a lovely ceremony himself.

“We had a sword ceremony, a ring ceremony and a part where each

guest at the wedding brought up a stone to the front of the ceremony and said a few words about us.”

The entire wedding party also made their way into the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon where former Mayor of Clare, Madeleine Taylor- Quinn launched the ‘Merging 3’ exhibition, featuring a selection of Marianne’s paintings, along with works from Madeleine Irene Smyth and Mary Foudy O’Halloran.

“I decided to go back to painting about a year and a half ago or so and

it’s been very interesting so far. I end up using a lot of text in my work – words that I find interesting or that relate to the ideas that I have,’ she nee

‘We often see words in a very plain way. I like to make the words into the painting and make them more inter- esting in that way.”

Clare TDs fail to defend free education

BUSINESSES in Ennis and Clare are being urged to get behind Mu- hammad Ali’s visit to the county capital in an effort to ensure as many people as possible hit the streets to see the boxing great.

The call comes from Sports Acad- emy International, who are working with the local authority in hosting Ali’s visit to his ancestral home.

Speaking to