The Clare People Archive

CLARE will not be given a “blank cheque” by the Government to complete repairs following unprecedented storm damage in the west and north of the county in recent months.

The is according to Tánaiste and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, who was in Ennistymon for the opening of the annual Clare Tourism Conference on Friday.

According to Deputy Gilmore, the Government will respond to Clare County Council’s € 36 million storm damage bill soon but he would not give any details as to how much money would be allocated to the Banner County and where that money would come from.

“The recent extreme storms have taken a heavy toll on the infrastructure of key tourism destinations in this county.

“The picture of those enormous waves crashing over Lahinch has become in many ways a defining image of recent weather events,” he said.

“This Government has responded to the severe weather damage, making € 70 million available for a programme of repair and remediation works in the areas affected.

“This is in addition to the € 25 million announced for the Department of Social Protection’s Humanitarian Assistance Schemes.

“We are currently awaiting an assessment from Local Authorities of what is required to deal with damage from the latest storms to hit these shores.

“As well as dealing with the consequences of the recent weather, the OPW are looking at what is required for the future in the way of additional coastal defences – flood protection works and a national flood warning system.

“They will be reporting back to Government on this.

“Of course, the resilience that you have all shown in withstanding such extremity is a national trait that has been critical to our survival in general, especially in the face of the economic crisis of the past few years,” he added.

THERE was a 31 per cent decline in the number of post offices operating in Clare in the last seven years, a meeting has heard.

A total 17 offices closed between 2006 and 2013 bringing the number of offices in Clare down from 54 to 37. According to the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU), closures took place in Liscannor, Kilnamona, Kilmaley, Crusheen, Bodyke, Dunsallagh, Kilmurry, Ennis, O’Callaghan’s Mills, Spanish Point, Maurice Mills, Mountshannon, Bellharbour, Ballynacally, Ruan, Connolly, Tubber and Flagmount.

The figures were revealed at a public meeting in the West County Hotel, Ennis on Thursday night.

The meeting was organised by the IPU who are urging Clare TDs to vote in favour of a bill aimed at protecting the future of the post office network in Ireland.

Clare residents in favour of the motion are expected to travel to Dublin on Wednesday to express their support. The motion calls on the Government to produce a comprehensive plan setting out measures to deliver on their commitment to sustain the network as contained in the Programme for Government.

Speaking at the meeting, Clare Postmaster Tom O’Callaghan said, “The Post Office network is under serious threat. The network as we know it will be wiped out unless we get Government action now.

“While An Post has retained the Social Welfare payments contract for a possible six-year term, this is only a temporary respite. We need a plan to ensure that Post Offices play a central role in the delivery of wel- fare payments and other Government services and we need that plan now.”

Mr O’Callaghan, a native of Kildysart added, “The Post Office network will be decimated if the income from the welfare payments contract is lost.”

There were a number of speakers on the night including West Clare councillor Pat Keane.

Cllr Keane (FF), whose wife runs a post office in Kilkee, urged An Post to show the same faith in rural Ireland as American businessman Donald Trump has.

“There is a post office in Doonbeg that they are fighting hard to retain. It’s ironic that an American is after spending € 15 million for an infrastructure in Doonbeg. That’s the kind of confidence he has in places like Doonbeg. Yet An Post hasn’t the confidence to keep post offices open,” he said in reference to Donald Trump’s recent purchase of Doonbeg golf club.

President of the IPU, Ciaran McEntee told the meeting that a list of TDs names who vote against the IPU motion in the Dáíl on Wednesday, will be put on the wall of every post office in the country.

AN open verdict has been returned at the inquest of young Ennis man whose body was discovered following an extensive search in the town last summer.

Seamus Higgins went missing from his foster home in Dun Na hÍnse, Ennis on Saturday, August 10, 2013. He was last seen jumping a wall at the rear of the estate.

His disappearance sparked a major search operation involving family, friends, civil defence, local diving groups and gardaí.

His body was discovered five days later by search divers in the Claureen River. At Clare Coroner’s Court yes- terday, Dr Elizabeth Mulcahy stated the post mortem report concluded that the cause of death was asphyxia secondary to drowning.

Foster brother Jordan Whelan was one of the last people to see Seamus alive. He described Seamus as an artist and someone who loved to fix things with his hands.

Victor Moloney, a member of Clare Marine Search and Rescue, told the inquest he found Seamus’ body submerged in nine feet of water in a river at the rear of an astro-turf pitch in Cloughleigh.

In her deposition to the inquest, foster mother Tina Whelan said Seamus had returned to Ennis for a holiday. He was living with his father Danny in Southampton.

The inquest heard Seamus had been diagnosed with a stress disorder, psychosis and depression and had previously attempted suicide.

“In my opinion Seamus’ mental health was deteriorating”, she added.

Ms Whelan said that on the morning he went missing, Seamus was in good form, having spent time with his brothers and best friend Thomas Molloy.

“He was very much loved and is missed very much by everybody” Ms Whelan told the inquest.

Blood and urine analysis revealed trace or very small levels of alcohol and anti-depressant drugs, the inquest heard. County Cororner Isobel O’Dea said the appropriate verdict was an open verdict.

Ms O’Dea explained no note had been left by the deceased.

“No absolute intention has been displayed to me that he intended to take his life”, she added.

Ms O’Dea extended her sympathies to Seamus’ family and friends.

Insp John O’Sullivan extended his sympathies on behalf of the gardaí.

The deceased’s father Danny Higgins said his son, a former student, had every intention of returning to Southampton.

“I had a bad feeling immediately,” said Mr Higgins of the moment he received a call from Tina Whelan to say Seamus was missing.

AN explicit ban on hydraulic fracturing or fracking has not been written into the Clare County Development Plan – more than two year after councilors voted unanimously for its introduction.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council say yesterday that the local authority has taken legal advice on the matter and says that it cannot introduce a ban until the national position on fracking has been made clear.

Fracking Free Clare yesterday urged Clare County Council to move on a fracking ban – saying that both Donegal and Leitrim local authorities have placed a ban on fracking.

“Leitrim and Donegal have managed to amend their County Development Plans so we don’t see what the issue is in Clare,” said Lorraine Hughes of Fracking Free Clare.

“Fracking Free Clare would love to see a similar amendment here in Clare and will keep this issue on the table until there is a complete ban on fracking in Clare and the whole of Ireland.”

A spokesperson from Clare County Council said the County Development plan is “adequate” to deal with the current situation regarding hydraulic fracturing.

“The elected members of Clare County Council unanimously adopted a resolution some time ago to introduce a ban on fracking in the County Development Plan. We have taken legal advice on how best the decision of the Elected Members could be given effect within the planning laws,” said the spokesperson.

“We are also aware that the EPA has been required by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte to undertake a detailed study and research on fracking.

“Until there is a national position on fracking there is little progress that can be made locally. We are also confident that the existing environmental objectives and safeguards in the County Development Plan as it stands are adequate to deal with any issues that arise at present.”

DONALD Trump (Snr) is due to play his first game of golf on his newlyowned golf links – Doonbeg – within the month.

Representative from the Trump Organisation are to sign the final contract later today (Tuesday) in Doonbeg, for the Greg Norman-designed golf course which is reported to have cost them € 15 million.

Executive Vice President Eric Trump said he was excited to be signing the final papers, but it would appear he is not as excited as his billionaire father about his latest acquisition. Mr Trump asks about the course and its development at least five times a day.

“He will be very excited to play it. He will be very excited to get out here and obviously we speak no less than five times a day, and he is always asking how it is, he couldn’t be more excited,” said Eric.

“He is the one that came across this property. We have all so many friends who have played this prop- erty and who are members here, so he is truly, truly excited.”

While an exact figure is not yet available on how much will be further invested in the property, Eric Trump who is in Doonbeg today for the signing of the contract said it would be in the millions.

“We will spend what ever is needed to make it the best,” he said, stating that any work and labour will be provided locally.

“Just about everything will be local. If you just look at the operational team that we have already on the ground it is phenomenal. The number one hotel in Europe, you don’t just get that award by not having the best, and the team is incredible and Joe Russell is incredible. It is his team, and they are true professionals. Quiet frankly not always do you walk into a property that has such an amazing team. We plan on making very few changes in that regard. And in terms of labour as we move in to executing our plans it will all be local,” he told The Clare People .

He said the company has already received some permission from Clare County Council to carry out coastal erosion works and will continue to work with the council in that regard.

The whole process taking Doonbeg Lodge and Golf Links to Trump International Golf Links, Ireland has been completed in record time.

“It has been exceptionally quick. I think to be able to effectively find, go hard and then close on a deal like this in two and a half weeks is certainly unheard of, and it is how we like to work. We like to move very quickly. We have that ability as a private company and when we find something we like and we find something we love and something that has this kind of potential, we hop on it very quickly and we get it done,” said Mr Trump.

BURREN film ‘Songs for Amy’ will be given it’s full Irish big-screen premiere in Dublin on May 1.

The film, which was both written and produced by Burren based writer Fiona Graham, was premiered in Los Angeles in 2012, but Irish audiences will now finally get the chance to see it on the big screen.

The film was recorded in the Kinvara area in 2011, and features a number of local actors and musicians including Jim McKee from Belharbour and Ultan Conlon from Kinvara. The film features a number of well know stars including Sean Maguire, Lorna Anderson and Patrick Bergin – who plays an older musician in the film.

It has already won a number of awards on the international film festival circuit, including the Jury Award for for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking at the Newport Beach Film Festival in California.

Following the Dublin premiere on May 1, ‘Songs for Amy’ will open in selected IMC Cinemas from May 2. It is not yet clear if the film will be shown in cinemas in Ennis, Limerick or Galway.

Burren based Sonny and Skye Productions, which produced the film, have also just joined forced with Los Angeles based company Traverse Media, in a effort to help ‘Songs for Amy’ get a widespread screening in America.

They have launched a crowd-funding campaign to help support the promotion of the film. The Indiegogo campaign asks members of the public to pledge support for the film in return for t-shirts, location tours and even meeting the cast.

“We are truly excited to be bringing American audiences ‘Songs for Amy’. It’s got all of the elements that make for a great movie, and we expect film fans everywhere will fall in love with this movie like we did,” said Jason Tyrrell, acquisitions director at Traverse.

THE number of serious drug offenses in Clare increased by almost 70 per cent 2013 as Gardaí crack down on dealers in the county.

Figures release by Clare Gardaí last night reveal a dramatic increase in Section 15 drug offenses last year, which deals with the sale and supply of illegal drugs. There was also a sizable increase in both minor, Section 3, drug offenses in Clare as an increase in the number of drug driving offenses.

There was a total of 74 Section 15 offenses in the county last year, an increase of 30 offenses or 68.18 per cent on 2013. These figures do not include a major crackdown on cannabis grow houses conducted by local Gardaí in January of 2014, with more than six grow houses in the county being raided during this period.

Indeed, according to Superintendent Derek Smart, the public has played a role in the increased detection of serious drug offenses, with landowners reporting unusual activity in rented or abandoned rural houses.

“It is thanks to the public that a number of these seizures took place. We put the word out through the media and it was thanks to information received from the general public that we were able to make some of those recent seizures,” said Supt Smart.

Drug driving offenses increase by 62.5 per cent in Clare last year, with 13 offenses in total, rising from eight in 2012. There was also a sizable in- crease in Section 3, drug possession offenses last year with 200 incidents in total, up from 154 incidents or a 29.87 per cent year on year increase.

East Clare Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) urged members of the public in rural parts of the county to report anything suspicious taking place in isolated buildings.

“I would like to compliment them [the Gardaí] on the number of cannabis grow houses which have been tackled around the county,” he said.

“With the number of isolated houses that we have around the community I think it is important to get the message out to people that people need to look in on these houses.”

It was also confirmed yesterday that were 53 behavioral warnings or ASBOs issued by the Clare Gardaí in 2013.

CATTLE rustling is becoming a major problem in Clare with more than five incidents taking place on the county’s farms over the past nine months.

Thieves are now understood to be entering farms at night, feeding animals under the cover of darkness in order to gain their trust, before attempting to steal them at a later date.

According to Superintendent Derek Smart, thieves are now able to gain access to cattle ear tags on the blackmarket, allowing them to reintroduce stolen animals into the food chain.

At present, all cattle must have a valid ear tag, which tracks the animal from birth to slaughter. The accurate tagging of cattle is important to ensure the tractability of meat – to ensure that meat from animals is labeled correctly.

This is important not just in terms of preventing stolen cattle from entering the food chain, but also from preventing horse and donkey meat from being labelled incorrectly as beef.

“In the last six or nine months we have had five incidents with cattle being stolen in Clare. We work very closely with the Department of Agriculture officials on this, conducted a search over the past two weeks and interviewed one individual with reference to cattle being taken in and we will be sending a file to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP),” said Superintendent Derek Smart at last nights meeting of the Joint Policing Committee of Clare County Council and Clare Gardaí. “People are getting tags from somewhere – that seems to be the case. These people are obviously building up the trust of the animals over a number of night. So they can come in the dead of night and take the cattle.”

East Clare Councillor Pat Hayes (FF), also confirmed that people have been entered farms at night – attempting to build up a relationship with animals before attempting a theft.

“There have been a number of incidents around our part of the country where people have tried and failed to rob cattle,” he said.

“There has been plenty of evidence that they [the cattle rustlers] have been feeding the cattle in order to gain their trust which is incredible.”

Mayor of Clare, Joe Arkins (FG), said that there could be another horse meat scandal in Ireland if tags are allowed to be traded on the black market.

“I have had several hundreds of cattle since the new tagging system came in and there is no problem getting new tags. I think there is need for some sort of vetting system before a farmer can can get new tags,” he said.

A DISTRICT Court judge has criticised “some solicitors in Ennis” for abusing the legal aid system.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the statement when Ennis solicitor Tara Godfrey failed to appear at Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, to defend a client who was on free legal aid.

Ms Godfrey, a sole practitioner, was in Ennis Court House on that morning, where the circuit court was sitting.

At the beginning of the Kilrush hearings Kilrush solicitor Michael Ryan told the judge the Ennis solicitor was on her way and the case was put to the end of the list of hearings.

Just after 12.30pm the case was called again, but Ms Godfrey was not in attendance.

Mr Ryan said he had just spoken to her and she was leaving Ennis. Judge Durcan said that the hearings in Kilrush were finished for the day and criticised what he believed were “some solicitors abuse” of the legal aid system. “The inspector is here, the witnesses are here and the person who is in receipt of the free legal aid is here. If people have too many balls in the air they should pass some of those balls on,” he said.

He remanded the case to Ennis court the following day stating he wanted an explanation as to why the solicitor who was assigned under the free legal aid scheme was not in court. The judge then told the senior law practitioner in the court, Gearoid Williams, that he wanted the issue brought to the attention of the Clare chair of the Law Society.

He asked him to express his “complete disquiet at the total abuse of the free legal aid system”.

Mr Williams said Ms Godfrey did intend to be at the Kilrush court and was sure she meant no disrespect.

“It does appear to be abuse of the free legal aid system. This is a total abuse and our country cannot afford this,” said Judge Durcan.

He added some solicitors in Ennis were behaving like this but said he had not any issues with the solicitors that come before his in Kilrush Court.

At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Ms Godfrey said she “apologized unreservedly” for what happened in Kilrush on Tuesday. She told the court she had been out of the office on Thursday and Friday and was unaware she had a conflict between the district court and circuit court.

Ms Godfrey said had she known, she would have passed the case to a colleague in Kilrush. “I apologise unreservedly….I can say it will not happen again,” she added.

Judge Durcan said he accepted Ms Godfrey’s apology. He said he raised the issue because gardaí, clients and the court services were discommoded.

“I felt that the public were let down by what happened,” he added.

VISITING restrictions have been put in place at the region’s largest hospital in a bid to curb the spread of influenza.

Last week the HSE advised that people be vaccinated against the seasonal flu as eight people have died so far this season as a result of the flu.

Just last night, (Monday) University Hospital Limerick was added to the list of hospital with visitor restrictions, which bans children visiting the hospital at any time during this period.

Visiting is permitted during normal visiting hours only, from 2pm to 4pm and 6.30pm to 8.30pm, with one visitor only allowed to visit a patient.

“Visitors who arrive outside of these times will not be permitted to enter the hospital,” a spokesperson said.

“Hospital authorities have reminded the public of the importance of complying with these restrictions, as visiting is a major contributing factor in spreading the disease,” she added.

The public are requested to co-operate fully with the advice and instruction of staff.

The HSE confirmed that there are no reports of any patients with flu in any of the four elderly units or hospitals in Clare or at Ennis Hospital.

The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre figures show that five children aged under four years have been required to go into an intensive care unit in hospital and there has been a total of 31 under fours admitted to hospital with flu symptoms.

There were 34 people with confirmed influenza hospitalised last week, up from 26 the week before, and bringing the total to 118.

There has also been one confirmed case of swine flu in Cork.