The Clare People Archive

THERE has been a surge in applica- tions to reduce maintenance in the family law courts in Clare, as a di- rect result of the recession.

Family law solicitors in the county say more and more people are facing difficulty in paying maintenance and are applying to the district court to vary payments.

The free legal advice clinics in En- nis are also noticing a huge increase in queries related to family law and employment law issues, due to the downturn in the economy.

Solicitor and family law special- ist Mairead Doyle said many people have had reduced incomes or are on

social welfare and as a result are simply unable to meet maintenance payments.

‘There 1s a marked increase in the number of applications for decreas- ing maintenance before the courts. This is as a result of some people earning substantially less than they were, she said.

She pointed out that the threat of committal to jail is hanging over those who fail to meet their main- tenance commitments, pending the decision of a district court judge.

‘People are missing payments and are being brought back before the judge. The penalty is committal to prison and the judge has to consider each case on its own merits,” said Ms

Doyle.

Those who are not receiving their maintenance are going to court, to PYG COKoN MOO OMONTLAKOe

‘The other option is for an attach- ment of earnings order to be brought to the district court, where someone applies to have maintenance deduct- ed at source by the employer. Those applications are more common now,” added Ms Doyle, who is an associate partner at Michael Houlihan’s solici- tors in Ennis.

She said the family law courts — which sit twice a month in Clare — have been particularly busy in the run-up to Christmas, amid intense family pressures and the squeeze on incomes.

“The family law courts are ex- tremely busy, especially coming up to Christmas. There are access mat- ters and problems with maintenance. The downturn is taking effect. Peo- ple are really feeling the pinch,” she NCO

Ms Doyle is on the free legal ad- vice panel, which runs clinics in Ennis every week and has noticed a sizeable increase 1n queries in recent weeks.

“The clinics are inundated with family law and employment law que- ries. The way the economy is going, a lot more pressure is being put on relationships,’ she said.

The free legal advice clinics are regularly held at the Ennis Citizens

Information Centre on Bindon Lane every Thursday between 7pm and O00

A WOMAN has denied in court that she made love to her ex-partner after he hit her. She said, “I can categori- cally 100 percent say it was not love. It was rape.”

She was giving evidence in the trial of a man who has pleaded not guilty to seven charges arising out of an al- leged incident in the complainant’s Clare home on September 9, 2007.

He denies three charges of rape, anal rape and oral rape of a woman, one charge each of falsely imprison- ing and threatening to kill her, aggra- vated burglary using a single-action shotgun and unlawful possession of a firearm, all on the same occasion.

He has pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting the woman on the same occasion, causing her harm.

The woman told the court that the

43-year-old accused had announced that he was going to rape her before he did so.

She was surprised he had said that because minutes earlier he had de- clared his love for her.

She didn’t accept a suggestion from defence lawyers that the accused had a gun with him that night because he was intending to shoot himself.

She also didn’t accept that she started to row with her ex-partner when she woke up to find him in her room.

“He had a gun with him and I was not going to argue with him,” she said.

She said the accused was lying if he had told his counsel that he had not touched her in the face with the gun.

The complainant agreed that she had a cigarette with the accused that night. “I asked him for a cigarette be-

cause I was shaking. It was a break from his anger and it was a connec- tion between us to share a cigarette,” she said.

She said during the rape she had thought about trying to escape by poking the accused in the eye with a set of keys on the bed but she re- alised to get out she would have to jump out of a window when it was pitch black outside.

The complainant agreed with John Phelan SC, defending, that there was a “series of ups and downs” in their relationship, that there was a pattern of “moving in and moving out” and that they had “their share of fero- os (o) brome: 0 yca 000 8(o) 81 RcMe

The hearing continues today (Tues- day) before Mr Justice Barry White and a jury of five women and seven men, at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

THE sister of a man accused of rap- ing and threatening to kill his preg- nant ex-partner has told a jury that she spoke to her brother on the phone during the alleged incident and he told her he wanted to commit sui- cide.

She said the accused told her eve- rything was “ok” and she also talked to the complainant, after hearing that her brother had hit her and the wom- an confirmed that she was not hurt.

“She said she was fine and it was not serious,’ the witness told the jury.

She said she asked her brother to ei- ther put the gun down or throw it out the window and leave the house.

She said she asked him, “Do you realise that the police think this is a hostage situation?” as that was what their father had earlier told her.

When asked by counsel if her broth- er was obsessed with the complain- ant, the witness replied “He loved her very much but I am not qualified to say if he was obsessed with her”.

The accused’s brother told the court that he rang the man after his sister called him. He said that his brother told him he was going to kill him-

self.

The trial was also told that a cousin of the accused contacted gardai be- cause he was worried about the man’s welfare after he noticed that his own shotgun and cartridges were missing from his home.

The witness said he “thought of the accused” because the man was de- pressed and was going through his own troubles. He went to the garda station after he spoke to the accused on the phone and realised he was in the company of his ex-partner.

He later talked to his cousin, with the phone on loudspeaker so the

gardai could listen in on their con- versation, during which the accused admitted he had hit his ex-partner AUN eM Melomcae tee

Sergeant Brian Howard said he took over the phone from the accused’s cousin and reassured the man that his and his ex-partner’s welfare were priority for the gardai and confirmed that they would not storm the house.

He also told him that he would give him any assistance, medical or oth- erwise, that he required.

Sgt Howard said he made an agree- ment with the accused to leave the shotgun in the back of his cousin’s

car and the man later complied with Wek

He then met the accused and the complainant at the back of her home and arrested him under the Mental Health Act.

On the way to the station the ac- cused started to cry and the com- plainant, who had asked to travel in the patrol car with him, leaned over and held his hand for the rest of the journey.

Sgt Howard said the complainant was injured and appeared to be both frightened and shocked.

GARDAI in Ennis are believed to have intercepted a Dublin gang plan- ning to commit a serious crime in the heart of the town.

As part of a major operation, armed gardai swooped and arrested five members of a suspected criminal gang on Parnell Street in Ennis on Friday morning.

Pedestrians looked on in aston- ishment as the five were taken into custody, while a car and van were taken by gardai for technical exami- nations.

The five men were taken for ques- tioning at Ennis and Shannon Garda stations, where they were held throughout the day. All five were released without charge on Saturday and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecution’s of- fice, where a decision will be taken on whether to charge them.

According to sources, the move- ments of the gang had been under surveillance for a number of weeks and this led to Friday’s major op- eration. They are understood to have been monitoring their business target in Ennis for some weeks.

There was the most significant Garda operation mounted in the county capital for a considerable pe- riod of time.

The other, separate, most prolific Garda operation in the town this winter was last month’s success- ful recovery of a haul of more than

€100,000 worth of jewellery which had been stolen from people’s homes across the town.

The jewellery was stolen during 55 burglaries over a six-week period and was recovered in a garage in the town five weeks ago.

This was on foot of the establish- ment of Operation Ennis, which was set up after dozens of home own- ers reported that their premises had been broken into during the daytime. Jewellery and cash were taken by the intruders as burglaries hit an all-time high in the town.

A major surveillance operation was set up and this led to the arrest of an individual. One man has been charged in connection with the in- vestigation — he is facing four charg- es — and the probe is continuing.

Some of the victims were delighted to have their valuable items of jewel- lery returned to them by gardai in- volved in the extensive investigation.

THE Bishop of Killaloe has told Education Minister, Batt O’Keeffe that he may have to close down En- nis National School over the state of the school building.

Dr Willie Walsh was responding to a HSE report which concluded that the school was ‘not fit for purpose’.

The report stated that parents of pupils attending the school “are en- titled to feel seriously concerned about the health and welfare of their

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School authorities met with Minis- ter O’ Keeffe to advance the case for a new school, two weeks ago when Dr Walsh referred to the health and safety inspection which had put him in a position where the school might have to be closed.

CLARE petrol retailers have warned that if Tesco is allowed proceed with a new petrol station in Kilrush, a number of their stations will be forced to close with the loss of 43 jobs.

Last month, Kilrush Town Coun- cil granted planning permission to Tesco to construct a four-island pet- rol station on the Ennis Road despite strong opposition from local petrol station owners and independent re- tailers organisation, RGDATA.

Eleven petrol stations have now appealed the decision and they are: Oliver O’Shea and John Crowley, Kilrush; John Daly, Cooraclare; Michael Fitzpatrick, §Kilmihil;

Michael Sheedy, Darragh, O’Sullivan & Hansbury, Ennis; Maxol/Spar, Clarecastle; Padraic Hayes, Doon- beg; David Glynn, Killimer; Tony Nealon, Kilmurry McMahon and Tessie Power, Knockerra.

Lodged by the Irish Petrol Retailer Association (IPRA), the appeal states that a number of these stations will be forced to close along with local shops that provide the only shopping outlet within their local communiti- Woe

The appeal predicts that the planned Tesco station will take 43% of the petrol retail market in west Clare ac- counting for sales of €149,940 per week.

Outlining the impact of the pro- posal, the IPRA state: “This is likely

to result in an increase in unemploy- ment, far beyond that provided by the Tesco petrol station, in areas that are far more economically and socially Cl uAKoreb

The appeal states that the independ- ent petrol stations employ 100 and that the anticipated loss of 43 jobs “‘is unacceptable in a period of economic recession in an area that has already Zim Ovecdomtvatcanele)(@nses(oonlme:iiome

The IPRA claims that the applica- tion “fails to uphold the zoning of a site within the development plan area for a petrol filling station and that the current proposal does not provide the required retailing offer required under the Development Plan and will result in the over-profileration of pet- rol stations along the Ennis Road.

A FUND of €250,000 is being set aside for members of Clare County Council who fail to get re-elected in next June’s local elections.

A number of long-serving council- lors are in line for a ‘golden hand- shake’ of around €35,000 if they don’t get re-elected next year.

The bumper pay-off is revealed in the council’s draft budget for 2009 where County Manager, Alec Flem- ing has provided the €250,000 fund of ‘retirement gratuities’ for council- Keyace

The fund puts an additional finan- cial burden on the council at a time when it is letting temporary staff go, cutting back on community grants and increasing rates on businesses throughout Clare.

Councilllors such as Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) and Cllr PJ Kelly CFF) with more than 20 years experience could receive around €35,000 each if they are not re-elected in next June’s local elections.

The two — who will be scrapping for one of the six seats in the down- sized Kilrush electoral area — said they have no aspiration to avail of the pay-off next year.

The membership of the council has a high attrition rate and in the 2004 local elections, ten of the 32 council- lors didn’t make a return.

Cllr PJ Kelly said: “The casualty rate has been high each time since I was elected. When I was first elected in 1974, there were 13 casualties. The manager must not be expecting a good number of us back.”

Cllr Curtin said that the fund “‘is

miniscule when set against the coun- cil budget of €118 million”.

Former Clare mayor, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said the Council 1s obliged to make provision for the payments.

Cllr PJ Kelly said: “I didn’t become a councillor in 1974 for the expenses. The only expense then was £5.22 a month. The gratuity payments have been paid agreed by the minister and I’m sure that no councillor has retire- ment is mind who is going for elec- tion next year.”

Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) said the payments are “recognition for long service from long serving mem- bers. It will be the people in the final analysis who will judge if council- lors are worth it. With the local elec- tions coming up, everything is up for analysis.”

PEDESTRIANISATION of the main shopping streets, Sunday shopping and late night opening are some of the measures being introduced next week in an effort to boost Christmas shopping in Ennis.

The town centre will be traffic free on Saturday 13, Saturday 20, Sunday 21 and Wednesday, December 24 from llam to 6pm.

The main retail outlets will be open for Sunday shopping on December 14, 21 and 28 while there will be late opening on Thursday 18, Friday 19, Monday 22 and Tuesday, December 23. Shops will reopen after Christ- mas on Saturday, December 27.

Ennis Town Council and Ennis Chamber are encouraging custom- ers to park n’shop on the pedestri- anised days by parking in the town

centre public car parks and walking to the car-free areas of Abbey Street, O’Connell Square and O’Connell Nisteem

On pedestrianised days, access can be gained from Francis Street by turning right onto Lower Abbey Street and into Abbey Street car park – making it easy for traffic to circle the town centre to get to any destina- tion.

In addition to the town car parks, the Holy Family School and Ennis National School will be opening their car parks at a cost of €3 per day.

Details of the availability of park- ing and access for traffic on pedes- trianised days are outlined in the at- tached map.

Robin has, in previous years organ- ised fairs in The West County and Buratty, but this was the first time he had something going literally on his doorstep.

The lovely thing about shopping for antiques is that “whether some- one has a tenner to spend or twenty thousand, there’s always something affordable.” said Robin.

And with more than a dozen deal- ers putting out their stalls, there was plenty of fun for bargain hunters and treasure-spotters.

Lovers of contemporary Irish art had a treat at specialist, Louis Walshe of “Treasures’ stall, where there were originals on offer with prices starting at €400. Irish art dealer, Robert De- lahunty was also on hand and with a stall full of “fabulous and fantastical clocks” timepiece dealer, Michael Cunnane kept business ticking over nicely.

For the princely entrance fee of €3.50 bargain hunters were wafted along with steaming mugs of mulled wine and the delights of all things ancient and venerable.

Describing the event as “small but exclusive,’ Robin said it was “nice to have something close to home for people to browse, or buy Christmas presents or add to their collections.”

It was a small event in terms of the Luxury Collection fair in October in the K Club, where the glitteratti gathered to see Boodles diamonds, a €20 million collection of jewels from Sotheby’s or the full range of classic Bentley’s and Harley David- sons.

But good things come in small par- cels and there were plenty of small parcels carried away from the Lake- side that will be treasured as much as any sparkler when they are opened on Christmas morning.

AFTER weeks of honing perform- ances, songs and dance routines, the East Clare Musical Society are ready to delight audiences with their latest production. “Some Like It Hot”.

After two years of highly success- ful shows, with ‘God Bless Archie Dean’ and ‘Oaklahoma” the talented troupe is back.

Some Like It Hot, based on the screenplay by Billy Wilder tells the story of two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry, in 1920’s Chicago. Lady Luck isn’t on their side and when they witness the “Valentine Massacre” involving Spats and his Gang their fate 1s sealed ,unless they get out of town fast. They rush to join a band, however, they have to use all their talents to fit in with “Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopaters” as they head for sunny Miami.

Thinking they’ve landed in heaven, Joe and Jerry soon realise that hiding out at the beach isn’t going to be easy, especially with the irresistible Sugar around. Things just go from bad to worse with hilarious results!

This heartwarming comedy guar- antees to have audiences in stitches.

Jerry 1s played by Shay O’Neill, Joe is played by Paul Conroy, Sugar is played by Sandra O’Farrell, along with a cast of over 30 from East Orie

Tickets are priced at €15 for adults and €8 for under 18’s and are avail- able from Roger’s Centra, Scar- iff, _McKeogh’s Londis, Ballina, MV ‘Touhy’s, Coose, or they can be booked by phoning Doreen on 087 PAN Se leree

The show runs at Scariff Commu- nity Hall from December 11 to 14.