The Clare People Archive

MORE than eight in 10 people in Ennis support the development of a major retail park in the town, a new SUT Voa Ol tbe the

The proposed RiverSide Quarter development at Cusack Park is sup- ported by 84 per cent of people in Ennis, according to the survey.

Crest Retail Excellence Ireland was commissioned by the Aisling Chiosoig Partnership to survey at- titudes of Ennis residents to current shopping choice in Ennis as well as shopping habits and attitudes of resi- dents to the Cusack Park project. “The results show that a world-class retail development within Ennis town centre will be unequivocally

welcomed by most people. It is also the opinion of the great majority of Ennis residents that the proposed Cusack Park development will vast- ly benefit the town’s prosperity,” a spokesman for the partnership said.

At a time when many town centre traders are closing their doors, the Aisling Chiosoig Partnership plans a €350 million mixed-use develop- ment to be known as the RiverSide Quarter.

The 10-acre Cusack Park is cur- rently the subject of a rezoning sub- mission to Ennis Town Council by Clare GAA.

The survey was carried out in En- nis town over the first week in March. A sample of 839 respondents were interviewed on three separate days.

THE dream of winning a place in the National Final of the 2008 Danone

Nations Cup, and possibly going on to represent Ireland in the World Fi- nals in Parc de Princes, Paris in Sep- tember, has ended for valiant Clare Rare b sete

Avenue United and Lifford had won the honour of representing the Clare

League in the South West Regional final of the Danone Nations Cup, which took place on Saturday in Rathkeale.

The competition was fierce through- out the day with several games de- cided by penalties.

Avenue United put on a talented display in the group stages earning them a place in the Finals where they were unlucky to lose on penal- ties to Killarney Celtic (Kerry). To

get there Avenue beat St Brendan’s 2-0 in their opening tie, while they then beat Mungret 1-0 on penalties to secure their final place.

In the shoot with Killarney Celtic in the final out both Liam Kearney (Kil- larney Celtic) and Eimhin Courtney (Avenue United) scored excellent Opening penalties for their respective teams. Shane Cronin also scored a terrific penalty despite Avenue’s keeper going the right way while Brian Guilfoyle’s effort skimmed the crossbar and went over.

When Darren O’Docherty stepped up to take his teams final penalty and despite the pressure he held his nerve and slotted the ball home thus ensuring a trip to the National finals for himself and his team

mates. Elsewhere fellow Clare league representative’s Lifford failed to progress past group Stages.

COUNCILLORS have demanded that Minister for Health Mary Harney come clean and honour commitments made to the people of Clare regarding the future of Ennis General Hospital. Ms Harney’s credibility came under attack at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Clare County Council.

Members used the occasion to voice concerns over the lack of a definitive response on the future of Ennis Gen- eral Hospital.

Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy said current uncertainty and the ab- sence of honesty were a “dreadful indictment of the Government and of Mary Harney herself”.

Cllr McCarthy said, “I have been in politics for over 30 years and the thing I value most is my word. I am not saying Mary Harney is dishonest, but people are giving commitments in the interest of political expediency.”

The meeting was also told that a de- cision over the retention of 24-hour A and E at Ennis General Hospital and on the proposed €39 million in funding earmarked for Ennis rested with Brian Gilroy, National Director of the Health Services Executive.

There was also a warning to Fianna Fail members representing Clare in the Dail and to the party’s local grassroots ahead of next year’s local A TeL wey a Ise

Peter Considine, a senior member of the party and a long-serving mem- ber of Clare County Council, said that while there had been some 1m- provements at Ennis General Hospi- tal, “If that €39 million were to slip off the table, then a lot of people in the county will have to consider their position.”

Cllr Considine, who is recovering from a life-threatening illness, said he owed his life to the staff of Ennis General Hospital. “I wouldn’t have made it to Barefield or Clarecastle, let alone Limerick,” said Cllr Considine.

The chamber was debating a series of motions on Ennis General Hospi- tal. Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) asked that Minister Harney make a definitive statement on the future of the hospi- ee

He added that if past commitments were not honoured, Clare’s repre- sentatives in the Dail “would have to realistically consider their position”.

Cllr Pat Daly (FF) urged all mem- bers to write to Brian Gilroy at the HSE and ask him to keep Ennis Gen- eral open. Cllr Sonny Scanlon (FG) said, “I have the greatest respect for Timmy Dooley and the rest but they are only names.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said a recent report on an outbreak of Clostridium Difficille at Ennis Gen- eral Hospital highlighted significant ODKOLO) PON sLFO MOO ComorO lO bream E-LOVU IB [oe

THE wagons have started to circle ahead of next months WTO talks with the Minster for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan, travelling to Berlin last week for a meeting with her German counterpart, Horst See- etae

According to Coughlan, the pair discussed a wide rang of WTO rfre- lated issues and agreed that the latest developments posed great dangers to EU agriculture and they expressed strong dissatisfaction with the direc- tion the talks were taking.

Both Ministers were agreed on the need for balance under the current proposals and that EU agriculture could not be sacrificed for the sake of a deal.

Following on from her meeting with her German counterpart, Coughlan has arranged a further meeting with Commissioner Mandelson, to take place today.

Coughlan is likely to use the op- portunity to outline her dissatisfac- tion with the current direction of the talks on WTO and the serious dif- ficulties that could emerge for Irish agriculture.

A large number of Clare farmers attended the national IFA protest against WTO in Dublin last week.

“Despite it being a very busy time on farms – naturally more than 10,000 farmers protested. The large rally gives a definite mandate to President Padraig Walsh to try and persuade our government and Eu- ropean politicians for a complete u-

turn on the deal that is proposed,’ said IFA Chairman Michael Lynch.

“No deal is better than a bad deal and with food inflation and scarci- ties in parts of the world why should European and Irish consumers be forced to become dependant on food from South America while their own agriculture industry is made redun- CP Tal a

Meanwhile, speaking in the Dail last week, Clare TD, Joe Carey (FG) put pressure on Coughlan to stand strong on the WTO.

“Mr Mandelson is following an his- torical British obsession with cheap food. The UK can no longer feed it- self and this mode of thinking was fine when they had an Empire behind them but we now live in a different world,” he said.

“You Minister must not fall into the trap of thinking that protection of the Single Farm Payment will suf- fice and keep people happy at this time. This is not at issue here. This is not a time for presentation and mealy mouthed responses.

You have previously not acknowl- edged the seriousness of the deficien- cies of Brazilian beef and at this time both you and the Taoiseach need to send out a strong and unequivocal signal from the Council of Ministers that this deal in its current state is just not on.”

CLARE farm leader Martin McMa- hon has given a qualified welcome to the EU Commission to raise the age limit at which the vertebral column must be removed from cattle from 24 to 30 months.

Speaking after the EU announce- ment, the ICMSA’s Chairperson of Beef and Cattle Committee and O’Callaghan’s welcomed the deci- sion but said that it was further rec- ognition of the substantial drop in BSE numbers and the need now to re-examine the need for certain BSE regulations.

According to McMahon the deci- sion will remove a significant cost

for meat processors and thus will enable them to boost returns to beef JET UNAS ESE

“The occurrence of BSE cases in Ireland has virtually come to an end. It is therefore very clear that the controls in animal feed are working effectively and that BSE regulations must be further reviewed to take un- necessary costs out of the system,” he said.

“Some regulations are no longer relevant or scientifically justified and are simply adding costs on farmers and the processing industry. These superfluous regulations must be taken out of the system as soon as possible.

“A clear example of this is the regu-

lation to test all cattle over 30 months for BSE. There has been a proposal at EU level for over 12 months to raise this to 42 months but ICMSA has been very disappointed with the level of progress on this issue.

“ICMSA has received a govern- ment commitment under “Towards 2016’ to increase the age limit and this commitment must now be im- plemented without delay.

“ICMSA estimates the delay to be costing Irish beef farmers €6m per annum and we stress that this is an utterly unnecessary cost at a time when beef farmers are facing other escalating input costs.”

McMahon stressed that the news must be only a first step in stripping-

out unnecessary costs for beef farm- ace

Meanwhile, supermarkets in Japan announced last week that they had removed beef products from their Shelves following the discovery of spinal columns in a consignment supplied by the US.

Spinal columns are designated as a specified risk material for bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.

According to Daiei Inc, its 333 out- lets had beef products from the fac- tory on sale. After removing them, a notice was put up that read, “Taking customers’ concerns into considera- tion, the sale of these products from the concerned packer has been halted until an inspection proves it is safe.”

, the Department of Transport confirmed that lengthy correspond- ence exists but has refused to release almost all of it on the basis that it is commercially sensitive, legally priv- ileged and part of the deliberative Reet

The schedule of records shows a total of 40 items of correspondence

between Ryanair, the SAA, the De- partment of Transport and the EU Commission from October 14, 2005 to March 7, 2006.

The department has also refused to release correspondence from the air- port authority and Ryanair refused to release information as it was given to the department “on the understand- ing that it would be treated in con- fidence, and contained commercially sensitive information”.

The correspondence also shows that the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism also got involved.

The Ryanair deal with Shannon was struck in 2005 and the low-fares airline commenced flights from the

airport in May of that year.

Ryanair has clashed with the EU Commission on a number of occa- sions and it is understood that the Shannon investigation may be part of a wider probe into the airline’s dealings with airports throughout the EU.

The deal Ryanair negotiated at Shannon was available to any other airline that would use the airport as a base for its aircraft.

The Department of Transport was unable to comment on the investiga- tion last night and said that it would release a statement on the matter later this week. Ryanair now accounts for two-thirds of Shannon passengers and serves over 30 destinations from the

airport. The company now has a bill- board that reads “Welcome to Ryanair Country’ at the airport entrance.

Asked last year if Shannon was be- coming too reliant on Ryanair, SAA chairman, Pat Shanahan said,‘‘I don’t think so. For our short-haul business, Ryanair has been hugely successful. They have delivered on all the com- mitments they’ve made to us. The relationship has gone well, but they are not the only game in town and we haven’t given up on Aer Lingus basing an aircraft in Shannon for Eu- ropean routes.

“Ryanair is a significant player and the airline is committed to Shannon and to growing its traffic to two mil- lion,’ Mr Shanahan said.

SIPTU members in Aer Lingus have rejected the company’s cost cutting proposals in a secret ballot which concluded yesterday.

A spokesman for the union said it was “clear that intensive local dis- cussions did not reach an acceptable conclusion in all areas of the opera- alo) ae

1,800 SIPTU members involved in check-in, loading and catering op- erations, had a second vote on the company’s proposals in relation to a saving of €10 million in their section

of operations.

The new measures would involve changes to rostering arrangements, including 4am starts, 12 hour shifts and split shifts.

Management set a deadline two weeks ago for the staff to operate the new proceedures or face outsourc- ing or closure of their area of opera- tions.

“While SIPTU regrets the rejection of these proposals, which were rec- ommended for acceptance by shop Stewards, itis clear that our members view them as a step too far, given the changes sought by the company

and profits announced in excess of €80m”, SIPTU National Industrial Secretary Gerry McCormack said.

Meanwhile trade unions represent- ing all the staff at Dublin, Shannon and Cork Airports have condemned proposals to saddle Cork Airport with €113 million of debt.

The DAA/Aer Rianta Group of Unions, which is backed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, is calling on Transport Minister Noel Dempsey to honour guarantees given to work- ers four years ago when the State Airports Act 2004 was enacted.

These included protecting the com-

mercial viability of all three air- eae

Workers, who had opposed the break up of Aer Rianta and warned that it could make some of the air- ports unviable, are opposed to any measures which leave Shannon and Cork airports unable to call on re- sources generated by the current DAA/Aer Rianta Group.

The Chairman of the Group, Tom- my Guilfoyle, said after a heated meeting in Cork that the consensus was that “the people of Cork and the Midwest Region are being sold short by this misguided policy”’.

THE DEPARTMENT of the En- vironment has told Clare County Council that over 60 homes will have to be excluded from the €200 mil- lion plan to create a new suburb on the outskirts of Ennis.

Last month, Ennis developers, Crystal Partners lodged plans for 471 residential units in the first phase of a masterplan that will ultimately de- liver 700 new homes in the Gaurus area on the eastern outskirts of En- nis. When fully occupied, the first phase of the housing development will almost double the current popu- lation of the Doora parish of around

Pelee

The plan is facing opposition from locals and now the Department of the Environment has recommended that the plan be scaled back by 63 homes.

In a submission to the council, the department expressed serious con- cerns about the loss of wetland habi- tat that will be infilled and lost as a result of the proposed development ‘This is a Serious concern in relation to cumulative loss of wetlands and flood storage to the south and east of Ennis. Apart from a small area that will be retained, the ecological and hydrological assessments of the site have not informed the layout and de- sign of the proposed development to

any significant extent

To reduce loss and fragmentation of wetland habitats, the department rec- ommended that at a minimum, the 63 houses be relocated or excluded from the overall development.

The department also raised con- cerns on the impact the development could have on the EU Protected Lesser Horseshoe bat.

According to the department, the site 1s important for bats in general and supports a bat roost, described as a minor night roost, which would be demolished as part of the devel- opment. The roost is used by the Lesser Horseshoe bat and by Brown Longeared Bats.

The department is also concerned about increased disturbance and negative effects on the new bat house at Knockaskibole, which was built as part of the Ennis bypass project.

In a separate submission, An Taisce

expresses concern over the fact that so many large housing estates are being built with or without services are being developed in the Ennis and Environs area ‘According to the latest census, 16- 21 per cent of dwellings within the area are still vacant and less than 40 per cent of the inhabitants who live in Ennis work in Ennis

A decision is due on this applica- tion next month.

THE first year boys at Kilrush Com- munity School have plenty to cel- ebrate, having won a bronze medal at the All-Ireland Basketball Finals in Tipperary last week.

As a result of beating teams from Clare, Limerick and Kerry, Kilrush went to the finals representing the south west region.

In their pool they found themselves up against De La Salle, Wicklow and Magherfelt, winners of the south east

and north regions respectively.

A superb team performance saw Kilrush defeat De La Salle on a scoreline 39-16.

Magherfelt proved to be a tougher opposition but some outstanding rebounding by Ben Nolan and ex- ceptional performances from Kevin Looney and Cian Murray saw Kil- rush defeat the Northern boys on a scoreline of 31-24.

As winners of their pool, Kilrush went through to the All-Ireland semi-final where they took on the

team from Cnoc Mhuire, Granard, winners of the midlands region.

In what was a very tight game, Kil- rush held the lead for the first three quarters of the game, only to be pipped in the final quarter.

According to coach, Suzanne Whe- lan the Kilrush lads “played some terrific basketball in this game, with every member of the team playing his part with great heart and deter- mination”.

She added that they “have been a ereat group of youngsters to work

with and they should be very proud of their All-Ireland bronze medal in their first year”.

The team members were presented with their medals by martin Hehir of Basketball Ireland, who remarked how great it was to see Kilrush Com- munity School back in the All-Ire- land Finals again.

A GROUP of 20 young Clare people will travel to Sydney in July to cel- ebrate World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI.

The annual event, which takes place in a different location each year, gives young people from all over the world a chance to celebrate and speak about their faith with each Oo) i aterm

“World Youth Day is a gathering of people from all over the world. It has taken place all over the world. The Limerick and the Killaloe dio- cese have travelled together for the

last couple of year,’ said Deirdre Convey, local organiser and Deputy Principal of St Don Bosco’s School in Kildysart.

“The highlight of the week would be on the Saturday night when the Pope attends for a vigil and then on Sunday morning when he says Mass. There is a designated park area and the young people all camp there in their sleeping bags.

“There could be as many as a mil- lion young people at that event. At the moment we have 20 signed up and ready to go from Killaloe and 25 from Limerick. We have our quota of people but if there are people still in-

terested we could squeeze one or two more people in if they really want to attend.”

Because of the location of this year’s World Youth Day, cost has be- come a real factor for the people who wish to attend.

“It is going to be expensive all right. At the moment we are look- ing at €2,500 for flight and accom- modation. But some people are go- ing to stay on afterwards and make a holiday out of it as well,’ continued Deirdre.

“We are hoping that parishes will Support the people who are go- ing from their own locality. The

age group is from 18 to 35, and the younger ones would not have that kind of money to put to something like this but they may do a bit of fun- draising themselves.

“When people come back there is a real change in them. The trip gives them a positive way of expressing their faith and when they return it is something that they can share with the whole community.

“So it is a really positive experience for all concerned.”

To find out more about World Youth Day or to enquire about booking one of those last few spots to Sydney con- tact Deirdre on 065 6834461.