The Clare People Archive

NEXT month Clare County Coun- cil faces its first ever prosecution by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for alleged non-compliance with the terms of its waste licence at the Central Waste Management Fa- cility in Ballyduff Beg in Inagh.

While the April 2 court appearance represents the first ever attempted prosecution of Clare County Council concerning the facility, the issue of Ballyduff Beg has proved one of the most controversial in Clare over the last decade.

The facility was first mooted in February of 1998 when three po- tential sites were identified by Clare County Council for the possible con- struction of a Central Waste Manage- ment Facility. The locations identified were Kilmaley, which was ruled out because of archaeological reasons, Lissycasey and Inagh.

During the summer of 1999, tests were carried out on both sites to judge their environmental and eng!- neering suitability to host the facility, with Ballyduff Beg being determined as most suitable.

In January of 1999, Clare County Council began to compile an Envi- ronmental Impact Statement at the Inagh site and in August of the same year applied to the EPA for a waste

management licence.

Locals were given until October of 2000 to lodge submissions with the EPA concerning the waste manage- ment licence. By the closing date for submissions, a total of 247 separate objections had been received by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Despite the local opposition, the EPA issued a formal proposal to grant the licence in December of

2000. This gave objectors 28 days to lodge any further submissions or the licence would be granted.

One single submission was lodged with the EPA on behalf of all objec- tors. As part of this final submission, an appeal was also made for the EPA to host an oral hearing where the objectors could voice their concerns Clee sh ys

Both the final submission and the

request for an oral hearing was re- jected and on June 13, 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency granted a licence to Clare County Council for the construction of the facility. Work began on the site on October 2001.

In April of 2002, the Community Liaison Committee was established as one of the conditions of the EPA licence. Locals and members of the committee meet each month to dis- cuss issues arising from the operation of the facility.

The Central Waste Management facility officially opened for business in September of 2002. There was no official ribbon cutting ceremony.

A number of non-compliance or- ders have been issued to Clare County Council by the EPA on the operation of the facility. The first was issued during the construction process in re- lation to contaminated run off water while the majority of the subsequent orders have concerned complaints of odour. The last non-compliance order was issued in October of 2007.

The EPA is the only body with the power to instigate high court pro- ceedings to close the waste manage- ment facility.

ANGLERS are being asked to help scientists to determine whether re- ports of two rare species of fish are anything more than tall fisherman’s tales.

Scientists fear that Lough Derg has lost two species – gillaroo trout and pollan – both of which have inhabited the lake since the last Ice Age.

Shannon Regional Fisheries Board marine biologist, Dr Fran Igoe has said that there is a real possibility that gillaroo trout no longer exist in

Lough Derg.

Appeals to anglers over the past two years to report any catches of the fish have produced nothing.

Despite co-operation to help find the two species from all of the an- gling clubs in Lough Derg, there have been just two pollan netted as part of a fish biodiversity study of the ENC

Dr Igoe said that reports in old an- gling literature point to the gillaroo being common in the lake 100 years ago. He wants to determine why they are so scarce today and what has

happened to account for this.

Dr Igoe 1s appealing to anglers who land trout which have a gillaroo ap- pearance to freeze a sample of mus- cle tissue so that his team can test it to determine whether or not it is the rare species.

The doctor is director of the Lough Derg Native Fish Biodiversity Project which is looking at ways of protect- ing uniquely genetic trout and pollan in the lake.

Dr Paulo Prodohl, a geneticist with Queen’s University in Belfast who is also involved in the project, says that

the Lough Derg pollan appear to be a unique species but the tiny number of sightings would raise the spectre OMe, cans TeLe Levee

Algal bloom has been fingered as the possible culprit behind declining fish numbers. The toxic bloom caus- es a reduction in the oxygen content of the water which can lead to fish and isy

According to marine biologist Dr Dan Munchin, rising lake tempera- tures associated with global warming are also creating conditions which are difficult for native species.

THE majority of employers agree that training and skills development is a ALE ERCLo)eayoLeyelos tL MEO MNMSLomeleayodle)oyeatonle of a business in today’s fast moving economic environment. Training and skill’s development serve to motivate and engage staff and build moral within the team all which positively impacts on the bottom line.

Clare Campus Skillnet 1s promot- ed by Clare College of Further and Higher Education Ltd, and has been established to address the training and skills needs amongst businesses in all sectors and industries. It aims to provide flexibility, innovative, clear and succinct certified training programmes at affordable prices while developing networking prac- tices amongst network members.

Clare Campus Skillnet provides op- portunities for:

e Business co-operation, alliances and networks

e Substantially reduced Business Training Costs

e Business to achieve economies of scale, scope and speed in the devel- opment and delivery of training

e Learning from others and share best practice

e The creation of strategic alliances in your area

¢ Growth and personal development of your workforce

¢ New business opportunities

Why become involved?

¢ Highest quality FETAC/HETAC accredited. training delivered by expert

e Credits awarded for training pro- grammes completed

¢ Opportunity to collect credit towards a Qualification

e Practical and workbased projects

incorporated into training pro- erammes

e Accreditation of prior learning where appropriate.

What’s involved?

¢ Minimum 60 per cent subsidised DeeDb Ope NTSs

¢ Networking opportunities for companies and businesses to share best practice

e Certified Training on the National Framework for Qualifications

e The practice is in line with recom- mendations of the 5th expert skills group-to increase numbers of people in the workforce in Clare with qualifications from level four to nine on the NFQ.

e This is Enterprise working for En- terprise-Clare Campus Skillnet will be run by the steering committee chosen from member companies

e Members identify training require- ments, appropriate intervention, supported by a professional network nervereRexo we

Sinead Mellett is the new network manager, she has a number of years experience working on international research in the area of learning and small and medium enterprises, she has a Masters in Technology Man- agement from the University of Lim- erick and is completing a PhD in the area of eLearning and small medium enterprises.

Ina Reddan, network administrator, worked for many years in Shannon Development in both a Project and Marketing capacity in Small Busi- ness Development.

For further information contact Adult Education Centre, Clon- road Business Park, Ennis. Sine- ad Mellett, Network Manager, sinead@clarecampus.org or Ina Reddan, Network Administrator, inareddan@clarecampus.org.

FARMERS across Clare are being urged to consider renovating farm outbuildings on their lands.

Clare County Council’s Conserva- tion Officer said that a newly intro- duced grant aid scheme ensured that a number of traditional farm build- ings, which contribute to the visual landscape and are of historical and architectural value, would be main- tained into the future.

The Heritage Council will oper- ate the Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme for REPS4 farmers, on be- half of the Department of Agricul- ture, Fisheries and Food.

“There is a significant gap in aware-

ness when it comes to our agricultur- al heritage despite its fundamental impact on the socio-economic de- velopment of this county throughout the last number of centuries,’ said Clare conservation officer Risteard Ua Croinin.

“It is imperative that we do not lose sight of the fact that agriculture has played a significant role in County Clare’s history.

“The many hundreds of outbuild- ings located on the county’s farms are a cogent reminder of this long as- sociation with the land. The scheme for REPS 4 farmers, therefore, presents an ideal opportunity to pre- serve these buildings.

“Most farm buildings constructed

prior to 1940 are stone structures and feature a slate, thatch or galvanised roof. Therefore, most of the build- ings being targeted by the scheme range between 60 and 400 years old.”

One of the main criteria of the scheme is whether a building im- proves the appearance of the land- scape. The criteria also state that the quality of the proposed building works must be of a high standard. For example, slated buildings must be renovated using natural quarry slate and hydraulic lime must be used in place of cement.

“The scheme also requires that all repaired buildings must be utilised by farmers in their day-to-day work.

This should be looked upon posi- tively by farmers who will enjoy real practical benefits out of undertaking repair work on the buildings,’ con- tinued Mr Ua Croinin.

‘Anyone wishing to apply for grant aid funding under the scheme must provide still photographs of the in- terior and exterior of the building in eLbCeri ale) eF

“These photographs should focus specifically on the parts of the build- ing in need of repair.”

The closing date for receipt of ap- plication is Monday, 31st March, 2008. For more information on the Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme contact the Grants Office, Heritage Council, Kilkenny, at 056-7770777.

FIRST we had the World Ploughing Championships, now we have the World Holstein Friesian Federation SroyaKo rere

Less than two years after staging one of the worlds biggest interna- tional farming events, Ireland will play host to another following the announcement that the World Hol- stein Friesian Federation Conference which will be held in Ireland from October 9 to 11. The Minister for Ag- riculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, last week announced funding of €100,000 towards the cost of staging the 2008 event.

It is the first time for this event to be held in Ireland. The Minis-

ter congratulated the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) in suc- ceeding in getting such a prestigious event to Ireland.

The Conference, which is_ held World Cup style every four years, will welcome delegates from over 40 member countries of the World Holstein Friesian Federation togeth- er with a large number of observers from Ireland and around the world.

The Conference will include a two- day scientific programme at Killar- ney and a one-day Livestock Show of pedigree dairy animals at Millsteet.

The Minister said that Irish Hol- Stein Friesian farmers, who consist- ently breed top quality animals, will be able to showcase to an interna- tional audience the high standards

OM Gr- LAO om) RcroLONDIToMGL UUM Re) ILON am ole) DOTS achieved in Ireland.

“My Department has _ invested heavily during the past decade in developing a top class cattle breed- ing infrastructure through the estab- lishment of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation,” she said.

The Conference not only provides an ideal opportunity to showcase the developments in cattle breeding in Ireland but also enables the promo- tion of our vibrant dairy industry to a global audience.

“The Conference will provide a timely international marketing plat- form for Irish Holstein-Friesian cat- tle and an opportunity to add value to the sector by creating export op- portunities for Irish Holstein-Frie-

sian genetics, through the sale of genetically superior live cattle, their semen, ova and embryos,’ she con- tinued.

Ui SCORN a eT ree arte hmelse Tt the mainstay of the dairy sector for many years now. Our dairy sector continues to grow in terms of value of output and last year dairy exports increased by 13 per cent to €2.36 billion, making it the most important sector of our agri-food industry.

Concluding, the Minister congratu- lated the Organising Committee on their efforts to date in planning for a successful Conference. She wished them well with the event and hoped that visitors to the South West of Ire- land will have an enjoyable and fruit- UU CE hYs

IIB Homeloans has launched a new saver mortgage which allows pay- ments to suit flexible lifestyles.

Offering home-buyers two distinct benefits, the new IIB Homeloans saver mortgage is specially designed for existing and new home-buyers who wish to increase or decrease payments in line with their lifestyle Oath Xene

“This new offering means that a first time buyer looking to trade up, looking to switch his/her mortgage, or a residential property investor, can now tailor repayments to suit their personal fluctuating circumstances. They can channel savings into mort- gage repayments with the resultant savings that gives, or they can choose to withdraw such overpayments Should their circumstances dictate,’ said Pat Naughton, Manager of IIB Homeloans in the mid-west.

The new product offers mortgage holders two key benefits.

Firstly, home-owners/buyers can use their savings to pay off the mort- gage earlier.

The saver mortgage is a normal capital and interest repayment mort- gage, which allows the customer to make any additional repayments against the capital of the mortgage. With mortgage interest calculated daily, these additional payments re- duce the amount of interest that a customer will pay, over the lifetime of the mortgage.

By regularly overpaying against their mortgage a customer can cut years off the term of their mortgage and save thousands of euro in interest payments.

By way of illustration, a customer with a €240,000 mortgage over 30 years at 5.3 per cent APR can – by increasing his or her normal regular repayments by €250 a month – re-

pay the mortgage in only 21 years and save over €80,O000 in interest payments.

Secondly, customers can withdraw any overpayments. A special feature of IIB Homeloans saver mortgage is that the customer can also withdraw any overpayments that he/she makes. For example, if a customer chooses to overpay €250 a month, after five years the customer can withdraw the full amount of overpayments, ie €15,000. (€250 times 60 months).

However, in addition, to having ac- cess to their savings, by overpaying against their mortgage — even for a short period of time — the customer will also reduce the amount of inter- est that they pay on their mortgage.

By way of illustration, based on a typical €240,000 mortgage over 30 years at an APR 5.38 per cent, after five years of making regular €250 monthly overpayments, the customer will have saved up to €2,110.42 in

mortgage interest repayments.

IIB Homeloans Head of Marketing, John McAlinden says, “IIB Homel- oans has built up a reputation for product innovation, and the saver mortgage is a direct response to cus- tomer demand for excellent value financial products. It is particularly suited for home-buyers and home owners who also want to maximise the value of their savings.”

Whether you are a first time buyer, looking to trade up, looking to switch mortgage or an residential property investor, the saver mortgage can help mortgage holders save money over the term of their mortgage. Other features of the new product that cus- tomers will find attractive are;

‘ Customer is not required to open multiple accounts or to switch current accounts.

‘ Customer can make one withdrawal per month — minimum amount €500.

– Customer can make any amount of overpayments.

The application process is quick and easy as customers need only to complete a standard mortgage ap- plication. There is no need to open other accounts eg a savings account or current account and customers do not need to transfer current accounts to avail of the product.

IIB Homeloans offers customers flexibility through:

– Customers wanting to choose a fixed rate product can still overpay up to 10 per cent of the mortgage amount within the fixed term.

– Customers uncertain whether to

go fixed or variable can choose both with IIB Homeloans’ mix and match rate facility and still take advantage of the saver options.

‘ IIB Homeloans offers the best two and three year fixed rate (for LTV <80 per cent) and five year fixed rate in the market.

; ese terday, larnrod Eireann spokesman Jim Gallivan claimed that it was far too early for any guarantees to be given regarding the flooding situa- tion but did confirm that a consultant would be brought in to examine the Ennis to Limerick line once the cur-

rent flood had subsided.

This is despite media reports last week which claimed that flooding would not be an issue in the work- ings of the Western Rail Corridor.

‘Nothing has changed. We have to wait until the flooding goes down and then we will be able to assess what the situation 1s like, not before,” steamy Ble

‘When that happens, the OPW have told us that they will hire a consult- ant to put together a set of recom- mendations as to what would be the best course of action for the future.

‘But at this point, we have no idea what is the best course of action. Will it be a major programme of drainage to be undertaken by the Office of Public Works or will it be a track-ris- ing programme by lIarnrdd Eireann, which would be very expensive? At the moment it is impossible to tell.”

Rail services between Ennis and Limerick have been suspended since February 7 due to intense flooding. The latest readings, taken last Fri- day, show eight inches of water still remaining on the line.

This is down from a high of 18

inches when the flooding was at its worst mid-February.

“It has come down a lot over the last few weeks. It was down to eight inches on Friday and dropping at an neem mer NA

“It is impossible to know what can be done until the flooding has com- pletely gone,’ continued Mr Galli- Web

“We have said to the OPW that we don’t want the corridor stopped and as far as we are concerned that is the situation. It will happen, but how and when 1s not clear.”

LOCALS in the Ballycar area of Newmarket on Fergus say insuffi- cient attention is being paid to their flooding plight.

The closure of a water-logged road left householders without access to their homes for several weeks. Some had to park their cars in a neighbour’s yard and trek across fields and other properties to get home.

The locals say that despite this most of the publicity has been on the clo- sure because of flooding of the Ennis to Limerick railway line at Ballycar. The line has been closed since early February.

At least three houses were inacces- sible for almost a month. This raised the question of how emergency serv- ices would get access to the homes in the event of a fire or a sudden illness. Several other houses and properties were also affected.

One local man said, “It hasn’t hap- pened to us before but who’s to say it won’t happen again. The road was flooded in three separate places and it suddenly dawned on us that if something serious happened, it would have proven difficult for the emergency services to get here.

“There is all this talk about the rail- way line being flooded but there is no talk about the residents of Ballycar

who have been affected. The OPW is now getting involved to see what can be done with the railway line. That’s fine. It’s easy raise the line what is going to be with the road,” another local said.

Traffic, including school buses, have had to take a detour around the Ballycar area as a result of the flood- ing while several other vehicles have had to be towed from the flood wa- oe

‘No one has said anything about the local residents in Ballycar, some of whom were cut off for weeks be- cause of the flooding,” according to local councillor, Sonny Scanlan GReoF

“I was a councillor for the area between 1985 and 1999 and we had this problem back then. At the time, it was agreed that the problem areas would be drained and even the local farmers stepped up and offered to buy the pipes that would have been needed but unfortunately it came to a full stop,” the Quin-based council- eyumcr BCE

“The problem is the water drains off into an underground river but it is draining too slowly. This is going to continue to happen until something is done about it. It is an appalling situ- ation that local residents can’t get up and down their own road and have to park a distances from their homes.”

THE Irish Farmers Association are gearing up for a major fight in the coming days on the issue of the World Trade Organisation. That was the message that came from an emer- gency meeting of the IFA Executive Council in Portlaoise on Thursday night.

The meeting was called in response to what the IFA called “the immedi- ate threat that the EU Trade Com- missioner, Peter Mandelson, would sell out Irish agriculture and particu- larly the beef and livestock sector”.

Michael Treacy from IFA’s Brus- sels office attended the meeting and update the Council on Mandelson’s latest maneuverings.

“The details were discussed and the prospects of the halving of beef prices to 60p/Ib, 1f Mandelson is not stopped, was top of the agenda,” said IFA President, Padraig Walshe.

The hit on Ireland would be at least €2 billion n per year with the loss of our suckler cow herd and thousands of jobs in the meat industry and on the supply side.

“On lamb under the Mandelson’s proposal, sheep farmers face a mas- sive increase in imports with Aus- tralia adding thousands of tones to even greater New Zealand volumes.

“The main dairy products – butter, skimmed milk powder and cheddar cheese – face tariff cuts of up to 70 per cent which would undermine the EU market and damage Irish milk

prices.

“It would be unrealistic to expect the farming community and rural people to vote for the Lisbon Treaty while Mandelson is planning the de- struction of the Irish and European family farm structure.”

An indication of the seriousness of the situation is that the IFA President has also invited County Vice Chair- man and Secretaries to the meeting, who together with County Chair- men will form action teams for each county.

Speaking ahead of the meeting Clare IFA President, Michael Lynch, said that the local beef industry now hangs in the balance.

“The WTO could have serious con- sequences for Irish agriculture,” he

PHO

“The last round of the WTO result- ed in the termination of the Irish sug- arbeet industry. It is the intentions of EU trade negotiator Peter Mandleson to offer tariff cuts to encourage cheap food to Europe from South America and other sub-standard countries in lieu off commercial banking and other commodity industries.

‘European agriculture is being sac- rificed at the negotiation table in Ge- neva, stated the County Chairman.”

THE importance of continued re- search and innovation in the food industry was highlighted last week with the announcement of a major new postgraduate programme in- volving two of Ireland’s foremost universities and Teagasc.

The Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, last week launched the new initiative in postgraduate educa- tion in the agri-food sector. The Food Graduate Development Programme, has been allocated funding of €1.1 million for a five-year period by the Department of Agriculture under the Food Institutional Research Measure Coa OR

Pioneered jointly by Teagasc, Uni-

versity College, Dublin (UCD) and University College, Cork (UCC), the Food Graduate Development Pro- gramme will provide skills training to postgraduate students and research staff in Universities and Research institutions in Ireland engaged in FIRM food research projects.

The project is being co-ordinated by Professor Michael Gibney, Pro- fessor of Food and Health at UCD and the Director of Training is Dr Alan Kelly, Dean of Graduate Stud- ies at UCC.

“The aim of my Department, in funding the Programme, is to ad- dress the needs of the food industry by ensuring that postgraduate stu- dents and research staff engaged in food research projects gain an un-

derstanding of industry expectations and skills required for duties requir- ing rapid decisions on problem solv- ing in an industrial environment,’ said Minister Coughlan at last weeks launch.

This will complement the research skills acquired in the course of their research projects.”

Speaking after the launch, Profes- sor Mike Gibney, Professor of Food and Health at UCD, said that the overall objective of the Programme is to improve skills training through the creation of a modularised series of graduate training programmes.

Programme modules will have a strong emphasis on the skills re- quired of leaders in the agri-food sector, food industry and other re-

search institutions nationally and internationally.

Dr Alan Kelly, Dean of Gradu- ate Studies at UCC and Director of Training of the Programme, high- lighted the changing national context of postgraduate education and con- tinuing professional development, Where inter-institutional collabora- tion delivering high-level transfer- able skills allowing graduates to make the maximum impact in their careers in the knowledge economy. He described the Food programme as a pioneering model for how such programmes may develop in the fu- ne Ken

For more information on the Food Graduate Development Programme, check out www.foodpostgrad.1ie.