The Clare People Archive

, as Fine Gael prepares to raise the issue of juve- nile offending in a private members motion in the Dail this (Tuesday)

evening.

Fine Gael is hitting out at the Gov- ernment’s record on the issue of un- derage offending and is calling for tough measures to be introduced.

It is calling for a comprehensive re- view on the availability of knives and to increase garda resources, in an ef- fort to tackle knife crime.

The party says it is concerned about the increase in incidents of anti-so- cial behaviour, the prevalence of al-

cohol and drug abuse and the prolif- eration of knife crime.

Fine Gael says the ongoing deterio- ration of law and order under Fianna Fail-led governments has created “fear and anxiety’ among the pub- liter

“A lot of the structures put in place over the past few years have to be rolled out,” said Cllr Carey.

“On the ground, I feel the system is very badly resourced. There isn’t

enough personnel involved,” he said.

He said that with hundreds of re- ferrals to the national juvenile office from Clare every year, additional gardai should be appointed to work with young offenders.

“We have two juvenile liaison of- ficers (JLOs) in Clare. This has in- creased from one a few years ago, but there is a huge volume of work for two people to be doing,” he said.

‘Restorative justice is the way for-

ward, but that initiative will be aspi- rational without resources,” he said.

“We (FG) want to see more com- munity policing in terms of juvenile justice,” he said.

He said that geographical areas most at risk must be identified and funding injected in those areas.

‘We need to invest in areas more at risk of problem behaviour and identi- fy the individuals at an earlier stage,” he said.

A CONTENTIOUS plan by a vol- untary housing association looks set once more to be refused by Ennis Town Council unless it is radically Karel Ceeren

Already, Cluid Housing Associa- tion has been refused planning per- mission for a five-storey apartment block adjacent to Ennis Tennis and Badmintion Club.

The proposal involved plans to con- struct 21 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments.

However, the Dublin-based housing association scaled back its plans and is now seeking permission to con-

struct three- and four-storey build- ings in the grounds of Waterville House to accommodate 14 one-bed- room apartments and three two-bed- room apartments.

The proposal has provoked re- newed opposition from the Ennis Tennis and Badminton Club and now putting a large question mark on the project in its current form, the council state, “The construction of two four- and three-storey concrete apartment blocks in the front gar- den of this important 18th- or early 19th-century Georgian house will, if permitted, result in diminishing the importance, character and integ- rity of the Protected Structure due to

their bulk and height, design and use of unsympathetic materials.”

The council point out, “The pro- posed floor area will take up most of the front garden, which was origi- nally designed to provide a tranquil setting for the house.”

The council considers, “that the proposed development is too dense. The density comparisons made by you are not appropriate because the other sites, unlike the subject site, do not contain protected structures and as such do not incur the same con- straints.”

The council “considers that “Block A’ should be omitted and “Block B’ be relocated to the area previously

occupied by it. please submit your proposals to reduce density.”

It goes on, “The council has no ob- jection in principle to change of use of Waterville house provided that such a change of use would not re- quire significant interventions or ma- terial alterations which might affect the character or historic fabric of the Protected Structure.

“However, it appears that it 1s pro- posed to totally remove the historic interior of the Protected Structure and install concrete stairs and floors. Such a proposal would result in the loss of all items of architectural and historic interest and be totally inappropriate treatment for such a building.

“It appears that it is proposed to de- molish the stone coach houses, which have been a feature of the streetscape for centuries. By this simple design and use of natural, local materials, this structure makes a positive con- tribution to both the ACA and Pro- tected Structure.

“The refitting of this building for a residential use would not be a mat- ter of serious concern but its demol1- tion, together with its adjoining ash- lar gate-piers, appears inappropriate and would result in a serious loss of character and would materially contravene development plan policy in relation to the demolition in the ACA.”

revealed how young children were wreaking havoc in communi- ties across the county.

Drug abuse, robbing other chil- dren, damaging schools and cars and intimidating others were among the main offences for which young chil- dren were caught.

Children from the age of just seven are getting involved in crime. While those very young children mainly engage in petty crime, the serious- ness of the offences intensifies as those children progress to their early Kote he

The problems grow when young children get their hands on illegal drugs and they then lose all control.

Agencies say that factors including lack of parental control and lack of suitable community services con-

tribute to the problems facing young children at risk. The children’s court is testament to

this on a weekly basis. One particu- lar tragic case in recent weeks once again highlighted the failings in the

system. A 16-year-old boy from Ennis re- turned to his home, having spent

over a year at Oberstown boys centre for young offenders.

The boy, who has at least two dozen previous convictions, deteriorated quickly after his release to his fam- ily home.

It wasn’t long before he began to re- offend and quickly found himself in court, after he broke into a business in Ennis and kicking mirrors on two cars in his neighbourhood.

The boy’s mother didn’t attend the court sitting and both the State and the boy’s solicitor expressed their concerns that she didn’t turn up to support the teen.

A member of staff at the boys’ cen- tre spoke out and said the boy had made significant progress at Obers- town, but a lot of the good work was undone, on his discharge from there.

There was demand for his bed and Oberstown staff felt they had “exhausted” what they could do for him.

Clare Youth Services agreed that there was no support for the boy at home. He was sentenced to a term at St Patrick’s Institution.

His case highlighted inadequacies in the family system, but every case is different. One thread is constant in the majority of young troublemakers’ cases – some aspect of society has failed. An overhaul is long overdue.

LISCANNOR locals have formed a committee to block the proposed construction of a park and ride serv- ice from the village to the Cliffs of Moher.

Following a public meeting held last Friday, locals have decided to oppose the Atlantis Development project, claiming the park and ride would be too big and effectively by- pass Liscannor village.

“We are not trying to stop devel- opment in Liscannor, we just want

to be able to get in to and out of our homes,” said a committee spokes- man. “It’s the scale of the develop- ment; 500 cars, four times a day, that’s a huge pressure to put on a small place…

“They talk about job creation but both the hotels in Liscannor are closed at the moment. The shop is closed. If you came here today, you would have no problem parking, I can tell you that.

‘They say they are taking account of the businesses in Liscannor, but there are very few businesses even

left in Liscannor.”

Atlantis Development Ltd released a statement yesterday in which they argued that the Liscannor site was zoned for a park and ride in the North Clare Local Area Plan 2005, with no objections from locals during the public consultation process.

It also claims to have removed a number of elements from the plan to which locals had previously objected and taken steps to ensure that the proposed development will not lead to Main Street being bypassed or to WeDONOMeO)ITXonI BLO) IF

THE number of new homes expected to be completed in County Clare this year is expected to be halved. Statistics released by the Depart- ment of the Environment yesterday show further evidence of a downturn in the housing sector with the number of house starts down by almost half last year with the anticipated knock on in house completions this year in

the county.

According to the figures, the number of house commencements last year in Clare was 960 with the number of commencements in the fi- nal quarter to 239.

The 2007 total compares to the 1,801 house starts in Clare in 2006 – a drop of 46 per cent and it continues part of a downward trend.

In 2004, there were 2,370 house starts in Clare and this was followed

by 2,156 house starts in 2005.

The low number of house starts in Clare last year will have a knock- on effect on the number of house completions in Clare in 2008 as the building sector responds to the cur- rent oversupply in the market.

Another aspect of the current over- supply in the market is the large number of homes that were complet- ed in Clare last year.

Figures from the Department of the

Environment show that 2,286 homes were completed in Clare last year — the second highest figure ever.

The figure is 16 per cent down on the 2,727 houses built in 2006. Fig- ures for 2005 show that 2,174 homes were built; in 2004, 1,831 homes were built; in 2003, 1,679 homes were constructed.

Additional evidence of a slow-down in construction show that lOO homes were completed in Clare in January

of this year — down on the 122 total for January 2007.

Further highlighting the number of house starts slowing to a trickle, Homebond recorded only six house starts across Clare in December.

Homebond record an estimated of 75 per cent of new house starts across the country and the six starts in Clare in December is a drop of 83 per cent on the 36 houses starts in December 2006 in Clare.

THE Construction Industry Federa- tion (CIF) last night described plans by Clare County Council to more than quadruple new house levies as ‘unjustified and unsustainable’.

As part of the draft developer con- tribution scheme 2008-2011, the council is proposing a 400 per cent increase on levies for houses on zoned land, going up from the cur- rent rate of €5,000 to €21,360.

Currently, house-builders con- structing homes on unzoned land pay €4.180 and under the council’s new scheme, the development levy will more than double to €12,456.

Those seeking to build holiday homes are facing a 300 per cent in-

crease in levies, going from €9,500 to €27,050 per home.

The levies are imposed by the council on house builders to finance water, sewerage, road and com- munity infrastructure and must be paid before houses are occupied. In the past four years, the council has raised €34 million from the scheme. However, in the revised scheme, the council is seeking to raise €101 mil- lion over the next four years.

The draft document is to go before the council next Monday and CIF spokesman, Conor O’Connell yester- day outlined the federation’s opposi- tion to the scheme when he said that the increase will add eight per cent to the price of houses in Clare.

Mr O’Connell said that the lev-

ies are another form of taxation. Mr O’Connell said that the CIF would be lobbying councillors to outline its serious concerns in relation to the scheme.

The scheme is unlikely to get passed in its current form, with Cllr Patrick Keane (FF) representing the views of a number of councillors when he said that the “charges place on unfair burden on young couples wishing to construct a new home”.

As part of the scheme, the council is targeting 1,400 house buyers each year over the next four years to fi- nance its capital spend.

CLARE COUNTY Council has failed to provide any permanent halt- ing site for Travellers in the three years of its 2005-08 Traveller Ac- commodation Programme.

At the outset of the programme, the council identified 64 families in need of accommodation, but has failed to provide any permanent halting sites across Clare since 2005.

This is in contrast to the council’s performance in the previous Trav- eller accommodation plan, which developed four permanent Traveller accommodation sites in Ennis (2), Ennistymon and Shannon.

With a spend of €12 million, the council reduced the numbers of Travellers without accommodation from 61 to 14.

However, in the existing plan, the council has constructed no _ per- manent sites, but has instead con-

structed a large temporary site on the outskirts of Ennis in Doora, with an agreed deadline of having the Bal- laghboy site, which accommodates 16 families, closed down by Decem- ber of this year.

In the review of the Traveller ac- commodation programme, _ the council acknowledges the proposed closure “will pose considerable dif- ficulties to both Ennis Town Coun- cil and Clare County Council as the preference of many of the families on the site is for a range of social housing options”.

An emergency nine-family site was constructed in Ennistymon during the lifetime of the existing plan.

The review confirms that the coun- cil is making progress in providing permanent sites at five sites around Ennis at Knockanean, Ashline, Kil- morane, Ballaghboy and the Lahinch Road area, while it is progressing on two permanent sites in Ennistymon.

CLARE’S bid to overturn last year’s controversial decision to end the Open Draw in the Munster Senior Football Championship was quashed at the Munster Council convention last Friday night, but it didn’t stop Noel Walsh from venting his views on the subject.

The former Munster Council chair- man and GAA presidential candidate, who has been an Open Draw loyalist over the past 40 years, launched a

broadside against Munster Council rulers over the decision to seed Kerry and Cork to meet in the 2008 provin- cial decider.

“In the interests of fairness there should be an Open Draw,” Walsh told delegates to the annual conven- tion in the West County Hotel in En- nis. “In every other province there is an Open Draw. It would give players from the four weaker counties an opportunity of playing in a Munster football final.

‘There was great finance taken in

by the council when the Open Draw was there from 1991. Under the seed- ed draw, there was only one gate and that was the Munster final between Kerry and Cork,” he added.

Walsh made his comments, despite the fact that a Clare motion calling for “the Senior Football Champion- ship in Munster in 2009 to be run on the basis of an Open Draw” was ruled out of order.

“We wont have any discussion because the motion is out of order,” confirmed secretary, Simon Moro-

ney to delegates.

“This decision was arrived demo- cratically and on the night the vote was taken the counties voted the way they were instructed to,’ added chairman Jimmy O’Gorman from Waterford.

However, Walsh countered by say- ing “while democracy is important, justice 1s more important”’.

FRANK Doherty answered some questions outside the Clare dressing room shortly after the game on Sun- day, standing on the same spot that Paidi O Sé occupied when Waterford knocked Clare out of the champion- ship last May.

Same result for Clare and though the questions haven’t changed for the entirety of this league — essentially it’s been: Where was the game lost, Frank? — Doherty at least saw some progress in the performance.

“I think there was improvement, in fairness. There was a bit more bite and character. At the start of the game we went four one up playing competitive football, and that was pleasing to see. The movement was good, the forwards were good. The younger lads are kind of stepping up to a degree and it’s the older lads who have to step up now. I’ve seen it in some games obviously. But today was an improvement from the An- trim game.”

That’s where the good news story ends, though. Shortly after Clare scored four, Waterford slowly crept back into the game and the manager recognised a handful of key episodes that led to the demise. The missed opportunity before the break and the penalty at the end contributed, he said, but Doherty believed the inju- ries picked up by Gordon Kelly and Daragh Kelly were crucial.

“At the end of the day we have a small pool of players and to lose

Daragh Kelly and Gordon Kelly was a big blow.

You’re talking about two key play- ers. When Daragh was in the team for the McGrath Cup, we didn’t lose a game. When he went out of the team we haven’t won a game.

“And Gordon, of course, is a fine bit of stuff. His loss took two big players out of six in our back line. It was a big turning point in the game.

“T’ve been hoping to move Gordon out to centre back for most of the year and unfortunately I can’t because my hands are tied to a degree in relation to where I can play lads. Daragh was doing reasonably well at centre back until he received that injured and Gordon obviously is himself. He’ll always give you everything.”

The missed goal opportunity?

“Stephen Hickey’s goal chance was like Rory Donnelly’s against An- trim. How many chances do you get in a game? How many times do you need these chance to put them away? You’ve got to take them when the goal is in front of you and that was there again today.

“I don’t know if Stephen tried to take the net out with that shot. It would have been better to side foot it into the back of the net and a goal then would have put us in the as- cendency. We would have been in the driving seat. It was a game that would have taken a different aspect in the second half.”

The penalty?

“I think Joe jumped into the for- ward more than he tried to claim the

ball. Then [just before the penalty] David Connole was unlucky. He ran into the back of a player and that was a silly free to give away in a danger- ous position. For a while we were in the game and the lads that came onto the team tried their best, but we are where we are.’

Again, Doherty came back to the positives of the performance and with Kilkenny on the horizon, the first two points of the season are surely within grasp.

“There was more determination overall. Still, the cuteness that will win you games wasn’t there and some of the lads took the wrong de- cisions at times.

“Sean Collins drove on and hit men twice his size and he was a contender for man of the match. There’s still a lot of work to do and hopefully we’ ll get guys back off the treatment table and we’ll be that bit stronger and that bit more street-wise the next time.”

THE Enterprise Acceleration Centre at Limerick Institute of Technology is looking for Clare participants in its second intake for its Limerick Enter- prise Acceleration Platform (LEAP) joyueycau-ueavsaten

There are three Clare-based par- ticipants among the eleven people in the first programme, and the wel-

come mat is out for more applicants from the county.

The closing date for applications is this Monday, March 10. The ap- plication form is on www.lit.ie/leap, which also has further information. The programme starts on April 14.

“After a very successful first year, the LEAP programme is gearing up for its second intake of entrepre- neurs,’ said Graham Royce, who

manages the programme at EAC.”

LEAP is a tailor-made programme designed to support entrepreneurs in their quest to establish growth-ori- ented companies that deliver inno- vative products and services to the market.

Speaking of the first programme, Mr Royce explained that the start- ing point in February last year was to recruit eleven individuals that had

the ambition and drive to set up their own business.

“In April 2007, the LEAP par- ticipants took up residence (free of charge) in the Enterprise Accelera- tion Centre,’ he said. “They began a full time 12 month programme that integrated a range of supports fo- cused on strategic planning and prac- tical business set-up including man- agement training, business coaching, mentoring and consultancy.

“A year later it is fantastic to see the progress that these early stage entrepreneurs have made with their respective businesses. Without doubt, LEAP offers 12 months of unparalleled supports for entrepre- neurs at such a critical stage. We are anticipating strong demand for the programme this year and we are de- lighted to have Tipperary, Limerick and Clare based role models for the 2008 group.’

Mr Royce and Donncha Hughes, EAC Manager are available to meet with prospective candidates for a confidential chat prior to the closing date for applications.