Month: May 2007

INCREASING fears for the safety of mothers and unborn children in Clare have prompted the establishment of a new group to campaign for the crea- tion of a standalone maternity facility in Clare.

Birth Choice Clare have already collected some 4,000 signatures sup- porting their plans to create a mid- wife-led, community-based, women- orientated new facility in Ennis.

The proposed facility is a reac- tion to the growing number of births

which take place at the side of the road because Clare mothers cannot reach hospitals in Limerick and Gal- NAB UID OS lon

“We cannot get proper statistics for side-of-the-road births, they are all documented as giving birth at their destination hospital, but we do know that they are happening in Clare,” said Lesley-Anne Hill of Birth Choice Clare. ““We have heard an- ecdotal stories of babies being born by the road in Bunratty. It is a major problem, especially for people in the west and north of the county.”

The proposed facility would not employ any doctors, with midwives overseeing all deliveries and compli- cated pregnancies being referred to an obstetrician. It would also contain staff to assist with home births and domino scheme pregnancies.

“Between 80 and 90 per cent of women have perfectly normal healthy pregnancies. The World Health Or- ganisation has said that midwives are the best and most qualified people to deal with normal pregnancies,” con- tinued Ms Hill.

“This is about the effective use of

resources. If a woman is likely to have a problem pregnancy, they can be referred to an obstetrician.

“Our next step is to produce a more detailed submission where we will outline issues such as cost, location and size. It may or may not be on the site of Ennis General Hospital.”

A survey conducted last year found that babies born in Munster had an increased chance of being born on the way to hospital with Clare and Cork singled out as the worst counties.

“You get a lot of babies born at the side of the road in Clare,” said Krysia

Lynch of the Homebirth Association of Ireland. “It can be a very dangerous situation for both mother and baby. They don’t have any scissors to cut cord and no rope to tie it up with.

“It can cause a situation when fa- thers end up speeding to get to the hospital. They’re breaking the speed limits and their wife is beside them, usually not able to wear a seat belt.

“I have heard of situations where women are literally crossing their legs, sitting on the baby trying to keep them from coming before they get to the hospital.”

VANDALS have made repeated at- tacks on an east Clare facility, leav- ing householders without a sewerage treatment plant for their homes.

Council staff have been working overtime to try to put right damage which has been caused on a number of occasions recently to the treatment plant at Shannon Banks.

The vandals broke into the enclo- sure around the sewerage treatment plant to damage the plant.

As the enclosure is also used as a storage space for the county council’s maintenance equipment, the local authority is now having to consider

removing the equipment and storing it further away.

Local councillor, Cathal Crowe says he has gone to the Gardai to dis- cuss what can be done about the van- dalism and problems with anti-social behaviour in general.

“The Shannon Banks housing estate is being vandalised on an ongoing basis. I regularly receive complaints from people in the area regarding the congregation of gangs and anti-social behaviour in the vi- cinity of the scout hall and river side walk,” he said.

The councillor added that it has “now emerged that vandals have en- tered the sewage treatment facility

on several occasions and caused un- told damage. In recent weeks coun- cil workers have had to spend several evenings repairing this damage.” The councillor explained that Clare County Council regularly use the fenced-in compound yard that sur- rounds the treatment plant for stor- ing equipment and machinery. “If the vandalism continues the council may be forced to have to relocate this equipment. This would be a very un- fortunate outcome as it is vital for a store of machinery and equipment to be at hand for general maintenance work in the local community.” Gardai say they are investigating the incidents of vandalism and are

monitoring and investigating any re- ports of anti-social behaviour on an on-going basis.

“IT have met and spoken with the local community guard regarding my concerns. Shannon Banks has always been a quiet, residential es- tate. It is however, vital that urgent attention is given to the tackling of anti-social behaviour in the area,’ OO voy (ons bter

He added that he will be staying in touch with the Gardai, local residents and council officials to see what can be done to try to resolve the issues before any further damage is done to the vital facilities.

MAKING beautiful music in Scariff means that pigs will fly – and all ina very good cause.

The youngsters involved in the Scar- iff Music World showed what they could do at a benefit gig in the Cob- blers Rest on Saturday evening.

More than 17 young musicians aged between seven and 12 years played their hearts out in a sponsored seisun which raised money to send a breed- ing sow to a family in need through the Bothar scheme.

The talented young musicians played ten tunes apiece and got each sponsor to pay them €1 per tune learned and

played on the night.

They came together to play and raise funds after learning how to play their instruments at the Music World school, which is an after-schools project run out of the Scariff Community Col- lege.

The music classes were started by the Community College’s head of music, John O’Brien, several years ago.

The classes are for adults and chil- dren alike and lessons are for every level of capability.

Part of the fees for the classes go back to the school to buy musical in- struments for the pupils.

Over the years, students have come to learn everything from guitar to pi-

ano, flute and fiddle.

Numbers vary but the weekly classes are Open to anyone who wants to join although the pupils come mostly from the east Clare area for practical rea- sons.

Which instruments are taught in any year depends on what teachers are available.

Nicki Griffin, who teaches flute and whistle at the school and who helped organise the night said the fundraiser was a way of getting young musicians together to play outside of lessons and jo eee Neer

“This lets them see that there is an end involved, a reason to play beyond the practice and the lessons. It’s play-

ing together in way they have never ex- perienced before and for a cause which will have great benefit,” said Nicki.

Once the young musicians finished their session on Saturday, Nicki and a band of older session players took the floor and did their turn.

“We were sponsored to play 50 tunes at 20 cent a tune. That was only fair because we started knowing more tunes,’ she said.

The cost of sending a breeding sow is €250 and Nicki said that the group had hoped to raise that much rather than aiming too high.

“Now I think we night have raised even more than that and that would be fantastic.”

IT’S A long way from Bodyke to Bu- rundi but a development charity which has been set up to link the two 1s bridg- ing that distance.

The idea for the charity came from Leocadie Murray who is a native of the village of Karambi in Burundi and who is married in Bodyke, County OE

During four visits to Karambi be- tween July 2005 and Oct 2006 Leo- cadie tried to get a better understand- ing of the main problems affecting the village through a series of meetings and competitions.

As a result of this, meetings were held in Bodyke earlier this year with

the aim of forming a charity to help with the development of the village and A2B (Aid to Burundi) was formed.

The charity now has a committee and constitution and has applied for DU KeoMIE-IRUISD

A2B is planning fundraising activi- ties starting this month.

As well as fundraisers, A 2B is plan- ning to go into the schools to give talks and organise events which will “lead to a greater level of awareness among the community in relation to the char- ity and to third world development in general”, a spokesman for the charity eIOb

“In Burundi A2B are funding a de- velopment worker, Raziki Gaspard, to act as an extension worker with the

villagers and as a liason between A2B and the various village committees. The needs and ideas of the population which he will develop will form the basis of the micro-projects which will be set up in the village,” the spokes- pPOLDOMNT-0(6 B

Special attention will be given to projects’ sustainability and to the vil- lagers contribution to them. They will either be financed by A2B or co-fi- nanced with other aid organisations in Ireland.

The supervision of these projects will be carried out by Raziki Gaspard with regular interventions by Leocadie Zlob wee hyA

During the course of his work a more detailed study of the major problems

in the village was carried out by the project worker. The findings have identified eight priority areas where the needs of the village are greatest, the first being the need for clean drink- TPAToMA Weed

It is hoped that further research can be done on this project by June for an application for funding from the Development Council of Ireland. It’s hoped work on the project should be- gin later on in the year.

As part of the fundraising drive, a coffee evening will be held in Has- sett’s bar, Tuamgraney after 6.30pm mass on Saturday, May 19 and a coffee morning will be held in the lounge of the Cobblers Rest, Bodyke after Mass on Sunday, May 20.

PUPILS and staff at Scariff Com- munity College are preparing to take on a brave new world, with the start- up of a subject that will see students abandon copy books for lap-tops.

The school is preparing to intro- duce the latest subject to be added to the Leaving Certificate programme, Design and Communication Graph- ee

The new subject will come on- stream next September and _ the school is currently in the process of acquiring the necessary lap-tops and

preparing course materials.

“Tt’s an exciting challenge and we’re looking forward to it,’ said Deputy Principal, John O’Donovan.

The new subject is not the only new start at the east Clare community college.

Last week, students, teachers and parents representatives gathered for a rededication ceremony after the school building got a €2.5 million re-vamp.

When it was discovered last year that there was asbestos in the roof, it was decided to replace it.

The Office of Public Works stepped

in to do the work and this gave the school an opportunity for a complete overhaul, including new flooring and decor.

And now they have also been given a Department of Education grant to re-equip rooms for practical subjects such as engineering and woodwork.

“We’re very pleased that the OPW paid for the work on the roof. The school could never have afforded it and now everything has been done to the highest standards of safety and design,’ Mr O’Donovan said.

At the rededication ceremony, school chaplain, Fr Brendan Quinl-

livan lead the prayers. School prin- cipal, Sean Daly acted as mc and traditional music was performed by Students from the school, with solo singing from student Edel O’Grady.

Local politicians attended the cer- emony as guests along with students, teachers and members of the Board of Management and the Parents Council.

CLARE County Council’s payroll costs last year jumped to €38 mil- lion, with the county’s rate-pay- ers contributing €29 million to the council’s coffers.

According to its annual financial statement, the council last year spent €103 million on revenue related items.

The local authority spent €32 mil- lion on wages and salaries. €2.4 mil- lion was spent on “other costs” under the heading of payroll and €4 mil- lion on pensions and gratuities.

The statement — presented to coun-

cillors at yesterday’s May council meeting — also records that €647,000 was spent on “communications”.

The statement shows that the coun- cil’s finances have improved with the local authority’s revenue deficit de- creasing to €2.9 million.

The figures show that the council’s income at the Cliffs of Moher visi- tor was higher than expected. Gate income at €300,000 was higher than 4 rel KerO

However, the figures show that rev- enues at the council’s waste manage- ment facility were €750,000 down on the 2006 estimate.

Reflecting the economic buoyancy

of the county, the council’s figures show that planning application in- come was €700,000 above budget.

The figures show that the coun- cil expenditure on work in progress projects stood at €248 million com- pared to €149 million at the end of 2005.

The main projects contributing to the total are the Ennis by-pass (€175 million), house construction projects in progress (€11 million), Water Projects (€25 million) and Cliffs of Moher (€29 million).

SW ilommieclioelnlmmeevepu sek MmOet:lmmnele council capital debt stood at €83 million at the end of 2006, compared

to €79 million at the end of 2005. The increase related to the final draw down of the loan to fund the Cliffs of Moher project, voluntary housing loans.

The figures show that the council last year spent €26 million on the provision of local authority housing. €67 million was spent on roads. The major element of this was the Ennis by-pass project.

The report states that the largest variance was on roads where ex- penditure was greater than budget by €5.9 million

This reflected mainly the extra grant income in the year.

yesterday that the rel- evant documents had been lodged in the case and that the claim against the council could amount to €20 million.

“Our legal advice states that we have a very good case,’ Mr O’ Regan said.

He added that he did not expect the case to come before the High Court this year.

Mr O’Regan’s company secured a deal to supply GAMA Construction with stone from a quarry in Ruan.

However, the council issued Mr O’Regan with a warning letter in Au- gust 2004 in relation to the expansion of the quarry at Ardcarney, Ruan.

In the warning letter, the council claimed that “there has been signifi- cant expansion of the quarrying area and an intensification of the use of

the quarry and considers that plan- ning permission 1s required for the Clee a ae

The council stated that a number of developments had taken place on the lands and that the council considered that developments to be unauthorised and required planning permission.

In a response, Mr O’Regan’s com- pany absolutely denied that there was any unauthorised development on the lands in question.

The response letter to the council stated, “There has been no expan- sion of the quarrying area in ques- tion, having regard to the historical planning unit, and whether signifi-

cant or otherwise and there has been no intensification of the use of such quarry on such lands.”

Mr O’Regan said that his company did not receive an enforcement no- tice.

He said that the council sent a letter to GAMA and their consultants al- leging an unauthorised development at Mr O’Regan’s quarry, but failed to forward on the company’s response.

As aresult, Louis O’Regan Ltd lost out on the deal to provide the by- pass project with stone and GAMA sourced rock for the project from an alternative quarry locaated in the Ennis area.

ENNIS Chamber of Commerce yes- terday (Monday) had its say in the General Election campaign with the launch of its manifesto.

It outlined issues of concern to the Ennis business community using feedback from its members.

Chamber President Michael Evans took the opportunity to express his disappointment with the level of re- sponse the chamber received from the candidates when the manifesto was sent to them and a meeting re-

quested four weeks ago.

‘To date, we have met with Timmy Dooley, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Brian Meaney, Pat Breen and Brendan Daly. We have received written re- sponses from Tony Killeen and James Breen as well as commitment for a meeting from Murt Collins.

“As the representative organisa- tion for business in Ennis, we can provide the candidates with a forum for important issues to be addressed. Strong businesses provide guaran- teed employment and are the only sector of society paying rates – both

commercial and water – which in En- nis accounts for over a third of the town council’s finances,” he said. Rita Mc Inerney, CEO added, “En- nis Chamber plans to meet with the four newly-elected Clare representa- tives immediately after the next gov- ernment is formed to emphasis again the issues of the Ennis Chamber manifesto and to receive firm com- mitments to action on the issues.” Among the issues highlighted were Shannon Airport, Ennis hospital, water in Ennis, the bypass, CCTV AVOCGMbOUBeAKinae GA bKes

GREEN Party leader Trevor Sar- gent was in Ennis this Thursday to lend support to local candidate Brian Meaney, even though it would ap- pear the leader remains at odds with the Clare councillor on the issue of American troops using Shannon Airport.

In March last year, Cllr Meaney didn’t win any popularity contests at the party’s conference in Kilkenny when he declared he was not op- posed to the use of Shannon Airport by American troops.

He said at the time that he was nev-

er in favour of “the coalition of the willing” going into Iraq but believed that the armies must stay to help pre- vent a civil war in the area.

This week, when challenged about the economic importance of the American troops using Shannon Airport, Deputy Sargent said, “the Nazis in Germany would have said the same thing.

“I think you have to have a level of respect for human rights which will underpin a sound economic future, because if you accept a low standard of human rights then it quite simply gives the message of accepting low standards in general.

“Our policy is that fundamentally the law has to be upheld. Our oppo- sition to the way American troops were sent to Iraq was based on the fact that it was an illegal occupation. We insist on high standards overall and we do not accept corporate do- nations,’ he added.

Ironically, it was at the same March 2006 conference that deputy leader Mary White proposed that the Green Party be allowed to receive such do- nations. She was defeated.

Deputy Sargent also said that there was a lot of misunderstanding about the Green Party and asked Clare vot- ers to look anew at its policy.

“Other parties paint us into a pi- geonhole that is not correct,’ he said. “I was at a meeting with Brian (Meaney) in Ennis and many farm- ers were attending and were very in- terested in the whole area of energy crops and the need for diversity in farming. That is why the Green Party is very much at one with farmers.”

“They have been let down by many parties in the past and it is not sur- prising that they are sceptical about anybody in politics, but I ask them to look a fresh at the Green Party be- cause our interests tie in very closely with farmers.”

Sargent said he was hopeful of Green success in Clare and even placed a bet in a local bookies, back- ing Cllr Meaney.

A JUDGE has refused to grant bail to an “out of control” young drug addict who has admitted several bur- glary charges, as he feared he would immediately re-offend.

Gerard O’Connor (18), of Chapel Street, Killaloe, pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges, including bur- glary and criminal damage of vari- ous business premises in Killaloe, between September 2006 and Febru- ary 2007.

Garda John Mulvihill told Shannon District Court that the burglaries were for the accused’s personal gain, “to feed his alcohol or drug habits”.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “I cannot understand how someone with this amount of charges is still at large.”

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett pointed out that the accused was in custody, having been arrested last

week.

Mr Hassett said his chent “went on a rampage with others and caused serious disharmony. He was stealing, breaking into premises and caus- ing damage at will, until the gardai caught up with him.”

“He has got seriously and heav- ily involved rhe) erat nea since his mid- teens,’ said deTomro) een KO)

He said the accused was “out of con- trol”, smoking cannabis and taking speed, while he was Ko repsew ame B ie! the offences.

“He was, to

some extent, relieved to be caught,” he said.

Garda Mulvihill agreed that the ac- cused did not have a lot of guidance from home and that he had devel- oped a serious drug problem.

Mr Hassett said his client required

treatment aI Bushypark or an equivalent unit, without delay. He said he had been assaulted twice during the past week in St Patrick’s Institution, ““be- cause he is from WeomeOltbe LOM Ae Judge McCa- rthy said he was not willing to release the ac- cused on to the streets “to com-

mit more crime, until I am satisfied there is a place for him in Bushypark and that he is prepared to take that re) e-Nerome

He said he had no doubt but that the accused would re-offend, if granted ey nee

“I have a duty to this man and [| have a duty to society so that it is not affected by this man’s criminal be- haviour,’ said the judge.

“This is the real world. I’ve no doubt if I release this man, he is going to do the same thing again tonight because he needs money for drugs,” he said.

The judge remanded the young man in custody to Limerick prison for a month. He ordered that a Pro- bation report be carried out, with emphasis on residential placement for substance abuse.