Month: May 2007

PARENTS often wish that they could have a fly-on-the-wall view of what goes on at their children’s childcare facility during the day.

Last week in Lough Graney, mums and dads of existing and future charges at the Lough Graney Kids Corner community créche got a chance to do just that.

Having recently celebrated their of- ficial opening, the creche committee organised an open-day for families of children already in the creche and those considering sending their youngsters there.

“We have an open door policy and it was good to let the parents see the activity oriented approach we have,’

said said Kathleen McNamara, Sec- retary of the childcare committee.

The childcare and after-schools fa- cility was purpose built after sucess- fully securing a building grant of €1 million and a further €94,000 for equipment.

The affordable community facil- ity started life in the national school, where it began as a playschool in a spare room.

“We applied for and got a staffing grant, which meant we were able to expand to pre-school and after school care. That grant was a major cog in the wheel. It gave us the opening to keep going forward,” said kathleen.

Now the facility operates out of a state-of-the art purpose built home at the back of the school, with fifty

children being catered for.

The structure is child-friendly, tim- ber framed with underfloor heating and wood floors for little feet.

The ethos of Kids Corner is not just to babysit the youngsters who come there during the day and after school, but to make the time spent there stimulating, fun and child-friendly.

“We are very activity oriented. While we do homework with the children, we also have people come in to do activities like gymnastics and crafts. We do a cookery class for children which is very popular,” said Kathleen.

The purpose built facility is also a boone to the local community, with regular activities such as the senior citizens’ yoga.

“When older people come here for a class, they get to mix with the chil- dren,’ said Kathleen.

The staff even offer a Summer camp and a room which can host birthday ey Nab lone

“The open day was a chance for people to come in and see for them- selves what we do here. That’s im- portant for parents who are bringing their children here,” said Kathleen.

Built by local builder, Michael Mc- Mahon to a design by architect, Peter Sheils, the childcare centre is shortly to have it’s own website.

THE actions of a Clare man who lit a fire in the toilets of a Limer- ick nightclub could have had cata- strophic consequences, a judge has SrBLOR

Mark O’Donnell (21), Ross, Feak- le, was jailed for six months at Lim- erick District Court last week, after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage at the Trinity Rooms night- club, on September 22, 2006.

The court heard that Mr

O’Donnell, who had no previous convictions, was caught on CCTV footage setting fire to a toilet roll in the men’s toilets of the club.

Garda Diane McCauley told the court that €750 damage was caused to doors, walls and tiles in the toilets.

The court also heard that the nightclub was forced to stop admit- ting people after the fire because of toxic fumes.

This, according to the club’s man- agement, resulted in a loss of earn-

ings of €1,000.

Defence solicitor John Herbert said there was no “rational expla- nation” for his client’s actions and insisted he had not gone out with the intention of causing harm.

Mr O’Donnell he explained had lit a piece of toilet paper and thrown it away, thinking it had gone out.

‘There is no explanation for what he was doing but he is extremely contrite,” he said.

Mr Herbert said his client, who works as a JCB driver, was a “per-

fectly normal young man”.

He said Mr O’Donnell was very aware that the actual consequences of his actions could have been very serious and added that the “enor- mity of the event has overwhelmed abheeae

Judge Tom O’Donnell said it was “extremely shocking” that a fire had been started in this fashion and said it could have been catastroph- ic, if it had not been dealt with quickly. Judge O’Donnell jailed Mr O’Donnell for six months.

A YOUNG man who was found witha knife in the sole of his runner claimed he carried it for his own protection. Leonard Keating (18), of Brook Av- enue, Togher, Cork, was found with a Stanley blade knife in the sole of his runner, at O’Connell Street, Ennis, on

December 16 last.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court the accused told gardai it was for his own protection.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “pos- session of knives is a very serious matter”.

Defending solicitor John Casey said his client currently works in a retail

outlet and hopes to study radio broad- casting in the future.

The judge asked, “Why does he need knives?”

The solicitor said his client has “*be- come a source for a certain individual in Cork. This individual has made his life an absolute misery”.

“He says he is terrified of this in-

dividual. He didn’t actually know he had it,” said the solicitor.

The judge replied, “It was in his runner. That beggars belief.”

Mr Casey said his client was “a nervous individual” and was in Ennis to get away from the other man.

The judge said he would adjourn the case to see how the accused behaves.

TALK of internal dirty tricks have left a slight cloud over the celebra- tions of Clare Fine Gael this week- NOR

With no specifics given, the 1s- sue became apparent late on Friday evening at the count centre in the West County Hotel.

During her interview with local ra- dio station Clare FM shortly after her arrival Fine Gael candidate Council- lor Madeline Taylor-Quinn alluded to all not been well among the Fine Gael candidates.

She poignantly paid tribute to her county council colleagues, candi-

dates Tony Mulcahy and Joe Carey.

Later in the interview when asked if there was a dirty tricks campaign, the seasoned politician said, “No doubt there was an element at certain levels, but it is not the place to go into it now.”

She refused to be drawn on the issue later in the night and again yesterday (Monday), but she did not retract her accusations. The former TD refused to be drawn any further on the issue.

Re-elected TD Pat Breen was ada- mant that his party colleague was not referring to him.

When he arrived in the West Coun- ty, he told waiting reporters that he had fought a clean campaign.

“I don’t know what Madeleine was on about. I don’t think it was me,” he Said.

Four candidates running in the four-seater Clare constituency had caused inter-party difficulty from the SFB

Both Deputy Breen and Cllr Tony Mulcahy had been selected at con- vention last May, with Cllr Taylor- Quinn and Joe Carey added by head- quarters at a later stage.

Deputy Breen publicly opposed the strategy, but he had to admit that the it worked when he was returned with running mate Joe Carey.

“My view was that a two or three candidate strategy was the best thing

to win two seats. My task always was to get two seats for the party and on this occasion the four-candidate strategy has worked well, because independent candidate James Breen lost so many votes.

“It’s astonishing that someone could lose over half of his first pref- erence vote. It goes to show you that no seat is safe.”

When asked how the strategy im- pacted on her election result, Cllr Taylor-Quinn said, “With four candi- dates one knew that the vote would be divided up.”

She said she was happy however that the party had increased its vote in Clare by 11 per cent.

A PUBLIC meeting was staged last night in the coastal resort of Lahinch in a bid to stiffen opposition against a five-storey apartment complex planned for the promenade. Currently, Clare County Council is evaluating plans by developer, Sea- mus Carroll for the €3 million com- plex that involves the demolition of the existing McDonald’s amusement arcade and construction of a five story building, including 20 apart-

ments, 18 duplex units, six ground floor retail units and underground car-parking.

However, chairman of Lahi- nch Community Council, Donogh O’Loghlin claimed yesterday that Opposition against the plan was erowing.

“The proposal resembles those apartment blocks from the former Soviet eastern bloc. It would be ab- solute madness if this was allowed to proceed and I hope that the coun- cil displays some sense and decides

to refuse planning permission,’ he SP HLG

Mr O’Loghlin confirmed that the four newly elected TDs had agreed to attend the meeting.

“What is planned is absolutely hor- rendous. It will dominate the skyline. It is around the same height as the Spinnaker building alongside it. We don’t want another eyesore in Lahi- nch,” he said.

In a fresh submission on their be- half, Eric, Mary and Isobel McDon- ald have expressed concerns over the

Ke) (em

The submission states, “The upper floors of the development have been reconfigured such that there will be substantial overlooking of my clients’ private apartment at the first floor of their property.

“This will result in loss of amen- ity of their existing residence and also affect the development potential of the property in the future due to the establishment of rights to light. . . furthermore, the nature of their arcade business makes them vulner-

able to break-ins, and the provision of windows at first floor level could facilitate illegal access to their prop- aaa

In a separate submission, Tom O’Hanlon stated that the proposed development would overlook and overshadow the surrounding build- ings to the detriment of these build- These

He said, “I would like to say that Lahinch does not need further holi- day home units that are locked up for eight to ten months of the year.”

PLANS for a €10 million windfarm seven kilometres from the east Clare villages of Tulla and Feakle have come under fire from local residents.

Last month, plans were lodged by Ventus Energy to develop eight tur- bines to supply electricity to 22,000 |aXeyaatercy

As part of the plan, the developers wish to remove 425 acres of forest plantation.

But in a strident appeal, residents say that the turbines proposed for the

site “are next generation machines optimised for off-shore use”’.

They state, ““As far as we are aware, there are no onshore wind turbines of comparable size operating anywhere in Ireland. The blade span is 93m or nearly twice as large as the turbines at Derrybrien for instance.

“The maximum blade tip height 1s 127m. The turbine tips will exceed the summit of Maghera mountain.”

The residents point out, “The pro- posed site is in a ‘preferred area’ for windfarms specified in the East Clare Development Plan. This is because

of its upland location and sparse hu- man habitation.

“However, the site is also desig- nated as a ‘vulnerable’ or sensitive landscape. Not all preferred areas for windfarms in Clare have this dual designation. Indeed, ECDP shows preferred areas nearby which do not have a vulnerable landscape designa- tion.”

ftom rons (eCcoe acum ontcaeUetcd elm aston eles landscape in close proximity to the proposed windfarm, close by to Lough Ea, which the residents state “is associated with Biddy Early in

local folklore. It is a uniquely Irish place and frequently visited by walk- ers, anglers, birders and the contem- tek ome

They say that the scale of the devel- opment would “represent a profane intrusion into this serene and private landscape.”

“The turbines will be visible form huge tracts of Clare and even Galway and Tipperary…

“Despite its huge visual impact, the power output of this development is very modest. With a rated capacity of 24 MW, the development will con-

tribute only OMW on average.

“The trend in responsible wind industry is towards larger off-shore installations. The project proposed by Ventus Energy has only seven per cent of this capacity, but may well come at a much higher cost in terms of our landscape heritage.

“The wind power developer has a strong financial incentive to employ larger turbines on higher ground. Unfortunately, both of these aspects are detrimental to the long-term in- terests of residents and visitors of County Clare.”

MICHAEL McDowell’s decision to retire from the political scene last Friday has been greeted with sadness by the party faithful in Clare.

The Progressive Democrat’s candi- date in Clare for last week’s general election, Murt Collins paid tribute to the former Tanaiste.

“TI think that the people have let us down. I think that they have made the worst mistake of all with the Minis- ter for Justice, Michael McDowell. He was one of the best ministers for justice that we have ever had. He took on the IRA, he reduced overtime in certain state bodies, and what did he get from it?” said Mr Collins.

“We took a hammering but it was a bad day for all small parties. It was bad for us but it was bad for the coun- try. The PDs were keeping Fianna Fail on the straight and narrow.

“They drove the economy and tax reform. We have all the tribunals out

of the PDs, we’d never know what was going on in the country if it hadn’t been for the PDs.”

The Kilrush general election candi- date also blamed Fianna Fail’s reac-

tion to Michael McDowell’s handling of leaks from the Mahon Tribunal as one of the main factors in the PD’s disastrous election campaign.

“This 1s my opinion, it was all about McDowell’s statement there a couple weeks ago about Bertie. What happened then is that Fianna Fail de- cided not to cross vote. It was very obvious there in Limerick when Wil- lie O’Dea got a huge vote and Tim O’Malley didn’t get the transfer. I think McDowell got Fianna Fail’s backs up a small bit,” he said.

“Whatever happened in the last week there was a whole swing to the big parties. Having the vote on the Thursday didn’t suit some of the smaller parties because they are depending on youth. In the last few days, the bigger parties pulled out all the stops and brought out all the voters.”

TWENTY years ago, the maternity unit at Ennis General Hospital was closed and since then, the only babies born in Clare are to the few women who hire independent midwives for home births, and those women who do not make it to hospital and give birth at the side of the road. A new group, Birth Choice Clare, has launched a cam- paign for the es- tablishment of a midwife led, com- munity based, stand-alone ma- ternity — facility in Ennis to serve the more than 105,000 ~~‘ popu- lation of Clare. Because 85 to 90 per cent of births are normal, mem- bers say such a midwife led unit would be as suc- CIAO MECISMECIDOOUUEADE units in the UK and elsewhere. Birth Choice Clare says women and their babies should not be subjected to the dangers of roadside births un-

necessarily and travelling from some parts of the county could involve journeys of up to two hours, depend- ing on traffic.

The campaign will be highlighted this Sunday, June 3, in a special re- port on RTE’s regional and commu- nity affairs programme,

MANAGEMENT and unions at Shannon Airport are to meet under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) this Thursday to resolve any outstanding issues over the €36 million ‘survival plan’ at Shannon.

However, the LRC will not be deal- ing with the thorny issue of discount travel for those who will be taking voluntary redundancy. That is being dealt with by the Labour Court.

The delay, which is clarifying the various issues connected to the re- structuring plan, is holding up two new private companies coming in to assume control of the ground cater- ing and in-flight catering at Shan- Wey F

Also, it 1s understood that secu- rity staff at the airport won’t allow ex-catering staff take up their new positions in the security sector un- less they receive the first part of the €16,000 sum that will be provided for each of the 350 staff members that are staying on.

Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) staff have enjoyed free and discount- ed Aer Lingus flights while working for the company and after retire-

ment. In the 10-page document, no mention is made of the discounted flights. The ensuing row resulted in unions and management meeting un- der the auspices of the Labour Rela- tions Commission.

It is understood that over 185 staff members have signed up to take the voluntary redundancy programme.

Prior to the package been put on of- fer to the airport’s 550 workers, the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) stated that 200 voluntary redundan- cles were needed in order for the Shannon deal to be viable.

While the SAA may not reach the 200 target, it is believed that the high number taking up the offer will be enough for the deal to go through.

As part of the deal with the air- port’s workers, the SAA is to exit completely from catering. It is be- lieved that the rates offered by the two catering firms that will provide eround catering and in-flight cater- ing have disappointed workers.

In the deal, those workers with 24 years experience or more who opt to leave the SAA will receive over €100,000, while the 350 who remain are to receive a payment of €16,000. The deal is expected to save the SAA €10 million per annum.

MILTOWN Malbay may have to wait for five years before much needed re- surfacing work can take place, it was revealed yesterday at the local area meeting of Clare County Council in Ennistymon.

Responding to a motion put for- ward by Councillor Richard Nagle (FF), Senior Executive Engineer in Ennistymon, Hubert Newell said that road works couldn’t be completed until planned sewage work takes je e-leror

“Does this mean that nothing can happen in Miltown Malbay for the next five years?” asked Cllr Nagle.

“T wouldn’t mind if the develop- ment was near, but this is years away. There has to be some work done in the meantime.”

Lisdoonvarna-based — Councillor Martin Lafferty (Ind) pointed to a lack of confidence in the local au- thority felt by some people in Mil- town Malbay.

“We cannot wait for this to happen because it will take years upon years. There is a problem in Miltown Mal- bay, that the people of the town feel agerieved. They feel that if they had a councillor that he could wave his

magic wand and everything would be finished.”

Meanwhile, local tourism is being put under pressure because of Clare County Council’s inability to provide a passing out bay on the roads at the top of Corkscrew Hill. Responding to a motion put forward by Cllr Laf- ferty, Mr Newell said that a bay could not be put in place until the comple- tion of a diameter pipeline between Lisdoonvarna and Ballyvaughan.

“It is mitigating against tourism,’ said Cllr Lafferty. “The buses have to continually reverse in order to get by each other.”

Buses and tourists stopping at the Cliffs of Moher could soon be clamped if they fail to park in the official parking lot as the council is to regularise the double yellow lines at the site following the construction of the multi-million euro interpretive centre. A number of new car park- ing places are to be made available in north Clare in the coming months with 20 space being created on coun- cil property and 30 spaces on private property in Ennistymon while the council plans to double the capacity of the Miltown Road parking lot in Lahinch to some 120 cars.