This article is from page 4 of the 2007-07-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
WHILE the poor weather is having a direct effect on the incomes of the thousands of people in the tourism and agriculture industries in Clare, it is also having effects, both directly and indirectly, on thousands more.
Reports on the ground indicate that Clare publicans have had a slower trade than normal so far this year, but only marginally so.
“Obviously it is down a bit but noth- ing compared to places like Dingle, where they are reporting close to a
50 per cent drop. It’s down a bit but not dramatically so, and it’s nothing that could not be levelled off with a good run at the end of the year,” said Michael Martin of the Clare Vintners Association.
“All we can do is hope for four or five good weeks and see what hap- pens. We were obviously getting wor- ried in June and at the beginning of July but things are starting to pick up again.”
However, those Clare people with shares in the C&C drinks group have lost more than 20 per cent of their in-
vestment in the company as its shares have plummeted in the last month.
In excess of €500 million has been wiped off the value of the company in a matter of weeks as a result of the poor performance of its headline product, Bulmers. Bulmers, or Mag- ners in the UK, is regarded by many consumers aS a Summertime drink and sales have been hit badly as a re- sult of the poor weather.
Meanwhile, people who suffer from mental illnesses such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), are not adversely effected by poor weather
condition. SAD is a form of depres- sion brought about by the change of seasons and affects roughly three per cent or almost 4,000 people in Clare.
“From our own experience here in Clare, it does not seem that there is an increased incidence of SAD dur- ing times of bad weather,’ said Denis Creedon, Director of Nursing for the Clare Mental Health Service
“Indeed, we haven’t heard of any weather-related increase in any men- tal health issue as a result of the weather, not in Clare at least,’ Ms Sie (oy ecy-s(ee