Month: July 2007

IRISH farmers are once again breathing a collective sigh of relief this week as the collapse of the latest round of World Trade Organisations have seen them dodge a potential disaster, at least for the time being.

In an increasingly familiar pattern, the latest round of the WTO talks collapsed in Potsdam in Germany on Tuesday last leaving the future of agriculture in Ireland and across the EU zone in a continued state of limbo.

Commenting after the collapse IFA President, Padraig Walshe, launched

an astonishing attack on EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, describing him as “completely dis- credited, his negotiating tactics in shreds.”

‘There is now a very serious ques- tion mark over Peter Mandelson’s ability as the EU trade negotiator, and the EU Commission should se- riously consider removing him from the WTO trade negotiations/”

Before the collapse of the talks the IFA had claimed that strategy being employed by Mandelson in relation to the WTO would cut EU farm in- come by €20 billion, and the G20 proposal would mean an income cut

of s37 billion.

“It is evident from analysis of the October 2005 EU offer on agricul- ture, that the beef sector is the most vulnerable to tariff cuts ranging from 60 per cent in the case of unproc- essed full carcass beef to 50 per cent in the case of beef cuts,” he said.

“The beef sector accounts for one- third (34 per cent) of Ireland’s agri- cultural output, and involves about 90,000 farmers. It is clearly a vital national interest for Ireland, worth $1.5 billion.”

Indeed, in a letter delivered to Commissioner Mandelson before the collapse to talks, the IFA President

said it is clear from our analysis that the tariff cut offers you have made in the case of “high value beef prod- ucts” will undermine the EU price by almost 50 per cent.

‘Farmers in the EU are obliged to meet high standards with regard to food safety and tractability, animal welfare and protection of the envi- ronment. IFA has first-hand evidence that standards of production in some major food exporting countries, for example Brazil, fall far short of the standards demanded from EU farm- ers, and indeed far short of the stand- ards necessary to guarantee safe food to consumers in the EU.”

THE long awaited ban on Brazil- ian beef imports looks to be inching ever closer follow news this week of a change in political attitude on the issue. Following meetings in Scotland and France last week, the IFA’s National Livestock Committee Chairman, John Bryan, said there was strong momentum building in Europe for a total ban on Brazilian beef imports into Europe.

Bryan claims to have received 100 per cent support for a Brazilian beef ban from the NFU England and Wales, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union following a meeting in Edinburgh.

Meanwhile across the water in France, the FNSEA, have also placed their full support behind a Brazilian beef ban.

“The new Agriculture Minister in the Scottish Executive, Richard Lochhead has expressed his real concern regarding Brazilian beef imports which fail to meet EU stand- ards and has undertaken to write to the EU Commission outlining his concerns on the matter,” said Bryan.

“Serious pressure 1S now emerg- ing on the EU Commission to apply further restrictions on Brazil. The regionalisation policy adopted by the EU Commission in Brazil has no credibility in view of the complete lack of traceability and movement

controls.

“With the vast majority of animals not tagged, no traceability, no effec- tive border controls and ineffective FMD controls, the EU policy of re- eionalisation cannot work.”

Clare farmer and Chairperson of ICMSA’s Beef and Cattle Commit- tee, Martin McMahon, has also com- mented that the ban would seriously aid struggling farmers.

“The situation with Brazilian beef 1s very serious and it has to be stopped. It shouldn’t be allowed to bring in a product of inferior quality when we have very high standards in the Irish industry,” he said.

“The beef industry is under se- vere pressure but Minister Cough-

lan seems to be very committed to making sure that it isn’t sold out. The winter finishers will determine the price on store cattle and if people aren’t prepared to go back out and buy stores then farmers will have to sell at lower prices.

“It has a knock on effect on the size of stores. The price of feedstuff is also a concern. Barley can be up to €180 a tonne and the prices rose again recently so farmers are losing again at that end. There are limita- tions on cattle over 400 kilos so if you can’t sell those cattle at a pre- mium you just have to take a lower price. The industry is all up in the air at the moment.”

THE story of west Cork farmer, Jack Sheehan, is the subject of a new book to be published by the Cork University Press in the coming weeks. Jack’s World – Farming on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula, 1920- 2003 tells the story of Jack, a farmer erowing up and struggling to survive in the 1920’s and 1930’s, managing his farm through the 1950’s and ad- justing to new forces in the 1970s but marginalized by the times we now live in.

Sheehan was one of eleven children born into an impoverished farming family on the Sheep’s Head penin- sula in southwest Ireland. Growing up in hungry times, he stayed on the farm all his eighty-three years, taking it over when his father died and steadfastly caring for its fields through the dormant 1950s and the better times that came in the decades that followed.

He lived to see the eclipse of his farming world and to view with dis- may the way encroaching property speculators and consumerism were

changing the nature of his landscape. Jack Sheehan was born just as the Irish state was coming into existence and his life is as revealing of that country’s history as the more famil- lar accounts of national figures. Jack’s World’s is illustrated in col- our with specially commissioned photographs taken by three people, Danny Gralton, Ciaran Watson and Danny Levy Sheehan, who all knew Jack and know his farm. The book is also illustrated with maps, includ- ing one showing the farm’s fields and their Irish names that were preserved

by Jack, and photographs of early documents relating to his farm’s his- ro a’s

The book’s unique sources, in addi- tion to the memories of friends and family who knew Jack and shared aspects of his world, include diaries kept by Jack from the early 1930s onwards.

Author, Sean Sheehan, is a nephew of Jack and he has written a number of books, including a guide to anar- chism and a biography of Socrates. He is presently writing a book about aie

THE first open days ever to take place on conservation farms in Ire- land took place in the Burren over the weekend. On Friday and Satur- day, the BurrenLIFE Project hosted two such open days in premises on Slieve Carron Nature Reserve.

The days, which were open to the public, was part of the project’s awareness campaign a saw large crowds turn out for a series of dem- onstrations. The main focus of the open days was to highlight the work of the BurrenLIFE Project in the field.

“The project has achieved much in the first three years of operation. The

most important aspect has been the establishment of strong and durable partnership with the local farming community of the Burren,” said the Project’s Finance and Operations Officer, Ruairi O Conchuir.

“Detailed farm management plans are being implemented on each of the participating farms in conjunc- tion and in co-operation with the farmer concerned.

“The area now actively farmed for conservation covers in excess of 2,400 hectares of Burren SAC land. This figure is above the original tar- get set by the Project with the Euro- pean Commission.”

The main objective of Farm Dem- onstration Days, according to O

Conchuir, will be to highlight the work of the BurrenLIFE Project in the field.

‘We aimed to ensure those present at the events are given a compre- hensive overview and real picture of the work being undertaken on LIFE farms and the key role played by LIFE farmers,” continued O Con- Onttew

“The following aspects in _par- ticular were highlighted, farming for conservation in practice, animal health on conservation grassland areas, grazing regimes to support farming, the use of supplementary feed, targeted scrub removal and treatments and the treatment of re- erowth; conservation grade Burren

beef and lamb, habitat assessment work on SAC areas.”

One of the main aims of the project is to help protect the Burren’s pre- cious limestone payment by finding was to encourage farmers to farm in the traditional way, where animals are housed outside in the Winter months. These cattle and sheep help to keep down the scrub and brush and prevent it from taking over and destroying the natural Burren land- scape.

BurrenLIFE 1s a partnership-based, EU funded, project which aims to develop a new model for sustainable agriculture in the Burren. For more details on the project contact 065 708900 or on Www.burrenlife.com.

STUDENTS at St Clare’s school have been enjoying the new sensory garden, which has been officially opened by Dr Willie Walsh.

The garden, designed by John Mc- Carthy in conjunction with the staff and pupils, is set in a glorious sunny position. It is specially designed to children uninhibited access around the garden that allows them to dis- cover something new at every turn. Children in electric wheelchairs are free to roam and to enjoy all the beauty of the garden. The design of the garden is such that certain areas are specially planted to appeal to the sense of sound, while other areas ap- peal to the sense of touch.

There are four pergolas in the gar- den and in future years an abundance of trailing plants will provide shade and colour to the garden.

According to school principal Anne Walshe, “there is much to see and do in this wonderful space. We are pleased that it will integrate with the curriculum at the school. Not only will the children use the garden to study nature and the environment but there are many opportunities to use the garden for learning about orien- teering and following directions”

The Board of Management of St. Clare’s School acquired the land from Ennis Town Council around 18 months ago. This new garden is sited on a portion of land located between the school and a former halting.

The land was zoned as recreational and the board set about planning something unique that was specially designed to meet the needs of chil- dren and young teenagers with spe- EU aerere nce

John Costelloe, chairperson of the board, was the driving force behind the project. He was there from start to finish, ensuring the successful completion of a long-term project.

The first task was to put in twenty extra parking spaces for staff and parents but the real vision of the board was to provide a recreational area for the children. This comprises of a playing pitch for football, a play area for climbing and exploring and finally a sensory garden.

Anne said, “The board of manage-

ment would like to thank all those who helped them to build this gar- den. In particular the Clare Federa- tion for Special Needs who gave a loan towards the purchase of the land and other voluntary groups including the Ennis Lions Club, Ennis and Dis- trict Soroptomists, Wings, Miltown Malbay walking club and PJ Harvey of New York.”

She added, “We know that this gar- den, playground and football pitch will get much use and give endless fun and enjoyment to children with Special Needs for many years to come. As it grows and matures it will become a most beautiful and indeed spiritual place and a lasting tribute to all those involved and to our special needs children”’.

ENNIS National School’s eco- friendly reputation has been further enhanced after winning the best-kept school’s competition.

The annual event run by Ennis Town Council aims to promote ereater public awareness in educa- tion among the general public, with a special focus on children, with help from their parents, teachers and communities.

Adjudicators were impressed by the school’s embrace of a number of litter awareness initiatives. Students and teachers worked together on a series of projects and litter preven- tion schemes.

Projects carried out have included the provision of recycling bins in schools, segregating rubbish and other waste materials projects.

The school also worked hard to ad- dress other issues such as graffiti, chewing gum and dealing with litter black spots.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of Ennis Town Council, new Deputy Mayor of Ennis Peter Consi- dine congratulated Ennis National on their success in the competition. He also said he hoped more schools would take part next year.

“It was good to see the schools up here last week for the Tidy Schools competition. It’s obviously important that schools encourage environmen- tal responsibility and many are doing

so. Although I would hope that more of the schools would take the oppor- tunity to take part next year”.

The award is the second time this year Ennis National has been com- mended for pursuing environmen- tally friendly policies.

Earlier this year this school was awarded green flag status. Green Schools committee. Through that they undertook a review of the

school’s waste management practic- es and surveyed the condition of the school and it’s surroundings.

Under the guidance of teachers John Kearney and Anne Flanagan, pupils embraced the Green School’s ethos by introducing a number of en- vironmentally friendly procedures.

These included composting, a bat- tery collection point an environmen- tal newspaper and regular clean ups

of the public car park.

The Green Flag, which is an in- ternationally recognized status, is awarded by An Taisce to schools who undertake the Green-Schools programme

It aims to help students apply what they have learned about environmen- tal awareness in their day-to-day lives both at school and in their own homes.

A NUMBER of sites have been iden- tified by the Office of Public Works (OPW) as potentially suitable for Ennis Educate ‘Together National School, according to Clare TD Tony Ona

The recently appointed Junior En- vironment and Energy Minister also expressed confidence that a perma- nent school site would shortly be sourced.

According to Mi£nister Killeen, “The Department of Education and Science recently requested the Of- fice of Public Works to source a site for Ennis Educate Together National School. On foot of advertising, a

number of proposals were received and the OPW is presently awaiting a technical assessment report on the suitability of proposed sites.

“Minister for Education and Sci- ence, Mary Hanafin has informed me that every effort is being made to locate a suitable site for the school,” he added.

In a letter to Minister Killeen, the Minister for Education and Science wrote, “When a suitable site is se- cured the project will be considered in the context of the multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme.

“I am acutely aware of the long- standing efforts by the school board and parents of children attending the

facility to secure a permanent school site. I would now urge the OPW to present a list of suitable sites as quickly as possible,” concluded Min- ister Killeen.

Ennis Educate Together National School, which is based on the Gort Road, 1s co-educational and children are taught from junior infants up to sixth class.

The school has been engaged in a long running dispute with Clare County Council over a permanent site for the school.

Meanwhile, Minister Killeen has received confirmation from the De- partment of Education and Science that building and maintenance works at 26 primary and _ post-primary

schools across Clare will commence over the coming weeks. The funding allocated to Clare schools, under the Summer Works Scheme, is approxi- mately €2.1m.

Minister Killeen said, “Under this year’s Summer Works Scheme 19 lo- cal National Schools and seven Post- Primary Schools will benefit from projects to upgrade buildings and ELON n alee

‘The developments that have been sanctioned relate to electrical, main- tenance and conversion works.

“These projects will be of great benefit to the schools concerned and I commend the Department of Edu- cation and Science for its work in this area.”

AN ENNIS based teacher who spe- cializes in fostering a love of music in young and newborn children has been recognized by a high profile in- ternational award.

Finola Ryan has been named a ‘Maestro’ by Kindermusik Interna- tional, one of the world’s leading mu- sic and movement programmes.

Finola teaches Kindermusik in Glor and Maoin Cheol an Chlair, from newborn children up to seven years old.

The Maestro award recognizes ex- cellence in teachers who continue to pursue child development education.

“The Kindermusik Maestro has a

mission: helping children become better learners and helping parents understand how to help them reach their highest potential,’ said Michael Dougherty, CEO at Kindermusik In- ternational.

Finola is one of 5,000 licensed edu- cators in the world who use Kinder- musik’s music and movement cur- ju Cete eee

She began providing Kindermusik at Maoin Cheoil in 2006. Today Fi- nola teaches the learning program to over 60 families and also works for the Mid Western Health Board

In the last year, Finola has extended her program in Glor to cater for “Kin- dermusik Village” classes, which are for newborns to 18 months and

“Kindermusik Our Time” which is for children aged 18 months to three years, as well as Saturday morning “Kindermusik Imagine That’ for three to fives and “Young Child” classes from five to seven. Finola’s “Young Child” recently performed at Glor.

A graduate of the University Col- lege Cork, Finola said she was very surprised to learn she had won the award.

She said, “I’m both surprised and thrilled to receive the Maestro Award” Finola explained the merits of the programme to young children.

‘Kindermusik is a unique learning experience.

The many songs and activities in

Kindermusik class enhance a child’s total development by strengthening physical, emotional, social and cog- nitive skills at a very early age,” Fi- jae) e-Mr-Lelelere!

“Kindermusik believes a_ child’s most important teacher is his or her parent. That’s why we are one of the very few programs that include parents in activities with their chil- oes

Finola’s program continues at Glor next week, July 9 to 13 with “Adven- tures” summer camps for ages three to five and five to seven.

Contact Glor box office on 065 6843103 or see www.kindermusik- withfinola.com for more information about Kindermusik.

A CRITICAL need for afford- able housing in Shannon town has prompted Clare County Council to compile a proposal for the construc- tion of a 60-house development.

Currently, 165 people are on the waiting list for affordable housing in S)ar-vepeeyen

With this statistic in mind, Clare County Council has proposed to build 60 houses – comprising 45 three-bed dwellings and 15 two-bed houses – at Cluain Airne. The site in question is 5.29 acres in size, which means there would be 11 houses on approximately one acre of land. It has been zoned residential and a fea-

sibility study has been carried out, outlining its suitability for housing.

A design team has been appointed for the project and residents in Shan- non have been invited to a meeting, to discuss the plans, at the Oakwood Arms Hotel, on Monday, July 9 next.

Architect Colm Yelland, who is on the design team, said he was optimis- tic the development would enhance the existing scheme at Cluain Airne, where there are 178 houses.

‘We have looked at the regeneration of the overall area, carefully looking at the integration of the scheme into existing street patterns,” he said.

He said that the creation of play- ground spaces has been considered,

While the possibility of building three-bed and four-bed units reflect- ed the needs for such housing.

He said that access to the estate would be mainly independent to the access to the existing estate.

Councilor Gerry Flynn said he be- lieved that 60 houses was excessive.

“I feel the quantity of 60 is too much. The number of 40, I’d be open to negotiation. I’ll dig my heels in. There’s already 178 in Cluain Airne and 167 in Tradaree Court. That’s a lot of houses in a particularly tight area,’ he said.

Dick Pyne, of Clare County Coun- cil, who attended a meeting with Shannon Town councillors on the proposed development, last week

said,

“Economically, it has to be justi- fied for the department and the peo- ple who are going to buy them. Eco- nomically we need 60 houses. It’s won’t fly at 40. There is no point in trying it.”

The meeting was told that a bill of €1.3 million for roads and water Services would have to be met, while the project was being constructed.

Cllr Greg Duff (Labour) said it was important to tackle the affordable housing waiting lists, but the people living in Cluain Airne shouldn’t be forced to suffer as a result.

Cllr Geraldine Lambert (FF) said the main problem with the proposal was access.

NEWLY elected Mayor of Shan- non, Councillor Sean McLoughlin (FG), anticipates a busy year for his first outing as town ambassador but is looking forward to the challenges ahead.

His first priority, after his election at the council AGM last Tuesday evening, is to begin work on getting an ambulance for use in Shannon.

“The big issue that I’ll be pushing for, as chairman of the ambulance committee, is the possibility of one of these for the town. We have none and we are looking for one of those new Emergency Response Units with trained medics in the next 12 months.”

Along with emergency services,

other plans include a tourism forum, a town boundary extension and gain- ing support for Public Service Obli- gation (PSO) for selected Shannon Airport routes.

“As we all know, there are a lot of people passing through Shannon dur- ing the tourist season but not enough staying overnight. Later on in the year, I am hoping to have some sort of tourism forum with B&B, hotel- iers and other people with a lifelong interest in tourism so we can discuss ways of encouraging visitors to stay for longer,” said Cllr McLoughlin.

It is hoped that the Government will apply to the European Commis- sion for PSOs on behalf of the air- port, which would compensate pro- viders if they provided essential but unprofitable routes such as a daily

commuter flight to Dublin.

“The airport is very important in terms of infrastucture and jobs so along with pushing for a PSO motion we are going to do everything we can to keep US flights coming into Shan- non,’ he said.

He added that a proposal to extend the Shannon boundary has been sent away for Government approval and he is optimistic that the town will soon be bigger and better.

A new green paper on local govern- ment later this year is due to suggest upgrading the status of town councils to full rateable authorities and Cllr McLoughlin said that he is “look- ing forward” to this development for Shannon.

He paid tribute to outgoing mayor, ClUlr Tony McMahon (Lab) and also

congratulated Deputy Mayor, Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind), on his election.

Cllr McLoughlin was elected for the first time in 2004 having been heavily involved with Fine Gael for some years.

He celebrated his new appointment with wife Catherine, son Michael, daughter Marie and grandson Mat- thew among others.

He said that with the support of col- leagues and staff, he was confident facing the challenges ahead and that he would do his best for the people of Shannon.