Month: September 2007

THE HSE is facing criticism for not upgrading the mid-west’s Sexual As- sault Treatment Unit (SATU) – leav- ing it the only region in the country without a full time dedicated unit.

Last week the health service an- nounced that it was expanding its SATUs by opening two new units in Galway and Mullingar.

The HSE failed, however, to give

the same privileges to the mid-west which already has a part-time SATU in Limerick servicing the county as well as Clare and Tipperary.

The service for victims of rape and sexual assault began operating in February 27, 2006.

By the end of that year it had helped 31 people, a number that has now esrown to 66.

According to a report into the first 10 months of its operation, eight peo-

ple from Clare were sent to the unit by gardai from Clare. Four of those using the service in that period gave a Clare address.

The service includes access to emergency contraception, referral information on screening for sexu- ally transmitted infections and rape crisis counselling.

Prior to February 2006 sexual as- sault victims were forced to travel to Cork for such a service.

In 2004 14 people from Clare were forced to make the arduous journey south, while eight people from the county travelled to Cork for the serv- ice in 2003 and again in 2005.

Despite its use the unit in the mid- west 1s now to be overshadowed by a full-time, new service in Galway.

As aresult doctors appointed to the new Galway unit will receive pay deals and nursing back up not avail- able to the Clare and Limerick GPs

working with the service.

In the Midwest, Shannondoc pro- vides the call-out facilities for the service when a victim is referred by the gardai.

The Mid Western Regional Hospi- tal Limerick provides use of a desig- nated clinic room located in the Out Patients Department. The Limerick Rape Crisis Centre, a confidential service, provides a crisis response to victims of recent sexual assault.

POOR grain price offers by Glan- bia have resulted in IFA President Padraig Walshe seeking a meeting with Glanbia Chief Executive John Maloney to discuss the “derisory”’ sums.

The IFA President said, “Glan- bia’s on account prices of €170/t for barley, €180/t for wheat and €185/t for oats (at 20 per cent moisture ex- clusive of vat) are derisory and this move is clearly designed to under-

mine the market for green grain by €15 to €20/t.”

Mr Walshe said, “It is clear that the timing of the announcement by Glan- bia and a number of other co-ops 1s designed to dampen farmer expecta- tions at a time when competition for green grain has intensified.”

“Glanbia’s offer is all the more ri- diculous considering that their own managers are being authorised to compete for grain and do deals far in excess of their current price offer. In the last few days, up to €190/t and

€210/t has been paid for green bar- ley and wheat respectively collected ex farm (at 20 per cent moisture, ex- clusive of vat), as the main harvest gets into full swing.”

“It is clear that Glanbia is now try- ing to recoup a drying and handling margin of over €50 per tonne from wheat based on current market val- ues, a 66 per cent increase on last harvest. This is totally unacceptable. Based on current import values, the benchmark off which Glanbia sup- posedly works, green wheat off the

combine is worth €200/t and green barley €185/t (at 20 per cent mois- ture, exclusive of vat).”

“Where farmers cannot achieve a minimum price of €185/t for green barley and €200/t for green wheat off the combine, they should now consider a number of other options. They can tip and auction the grain, retain ownership of the grain and do a deal on drying and storage, which is available from €14/t (excluding weight loss), or trade the grain direct farm to farm,” he added.

PREPARATIONS for the forthcom- ing National Ploughing Champion- ships began this week with the com- mencement of the layout construction of the site in Tullamore, County Of- faly. The championships, which will be held between Tuesday, September 25 to Thursday, September 27 are anticipated to attract in excess of 150,000 visitors and therefore exten- sive planning is needed in order to provide suitable facitilies and ameni- ties for the expected crowds.

Such is the scale of the annual event that planning for the following year’s event begins just days after the pre-

vious year’s competition finishes. Currently the organisers are in the process of laying 13 kilometres of trackway throughout the site and the pegging of the 800 exhibitor stands, which will take up a massive 60 acres of the impressively sized demonstra- tion area.

Colour coded free car parks take up 350 acres with the actual ploughing competitions demanding up to 200 acres to accommodate the various finals involved. Six KVA generators will also be on site with a staggering 20 kilometres of cables required to power 30 floodlights and 600 power points throughout the site.

As well as these facilities approxi-

mately 500 staff, mostly volunteers are necessary to make sure the three day event runs smoothly, including 200 stewards from every county in Ireland and 110 judges and supervi- SOrs.

Visitor’s appetites are also catered for with 22 catering units selling a vast array of foods including organ- ic, asian, specialised coffee bars and traditional Irish as well as 4 bars, 7 confectionary shops and several ice cream vendors.

An estimated 200,000 gallons of water are also required which further highlights the extent of the organisa- tion involved.

There are also numerous activi-

ties for those who want to take their minds off the competitions with the Land Rover Terrapod off road experi- ence, the first Irish Stihl Timbersport series and the Austrian Schuhplatters as well as the regular exhibitions such as livestock, machinery demonstra- tions, forestry village, motor show, bio energy village, education and business centre, a tented trade area and various entertainment events go- ing on all around the site.

This year’s championships will be opened at midday on September 25 by the guest of honour, President McAleese with the National Garda Band in attendence for the opening ceremony.

will include works from painters such as Paul Henry, Gerard Dillon, Jack B Yeats, Mainie Jellet, Mary Swanzy and No- rah McGuinness.

Curated by Fiona Woods of the Clare Arts Office, the works repre- sent a broad spectrum of Irish paint- ing and rates as one of the most high profile art exhibitions ever held in Clare. Many of the paintings have been sourced from the Arts Council and Limerick City Gallery of Art’s permanent collection.

To coincide with the exhibition, the Clare Arts Office is organising a se- ries of guided gallery tours, public

talks and workshops for artists.

Catherine Marshall, Chief Cura- tor with The Irish Museum of Mod- ern Art, currently on secondment as Visual Arts touring and Collections Advisor with the Arts Council, will provide the opening talk on Irish Painting.

On Saturday, September 15, Ennis- born artist Mick O’Dea RHA will give a talk about his work, followed by a closed workshop for artists.

The former National College of Art and Design tutor has won numerous awards including four Arnotts Na- tional Portrait Awards, the KMPG award at the 1992 and 1998 Oire- achtas exhibitions and a major Arts Council Bursary in 1986.

On September 22, leading contem- porary artist Micky Donnelly will give a talk about his work, followed by a closed workshop for artists.

Every Wednesday, Marie Con- nole MFA will give tours for school eroups, complete with educational material at 1.30pm. A guided tour for the public will be available at 3pm each Wednesday, or at another time by appointment.

The Fine Art Graduate of The Bur- ren College of Art received the Spire- sart Outstanding Student in Art, an accommodation and studio residency award in 2005 and tuition fees bur- sary in 2006/07 from The Clare Arts Office, and recently The Burren Col- lege of Arts Presidents Award.

She has worked at NCAD and IMMA and was a teaching assistant for life drawing and multimedia at the Burren College of Art. She has co- curated a number of shows and was one of the principles in the 2006 Tulca Fringe Festival in Galway. She exhib- its regularly in Ireland and Europe.

The exhibition will run until Sep- tember 23.

AN Ennis-based residents’ associa- tion has claimed that the high percent- age of rental properties in their estate is contributing to the ongoing anti-so- cial behaviour problem in the area.

Dun na hInse Residents Associa- tion, in an objection to plans to con- struct 26 terraced homes at Lahinch Road, Ennis, point out that Dun na hInse is primarily a rented estate, with 60 per cent rental property, mostly with absentee landlords.

The objection states, “This has re-

sulted in an ongoing litter problem, ongoing anti-social behaviour and subsequent devaluing of properties.” The residents association has writ- ten numerous letters to Ennis Town Council in this regard. They argue that the impact of 26 more housing units will exacerbate this existing so- cial problem, should the proposed de- velopment of townhouses go ahead. “This has been the trend in all the new estates nationally and we do not intend that our area further deteriorates due to lack of vision, management and responsibility by

our planners. It is incumbent on us as residents to object strong to this development given the history of de- velopment.”

The residents’ association point out that Dun na hInse consists of 131 houses, with Brookville accounting for 40 homes. The residents point out that “what is now a green area, scarce in Ennis town, will be saturated with an additional 26 units…Houses, con- crete walls and railings are not a sub- stitute for green spaces in an already high density environment.

In a separate objection, the Brookville

Residents Association claims that there are no amenities for children. They ask, “What can be more conducive to anti-social behaviour than adding more houses to this already high den- sity area with only one area to serve three housing estates?

“We feel that the combined units of Brookville and Dun na hInse al- ready constitute a high density area with enough social problems of their own. Adding more houses can only increase the problem.”

A decision is due on the application later this year.

A COMPANY has objected to the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) seeking planning permission for three large advertising billboards on the approach to Shannon Airport.

The billboards are expected to in- crease the advertising revenues raised by the SAA. However, a company that recently secured planning permission for student accommodation in Shan- non has objected to the proposal.

In its objection, Brookdrive Proper- ties state that the billboards “due to their size and location” would cause

a substantial negative impact to the visual aspects of the area.

The company states, “The proposed commercial signage conflicts with what is already in and 1s proposed for the area, the granting of residential student accommodation and under- mines both existing permissions and the residential units 1n the area.

“The adjacent site has existing per- mission for the construction of 35 student accommodation units. Dur- ing the planning process, the planners insisted that these building would be ‘landmark buildings’. The erection of this signage would substantially un-

dermine the ‘landmark buildings’.

“The erection of this signage would substantially undermine the land- mark impact of the proposed devel- opments and goes against the plan- ning department’s own guidelines and hence does not keep in line with what is proposed in that area.

“As part of the existing permission on the site adjacent to the proposed erection of billboards, a pedestrian cross will need to be developed. The erection of these billboards will hinder this development and un- dermines the existing permissions granted in the area.

“There would be an environmen- tal impact to the area and any future development of that area would be severely impacted by the erection of these billboards. This impact would have commercial implications to the area, which now needs commercial activity to create employment.”

The company states that, based on the above, “We believe it 1s in no one’s interest or benefit that these billboards are erected in its current proposed lo- cation, nor does it add anything to the area by their inclusion’.

A decision 1s due on the application later this year.

STUDENTS at Ennis Adult and Community Education Centre ex- celled at the recent Youthreach Pro- gression Awards.

Youthreach Progression began in Clare as a programme essentially for young mothers but now includes early school leavers.

It offers part-time training to per- sons who want to complete their edu- cation and progress to employment/ further training once their child/chil- dren have reached school-going age.

Courses include Further Education and Training Awards Council of Ire- land (FETAC) modules such as child development and play to work expe- rience; Irish Pre-School Playgroup Association certified courses, certifi-

cate in family learning, group work and team-building programmes.

Co-ordinator Emer Mathews ex- plained that an emphasis is placed on educational, personal and social development and provision of extra curricular activities is an important element of the programme.

Ms Matthews and caretaker Eddie Keane are particularly pleased with the latest examination results.

Sheila O’Driscoll of the Depart- ment of Education and Science Cur- riculum Unit based in Shannon, who was guest speaker, explained that the Leaving Cert Applied continuously assessed and recognised individual talents.

She complimented all who had ob- tained certificates and said it was an indication of their courage and com-

mitment She also complimented the teachers on the manner in which they had delivered a very challenging pro- eramme.

Most of those who finished last year became involved in further studies.

Sonia Catlow spoke on behalf of the FETAC students and Amy Wel- ford on behalf of the other students, stressing the satisfaction and self- confidence they had derived from the programme and the wonderful en- couragement and help received from a eee

Dr Sean Conlan, head of Clare Vocational Education Committee’s Adult and Community Education Service, congratulated the certificate winners who were very much part of the lifelong learning era that had come so much to the fore in recent

years.

He recommended that students to look further into possibilities of edu- cation and training.

The programme operates from Sep- tember of July three days a week and a new in take is being considered in the weeks ahead for the 2007-2008 academic year.

The programme administration can be contacted at 065 6824819 and by email at ypp@eircom.net.

Eight students were awarded a complete Leaving Cert. Applied certificate: Amy Hewitt, Geraldine Hickey, Caroline Curtin, Lyonie Sweeney, Theresa Curran, Mary Teresa Carmody, Amy Welford and Sarah Moroney. Among them, three earned distinctions, four merits and one a pass.

A PRE-SCHOOL orientation pro- eramme for children new to the Irish school system has just finished at the Clare Immigration Support Centre (CISC).

The centre, which was formerly the Irish Refugee Council, has run the school for the past seven years.

This year ten children took part in the programme overseen by teachers Sue Doyle and Fummilayo Akinwale at the CISC premises at Carmody Slstsem

The aim is to acquaint children, who are entering primary school for the first time, with the life in the Irish school system.

This involves making children fa-

miliar with Irish words and getting them used to playing with other stu- dents in a school setting. Emphasis is also placed on working together and co-operation in the classroom, un- derstanding instructions from teach- ers, bringing lunch to the school and timekeeping.

According to Orla Ni Ejili of the CISC, the experience of going to a new school in a new country is a daunting one for both children and OreeKsLNe

“The current pre-school pro- gramme was running for two weeks. Many have never been to school so a lot of what is done in the classroom is very hands and practical. It can be upsetting for the children the first time they come, having to get used to

leaving their parents, but by the end they were all having a ball.”

She continued, “The response we got over the two weeks was fantastic and the children were very respon- sive. After a while you see the chil- dren really growing in confidence. They start asking questions and un- derstand things like waiting for your turn before asking”.

The process can also be a difficult one for parents and for that reason, the CISC produce an information booklet for parents.

Published in eight different lan- guages it outlines all aspects and fea- tures of the Irish school system.

So far the orientation programme has catered for children enrolling in junior and senior infants, but those

working at the CISC are acutely aware of the difficulties faced by old- er children going to school in Ireland for the first time.

“We are very conscious that there are kids out there who will be going to school who may have English as a second or third language. There can lolomr LO) mOsm Bus) OCer- LHe) IIe

The CISC is being steered by vari- ous agencies in Clare who have an interest and duty to support services for the immigrant community to fa- cilitate and support integration.

Ms Ni Eili explained “When we were the Irish Refugee Council, our role was focused mainly on working with refugees and asylum seekers, but now it broader and takes in the wider immigrant community”’.

AFTER more than a year of fund- raising and preparation, Scariff at last has it’s life-saving defibrillator up and running.

The twenty volunteers trained in the use of the new machine launched the service on September | and it is now available to anyone experienc- ing a cardiac emergency.

The defibrillator has been placed in a specially constructed box by the post office and a mobile phone – 086 2518851 – has been set up so that the volunteer on duty can be reached.

‘Each volunteer takes the phone for

a week at a time So that’s five weeks every two years that a volunteer is on duty – that’s not too much,” explained Cora Long, one of the committee members who set up the drive to get the defibrillator as Scariff doesn’t have 24 hour ambulance cover.

“We cover an area which takes in Tuamgraney and the two GAA pitch- es. It has to be within the one mile radius because time is very impor- tant in this,’ Cora explained.

The vital piece of machinery cost 3,000 to buy but locals fund-raised 4,500 to cover additional costs such as extra pads, and a box to house the machine.

Pads for the defibrillator have to be replaced each time they are used and cost almost €60. “If you had to go twice with someone, that would be €120, so we have a couple spare. We have arranged a deal that when pads are used we will get replacements couriered in to us.”

Even the box to house the defibril- lator has to be a special damp-proof, theft proof and tamper proof one.

“The Scariff Community Council have kindly paid two years insur- ance for the defibrillator so that was all that was needed for us to get it up and running,’ said Cora.

Cora warned that at the first sign

of a suspected cardiac problem, an ambulance should be called before the defibrillator team is contacted. “Ring the ambulance first and then ring us. The number will be printed in the parish newsletter, in the Scar- iff newsletter and we’re getting it put up on posters in the pubs and shops and all over the village so that every- one will know where to contact us in the case of a cardiac emergency.”

The campaign for a defibrillator be- gan with the campaign to secure 24 hour ambulance cover for Scariff.

‘There has been no change as yet in that situation but we are still work- ing away,’ said Cora.

ALMOST 50 cyclists spent Saturday pushing pedals on a 80km jaunt to raise money for a good cause.

The wheelie fans were cycling to raise money to head for an even longer trek in September in aid of the East Clare Chernobyl Cycle project.

The ride, organised by ‘Tom O’Keeefe and Billy Fitzpatrick, started on Saturday from Coonagh and took the riders to Killaloe.

On September 23 the riders are off the Belarus where they will cycle

400km over two days from Minsk to Malech to raise money for work on the orphanages which the project is helping in Malech, Antopol and Griileka acorn

“We’re using the money to modern- ise these orphanages and make life better for the 600 children who live in them. A lot of these children are sick or have special needs and some of the buildings and conditions they are living in are appalling,’ said Pad- dy O’Connor, project PRO.

Among the projects underway are a new kitchens, proper toilets and

showers, new teaching facilities and modern plumbing.

The latest project which the group are raising money for is in the An- topol orphanage where a new, mod- ern laundry room is being built and equipped.

“The laundrette in that orphanage is just horrible – it has to be seen to be believed,’ said Paddy.

The cycle has been going to Bela- rus for several years now and each year, the support grows.

This year’s group is the biggest to travel so far.

‘Whether it’s taking part in the cy- cle or raising funds for the projects, we have had fabulous support from the people of east Clare. They have been more than generous in the past and we’re hoping they will support us again,’ said Paddy.