Month: October 2007

THE Government has opened a huge area off the Clare coast for explora- tion by oil and gas companies.

New exploration licences will al- low firms to explore a section of the Porcupine Basin, located between 100

and 200kms off the Clare, Galway and Kerry coasts. The 63,500 square kilo- metre area is located beside the Span- ish Point and Burren oil and gas fields which are currently under exploration by Providence Resources.

Speaking at the announcement of the new exploration licences, Green

Party TD Eamon Ryan said profit- able oil and gas fields could reap huge sums for the Exchequer.

“Treland’s oil and gas is a resource of the people. I want to ensure that our waters are fully explored and also that we get a proper return to the State,” he said.

SIXTEEN General Practitioners in Clare were among the 600 nationally that received more than €240,000 through the Primary Care Reim- bursement Service (PCRS).

The fees paid by the HSE include medical card fees and separate fund- ing provided for practice support de- velopment.

Practice support usually includes a practice secretary or practice nurse.

As many as six Clare GPs received more than €240,000 in medical card Koro DLO) se

There were no doctors in Clare among the 18 nationally that received more than half a million euro under the scheme.

These figures are only representa- tive of the fees received under the public health schemes and do not include, for example, the earnings receiving by GPs through their pri- vate/retail concerns.

Dentists in Clare were also among the top earners in the country under the Government scheme, although their payments did not reach that of their GP colleagues.

Just two dentists in Clare received more than €100,000 under PCRS.

The Primary Care Reimbursement Service makes payments to primary care contractors (general practition- ers, pharmacists, dentists and op- tometrists/ophthalmologists) | who have contracts with the Health Serv- ice Executive to provide services to medical cardholders.

In addition, the Primary Care Re-

imbursement Service also reimburs- es the primary care contractors for services provided to other eligible re- cipients under a variety of commun1- ty drug schemes including the Drugs Payment Scheme, the Long Term IIIness Scheme, the Dental Treat- ment Services Scheme, the Primary Childhood Immunisation Scheme, the High Tech Drugs Scheme, the Methadone Treatment Scheme and the Community Ophthalmic Serv- ices Scheme.

Publishing the 2006 PCRS Over- view, the HSE confirmed that a total of €2.07bn had been paid in 2006, representing an increase of €194m new Olo

Over 160,000 more people were entitled to benefits under the vari- ous schemes in 2006 compared with PAU Oey

There are now over 2.91 million people registered as eligible for ben- efit under the GMS (Medical Card) Scheme, the Drugs Payment Scheme, the Long Term [lIness Scheme, the Dental Treatment Services Scheme, the Community Ophthalmic Serv- ices Schemes and GP Visit Cards in paul eres

This compares with 2.74 million eligible in 2005.

MORE than 11 per cent has been wiped off the value of four-bedroom homes in Clare since June, according to fresh data released this week.

According to results released by property website Daft.ie, the aver- age asking price for four-bedroom houses in the county has plummeted from €375,000 in the second quarter of 2007 to just €332,000 in July, Au- gust and September. The same survey revealed that the average asking price for two-bedroom houses in Clare has dropped from €231,000 to €221,000 while three-bedroom houses have dropped by €6,000 on average.

It was not all bad news for Clare home-owners this week, however, as a survey released by rival property website, MyHome.ie, revealed that

the asking prices for larger houses in the county (four-bedroom detached and larger) actually increased by more than half a percent.

‘These surveys can be misleading as they are based on asking prices and we all know that there can be a big change between asking prices and what people actually get,’ said Samantha Coote of Philip O’Reilly Property Partners in Ennis.

‘First-time buyers in Clare are see- ing so much conflicting information that a lot of them are sitting on the bench. They are so confused with the situation that they are sitting back and waiting to see what happens.

“The market is currently stagnant in Clare but as interest rates continue to stabilise, we would be expecting thing to pick up again from April or May of next year.”

JUST after Mike McNamara finished his address to the board, Clare’s new football manager, Frank Doherty highlighted the challenge that lies ahead of him next season. Along with Kieran Kelleher and James Hanrahan, Doherty reckons Clare football has the right men to guide the ship but he realises some choppy waters are in Store.

“Clare football 1s down and has been down for the last few years and I don’t need to talk about that. It’s all been said before. The only way to go is forward and up. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be a battle that I look forward to because I have never walked away from a challenge or battle before. And we’re going to try and drive it as best forward as we can, we are going to leave no stone unturned in relation to looking for the talent that’s out there.”

He added that the presence of Kel- leher and Hanrahan and their knowl- edge of the club scene in the county will be a huge addition but like Mc- Namara, he recognises the value in having the correct stepping stones in je eleen

“T think that it’s vitally important in the football side of things to have proper structures because if we don’t address that now, the conveyor belt is going to stop. It’s hugely important for the underage players and I’ve al- ready spoken to the county board in relation to that.

We have our programmes laid out, we have lads put into position and we will give them as best as we possibly

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AER Lingus is flying in the face of commercial logic, according to the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance (ACA).

The Alliance has claimed in its re- port on the commercial analysis of the removal of the Heathrow slots from Shannon to Heathrow shows a complete absence of any business ecle(eyeted e

The ACA’s findings show that Bel- fast-Heathrow passenger traffic has dropped alarmingly in recent years.

The ACA compiled its report fol- lowing its analysis of the Interde- partmental Report into the Shannon- Heathrow issue.

Statistics show that the region on

this island with by far the greatest fall-off in traffic on Heathrow routes is the Belfast region, where passen- ger traffic has dropped by 43 per cent in the years 2000 to 2006.

During the same period traffic vol- umes in Shannon grew by 6.3 per cent while Dublin dropped by 10.9 per cent and Cork increased by 9.0 percent.

In 2000, more than 1.6 million people were flying from Belfast to Heathrow. That has now decreased to 425,516.

In the same period, the Shannon passenger figures grew from 303,937 Kee Pelee

The ACA, in its analysis, found that Belfast share of total Ireland-Heath- row traffic has fallen from 28.5 per

cent in 2000 to 19.5 per cent in 2006. At the same time, the Shannon share of Heathrow traffic grew from 7.4 per cent to 9.5 per cent.

“How then can the (Interdepart- mental) report possibly determine that the Belfast-Heathrow option could constitute a valuable commer- cial opportunity and that Shannon- Heathrow is underperforming?” the ACA report asks.

“It may be the case that there are Opportunities to develop commer- cially viable routes from Belfast Al- dergrove (16 miles outside Belfast) for Aer Lingus but Heathrow is not one of them given that the city is already served in this market by a strong incumbent carrier (BMI with eight daily Belfast City Airport serv-

ices to and from Heathrow).”

The report also points out that there is already an established carrier (BMI) on the route operating from Belfast City Airport, which is more attractive for higher yielding busi- ness travellers.

“Aer Lingus will be offering an in- ferior product to the incumbent car- rier with half the number of daily flights from an airport that is less convenient than the alternative locat- ed closer to the city centre,” the ACA report said.

“Furthermore, to replace its lost traffic on Shannon-Heathrow (320,000 passengers), Aer Lingus will have to capture almost half of the current Belfast-Heathrow market with an inferior product offering.”

has learnt that Air India is selling slots into Heath- row. A proposal has been put to the minister that at least one of these slots is purchased and the slot leased to Continental be returned to Aer Lingus when the lease is up in 2008.

Those proposing such a move ar- gue that as these slots are already in place there will be no drawn out set up process.

Meanwhile ACA, the action group comprising of key industry, tour- ism and community leaders in the Shannon and western region and set up in response to the announcement that Aer Lingus’s Shannon Heath- row slots were to move to Belfast, has lodged an application for slots at Heathrow.

The application has been made on behalf of the action group by Astrae- us Airlines, an established provider of chartered and scheduled services

throughout Europe, Africa, North America and Central Asia.

The authority responsible for slot allocation and schedule facilitation at all major airports in the UK – Air- port Co-Ordination Ltd has received the application, which seeks landing and take off slots at London Heath- row in line with the existing schedule of air services between the interna- tional hub and Shannon.

Mayor of Clare and Alliance mem- ber, Cllr Patricia McCarthy said the Alliance had taken it upon itself, its members and the people of the region to engage with Astraeus Airlines in seeking to ensure that the slots are

retained for Shannon into the future.

According to John Brassil, Chair- man of the Atlantic Connectivity Al- liance said the Alliance had formed a special limited company – Shan- non Air Link Ltd. – to enable man- agement contracts to be entered into with Astraeus should we be success- ful in securing the slots at Heathrow.

Capt John Mahon, Director of Flight Operations with Astraeus said, “We are an experienced airline with an expanding base and would be very happy to provide services on the Shannon-Heathrow route on be- half of the Atlantic Connectivity Al- liance. Our board has considered the issue and will work with the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance on progress- ing the proposal.

Based in Crawley in England, Astraeus operates scheduled and chartered flights for around 50 tour Operators specialising in serving destinations in Africa, Europe, and Canada. It also specialises in pro- viding operational capacity to com- panies, and has worked with Iceland Express, Air Asia, FlyBe and Ster- ling to commence or enhance their ol MIA

Its main bases are Manchester Air- port and London Gatwick Airport. Astraeus Ltd flies over 4,700 seats worldwide per week.

, suggested that the loss of the Aer Lingus Heathrow service could open up the possibility of new connections to China, South East Asia and India.

Referring to reports that the Shan- non Airport Authority had identified potential cost savings on the Heath- row route that could be passed on to the airline to encourage it to keep the slots in Shannon, Mr Slattery said if this was true, there was a funda- mental lesson there for the airport authority.

‘Stable doors are best shut while the horse is still inside. Aer Lingus might not have given warning of its inten- tions towards Heathrow but the onus was equally on the airport authority to be vigilant rather than complacent towards its airline customer base. Its management of costs should be as ruthless as that of its current leading airline customer – Ryanair.

“*T don’t believe that the Government emerges with either credit or cred- ibility from the situation. It is diffi- cult to see how maintaining a neutral position on such an important com- mercial decision squares with retain- ing a 25 per cent so-called strategic shareholding in the company. But it

seems quite clear that Aer Lingus is not for turning and that the Govern- ment is not going to intervene.

“The loss of the Heathrow connec- tion is unquestionably bad news. But it does have the silver lining of oblig- ing us to take stock. Initially, the objective was a simple restoration of

the Heathrow slots. Now, equivalent connectivity to any nearby major hub that can offer a wide range of far reaching destinations in one further hop would be a successful outcome. Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are the most obvious candidates along- side Heathrow.

“Already, we are witnessing a marked shift in the balance of glo- bal economic clout away from North America and Europe towards China, South East Asia and India. IBEC has called for more direct flights between Ireland and Asia and I don’t see why Shannon shouldn’t aspire to connect directly with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bombay or Mumbai.

“There is no reason why the Mid- west can’t establish itself as the Euro- pean centre of excellence not just for people from this continent seeking to immerse themselves in the culture and ways of the large economies of Asia but also for their counterparts from China or India seeking to reach out and develop their understanding of how Europe works. Provided we have the confidence to believe in our own capacities, this region can be- come the premier European hub for commercial and intellectual inter- action and communication between Europe and Asia,” Mr Slattery con- cluded.

THERE was great news for Clare beef farmers last Wednesday with the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, that Saudi Arabia was to open its doors once again to Irish beef.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia im- posed a temporary ban on Irish beef in 2000 following concerns over the spread of Bovine Spongiform En- cephalopathy (BSE).

The market is now to be reopened under the conditions recommended by Saudi experts who visited Ireland in June of this year.

This move is a significant victory for Coughan who has been courting Saudi officials for months in an ef- fort to reopen negotiations, and even paid an official state visit to the king- dom earlier this year.

Following on from the visit by Coughaln and An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, the Department of Agricul- ture in co-operation with An Bord Bia and the Department of Foreign Affairs had been working intensely to have the temporary ban removed.

Speaking after the announcement, the minister said this positive news was the result of intensive efforts at political, diplomatic and technical level especially since the beginning

of this year. “This is a very welcome decision as Saudi was traditionally an important market for Irish beef.”

“The decision by the competent authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reopen their market to Irish beef was taken following an on-the- spot examination of the rigorous controls applied and reflects the high standards of food safety controls in place in Ireland.”

The minister said that she expected trade to resume as soon as the indi- vidual slaughter plants designated to supply the market are approved by the Saudi authorities.

Meanwhile, IFA President, Padraig Walshe said last week that EU Health

and Consumer Affairs Commission- er Markos Kyprianou has no choice but to impose a ban on Brazilian beef, as further procrastination on the issue was leaving the European Union exposed to unnecessary risk.

“Commissioner Kyprianou admit- ted that if the situation with Brazil does not improve the EU will take the necessary action including the implementation of a ban on beef 1m- ports by the end of this year.””.

Walshe said an assessment of the risks with Brazilian beef imports un- dertaken by the veterinary expert Dr Kevin Dodd has concluded that the EU Commission’s risk assessment 1s both ‘flawed and inadequate’.

CLARE families are being urged to Support a new Bothar initiative that will prepare African villages to re- ceive gifted livestock.

Bothar, the Irish charity that spe- cialises in livestock-based develop- ment programmes, has launched the Give the Gift of Trees Campaign, a unique promotion with Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. The charity has set a goal of planting 150,000 trees for disadvantaged communities in eight African countries.

The Give the Gift of Trees Cam- paign will help develop sustainable farming practices in Tanzania, Ma- lawi, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Uganda.

In these countries, Bothar will train farmers in good environmental prac- tices to ensure the saplings improve the ecological balance by controlling erosion and maintaining soil fertil- LANs

To help African families, Irish families are encouraged to collect special tokens from boxes of Kel- loge’s Corn Flakes and send them to Kellogg’s. All of the money con- tributed goes directly to Bothar and for every 10 donations Kellogg’s will fund an additional 10 trees. The Give the Gift of Trees Campaign will run on Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes until Christmas.

“Trees are the critical first step toward sustainable agriculture, and Bothar requires that trees be plant-

ed before a family can receive any gifted livestock,” said Father Peter Ssenkaayi, who works in Uganda for eXojaer-e

“Trees are special because they serve so many vital functions. They provide fruit, shade, wind breaks, animal fodder, fencing, and build- ing materials. In addition, they are crucial to preventing soil erosion and flooding, while replenishing nu- trients in the soil to make farming more productive.”

Fr Peter noted that trees provide an entire tool kit for African farmers, helping them to support themselves and their families. “This is a won- derful opportunity for Irish families to support families in Africa who are trying to improve their lives by es-

tablishing sustainable farms.”

“Trees form an integral part of all Bothar livestock projects and form a central part of Bothar’s commitment to finding a sustainable solution to world hunger and poverty. Bothar strives to replenish depleted forest areas and teach communities the benefits of cultivating one of nature’s greatest gifts.

“During dry periods, when feed for livestock is scarce, trees continue to produce fodder. A farmer who has a continuous supply of nutritious fod- der will have healthier animals year round, while a farmer whose animals are well fed only during the rainy season will ‘go back’ a bit during the dry season causing milk yield to be affected.”

STRIKE action at Ennis General hospital had been averted as man- agement and unions enter a second round of talks this week.

On Wednesday last an interim agreement was entered into after talks at the Labour Relations Com- mission, as both parties agreed to consider all proposal.

The talks convened after 90 per cent of the staff at the hospital voted for industrial action, claiming low staff- ing levels, brought to a head during the current HSE recruitment freeze, were endangering patients’ lives.

Meanwhile, the HSE released fig- ure yesterday showing that €2 billion was paid to 5,811 doctors, pharma- cies, dentists and optometrists/oph- thalmologists in 2006 through the Primary Care Reimbursement Serv- ice (PCRS), with €681 mullion of this in fees alone for services (in- cluding dispensing) delivered.

In county Clare an Ennis optome- trists was the third highest paid opti- cian under the scheme.

Dr Jarlath Gallagher from _ the Eyecare centre received a total of €164,770 under the scheme.

Ennistymon dentist Dr John Shee- han from the medical centre on Main

Street was listed as the highest paid in his profession in Clare under the scheme at €192,846.

Seven pharmacists in Clare were among the 500 pharmacists nation- ally that earned over €240,000.

Duffy’s Pharmacy in Ennis topped the Clare list receiving a total of €435,761. 191,560 was for medical card fees, €184,858 was under the Drugs Payment Scheme fees mark ups and €59,344 was for Long Term IlIness Scheme fee or mark up.

Over 600 GPs earned over €240,000 in fees in 2006, with 18 earning over €500,000 and one doc- tor receiving over €7/00,000.

The highest paid GP in Clare un- der the scheme was Dr Michael Kel- leher in Ennistymon who received €423,457 in total – €347,026 for fees and another €76,431 for practice Support.

The figures released showed the fees received under the public health schemes and did not include the earnings received by GPs and phar- macists through their private/retail eeu

Publishing the 2006 PCRS Over- view, the HSE confirmed that a to- tal of €2.07 billion had been paid in 2006, representing an increase of €194m in 2006.