Month: November 2007

INCREASED stress levels and a change in lifestyle are resulting in increasing numbers attending for counselling and psychometric testing services in Shannon.

Roisin Gandhi opened her business Phoenix Career and Life Solutions in Shannon three years ago.

The business is three-pronged. It is a recruitment firm, along with of-

fering counselling and psychometric testing, the latter which is analysis and advice for those unsure about their career paths.

Since the business was established it has expanded. Ms Gandhi has since recruited a part-time sales as- sistant and office manager. However she doesn’t plan to expand it further as she enjoys the ‘personal’ effect af- forded to clients.

“The recruitment is the main part

of the business, but I would counsel clients on a weekly basis,” she said.

Psychometric testing has become particularly beneficial to those who are unsettled and considering chang- ing their careers.

They are given the option of an- swering a couple of hundred ques- tions and the answers provided will point Roisin in a particular direction, with regards dishing out advice.

“I do think there is a need for this

type of business in Shannon, for peo- ple of all ages, from those in their teens, to those in their 40s or 50s,’ she said.

“Shannon is an area with a lot of multinationals. I would have a strong client base in Limerick and in Ennis, closeby,” she said.

Although born in the UK, she has lived in Ireland for some time and she is no stranger to Clare as her family, the Slatterys, hailed from Ennis.

A CONTINGENT of 15 people from St Patrick’s Comprehensive College in Shannon have just returned from Shannon’s twin town of Guingamp in France.

The group of two teachers and 13 students spent a week on an exchange with the College Jacques Prevert, in north Brittany.

Their French teacher Patricia Spaight and school chaplain Nuala Murray accompanied the students on the trip. While similar initiatives have taken place previously, this was the first time that the group twinned with a public school. The previous trips involved private schools.

As part of the exchange, a group of students from the French college

will return to Shannon in April. The Shannon students stayed with host families during the trip and the hos- pitality will be returned by the Shan- non families in April.

The group visited several venues. They took a number of day trips and took in a local museum, sports activi- ties and played a rugby match against their hosts.

Their arrival was followed by a reception hosted at the local Town Hall, where the mayor’s assistant made them feel very special. The Guingamp twinning committee also met with the Shannon group and made them feel at home.

“Everybody had a great time. There were tears shed when we were com- ing home,’ said Ms Spaight.

‘They are all keen to go back,” she

added.

“They were all very kind to us,” added Ms Spaight.

One of the highlights for the visiting students was the dancing lessons!

“They showed us how to do the Breton dance, while we showed them how to do the Siege of Ennis,” said Ms Spaight.

This event 1s part of the overall twinning initiative between Shannon and Guingamp. It includes visits be- tween both sides, at various stages of the year.

The introduction of the student ex- change adds an existing element for young people interested in learning more about France.

Over the years, the twinning initia- tive has been a huge success and has enabled Shannon to be marketed in

echelon

Since the official twinning charter was signed in 1990, the initiative has gone from strength to strength and the links have strengthened between the two areas.

Guingamp has a population of 10,000 and the main industry is ag- riculture.

Last year, the outgoing Mayor of Shannon, Councillor Tony McMahon cited the twinning trips as among his fondest memories, during his term as mayor.

THE thousands who descend on La- hinch each weekend to surf, swim or play golf will now have the protection of a newly installed defibrillator.

The defibrillator, which is located in the newly refurbished O’Looney’s Pub and Restaurant on the Lahi- nch Prom, was installed earlier this month after a series of local fund- raisers.

The north Clare branch of the Irish Red Cross in association with a local surf shop organised a surf- ing competition to raise the €3,000 needed to fund equipment and train- ing. Through the generosity of many local businesses and individuals the target was achieved.

“We went to all the business peo- ple in Lahinch looking for donations, anything, big and small. It is a com- munity defibrillator, it came about with some help from the Red Cross but it 1s something for all the com- munity. And it was the community itself that got this going,” said Selina O’Sullivan of the North Clare Red OKO

“We raised enough money from the surfing competition and local support for the defibrillator and training of twelve volunteers. Given the high in- cidence of heart disease and cardiac arrest in Ireland and the importance of Lahinch as a tourist destination, its a great asset to have the defibrilla- tor here in a central location.”

The North Clare Red Cross formed three years ago has a core group of around 15 members. Last month four members of the group qualified as instructors and are now in a position to train new members in-house.

“Now that we have qualified in- structors within our own group we can start running classes and bring- ing in anyone who is interested,’ evel ebeleCcre mu Yo) BUNT: E

“It’s strictly voluntary. It’s through our members that we have come as far as we have. We do need help and would love for more people to get in- volved.”

The Lahinch Community Defibril- lator Group needs new members.

For more information contact Selina at 086 3330233.

A special emergency number for the defibrillator has been set up at 087 6612002. However, remember firstly to call 112 to call activate Emergency Ambulance Service.

Cardiac arrest results in the death of approximately 18 people per day in Ireland or 6,400 per year. Early access to the Emergency Medical System (Dial 112), cardio pulmo-

nary resuscitation (CPR) and access to defibrillation can help change this Statistic.

NORTH Clare’s BurrenLIFE Project (BLP) is once again reaching out to the farmers of the region, looking for their expert input and experience of how this delicate environment should be managed.

The BLP, which is Ireland’s first major partnership-based farming- for-conservation project, will host a series of meetings across the Burren during the month of November.

The meetings will provide informa- tion on the project to the wider farm-

ing community and update them on the work completed by the BLP over the past three years.

“We will discuss aspects such as feeding and grazing and talk about best practices in terms of farm man- agement. A good example of this is that we have spent a lot of money on programmes for the construction and upkeep of internal farm walls,” said Mr Ruairi O Conchutir, Finance & Operations Officer of the BLP.

‘There is a whole range of practical measures that farmers themselves will find useful and beneficial. The

most important aspect of the meet- ings is to get feedback from farm- ers, their opinion of the project and where it is at and, more importantly, their opinion of where it is going.”

Meetings will be hosted in Bal- lyvaughan’s Hylands Hotel, this evening, November 6; Doolin’s Micko Russell Centre on Wednes- day November 7; Cassidy’s in Car- ron next Tuesday, November 13 and the in the Community Hall in Tubber on Wednesday, November 14. Each meetings will begin at 8pm and last for one hour.

“The last round of meetings was at the start of the project. We are more than half-way through the project so we will be going back to the farmers with new information. We certainly have developed best practice guide- lines for scrub removal, for the treat- ment of scrub and the concentration of feed,’ said O Conchuir.

‘The most important aspect of this is the relevance of what we are do- ing for the farmers. We want to know what measures are beneficial, both for them as farmers and for the pro- tection of the Burren.”

A HAPPY mixture of family values and the traditional Irish welcome were the driving force behind Lisdoonvarna woman Martina Shelly being awarded the prestigious Irish Host of the Year by the Georgina GF: Tae} o)oro dm Cie b re (on

Martina, who owns and operates Sheedy’s four-star hotel with her husband John, picked up the prestig- ious award at a ceremony in Dublin IETS MW iere) .@

This is the latest in a series of awards for Sheedy’s Hotel, which was awarded Best Breakfast in Mun- ster by the guide two years ago and

the Double Rosette from the AA. “They are really looking for the traditional Irish welcome. For something personal with an attention to detail. [really would care about the stay of the guest, to make sure that they are greeted properly and have a proper welcome,’ said Martina. “Because it is a family business,

it all reflects back on me. I will be there in the afternoon and I will be there in the evening to make sure that everything is going well. I’d say if someone didn’t enjoy their stay I’d nearly take it personally.

“It is a very respected guide and a lot of people use it as their travelling bible. You don’t pay to go into this guide and it is a great one for us to win because it emphasises the qual- ity of the service we give.

“It’s great for the town of Lisdoonvarna. It reminds the minds of the people in Dublin that there is a lot going on down here. They might only think of Lisdoonvarna in terms of the Matchmaking festival that takes place.”

The hotel has been in John’s fam- ily for four generations and has developed along with the town around Lisdoonvarna’s famous spa wells. “It was one of the very old houses in the village. It started off as a thatched cottage and then it was expanded into three thatched cot- tages when they found the spa wells, which were let out for the summer. That was my great-grandparents,’ said John, who was the head chef at Ashford Castle.

“My grandparents did further building work and then my own father knocked a section and built on pneKO uc hee-BEtE

“It’s been knocked and rebuilt on a number of occasions over the years. It had 30 bedrooms at one stage and now we have 11.

“The rooms have been getting bigger and bigger through the years as standards have gotten higher and ab hedatss

THERE is an old Chinese proverb which says, “Faith is the bird that sings to the dawn while it is still dark.” While the people of Clare are suffering from the winter chill, there are some small changes happening here in Pemba that would warm your hearts.

One of the most outstanding adven- tures that we have been involved in over the past few months has been the setting up of a mushroom grow- ing project at the Catholic Mission.

Gathering together all the recent donations we had received from home, we entrusted the money into the capable hands of Fr Filbert, our young, enthusiastic Tanzanian parish priest. Without this money nothing could have started.

He gathered together a motley crew of 20 people including the elderly, young school dropouts, people living

with HIV/AIDS, Muslims, Angli- cans and Catholics. They all have the shared experience of being poor and unemployed.

After a weekend of training ,they all worked together to set up sim- ple seed germinating rooms, dark rooms and growing sheds. Now, just a month later, the seeds are bearing fruit and visitors are coming from far and wide to marvel at the miracle of oyster mushrooms growing out of plastic bags.

People are getting their first-ever taste of this new food and the tourist hotels on the island are queuing up to buy the product.

But that’s not the whole story. There is a spin-off from this little bit of suc- cess. Our local government minister came to visit and brought a gift of three sewing machines so that the women can now learn new skills.

The managers of two of the hotels have come, asking to employ some

of our unemployed youth. Fr Filbert and Nunuu, a young Islamic woman, have been invited to co-present a lunchtime talk to the Rotary Club in Dar es Salaam and there is a general air of excitement around the place. The refreshing wind of change is blowing in the life of the commu- nity and people have a few shillings

jingling in their pockets. Success breeds success. This week there is the launch of a small organic garden at the mission and there are plans afoot to start a bee-keeping project.

So like the mushrooms, the people of Wete are stirring and developing. Confidence is growing and the dark- ness of depression is beginning to lift. Thank you to the generous peo- ple of Ireland for making this possi- ble and may you continue to “sing to the dawn”.

SHANNON-BASED | pharmaceuti- cal firm, Schwarz Pharma recorded a loss last year of €60 million, ac- cording to accounts lodged with the Companies Office.

The accounts show that the firm in- creased the size of its business from €35 million to €41 million.

However, the cost of sales increased from €38 million to €45 million and the company’s resulting operating loss for 2006 is €8.5 million.

It is the “amortization” of the com- pany’s pharmaceutical products that is the primary reason behind the loss; the company had to write off €34 million under this heading.

Other factors include a cost of €11 million under the heading of “‘inter- est payable”, while €14 million was spent on “non-operating expenses”.

The loss comes against the back- ground of the company investing over €150 million in its Shannon operation.

Construction has recently com- menced on a new premises on the Westpark Business Campus in Shan- te) 0F

They also show that the company has intangible assets valued at €424 POpUNBCOyER

The accounts show that the com- pany had a turnover of €41 million with €27 million of the sales in Eu- rope and €14 million in the US.

The company’s employees in- creased from 180 in 2005 to 201 in 2006. Staff costs increased from €10 million to €13 million.

According to a statement accom- panying the accounts, the company’s product profile continues to show promise. The Rotigotine patch for the treatment of Parkinsons disease (Neupro) was launched in 2006 in nine markets: Germany, UK, Aus- tria, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Greece. The outlook remains very positive for this product after a very success- ful launch.

The years 2006 – 2008 will be very much transition years for the com-

eas

Significant investments will take place to ensure the company has ad- equate capacity and upgraded infra- structure to manufacture and supply the new products in the future.

2006 continued an investment program in excess of €100m for various capacity and infrastructural investments. In addition significant development and launch costs were incurred during the year.

In relation to risks and uncertain- ties facing the company, “the com- pletion of all current projects and their commissioning will be a chal- lenge for the company”, while the accounts state that no dividend was paid in 2006.

CALLS for Ennis Town Council to re-establish a refuse collection serv- ice for low-income households have once again been knocked back.

The issue of refuse collection, which has been a bone of contention in the chamber since the council agreed to discontinue the service in 2005, was raised at yesterday’s meeting by Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn.

Cllr Flynn requested that the town manager provide a report on what would be the likely financial impact

on the Ennis Town Council 2008 an- nual budget, in the event of the intro- duction of a low-income household refuse collection subsidy.

He said, “There seems to be anec- dotal evidence, and certainly people have mentioned it to me, that people are having difficulty meeting the cost of having their rubbish collected. I have heard that with all the instances of fly tipping, that up to 25 per cent of houses in Clare are not getting their rubbish collected. A collection for old age pensioners should be provided.”

In his response, Town Clerk Eddie

Power said the council could encoun- ter legal difficulties if it decided to re-activate the service.

Mr Power said, “The present legal position has not changed since this issue was last discussed. The coun- cil’s legal advice is that the making of arrangements to subsidise low- income households in respect of the cost of refuse collection service not provided by the council would be 1- legal.”

This view was re-enforced by Town Manager Tom Coughlan who said, “You cannot subvent a charge you do

not levy. The decision was taken by the council in 2005 to discontinue the service. We are out of the system and that’s it.”

Mr Power said it would cost the council €300,000 to introduce the scheme for 1,000 houses which would mean a 6.9 per cent hike in commercial rates.

Mayor of Ennis Tommy Brennan said the council was “caught in a bind on the issue”.

Cllr Flynn called for the council to raise the issue with the Department of Family and Social Affairs.

CONCERN over the pressure being exerted on the Ennis sewer network by development has emerged as one of the key issues affecting the future erowth of the town.

Speaking at last night’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Town Engineer Tom Tiernan admitted the system was under strain and that innova- tive solutions would be needed until a permanent water treatment plant is in place in 2012.

He said, “The treatment plants are approaching capacity but that doesn’t mean that development can’t con-

tinue. There is a bridge to be gapped between now and 2012. There is a deficiency creeping into the system given the level of development that has taken place in the past 10 years. We will have to be more careful in our planning assessments…it will require a certain degree of thinking outside the box.”

Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn said the infrastructural deficiencies were the fault of the Government.

Yesterday, councillors accepted the report compiled by Town Manager Tom Coughlan and County Manager Alec Flemming, on pre-draft submis- sions for the review of the Ennis and

Environs Development Plan 2003. Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council have received 169 written submissions relating to the review of the development plan. Strictly dealing with land-use is- sues, the revised plan will seek to guide and facilitate the future growth of Ennis and its surrounding area. The development plan covers a Ssix- year period while the current plan is due to expire in December 2008. The other main issues that emerged during consideration of the submis- sions were the need to protect the Drumcliffe springs inner protection zone, inadequate road infrastructure,

the need for additional residential zoned land, isolated development in open countryside and flood risk ar- eas.

Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) said the council had not followed through on commitments made in the previous plan regarding the provision of cycle lanes. He said, “Both Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council have not been putting in facilities for cyclists. There are 70,000 people visiting Ireland on cycling holidays. Executive planner Bill Sansum ad- mitted there was concern over the lack of suitable cycling facilities in Sav evESe

THE price of property in Clare con- tinues to fall this Autumn with the latest Permanent TSB/ESRI House Price Index showing a drop of 0.3 per cent month-on-month in September.

This amounts to an average price drop of 3.6 per cent since January of this year and 2.8 per cent since Sep- tember of 2006.

“The market in Clare is static at the moment and the funny thing is that the houses that are moving are the detached houses on the outskirts of towns that are running up €350 thousand,” said Samantha Coote, of Philip O’Reilly Auctioneers in En- Whe

“So our demographic of buyer are people looking for the family home, which would be out of sync with what we would expect.

“I think we are looking at a static price in Clare for the months to come. If we are to see any increase in price, it will be very very slow and minimal coming into May and June of next year.”

Despite claims last week by Niall O’Grady, Head of Marketing at Per- manent TSB, that prices are being

artificially supported by developers add-ons, Ms Coote claims that this is not a factor in Clare.

“That is really not happening in Clare. The prices are not being skewed because of that.

‘ For first time buyers, new devel- opments and second hand houses are now on a par.

“The advice for first time buyers would always have been to get a good second hand house but now they can get the new developments with struc- tural guarantees that will be as full fitted as a second hand house,” she nee

“At the moment we still have a lot of people sitting on the fence. We were snookered in every way; we had the general election, we had the upheaval with the interest rates and now we are heading into budget sea- son again.

“Regardless of what the _ politi- cians say buyers are always hoping that something will come up in the budget so we might see some more stability into the new year.”

The average price paid for a house in Ireland in September now stands at €299,483, compared with €308,179 in September of last year.