Month: November 2007

THE Construction Industry Federa- tion (CIF) yesterday stated that it has “huge concerns” over plans by Clare County Council by seek the provi- sion of social houses in private hous- ing estates.

In its draft housing strategy, the council anticipates a higher demand for social housing due to the down- turn in the economy with demand for social units growing to 260 by 2011.

During the lifetime of its previous Housing Strategy, published four years ago, the council provided no social housing under Part V of the Planning & Development Act, which requires developers to provide 20 per cent of the value of the site for hous- ing developers for social housing.

The draft, which includes a review of the performance of the existing strategy, shows that the council pro- vided 74 affordable homes through the Part V arrangement.

However, as part of the upcoming plan, the council has signalled that there will be an increased need for social housing.

The matter was due to be discussed at the council’s adjourned November meeting in Scariff yesterday, but was deferred to the December meeting.

In response to the principled objec- tion by CIF to the inclusion of the social housing provision in the Hous- ing Strategy, the council state, “As the councils have limited lands upon which to deliver both social and af- fordable housing, it will be neces- sary for the councils to increasingly accept units of accommodation rath- er than cash from private developers in line with the specific market de- mands of the locality in which such housing is planned to be developed.”

The figures relating to the council’s existing housing strategy also show Clare’s local authorities completed 311 social homes from 2003 to the end of last year.

THE Mid Western Regional Hospital Ennis was described as having “‘fair”’ hygiene standards in an independent audit of the country’s acute hospitals.

The general hospital was one of 35 nationally with a “fair” result. Just seven hospitals were rated good and no hospital was rated very good by the Health Information and Quality Authority.

Ennis General Hospital showed a broad to exceptional complhance with hygiene standards. However, some areas of the 88-bed hospital were a cause of concern for the auditors.

The unannounced assessment, which took place between July 20 and 31 this year, showed that toilets were “not cleaned and the under- surface of handwash sinks required oer rab ero

According to the auditors, all bathrooms and washrooms must be cleaned on a daily basis and this must be monitored and recorded. No monitoring was available at Ennis General Hospital, however.

Cobwebs were present behind ra- diators on most corridors and behind some doors. Although sluices were clean, they were cluttered and had no hand-wash facilities, according

to the audit. There was insufficient designated storage space, according to the report, but plans are in place to rectify this situation.

There were no mattress bags avail- able for contaminated mattresses ready for disposal and clinical waste is being taken manually from trans- port container by staff and placed in wheelie bins.

According to the report, the hospital scored relatively well in the service delivery section of the review with “generally acceptable performance’.

‘However, opportunities for im- provement were evident in corporate management,” it said.

In a statement, the HSE mid-west said the audit was “generally favo- rable in terms of services to patients but weaknesses had been identified at the corporate level generally, mean- ing the development of written docu- ments on processes and protocols.”

The Mid Western Regional Hospi- tal, Dooradoyle, the Regional Mater- nity Hospital and St John’s in Limer- ick were designated as “fair” along with Ennis, while Nenagh Hospital came into the “poor” category.

The Health Information and Qual- ity Authority warned that all hospi- tals, including those in the mid-west, could do better.

SEVEN out of 10 shoppers prefer to purchase local food from outlets such as farmers’ markets which are enjoying a resurgence in Clare, ac- cording to a new report.

Clare Green Party Councillor Brian Meaney has welcomed the survey by An Bord Bia, which shows that seven out of 10 people prefer to buy fresh local produce. Cllr. Meaney said the survey ensured a bright future for lo- cal food producers.

“This shows that consumers are interested in buying fresh produce locally, to keep their local economy

alive, to ensure they are receiving the freshest food possible and to play their part in helping the environ- jee) 8 i

Cllr Meaney said that the develop- ment of local produce markets such as the country market and the farm- ers market in Ennis is “a vital means of ensuring the demand by consum- ers for local produce is enhanced”’.

The survey, carried out by Landsdowne Market Research and released at the National Conference on Local Food found that local food meant ‘fresh’ food to the consumer and 76 per cent agreed that local food tended to taste better.

THOSE objecting to a planned €10 million retail plan for Miltown Mal- bay are doing so for commercial rea- sons, not planning ones.

That is the view of the promoter of the venture, John Jones, who said yesterday that the opening of the Su- pervalu retail outlet would generate up to 100 jobs for the west Clare vil- lage.

Mr Jones said that not one local resident had objected to the develop- ment, pointing out that the objections to the proposal came from the local business community, with only one

business person being native to the village. Mr Jones said that he could not remember the last time that 100 jobs were created in Miltown Mal- bay. Mr Jones’s plan also includes seven shops, 18 apartments and of- Nene

“Miltown needs something like a Supervalu and it will mean more business for Miltown. People go into Ennis and Limerick to shop, but hav- ing more services in Miltown will make sure that Miltown is a bigger draw for shoppers.”

Mr Jones accused those opposed to the development of being “small minded”’.

He said, “We have had nine pre- planning meetings with the council. The development is only a short dis- tance from the Main Street and will provide 148 spaces for the village.”

Mr Jones said that his family have been operating a business in Miltown since the 1830s.

‘We have a proud tradition here and we are well qualified to be in line to put in a new shop and we should be allowed the opportunity to do it.”

Mr Jones said that he has had a number of phonecalls from local people offering their support for the project. He said that he would start construction work on the project as

soon as planning is secured.

However, Clare County Council has expressed “serious concerns in regard to the height and proximity of the proposed development and its 1m- pact on the adjacent terraced houses to the south”.

The council also states, “notwith- standing the submitted Retail Impact Assessment (RIA), the council has concerns regarding the impact of the overall development on the vitality and viability of the existing retail commercial units currently operat- ing in Miltown Malbay and the effect of the proposed development on the Main Street of the town.”

THE chief executive of Clare FM last night moved to dampen local speculation that the station is being sold to Radio Kerry for a reported €7-8 million.

It is understood that the board of Clare FM has agreed in principle to the sale to Radio Kerry and it is ex- pected that the sale will be finalised in the New Year.

The proposed sale will result in minor windfalls for the hundreds of small shareholders across Clare who invested in the station 15 years ago as a result of a share drive.

However, Liam O’Shea yesterday dismissed reports of a sale to Radio

Kerry as “pure speculation”, adding that he found the query on the matter “very surprising’.

He added, “Given the industry we are in, and our size, our future strat- egy must always be open. However, this year is no different to any other year.

“IT am always getting enquiries in relation to selling and, in fact, I have also made one or two inquiries my- self in relation to acquiring another radio station. There will always be speculation in this industry.”

In a second email yesterday, Mr O’Shea said, “I can categorically state that Clare FM has not been sold to anybody. ”

Radio Kerry yesterday failed to re-

spond to a query on the reported sale. The move comes against the back- eround of growing profits and listen- ership for Clare FM, which scooped a recent national news award.

The annual returns for 2006 show that the company increased its an- nual profit before tax to €240,000 on a turnover of €1.9 million, making it an attractive target for a takeover. The profit achieved last year results in accumulated profits of €694,000, while its most recent JNLR radio survey showed a four per cent in- crease in market share.

Mr O’Shea said, “I am broadly sat- isfied we have maintained our profit- ability… We are pleased with the fig- ures, as we Set out 12 months ago to

increase our weekday market share. We have seen a healthy four per cent increase on this figure over this pe- riod. Our weekend figures have also increased.”

Asked to comment yesterday on the reported sale, the founding chief ex- ecutive of Clare FM, Caimin Jones, said, “If the story is true, it is to be welcomed for two reasons, the first being Clare FM and Radio Kerry have similar broadcasting objectives in having a strong connection to the community and a strong cultural identity with the community.”

Mr Jones said, “I would also wel- come the sale in that it will give a re- turn to the many people who invested in the station in 1992.”

SHANNON-based internet security firm RSA Security Ireland Ltd re- corded a profit before tax of €17.6 million last year.

The company had a turnover of $145 million. an increase on its $120 million turnover in 2005.

RSA employs 43 people with 31 employed in production and 12 in administration with staff costs com- Pac KO MMM seb NEE(OyIe

The company was acquired by EMC Corporation on 15 September PAU eroy

According to a statement accom- panying the accounts, “the principal activity of the company is the manu-

facture, licensing and sale of elec- tronic security solutions”.

Turnover for the year shows an in- crease of 20 per cent over the pre- vious year and this together with reduced overhead costs contributed to a year on year increase in profit before tax of 20 per cent.

Profit before taxation was $17.6 million for the year. At 31 December 2006, the balance sheet indicates a sound financial standing with share- holders funds of $16,664,869 and cash reserves of $57.78 million.

The directors believe that future total revenue will be influenced by a number of major factors: as new, lower cost remote access technolo- gies become available and as em-

ployment rates increase.

The statement adds: “We believe that governmental regulations re- garding the access to and distribu- tion of private information will drive demand for the company’s products.

“We believe that as national govern- ments proceed with increased aware- ness and funding of cybersecurity issues and focus on e-security, the company may benefit with increased revenue.

“However, information technology budgets continue to be constrained, and the continued uncertainty in the economy and global affairs may af- fect revenue generated from the sales of products in future quarters,’ the company states.

US TRIPS from North America to Ireland show a drop for the second month in a row, sounding alarm bells for Shannon Airport in the aftermath of Open Skies.

Figures for September show a drop of 8,900 in the number of trips from North American to Ireland. The Au- gust figures showed a drop of 4,100 such trips.

Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen has warned that this fall-off in visitors from North America this September, compared to the same period the pre- vious year, Should sound alarm bells for Government and for Tourism Ire-

land.

“It is not sustainable to have a trend of decreasing trips from the impor- tant North American market,’ he said. *“These individual figures come in the context of slowing growth in the number of overseas visitors to Ireland. Comparing year to date fig- ures, numbers of overseas visitors erew by 2.8 per cent in 2004, by five per cent in 2005 and 11.2 per cent in 2006. But the level of growth has dropped back to 4.1 per cent so far in 2007. This is becoming a trend and one which we must arrest,” he said.

“CSO figures relate to the number of trips only and do not address other industry concerns about declining

length of stay and average spend, as well as the regional imbalance in vis- itor spread. Figures for the summer of 2008 indicate that transatlantic seat sales into Shannon from North America are projected at 355,226 another significant drop. Yet no Gov- ernment initiatives have been put in place and promises and guarantees given have been reneged upon.

“The previous Minister for Trans- port Martin Cullen told us that he had sought and received guarantees that Aer Lingus would deliver 400,000 passengers post Open Skies. Shan- non Airport will be the real loser if yet another Government promise is broken,” he said.

UP TO 500 elderly people from east and south east Clare are to lose their local HSE centre that provides serv- ices such as home help, physiother- apy and other aids for independent living.

Staff at the care and case manage- ment provision centre in Raheen who had 500 east Clare people on their database are now being centralised to Ennis.

Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has written to the HSE General Manager in Ennis expressing his concern at the withdrawal of direct care and case management provision from the residents.

“Care and case management is vital in allowing many elderly resi- dents receive the home help and care they require. The plan to centralise services in Ennis will mean that resi- dents in east Clare will have longer journeys to travel for assessment and consultation appointments,’ he said.

“This project has been running suc- cessfully in Raheen for many years,” said Deputy Carey.

Care and case management is in- volved in many areas of home assist- ance from arranging physiotherapy sessions, assessing clients for home help, providing aids for independent living and organising respite in day-

care centres.

‘This scheme has provided eld- erly people with invaluable resources since its inception in 2001,’ said Deputy Carey.

“It is not acceptable that elderly people will now be asked to travel to Ennis for these services. Trans- port will be a major issue for many of these elderly residents. In my view

the system wasn’t broken, so why is there a need to fix it?”

“What we have here is another ex- ample of the HSE using the current recruitment freeze to rush needless changes through the backdoor of our health service. Front line patients will be most affected.”

A MAN who admitted possession of drugs at his home for the purpose of sale or supply has been jailed for two years.

Kenneth Daly (36), of Oakwood Drive, Ennis, pleaded guilty to pos- session of cocaine and cannabis res- in, for the purpose of sale or supply.

He also admitted possession of co-

caine, cannabis and cannabis resin, at his home, on November 19, 2005.

Garda Paul Crowley told Ennis Circuit Court that the accused told gardai, “Everything I have is in this drawer,’ referring to a drawer in the vanity unit of his bedroom.

Gardai then found white powder in a plastic bag, a brown substance and dried green leaves in the drawer.

Garda Crowley said that analysis

showed the white powder was co- caine, the brown substance was can- nabis resin and the dried green leaves contained herbal cannabis.

The street value of the drugs seized amounted to over €2,500, said the garda, while €6,170 in cash was found in Daly’s jacket pockets.

Daly told gardai he got a loan from the credit union, for work purposes, a few days earlier.

Defence barrister Pat Whyms pointed out that the analysis showed the powder was found to contain co- caine, “so we don’t know the value of the cocaine”.

He said his client “sought to sup- plement his income by trading in cannabis and cocaine. He was not a big operator.

“He was simply trying to fund himself and fund his own addiction

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Judge Carroll Moran said, “It is very unusual to get a loan from the credit union and be walking around with that amount of money in your pocket.”

“You would have to be living on another planet not to realise that so- ciety regards the dealing of drugs as very serious,’ he said and imposed a two-year jail term.

AN Ennis man, who is currently serving a four-year jail term in Lim- erick Prison has been charged with having a mobile phone in his cell.

Mark McCarthy (22), with an ad- dress in Ennis, was jailed at Ennis Circuit Court in April 2006 for a burglary offence in Ennis.

Last Tuesday he appeared before Limerick District Court accused of having a mobile phone and a sim card without the permission of the Governor. It is alleged the items were seized on June 24 last, during a

search of McCarthy’s cell by prison eee

Inspector Gerry MacNamara said directions had not been received from the Director of Public Prosecutions and he asked for a brief adjournment. Judge Tom O’Donnell agreed but said if the directions were not avail- able from the DPP on the next date he would strike the case out.

The Irish Prison Service says there were 210 mobile phones seized at Limerick Prison between October 2006 and October 2007, although most of the seizures have not led to prosecutions.