Month: January 2008

ANYONE who travelled to Meelick on Sunday expecting to see Mike McNamara and Davy Fitzgerald pro- duce some public display of affec- tion would have been disappointed. Last week, when it became appar- ent that Cork would not be fielding a team against LIT, the media focus switched to Davy Fitzgerald and his return to the Clare panel under Mc- Namara.

In order to counteract this and to nip the hype in the bud, the two men spoke on radio on Friday to publi- cally announce their intentions.

While the result overwhelmingly favoured LIT, after the game, both managers expressed opinions that were contrary to the scoreboard.

Firstly, McNamara was positive in defeat, recognising that LIT are in a far more advanced state of prepara- tion as they bid to defend their Fitz- gibbon title next month.

“It’s their August now. In our Au- gust I think we will be snapping them balls up nicely as well. So you would also have to look at that. On the bright side, some of the better players on the opposition today were members of the panel so that’s some brightness in a bit of gloom.

“You probably learn more from losing than you doing from winning. Last week, everything was flying and points were going over from differ- ent angles but we tried a whole new bunch again today. It’s particularly up to the younger members to show what they have or haven’t in January, February, March and April so in that sense all wasn’t lost. It’s nice to see Tony Carmody back in the frame, way off the pace of course but he has to be shoved out at this stage and get ready for the months ahead.”

Due to some college involvement from a Clare perspective and opting to experiment with the new players, Clare were clearly understrength but

McNamara believes that the young players have to be given a chance if Clare are to unearth new talent for the season ahead.

‘Everybody who takes part in the training regime has to get games and has to show what they have. So it’s just another step along the way and it’s going to be a long and a difficult task. There is a hump there which is high and we have to get to the top of that mountain through thick or thin and days like this along the way are a help.”

On the other side, despite a compre- hensive victory, LIT manager Davy Fitzgerald was not completely satis- fied with his side’s performance.

“That was OK but we won’t win a Fitzgibbon playing like that because Clare were poor today. Clare know they were poor today, very poor.

“Saying that, our goalie made three ereat saves. He made three saves he mightn’t have made on another day and if Clare had got any of those chances, it would have been a dif- ferent game. There is no point in fooling ourselves. Mattie [Ryan] did make two or three good saves and our backs were good but the chances we got we took them while they got chances and they didn’t take them. That would have been a different refelction on the scoreline and I think it’s very important that we say that. They had three or four good chances and our goalie brought off two saves and I don’t know how he pulled them off but he did.”

LIT’s first half performance provid- ed the foundation for their ten point victory. Not daunted by the county opposition, they exposed Clare’s in- experience repeatedly, carving open the defence. Still, Fitzgerald conced- ed that Clare more than matched his side after the restart.

“Clare probably came out and thought that they would take care of us easily enough and it’s hard to change your attitude halfway

through the game. When you are out- side in the field and you are playing a college team, you think that you should be beating them. But when the college team is ripping into you, it’s very hard to change and maybe When Mike got them at half-time, they were a different team. As you saw in the second half, it was way more even and as | say they got a lot more chances in the second half. So I would agree that in the second half, Clare more than held their own.”

Fitzgerald wasn’t thinking about his impending return to the county set-up on Sunday, his immediate fo- cus 1s on his LIT side who are look- ing to win back-to-back Fitzgibbon titles for the first time in the college’s history. So while a ten point victory over Clare was significant, he under- stands that they still have a lot more work to do before they are ready to defend their Fitzgibbon crown.

‘The result didn’t bother me today. The thing I liked about today was the way we played and the fight. We had fight and determination and the lads threw themselves into it. But I know going down playing WIT in Water- ford in the Fitzgibbon, we are going to have our work cut out and I know from this performance we’re going to have to up it again. So don’t, even for one minute, think we’re happy with that, we’re not because I know we could have conceeded two or three goals easily.”

Now that Clare are our of the com- petition, the focus shifts to the league campaign starting with Galway in Salthill on February 10. Before that, they have challenges with UCG and Portumna, two additional opportuni- ties to test more players and experi- ment before the panel is reduced.

ANOTHER ledge climbed and the summit of the McGrath Cup is com- ing into sight. Flanked by Kieran Kelliher and James Hanrahan, Frank Doherty, the leader of this group of men with the future of Clare foot- ball in their hands, is making for the dressing room in Cooraclare.

Alone on the plains of West Clare, the Galwayman says he’s satisfied that things are moving in the right direction.

“T hope people can see a little im- provement as we go along,” he says. “You have to remember that these players have been kicked around the place for the past number of years and their own self-worth was at an all time low. When I came in at the start, lads were fumbling the ball and it was difficult to get through even some basic drills. They’re train- ing hard now, there’s a smile on their face and there’s a buzz amongst them. They’re a good bunch of lads, a genu- ine bunch, but they’re been through the mill over the last few years. Now, hopefully, things are turning slowly and gradually.”

Doherty is transparent and honest. Unveiling the manager’s opinions on his team’s progression isn’t laced with the cryptic (football) or dismiss- ive (hurling) post-match comments that pockmarked Clare’s early GAA season last year. For that alone, let us be thankful.

‘The mindset at the moment is 1m- proving. You could see lads not want- ing it at the start, but having won the last two games, lads are starting to show for the ball and that’s great. The longer we can stay in the McGrath Cup the better, it brings us closer to Carlow in the league.”

As that game on February 3 edges closer, Doherty’s aim is to pin down a starting 15.

“I can see probably 11 or 12 guys from last week and this that will start the league. There’s maybe three plac- es that I haven’t seen enough of to make my mind up on. We’ve brought on a lot of young lads and nobody can say we’re not giving them a chance. We’re over two thirds of the way there with the team that played last week and this week and that’s down to games. It’s about filling in the rest of the spaces now.”

And on Sunday’s performance?

“UL beat Clare by a few points last year so you’re talking about some- thing like a twelve point turnaround. I believe we could have won it by another four or five scores with a bit more composure in the final third of the field.

“We were going well enough and lads got into the comfort zone again and lads started trying out these silly 40 50 yard screamers. I’d rather be more productive in the last third and use the ball properly to get ourselves into a scoring position, but you’d have to be satisfied overall.

A good solid performance in the first half is what did it for us and against a fairly strong wind that was positive. Lads took their scores clini- cally and we were well on top.”

IT Tralee enter unchartered territory on Wednesday as they contest their first ever match in the Waterford Crystal tournament against Water- ford – with four Clare players on- board. The game marks a huge step for the emerging college and it’s a testament to the work put in over the past few years that they are now seen as one of the top hurling colleges in the province.

Hurling in Tralee IT has steadily improved over the last few years cul- minating in Ryan Cup success last season.

The Ryan Cup is the second tier competition of the Fitzgibbon Cup and to win it last year definitely boosted the hurling profile of the college as GAA Officer Eamon Fit- zgerald explains.

“Winning the Ryan Cup last year was a great achievement and with only four changes from last year’s

team, it will give us a good boost going into this year’s competition. We could have chosen to contest the Fitzgibbon Cup this season, but we feel that our players need to establish a firm footing first and as there is still such a big gap between the Fitzgib- bon and Ryan cups, it would be easy to fall back 1f we weren’t careful.”

A benefit of this success has been the attraction of more hurlers to the college and in addition, there are currently four Clare natives on the IT Tralee side: Stephen Kelly (New- market-on-Fergus) at centre-back, Stephen Guilfoyle (Eire Og) and Ja- son Murphy (Sixmilebridge) lining out in the full-back line while Eire Og’s Thomas Downes will be based in the forwards. Fitzgerald is quick to compliment the hurling talent that is now being attracted to the college, including an increasing Clare contin- ele

“The fact that we have been invited to take part in the Waterford Crystal

Cup shows how much the standard of hurling has improved in the College. This year we have four Clare lads on our hurling panel and they have strengthened and brought valuable experience into the squad.”

IT Tralee’s debut in the Waterford Crystal competition couldn’t have been any harder by drawing Munster champions Waterford but rather than dwell on such daunting opposition, Fitzgerald sees the game as a ben- eficial learning experience for the young side.

“The Waterford Crystal cup is a fantastic opportunity for the lads to play against players of the calibre of Dan Shanahan.”

“It will certainly be a learning curve for the lads and more impor- tantly it will give them valuable ex- perience for the future”.

AS planning permission for a new hospital for the mid-west was lodged this week, a Clare County Council- lor was calling for work to begin on Ennis General Hospital, which has al- ready received planning permission.

Fianna Fail Cllr Bill Chambers, who is also one of Clare’s four rep- resentatives on the HSE Forum West, said that in order for work to progress, the long overdue review of acute health services in the mid-west region must be published now.

The Cooraclare man said the so- called Teamwork Report needs to be in the public domain so people can object to parts of it they disagree with and get on with securing acute health services for the people of Clare. It 1s widely believed that the report will suggest the closure of 24 hour A and E at the county’s hospital.

Meanwhile, a private company maintains that it can have a state-of- the-art hospital built on the grounds of the Mid-West Regional Hospital Limerick within 30 months of the start date.

The Beacon Medical Group (BMG) applied for planning permission to construct a co-located hospital on the grounds of the public hospital on Thursday. Plans for the €250 million hospital comprise 175 single rooms

with eight CCU (critical care) beds, six operating theatres, ambulatory surgery and full diagnostics incorpo- rating some €24.7 million worth of new generation equipment.

The hospital will mirror the case- mix of the public hospital, as all spe- cialities catered for in the public hos- pital will also be catered for in the co-located hospital – both medical and surgical, with the exception of national specialities. As recommend- ed by the SARI Report 2005, which made recommendations for infection control in hospitals, all rooms will be single occupancy, each with its own en-suite facility.

BMG is seeking the planning per- mission under the controversial Co- located Private Hospitals Project.

The project, which the Government claimed would free up additional beds for public patients in public hospitals, will see privately operated hospitals for the provision of health care to public and private patients on the grounds of public hospitals.

The new co-located hospitals will allow for 24/7 admission from the public hospital, the public Emergen- cy Department (ED), primary care centres and through GP referrals.

Critics of the policy have claimed, however, that this policy will further increase the divide in our two-tier health system.

THERE are now almost double the number of holiday homes in Kilkee to homes used in the resort on a per- manent basis.

In statistics cited by Clare County Council in refusing to allow a por- tion of 64 new homes be used as holiday homes, the local authority points out that there are now just un- der 1,000 holiday homes in the west Clare seaside resort.

According to figures secured from the Central Statistics Office (CSO),

there are now 996 holiday homes in Kilkee representing 83 per cent more homes that the 544 permanent holiday homes in Kilkee.

The council points out that 67 per cent of homes in Kilkee are unoc- cupied. Last year, Keelgrove Con- struction secured planning permis- sion for 64 homes in the resort.

However, the council inserted a condition that the homes be used only for permanent occupation in response to the high percentage of holiday homes already in Kilkee.

In response, Keelgrove lodged a

fresh application seeking to modify the planning permission so that a percentage of the homes can be used as holiday homes.

Consultants for Keelgrove Con- struction Ltd argued that the clause insisting that the homes be for per- manent occupancy is not supported in the West Clare Local Area Plan.

The consultants argue that if the council applies the permanent oc- cupancy clause to all future housing in Kilkee, “then the plan is failing to provide for a key sector of the housing and tourism market and

this could adversely impact on the economy of the town”.

The developers argue that “in the interest of fairness and equality, only a percentage of the residen- tial units within the development should be restricted to permanent occupancy — similar to the concept of providing social and affordable jaLO)UESS EO Toa

However, in the planner’s report, the council cited an An Bord Pleana- la inspector’s report on a previous application for holiday homes.

The report stated that “having

visited Kilkee on June 2, albeit mid-week, it was starkly evident the extent of holiday home develop- ment present in the town and on its fringes and its underutilisation”.

The council planner recommended “that this development proposal be refused as it would further contrib- ute to the loss of community, lack of housing choice for permanent residents in Kilkee and lead to an unsustainable demand for all year round services and would therefore materially contravene an objective in a local area plan for the area.”

CLARE firms interested in exploring innova- tion aS a means of becoming more competi- tive are urged to take a closer look at the new Design Shannon Skillnet programme, which tees off this spring. The two year programme, which will run concurrently in Ennis and Lim- erick, is funded by member companies and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd, which is funded from the Na- tional Training Fund through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

“Design Shannon Skillnet represents a great opportunity for established manufacturing and service businesses — small and large — to ben- efit from the insight of leading national and in- ternational experts in the areas of design and innovation, and from the experiences of the other member firms in the network. The addi-

tion of more customised, one-on-one training to the new programme will further enhance the tangible benefits for each, individual company participating,’ said Laura Maye, Network Man- ager, Design Shannon Skillnet.

As a participant of the Design Shannon Skill- net programme, which recently finished, Frank Whelan, Sales Manager of Ennistymon-based Data Display, summarised how Data Display had benefited from the programme: “At a com- pany level, it has helped us to see and seize new ways of doing business. On a personal level, it has given me the skills to enhance my selling techniques, and to reap the ensuing benefits. Overall, worthwhile and value for money.”

For further information/registration, con- tact Design Shannon Skillnet at 065 6895282 (www.designshannon.ie).

THE outstanding work of local com- munity groups across the county was highlighted at the 2007 Community Environmental Awards ceremony in the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, on Monday evening when several awards were presented in competi- tions including Clare In Bloom, Best Public Seat, Power of One – Energy Efficiency for Clare, Keep Clare Clean and Pride of Place.

Ballynacally Development Asso- ciation was named overall winner of the Clare In Bloom competition achieving the highest marks for a second year in a row. The associa- tion scored highly for landscaping, range of planting, colour and overall impression.

Mayor of Clare Councillor Patricia McCarthy presented the Ballyna-

cally group with a cheque for €1500. As well as taking the overall award, Ballynacally was named winner in Category 3 population sector, beat- ing off competition from Labasheeda and Mountshannon.

Category | was won by Kilrush Tidy Towns Committee, who fin- ished ahead of Bridgetown and Shannon. Tuamgraney Development Association was named the winner of Category 2, with Kilmihil Tidy Towns and Quin Development As- sociation achieving second and third je Elen

Categories are based on population size with a first, second and third prize in each category of <€1100, €550 and €300 respectively. A Special Endeavour Award went to Bridgetown for the overall ap- pearance of the village, which was a blaze of colour during the adjudicat- ing period with the displays on the approach roads excelling. The Mayor’s Environmental Award, as well as a cheque for €1,000, was presented to Mountshannon. Spe- cial Merit Awards were presented to community groups in Bodyke De- velopment Association, Feakle Tidy Village Committee, Scariff Commu- nity Council, Obair Newmarket on Fergus, Kildysart Tidy Towns, Car- rigaholt Tidy Towns, Ballyvaughan Tidy Towns, Lisdoonvarna Com- munity Council, Ruan Tidy Village, St Mary's Community Development Lissycasey and Kilmurry McMahon Community Group. For the second consecutive year Ballyea claimed the Best Public Seat Award, which acknowledges com- munities for tasteful public seats that encourage people to take a few mo- ments repose in pleasant surround- ing. Ballyea finished ahead of Bal- lynacally and Decomade Lissycasey. A newly introduced art competition themed Power of One - Energy Ef- ficiency for Clare attracted an enor- mous number of entries from both primary and secondary schools. First prize was awarded to Jennifer Ly- ons, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point, with Edel Curtin, St Joseph’s Secondary School, Span- ish Point second and Abby Koomans O’Reilly, Scariff Community College third. The primary school categories were won by Cillian Fennell, Ennis National School, Paraic O’Gorman, Kilmihil National School, Caolann O'Dwyer, Scoil losaf Naofa, Moy, Lahinch, second Class, Clarecas- tle National School, Laura Brassil, Dangan National School and Cai- triona O’Gorman, Kilmihil National Nye tere) Winners in the Keep Clare Clean competition included Louise Hill Ballynacally/Lissycasey; Eoin Mc- Namara, Ruan Toonagh; Liam Kelly, Cratloe; and Grace Kearney, Cratloe. The competition is organised with support from Clare County Council and runs in conjunction with Clare Community Games. The ceremony included an inaugu- ral presentation to local participants in the All-Ireland Pride of Place competition run with Co-Operation Ireland in conjunction with local au- thorities north and south of the bor- der. Clare County Council and Co- Operation Ireland honoured the lo- cal contribution that the Michael Cusack Centre in Carron, Kilmihil Community Development Ltd and the RAPID Community Pitch-In at Cloughleigh made in 2007.

CLARE is bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown with a higher percentage losing their jobs here than in other areas.

Statistics released by the Small Firms Association last week showed that 3.5 per cent of all jobs lost in Ire- land last year were lost in Clare. This is despite the county only accounting for 2.5 per cent of the national popu- lation.

According to experts, this is as a re- sult of the county’s over-reliance on tradition low-skill areas such as con- struction, tourism and farming.

“We have a broad mixture of in- dustry in the county but we are more reliant on traditional industries in Clare and as a whole in the west of Ireland. There is that bit more di- versity on the east coast and that is why we need to keep attracting companies into the region that have a broader spectrum of sectors,” said Rita McInerney, CEO of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.

“We have the location for this kind of development in Clare, like in the Shannon Free Zone and the Ennis In- formation Age Park. We have to try and attract more industry that will cover us Over the times when things like the construction industry taking a hit takes place. We don’t want to have all of our eggs in one basket on dene

A total of 714 redundancies were recorded in Clare in 2007. This plac-

es the county in sixth place nation- ally behind Dublin (10,844), Cork (2,/07), Limerick (1,250), Galway (1172) and Kildare (1,147).

In total, 25,459 redundancies were recorded nationally, with men ac- counting for some 61 per cent of all job losses.

‘We are also very dependent on the tourism industry in Clare. We need to diversify over the next few years to help off-let any downturn that might take place in these industries,’ con-

tinued Ms McInerney.

“We all knew that there would be a saturation point in the economic erowth. In fact, many economists thought it would come sooner.”

Meanwhile, further proof of the downturn in the local economy was seen last week with the release of the live register figures for Clare. They revealed a massive 165 per cent year- on-year increase in the number sign- ing on in Clare.

In December last year, 4,696 per-

sons were on the live register in the county, compared to just 4,073 during the corresponding period in pau ees

“We need to look at ways of up- skilling people who are in the tra- ditional industries which are being hit. This is where projects such as the One-Step-Up programme run by FAS will be so important,” contin- ued Ms McInerney.

“I do think that there is an area of renewal energy and waste manage- ment, the Green industries, which could be a very good fit for people who are coming out of the construc- tion sector.

“It could be a way for many local construction workers to diversify into this area. I think they would be seen as very complimentary industries to each other. It would go hand in hand with the construction industry.

“TI feel that this is not a total down- ward trend; it’s more of a levelling off. The next six months will be a time of consolidation and reorgani- sation before the economy can move forward again.

“As long as it is managed properly and businesses have time to think about where they are going in the future, then it will turn around and come good again. There is a chal- lenge here in the west in terms of get- ting over our over-reliance on con- struction and the tourism industry.”

THE threat of bird flu has once again reared its ugly head over the island of Ireland with the confirmation of a number of cases of avian influenza in the UK last week.

Despite a number of outbreaks across the water, Ireland has man- aged to stay completely bird flu-free since it first began to threat European farms almost two years ago.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have called on all poultry producers to maintain vigi- lance and report any suspected cases as soon as possible.

The department’s National Disease Control Centre (NDCC) Manage- ment Committee met last Thursday

to discuss the confirmation of the presence of high pathogenic H5N1 avian “flu in three dead wild mute swans in the Dorset area of Eng- land.

The committee was briefed on the most recent information available from the Department of the Environ- ment, Food and Rural Affairs (DE- FRA) in Britain and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Develop- ment (DARD) in Northern Ireland.

According to officials from the Department of Agriculture, constant contact between experts in Dublin and their colleagues in Belfast, Lon- don and Brussels has been ongoing since the outbreak was confirmed.

On Thursday morning the British authorities put in place the required

EU control measures; which include a Wild Bird Control Area and Moni- toring Area, within which bird keep- ers are required to house birds or otherwise isolate them from contact A100 MM AUC mayb KCK

“The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has taking ex- pert ornithological advice from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and BirdWatch Ireland on current migratory patterns between Britain and Ireland,’ said a spokes- person from the Department of Ag- riculture.

“The most recent information available is that there is currently lit- tle migration and that the migratory pattern is stable and, as such, the risk to Ireland remains low.

“Department of Agriculture offi- cials have advised Minister Cough- lan of the current situation and will be monitoring developments in Dor- set carefully in the coming days.”

Meanwhile, the IFA National Poul- try Committee Chairman Ned Mor- rissey has also called on poultry growers here to maintain the highest levels of vigilance.

He said producers here have im- plemented extra measures such as the installation of water chlorination systems to ensure the health status of their flocks 1s protected.

“Poultry producers meet the high- est veterinary standards at all times, and are particularly vigilant at the moment to protect the health of their flocks,” he added.

WITH early indications showing that the price of beef has started to improve, the farming organisations have been keeping the pressure on the factories in a hope to maintain the positive trend.

Fears have been raised in recent week that there could be a massive exodus from beef farming, and in particular winter finishers in Ireland if consistent price improvement is not witnessed in 2008.

Speaking last week, the Chairman of ICMSA’s Beef & Cattle Commit- tee, Martin McMahon, repeated his

warning to factories that they will fall victim to “their own short-term view’ of the industry unless the re- cent firming-up of prices is contin- UerOmr Ree meee loesIiclee

“Beef finishers are looking at a situation now where they see strong demand and a tight supply, they know that a substantial increase in prices should be in the pipeline and they are left — once again — wonder- ing why the factories seem bent on keeping the prices as low as possi- ble to the point where beef finishers will simply drop out of the trade with dire consequences for the factories themselves next year’, said the Clare

le Dusnoe

“In the context of the substantial kill at the end of 2007 and the ad- ditional and very welcome curbs on Brazilian beef, it 1s perfectly clear that there will be a shortage of cat- tle supplies this spring and that the meat processors would want to start reflecting that reality for the sake of ensuring a continued supply going forward.

“The people who finished cattle in spring 2007 and who suffered finan- cially as a result will not be able to take two successive years in which their costs outweighed any benefits.

“If the processors take the short-

term view again, they may inflict fatal damage to their own industry. Prices must keep rising and they must do so immediately.”

Last week, they revealed that the price paid by factories to farmers has actually decreased in the last 17.

According to new figures seen by