Month: January 2008

CONTENTIOUS plans by voluntary housing organisation, RESPOND in Shannon, are now in doubt after Clare County Council refused to ex- tend the organisation more time to complete a 28-unit housing develop- ment in the town.

Five years ago, RESPOND secured planning permission for 28 homes in the face of strong local opposition. To date they have constructed eight two-bed bungalows and two three-

bed semi-detached houses out of the total proposed.

The housing association lodged an application to extend time to allow for the completion of the project.

However, a submission from the Combined Residents Association from Tullyvarraga Hill and Brook- fields claimed that the site had been landscaped and surrounded by a boundary fence, and the contractor had left the site some months ago.

“There is little likelihood that the work, involving as it does consider-

able civil and ground work, could be completed within a reasonable time. In our opinion, there is no justifica- tion for extending the perfectly ad- equate original period,” the residents Sr BKGE

‘Furthermore, the imminent 1m- plementation of plans to extend the town centre area, with commercial and residential developments, chang- es the whole basis of planning.

“The only sensible course is to re- ject the extension and for RESPOND to re-apply for planning in light of

the new circumstances.

“There is an adequate supply, even a surfeit of apartments in Shannon, which are intrinsically better, more attractive and cheaper than the pro- posed mini-blocks and to spend pub- lic money on such a project is unac- ceptable,” the residents’ submission maintained.

“In our opinion, the mini-blocks are of defective design, would not serve the needs of Shannon and would be an irresponsible use of public money. They would be intrusive and dimin-

ish the area visually and in quality of life and in value terms.”

A report from the council’s planning inspector said that an additional four years was sought by the applicants to complete the development and this was not a reasonable timeframe for the works to be completed.

The council ruled that the exten- sion be refused “as substantial works had not been carried out to date in accordance with Section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000”.

HEALTHIER living environments and significant savings on energy bills are on their way to Clare after it was announced that the county will be the subject of an EU-funded en- ergy efficiency audit during January.

The audit of the county’s social housing stock follows a Government pledge to acquire 9,000 social hous- ing units nationally in 2008.

The aim of the two-year project, Advanced Ventilation- Approaches for Social Housing (AVASH), is to determine the best ventilation strat- egy for existing social housing units in order to achieve maximum energy efficiency, occupant comfort and sig- nificant reductions in energy bills for householders.

All data collected will be analysed and presented to social housing pro- viders who are considering upgrad-

ing their social housing stock by performing energy intelligent retro- fitting of individual dwellings and entire schemes.

“Existing social housing units in Clare consume a large amount of energy for heating with significant emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels,” said Jay Stuart, who will lead the project.

“It’s important, therefore, to under- stand how the energy consumption

of existing dwellings can best be reduced whilst achieving a comfort- able and healthy environment for the occupants through good ventilation strategies.”

He also indicated that the audit would involve the assessment of a broad range of social housing, in- cluding family dwellings and dwell- ings for the elderly and the disabled.

“Advanced thermal imaging and pressure testing equipment will

be used to discover the state of the dwellings thermal insulation and lev- el of air tightness. Once this has been completed, computer simulations will be used to determine the best ventilation strategy for the dwelling type,’ he said.

Further information about the audit and Advanced Ventilation Approaches for Social Housing (AVASH) is available by emailing R.Southall@brighton.ac.uk

CHILDCARE, education, social housing, training, healthcare and physical infrastructure were the ar- eas targeted for investment in Clare under the National Development Plan during the past year.

Childcare services were allocated funding of €7.3 million for such projects as Cuan Aire Creche in En- nis, Kildysart Community Focus and West Clare Early Years Care and Education Service.

Ten schools received funding to manage their own building projects, while under the Summer Works Scheme, 26 schools received a total of €2.1 million for remedial works. Schools to benefit included Quilty National School, Ennis Community College and Kilrush Community School. A number of health projects were completed, including the Health Clinic Extension in Ennistymon which received over €500,000.

Meanwhile hundreds of local people are employed due to participation on a wide range of FAS training courses and other programmes. Industry and jobs have been created through the support of the NDP-funded County Enterprise Board (CEB). Clare CEB was allocated over €874,000 with 28 different projects grant aided. Com- panies included De Barra Publishing Ltd; Authentic Ireland Travel and Olga O’ Malley Childcare Creche.

Clare received €14.9 million for social housing, including projects in Sixmilebridge, Corofin, Scar- riff, Killaloe and Kuildysart. Over €332,000 for voluntary housing was provided for projects such as Kilmi- hil Community Housing and the Banner Housing Association. The Local Development Social Inclu- sion Programme (LDSIP) continued to fund local partnerships like Eiri Corca Baiscinn, Ennis West Partners and OBAIR, Newmarket-on-Fergus Limited.

The Clare Accessible Transport Initiative, which provides services to rural communities, was also assisted, while €900,000 was allocated for refurbishment of the Bus Eireann station in Ennis. Over €20million was allocated to non-national roads including the Ballybeg Road.

Over €25 million was allocated for national road improvements and maintenance. The opening of the En- nis Bypass is estimated to have taken 20,000 vehicles a day off the streets of Ennis.

The second phase of the NDP’s Metropolitan Area Networks pro- gramme will see the roll-out of broadband infrastructure to many towns. Kilrush was selected for this scheme and the network is currently under construction.

The waste infrastructure grant in 2007 was over €1.04 million to pro- mote greater use of recycling and

recovery. The allocation to upgrade and expand water treatment capac- ity, improve drinking water quality and supply, and improve and expand wastewater treatment was over €24

million. €24 million was allocated to upgrade and expand water treat- ment services.

Clare received an allocation of €1.13 million for tourism develop-

ment. The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre opened and other projects included Blackhead Angling Facili- ties and Lough Derg International Waterpark.

‘HOW is my annual leave entitlement calculated? My employer hasn’t giv- en me a payslip – what do I do? What is the new Green Card employment permit? What is custom and practice in the workplace?’

These are just some of the ques- tions answered by the Citizens In- formation Board’s booklet, ‘Employ- ment Rights Explained’, which was

launched earlier this week. Now in its fourth edition, the guide is part of the board’s ‘entitlements Series’, which empowers citizens to obtain access to information on their rights.

According to Paul Woulfe, man- ager with the Citizens Information Service in Clare, “It is hoped that the booklet will be a useful and practical geulide for employees, employers and new comers to our country who take Vue mesento)onisnsloislmssuer

“If you are starting work for the first time check out the sections on contracts, wages and hours of work. The new year will bring a plethora of work-related queries to our cen- tres throughout the county – mostly as aresult of not knowing what basic rights you have as an employee in the workplace.

The Clare Citizens Information cen- tres received 30,/66 queries during 2006 and a growing number relate to

the area of employment rights.

‘This is not surprising as the range of employment options has expanded in recent years and includes part- time work, agency work, fixed term contracts and temporary employ- ment. We also assist clients in bring- ing cases to the Employment Appeals Tribunal and offering representation at Rights Commissioner hearings,” added Paul Woulfe.

The guide includes a summary of

key employment rights and brings together information from different government departments and agen- cies. Each chapter includes a list of the relevant legislation, a section on where and how to enforce your rights and a case study showing how the law works in practice. The latest edi- tion includes a new chapter on seek- ing redress, an expanded chapter on employment permits, a glossary and a detailed index.

THE Irish Government sanctioned searches of Cuban and Czech flights into Shannon in the 1960s on the re- quest of the USA, according to sealed Government documents released to the public yesterday.

At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, the US am- bassador sought a meeting with the then-T’aoiseach Sean Lemass.

A US embassy counsellor visited the Department of External Affairs and said the ambassador would raise concerns about the Shannon stopover, involving Prague-Havana flights.

‘He made it clear Washington had been worried about the extent to which the traffic through Shannon

may have helped in the build-up in Cuba, and in particular in the trans- port of technical personnel and possi- ble arms,’ Con Cremin, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, recorded in a November 2 memo.

The secretary also recorded a call from Lemass in which the Taoiseach told him that the aeroplanes would be searched.

If “warlike” material was found, Ireland would consider refusing the planes transit facilities – providing the Government could do so without violating the Convention on Interna- tional Civil Aviation.

Ireland also passed on details about aircraft cargo, weight, passengers and their nationalities and details of over-flights to the American Em-

bassy.

Regular searches only came to an end in 1966 when the Irish authori- ties were told that the US govern- ment “is now agreeable to a cessation of the regular inspections”.

Spot-checks continued until De- cember 1970 at which time the US Embassy told the Department of For- tse WUE: U RMN OOT-1mm 0 eloa’Mmen OOT-h VAN O\omm OUTS continued immediately”.

The release of these documents come as the present day Govern- ment refuses to allow searches of US planes at Shannon despite a recom- mendation to do so from its own hu- man rights watchdog.

The Government has rejected the recommendation of the Irish Hu- mans Rights Commission (IHRC) to

search the planes at Shannon if they are suspected rendition flights.

Following a study the statutory body recommended that the Gov- ernment introduce an effective and independent inspection regime as a matter of urgency.

Although there have been no re- corded incidents of rendition in Irish territories, planes used for the practice have stopped in Shannon, according to a report from the Euro- pean Parliament.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern claimed the IHRC was more willing “to give credence to a Self- appointed activist group” than the categorical assurances of the demo- cratically elected government of the US.

THE Clare Citizens information Centres are advising local shoppers that their consumer rights don’t go away if they are tempted by bargains in the New Year sales.

With the New Year sales taking erip of the county, the network of advice centres receive a lot of que- ries from shoppers in relation to their consumer rights at this time of year. Their basic message 1s that if a sales item turns out to be faulty, the shop must offer a refund, repair or replacement. According to Informa- tion Service manager, Paul Woulfe, some shops put up signs during their sales along the lines of ‘No money refunded’, “No refunds during sales’, ‘No exchange’ or ‘No liability ac- cepted for faulty goods’.

‘These signs can give the impres- sion that you don’t have certain consumer rights. So the shop may be committing an offence in using them, and could face prosecution.

“If goods turn out to be faulty, consumers are entitled to ask for a refund, replacement or repair. If the shop still refuses to give you one of these three options, report it to the Director of Consumer Affairs. You are not entitled to an exchange (or

a refund or a credit note) simply be- cause you change your mind about something you’ve bought. So double- check the shop’s refund policy before buying anything in the sales’, added Paul Woulfle

‘Some shops do allow you to ex- change goods that you’ve had second thoughts about, but remember that it is at their discretion and they do this as a goodwill gesture. If the product is faulty, you are entitled to a replace- ment, a repair or a full refund. You don’t have to take a credit note, even if the shop assistant insists, “this is our policy’.

“Stock with a reduced price in the winter sales must have been on offer for the advertised original price for at least a month before the price was KeLeLU(eolem

‘For example, shops are not al- lowed to have a label or sign on a product saying ‘reduced by 30 per cent’ if this 1s the first time that they are Selling this particular product. If you lose your receipt, your rights still apply. The shop is entitled to see proof of purchase, but this can be a credit card bill or a bank statement,” Mr Woulfe explained.

AGAINST the background of the school water charges row, Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has highlighted the growing crisis of consultant fees for Summer work schemes which are owed by many schools throughout the country.

According to the Clarecastle dep- uty, who is Fine Gael Spokesperson on Juvenile Justice, the latest crisis arose when the Department of Edu-

cation decided to discontinue the summer school works scheme with- out consulting the schools.

The scheme allowed schools to carry out essential works during the summer holidays. In order for schools to apply for the scheme, it was necessary to hire a consultant engineer to prepare submissions. If the application was successful, the consultant’s fees were reimbursed through the scheme.

The situation many schools find

themselves in is that having hired consultants and paid out significant fees, the scheme has been cancelled and the fees remain outstanding. Deputy Carey said it was another example of the Government taking decisions with little regard for the implications of these decisions on the day-to-day running of schools. ‘“T have contacted several schools, who find themselves owing hundreds of euro in consultant fees, with no obvious means to pay for those fees.

One Clare school I spoke to owes over €650, while another owes in the region of €800. Coming at the same time as schools face outrageous wa- ter charges, this is unacceptable. ‘The department set out stringent guidelines for the summer work schemes which required schools to engage consulting engineers in order to be considered under the scheme. They have now cancelled the scheme, but schools abiding by the department’s own rules are out

of pocket significantly.”

Are our schools to foot the bill for the downturn in the economy’?

“IT understand the INTO are pres- ently surveying all schools in the country to find out how many schools have already paid out for consultant fees for projects. I expect them to find that the country’s schools are carrying a huge burden of debt for essential works that may not now even be carried out because of this crazy decision,” he declared.

THE University of Limerick is seek- ing to have the imposition of over €300,000 in levies waived on its new Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

Last month, Clare County Council gave the university the go-ahead for the centre at Garraun, Clonlara, but imposed a charge of €304,000 in levies towards the provision of pub- lic infrastructure.

However, the university has now appealed the imposition of the con- ditions to An Bord Pleanala.

UL claim that “the development is located on the Clare Campus of the university and deliberately so to celebrate the rich tradition of Clare music and dance through learning, accreditation and research”’.

The university state that it 1s cur- rently seeking to raise over €6mil- lion and the UL foundation is plan- ning to raise this amount in Clare.

Donors have expressed interest in funding the project for its “connec- tion with the deepest roots of Clare culture and for the longevity which universities bring to great tradi- WON ae

The appeal states that the imposi-

tion of development contributions would impede the viability of the project and contradict the spirit and letter of the scheme by applying commercial levies to non-commer- cial voluntary work. The develop- ment 1s not intended for profit or gain, but would be a major contribu- tor to the social and educational life of the campus and the area.

“The project is dependent on volun- tary donations to go ahead. Donors both in the US and at home normally attach a condition to the making of donations that the State should at least match the amount of the private donation.Donors have been persuad- ed to make an exception in this case but the imposition of statutory lev- ies or contributions would dent their gsoodwill.

The building will house the univer- sity’s Irish World Music Academy under Michael O’Suilleabhain and be solely dedicated to education.

The university maintains that it should be exempt from this charge as they are a voluntary organisation and the development is to be used for social, recreational and education purposes and not for profit or gain

A decision is due on the appeal in the new year.

ONE of Clare’s most senior local politicians has just been awarded a new honour.

Long-serving county council- lor Flan Garvey was unanimously elected chairman of the Institutes of Technology in Ireland by the cathao- irligh of the 13 Institutes of Technol- ogy at their recent annual general meeting.

Speaking after his election, Cllr Garvey said he regarded it “as a great honour for myself and my family and for the Clare Vocational Education Committee.”

He is a former chairman of Clare VEC and served as Mayor of Clare for a term. He was vice-president for two years of the Irish Vocational Ed-

ucation Association, the national ad- ministrative body of city and county vocational education committees. He is also chairman of Tralee Insti- tute of Technology where is also a student, studying for an MA degree.

A native of Ballyea, Inagh, he was educated at Gorbofearna National School, Inagh; St Flannan’s College, Ennis; St Patrick’s Training College, Drumcondra; UCD and UCG where he obtained a BA and D Dip in 1972- 23

He taught in Mary Queen of An- gels, Ballyfermot, Dublin, from 1963 to 1965, Gortbofearna National School from 1965 to 1973 and Inagh National School from 1973 to 2000, being principal of both schools.

THE welcome mat is being dusted down and celebrations planned for the army of Clare volunteers bound for South Africa to build a hospice.

On board are 180 of the 200 vol- unteers needed for the Building of Hope project for Lissycasey nun, Sr Ethel Normoyle.

Thousands of South Africa’s poor- est people live in the Port Elizabeth township mostly in huts and shacks made from waste corrugated and tin sheeting.

Unemployment runs at more than 70 per cent while seven in ten people are infected with the AIDS virus.

The hospice will give township residents a place to end their days in dignity as well as providing a centre where people can learn positive ways of caring for their own health.

Builders, plasterers, carpenters, electricians, and general helpers will be working flat out for ten-day stints at a time to get the project sorted in 40 days.

People have been hard at work fund raising the €3,000 per head neces- sary for the trip and in Purcell’s Bar, in Ruan on January 6 there will be a special night of trad and the auction of a valuable painting.

The ever popular Sharon Shannon will be joined by the famous Begley

family from west Kerry, including Brendan, Cormac, Niall and Owen. A fantastic night of traditional music is guaranteed.

Hot food will be served on the night and a painting by local Artist Peter Daffy of Corofin will be raffled dur- ing the night along with many more fabulous prizes.

Tickets costs €15 and are available from Purcell’s Bar or by calling An- nette at 086 3294982 or Mary at 086 3332780.

There are still places available on the trip for people willing to travel between February 14 and 25 and de- tails of accommodation, flights and transfers have now been finalised, said Olive Halpin, one of the Clare organisers of the trip.

“We would appeal now to anyone who has money outstanding to get it to us immediately,’ added Ms Halpin.

“The people of Missionvale are so excited about us coming to give them some help,” said Maureen McCarthy, another of the Clare organisers of the vale

Bishop Willie Walsh and Ennis priest Fr Tom Hogan will be along to lend support to the crews.

Anyone who would like to fund raise or even come along on the trip should call Olive on 087 6994599 or Maureen on 087 7803808.