Month: May 2008

AN ADMINISTRATIVE error in Clare County Council’s planning department cost the local authority €650,000 in a High Court settle- ment, it was confirmed yesterday.

Stunned councillors were told of the cost by council executives at a meet- ing behind closed doors on Monday.

The €650,000 payment is made up of compensation to a couple, Bernard Madigan and Mary Keane, as well as legal and professional fees and other “substantial” costs. The breakdown between compensation, legal and professional fees and the remaining costs has not been revealed.

The settlement arose from the cou- ple taking a High Court judicial re-

view over refusal of a planning ap- plication for 31 houses at Inagh.

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF), who called for the special meeting last month, said he was shocked by what he had been told by the council executives.

“TI didn’t think it could happen. It 1s beyond my wildest imagination what has occurred in this case,” he said.

He declined to state what details emerged from the meeting or the fig- ure involved, but said: “I don’t know the couple but I commend them for succeeding where others have failed and having the financial wherewithal to successfully challenge the system.

‘I hope we never see the likes of this again otherwise heads will roll.”

Cllr Kelly, who tabled a number of motions on the issue over the past

year, said the local government audi- tor could investigate the matter.

Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) said she was astounded at the infor- mation that had surfaced.

“This matter is not over yet and there are a lot of questions still to be answered,” she said.

At yesterday’s meeting, the council executives claimed there was no loss to the council as their insurer covered the €650,000 and they were able to claw back money in planning finan- cial contributions from the couple.

However, a number of councillors raised concerns over what effect the payout might have on the council’s premium.

Mr Madigan and Ms Keane lodged their application for 31 homes at a

site outside Inagh in 2005. It is under- stood that when they lodged further information on the application, it was not logged on the internal planning system and resulted in the due date for decision not being signalled.

This gave rise to the application not being decided upon within the prede- termined timeframe.

The two were then refused planning permission, but initiated High Court judicial review proceedings. Coun- cillors were told that if the case went to court, the local authority’s expo- sure could have been much higher.

Last year, the council granted plan- ning to the couple for a revised de- velopment on the same site. It is now up for sale with a guide price of €2 million.

THE HSE and the Government are being asked to rethink the sums when it comes to providing health services for the county.

Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey said this week that a proper CT scanner at Ennis General Hospital could be in- Stalled for as little as €220,000 from the health services coffers.

The HSE is currently spending €130,000 each year transporting pa- tients from Ennis to Limerick for a basic CT scan.

“This is a significant cost, but just as Significant is a cost of having an ambulance tied up on these journeys,

the costs of having beds occupied that would not otherwise need to be occupied if a scanner was on hand, and the additional staff time going into managing the situation as it cur- rently stands,” said Deputy Carey.

If the much needed scanner was put in place the HSE’s only investment would be €350,000 per annum in staffing costs, according to the TD.

This 1s anet cost of under €220,000 per year when you take out the sav- ings in transport costs alone.”

“The Mid-West Hospitals ‘Trust will fund the new scanner at no cost to the HSE.

“Clearly, when you look at the facts, it makes huge sense to make

this moderate investment in order to get the huge gains that will accrue.

“The number of people travelling to Limerick for CT scans has gone up by 33 per cent since 2004 and that figure will presumably continue to increase. 35 of the country’s public hospitals have CT scanners. Surely now there is no justification for En- nis not to have one too,” he said.

In response to his Parliamentary Questions on the matter, the HSE have also confirmed to Deputy Carey that the accommodation of a CT scanner for Ennis is curremtly be- ing pursued under the 2008 Capital Plan.

Sinn Féin in Clare also believe that

the HSE’s local policy does not add up and urged them to change their lo- cal hospital police.

The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel- opment found the government was basing its plans to centralise serv- ices and downgrade or close regional hospitals on a population-to-hospi- tal ratio presented by the College of Surgeons in England and did not take account of best practice in other Eu- ropean countries.

“The HSE and government must completely revise their plans for hos- pital centralisation in light of this report,” said Sinn Féin’s Ennis chair- person Finberg McGeehan.

PEOPLE are afraid to attend hospi- tals for treatment, fearing they may contract a hospital-acquired infec- tion such as C-diff or MRSA.

That is according to Fine Gael Dep- uty Pat Breen who said that he has met with people too afraid to go for treatment.

‘I had one elderly woman call me who said she was going to stay at home rather than go to hospital for her surgery. This is a genuine fear that is in the community,” he said.

The Ballynacally man said that he

has met with numerous people with similar concerns, most of them eld- ee

‘Confidence in the health services have been eroded,” he said.

Deputy Breen does not share the fears with others however that the outbreak of C-diff discovered at En- nis General Hospital will be used as an excuse to downgrade the facility.

“IT hope the misfortune of others will indicate to the HSE and the min- ister how urgent the upgrade is, and that it is needed now,” he said.

Deputy Breen along with the other three Clare TDs and the county’s

mayors will meet with the Minister for Health this Thursday to discuss the future of the hospital.

“IT am hopeful that there will be good news after that meeting,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Fine Gael Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs claimed that those caring for people outside of hospitals are still getting a raw deal.

He is now urging the Government to review the financial supports available to carers and recognise the invaluable contribution they are making to our communities.

‘The majority of carers are women and the biggest single problem they face is the fact that in order to qualify for any allowance, they face a means test.

“Under the present system many of those carers do not quality for the payment on the basis of their part- ner’s earnings and in many cases when they do qualify they are of- fered derisory amounts.

“In my view they should be indi- vidually assessed for Carers Allow- ance and the carer’s partner’s income should be excluded from the means test,’ he said.

FORMER TD and county council- lor James Breen is planning his come pe

The colourful politician announced this week that he intends to contest the next local election in 2009.

Not content just with a possible re- turn to local politics, the Independent candidate who got a taste for national

politics as part of the last Dail is also planning to run in the next General Election.

He took some time to consider his future after losing his seat to Fine Gael’s Joe Cary in last May’s Gen- eral Election.

The Kilnamona man was never too far from the world of politics howev- er, as he remained a regular attendee at public meetings and kept a firm in-

terest in the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee and MRSA and Families Network.

“Nothing has improved in_ the health services,” he said.

‘But I am not a one issue candidate. I stand for the betterment of the peo- ple of county Clare in all areas,” he SrHCGe

He said he was really looking for- ward to the election. “I’m just wait-

ing for the minute and the hour to fey sen me Lies heee be ee

The former Fianna Fail and later Independent Clare County Council- lor will not decide what electrical area he will run in, until the bounda- ries are decided.

He will however run as an Inde- pendent candidate.

He was elected as an Independent candidate to the Dail in 2002, after leaving the Fianna Fail party when he failed to get the party nomina- tion.

His formative years growing up in Kilnamona has had a strong influ- ence on his later life. Although not politically active his father was a Fine Gael supporter while his moth- er’s allegiance was to Fianna Fail.

Throughout his early life he took an interest in political life but describes himself as a free lancer at the time with no allegiance to a particular TEA

In 1966 he was approached to form a local cumann for Fianna Fail.

In 1979 he ran for local election on the Fianna Fail ticket and while he was not elected at that stage he was successful in 1985. He represented the party in Clare until 2002.

On February 11, 2002, James walked away from the soldiers of destiny after 36 years and decided to march alone when he did not make the party ticket.

He will begin the march again – door-to-door next year.

A MAJOR HURDLE to plans for a €50 million retail park on the fring- es of Clarecastle has been removed.

This follows local developers, Sean Lyne and Noel Connellan with- drawing their objection against the planned retail park by Stephen Har- ris for a 48-acre site near Clarecas- (oe

It is now almost two years since Mr Harris lodged plans for the retail park at Skehanagh, Clarecastle and

the council is still awaiting further information it requested last Septem- ber on the plan.

Mr Lyne and Mr Connellan were rivals in the race to secure planning permission for the first large-scale retail park on the outskirts of Ennis.

However, Clare County Council refused planning permission after a consultant’s report stated that at that time, there was only capacity for one retail park and the Harris proposal was better located.

The two appealed the decision to

An Bord Pleanala, however, they withdrew their appeal late last year.

Now, it has emerged that they have withdrawn their objection against the Harris proposal.

In a letter to the council, their con- sultants state, ““We are now writing to confirm that our clients, Noel Connellan and Sean Lyne no longer wish to make any objection to the proposed development and wish to withdraw our letter of objection.

They ask the council to disregard the submissions made in September

2006 and October 2007.

The two do not give the council a reason as to why they have decided to withdraw their objection.

In their original objection, they Stated, “While it is understood that the council can interfere with healthy competition in retailing, it would be prudent for the council to seek justification for this proposed development in light of available in- formation on other retail outlets that include built developments since the 2003 adopted Retail Strategy.”

has learned that the three-day long festival will take place from September 5 to 7 in Kil- kee. Promoters MCD have been tight- lipped about the possible line-up for this year’s festival but early specula- tion is that Meteor Award winners Cathy Davy and Duke Special are being lined-up as possible headline acts.

Last year’s festival featured 2007 Choice nominees Roisin Murphy and Delorentos as well as international acts such as Ocean Colour Scene, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, The Enemy, Tom Baxter and Badly Drawn Boy.

Last year’s festivals was a sell out and attracted tens of thousands of tourists to west Clare for the week- Ker

‘Following on from the phenomenal success of last year’s Cois Fharraige with Sony Ericsson, we are excited to confirm that the three-day festival is back on the west coast this Septem- ber,” said an MCD spokesperson.

“From the outset, Cois Fharraige with Sony Ericsson was a roaring success, selling out well in advance of the festival weekend. Cois Fhar- raige 2007 received huge critical ac- claim from fans, performing artists

and critics alike, boasting a stellar line up and an original festival con- cept.

“The success of Cois Fharraige with Sony Ericsson was reflected by it being awarded the title of Best New Festival 2007 by the Irish Fes-

tival Awards. Fans can look forward to sealing off their summer with more of the same this year, leaving the best to last, Cois Fharraige with Sony Ericsson wraps up the festival season.”

The festivals surf section was can-

celled last year due to the lack of waves but organisers are hopeful for this year. Information will be availa- ble soon on www.coisfharraige.com.

CLARE County Manager Alec Fleming has caved into pressure from councillors and signalled he is ready to contravene the council’s own de- velopment plan to grant planning for a contentious one-off home.

Before yesterday’s council meeting CUlr Tommy Brennan (Ind) and 28 other councillors signed a motion di- recting Mr Fleming to grant planning permission to a Gerard Danagher for a one-off house near Corofin.

The special powers in the planning arena had not been invoked since ieF

Cllr Brennan initiated the Section 140 process when it appeared that the council was set to refuse Mr Dan-

agher permission.

However, ahead of yesterday’s crunch meeting, the council pub- lished a notice stating it would disre- gard its own non-local rule and give Mr Danagher the go-ahead to build his home.

The notice states that the council intends to consider granting plan- ning permission to Mr Danagher. The move materially contravenes the county development plan and defus- es a potential row between the execu- tive and councillors.

Cllr Brennan secured support from all sides of the council chamber. Those who signed the motion includ- ed Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), Cllr PJ Kelly (FF), Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) and Cllr Christy Curtin

(Ind).

As part of the material contraven- tion process, interested parties have four weeks in which to make submis- SIONS.

The Department of the Environ- ment, An Taisce and a local residents are set to make submissions having already made submissions on the ap- plication before the council.

In her objection, local resident, Mary Hanrahan said there was a “‘se- rious question of fairness and justice in the pursuit of this planning appli- cation. Seeking out public represent- atives to overturn what is right and just is open to much debate.

“The devastation of floods are evi- dent around this area. We can see how vulnerable our environment

really is. But this does not seem to deter developers who are intent on getting their own way irrespective of the consequences to others. We all know the dangers of inappropri- ate dwelling sites in the vicinity of a water supply and special areas of conservation.”

Stating that development should only be allowed for local and urgent need, the submission from An Taisce claims the applicant does not comply because he is a resident of Ennis and also works there.

The Department of the Environ- ment stated that the close proximity of the site to Ballycullinan Lough and its associated fen habitat raised obvious concerns regarding the wa- ter quality.

ROAD WORKERS with Clare Coun- ty Council and other local authorities are entitled to our respect but instead _Nuom EDU amcecD eet oms Koyus w len (C00 (on

That’s the view of Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) who expressed disappointment that the Advertising Standards Au- thority reyected a complaint by Clare County Council over an Irish Pride TV advertisement depicting a lazy road worker.

The council lodged its complaint on foot of a motion tabled by Cllr Ar- kins on the basis that it “stereotyped and derided a council worker”.

Reacting to the ASA decision, Cllr Arkins said that if the ad featured a coloured person, a non-national or it was directed at women, he was sure the complaint would have been up- held.

He said the advert shows a man fill- ing a hole in the road and it was quite obvious that the person could only be a council worker as no one else does that kind of work.

“It 1s quite pointed. It is a very dangerous occupation being a road worker with cars going past you at 60mph.

“Tt is a difficult job and if there is flooding or any other emergency, it is

the council worker who gets out of his bed at 2am or 3am in the morning to deal with it.

“Tt is obvious that the council work- ers don’t have the respect of the Ad- vertising Standards Authority and I’m disappointed that the complaint didn’t end up with a rap on the knuck- les for Irish Pride.”

He said he was glad the matter was investigated by the ASA and that it did not appear to be running any- more.

In the ASA case report, the adver- tiser responds by stating that they wanted to illustrate the concept of Irish Pride in a humorous and light

hearted way and took individuals from all walks of life, at work or at home and showed what happened when people did not take pride in something they have done.

They said that it was never their intention to make any social or po- litical comment and that the adver- tisement was a light hearted way to dramatise individual demonstrations of lack of pride.

The Complaints Committee did not uphold the complaint, noting that the advert specifically referred to a guy and not to a local authority worker.

The ASA report concluded: “No further action required”.

A SCHEME where Travellers will be allocated space to keep their horses in Shannon, is one of the first of its kind in Ireland.

Although the final details have yet to be ironed out, it is likely that the plan will get the go-ahead during the summer.

The initiative is part of the pro- gramme ‘Strategy for the co-ordina- tion of public services to the Traveller community in Clare 2005 – 2008.’

Shannon area members of Clare County Council previously agreed in

principal that the issue be progressed and the matter was up for discussion at a meeting of the town council last week.

Co-ordinator of the Traveller strat- egy in Clare, Etain McCooey said much work has been done between various agencies, to ensure this project is a resounding success.

“We want a sustainable agreement that will take into account concerns of councillors and others in the area,” she said.

While other similar projects are up and running in Tralee and Limerick, this project differs in that the land

being provided in Shannon is located some distance from the homes of the Travellers.

The 18-and-a-quarter acre site in question is located in the townland of Tullyvarraga, while the settled Travellers, the McDonaghs, live two POD CoM MWe NAB EO MD BEDONBOOLUME-hSd 0p

The Tralee site houses several Trav- eller families, while the only family living in Ballymurtagh is the Mc- Donaghs.

Ms McCooey explained that this scheme is about more than just land for animals.

“The Travellers will work with

Clare Animal Welfare. It is broader than providing land. They really want it to work and are willing to pay market value for the land,” she said.

Michael Flanagan, who has worked as a development worker with Trav- ellers in Ballymurtagh, stressed that “the day of having the horses on the side of the road is over. We are trying to create a win-win situation.”

He said that the Travellers were willing to pay market value for the land, “the same as anybody else.”

“It’s about integration. We want to get an integrated society and an inte- grated community,’ said Mr Flana-

eee

Referring to queries from council- lors, he said, “It is an unreasonable condition to say there can’t be sulky racing. We can’t legislate for what can happen.”

Shannon town manager Ger Dollard said he would suggest that the man- agement committee would “go away and come up with terms and cond1- tions and try it for a trial period.” He also suggested that the manage- ment committee be asked to manage the public information aspect of the project, both prior to its implementa- tion and during its existence.

WITH the exception of one council- lor, there was overwhelming support for the scheme among Shannon town councillors last week.

Although most councillors said they were concerned that it may lead to horses racing along the road, the reaction to the project was mainly positive.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy said, however, that she had concerns and asked what other parts of the county were considered for such a scheme.

“T outlined previously I had seri- ous reservations about it. Since I have seen the location of the site, my concerns have grown. I do think that given the location of the land, there has got to be a public consultation so that the people of the town can have an impact,” she said.

Stressing that she was not “anti- Traveller’, she said, “It’s not a case of being anti the projects, but it’s a case of location, location.”

“T’m not afraid of public consulta- tion. What if other Travellers say they haven’t been consulted and they talk

about horses. We have had horses on the Ballymurtagh site. Last week I Saw five or six. The new road is ideal for sulky racing,’ she said.

“This will be one issue I will not stand by majority decision. There has to be public consultation,” she insisted.

“This is something that is going to impact on people’s lives here in Shannon. My concern and my real fear 1s location, location.

“Tm sure the council’s land bank extends further than Shannon,’ she added. She said that the problems

with the Tralee project “do not relate to inter-family rivals. The problems relate to control.”

The mayor of Shannon, Councillor Sean McLoughlin said he was “very worried about” sulky racing.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn, who is on the advisory com- mittee for this initiative, said he was fully supporting the project, but add- ed, “there has to be strict conditions attached to it.”

Labour Councillor Greg Duff said he would be afraid if there was con- sultation that people may not “ap-

preciate and understand the Travel- lers’ perspective on the needs to have Wenn

He said however he would have to ask how many horses were going to be put into the field.

Fianna Fail’s Geraldine Lambert acknowledged that Travellers have had a long tradition with horses.

“Id prefer to see them on designated land rather than on the halting site,” she said. She said that Councillor McCarthy “has a point, perhaps not public consultation, but public docu- mentation.”