Month: July 2008

SPENDING caps look set to be 1m- posed on the candidates that will con- test the local elections in Clare next June.

With no spending cap in place, can- didates in other areas last year spent around €100,000 in order to get elected.

Speaking on the issue, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley said, “This is not tolerable. It is like the United States, with the best de-

mocracy money can buy. We must get away from this.”

“We had examples in the past where there were expenditure figures for local election candidates of approxi- mately €100,000, which is ridicu- lous,’ he said.

Minister Gormley said that he is seeking all-party consensus on the is- sue. “I am sure we can make progress on this,’ he said.

Minister Gormley said that the re- cently-published Green Paper “‘out- lines a range of issues for considera-

tion, including the establishment of expenditure limits at local elections”.

“The submissions made in _ the course of the preparation of the Green Paper were generally supportive of some expenditure limit. The Green Paper outlines two main options with regard to such limits for local elec- tions, to introduce a fixed expenditure ceiling or to link limits to a propor- tion of Dail expenditure.

“It states that care needs to be taken to ensure against overly bureaucratic rules and suggests that it may be use-

ful to engage on the issue on a cross- party basis. In this regard, I have written to the Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with a view to engaging with the committee and to explore the scope for an all-party approach to this issue,” he said.

Green party councillor, Brian Meaney said that he is aware of in excess of €20,000 being spent by a candidate in Clare in the last local A Cetera Coys ens WACO. ms

‘There is a real need to have spend-

ing limits in place and to ensure that the limits do not only apply to the three weeks in which an election is officially called,’ he said.

Cllr Meaney said that the failure to have a spending limit in place in general elections for more than three weeks has been abused and favours that the parties who have warchests and can spend limitless funds.

Cllr Meaney said that the recent ref- erendum campaign on Lisbon also al- lowed obscure candidates to publicise themselves.

FROM bungie bulls to bouncy cas- tles, from lazer zone to hotshot foot- ball, from circus shows to puppet acts, Scariff GAA Park will see the biggest ever Family Fun Day on the upcoming August Bank Holiday Sat- urday as part of the Scariff Harbour OMe IE

According to Karena O’Brien, one of the organisers of the fun day and member of the Harbour Festival Committee, “The GAA field will literally come alive with a line-up of activities and entertainment on a scale never seen before in Scariff, suitable for children of all ages and set to exceed the amazing success of last year’s event’.

Mayo-based fun company, “Toons & Balloons’ returns to Scariff this year to deliver the festival’s dream AVE CCUKs eMC MCAVoINLMM ALN OMB AUUI EE: DOLOMNSY-H(cIRY a high priority for everybody. In ad- dition to the bouncing castles and inflatable games, an exciting fun- packed interactive laser game arena will be set up in an 1,000 sq.ft self- contained covered space. Another

new dimension is a fast-moving com- petitive pony race called the ‘Pony Hop’.

The amazing Franzini Brothers who describe themselves as devilish- ly handsome west Kerry Italians will perform their spectacular antics with a 40 minute interactive circus skills Show, ‘Deathwish’. These heroes of the Irish circus scene will carry out death-defying stunts and so-what magic giving a hugely comic edge to their whole performance.

Marie Barrett, another member of the organising committee agrees there will be an air of magic on chil- dren’s day not just with the Fran- zini Brothers but also with the Dog & String Theatre Company. “Their hand puppets, shadow puppets and life size figures will engage children in a lively interaction with the world of imagination,’ she said.

This year Scariff sees the return on Sunday, August 3, of the much-loved ‘Armagh Rhymers’.

MORE than a third of all road traffic cases brought to the district court last year were struck out – for the second year running.

Last year, 6,175 cases were brought to court; 2,358 of which were struck out. An additional 268 cases were dismissed, while 99 defendants had jail or detention sentences imposed.

According to figures just published by the Courts Service, prison or de- tention terms were imposed in less than one eighth of all assault and public order cases.

The figures show that 843 assault and public order cases were dealt

with in the district court throughout the county last year.

Just 104 of those cases resulted in jail being handed down. 175 of them were struck out, while fines were im- posed in another 175 of the cases.

55 drugs cases were brought to the district court last year. Just nine of those resulted in prison sentences being imposed.

Most of the drugs cases were either struck out or taken into consideration ALN O MON elo Me Et: DEohe

287 cases of larceny were dealt with; 49 of which resulted in defend- ants going to jail.

The overwhelming majority of sex- ual offences were either struck out or

taken into consideration by the judge. 13 cases were taken. Six were taken into account, five were struck out, while a jail term was imposed in one and another defendant was fined.

The figures also show that 36 cases were dealt with in the Circuit Crim1- nal Court in Clare last year, while 154 District Court appeals were heard in the Circuit Court, during 2007.

104 cases of sexual offences came before the Circuit Court in Clare last year. There were 10 assault cases, nine drugs matters, eight firearm of- fences, seven larceny/robbery cases, two road traffic cases and one man- slaughter case.

Sentences imposed in the Circuit

Court ranged from community serv- ice and sentences of up to 10 years. 15 defendants received sentences be- tween two and five years, eight were jailed for between two and five years, while one individual received a sen- tence of between five and 10 years. Nine were given suspended sen- tences, two people were fined, while community service was applied in three cases. One case was struck out in the Circuit Court last year.

819 new cases were initiative at En- nis Civil Court last year, which was a substantial increase of 509 in 2006. 65 civil trials, 326 motions and 36 district court civil appeals were dealt with last year.

LATEST Government figures show that crime in Clare is on the decrease with provisional figures from the first quarter of this year showing a major decline in a number of areas of crime.

The figures show that there was 34 sexual offences reported last year and this year the figure from January to the end of March was two.

The number of serious assaults 1s also down. Where last year there were 68 assaults causing harm, for the first quarter this year the figure was 12.

Other assaults have also shown a drop. Where the numbers recorded to date this year were 53, this com- pares to 222 for the whole of 2007.

The trend in homicides is also on the way down with none to date re- corded in January to March of this year. This compares to 16 in the last three years and this figure includes charge of dangerous driving causing ler taee

The figures also show that public order offences are proportionally down with 363 public order offences recorded in January to March and this compares to 1,530 in 2007.

Figures relating to disorderly con-

duct are also down on last year with 310 recorded offences compared to Pett Atlee

The area of drug enforcement also showed a drop with 85 recorded drug offences in the first three months and this compares to 358 for the 12 months last year.

One of the only areas which is showing a potential increase by year end is child neglect where five report offences were recorded in the first quarter and this compares to 18 such cases in 2007.

The statistics show that to date this year, there has been no abduction of any person under 15 and this com-

pares to two last year.

According to Green Party council- lor, Brian Meaney who sourced the figures, “the figures are very encour- aging, but before we can get compla- cent in any way, we should be aware of the seasonal factors involved. For example in the area of public order, the number of public order offences are generally higher in the summer months and around Christmas.

“However, it is very encouraging in relation to the rates of homicide, robbery and sexual offences where there are significant drops and that is to be welcomed,’ added Councillor Meaney.

THE discovery of a rare and endan- gered plant along the route of the proposed Gort-Crusheen bypass now looks unlikely to seriously delay the progress of the road.

A rare Wood Bitter-Vetch was last week discovered on the outskirts of Gort, however the National Roads Association (NRA) and National

Parks and Wildlife Officials have examined the rare plant and now believe it can be relocated without causing any undue harm.

The plant was discovered at Kilter- nan outside Gort and is now likely to be relocated. “We take a great deal of care in situations like this. We have our own experts who examine plants to determine if they are of any signif- icance and we also work in tandem

with a team from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to ensure that the correct measures are taken,’ said Sean O’Neill of the NRA.

“We have done a great deal of re- Search into the Wood Bitter-Vetch and we have determined that it is Okay to remove it at this time of the year without doing any undue harm to the plant itself.

“We will be relocating the plant to

a nearby location shortly. It hasn’t cause a big delay in the project.”

The Wood Bitter-Vetch or (Vicia orobus) is a bush shaped plant which produces small purple flowers. A rare and protected plant in Ireland it is be- lieved to be more common in some parts of the UK, especially Wales.

Behind the scenes work is ongoing on the Gort-Crusheen bypass and the NRA are hopeful that contracts will

be signed on the Ennis to Gort sec- tion of the road before the end of this year with work to start early in the new year.

Meanwhile, Minister for Trans- port, Noel Dempsey confirmed that funding had been ringfenced for the construction of the Gort-Crusheen bypass saying that the Government would be appraising all current capi- tal schemes before the year’s budget.

A QUICK preview of life under the river Shannon as it will be in 2010 will go on display this Saturday, as the general public are invited to a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Limerick tunnel before it is bur- ied under water.

The open day will run from 10am to 4pm with visitors asked to gather

in the Shannon Rugby Club in Coon- agh. The contractors DirectRoute will provide an information centre with a scale model of the scheme and will operate a pick and drop bus tour from the rugby ground carpark.

The guided bus tour will take visi- tors around the casting basin for a close-up view of the tunnel and as- sociated site works.

Following two years of design, five

immersed tube tunnel elements are currently being fitted out for the next major phase of the tunnel construc- tion – immersion in a pre-dredged channel.

The Limerick tunnel is part of the final phase of the Limerick South- ern Ring Road. This phase starts at the Rossbrien Roundabout on the N7 and continues westward along six kilometres of dual-lane dual car-

rlageway crossing Greenfields Road, St Nessans Road, the Dock Road and Bunlicky Lake before diving under the Shannon through 915m of tunnel and emerging at Coonagh.

The route continues north west for another four kilometres before con- necting with the N18 to Ennis.

The road also includes 11 bridges, six underpasses and two toll plazas. while each tunnel element is approx- imately 100 metres long or the length of a football pitch.

It is as high as a two-storey house (8.5m), wide enough for two lanes of traffic in each direction (25m) and weighs in at 20,000 tonnes, giv- ing a staggering combined weight of 100,000 tonnes.

This massive piece of infrastruc- ture is too big for any modern crane to move so modern engineers have been forced to look to the builders of the pyramids and Stonehenge.

DirectRoute will first flood the cast- ing basin in late August to float the tunnel elements. The 100,000 tonne tunnel elements will then be floated out and immersed beneath the river in a pre-dredged channel.

According to General Manager of Direct Route Tom King this Saturday is the perfect chance for the public to see this marvel of modern engineer- ing before it is buried beneath the longest river in Ireland.

A YOUNG man lost consciousness in an early morning row at a garage forecourt in Shannon during which kicks were thrown.

Christopher McGorrian (19), of Rossbracken, Shannon, pleaded guilty to assaulting Gordon Call- inan causing him harm, while Mark Hayes (19), with addresses at Aidan Park and Rossbracken, admitted as- saulting David Malone causing him harm, on New Year’s Day, 2006.

Garda Liam Reilly told Ennis Cir- cuit Court yesterday that the incident occurred at 2am.

He said that when gardai arrived at the scene, David Malone was lying unconscious on the ground. He and Gordon Callinan later made state- ments to gardai. Mr Callinan claimed he had been kicked in the head.

Mr Malone said he had been struck and this caused him to fall to the ground, hitting his head off a kerb in the process. Mr Malone sustained a fractured jaw and spent five days in hospital. Mr Callinan suffered a lac- erated eardrum in the assault.

Garda Reilly said that the two men had been out celebrating the arrival of the New Year. The two went to the Shell garage, where they met the two PYCe sel 6 Bs

“Words were exchanged and this resulted in the assaults,’ said the garda.

The court was told that both ac- cused came from broken homes. McGorrian had no previous convic- tions, while Hayes has a number of previous convictions.

Hayes’ barrister Michael Collins said that there was no doubt his cli- ent was involved in assaulting Mr Malone, but a number of witnesses told gardai that two or three people had kicked him while he was on the ground. Garda Reilly accepted this.

“Mark Hayes admits hitting him, but he didn’t kick him,’ said the bar- rister.

McGorrian’s barrister Mark Nicho- las said the incident was a result of “words being exchanged” and said his client had co-operated with the garda investigation.

Judge Carroll Moran adjourned sentencing until next week.

A MAN who attacked a neighbour with a knife in a dispute over music coming from his apartment has been told he could face three years behind ey ase

Judge Carroll Moran told Sean Moroney if he fails to liaise with the probation services, he will end up in jail.

Moroney (36), of Turnpike Road,

Ennis, has admitted assaulting Felix Simo, causing him harm, at Fairways Flats, Ennis, on June 27, 2006.

Moroney’s barrister Mark Nicholas told Ennis Circuit Court yesterday that his client has a drink problem.

Moroney addressed the court and said he was willing to go into Bruree for treatment for his alcohol addic- nove

The court heard previously that Mr Simo went to Moroney’s apartment

to complain about the noise coming from it, as he was unable to sleep. He told gardai that when he later re- turned to the apartment, he was at- TO) Coxe MSN OIE Kor

Judge Moran said to Moroney yesterday, “This was a bad assault, somebody complaining from a flat downstairs that the music was loud upstairs and was assaulted with a knife.”

He noted that Moroney had several

previous convictions, including for assault, criminal damage, theft and public order.

“You have a very bad record,’ he HOE

He adjourned the case until later this year and ordered that a proba- tion report be carried out.

“If you are not co-operating with the probation services, you are facing three years. I couldn’t put it plainer,” said the judge.

PASCHAL Carmody told the trial that he was not aware of the existence of a company called PDT Ltd until February 2002, despite receiving 47 cheques from the company between February 2001 and February 2003.

Mr Carmody was cross-examined at length about the company PDT Ltd which he claims was set up by Dr William Porter and his wife Maggie and with which he had no involve- ment.

Prosecution Sree Denis Vaughan Buckley asked Mr Carmo-

dy if he only became aware of the ex- istence of the company in February 2002, how he received 47 cheques totalling €207,156 as well as an “‘ad- ditional payment” of €242,675 from that company between February 2001 and February 2003.

Mr Vaughan Buckley said, “You must have been aware the company existed.” Mr Carmody said he did not become aware of the company until February 2002.

The court was also told that an ex- amination of Mr Carmody’s bank ac- counts by a forensic accountant dur- ing the garda investigation revealed

lodgments of €240,000 in 2001 and €1.9m in 2002. The following year, (2003) there were lodgments totalling €2.359m while in 2005 the figure had dropped to just over €500,000.

Mr Carmody told the court that he had no issue with his finances being discussed in court and he wanted to be open about them.

He dismissed suggestions that he was a fraudster taking advantage of vulnerable people by shining lights on them to rob them of money. “I have never misguided a patient in any way, he said.

‘There was no need for me to make money from it. In the early stages of treating cancer patients, the ma- jority I never charged for treatment and later, I only charged to cover my costs.”

He said while he had “no problem giving hope to patients, false hopes I have a problem with.”

He added, “If it was a good result, then that was satisfactory to both parties and this and only this was my approach in my 36 years of medical practice.”

Asked by his counsel about how be- ing struck off as a doctor in 2004 im-

pacted him, Mr Carmody said, “‘It is the worst thing that can happen you bem bb Konee

Mr Carmody also told how had a dispute with Dr William Porter and his wife Maggie in 2002 and decid- ed then to end his association with WeoNee

He said that he was concerned they were just carrying out a commercial ey oer: lnleyee

He said the Porters wanted to de- velop photodynamic therapy as a commercial enterprise and he did not feel that this was in keeping with good ethical practice.

A NUN who was told by medics that she only had a slim chance of surviv- al was cured of cancer by some “mi- raculous’ reason, after being treated at Mr Carmody’s clinic.

Sr Teresa Healy underwent pho- todynamic treatment twice at Mr Carmody’s clinic in Killaloe, having been diagnosed with breast cancer in AUF

She told the jury of eight men and three women that Mr Carmody “would go to any lengths for a pa- tient. He was totally dedicated to his work. He really cared about his pa- tients.”

Sr Healy, from Malahide, Dublin, said that Mr Carmody initially treat- ed her for ME in 1987 and she visited him again in 2001.

After undergoing surgery in Dub- lin, she was told she had grade three cancer and had a five per cent chance of survival.

‘IT was quite serious,” she said.

She told the 14th day of the trial last Friday that she met Mr Carmody and Dr William Porter at the East Clinic in Killaloe. She was shown slides of breast cancer and she underwent photodynamic treatment.

She told the court that she asked Mr Carmody could he cure her.

“He said he could never say it would cure me. He said we would have to wait and see, we can’t be sure of any- thing Sister,’ she recalled.

She told the court that when she was under the light, she could “see

the cancer cells being zapped.”

“They were just disappearing away as the light shone on them,” she said.

She said she felt the cancer was “oozing” out of her, by some miracu- lous reason.

“IT was just delighted really. I felt I was being cleared of cancer,’ she said.

She said she was very impressed

in him as a doctor. “I could see his dedication in his medical way of life in the way he spoke to me.”

She told the court she said to Mr Carmody, “this seems to be a cure you never told me about,’ to which he replied that he “couldn’t guaran- tee me a cure that I could take him to court if he had promised me a cure.”

Her health is now “very good. I’ve

no cancer now. I’m better than I was for 30 years.”

“Recently my doctor told me my blood results could be framed, they were so good,’ she said.

Another witness Jim O’Brien from Clontarf, Dublin, said that he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 1986, a condition that affects a number of the body’s systems, including the

lymphatic and pulmonary systems and the eyes.

He went to Mr Carmody and re- ceived treatment there. This treat- ment was a combination of fluids, drops and tablets, which were de- signed to boost the system. He is now clear of sarcoidosis.

He said that prior to visiting Mr Carmody his opinion of the medical profession had not been very high but he quickly was reassured that “this man could do something for me.”

He said that Mr Carmody also treat- ed his wife and two sons, for various ailments and they were happy with all of the treatments.

He said that Mr Carmody’s instinct was that “surgery was a last resort.”

Another witness, Billy Turkington, from Belfast, told the court that his son Oliver “absolutely benefited” from the treatment he received from Mr Carmody.

Oliver was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and had part of his leg ampu- tated below the knee.

‘About a year after Oliver had part of his leg amputated, the cancer moved to his lungs. His doctor told him he had six months to live and hadn’t offered him any more treat- ment as he thought it was a hopeless case.” They travelled to Mr Carmody and his son underwent three weeks of treatment, after which he lived for a further seven years but died last year.