Month: August 2008

A DECISION by An Bord Pleandala not to confer voluntary status on the University of Limerick (UL) has cost the university over £150,000.

This follows the board over-ruling its inspector’s recommendation to exempt UL from paying a €154,000 development contribution to Clare county council for an extention to the university campus.

Earlier this year, UL secured plan- ning permission for its Irish World Academy of Music and Dance build-

ing at Garraun, Clonlara.

As part of the decision, the council ordered UL to pay €304,000 in de- velopment contributions.

The university appealed the deci- sion and argued that the development scheme was not been properly ap- plied; that UL was registered under a charity trust; that the development was not for profit or gain and would be a major contributor to the social and educational life of the campus and area.

The university claimed that its vol- untary body status was accepted by

the Revenue Commissioners and the centre would be used by the people of Clare and Limerick as well as by students.

The university also argued that it was dependent on voluntary dona- tions and the demand for €154,000 would impede the viability of the project and contradict the spirit and letter of the scheme by imposing commercial levies on a non-com- mercial voluntary work.

The council argued that it was not a voluntary development as it would provide courses for which fees would

be paid and was a commercial enter- prise by a private body.

The Council also argued that con- certs and exhibitions would be held at the venue and these would gen- erate revenue through ticket sales. In addition, the development would connect to existing public water and sewerage schemes.

In his report, the Board inspector found that the term “voluntary ogan- isation” was not defined in the Plan- ning and Development Act, 2000, but that UL came within this remit and a full exemption should apply.

The inspector also ruled that UL should be exempt from contributing a further €150,000 in special contri- bution towards the upgrading of the local road network.

The board stated that it did not ac- cept UL came within the scope of the exemptions for voluntary organi- sations and the terms of the scheme had been properly applied.

The board ordered the removal of the demand for the special contribu- tion as UL had already contributed €500,000 to serve a related develop- ment at the UL campus in Clare.

THE loss of Ronnie Drew is being felt sharply in every corner of the island this morning. There are few who will feel this loss keener than friend and long time collaborator Mike Hanrahan.

The Ennis musician and former member of Stockton’s Wing has be- come almost synonymous with Drew over the last decade.

‘For me there was only one Ronnie Drew and what I learned from him as an entertainer is one thing but to know him as a friend is a totally dif- ferent ball-game,” said Mike.

“When the lights went up you had Ronnie the stage man but when the lights went out the gig was over. I knew him as a person, as a dear loved friend and as a family man. It might sound mad but stardom didn’t sit very well with Ronnie – he didn’t buy into it. He understood that he had to show up at openings and get his picture in the paper but he didn’t let that take over.

“IT knew him as a person, and as an individual he was a simple dignified man, very caring and understanding.

‘For me I can easily separate Ron- nie the entertainer and Ronnie the man, and I’d be proud to know either 0) md oles 00 ae

Hanrahan and Drew’s first offi-

cial collaboration came in the 1997 production of the hugely successful stage show ‘Ronnie I Hardly New Ya’. The pair have worked together on countless other projects over the last decade.

“He was a very dignified man and we all wondered if going public on his illness was the right thing to do. But I think he used the TV to come to terms with his own mortality and his own sickness,’ continued Mike.

“In doing that I think he has touched thousands of people who have been affected by cancer. I will forever hold him in such esteem for that.

“He had great courage to tell the story in the way he did, when the Late Late was hammering down the door to try and get him to tell the Story.

“When he eventually told the story he did it in his own way. He gave people so much hope, the amount of emails that we received after that from sufferers of cancer was unbe- lievable. It was beautiful.

“By dealing with his own illness he was able to help people deal with their own situation. That was Ron- nie’s way all through his life.”

THE people of Clare have been in- vited to get their hands dirty and take part in areal life Time Team style ex- cavation in north Clare next week.

The Caherconnell Stone Fort in Carron will be the venue for an open week long excavation, with members of the public being given the oppor- tunity to work side by side with ex- perts.

The excavation will be co-ordinat- ed by Dr Michelle Comber of NUI, Galway and archaeologist Graham Hull of Crusheen company TUAS.

This is the second in a series of open excavations at the Caherconnell fort, which is widely believed to be one of the most archeological signifi- cant findings in the area.

Last year excavation revealed the stone fort in Caherconnell was in- habited for centuries later than it had been previously thought, meaning that the traditional Gaelic way of life existed in the Burren for hundreds of years after the Anglo-Norman inva- sion.

This year’s excavation will focus on a souterrain or underground passage which has been recently discovered at the fort. It is believed that the pas- sageway may have been used as a means of escape or even as a primi- tive refrigerator by the locals, but there is no way of knowing for sure without excavation.

“Tt’s actually very exciting. There is something there, some form of Souterrain, but until we excavate we won’t be able to find out exactly

what,” said Graham Hull of TUAS Ireland Ltd.

“There are a number of different things that the souterrain could have been used for. We don’t know all the answers and digging helps us to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

“Volunteers are very welcome. We will give all the basic training need- ed on site. As well as that people can come up and look at the work and someone will be there to speak with them and explain what is going on.”

The fort, which is owned and oper- ated by the Davoren family, has been

described in academic studies as “a perfect fort” as it is twice the size of the standard cashels and is possibly Ireland’s best preserved stone forts.

The dig will take place from August 24 to 31 and anyone interested in tak- ing part should call 087 9693189.

A KILRUSH man who claimed that he had been dismissed by a Kilmihil construction company was instead made redundant, an Employment Appeals Tribunal found.

Tony Killeen, Shragh, Kilrush, took a case against LM Keating, Kilmihil, after he was let go from the company in April 2007. He gave evidence that he began working for the respond- ent as a teleporter driver in August 2003. His first construction site was in Kilmihil, but he also worked on other sites as a general labourer. He drove a dumper and did a lot of snag- ging on other sites, he said.

Construction work continued to be carried out on other sites after he was dismissed and he was not offered employment on these sites. The tel- eporter that he operated continued to be operated by other employees after

he was dismissed, he claimed.

A construction director with the re- spondent company told the tribunal it has a total workforce of approxi- mately 90 employees of which 30 are employed in construction.

The witness gave evidence that the claimant was employed as a teleport- er driver and it is the policy of the company to assign teleporter drivers to a specific teleporter, to develop expertise and to foster good practice TparcNDel Red at-b Aeon

Construction work finished in Kilmihil in April 2007 and the claimant was made redundant as no vacancies existed on that site or any other site for a teleporter driver.

The tribunal made a majority deci- sion that the claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy and said it was “satisfied that a genuine redun- dancy situation existed and he was fairly selected for redundancy”.

A MAN who put off-licence staff in fear by his antics when he was drink- ing 1s “a nice, polite man” when so- ber a judge heard yesterday.

The Ennis District Court heard that Michael Maughan (34) with address- es at 18 Beechwood, Clarecastle, and 20 Stone Court, Ennis, had 33 previ- ous convictions mostly for theft.

When he appeared before Judge Leo Malone last week, the judge or- dered that he be remanded in custody after hearing he had assualted one member of staff at Dunnes Stores and intimidated another.

He appeared before the court in- toxicated and his solicitor, Tara God- frey, said yesterday that he wished to “sincerely apologise for that”.

Maughan pleaded guilty to charges of stealing drink, cigarettes and gro- ceries on various dates from Dunnes Stores in Ennis.

He also pleaded guilty to assault on a member of Dunnes staff and to public order charges.

Judge Malone heard that some of the items had been recovered but there was €160 worth of vodka and cigarettes not returned to their right-

ful owners.

Ms Godfrey said that her client has a bad problem with drink, which he is hoping to tackle after being ass- esed for a course of detox treatment in Bushy Park.

She said that the tragic death of his brother and the grieving process had not helped the problem.

‘He is seperated and does not have access to his children as his wife now lives in the UK and one of those chil- dren is now in hospital.

“Drink has taken over his life and he has no compunction about steal- ing when he is drinking, even if he knows he will be caught,” she said.

Inspector Michael Gallagher said that the accused “frightened staff at Dunnes when he was drinking. He just walks in behind the counter and takes drink. But when he is sober, he is anice, polite man.”

After Maughan’s brother produced €160 compensation for stolen goods in court, Judge Malone imposed fines totalling €365 on the theft charges and a three month jail sentence for the assault. But he ordered that the jail term not be invoked, provided Maughan commits no offence in the next two years.

A FATHER stole DVDs to sell them so he would have money to treat his teenage daughter during an access visit, a judge was told.

Michael Chapman (37) of 29 Clancy Park, Ennis, pleaded guilty to a number of thefts, including stealing ten DVDs worth €79.90 from Xtra Vision in Ennis.

He also pleaded guilty to taking a digital camera worth €162 from K and K computers, a mobile phone from another premises and a Nike jacket, and three bottles of perfume worth €148.50 from Cassidy’s phar- TaT-Teaye

His solicitor Tara Godfrey told the court that Chapman has two children and considers himself the father of his partner’s three children.

“He has a teenage daughter who does not live with him or her mother but he plays a supportive role in her life. It is poignant that he tells me, he stole the DVDs with the intention of

selling them so he could have a good access visit with that daughter,’ Ms Godfrey said.

She added that Chapman has a drink problem and the crimes are “drink related”.

‘He has previous convictions – the last one was in 2005. That he has not offended since then is quite remark- able for him.”

He sentenced Chapman to four

months for the theft of the camera and four months for the theft of the perfume, to run concurrently. Other charges, including the DVD thefts, were taken into consideration.

The judge set bail for an appeal at Chapman’s own bond of €500 with an independent surety of €1,000.

A JUDGE jailed a man for three months yesterday after hearing that he hit an innocent by-stander around the head because the man hesitated in giving him a second cigarette. ‘He can’t walk down a public street and assault someone and think he can get away with it,’ Judge Leo Malone said after Patrick McCarthy (21) with

an address at 12 Pearse Avenue in Ennis pleaded guilty to assaulting a man at Shannon shopping centre on WE ara

McCarthy also pleaded _ guilty to breach of a barring order and to breach of the Public Order Act.

Inspector Michael Gallagher told Ennis District Court that on May 29, McCarthy approached a man at the Shannon Town Shopping Centre and

asked him for a cigarette.

When the man gave him the ciga- rette “he asked for a second one and when this man hesitated, he hit him twice in the head”.

His solicitor, Tara Godfrey, said her client – who is due to marry in Feb- ruary – has “considerable problems with alcohol”.

The breach of the barring order re- lated to his parents home, but he now

has a good relationship with his par- ents, she said.

“He has taken himself off to live in Galway in an effort to remove him- self from the situation,” his solicitor Sr HKOe

Ms Godfrey added that her client is “aware of the seriousness of the Shannon incident and he is pleading guilty to it”.

Judge Malone imposed two, two-

month jail sentences for breaching the barring order and for the public order offence, in which he was found Gebel @percamar ele elme-beCelselcs mmm cnt: NeMmBD MEO Ele grounds of Ennis National School.

He further imposed three months on the assault charge, ordering that the sentences run concurrently.

The court set bail for an appeal at McCarthy’s own bond of €750 with an independent surety of €1,000.

THE National Park and Wildlife Services (NPWS) has applied to Clare County Council to reconstruct an access bridge to one of Clare’s lake islands.

The NPWS has applied to build the bridge to Rabbit Island from Dro- more Wood Nature Reserve in Ruan.

The project will also include new hand railing.

According to the planning appli- cation submitted to Clare County Council on August 1, the site of the project is located within a special area of conservation and within in an natural heritage reserve. There is currently a pedestrian rope bridge accessing the island.

A decision is due on the applica- tion to reconstruct the bridge on Sep- tember 25, that will allow visitors to Dromore to access the island in comfort.

An area of approximately 400 hec- tares or 1,000 acres, Dromore was established as a nature reserve be- cause of the diversity and richness of its flora and fauna.

Its richness comes from its many different habitat types. These include a river, lakes, turloughs, callows (flodded meadows), limestone pave- ment, fen peat, reed beds and spe- cies-rich woodland.

The reserve has historical and ar- chaeological aspects. The 17th cen- tury O’Brien Castle is still standing by the lake edge. This is also the

sites of Cahermacrea Castle, Kilakee Church, two ring forts and a lime kiln. Two self-guiding nature trails of approximately one hour exist within the woodland and a section of the 140 kilometres Mid-Clare Way also passes through.

This loop overlaps on part of the Castle Nature Trail and the Mid- OETA ENE

liday homes.

Earlier this year, in the face of op- position from local nuns and resi- dents, Clare County Council granted planning permission to Brendan O’Doherty, Patrick Montgomery, Paul Montgomery, and John MclIner-

ney for 96 homes in the village.

However, in common with other planning permissions the council has issued for multiple housing devel- opments along Clare’s coastline in recent years, the planning authority stated that all the homes should be used as permanent dwellings.

The four appealed the decision ar- suing to An Bord Pleanala that new homes being limited to permanent occupation only “will undermine the principal economic activity” of the resort.

The four argued that the council

acted outside its powers in demand- ing that the homes be used for per- manent occupancy only, contending that at no stage did they enter an agreement with the council concern- ing the occupancy of the dwellings. The developers point out that the identified permanent housing need within Lahinch is 20 new dwellings. They state, “The scheme as per- mitted by the council provides 96 homes. Allocation of 20 per cent of the units for social and affordable housing equates to 24 units, which is four units in excess of the identified

need for permanent dwellings up to pA ae

The developers claim that the lim1- tation of the use of the dwellings for permanent use only is “unsustain- able”’.

The appeal states, “The identified local need for principal places of residence has therefore been accom- modated in full by this development without any need for the imposition of a condition restricting the occupa- tion of the overall housing develop- Tees ne

However, in spite of the strong ar-

guments made, the developers have withdrawn their appeal to An Bord Pleanala and this may be influenced by a recent decision where another developer appealed the permanent occupancy clause and came very close to having the entire develop- ment thrown out.

In relation to the Patricia Stack- epoole appeal, the inspector recom- mended that planning permission be refused for the entire development and it was only granted after the An Bord Pleanala over-ruled the inspec- tor’s recommendation.

THE prospect of exploiting a huge gas and oil reserve off the Clare coast moved a step closer this week with the news that Providence Resources has brought in a new partner to work on the Spanish Point field.

This brings the project to it’s next stage of development and it now looks likely that commercial drilling will begin at the site in the next two years.

Providence Resources, which is fronted by Tony O’Reilly Jnr, last week signed a staged farm-out agree- ment with Chrysaor Holdings, which will carry out a 3-D seismic apprais- al work programme of the Spanish Point Field in return for an initial 30 per cent interest in the gas and oil.

The Spanish Point Field is located some 200 kilometres off the Clare

coast in an area known as the Porcu- pine Basin. Providence also owns the exploration right for it’s sister field, known as the Burren, also located in the Porcupine Basin.

Independent studies of the Spanish Point field show recoverable volumes of gas ranging from between 293 and 527 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE). Even the lowest estimate from the field would be enough to fill Ireland’s entire demand for natural gas for decades.

Chrysaor is a privately owned ex- ploration and production company backed by the commodities invest- ment team of Barclays Capital and Natural Gas Partners.

According to details released by Providence last week, Chrysaor has the option to earn up to a maximum 70 per cent interest in the event that two wells are subsequently drilled on

Spanish Point.

Depending on the results of the 3-D seismic programme, Chrysaor may then undertake to finance the drilling of up to two appraisal wells where it will commit not less than 60 per cent cost share.

This proposed farm-out deal be- tween Providence and Chrysaor is subject to the approval of the Irish Government.

Tony O’Reilly Jnr, chief executive of Providence, said the agreement was significant, especially from a shareholder’s perspective as it was a very cost-effective way of advancing a project.

“Having carried out the necessary pre-development work, it is very ex- citing that the partnership has now been able to partner with Chrysaor to advance this large project to the next exciting stage,” he said last week.