Month: August 2008

THE National Roads Authority (NRA) has been accused of target- ing Clare in the number of appeals it has lodged to An Bord Pleandala in relation to proposed homes on the Ennis-Kilrush N67 link.

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) made the charge after it emerged the NRA lodged an appeal against a council decision to grant planning to Edel Egan for a home at Craggaknock, west Mul- yeaa

Both Cllr Kelly and Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) made representations on behalf of Ms Egan during the plan- ning process and yesterday both ex- pressed their disappointment that the NRA has appealed the decision.

Cllr Kelly said, “I believe that the NRA is targeting Clare in the number of appeals lodged. You trav- el along the road to Galway and you see houses being built on a national secondary route. There is a huge in- consistency there.

“I can’t understand the attitude of

the NRA and it will only result in people being forced to live in viul- lages. Clare has more national sec- ondary routes than any other county in Ireland.”

Cllr Curtin said, “All aspects of the planning application including road safety and local policy had been thoroughly investigated by the coun- cil during the planning process, so I can’t understand why the NRA ap- pealed the decision.”

In its decision, the council ruled that it accorded with proper planning

and wouldn’t seriously injure the amenities of the area having regard to the rural nature of the site, the in- tended use of the proposed building and the policies of the County Devel- opment Plan.

However, in its appeal, the NRA stated, “The proposal, if approved, creates a direct access onto the N67 at a location where the maximum speed limit applies and is at variance with the foregoing national policy in relation to control of frontage devel- opment on national roads.

“The proposed development would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard due to additional traf- fic movements.”

The NRA also stated that the pro- posal would be contrary to official policy

KILLALOE and Ardnacrusha were two of the last stopping posts on a unique 250 km journey undertaken by a 72-year-old sailing enthusiast.

This week, Donald Attig became the first person to row a cruiser, the length of the Shannon, solo.

Even more stirring is that he took

on the challenge to raise money for a little boy on the other side of the (eye

The nine-year-old boy is known only as Tony and was born with no arms and just one almost boneless leg, with two toes. He was discovered by a friend of Donald’s in a Mother Theresa Orphanage in Tamil Nadu in India and despite being so severely

handicapped, Donald says, “he is one of the happiest and loveliest people. He makes friends everywhere and he just oozes such joy. This child is just nine but he has the potential to change the world. With just two toes he has invented a language through which deaf and dumb children at the orphanage can communicate. He speaks Tamill, English and French

and he’s learning German. He wants to be a lawyer,’ Donald told

THE long wait for more than 1,200 leaving cert students from Clare will end tomorrow as exam results will be delivered to schools and published on line.

In the same week as the Department of Education announced that third level fees would be a possibility for some families in the future a record 68,112 students will be hoping to be offered a college place this year.

The figure of those applying for college this year is 2,200 higher than last year and has been declared an

all-time high.

Guidance experts have advised stu- dents not to panic if they are disap- pointed when they get their results.

While they may not get the course they were hoping for in the first set of offers, second and third round of- fers could manifest themselves in the coming weeks.

Students are also advised to con- sider other courses that could lead them down their preferred career path eventually.

Interest in nursing, physiotherapy, law and built environment courses has declined this year, while arts,

medicine, science, education and veterinary are more in demand.

The first round of the CAO offers will be published on Monday, and will be available on line at www.cao- ie from 6am on Monday, August 18.

The deadline for acceptance of round one offers is August 26 at 5.15pm.

Meanwhile, celebrating students are advised to be drink aware while partying on Wednesday night.

As many prepare to celebrate their success, drinkaware.ie is urging stu- dents to eat before they head out, carry an ID card, look out for their

friends and plan ahead how they will get home safely.

Ms Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Ex- ecutive of MEAS said, “We would encourage students to plan ahead and check out the drinkaware.ie website to ensure their night 1s one to remem- ber for all the right reasons.”

As students prepare to celebrate the Minister Batt O’Keefe has been ac- cused of being a party pooper by the NUI Galway Students’ Union.

It has accused the minister of en- gaging in scare tactics by announc- ing third level fees are back on the agenda.

THE housing slowdown in Clare continues with new figures from the Department of the Environ- ment showing that there were just eight new house registrations for the month of June.

The figures show that there were 98 new house registrations this year compared with 98 new house regis- trations for all of June last year.

[Hustrating the downturn, last year’s figures show there were 145 new house registrations in February; 167 in March and 129 in May. The mas-

sive drop in new house registrations is expected to feed into the number of new house completions next year.

There were 95 new house comple- tions in June and this compares with 159 completions for June 2007. For the first half of this year, there were 1,095 homes completed while there were 1,452 homes completed in the first six months of last year.

The June performance was not the worst return for the year to date in terms of new house registrations. In April, there were just two house registrations while in January there (tom UNL oe

The collapse in new house registra- tions coincides with an Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council embargo on new housing develop- ments in Ennis and its environs be- cause of the inadequate sewage in- JG u-F OMe CeLAUD Kes

In spite of the downturn and the drop off in demand for new houses, developers have warned the council of the economic impact of the failure to accommodate new housing.

In a submission to the local author- ity, local developers claim that de- spite more than ten years of unprec- edented development and growth in

and around Ennis, we are now left in a situation that the area is being choked by a chronic lack of capacity in the wastewater treatment system.

“Although the Ennis main drain- age is being progressed, the obvious deficiencies in the current infrastruc- ture, which include storm water in- filtration into sewer network, lack of treatment capacity and capacity in the pump station network have been ignored for far too long.

“The effect of no development op- portunities caused by this infrastruc- ture shortfall will be widespread,” the developers warn.

IFA President Padraig Walshe has described the recent Teagasc farm income survey which concluded that Irish farm incomes increased by 18 per cent last year as no more than a “flash in the pan”.

The survey, conducted annually by the Teagasc Rural Economy Re- search Centre, found that the average farm income grew to £19,687 during 2007.

Higher milk and cereal prices were the main reason for the increase in average farm incomes last year,

while incomes on cattle and sheep farms actually declined.

Direct payments from the Euro- pean Union remained static in 2007, averaging €16,346 and contributing 31 per cent of farm output and 84 per cent of average farm income.

However, the findings were de- scribed as a flash in the pan by the IFA leader who said 2007 was the most favourable environment in the past 20 years, and already this year, input costs are up by 25 per cent and processors were driving product prices down.

The two best performing sectors in

2007 — milk and grain – have expe- rienced significant price cuts from their peak last year.

Mr Walshe said the Teagasc fig- ures confirm that average income for farmers even in a good year was less than half the average earnings in the public sector. Earnings by full-time farmers were completely inadequate to reward the investment in stock and machinery that is necessary to earn MOD R OES UD ESE

The highest annual level of invest- ment ever recorded on Irish farms occurred in 2007. Gross on-farm investment increased by a massive

76 per cent and amounted to an esti- mated €1.4 billion nationally.

The average gross investment on the farms that did invest in 2007 was €21,000, amounting to 80 per cent of their total farm income. Dairy farms accounted for almost half of WON Oon Reso

Commenting on the results Liam Connolly, Head of the National Farm Survey team, said the two main highlights of the 2007 results were the sizeable increase in dairy and tillage farmer’s incomes and the phenomenal level of on-farm invest- ment at €1.4 billion.”

THE Citizens Information Service ion Ennis is advising those who are working and have returned to educa- tion that they may be able to claim relief for eligible courses.

Tax relief for third-level tuition fees is available for approved under- graduate and postgraduate courses (full-time and part-time) that are in private or publicly funded third-level colleges in Ireland, in publicly fund- ed or duly accredited third-level col- leges in any other EU country.

Tax relief is at the standard rate of income tax (20 per cent). The max1- mum relief allowable for the aca- demic year 2007/2008 is €5,000

According to Paul Woulfe, manger

with the county wide information service many people who are not re- celving grants and paying for courses are not aware of this.

“When tax relief on third level edu- cation was introduced in 1996/97 it was quite restricted. However since then the relief has been expanded as the Celtic Tiger exposed this coun- try’s paucity of certain skills. So if you or a dependent are on a course costing €5,000 (excluding registra- tion and capitation fees) you can claim back €1,000 backs from the taxman.

The relief can be claimed either on the individual’s tax return at the end of the tax year or during the tax year when the fees have been paid.

Most undergraduate students in

publicly funded third-level courses in Ireland do not have to pay fees. For students who do pay fees, under- graduate courses must be of at least two years duration to qualify for tax relief. Tax relief is also available for approved training courses in the ar- eas of information technology and foreign languages.

The tuition fees must be paid by you on your own behalf or on be- half of your spouse, your child or someone for whom you are the legal eabe-Nueue-Nee

Application forms (IT 31) are avail- able from the Revenue Commission- ers’ website at www.revenue.ie, by telephoning LoCall 1890 306 706 or from the citizens information centres throughout the county.

THE Citizens Information Service are advising anyone who want to know about grants in relation to go- ing back to education that there is a new online resource www.studentfi- nance.ie offering a comprehensive, user friendly guide to student grants and supports in further and higher education. According to Paul Woulfe manager with the network of advices centres, “More and more mature students and parents are seeking advice in relation to support available in persuing third level courses. There is a lot of confusion around the crite- ria for applying, the means test and who administers what grant. This site provides information on the full range of student supports, including maintenance grants, the Fund for Students with Disabilities, the Back to Education Allowance and the Stu- dent Assistance Fund.” Studentfinance.ie has been designed to help users to quickly and conven- iently identify the various sources of financial support for which they are eligible and how they can apply this online resource. ‘Every year in dealing with queries

at our information offices around the county it is obvious that there is sig- nificant knowledge deficits for many students, prospective students and their families in relation to the main- tenance grant schemes and associ- ated financial support programmes. Studentfinance.ie is designed to fill this gap in a clear and accessible for- mat.

‘The maintenance grant is the main source of financial assistance and any- one who is think- ing of embarking on further study should investigate whether they are eligible, and, if so, submit an application,’ said NZ Daa oltd bree

“The maintenance grant section of stu- dentfinance.ie is the most comprehen- sive source of infor-

mation on the available schemes that you will find anywhere in Ireland. It provides a handy step-by-step guide to eligibility in clear, plain English,” he said.

The Citizens Information Service through its network of offices offers a free and confidential information and advice service to members of the public on their rights and entitle- ments.

INCOME limits for student main- tenance grants are set to increase in time for the start of the new aca- demic year.

The new limits are being increased in line with movements in the aver- age industrial wage for students in receipt of the standard rates of poarch oe

The top limit for grant eligibility where there are less than four de- pendent children has been increased from €48,335 to €49,690. This will result in over 56,000 students from households with moderate incomes not having to pay the student service charge.

The increase in the income limits recognises wage increases and will increase the numbers of eligible stu- Ola AE

The annual income threshold for maintenance grants has also in- creased from €18,055 to €20,147 to reflect social welfare increases.

This will help to ensure that stu- dents from families with the lowest incomes qualify for maximum rates of grants.

Anyone who thinks they might be eligible should check the ‘Students and Trainees’ section of the Depart- ment website, www.education.ie.

ELIGIBLE families who are plan- ning for the next school year should be aware of the available assistance with Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.

Those eligible can receive €200

for each child between aged between two and 11 years and €305 for each child aged between 12 and 22 years.

Families who are eligible include those in receipt of certain social wel- fare and HSE payments, those who are in receipt of Family Income Sup- plement or taking part in approved

employment schemes or training courses. Parents who are unsure if they qualify, should contact their Community Welfare Officer at the local HSE office.

For more information, check the website www.welfare.ie or LoCall 1890 66 22 44.

EQUIPPED with a vast experience in the beauty business and numerous professional and teaching qualifica- tions Helen McCarthy has opened her own hairdressing college, La- hinch College of Hairdressing, in Chapel Street, Lahinch.

In 2003 she opened her very suc- cessful beauty and hair salon in Chapel Street providing pampering treatments including facials, body massage, hand and foot massage full hair treatment, jacuzzi and even ear piercing.

For the bride and bridal party Helen offers upstyles and make up to help make the big day extra special.

The college will enrol 10 students annually and has been designed to offer Elementary Foundation Skills and Intermediate Advanced Skills in Hairdressing.

Lahinch College of Hairdressing is the first hairdressing college in Ireland to be passed and certified by Vocational Training charitable Trust (VTCT) with world wide class quali- fications.

The college is recognised by all leading examination boards and VTCT certificates are recognised worldwide.

For more information on prices and dates of courses please contact Helen at Lahinch College of Hairdressing on 065 687082080 or 087 2830728.