Month: August 2008

FARMERS in Clare may no longer be able to afford health insurance for themselves and their family due to the collapse of community rating.

SUITE KMOelomm Yc DUObrOrcamseKOee me Daa Farm Family Chairperson, Mary Sherry, who last week called on the Minister for Health and the Govern- ment to urgently take “whatever leg- islative steps are necessary” to pro- tect community rating in the Health Insurance market.

“The recent Supreme Court ruling in relation to risk equalization has left every family with health insur-

ance in Ireland vulnerable to inflated and unaffordable health insurance, as they get older,” she said.

“It is wrong to suggest this ruling will benefit younger people in favour Ome) G

“We all get old and while our chil- dren today may benefit marginally from cheaper health insurance, they will face the same dilemma of not being able to afford to maintain their health insurance cover, as they get Oeloe

“In effect, health insurance will be- come the prevail of the minority and this is totally unacceptable.

‘The only winners in this Supreme

Court ruling will be profit driven in- surance companies who will cherry pick the young, taking excessive profits out of the market place and leaving the industry starved of the necessary resources to support the old and sick in the future.”

Sherry said that IFA has approxi- mately 25,000 families in its health insurance group and because of their age profile, being in the middle to old age category, one insurance group currently operating in the Irish market showed little or no interest in quoting for the group.

“If this Supreme Court ruling is not addressed, there will be inevitable

cherry picking of customers and the vulnerable will pay the biggest price in the short term but every family will pay in the long term,’ she con- mbOLeCoem

“We have a health insurance sys- tem that has served Irish families well for decades and it is now up to the Minister Mary Harney and the Government to address the problems CAKer Kerem ON MADR MUO EDTA

“Tf risk equalization is abandoned then community rating will unravel and health insurance in this Country will become unaffordable for vast majority of families in Ireland,” she added.

THE 39-year-old woman who died in Lahinch last Tuesday after get- ting in to difficulty while attempting to save her son, was originally from east Clare.

Fiona Ring, who lived in Brutf County Limerick, was formerly Fiona McNamara from Broadford. She had gone for a swim on Tuesday evening with her businessman hus- band Diarmuid and their nine-year- OURO ser ae Xeh aN nEl(e.@

It is now believed that the child got in to difficulty while in the water and Mrs Ring shouted at her husband to take the boy ashore. Shortly before 9.30pm, as it had started to get dark, Mr Ring made his way to the beach with the youngster while Mrs Ring followed behind. However, when Mr Ring reached the beach he could see no sign of his wife behind him.

He ran to the prom where he grabbed a lifebelt before returning to the water to try and locate her. Soon afterwards he called 999 on his mobile phone and alerted gardai at Ennistymon who then notified the coastguard.

Within minutes, Lahinch Sea Res- cue had launched a boat while a request was made of a fishing boat which had been in the bay, to assist in the search. The boat made its way towards the shore and used its pow- erful lights to search for the miss- ing woman. Members of the Doolin Coastguard Unit were also scram- bled to the scene where they quickly launched two more boats. The Shan- non-based coastguard helicopter was also sent to assist in the operation.

Members of the Doolin coastguard team spotted the woman in the water at around 10.45pm and lifted her on to their boat where they immediately commenced CPR and _ continued

the procedure until the woman was handed over to the helicopter crew. Doolin Coastguard spokesman Mattie Shannon said, “The crew of the rig spotted the casualty in the water and took her on board. They then transferred the woman to an- other boat which is capable of beach- ing and they transported the victim

directly on to the beach where the helicopter was standing by.”

A medical team was on standby at University Hospital Galway when the helicopter landed at 11.13pm. However the young mother was pro- nounced dead less than twenty min- utes later at 11.30pm.

It is still not clear how she got in

to trouble but rescuers speculated that she may have been taken by sur- prise by the changing tide. It is also thought that Fiona’s surfboard got away from her and she was trying to retrieve it.

A post mortem examination was carried out in Galway on Wednesday while gardai have said a file will be prepared in due course for the county coroner who will hold an inquest in to the tragedy at a later date.

Fiona Ring was prayed for at Mass- es in Broadford on Thursday.

Lahinch is one of a number of Clare beaches which are protected by life- guards during the summer months from llam to 7pm daily. A new 25 foot high lifeguard tower 1s currently under construction and will comprise a look-out tower and first-aid room.

Clare Water Safety Officer Liam Griffin said, “As with all our guard- ed beaches, we have a flag system in place which lets people know when and where it is safe to swim. While Lahinch is a very safe beach, people must also know their own limitations and follow the safety guidelines.”

A year ago this week, a 19-year- old man from Clontarf in Dublin drowned in Lahinch after going swimming in the early hours of the morning. The young man had been staying in the north Clare town for the August bank holiday weekend and went swimming after a night so- cialising.

A fortnight ago, international rugby star Paul O’Connell helped a 22-year- old surfer to safety after her board hit rocks during a rising tide. He lifted the girl to safety after rough seas tossed her on to rocks as she tried to reach the shore.

THE Mayor of Clare has expressed disappointment that more wasn’t done by gardai to remove over 60 caravans that took over the main car park at Kilkee over the bank holiday weekend.

Up to 250 members of the Travel- ling community converged on the

west Clare resort late on Friday and many were still there on Monday night. The group took over the whole of the main seaside carpark, restrict- ing access to the slipway and local dive centre and reducing parking spaces in the town by up to half. Mayor Madeleine Taylor Quinn said that while the county council had done all in its power to have the

caravans removed, she was very dis- appointed that a personal commit- ment she received from senior gardai was not delivered on.

“What happened in Kilkee during one of the busiest holiday periods of the year is totally illegal and I thought it would be dealt with by the gardai accordingly. The council offered to cover the cost of the towing company

to remove the vehicles. Despite com- mitting to removing the caravans, the gardai have not done so.”

A garda spokesman confirmed that some of the Travellers moved on voluntarily but couldn’t comment on whether others would be moved forcibly.

“We have noted the registrations of the offending vehicles. We are pursu- ing the matter further and prosecu- tions may follow”.

While six families left on Sunday, they were quickly replaced by ten more caravans. On Monday, more vehicles left the town but as many as 60 remained despite threats from gardai of being forcibly removed and having their vehicles impounded.

Human and animal faeces, litter and broken glass have also made the area a health and safety risk, accord- ing to locals.

Kilkee Marine Rescue Service PRO Manuel DiLucia said they were very concerned about access to the slipway while business at the local dive centre was decimated and the operators were forced to close their café and juice bar.

WHILE French President Nicolas Sarkozy may not have won too many Irish friends as a result of his stance on the Lisbon Treaty, his standing within the farming community has skyrocketed this week following the breakdown of the World Trade Or- ganisation talks.

IFA president Padraig Walshe last week credited the French and current EU president with defending Irish and EU farmers and in particular the Irish Beef Sector.

Speaking following the breakdown of WTO talks in Geneva last week, the IFA president was heavily criti- cal of EU commissioner Peter Man-

delson and said that the collapse was a good thing for all sectors of Irish society.

“T want to dispel the notion that the country had missed out on an oppor- tunity as a result of the collapse of the talks. Instead, the entire country had been spared from a damaging agreement that offered no gains for the industrial or services sectors and would have cost <4 billion in losses in the agriculture and food indus- tries,’ he said. “Peter Mandelson may be a re- nowned politician, but he was an inept negotiator. I would like to re- iterated my call on the Tanaiste to support the French in now tearing up the EU WTO offer as the other parties have walked away from the table.” Reacting to the WTO collapse, Tanaiste and Minister for Enter- prise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, said that Ireland must continue to asset it’s interests in the talks process. “Irish ministers have used every opportunity, whether through meet- ings of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council or bilat- erally with various countries, includ- ing the French Presidency of the EU as well as the EU Commission, to assert Ireland’s interests,’ said the former agriculture minister. “Tam disappointment that it has not been possible for the WTO to agree a new deal but I acknowledge that the negotiations represented a very com- plex process covering a wide range of areas.” Current Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, said that throughout the long series of meetings, he had continued to ex- press the Government’s strong con- cerns about the agriculture propos- als and, in particular, the potential impact of the proposals on the Irish beef sector. Since 2004, the Minister for Agri- culture ensured that Ireland played a central role, along with a number of like-minded countries, 1n protecting the interests of European agricul- nehden

CLARE growing organic sector is set for a boost following the an- nouncement of a multi-million euro campaign to promote organic and lo- cally grown food.

With more then 8 farmers mar- kets already in operation around the county, Clare has one of Ireland’s fastest growing organic sectors. It is hoped that this new initiative, the first major promotion of organic food in the the EU, will greatly increase the numbers attending farmers mar- kets and growing local organic pro- duce.

The move has been welcomed by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

Trevor Sargent, who welcomed the launch of the new campaign.

The new campaign, whose slogan is “Organic farming – good for na- ture, good for you’, aims to inform consumers about the meaning and benefits of organic farming and food production.

The web-based campaign will focus on increasing consumer awareness and recognition of organic products, and especially on young people and children to carry the organic idea into the future.

According to Sargent, the launch of this campaign 1s indeed timely for Ireland. He said that the Programme for Government sets down an ambi- tious target of 5 per cent of the land area to be under organic production

by 2012.

“At present Ireland is at 1 per cent, with over 43,000 hectares being farmed organically,” he said.

“In April Minister Sargent launched the Department’s Organic Farming Action Plan 2008-2012 in response to the Government commitment. Ac- cess to information is a key driver in the development of the organic sec- tor and this new website will be a very useful addition.”

In the last few years, the number of organic operators – farmers, produc- ers, processors and importers – has erown strongly. In 2005, there was a total of 182,305 of these operators in the EU-25, a 13.4 per cent increase from 2004.

In recent years, the European or-

ganic retail market has experienced strong growth of between 5 and 30 per cent, depending on the coun- try. Increasing consumer demand is strengthening the organic market and giving farmers and processors new opportunities.

The European Commission will present the Campaign at the upcom- ing National Organic Food Confer- ence on September 4th 2008 in the Waterford Institute of Technology.

The Commission also announced a competition to develop a new EU organic farming logo that is due to become mandatory on all organic pre-packaged food from July 2010.

For more information on the Or- ganic Farming Campaign check out www.organic-farming.europa.eu.

A NUMBER of newly formed com- munity groups are likely to have a large say in the outcome of next year’s local elections, with cam- paigns starting in Ennistymon and OTM em dN icrel.e

Tonight will see the first official committee meeting of the Ennisty- mon District Community Organisa- tion (EDCO), which has attracted more than 400 people to three pub- lic meetings in the area over the last four weeks.

This committee, which contains a

number of high profile locals includ- ing retired Garda Sergeant Michael Gallery, formed as a result of local dissatisfaction with the develop- ment of the town in recent times.

“The amount of people attend- ing the meeting reflects that the public has serious concern over the way that Ennistymon is being managed,” said EDCO chairman, Patrick Clarke.

‘People have expressed their views and the strong feeling out there is that there is a real lack of amenities in the town.

“We will be putting out monthly

statements so that the local people can monitor our progress while we will be lobbying everyone up to the TD’s to make sure we are heard.

“The local people will know ex- actly what is going on and we will be lobbying everyone we can. There is a real feeling that we are being left behind here.”

The EDCO have denied that they plan to run a candidate in next year’s local election and said that they will decide at tonight’s committee meet- ing how best to move forward.

Meanwhile, in Kilrush, local busi- ness people are considering running

a candidate for the local election.

There are currently members of Kilrush Chamber of Commerce on Kilrush Town Council, with Coun- cillors Deirdre Culligan (Ind), Liam Looney (FF) and Marian McMahon Jones (FG) members of both bod- toe

It is believed that business people in the town are considering putting forward a candidate for the county council and town council election.

The west Clare capital already has two sitting county councillors, Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) and Cllr Tom

Prenderville (FF).

Talks of a business candidate emerged following the purchase of the site of the Inis Cathaigh hotel on Francis Street for the new civic offices in the town.

Local businesses feared that rates would be increased to cover the cost of the multi-million euro project.

Those being considered as the “business” candidate are not neces- sarily members of the local cham- ber of commerce, but they could put even more pressure on an elec- toral area that is already to lose one councillor.

“AT LAHINCH the sea shines like a jewel”. So the old song goes and on a nice clear day in the Summer – when the throngs mill from prom to strand and the rich salt air fills the lungs – there can be few better places in the eyulee

An ancient outpost on the great Atlantic frontier, Lahinch has a long and proud history. From ancient leg- ends of a secret submerged island in Liscannor Bay, to the birth of Irish golf and then – more recently – Irish surfing, the village has captured the imagination of all those who came.

And now, despite it’s increased size, Lahinch remains very much a village. Not a simple community, bound together with a single shared history and common values, Lahinch is a multifaceted community.

A modern melting pot, where local business people and farmers share bar counters happily with golfer, surfers and artists. Each engaged in the happy pursuit of living life in a

west Clare paradise.

Traditional businesses such as The Corner Stone, Leyden Auctioners, Kennedy’s Centra, Kenny’s Wol- len Mills, the Village Inn, Vaughan Lodge and Fitzgeralds bar provide the backbone of the town’s commer- cial success while new ventures such as the Lahinch Surf school and shop, the Green Room, Ocean Scene and Lahinch Seaworld cater for a new clientele.

When Lahinch is mentioned around the world it is most often spoke of in golfing circles. Ever since 1892, when the Black Watch Regiment dis- covered a secret paradise in the dunes and hills on the Liscannor Road, the village has attracted scores of golfers – happy to judge their skills against the onshore breeze and rough.

Lahinch’s reputation as an inter- national class golfing destination 1s underlined each year by the South of Ireland championships which re- mains one of the premier events on the Irish golfing calendar.

First shaped by Old Tom Morris

and then redesigned by the world famous Alister MacKenzie, the St Andrew’s of Ireland 1s a true jewel in WeTomeruehate

Yet of late, the word Lahinch has gained repute as the home of Irish surfing. While surfing has been prac- ticed in Lahinch for decades, it is just in the last 5 years that it has captured the imagination of the masses.

So these days, a typical Lahinch afternoon in July or August will un- doubtedly include dozens of surfers, each taking their first braze steps (hopefully) into the world of surfing.

And like all of Lahinch’s many communities, the surfers strive to be the best they can for their village. This led the villages surfers to win a place in the Guinness Book of world Records back in 2006 and again a year later for the most surfers ever to surf a single wave.

Proof once more, if it was needed, that the village of Lahinch captures the imaginations of all who visit – leaving the cleansed, relaxed and above all else inspired.

AN ENVIRONMENTAL blackspot is about to be transformed into a ma- jor recreational facility which will provide top class sporting and leisure amenities on the outskirts of Ennis. Clare County Council and Ward and Burke Construction Ltd of Gal- way have signed a contract that will result in the delivery of recreation facilities and the remediation of a

closed landfill site at Doora.

The €1.26m Doora Landfill Reme- diation Contract will remediate the closed landfill, in accordance with the conditions of the Environmen- tal Protection Agency licence. The project also involves the provision of a new entrance and parking area, two playing pitches, scenic nature walks and extensive landscaping works.

Additional works include the cap- ping of the old landfill site as well

as the provision of necessary infra- structure works to facilitate the on- going monitoring of the site.

The plans for the remediation project were drawn up by Tobin Con- sulting Engineers, in conjunction with Clare County Council Environ- NOONE N OE

Speaking at the contract signing, county council acting director of service Sean Ward described the contract signing as “a significant

and positive step forward in both the remediation of the old landfill site and the provision of amenities to the Doora, Gaurus and Ballaghboy area’.

He added that the proposed works were further evidence of the county council’s ongoing commitment to dealing with historic environmental issues. “The inclusion of recreational amenities and nature walks in the project will add excellent value to

the overall scheme.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy, Chairper- son of the council’s Strategic Policy Committee on the Environment, welcomed the continuing redevelop- ment of the site and said she looked forward to its transition and eventual transformation into an active recrea- tional area.

The contract will commence short- ly and is expected to be complete in 12 months.

FOR the first time ever the Kildysart Show and the Kildysart Festival teamed up for the August bank hol1- day weekend celebrations in the west Clare village.

Members of the Kidysart Show even entered the popular festival pa- rade, combining the themes of both edger aN isT-LBCO) thse

Drawing from the festival theme of the “1960s” the show committee entered a float depicting protesting farmers from the era on a march in Dublin.

Even the late Charlie Haughey was represented by a highly disguised po- litican.

Rumours circulated that the man behind the mask of the controver- sial Taoiseach was a local Fine Gael councillor, as Fianna Fail councillor PJ Kelly was ruled out when he was welcomed to the village by the im- personator.

Locals were also celebrating big wins at the ever popular show on SE TMUD KOE NA

Vincent O’Callaghan from Lissey- casey secured an impressive hat trick when his horses took home the titles

of Champion Young Horse, Reserve Champion and Champion of Lunging – a competition for three-year-olds. Despite the numerous entries from around the country it was Kildysart man Tom Casey that won the coveted two-year-old All Ireland Filly Cham- ey Cover eny oy

Seamus Waffer from Wicklow came second in the competition, which was one of the biggest of the day, while the third place prize returned to Kildysart and Jimmy Casey.

Champion bakers on the day were Kildysart ladies Lucy Finn and Phi- lomena O’Shea.

SINEAD Garvey is a woman on a mission. Her mission, and she has decided to accept it, 1s to find herself some grain in County Clare.

As climate instability and the glo- bal switch to bio-fuels continues to drive food costs through the roof, the Inagh woman is attempting a world first: to create a banquet for 300 peo- ple featuring food grown exclusively btm Oat buss

A simple task you might think but, as Sinéad has discovered, one with many unseen challenges. While the county is undoubtedly self sufficient in beef and milk, there is precious little tillage and, so far at least, no wheat or grain to make any flour or py usreXOe

“The first problem that we came across was that there was no sugar – but we were able to find some Clare produced honey so that will work Okay. The next thing that we discov- ered was that there is no oil. There isn’t a bit of oil anywhere in the county so we will have to use butter for everything instead,” she said.

“The whole thing started to be like a bit of a treasure hunt. I have been scratching my head, along with the chef, trying to figure out what we would be missing – the one we couldn’t get away from is bread. Clare has a load of excellent bak- ers, but there is just no one growing wheat that we can use.

“We are really struggling on the bread issue and if anyone out there knows of any we would love to hear from them. Bread is our staple – we have bread with everything. So we are still looking and you never know, we might just find enough grain to make some bread.

“They must have grown bread in Clare not so long ago. There must have been mills in Miltown Malbay and in lots of other places I’m sure – so there must have been something erown locally.”

With the growth of family gardens and home farmers markets in recent years, Sinéad has already lined up a number of Clare producers willing to supply the food.

“When I started, the first thing I needed to do was find was a chef. I met a friend of mine from Shannon, who has been a chef for more than 20 years down in Kinsale. His name 1s Jim O’Brien and he said he would do

it. At the moment he is helping out at an organic farm so he is getting a feel for every aspect of the local pro- duce,’ continued Sinéad.

“A lot of farmers markets have sprouted up all over the country and people are beginning to recognise the benefits of growing our food locally. It’s becoming a real social WebNeTSar R/S) 0B

‘People are coming out to the mar- kets, buying their food, and having a good chat with people. That beats walking around a big supermarket in silence as far as I am concerned. It’s a real social occasion for the people who come to the market.

“It is expensive, there is no denying that. People are getting more aware of local food but there are still a lot of people, who have a lot of kids, and

they just can’t afford to do it. The thing is that the more people who decide to buy locally, the cheaper it will get.

‘Peoples tastes are changing. I re- member when I was selling goat’s cheese in the market ten years ago you could tell that eight out of every 10 people wouldn’t like the taste of it. But now everyone likes goats cheese – it’s become a lot more normal for people.”

The Clare Banquet will take place in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon on September 19. The banquet, which will strictly use only products grown in Clare, is a fundraising event for the Asral Charity, an Irish-based or- ganisation that works poor people in Mongolia.

“I was trying to think of a new idea,

something that would be that bit dif- ferent. Originally I had thought that we could run some sort of Clare har- vest – something with food only from the county. I heard that the average meal travels 23,000 miles before it lands on our plate. I started talking to people about the idea and people really seem to like it,” she said.

‘Everyone who works for the char- ity is a volunteer, so every penny that the charity gets goes directly to the people who need it. It’s a very for- wards thinking charity. We have set up a number of craft businesses over in Mongolia so the local people can make and sell their own garments. A lot of these garments will be on dis- play on the night so people can get a feel for what they do.”

The Clare Banquet will feature mu-

sical entertainment from the legen- dary Tommy People among others.

Potential food suppliers are asked to contact Sinéad on 085 7607037 as soon as possible. Tickets, at a cost of €50, are available from Sinéad, the Falls Hotel on 065 7071004 and Un- glert’s Bakery in Ennistymon.