Month: August 2008

YOU don’t have to look too hard to find the football and family con- nections that link some of the men behind one of Ennis’ newest busi- enone

Brian Fitzpatrick and Shane Dan- iels donned the red of Eire Og last Friday night as the townies bid to qualify for the knock out stages of the championship.

Pat, a selector and long serving club member, was on the line in En- nistymon as Eire Og did battle with SoKeie

Yet, away from football field, the trio will be seeing a whole lot more of each other in the coming weeks.

That’s because all three are involved in Banner Car Auctions a new busi-

ness located on the Quin Road.

The first of it’s kind in Clare, Ban- ner Car auctions offers car dealer- ships and members of the public the chance to purchase used and second hand cars in an auction setting.

It won’t be the first time Brian Fitzpatrick and Shane Daniels have teamed up this year. In May, both were part of the Rock Rovers panel that won the Clare Cup.

The two men were also members of the Eire Og team that won the sen- ior football championship in 2007 and are playing key roles again this year as the townies bid to lift the Jack Daly trophy. Both have repre- sented Clare at minor and under 21 grades with Shane a member of the Clare senior football panel between 2005-2007.

The involvement of Brian’s father Pat Fitzpatrick, Director of Banner Car Auctions, completes the Eire Og line-up.

Pat, the proprietor of Banner Cars on the Tulla Road has extensive ex- perience in the area having worked for over 40 years in the motor trade.

Brian learned the ropes at the fami- ly business on the Tulla Road but has spent the past few years working as an auctioneer with Ennis based firm Munstergroup.

Shane, a qualified electrician, is looking forward to taking up his new role as salesman with Banner Car Auctions. These maybe difficult times for businesses but Brian Fitz- patrick hopes Banner Car Auctions can buck the prevailing economic nRoITen

“We aim to provide quality cars at excellent prices for both people in the motor trade and the general pub- lic and to provide best possible prices available’, explained Brian.

He added “Car auctions have been successful in England and more re- cently Dublin. We hope the auction will spearhead a new and exciting time for Clare motor enthusiasts and for people in the motor trade. We hope to provide a quality service to the main dealers in selling as well as the general public”.

Banner car auctions opens for busi- ness Saturday, August 30 at 12 noon.

A IOKM sponsored walk in aid of the Clare Branch of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland takes place in Ennis on Sunday, August 31.

The walk commences at lpm from the Less Road Sports and Amenity Park, finishing at the same venue.

Branch secretary Grainne Flynn said that they were thrilled with the success of the event last year and hoped to do even better this year, with the help of the people in Clare.

The money raised will go towards enabling the Clare branch continue

to provide free support groups for people with diabetes and their fami- lies and to other local activities such as diabetes screenings and education and awareness meetings.

The money will also go towards helping the Diabetes Federation of Ireland run CODE – Community Orientated Diabetes Education, a structured education programme for people with Type 2 diabetes, which the federation initiated in 2007.

CODE provides its participants with one-to-one education on how to manage their diabetes and aims to improve their quality of life.

Anna Clarke, Health Promotion and Research Manager of the Diabe- tes Federation of Ireland explained CODE provides vital support to peo- ple with diabetes,

“The philosophy of the CODE pro- gramme is based on empowerment, empathy and self-efficacy; it supports people with diabetes through group learning and participation. CODE encourages participants to become confident in their diabetes self-care management and aims to improve quality of life through informed de- aT (oye sek: lennon

The second CODE programme for

Clare is scheduled for early Septem- ber and anyone wishing to participate in this successful programme should contact Elaine Newell, 087 2174227 with your details.

The walk marks the main focus of a major fundraising drive launched by the Clare branch in June. Organ- isers are hoping that, like last year, big crowds will turn out in support of the event.

For more information on all branch activities and events, 10k sponsor- ship cards or on volunteering on the day, call 087 6415747 or email clarebranchdfi@ gmail.com.

AUGUST may have been a wash-out, but one hardy group of cyclists have been out on the road braving the ele- ments. For the past two months the Ennis Parish Team and Friends have travelled the highways and byways of Clare through wind and rain as they prepare for the fifth annual Ennis Parish charity cycle.

The 19 strong team will hope that all the hard work pays off when they set of from Ennis next Saturday (Au- Paul mel ODE

The 70 mile route takes the team from Ennis Cathedral to Limerick, on to Birdhill, across to Killaloe and home to Ennis.

On arrival back in Ennis, the cy- clists will head to the Kingfisher Let-

sure Centre in the West County Hotel for a well earned swim and jacuzzi, as Kingfisher have very generously allowed all cyclists the use of their facilities.

This year the proceeds of their ef- forts will go to Cuan an Chlair, the new housing and daycare centre which will be built on 15.5 acres of land at Cahercalla, donated by the Diocese of Killaloe. Cuan an Chlair Phase | will see the development of a daycare centre to cater for 60 people daily and the construction of 12 in- dividual houses. This development is expected to cost €2 million.

Phase two will see the conversion of the old farm yard buildings, adjacent to Cahercalla Hospital to provide a café, meeting rooms, a garden and other appropriate facilities. It is esti-

mated that delivery of phase two will cost in the region of €1.5 million

A committee has been set up to oversee the project and they will be holding a number of fundraising events over the next year.

Previous cycles have raised money for the a variety of projects, includ- ing the restoration of the Cathedral spire. Last year, the Ennis parish team took to the road to highlght the work of Fr Jackie Sharpe, a Holy Ghost Missionary, who has worked in the African country of Gambia for over 42 years

The cyclists taking part are: Tik- ki Daly, Fr Martin Blake, Maura Brooks, Fr Damien Nolan, JJ Coun1- han, Fr Jerry Carey, Ed McMahon, Damian Lavin, Senan McDermott, Fr Tom Hogan, Paul Kelly, Fr John

Molloy, Kevin Keane, John Brody, John Casey, Mary Curley, Charlie O’Meara, Kevin Duffy and Kieran Moroney.

You can support the team by col- lectiing a sponsorship card from the Parish Office or by donating spon- sorship to the cyclists as they set of Oye AeterPUM OLED UTA Ys

The cyclists depart from Ennis Ca- thedral, Saturday an 9am and hope for plenty of support to see them off.

aE 0 AN CnC emt OmNet-lmoaion when BreastCheck reaches Clare there will continue to be a huge gap in the systematic screening of wom- en for breast cancer.

In a week when the failure of the national breast screening service to reach Clare some seven years after it was first introduced by the Gov- ernment was described as a “time bomb” by politicians in the mid-west, Dr Michael Harty indicated that pub- lic breast cancer screening outside

the 50 to 65 age group is a thing of the past unless there is a change of policy and practice.

Since early March, the breast clinic at the Mid Western Regional Hospi- tal Limerick is only providing symp- tomatic mammography, with routine screening mammography now falling under the auspices of BreastCheck.

However BreastCheck, which is trying to ensure that all women aged between 50 and 65 have a mam- mogram, are still unsure when the service will reach Clare. It could be as late as February 2010 with the 27-

month programme now in Mayo.

Chairman of the Clare branch of the Irish College of General Practition- ers (ICGP) Dr Harty said if a patient now asks for routine mammogram, even when concerned due to family history, she can only be referred to a private clinic.

Under new HSE policy that offers mammogram’s only to women show- ing signs of breast cancer, women who wish to have a systematic exam must pay for a private exam – even those with medical cards.

For the women of Clare that is a

trip to the Bon Secours Hospital in Galway or the Galway Clinic, as Barrington’s Hospital Limerick can no longer carry out the procedure. ‘The private hospitals are reluctant to take the referrals and carry out mammograms in isolation because they are terrified if they will get caught out or miss something,’ said Dr Harty. “The private hospitals do not have the follow up services that are available in the breast clinic.” The Kilmihil GP pointed out that even when BreastCheck finally reaches Clare there would be no form

of systematic screening for women outside that narrow age bracket.

“It is a Serious issue as BreastCheck is dangled as the answer, yet it is not available in the county and when it is, itis just for a certain age group.”

Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) said that “mam- mograms should be available to all Keynetss ae

‘This element of preventative med- icine has been totally eradicated by this extraordinary decision by the HSE and as a result women’s lives are being put at risk.”

A PIONEERING new initiative, de- signed to map and conserve the sea- life around the Irish coast, will begin in Doolin this weekend.

Sea Search is the first course of its kind to be held in the country and the organisers believe that it could prove a critical step in the fight to preserve precious fish stocks and plant life.

The course, which is being organ- ised by the Burren Sub Aqua Club, will give divers the skills required to create the first map of the sea life off Ireland’s coast.

‘This is the first time that a course

like this has ever been tried in Ire- land. It’s a bit of a test in many ways, and depending on what happens here the Irish Underwater Council might decide to broaden it out around the country,’ said Tadhg O’Brien of the Burren Sub Aqua Club.

“The long-term goal of this is to create a map of the sea-life and plants around Ireland and track how that is changing.

“Sea Search aims to use sports divers to record marine life in their particular areas and to build up a database as to what is happening with the marine life over time. This is critical information for the bigger,

long-term goal of preserving the ma- rine environment into the future.”

The course is aimed at experienced divers and has a very limited number of places available.

“It’s a simple enough idea, where divers just have to take note of the animal and plant life that they see when they dive in specific spots. The course will train divers up to become observers and to have enough infor- mation to recognise different species and record what they see,” he contin- Tere

‘The basic equipment here is a per- sons eyes and a simple slate for re- cording what you find and possibly a camera. It’s a simple process in itself but the key is to have the knowledge about what you are looking for. The course is really for qualified divers. You have to be comfortable with all the other things involved in diving SO you can concentrate on looking at what is around you.”

For more information contact the Burren Sub Aqua Club on 086 8180044. The course consists of lec- tures and practical work and take place in Doolin this weekend, Au- gust 23 and 24.

CLARE County Council is facing a financial crisis after it emerged that funding for essential works across the county has not materialised.

In the first real sign of the eco- nomic downturn hitting local author- ity finances, figures for the first six months of the year show that Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council received a paltry €739,000 in developer contributions for new developments — a 74 per cent drop on the €2.9 million received during the first half of 2007.

Further underlining the slowdown

in the construction industry, the €739,000 received for the first six months is in contrast to the €10.7 million the councils received in de- veloper contributions for the whole of last year.

It also falls far short of the €21 million the council was hoping to generate in its new developer contri- bution scheme this year. Councillors have failed to adopt the draft scheme as they believe that the new charges AuomKOlOm opted eb

The monies from the developer contribution scheme are needed to part-fund council infrastructure throughout the county, including the

much needed €75 million sewage treatment plant in Ennis where the council have placed an embargo on all new developments due to inad- equate sewage infrastructure.

Leader of the Fianna Fail group, Cllr PJ Kelly said that the council is facing “a crisis of unbelievable pro- joe) male) ae

“There is ©260 million in approved capital projects for Clare, but the council has only money for half that amount,” he said.

“The large drop in contributions doesn’t surprise me. It 1s caused by the economic downturn and the dis- illusionment that people have with

planning in Clare.”

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) said, “It 1s a dra- matic drop and reflects the economic downturn in the county and it will present challenges to the council as it prepares its budget for 2009.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (Green Party) said, “The collapse in developer contributions has been dramatic and represents a serious challenge to the council. Combined with the way cen- tral government treats the funding of local government, it’s clear that tough decisions will have to be made and the council will have to study how it funds non-core items.”

ENNIS town engineer Tom Tiernan believes an end may be in sight to the current embargo on planning permissions for new developments in the greater Ennis area.

Stating that firm conclusions will be shortly made on a proposed in- terim measure to allow new develop- ments proceed, Mr Tiernan said this would include an upgrading of exist- ing sewage treatment works to facili- tate new housing schemes.

The council’s new €75 million sew- age treatment plant is not expected to come on stream before 2012 and ap-

plications as small as 26 homes are now being refused as the network is at stretching point.

Speaking after the council refused planning permission to a ©50 million retail park at Skehanagh, Clarecas- tle last week, Mr Tiernan said, “We don’t want to be a situation where we can’t allow development, but that 1s where we are now and we want to change that.”

Asked how much developers will be asked to pay for the interim meas- ure, which is expected to cost over €1 million, Mr Tiernan responded, “Ideally, all of it.”

“The demand for new housing has

slumped to a low, but I hope that cir- cumstances will allow an upgrade of the Clonroadmore plant.”

He said that it was difficult to state how many new homes the upgrading works would accommodate and the options would be examined before the end of the year.

He said that Ennis development firm, Crystal Partners are in the process of tendering for the construc- tion of anew temporary sewage plant near Clarecastle which is expected to accommodate development in that part of the greater Ennis area.

Already, developers have written to the local authorities and councillors

warning that the economic effects of no developments being allowed in and around Ennis will be “wide- spread”.

‘Despite over ten years of unprece- dented development, the area is now being choked by the chronic lack of capacity in the wastewater treatment system,” they claimed.

‘All the developer contributions and funds raised from various serviced land initiatives have not financed the infrastructure that is required.

“This lack of treatment capacity and capacity in the pump station net- work have been ignored for far too oyna

A FORMER Clare women’s sup- port group worker has been awarded €20,400 after claiming she was dis- missed and replaced by someone on half her wage.

Avril De Carteret, Druminalough, Peterswell, County Galway took her claim for unfair dismissal against Clare Women’s Network Limited, Clonroad Business Park, Ennis to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

The tribunal heard that the claim- ant was involved in the organisation which provides support for women, from it’s inception in 1992. She in1- tially did voluntary work for the or- ganisation and was first on the pay- roll in 1999 for about two to three hours per week. This increased over the years to 15 hours per week in 2002. She was one of three part-time workers sharing the running of the organisation. In 2002 the claimant’s job description was formalised. Her job title was office manager/project administrator. It was mainly ad- ministrative work with some co- ordinating responsibilities.

In 2005 a review of the work and structures of the organisation took place and Ms de Carteret was made

redundant. The management com- mittee offered her the job of part- time administrator on 15 hours per week. The claimant was also to be invited to apply for the position of full-time co-ordinator. On Septem- ber 22, 2006 the management com- mittee offered the claimant either the equivalent of six months loss of sal- ary for the hours she would be losing if she took up the position of admin- istrator or, alternatively, redundancy.

She took redundancy and was paid €10,000 redundancy payment. The position of part-time administrator for 17.5 hours per week was eventu- ally advertised at a lower hourly rate than the claimant had been getting.

She applied for the position but, although she was short-listed and in- terviewed, she did not get the job.

Ms de Carteret told the tribunal she felt a situation had been “concocted” to get rid of her and to get a junior worker to do her job for much less money.

The tribunal determined unani- mously that Ms deCarteret was un- fairly dismissed.

A witness for Women’s Aid “did not respond in the negative” to the suggestion that the organisation had “got rid of” her.

A 35-YEAR-OLD German national with a previously clean record who bought a car with a dud cheque, has been in jail since June 18, a judge heard.

Klaus Scheel, originally from Sch- wenningen, pleaded guilty to issuing cheque which would bounce.

Judge Leo Malone heard that he wrote a cheque for €6,000 and gave it in exchange for the second hand car. He then left the area and couldn’t be contacted when the cheque bounced,

Ennis District Court heard.

Gardai traced him and arrested him.

His solicitor, Tara Godfrey said her client “has never been in trouble be- fore. He arrived here 18 months ago with his wife and child and his job was at some distance from his home. He was running out of money and needed a car and used the cheque to buy it. He is most remorseful and he has been in custody since June 18.”

Judge Malone heard the car was recovered. He imposed a one-month jail sentence backdated to July 22.

A DRIVER who was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving on the Kilrush road offered a doctor his big toe to take a blood alcohol sample from, a judge was told.

James Marrinan, a native of west Clare now living at 169 Denton Road in London, failed a random alcohol

breath test at the side of the road on August 24, Ennis District Court heard.

When he was brought to the Garda station he agreed to a specimen of blood being taken for analysis but offered the doctor his big toe for the test. Garda evidence was that when the charge was read to him Marrinan said, “I didn’t refuse’.

He pleaded guilty before Ennis District Court yesterday to refusing to provide a sample.

The court heard that the 49-year- old, who works for a London local authority, wanted to apologise to the court.

Judge Leo Malone imposed a four year driving ban and fined him ©400 which had to be paid on the spot.