Month: October 2008

JOBS are under threat in Ennis with the announcement that the hotels in the Dunne Hotel group are to go into liquidation.

The Woodstock Hotel, which cur- rently has 39 people on the payroll, is one of three hotels for which a liqui- dator has been appointed.

It has also been announced that Cronan Nagle Construction, one of Clare’s best known buildiung com- panies is facing liquidation.

Sources at the hotel said that it is keeping its doors open, with business as usual and all existing bookings are being honoured.

Sources have also said that while

staff are very concerned about the situation, they are hoping that the public in Ennis will support the busi- ness going forward.

The businesses have been in ex- aminership since June and the High Court has now been told they have no prospect of survival.

The hotels facing going out of busi- ness are the Woodstock in Ennis, Patrick Punches in Limerick and the Clybaun in Galway.

Other hotels in the group, the Two Mule Inn in Limerick and the Ridge- pool in Ballina are to have a receiver appointed by the Bank Of Scotland, who are their main creditors.

The court was asked to take no ac- tion in relation to the sixth concern,

the Seno Hotel and Property Ltd as this would have a reasonable pros- pect of survival.

Price-Waterhouose Coopers have been appointed as provisional liqui- dators and Mr Justice Barry White made the matter returnable until October 13 next after counsel for the exmainer, Rossa Fanning asked that the hotel be allowed to continue in operation to honour any existing bookings.

The family-owned business, run by Brendan and Hilda Dunne ran into difficulties last year.

The hotels suffered a serious down- turn with the fall-off of American visitors. The firm has said that the weakening of the dollar, a strong

euro and the emergence of cheaper holiday destinations has seen the number of Americans coming to Ire- land drop dramatically.

Meanwhile, Cronan Nagle Con- struction, the Clare building contrac- tors who worked on the ESB power plant at Moneypoint as well as 400 sustainable houses in Clare is to go into liquidation.

The directors of the company, which was formed in 1999, have called a meeting of creditors for later this month, when it 1s expected the business will be wound up.

The company, which had also worked on projects in Nigeria, could not be reached yesterday for a com- ment.

MORE than four and a half million euro has been lost to the county’s coffers during the first eight months of this year as planning applications plummet.

From January to August 2007 Clare County Council was paid almost €6 million in development

contributions. This year develop- ment contributions

paid to the local plan- ning authority during the same period fell by 78 per cent to almost €1.3 million.

These Development Contributions of Sec- tion 48 levies are paid on all planning applica- tions granted – from one-off houses to major developments.

Planning applications in the county have decreased by 42 per cent from AF Welet-D mya KO a Uelcab nc mA OD ECMA (or)

Clare County Council has claimed, however, that as development contri- bution income is applied to capital projects it has no impact on revenue.

This is a point challenged by Clare County Councillor PJ Kelly (FF).

The west Clare councillor who has been critical of planning issues in Clare, said he believes that the re- duction in the planning applications is not solely as a result of the reces-

sion.

“Many of the main developments have quit the county because of the continuous difficulties with plan- ning,” he said.

“Difficulties with rural planning have caused many to throw in the towel and just give up,” he main- tained.

“The absence of any industrial policy which is replaced by a rural sterilisation programme has left us with a zero rate of lao (oy oyentoy imum temp alon- it areas,’ he said.

In response to a mo- tion by Cllr Kelly to be tabled at Monday’s adjourned meeting of the September meet-

ing, the council also pointed out that it is employing less staff in the plan- ning section due to the reduction in activity. Five planning staff members have not been replaced this year.

“While the number of applications and staff has decreased this year it is not intended that the level (of service) would be reduced,” the reply said.

Cllr Kelly remained critical of the sector however. “One would expect with a decrease in work load we would have an increase in Service. This has not happened,” he said.

the response time to emergency call outs in Clare took more than one hour in 35 cases dur- ing the first four months of that year. The HSE then claimed that the loca- tion of the call in relation to the near- est available ambulance at the time of the call or the difficulty in finding a location due to incorrect directions or a wrong address could be behind WeoRelo EAE The availability of ambulances came to the fore again in the past

year when three west Clare babies were born on the side of the road or traumatic emergency circumstances at home.

The unavailability of an ambulance in Kilrush on the busy August Bank Holiday weekend again raised ques- tions about the recourses of the serv- ice.

That weekend – one of the busiest for the west of the county – the am- bulance service in Kilrush was with- drawn and was covered by Ennis 44 kilometres away.

During the weekend a _ young woman was killed in a car accident in Kilkee, as well as the usual call outs during the busy peak tourism ereu (elem

A HSE spokesperson yesterday evening confirmed to

There are two solutions other than those suggested by Clare County Council. Remove the rock-armour wall and restore the original right of way that has the disadvantage of ex- posing the general public to golf balls in flight. Once again the real solution is simple and relatively inexpensive. Adequate parking between the golf club road and the L61041 where they

run parallel to each other and to the left of the L61401. A roundabout at the junction of the golf club and the road; remove the rock-armour wall and put in a tunnel under the fairway for approximately 75 metres.

THE three Kilrush County Council- lors who voted against the process to extinguish a right of way, gave submissions to the oral hearing in Doonbeg.

Forced to give his evidence in Eng- lish as he had not requested a trans- lator, Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) de- scribed the wall, which is part of the judicial review as “inappropriate” and the cause of provocation.

He told the hearing that all of the Kilrush area councillors had signed a document in Tubridy’s Bar in Coora- clare stating they would not consider the right of way until the judicial re- view had been dealt with.

Since the Tubridy’s Treaty, some members had changed their minds.

“If you removed that wall there probably would be a very satisfac- tory outcome,” he told the legal team representing Doonbeg Golf Club Limited.

“The currency of Doonbeg Golf Club Ltd has had been decreased in value by these right of ways.”

“IT am of the opinion that the pro- posal is a last ditch play incorporat- ing Doonbeg Golf Club to get its way despite the cost,” he added.

He told the hearings that he got phone calls from golfers at the club asking him to vote for the extin- guishment, with the understanding “retributions would be carried out if

we did not vote for it”.

The councillor’s submission was called “inflammatory” by the legal council for the golf club.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Madeleine Taylor Quinn (FG) was next into the hot seat.

She gave the hearing a history of the golf club in Doonbeg and re- minded those present that “people of limited means were forced to take a case to the highest court in the land” to secure their rights to access the beach for gravel, sand and seaweed, a right that dates back to the Vande- leur Estate.

She questioned the “illegal obstruc- tion” across a right of way, and asked that the law of the land be adminis-

tered fairly to all.

‘There is an inequality here that 1s reprehensible,’ she said. “The dic- tate is coming across the Atlantic and these misfortunes are here doing their bidding,” she added pointing to the legal team.

“Mr Long (developer) would do well to remember that were are in Ireland and we are a democracy.”

Referring to the golf club’s alterna- tive suggestion for beach access, she said “It is inferior to what is there.”

Clir PJ Kelly (FF) was the last to take the chair. He outlined to the hearing the many traditions associat- ed with access to the beach. He also said that any changes being proposed would mean a lengthy change to the

County Development Plan and the West Clare Area Plan.

Cllr Kelly said that a number of pro- cedures should have been adhered to before the oral hearing. With the le- gality of the right of way being ques- tioned by Doonbeg Golf Club Ltd, Cllr Kelly said, “I have right of ways over my property and I have never had to go to court to prove them.”

It was also suggested that a tunnel be built by the golf club to allow peo- ple access the beach.

“The amount of money put up to- day would have put up a lot of tun- nels,” he added.

He suggested the whole procedure should be taken back to the drawing board.

DOONBEG is well known for its plays and drama festivals but no one could have predicted the drama that would unfold in the long village community centre last week.

The community centre which was developed and extended on the suc- cess of a long drama tradition hosted its greatest epic yet, as neighbour took on neighbour, the might of the dollar was accused of unwanted in- fluence and those “lads” from Dub- lin who came down with their fancy ways were told they wouldn’t change the lives of the great west of Ireland people.

The scene was set for “Doon- beg R.O.W (right of way)’- if only O’Casey had been around to write it.

It would have been the third play in the trilogy made up firstly of the story of the might of the microscopic snail, then the wall that would not fall and finally the right of way that led to the ultimate row.

The stage had been set by legal teams and council executives.

Legal papers and public notices had been written and re written, some changes in the scripts were even de- tected by the more observant as the drama unfolded.

The Irish flag and Clare flag at full mast on stage, maps attached to the

wall and green throws draped over tables echoed Irish civil war funer- i

At the top table sat legal assist- ant Marina Keane, County solicitor John Shaw and the Inspector Marcus O’Connor – the new but influential character introduced to most charac- ters at the beginning of the play.

Stage left was the Doonbeg legal team and management and stage right council officials.

Drama typical of old Irish plays was presented as the small land hold- ers of the west of Ireland taking on the mighty power of the dollar and the “Dublin Jackeen”’.

The audience of 22 paid attention

to the proceedings, which at times could have done with some serious editing.

As Cllr Tom Prendeville sat at a ta- ble draped in the dark green he spoke of constitutional rights and fighting and dying for freedom.

Mayor Madeleine ‘Taylor-Quinn represented a new Ireland – a woman with a legal background that was clear and concise giving evidence to a senior council slow to challenge her.

The father of all councillors, Cllr PJ Kelly added some light entertain- ment while making his serious and researched remarks.

Then Kelly went looking for his old

nemesis Leonard Long of the golf club development company Kiawah Development.

He brought proceedings to a climax just short of pantomime, but no one shouted, ““He’s behind you” when the colourful councillor asked where he was as he looked around the room.

Water administered for the sport of play was administered by theatrical stalwart Murt McInerney, who also took to the stage for a cameo as well as helping out behind the scenes.

The drama ended with more ques- tions than answers and yet another piece likely to play out in either the county council chambers or even the ehtum@oian

INDEPENDENT councillor, Tom- my Brennan was to the forefront of moves to save local companies hav- ing millions of euro wiped from the value of their landbanks.

In a draft of the new Ennis Devel- opment Plan presented to councillors earlier this year, council planners had dezoned valuable land banks owned by Tom Hogan Motors Ltd, Michael Lynch Ltd and T Sheils Ltd.

The businesses scrambled to lobby

councillors to have the proposed de- Zonings reversed.

Only last year, Tom Hogan Motors paid over €10 million for an eight acre site which includes the One Mile Inn on the Lahinch Road.

The dezoning would have wiped millions off the value of the site as part of it would have been zoned ‘flood risk’.

The council also sought to dezone a site zoned ‘commercial’ owned by T Sheils on the Gort Road to part ‘oth- er settlement land’ with flood plain

designation, while the M Lynch Ltd owned site at St Flannan’s rounda- bout — where the company was re- fused planning for a ©50 million re- tail development – was to be dezoned from a strategic site to ‘other settle- ment land’ and ‘residential’. However, at a behind closed doors meeting in June of this year, all the planners’ moves were reversed with Cllr Brennan leading the way in hav- ing the valuable plots rezoned. Documents secured by The Clare People through the Freedom of In-

formation Act show that Cllr Bren- nan had the unanimous support of his colleagues from the Ennis elec- toral area in backing the rezonings of SoM M ON ReomS Kee

In relation to the M Lynch Ltd site, the minutes state that Cllr Brennan said the company had acquired ad- ditional properties and had an agree- ment with an anchor tenant for the development of a shopping centre. Any interference of the amenities of the surrounding residential prop- erties could be ameliorated by the

planning process.”

In relation to the T Sheils site on the Gort Road, Cllr Brennan proposed that the whole site be returned to ‘commercial’ purposes”.

In relation to the Tom Hogan site on the Lahinch Road,Cllr Pat Daly pro- posed that the site be returned to its ‘district centre’ rezoning.

All of the dezonings were reversed in time for the final development plan to go on display and a report on the submissions is expected to be pre- sented shortly to councillors.

EAST Clare county councillor John Crowe has defended the water supply in Sixmilebridge.

The Fine Gael councillor claims the water in the town and surround- ing areas is perfect, with the excep- tion of an isolated case.

He was reacting to an EPA report, which recorded the second highest lead content in Irish water from a house in the Sixmiulebridge.

The EPA recorded 157 micrograms per litre in the water in a house in Church View on September 30.

“*T think that the 1950s old lead con- nections coming from the mains that are the cause of this,” he said.

The councillor said that from the 1960s on, PVC piping replaced the majority of these pipes. Water from the reservoir at Castle Lake, which supplies Sixmilebridge and Shan- non, was perfect and safe.

Last night Clare County Council said that they along with other local authorities, had increased monitoring of water supplies for levels of lead in recent weeks.

David Timlin, County Council Director of Service said, the risk relates specifically to premises built before the early 1960s and have not been renovated since and continue to have lead services. If your home was built since the early 1960s, it is likely that there are no lead pipes in your property. People who stay or live in homes built before the early 1960s

and are concerned that their supply is from lead services are advised to flush their pipes as a precaution by running the cold water from the kitchen tap until the sink 1s filled, be-

fore consuming the water,” he said.

“This advice applies particularly first thing in the morning or if the water has been unused in the pipes for longer than six hours.”

“If adverse results are verified by the current programme of monitor- ing, further assessment will be car- ried out. Consumers particularly at risk include children under six, and

pregnant women.”

GORT’S water supply is being al- lowed to fall into a state of disrepair according to a local politician, who described Galway County Council as being “awash with fools”.

The south Galway town was last week named by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of 23 areas which exceeded the safe limits for lead in drinking water.

The town has been waiting a major development in it’s drinking water system for more than a decade with €15 million allocated for this in the last County Development Plan.

“There really is no water system

in Gort. It’s a joke. We were allo- cated €15 million for the creation of a system but when the time came to roll that out, we were told to see how the farm nitrates issue panned out before action was taken.We are still waiting,” said Adrian Feeney, of the Gort Chamber of Commerce and Independent candidate in next year’s local election.

“Gort is not represented in the council and that is the main problem here. It is very easy for towns on the edge of the county just to be ignored because they don’t have someone in their corner. At the moment, from what I can see the council is awash with fools.

“The reality is that the pipes in Gort were put in place way back in 1927 and almost without exception have not been changed since then. It’s not really a surprise that there is lead in the water.”

According to Mr Feeney, the state of the town’s water is seriously ham- pering the future development of the area.

“We cannot develop our town be- cause we don’t have the water, either the quantity of the quality. If you run a bath in Gort the bath will turn out brown, if you fill a glass of water it will be yellow, that 1s no condi- tion to have in a modern first world country,’ he said.

A €5 million Clare county council ‘affordable housing’ scheme over- looking the Atlantic is facing local opposition in Kilkee.

Earlier this year, the Council lodged plans for the scheme on the Miltown Malbay road outside Kilkee as part of an initiative to reduce its waiting list for affordable homes, which now numbers more than 500.

One of those opposed to the scheme located in a ‘visually vulnerable area’ in the Clare County Development Plan is former councillor, Sean Mar- rinan who maintains that the plan 1s

committed to protect visual ameni- ties and must be upheld even where the local authority is involved.

The objection states that the afford- able housing scheme with the conse- quent concentration of first time buy- ers “would lead to the concentration of noise and light levels particularly at the nearby entrance.

In a separate objection, John Cos- erove claimed the proposed site would have a considerable impact on a visually vulnerable landscape and severely impact the amenity and pri- vacy of local residents.

In a third objection, Danny Mc- Donnell said the public water supply

in the area is deficient and the prob- lem will be increased not only in the Summer months, but all year round by the new houses.

“We have a problem with sewer- age and this will be also increased. There will be a problem of traffic as itis a very busy road in the Summer months and is a route to many scenic drives and Doonbeg golf course.

Unlike applications made by in- dividuals and companies, in ap- plications made by Clare County Council, objectors have no recourse to An Bord Pleanala and the local authority’sdecision on its own appli- cation 1s final.