Month: November 2008

YOUNG people interested in music in the Shannon area are being chal- lenged to take part in a musical bat- tle, during which they can showcase Wd eCoy Dame DCooeLm

‘The Battle of the Bands’ compe- tition is being organised by Clare Youth Service in conjunction with the Shannon Music Project.

Open to all musical genres and all young bands, aged between 15 and 25, the competition will take place on Saturday, November 29, in New- market-on-Fergus hall.

Shannon Music Project was set up

to offer young people in Shannon the Support they need to develop their musical talents and provide them with a space to practice, perform and showcase their talents in their com- munity.

This is the first time that the Shan- non Music Project has organised such a competition. It is the latest in a series of well-organised initiatives run by the youth office in the town, which seeks to encourage young peo- ple in every way.

The youth office focuses on assist- ing young people to get the best out of their lives, through a diverse range of activities, competitions and social

events.

Local youth work worker, Cathal Dillon is hoping for a large turnout of bands, given the huge level of in- terest in music in the area.

“We hope that youth bands in Shannon will see this as a chance to showcase their talents and hopefully win the top prize title of Best Band in Shannon 2008,” said Mr Dillon.

While participation will be at the centre of the competition, there will be the added incentive for ambi- tious potential music stars, as there are prizes on offer on the day. Com- petitors will attempt to win the ‘Best Band in Shannon 2008’ or ‘Best

Original Song! award.

The winning band will receive an inaugural trophy, while the runners- up will receive five free music prac- tice sessions valued at €100. The third-placed team will win a €50 voucher for Roxy Records in Shan- nevae

Entry is by completed application form and these are available from music teachers at St Caimin’s and St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon and from Shannon Youth Office in Rineanna View.

Full information on the rules of the competition and eligibility can be found on the application form.

STALWART Vie Leahy has been awarded the Spirit of Shannon Musi- cal Society award as a mark of rec- ognition of over thirty years’ dedica- tion to the group.

Over the years, Vie has been in- volved in many aspects of running the show, such as making costumes, sourcing items required on stage and assembling props. She was chair- person in 1989 and has always done her duties in a quiet way with a huge smile.

The award was presented to the so-

ciety in 2005 by the Barrett family in memory of the late Gus Barrett who is remembered for his contribution, integrity, dedication and spirit to the ere AYA

A member of the society receives the perpetual award every year and it represents the true spirit of the group.

“Where there is any thing in need of being done Vie is there ready to help,” said PRO of the society, Mary O’ Loughlin.

“Although this spirit is not easily defined, we feel it is for someone who applies themselves to doing the

best they possibly can in whatever area of the society they get involved, in a Selfless and positive way.

‘They are not necessarily to the fore of what is going on but can be work- ing away in the background, some- one who is sensitive and respectful of other people, approachable, for whom there is no problem too big or too small,” she added.

Society chairperson Dara Gough said, “I think Shannon Musical So- ciety has a unique quality we can all be proud of, and that’s the unity and solidarity that shines through year after year in the weeks prior to, and

the week of the show. Testament to this is the fact that we have members and friends who are with us since the lerexcauebau ee rome

“We have looked back over the re- cent months and years to try and pick out someone who epitomises the true spirit of Shannon Musical Society and whose selfless actions and deeds make this society more enjoyable for everyone to be a part of,’ added Dara Grolbred se

The society is currently preparing for its forthcoming production

TEENAGERS were exposed to the deadly reality of dangerous driving at a hard-hitting presentation on road safety in Ennis last Thursday.

Graphic images of injury, sober- ing personal recollections and inter- views with the families, victims and perpetrators of road traffic accidents formed part of the ‘Lifesaver Project’, which was staged in two sections in Glor, Ennis.

A collaborative effort between Clare County Council, the Gardai, Clare Fire and Rescue Services and the Health Services Executive, ‘Life- saver’ aimed to encourage young people to adopt a more responsible attitude to driving.

Barry Keating, road safety of- ficer with Clare County Council ex- plained, “This project has already

been proven to be a very effective way of getting the road safety mes- sage across and encouraging a more responsible attitude towards driving behaviour.”

The audience on Thursday was roughly 500 students representing 15 secondary schools from across ETc

For the first section of Lifesaver, members of the rescue services re- created the scene of a two-vehicle fatal traffic accident.

The second half of the presentation took place inside the auditorium at Glor. Videos of road safety adverts and interviews with people affected by road traffic accidents were mixed with individual talks from members of the emergency services.

Garda Tony Miniter of the Traffic Corps informed the audience that 248 people had been killed in road

traffic accidents so far this year. He said the highest percentage of those people killed were aged between 16- 30.

“Now you might say that given all the statistics there 1s probably only a small chance ye will take any of this on board. It might be small chance, but it is a chance’, said Garda Minit- ae

Keith Mullane, an advanced para- medic working in Limerick, said young drivers needed to take a more responsible attitude to driving.

‘Our attitude collectively stinks”, said Mr Mullane. He added “You have to minimise your chances of be- ing in an accident….There is some- thing very, very wrong about putting the body of a young person into a fridge”’.

Gearoid Blake, Station Officer at Ennis Fire Station said the majority

of his work as a Fireman involved road traffic accidents. He described the scene of a typical accident. “You hear screaming that just explodes inside your head. You smell battery acid. You get a sort of metallic smell from all the blood. You smell vom- it. You smell beer, that’s one thing you’ll nearly always get the smell of…Afterwards, when you have to clean up the car, you find teeth, bits of flesh and bits of brain’.

Dr Cathal O’Donnell, a consultant in emergency medicine attached to Limerick and Ennis, told the audi- ence to be aware of the consequences of drink driving. “Don’t’ be killed because of someone else’s stupidity”, |stemncy-5 (6

SIXTH class students got a glimpse of day-to-day life in a secondary school in Ennis last week.

Timetables, German classes and bells ringing on the hour were just some of the newer aspects of school life experienced by pupils from Holy Family senior school taking part in a week-long pilot scheme in Colaiste Muire.

“We forget sometimes,” explained Colaiste Muire principal, “that for students coming in from primary school even something like a bell ringing in the middle of the morning is something completely different from what they are used to”’.

The scheme, initiated by Colaiste

Muire, allowed pupils from Holy Family to sample the routine of changing classes that they will be- come very familiar with over the next few years.

It is hoped that the experience will, in part, help smooth the transition from primary to secondary level education.

Over the course of the week, the students from Holy Family sat in on, among others, classes in foreign lan- guages like German and home eco- nomics.

As part of a broader approach to ease the transition, first year and leaving cert students guided their primary school counterparts through the process of switching classes and explained the kinds of extra-cur-

ricular activities on offer at Colaiste Muire.

Ms Pound said, “The aim was to offer them an experience of what secondary school is all about. We had our first years and leaving certs explain about class timetables and changing classes because when you are in primary school, you have the one teacher and you mainly stay in the one classroom”.

“Of course many primary school children will have sisters and broth- ers in second level education so they’ll know in a way what to expect. But we hope that through the pilot scheme, we can show them the ropes and explain what second level is all lerele lie

Parents will get the opportunity

to have their input to the scheme at open meetings to be held at Colaiste Muire.

“So far the feedback we have re- ceived has been very positive’, ex- plained Ms Pound.

She added, “The experience seems to have been beneficial to the stu- dents involved and it is something that we would look at continuing in the future”’.

MAINTAINING the Roche _ phar- maceutical plant in Clarecastle as a world class site is critical to ensuring the company’s future status in the area, a meeting has heard

That was the view expressed by Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) at last week’s meeting of councillors representing the Ennis Electoral Area.

Cllr Meaney stated that Roche, Clarecastle, was in competition with other Roche facilities around the world, to develop new and high quality product lines. As such, said Cllr Meaney, effort must be made by Clare County Council to ensure that a “valuable employer” like Roche re- mains in Clarecastle.

“Clare County Council needs to work with significant emphasis to make sure that Roche is a world class site. The entrance to Roche will have to be significantly improved”, said Cllr Meaney.

He added “We are at a critical juncture with dealing with Roche…. If they are not successful, it could effect the future of the plant. Clare County Council must do everything it can”.

The matter arose following a mo- tion put forward by Cllr Bernard Hanrahan (FF). Cllr Hanrahan asked when work at a junction at the entrance of Roche was expected to be completed.

Work at the site, at the corner of Clarehill and Patrick Street, was

delayed after a derelict cottage there was deemed to be a protected structure. A report carried out two years ago by then Conservation Of- ficer Risteard Ua Cronin found that the house was an 18th or early 19th century dwelling that appeared to be of “high architectural and heritage interest”.

Speaking at last week’s meeting, Cllr Hanrahan said that permission had been given to demolish half of the cottage. He said that work on traffic calming measures at the en- trance should be completed as soon as possible.

‘The issue of the junction has been dragging on and on for too long now’, said Cllr Hanrahan.

He added, “The worst thing about

this now is that they will probably have to put in traffic lights and a roundabout there to keep residents rN Koh

Cllr Meaney urged the Council to contact Roche with an effort to 1m- prove site access to the facility. He said the company were willing to contribute to the cost of carrying out the works.

Cllr Hanrahan said Roche were eager for the work to be completed. “Its important we get this moving,’ added Cllr Hanrahan.

Responding to Cllr Hanrahan’s motion, Declan O’Regan, Senior Ex- ecutive Engineer stated ‘Roche have not approached this office in recent times to advise that they intend to go ahead with these works.

IF YOU don’t employ a dedicated ac- countant, a designated person within your company may wish to under- take some training in the area. The ICAI runs subsidised business skills courses relevant for start-ups in con- junction with Government-sponsored training body, Skillnet.

These operate under the name “SME Growth Skillnet” and ICAI members and non-members can at-

tend. Basic Bookkeeping — Part One takes seven hours and takes students through the bookkeeping cycle from source documentation to preparing a trial balance. Next comes Basic Bookkeeping — Part Two, also last- ing seven hours. This module builds on part one and explains how to prepare financial statements from the trial balance. There is a shorter course too (3.5 hours) called Finan- cial Awareness for Administrators aiming to “dispel the mystery of fi-

nancial jargon” and explain the prin- ciples of business finance.

The Institute is also holding con- ferences 1n Dublin, Cork and Gal- way throughout November entitled ‘Members in Business”. The goal of the one-day events is to provide participants with key updates in im- portant areas of Financial Reporting, Tax and Commercial Law, as well as other topical issues. The cost of at- tending is €500, less 10 per cent for ICAI members.

TODAY more than ever, you need Someone you can rely on for sound business advice and to minimise business risk.

The right advice from an impartial professional can be the difference between success and failure. That’s why a Chartered Accountant is the logical choice if you want to negoti- ate a clear path through the labyrinth of the modern business world.

Your Chartered Accountant is a multi-skilled business professional whose knowledge of best business practices can help you succeed.

The services and expertise they can offer your business include in- terpreting data; preparing manage- ment tools such as forecasts and productivity improvements; audits; advising on financial planning; de- veloping new management strategies and the structures that support them andrisk management.

Chartered Accountants in public practice have the skills, knowledge and experience to improve your business practices – and the profits of your business – in areas you might never have considered.

Imagine the benefits you could re- ceive from a thorough and efficient review of gross margins, or how your debtor turnover affects your cash flow, or how much it is really cost- ing you to support your stock levels. Your Chartered Accountant can be your business partner for the long haul, continuously adding value to

your business.

Employing a Chartered Account- ant is your assurance that you are dealing with a highly qualified pro- fessional who is up-to-date on the latest business issues and is commit- ted to ongoing professional educa- tion. Investing in the expertise of a Chartered Accountant will give your organisation added insight and di- rection for years to come.

Accounting has been defined as “The art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, trans- actions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character and 1n- terpreting the results thereof.”

Financial accounting is one branch of accounting and historically has involved processes by which finan- cial information about a business is recorded, classified, summarised, interpreted, and communicated; for public companies, this information is generally publicly-accessible. By contrast, management accounting information is used within an or- ganisation and is usually confidential and accessible only to a small group, mostly decision-makers. Open-book accounting aims to improve account- ing transparency. Tax Accounting is the accounting needed to comply with jurisdictional tax regulations.

Auditing is a related but separate discipline, with two sub-disciplines: internal auditing and external audit- ing. External auditing is the process whereby an independent auditor ex- amines an organisation’s financial

statements and accounting records in order to express an opinion as to the truth and fairness of the finan- cial statements and their adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or Internation- al Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in all material respects. In- ternal auditing aims at providing information for management usage, and is typically carried out by em- ployees of the company.

Accounting scholarship is the aca- demic discipline which studies the theory of accountancy.

JUST as business owners sometimes fear accounts, any accountant will tell you of the nightmares they expe- rience when a client arrives close to tax return deadline day with a basket full of receipts and cheque stubs.

With the right support, you can make the tax system work for you – minimise your tax burden and sched- ule payments in a way that suits your cashflow requirements.

It is advisable to get solid tax advice at least once every year to make sure your enterprise is on the right track.

Among the reputable accountancy firms who will be happy to advise on the regulations and requirements are Niall C Garvey & Co, 12, Carmody Street, Ennis; O’Halloran & Co, Mill Road, Ennis; FDC & Associates, 8, Carmody Street Business Park, En- nis, Murphy Accountancy, Inis Si- oda, Shannon and Michael Neylon, Ennis Road, Miltown Malbay.

CLARE County Council is on a collision course with the National Roads Authority (NRA) after they ignored repeated NRA pleas to tight- en restrictions for one-off homes off national routes.

At a special council meeting last week, senior council planner John Bradley said the decision to allow exceptions for one-homes along na- tional routes in the draft Ennis De- velopment Plan was not consistent with national policy and was going

against NRA policy.

In the draft plan, the council says it will not allow developments on national routes where the maximum speed limit applies.

But there are a number of excep- tions to allow one-off homes for farmers and their own children wish- ing to build a house for their own oc- cupancy.

This has proved too much for the NRA and in a submission to the council, the roads authority says the council policy allows exceptions to the general restriction on access to

national roads.

“The authority requests the inclu- sion of a clearly phrased policy, consistent with official Government policy, outlining the county coun- cil’s position in relation to access to national roads, whereby access to national routes, outside areas where SOkph speed limit applies, will be restricted.

As a result, the NRA requested the council to make amendments to its policies “clearly indicating a restric- tion on direct acccess to national routes outside where a 5Okph speed

limit applies in accordance with of- ficial policy”.

“While the authority considers that none of the exceptions to the re- striction on direct access to national routes listed represent exceptional circumstances, the council are wel- come to review proposals with the authority with a view of establishing an agreed approach,’ the organisa- tion stated.

However, at a behind closed door meeting held last week in Ennis, councillors rejected the NRA sub- HOD EstSI CO) IF

The NRA submission was support- ed by a separate submission from the Department of the Environment.

The department stated: “The na- tional road infrastructure represents a very substantial investment which needs to be protected.

‘In this regard, two issues are of particular concern. Firstly, the ex- emptions are not in line with national policy as set out in the “Development Control Advice and Guidelines’ and ‘Policy and Planning Framework for Roads’ issued by the Department of Environment”.

A REMARKABLE irrigation project in Ethopia has been described by Bunratty woman Marinella Raftery as ‘a huge boost to the area’, as she embarked on a campaign to raise funding and build the profile of Self Help Africa over the autumn months

The positive impact that the Irish development agency is having was underlined when an Irish delega- tion visited a 20 year old irrigation scheme and found a community that had been transformed by the project.

Visitors to Ethiopia with Self Help Africa learned that an irrigation project developed with funding from Bob Geldof’s Band Aid in the late 1980s was still thriving, and 23,000 families in the region were earning a livelihood from the venture.

‘People talk about the importance of lasting development, but the peo- ple who travelled to Ethiopia were

able to see the impact that a scheme undertaken 20 years ago, was still having today’, said Ms Raftery

“I am going to encourage people to support Self Help Africa over the coming weeks, and it is great to be able to tell them that the projects work, and that empowering African people to help themselves, Self Help is able to transform the lives of the continent’s rural poor permanently.”

The Irish visitors who met with rep- resentatives of the Band Aid funded ‘Adami Tulu Farmers Co-Opera- tive’ heard that the group’s numbers had grown from 480 members to a present level of nearly 23,000, and farmers were producing surplus quantities of food every year.

Ms Raftery is currently involved in organising events and co-ordinat- ing a programme of fund-raising activities in Clare. To find out more visit www.sandwichday.ie, or e-mail Marinela on Clare@selfhelpafrica.