Month: December 2008

AN elected member of Clare County Council has challenged members of the media to spend a week with him to see his workload.

Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) made the call at last night’s meeting of the local authority after hearing that a journalist had made a request under the Freedom of Information Act ask- ing for details of councillors’ attend- ance at meetings.

“If any journalist wants to spend a week with me and see what the real workload is for a local politician, they are welcome to do it,” he said.

He was speaking on a motion from Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) asking for details of how many meetings had been convened of the various com- mittees of the council in the last three years.

Cllr Martin Conway (FG) said “nobody is in this job for the money. TDs in this country earn seven times as much as councillors do and they have secretaries to write letters for them and don’t even have to worry about phone expenses.”

Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) said that the call on councillors’ time was “not just a matter of meetings but also a mat- ter of how many times the doorbell rings. If all the hours were calculated out, we are well below the minimum eon

Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Labour) asked whether there was not some measure the councillors could take

to help two council colleagues who have been unable to attend meetings because of a year of ill-health. Mayor of Clare, Cllr Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (FG) said the system which penalises councillors for non- attendance, in their salaries and in their pension entitlements, was “very inequitable. If Senators become ill during a term in office, they are not penalised. This is an issue I feel must be addressed by the county council

with the Minister.”

County Manager Alec Fleming said he agreed that councillors sala- ries were less than adequate.

“The salary is based on a notional 20 hours work a week and I know that this is not the case and every councillor works longer than that,” said Mr Fleming.

A MAN who had a screwdriver in- side his hoodie told gardai he did not know it was there, a court has heard.

Mark Mounsey (26), of Gordon Drive, Ennis, denied a charge of pos- session of an article.

Garda Barry O’Grady told Ennis District Court that he was on patrol at Cloughleigh Road, Ennis, on Au- gust 31 last.

He observed a silver car with three men in it. The accused, he said, was sitting in the back seat and appeared

nervous.

He said he searched him at Ennis Garda Station and found a screw- driver inside the hoodie top he was wearing.

“He said he didn’t know it was there,” said the garda.

Defending solicitor Daragh Hassett said his client lives across the road from where he met the garda.

He said he met two friends outside the local shop and sat into the back of the car. Mr Hassett said his cli- ent was searched at Cloughleigh and not at the garda station. However the

garda said this was not the case.

The solicitor said this incident hap- pened at 1.05pm, in daylight hours. Mr Mounsey told the court he had the screwdriver in his top “because I was changing a lock on my bedroom door.”

Mr Hassett submitted to the court that there was “nothing untoward” in relation to the possession of the screwdriver.

‘The reasonable doubt in this case must lie with the defence,’ he said.

Judge Leo Malone dismissed the charge.

CLARE County Council is being prosecuted in connection with an accident on a construction site near Tulla in which a man was killed, two-and-a-half years ago.

Six charges are being brought against Clare County Council and eight against the manger of the site, in connection with an accident at a road realignment construction site at or near Lissofin-Cuttenmore Loughan, Tulla, on May 17, 2006.

Thomas O’Grady suffered serious injuries in an accident on that date when the dumper he was operating overran the embankment, throwing him from it. He subsequently died from his injuries.

In the case taken by the National

Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, Clare County Council is accused of failing to manage and conduct work activities and in par- ticular, the operation of dumper ve- hicles at or near an embankment, in such a way as to ensure, SO aS was reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare at work of its em- ployees and were thereby in breach of the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act.

The manager of the site, Michael Scully, of Oakwood, Sixmilebridge, faces eight charges, also under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work aoe

The Book of Evidence was served at Ennis District Court last Friday. The case will be heard in the Circuit Court.

A MAN charged in connection with an alleged axe attack at a salon in Ennis has appealed to the Supreme Court, after bail was refused in the High Court.

Anthony McDonagh (22), of Wa- terpark View, Ennis, is accused of producing an axe at Brownie’s hair salon in The Market area of Ennis on September 18 last. He is also accused of assault causing harm to his second cousin David McDonagh (24), on the

Same date.

Last month, the Book of Evidence was served on the accused and he was returned for trial to Ennis Cir- cuit Court last Friday. He has been in custody since his arrest, just days after the alleged incident.

His solicitor Daragh Hassett told the court that bail had been refused in the High Court, “and there’s a Su- preme Court appeal pending”. Free legal aid was granted for the Cir- cuit Court trial, along with a Junior Soo F

JUST like he claims for his planes, Michael O’Leary arrived ahead of schedule in Shannon last week.

He revealed his plans for world domination to waiting journalists be- fore taking the podium for the after- dinner speech to the Shannon Cham- ber of Commerce lunch.

“My plan is to merge Ryanair with Aer Lingus to form one Irish cham- pion – a world beater. We would be one of the big four European airlines and we would be one of the few Irish companies that would actually be a leader in its field.”

This being Shannon, the budget airline boss didn’t flinch at promis- ing that if he gets his hands on Aer Lingus, there’s more than a chance that one of the Heathrow slots would elem uc Rel U Noe

After meeting with Minister Demp- sey the previous day, he learned “the Government were unhappy when Aer Lingus switched the slots to Belfast. That’s something that will be ad- dressed in the offer document.”

Wrorsshaateelaveycmme)e mms elomm ole wKOusetclelee of the slots in Belfast he said that the “load factor in Belfast 1s 57 per cent – the Shannon base, when it was open, had a load factor closer to 80 per cent. We still believe that Aer Lingus could do both.”

O’Leary said that Ryanair’s offer document, which will be revealed this week, would contain “compre- hensive commitments on lower fairs, removing fuel surcharges, doubling

the size of Aer Lingus’ shorthaul fleet, creating a thousand new jobs and transforming Aer Lingus from a declining, loss -making concern into a profitable airline that Ireland can be proud of”.

After lunch, he machine-gunned his way through a presentation on why Ryanair should be allowed merge with Aer Lingus, not just convincing Eskimos to buy ice but talking them into buying whole glaciers of it.

He predicted a marginalised future for Aer Lingus on its own, or a buy- out by one of the other big European ZNDUNN Noe

He painted a picture of all the Hea- throw slots being spirited away.

‘Never mind no connectivity in Shannon – the whole bloody country will be without connectivity if that happens.”

And then he was gone, apologising for leaving because “I borrowed a plane and that plane has to be back making money by four o’clock.”

SNe MOR eirocer Nm ciecoem- Mielke) sete iI welcoming the fact that O’Leary, is for the first rime willing to deal with a trade union. He’ll have to if he takes over Aer Lingus, the union pointed out.

AN open verdict has been returned in the case of a man whose body was recovered from the water at Doolin last April.

The inquest into the death of Ivan Klima heard that he had visited the Cliffs of Moher on April 9, 2008.

Medical evidence provided by As- sistant State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis, concluded that Mr Klima died as a result of multiple injuries consistent with a fall from a cliff.

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea told the court that an absence of evidence made it unclear how Mr Klima en- tered the water.

“The only verdict I can consider appropriate is an open verdict,’ said Mrs O’Dea.

Mr Klima, a Czech national, had been living in Mullingar. His house-

mate Janna Sulkova told Ennis Cor- oner’s Court that she had heard Mr Klima return to the house in the ear- ly hours April 5 2008. She said that Mr Klima had just returned from the Czech Republic. Mrs Sulkova heard the 29-year-old leave the house the following morning.

“The first I heard about Ivan was when his car was found at the Cliffs of Moher,” she said.

Concern for Mr Klima’s safety grew after his car was observed parked overnight at the cliffs on April 9. Local man Tom Doherty re- ported the owner of the car missing to the Gardai on April 10.

The body of a man was seen in the water near the cliffs on April 11, but poor weather meant rescue services were unable to remove it, the court heard.

The body was recovered by mem-

bers of the Doolin coastguard on April 2 and identified as that of Ivan Klima. Garda Alan Dowling who was called to the scene contacted Gardai in Mullingar. Asked by Mrs O’Dea if he could predict the exact time of death, Dr Curtis said it was not scientifically possible to do so.

Mrs O’Dea said Mr Klima had been pronounced dead on April 12. She returned an open verdict. Mrs O’Dea thanked the Doolin coast- guard and extended her sympathy to Mr Klima’s family.

Inspector John Galvin said, “I would like, on behalf of the force, to extend my sympathy to the Klima family on this tragic and untimely death of a young man.”

Solictor Frank Doherty, who rep- resented the Klima family in court, praised the efforts of the rescue serv- eh

A 93-YEAR-OLD woman died in hospital after she fell and hit her head at a nursing home in Liscannor.

Winifred Agnes Keane had been staying at Dominic Savio Nursing Je Covet eeMNlomUUS lo KcOm-limlees (elon tal fall last December.

The proprietor of the nursing home, Desdemona Smith, told Ennis Coro- ner’s Court that Ms Keane moved in on December 5, 2007 and was trans- ferred to Ennis General Hospital on January 14 last. She was mobile and alert during her stay at the nursing home.

At 7.20pm on the evening of Janu- ary 14, Ms Keane was found lying on the bathroom floor and had sustained a laceration to the left side of her

head. She was seen by a doctor, who arranged for her transfer to Ennis General Hospital for further treat- ment. However, she later died there.

Pathologist Dr Stephen Finn car- ried out a post mortem examination on Ms Keane’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital. He concluded that the cause of death was haemor- rhage as a result of the fracture of the symphsis pubis.

Coroner Isobel O’Dea said it was quite clear that Ms Keane, a widow, had suffered an accidental fall. She said she was extremely impressed with the evidence from the proprie- tor of the nursing home.

“It was very sad for Ms Keane to die so suddenly after the fall when she was waiting for further medical treatment,’ she said.

THE significance of next Saturday for Munster increased dramatically this weekend on the back of their 25-19 defeat against Clermont at the Stade Marcel Michelin.

Now, the return game in Thomond Park could prove crucial as Sunday’s result threw the Pool One table wide open with Sale and Claremont now fighting it out with Munster to head the table.

For Clonlara’s Marcus Horan — who scored his side’s only try on Sun- day — Saturday will also be a major personal milestone, as he will have scaled a half-century of Heineken Cup appearances.

And according to Munster captain Paul O’Connell, Munster will need every single player firing on all cyl- inders in Thomond Park if Munster are to overtake Sale on top of the pool table.

“We did get a bonus point on Sun- day and that might be very important for us or it mightn’t count for any- thing if we don’t turn up next week,’ he said.

“But we’re still in with a great chance. It’s going to be a massive game next week, though and it was disappointing to lose on Sunday. Every game in the group is now im- portant because we’re only half way there.”

Speaking of Munster’s poor per- formance in the second half, he said the side failed to make a serious 1m- pression at times.

“If you concede the gain line in rugby you’re going to be chasing your tail. And we did that once or twice and they punished us.”

Ronan Judge & Andrew Hamilton

A LEADING Clare constrution com- pany has revealed they have business worth €10 milion lined up which may have to be put on ice because of the credit squeeze.

And following reports in The Clare People last week that migrant wotk- ers are giving up on the Celtic Tiger and going home, a Clare councillor has called for planners to cut de- velopers some slack to keep skilled

people here.

Keco’s Bernard Bartley say they have millions worth of building work lined up, but , he warned, a lack of credit means many lucrative projects are being put on the back burner .

‘We would have work lined up for next year that would be worth €10 million but the banks are not giving out money and until they start lend- ing again, it will cause problems.

Last week, a Lithuanian company held jobs fairs here to encourage for-

eign nationals who came to Ireland to seek work to return home.

And Orla Ni Eili of Clare’s Im- migrant Suport Service, said that the service has seen “a lot of people leaving and some planning to leave. Work is much harder to get now, par- ticularly in the building trade.”

Labour councillor, Pascal Fitzger- ald has called on the planners in Clare County Council to do their ut- most to grant planning permissions and keep skilled craftsmen from

leaving the country.

“I’m concerned about the number of skilled young people who are head- ing for the airport every day to take off for Australia and other places where they can find work”, he said.

The councillor said that while he understands there has been a huge drop in the number of planning ap- plications which are coming before the council, where at all possible, he has asked that the planners give per- misssions.

Further eveidence of the slump in the building trade emerged last week when Killaloe builders, Tom Hayes Ltd, commented that building com- panies have “no option” but to let Staff go”.

Meanwhile, the Mid West Branch of the Construction Industry Federa- tion (CIF) has stated it is “delighted with the decision taken by their ex- ecutive to unanimously reject the na- tional pay agreement and seek a 10 per cent reduction in pay rates.