Month: September 2009

AN ODOUR circulating 1n the Shan- non area is annoying local residents, who want the matter to be investi- gated. The problem is caused by a blockage and Clare County Council is working on the issue.

At a meeting of Shannon area coun- cillors last week, Councillor Patricia McCarthy asked for a report to be presented, outlining the reasons why sewage odours are in existence, par- ticularly in the Ballycasey/Tullyvar- raga areas of the town.

In a written reply, from Clare

County Council, she was told that the main cause of the odour was a block- age in the inlet pipe leading to the pump station near Carraig Lia. This blockage has now been cleared. ‘However, there are large quanti- ties of solid materials coming to this pump station, which on occasion blocks both pumps, as well as the in- let line,’ stated Senior Executive En- gineer in Shannon, Eugene O’Shea. In order to alleviate the problem, works are underway at the pump station located near the Aidan Park traffic lights. This should reduce the loading on the pump station near

Carraig Lia. Mr O’Shea said that both pump houses will be cleaned out as part of the works, before the end of the month.

Cllr McCarthy said she was driving past Bunratty last weekend when she pale] B eee mete 0

“The whole town is stinked out of it,’ she said. She pointed out that checks should be carried out every week.

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said there was a smell in Shan- non last weekend and he has received several complaints about it. He asked why an upgrade of the water system

in the town had not been delivered. “The scheme in Shannon was to start in 2008 and that didn’t happen. We are into 2009. Quite a lot of in- frastructure has been loaded on to the system that we have,” he said. “Was it a funding problem that we didn’t start in 2008? With the current economic situation, when would you envisage it would start?” he asked. Engineer in water services Hugh McGrath said there have been a lot of delays in the planning process in Ennis, Shannon, Kilrush and Kilkee. He said there have been delays in get- ting approvals at the various stages.

CCTV in Ennis is set to be expanded after members of Ennis Town Coun- cil recommended that a new bank of cameras be installed in several areas of the town.

The cameras will be installed at Drumbiggle Road green area, Clancy Park, Cornmarket car park, Hermit- age, Pearse Avenue/ Childers Road, Shallee Drive, John Paul Avenue, Considine Road and Island car park.

A report on CCTV was presented to members at the September meet- ing of Ennis Town Council.

The aim of the report was to deter- mine whether or not the “proposed development was consistent with the proper planning and sustainable de- velopment of the area having regard to the provisions of the development plan and giving the reason and con- siderations for the evaluation”’.

The council’s report found that “most of the locations of proposed cameras are zoned other settlement land where the objective is to con- serve and enhance the quality and character of the area, to protect resi- dential amenity and to allow for de- velopment appropriate to the sustain-

able growth of the settlement”.

No submissions were received by the council on the matter.

“Tt 1s not considered that the pro- posal contravenes the zoning objec- tive for the area. There is no objec- tion in principle to the proposed development. I recommend that the development proceed,” concluded Ellen Carey, Executive Planner with Ennis Town Council. CCTV cam- eras are already in place in 13 other locations around Ennis.

Meanwhile, the next meeting of the Ennis town Joint Policing Commit- tee (JPC) will take place at Water-

park House on October 5.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) told Sep- tember’s meeting of Ennis Town Council that he had concerns about the timing of the meeting.

Cllr O’Shea called for the meeting to be held in September saying it was of “paramount importance” that it take place as soon as possible. Cllr O’Shea added that serious issues re- lating to crime had arisen in the town over the last number of months.

Town Clerk Eddie Power stated that several meetings had taken place be- tween councillors, council officials and the Gardai, as issues had arisen.

PREVENTING crimes such as bur- glary and theft across the county will be one of the priorities for Garda Community Safety Week, which takes place throughout this week.

The theme of the week’s nation- wide campaign is ‘Older Adults in the Community’. The purpose of the theme is to focus on the positive con- tributions of older adults in the com- munity, particularly through their involvement in various community partnerships and crime prevention initiatives, operated in partnership ede mee:NuOreNB

“It is recognised that older people can be targeted. However, the impact can be reduced if crime prevention advice is actioned,’ said the crime prevention officer in Clare, Sergeant Joe Downey.

“Every effort should be made by all to take all necessary precautions to secure their property and protect themselves from any form of attack. The main focus of this week is on burglary, theft from cars and theft from shops,” said Sgt Downey.

He pointed to advice in helping to prevent burglaries, thefts from cars and thefts from shops. These in- clude fitting quality security locks, installing intruder alarms and mark- ing valuable property so that it can be positively identified if stolen and later located.

“Form Neighbourhood Watch, Community Alert or Business Watch

eroups for your area. Be a good neighbour and report any suspicious behaviour to the gardai,’ advised Sgt Dre atlas

A number of specific points should be remembered in an effort to prevent thefts from cars, he said. These in- clude locking all doors and windows, fitting an immobiliser or alarm and avoiding parking in isolated places.

Thefts from shops can also be pre- vented, by taking various measures. “Making it difficult for customers or professional thieves to take goods can greatly reduce the incidents of theft,” said Sgt Downey.

“Installing CCTV systems will

help to deter thieves. The cameras should be highly visible, with warn- ing signs on display. A camera should be placed to record all who enter the shop. Access to the recorder should be strictly controlled.

‘“High-value goods should be in di- rect sight of the counter staff, while staff should always be encouraged to be observant.”

Garda Community Safety Week runs through until next Sunday, Sep- tember 27.

A NEW< satellite District Veterinary Office could be established in Ennis at a fraction of the cost of providing centralised services in Limerick. According to Clare IFA, serious questions have also to be answered concerning the Department of Ag- riculture’s handling of the situation - with the department-owned Ennis offices to be closed in favour of the office at the Raheen Business Park in Limerick which costs the taxpayer almost €33,000 in rent and charges rele spaslevelaee Followings revelations last week that it would cost between €6.5m and €1l0m for the department to get out of their arrangement in rela- tion to the Limerick offices, it has emerged this week that they have paid €1,556,703 in rent and a further €147,319 in service charges since the lease on commenced in May of PAU Oey It has also emerged that the depart- ment had first intended to close the Limerick offices but changed their mind when the prohibitive rental ar- rangement became clear. “This will be a huge inconvenience to Clare farmers and will be a mas- sive drain, both in time and money. This raises serious questions over the procedure for procuring proper- ties being used by the Government. It seems obvious that the Government was weak in their management of this and it raises some serious ques- tions,’ said Michael Lynch, Clare President of the IFA. “There will have to be some sort of facility in Ennis. In the current cli- mate a limited number of services to be maintained in Ennis would be very cost effective. If we could retains some facilities, especially in relation to questions about the differ- ent government schemes and disease irradiation it would make a huge dif- ference.” In all, 42 offices are to be closed by the department and services cen- tralised to 16 upgraded facilities in a restructuring move which will see a saving €30m but the loss of 400 jobs. According to Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith, this is on the basis of several criteria including ownership of buildings. “If this was one of the criteria used and it was applied to the Ennis of- fice, it would be remaining open,” said Clare TD, Pat Breen (FG). ‘The Ennis office is not costing the department anything in terms of rent or leases. Also, the argument that centralising the service will provide better value for money does not wash either. Where are the cost savings in this proposal?”

CLARE County Council has con- firmed it was awaiting approval from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to carry out a wide range of accessibil- ity works in 17 towns and villages throughout the county.

Finance totalling €371,000 has been allocated for the proposed works under the Disability Strategy Funding for 2009.

The prioritised works awaiting ap- proval were identified as part of a countywide accessibility audit of all

public buildings, facilities and amen- ities owned or controlled by Clare Local Authorities.

An integral part of the audit proc- ess was the consultation through workshops and at local level with the various stakeholders – people with disabilities, disability groups, carers of people with disabilities and the elderly.

According to Mayor of Clare, Councillor Tony Mulcahy, “I warmly welcome the fact that the proposed works are spread throughout the county and include the provision of drop kerbing and tactile paving in

seventeen different towns and vil- lages.

‘Elsewhere, improvements will be made to disabled car parking facili- ties at Drumcliffe Graveyard, and at Lahinch and Killaloe where the works will be carried out by Clare County Council staff,”

Mayor Mulcahy added, “I also wel- come proposals to expand the audio stock, DVDs and number of large print books for use through the lh- brary service, which continues to be a vital resource to the people of CET rome

Commenting on the scheduled

works, Mr Tom King, Chairman of Disabled People of Clare, Chairper- son of the National Policy for the Centre of Independent Living, and National Director of People With Disabilities in Ireland said, “It is reassuring to learn that despite the current economic climate all fund- ing allocated to Clare under the Dis- ability Strategy Funding in 2009 will be spent on accessibility measures in the county.

“T am also delighted that the works included in the proposals awaiting Government approval have been ex- tracted from priority measures iden-

tified in the access audit.”

Mr King continued, “Especially in view of the difficult economic circumstances, I fully support and welcome the use of the council’s own staff to execute the proposed works.

Mr King said, “In addition to assist- ing with maintaining local employ- ment, the execution of these works will also provide training in terms of accessibility works and serve to in- crease awareness of the principal of universal accessibility and the obliga- tion on service providers to meet the needs of those living and visiting our feta ae

Wheelchair bus vandalised

Big stink over Quin odour

UL extension plans come under fire

PLANS by the University of Limer- ick (UL), the country’s leading sports university, to extend its Clare campus by 25 acres with sports amenities have come under fire. In a planning application lodged with Clare Coun- ty Council, UL is seeking planning permission for two standard soccer pitches, one GAA pitch and one rugby pitch along with a sports pavillion and 392 car-parking spaces.

However, in an objection against the development, local resident, Caro- line O’Brien of Shravokee, Clonlara states that “our greatest concern re- lates to the impact that this develop- ment would have on our property at

Shravokee, Clonlara.”’

She states, “The proposed devel- opment will have a very significant footprint on a very special landscape, namely a floodplain of the River SJat-evelOnee

“The loss of 25 acres of floodplain would have enormous consequences for the rich natural habitat of this area.

“On occasion, flood waters have en- croached within a few metres of our buildings. Even the slightest increase in the flood levels in this flood plain would inundate our property.

‘The cumulative effect of these vari- ous developments on this flood plain will inevitably increase the future of floods.

“We are highlighting the serious threat presented to our property by the proposed development.”

Ms O’Brien cites the Clare County Development plan, which states that “proposals for development on the coast, within a flood plain or adjacent to a river or its flood plain, will only be permitted where it can be clearly demonstrated that it does not place itselt at risk of harm to life or dam- age to property through flooding or increase the flood risk in the relevant river catchment”.

She states, “In our opinion, the pro- posed development is at variance with this condition.

“If this development proceeds and our property is consequently affected

by flooding could you please indicate where the responsibility lie.”

However, consultants for UL state that “the proposed development com- plies with the requirements of the County Development Plan”.

The university states that “the sports facility is an appropriate landuse in a floodplain and it is adaptable to cli- mate change”.

The consultants state, ““The extent of the development, relatives to large river flood levels and large floodplain extent will result in no impact on lo- cal water levels and effects on flows downsteam will not be significant.”

The consultants admit that the sub- ject lands have been subject to isolat- ed flooding incidents in the past.

A GARDA investigation into the misappropriation of thousands of euro in rents 1s “complex”, a court has been told.

The comment was made, as the State was granted an extension of time for preparation of the Book of Evidence in the case of a property agent, who is accused of 61 charges, in connection with the misappropria- tion of almost €80,000 in rents.

Fiona Lillis (36), of Lisduff, New- market-on-Fergus, is accused of 49 theft charges and 12 charges of de- ception, in relation to €76,540, be- tween December 17, 2007 and Sep- tember 30, 2008.

The charges relate to the owners of six properties. She is facing 45 theft charges and four charges of deception in relation to one prop- erty owner Richard Dineen, totalling €59,570, relating to rent and rental deposits for accommodation at Kin- cora Apartments, Shannon.

Another six charges – three theft charges and three deception charges – relate to Adrian Kelly, in relation to a property at Dun na Manach, Quin. The other six charges relate to Kin- cora Apartments, Shannon.

Ms Lillis appeared in court initial- ly in July and the case was adjourned to last Thursday. On Thursday, In- spector John Galvin, prosecuting, said that the book of evidence was not ready. He asked for a two-month adjournment.

However, defending solicitor Ca1- triona Carmody said, “This has been going on since July. My application is that it be adjourned peremptory against the State.”

Inspector Galvin said, “It’s a com- plex matter. It will take time.”

Judge Joseph Mangan extended time for service of the book of evi- dence and adjourned the case for two months.

A SIX-MONTH jail term has been handed down to a woman who plead- ed guilty to charges under the Theft and Fraud Offences Acct.

Cora Mulqueen (35), of Kincora Apartments, Shannon, pleaded guilty to altering a Department of Social and Family Affairs cheque and three other offences, arising out of an inci- dent in December 2007.

Shannon District Court was told previously that Ms Mulqueen was a chronic heroin addict and had been unsuccessful in her attempts to give up the drug.

Her solicitor, Caitriona Carmody, said that her client has now moved away from Shannon and is off her- oon

Judge Joseph Mangan said the pro- bation report in the case was “very negative” and imposed a six-month jail term. He fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.