Month: December 2009

BUSINESSES around the county are picking themselves up after the big clean-up and the receding flood waters and are ready to go with the Christmas trade.

‘Everyone is getting down to busi- ness again,’ said Chamber of Com- merce CEO Rita McInerney. “Eve- ryone is back in action and looking forward to Christmas. We are already one quarter way through the Christ- mas shopping season and businesses are concentrating on that. It will be January before people can really take stock of all that has happened.”

Ms McInerney said that the Shop In Ennis drive which is in operation at the moment appears to be bearing fruit. “There is a feeling of pride in shopping in our own area and that is a good thing and I think it has been reinforced because of the floods. We’ve had a few businesses saying that they have found good local sup- port.”

Meanwhile, insurance companies are still dealing with the barrage of claims which have resulted from the deluge.

Hibernian Aviva’s have been deal- ing with €250 million in claims countrywide. Spokesman Alan Tyrell said that there is no breakdown avail- able locally.

The thorny issue of re-insuring business and home owners who have suffered flooding is still to be tack-

tereR

“It’s too early to say how that will work out. The focus is on getting over this issue and then all the stakehold- ers will have to sit down and take stock of what can be done to prevent this in the future, whether this is a one-off occurrence, something that’s going to happen every ten years or something which will happen more

regularly than that as a result of cli- mate change,’ Mr Tyrell said.

ALL of the families who had to flee their homes have now returned.

But an 80-year old woman who had to be brought down ramps in her wheelchair still can’t return to her Clonlara house because everything in her home has been destroyed.

Nora Mason can’t return to her house in Springfield and most likely SAU oLemmcy oles NOCD OToMm GUST MINNeT-MAU LOOM slot daughter, Geraldine Quinliven, who was also evacuated with her husband

and four children.

‘Everything in my mother’s house is gone. There’s an inch and a half of silt covering the floors in there. She has to start again at her age,” said Geral- otter

Geraldine and her family returned home on Saturday, more than a week after having to leave their house in Springfield. They spent the time in the interim in a Limerick hotel. The clean-up operation has taken all weekend, she said.

My husband is taking all the sand-

bags away from our doors and stack- ing them behind the house. I really hope we’re not going to need them again.” said Geraldine.

The burning question for Geraldine – and other families flooded out – is how this will affect their insurance. “We haven’t even gone there yet. We’re just trying to get the boys back into school and into a routine and set- tle ourselves back in.” she said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the emergency team has confirmed that all 20 south east Clare families evacu-

ated have been told they can return home.

GE Tiee Orel Seer elm-riCmsiew ele met on Friday with the families who are residents of the Hampstead Park and Riverbrook Lawn estates in Shan- non Banks.

Mary Halpin General Manager with the HSE said “We have met with the families involved and assured them in relation to their dwellings and offered general advice in relation to any is- sues that may require to be addressed. All families are delighted to be able

to return to their homes and the HSE will continue to offer whatever sup- port it can to families that have been displaced as a result of the flooding” Ger Dollard, Director of Services, Clare County Council said: “The HSE and council have no objection to people returning to their homes. The 20 houses in question have not been affected by flooding while the con- struction of a 310-metre long earthen embankment along the river bank has greatly reduced any risk of flooding taking place in the area in question.”

A MAN lost his life in tragic circum- stances when a tractor jumped for- ward and knocked him to the ground, Ennis Coroner’s Court has heard.

An inquest into the death of Michael Conroy (81), of Tubber, heard that he was showing a tractor to a man when tragedy struck, on July 12 last.

Tim Walsh was home from the US on holiday when he visited Mr Con- roy.

In a statement, Mr Walsh said that Mr Conroy turned the key in the tractor and it jumped. As a result, the

rear wheel ran over Mr Conroy, who was a retired mechanic.

Garda Marius Stones said he re- ceived a call shortly before 6pm that evening to go to Tubber.

He said he was told that Mr Conroy had wanted to show his vintage trac- tor to Mr Walsh, who was home from the US on holidays and was staying AU Mrs im ole) Fd poe) b0

He said that Mr Conroy reached in from a standing position to turn on the tractor. However, the tractor was in gear and it moved forward, knock- ing him to the ground.

The inquest heard that an autopsy

was carried out on Mr Conroy’s body at Limerick Regional Hospital. This concluded that death was due to trau- matic chest injuries, consistent with pecleneerae

County Coroner Isobel O’Dea said it was “abundantly clear from the statement of Mr Walsh that an unfor- tunate accident occurred.”

The jury returned a verdict of ac- cidental death.

AN EERIE silence descended upon Ennis Coroner’s Court as the horrif- ic details of a car crash that claimed two lives were recalled.

Members of two heartbroken fam- ilies sat in the courtroom at Ennis courthouse as the exact descriptions of the multiple injuries sustained by the two men were outlined. The de- tail was almost unbearable.

Just 20 weeks earlier, Peter Beck- ley and Raymond Stack had sat behind the wheels of their cars for what tragically would be their last ever journeys.

Those trips had began with de- termination, but ended in tears and devastation.

On that fateful July afternoon, Mr Beckley, a native of the UK, was alone in his Volvo car driving towards his home at Tullycrine, while Mr Stack was driving a Ford Mondeo towards his home in Lim- erick city.

His wife Ann and their four-year- old grandson Donnacha were in the or Tua aisemeuneee

The Stacks had been on holidays in Doonbeg and were en route home when they were involved in the ac- cident which occurred on a straight Stretch of road, but close to a hill- crest.

Those who were quickly on the

scene that afternoon tried to find a pulse on both men but there were none.

At the inquest into the men’s

deaths last Wednesday, County Coroner Isobel O’Dea commended the “bravery” of a young paramedic who arrived on the scene shortly

after the accident and did what she could.

The scene in the immediate af- termath of the crash that afternoon

was dreadful. Members of the vari- ous emergency services entered and exited the sealed-off stretch of road for several hours after the accident.

Several gardai walked away from the scene pale-faced. They were traumatised by what they saw. Gardai took a sensitive approach and covered the badly damaged cars as they were taken from the scene.

The mangled state of both cars would have painted a very grim pic- ture. After all, both families would have to try to come to terms with deeply upsetting news that evening.

Mr Beckley’s wife Bridget would answer her door at around 7pm that evening to see two gardai standing outside. They were there to deliver the message that her husband had been killed in a road accident just a few hours earlier.

Mrs Beckley then went to Limer- ick Regional Hospital, where she identified her husband’s body.

It’s the knock on the door that no- body wants to have to answer and the haunting words of those deliver- ing the devastating news are never likely to be banished from memory.

A MID-AFTERNOON head-on col- lision between two cars close to the townland of Darragh resulted in both drivers being killed, an inquest into their deaths has heard.

Peter Beckley, a 40-year-old man who lived in Tullycrine, Cooraclare, and Raymond Stack, aged 61, from Limerick, lost their lives in the ac- cident at Bansha, Darragh — on the main Ennis/Kilrush road — on the afternoon of July 16 last.

Teresa Lyons, a paramedic, had at- tended an inquest in Kilrush that af-

ternoon.

She was on her way back to En- nis and was travelling behind a Ford Mondeo car. She noticed the Mondeo overtaking a number of vehicles when it was safe to do so.

A short distance before she reached Darragh, she noticed the Mondeo pulling out again “in what appeared to be an overtaking manoeuvre.”

She saw a Silver vehicle approach- ing. “My immediate thought was that these two vehicles were going to col- lide,” she said.

She said that the Mondeo then ap- peared to spin around in mid-air and

the other vehicle, a silver Volvo, spun to her right-hand side and ended up near a fence.

She stopped her car and contacted the emergency services.

She went over to the cars and saw that a child was crying in the Mondeo. The child was thrown across the back seat of the car, but was still in the child’s seat. Ms Lyons said she tried to find a pulse in the man in the Mondeo but was unable to do so.

She said she believed the Mondeo was travelling at a speed of between 50 and 60 miles per hour at the time.

Mr Stack’s wife Ann recalled trav- elling in the car with her husband and their grandson, Donnacha. They had left Kilkee at around 3.25pm, having been in Doonbeg earlier.

She remembered her husband driv- ing along and all of a sudden there was an accident. She was taken to hospital, where she was treated for injuries.

The inquest heard that both men were pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene of the accident, shortly before 6.30pm.

Garda Niall Doody explained that he received a call to attend the scene

of an accident at 3.55pm that after- noon. He said it was a dry, clear, sun- ny day. He said that Mr Beckley had been driving a Volvo, while Mr Stack had been driving a Mondeo.

There was no response from either driver when he checked for pulses. He said that the bodies were removed from the scene shortly before 7pm.

Post mortem examinations con- cluded that both men died due to multiple traumatic injuries including Skull fractures, consistent with hav- ing been involved in a road accident. Verdicts of accidental death were re- turned in both cases.

A CAUTIONARY budget for the county that outlines serious concerns about companies and _ businesses closing, and predicts a further drop in council income sources was un- (JOM) I ECOL AYA

At a special meeting the council members unanimously approved the 2010 budget which is five per cent less than last year with a gross ex- penditure of €112.6 million.

In drawing up and passing the budget the council had to use a cer- tain amount of guess work as the Minister for the Environment, Her- itage and Local Government John Gormley (GP) still had not advised the council of its Local Government Fund allocation for 2010.

The budget was framed therefore on the assumption that the fund would be 7.5 per cent less than last year or €1.1 million.

County Manager Tom Coughlan told the members of the council that the reduction in any public sector pay, predicted in the national budg- et, and the addition of additional sources funding such as the charge introduced on non-principal private residents, would be off set by this 7.5 OX ee MR LU(eLBLO IE

The budget has also been prepared on the presumption that a €400,000 allocation for water services will be forthcoming, an accepted additional risk to the income for budget 2010.

The council agreed to maintain the commercial rates at its current level in a bid to support the business com- munity.

According to the budget estimates “the effective valuation of Clare

County Council has increased over that provided for in 2009 generating additional income of €62,000”

“While this valuation listing in- crease 1S positive, an indepth review of our commercial valuation base identifies an increased number of va- cant premises,’ reported Mr Cough- Tee

“In addition the increase in the number of companies closing down, going into liquidation, examinership

and receivership in 2009 to date is a cause of serious concern.

The budget therefore provides for an increased level or rates refunds and irrecoverable rates of €500,000 over 2009 levels.

This represents an overall cost of approximately eight per cent on the eI Kem oyster

The council remains in the dark re- garding its exact funding for roads, as this Government Allocation is not

usually announced until early in the New Year.

The budget passed on Friday is therefore based on the presumption that the road grant for 2010 will re- main the same as 2009.

Roads own recourses are the only expenditure area that has been in- creased over 2009 levels.

yesterday (Monday) that the breast cancer screening unit will definitely be lo- cated in the county town, Ennis, but an exact location has not yet been

HCO CCVOLBUOLSLOME-DALG M-ea Rolo D

The unit is large and is usually lo- cated on the site of hospitals or in large car parks with nearby facili- Woe

Screening of women for breast can- cer began in Clare in August 2009 when women from the north of the county were invited to attend the BreastCheck Western Unit in Gal- WEN

A mobile unit must be rolled out to cater for the rest of the women in the county.

Breast cancer screening has been available in other parts of the coun- try for more than seven years, and women in Roscommon who, like

Clare women, are in the HSE West area, were last June invited for their second round of screening.

There are in excess of 8,000 eligible women from Clare to be screened.

BreastCheck provides free mam- mograms (breast x-rays) to women aged 50 to 64 on an area-by-area ba- sis, reflective of electoral divisions, every two years.

Women aged 50 to 64 in Counties Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Tip- perary north are screened from the BreastCheck Western Unit and at- tached mobile digital screening OTOP LAE

BreastCheck advises all women

aged 50 to 64 to check that they are on the BreastCheck register.

Once on the register and known to the programme, women will auto- matically receive a BreastCheck ap- pointment.

Since early March, the breast clinic at the Mid Western Regional Hos- pital Limerick – the centre of excel- lence for the mid-west – is only pro- viding symptomatic mammography, with routine screening mammogra- phy now falling under the auspices of BreastCheck.

For more than a year, women from Clare, seeking a routine mammo- eramme (breast x-ray) had to pay privately for it in Galway.

ENNIS Town Council has been urged to listen to the views of the local peo- ple when it re-evaluates its flood risk assessment for all areas of Ennis.

Speaking at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said local people, par- ticularly elder members of the com- munity, should be given an input into the assessment.

He said, “Will you take local knowledge into account before you get consultants to look at photos? Listen to the local people.” During last month’s period of heavy flood- ing, areas of Ennis were washed out after drains overflowed.

Cllr Brennan told yesterday’s meet- ing that some drains in the town “had not been touched in 40 years”.

“Talk to local people and sit down with the older people. They know where the water goes,’ he said.

Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea con- firmed yesterday that the council will be evaluating recent flood events.

In response to a motion submit- ted by Cllr Brian Meaney (GP), Mr O’Dea stated, “Following the evalu- ation of the recent flooding events in certain parts of Ennis, the council will be seeking funding to carry out works to reduce the impact of heavy rainfall events on certain areas of the rena tae

Mr O’Dea said the council had col- lected a substantial amount of data on the recent flooding. He also re-it-

erated that if it weren’t for improved river wall defences at Parnell Street and Woodquay, floodwater would have reached as far as Clonroad.

Cllr Meaney’s motion along with that of Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), which calls for the construction and re-location of a flood barrage from Latoon to Clarecastle, will be sub- mitted to the next meeting of Clare County Council.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) asked how much the council had spent on hous- ing a flood hit Traveller family of

nine in the West County Hotel.

Town Manager Ger Dollard told the meeting that he did not know the cost. He said the number of people currently in temporary hotel accom- modation as a result of flooding was going down.

Figures supplied yesterday by En- nis Town Council showed that of the 28 local authority houses damaged by floods, 23 were evacuated with 21 of those families being housed in the West County Hotel.

According to the council two fami-

lies have returned home, three have been temporarily housed in Ennis Town Council accommodation and 11 have secured private rented ac- commodation.

In terms of repairs 18 homes are ex- pected to be ready before Christmas with the balance through January.

Local wisdom can reduce flood risk

THE owners of businesses which were damaged during an incident in Ballyvaughan earlier this year have been fully compensated.

The businesses bore the brunt after a row involving a group of youths and a number of visiting American students in June.

Several premises were damaged in what locals described as a “mindless attack”.

At the time, concern was expressed that gardai were not available to pa- trol the area that night.

However, gardai did launch an investigation into the events and a garda source confirmed to