Month: January 2011

TOWN manager Ger Dollard has said he his happy that all “checks and balances” are in place with regards to the running of a new € 500,000 youth community and resource building in Cloughleigh, Ennis.

Some details of the lease agreement worked out between Ennis Town Council and Clare Youth Service were revealed at Ennis Town Council’s January meeting. The council is proposing to lease the property to Clare Youth Service for a period of 10 years at a consideration of € 10 per annum.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) expressed concern over the length of the lease and proposed that the € 10 yearly charge be increased to € 1,000.

Town manager Ger Dollard said he was quite satisfied that Clare Youth Service are prepared to “act responsibly” and will run the facility very well.

He told the meeting that a council- lor and a member of the council executive will sit on an advisory board.

“I am satisfied that all the checks and balances are in place and that we have a responsible operator,” he said.

Mr Dollard added that he did not agree with increasing the charge as the youth service is not a business or commercial orgaisation.

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said the history of the building is well known. He said that in the initial consultation process, local residents “felt they were deceived and not listened to”.

He added, “A lot of good aims and objections were put at risk because the council didn’t listen to the concerns of the elderly”.

Cllr Flynn was then asked by Cllr Peter Considine (FF) to withdraw his remark about residents being deceived.

“I certainly never deceived anyone. I would like ‘deceived’ removed from the record,” he said.

Cllr Flynn agreed, and sought to clarify his comments, saying there was a lot of “anger and frustration” among residents who felt they were deceived by the process.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said the Clare Youth Service had an excellent record over 52 years operating services and facilities in Clare. He said he had no problem with the lease and the charge. He said the youth service had “corrected an awful lot of lives that could have gone astray” and had been regularly highlighted as a model of best practice in reports by the Mid West Regional Drugs Task Force.

Cllr Paul O’Shea suggested that the charge be increased to € 500 and that the sum be used to fund a Young Person of the Year award.

Mr Dollard said he would discuss the charge with the youth service, a comment which drew a strong reaction from Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind).

Cllr Neylon said the youth service was getting a “pretty good deal” from the council and that Mr Dollard should “tell them” and not “ask them” about the proposed increase.

RESIDENTS have echoed calls made by the mayor of Ennis for certain details of a lease agreement between Ennis Town Council and Clare Youth Service over a new youth and community building to be made public.

The centre, which is under construction at Cloughleigh Road, has been the subject of two public protests, while last year almost 90 people attended an unscheduled meeting at the Council Chamber in Waterpark House, presided over by then mayor of Ennis, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind).

Residents in the Cloughleigh area are opposed to the location of the building and were also disappointed by the council’s approach to the consultation process that led to the site being chosen.

While Ennis Town Council is the contracting authority for the € 531,581.70 construction project, it is intended to lease the building to the Clare Youth Service who will deliver a range of programmes to teenagers and young adults ranging from 13 to 21 years.

The lease agreement was raised at last week’s meeting of Ennis Town Council. According to the residents’ spokesperson, Geraldine Dinan, many people living in the area were surprised to learn the matter had come back before the council.

She said residents had met with the council on three occasions between September and December 2010, to discuss concerns over the “general running” of the building.

“We were surprised that it came up at the meeting. We would’ve hoped that we might’ve been informed about the lease,” she said.

Ms Dinan explained that residents did not have an issue with the length of the 10-year lease but added that many elderly residents are worried about the proposed opening hours of the building.

She said, “Most buildings like this are in the middle of a town or in the middle of the community, but this one is different. The concerns are not unreasonable. We would hope that they would be taken into account.”

Speaking at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council, mayor of Ennis Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) repeated his call for details of the building’s opening hours to be brought before the council before the lease is signed.

“We gave a commitment to residents in opening hours,” he said.

Cllr Brennan added, “I would insist that we see the lease. I was the one who insisted that the terms on conditions be brought before the council…We gave a commitment to people about the conditions and they are the people who elected us.”

AN inability to effectively collect payment and perceived unfairness were the main arguments against increased charges at the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Ground, put forward at a meeting in Ennis last week.

Speaking at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council, Councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) described the facilities available at Lees Road as “first rate”.

However, he added that it would be unfair to introduce charges for the cross-country track at a time when many people are experiencing financial difficulties.

Cllr Flynn said he opposed the charges as the area to which they would apply was not fenced off. He claimed this would make it “virtually impossible to police”.

He said the fact that the charge doesn’t grant an individual or team “exclusive” use of the track was another reason for leaving the current system unchanged.

He said, “The cross country track has generally been available and has been free.”

Cllr Flynn, who submitted a motion calling on the council not to introduce new charges, said it was important the council do nothing to discourage people from taking up walking or running.

Outlining her opposition to the proposed charges, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) questioned how the area would be policed and how the charge would be implemented on a fair basis to all.

Clr Howard also expressed concern over how the council would distinguish between clubs and individuals when charging for the use of facilities.

She said she had discussed the proposal with Clare Sports Partnership and Marian Athletic Club and other users of Lees Road.

In a statement yesterday, John Sweeney, co-ordinator with Clare Sports Partnership, said he had “no comment to make regarding Lees Road at this point”.

Responding to comments from Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) that charges should exist given the availability of dressing rooms and showers, Cllr Howard said that most walkers and runners using the cross country running track go straight home afterwards anyway and “don’t use the showers”.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) told the meeting that he was also opposed to the charges.

PLANS to introduce new charges at the Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park are an attempt to “stop a couple of cute hoors” from not paying for the use of facilities there, a meeting has heard.

The comments were made last week by councillor Brian Meaney (Green) as Ennis Town Council heard calls for and against the introduction of charges for use of the Lees Road cross-country track.

Draft byelaws containing the new charges have gone out for public consultation, as confusion exists over what area of the 29-acre woodland site the charges relate to.

While the cross-country track follows a path through the woods, Town Clerk Eddie Power explained that the track also encompasses a “green landscaped area” at the rear of astro turf pitch and synthetic running track.

Speaking at the January meeting of Ennis Town Council, Mr Power said that some clubs and individuals are using the lighted area to train but were not paying for it.

Clubs and individuals are currently charged for the use of the synthetic running track, playing pitches and astro turf facilities but not for the cross-country track. Mr Power said new charges are being considered in the interests of fairness and consistency.

“Organisations are using that area because it is free, deliberately. Clearly that’s unfair,” he said.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) said that given the availability of shower and dressing room facilities, the proposed € 2 charge for individuals is “not a whole lot to pay”. He added, “I may not be too popular asking people to pay € 2 for a facility we’ve never had before.”

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said he supported no change in current system of charges but later added that he had “serious concerns” if lighting at Lees Road was facilitating night-time access to the cross-country track.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) proposed that the council consider introducing a new method of payment for use of facilities at Lees Road. He said there had to be a “charge of some description” for the cross-country track.

Cllr Meaney asked if the track in its current form could accurately be described as a cross-country running track.

“Until we correct the design deficiencies, I don’t think we could charge for it. Unless people wanted to give a voluntary charge,” he said. Cllr Meaney said the charges were an attempt by the council to stop “a couple of cute hoors” from not paying. He added, “We have to find a different way of dealing with it.”

A 10-MONTH baby boy living in Shannon is recovering in hospital, having sustained serious injuries including a burn mark, two broken arms, a broken leg and multiple bruising.

The baby was taken to hospital a week ago and the circumstances surrounding the injuries is the subject of a major garda investigation.

The extent of the injuries sustained by the baby were revealed during a weekend court sitting, where a man was charged with assaulting the boy’s mother.

While nobody has been charged with assaulting the baby, the matter is being investigated by gardaí and the HSE.

Larry Connors (18), with an address at Town Court, Shannon, is facing three charges of assaulting his 18-year-old partner in Shannon on various dates in December. Two of the incidents are alleged to have happened at Tullyvarraga, Shannon; one on December 31 and the other between December 1 and 31.

The other incident is alleged to have taken place at the library in Tullyvarraga, Shannon, on December 2 last.

He was brought before a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday, where bail was granted despite garda objections on the grounds that the alleged victim would be “terrorised” by the accused.

Garda David Laing told the court that Mr Connors was arrested in Shannon last Thursday evening. In reply to charge, he said: “I didn’t do it.”

Defence solicitor Caitriona Carmody was granted free legal aid for her client, who is unemployed.

She also applied for bail, pending the hearing of the matter.

However, Inspector Tom Kennedy said gardaí were opposing this for two reasons.

THE legacy of Michael Cusack is being felt as far away as Warsaw thanks to the work of fellow Clare man, Eoin Sheedy.

The Ogonnelloe native was part of a small group of Irish ex-pats who set-up Poland’s first GAA club last year and will return to Poland after his Christmas break later this week to take up the position of Club President of Cumann Warszawa.

Sheedy moved to Poland on a temporary basis more than two years ago but after enjoying a six month trial in Warsaw has decided to put down some roots. In recent time a flood of Irish emigrants have allowed him to realise his dream of setting up Poland’s first GAA club.

“It is unbelievable how it has turned around. When I was going over there first the whole plane was filled with Polish people – I’d be the only Irish person on the plane most of the time. That has changed big time. I go on the plane now and I’d know half the people on the plane and know that they are Irish lads travelling back and forth for work. A lot of the Poles have gone back and a lot of the Irish are now going over there looking for work,” says Eoin.

“When I went over there first I used to head down to the Irish pub, the only one that was in the place, and you might be there on your own. But now there might be 20 or 30 lads at all the matches, no matter who is playing. In the last year I have seen a massive influx.

“There are a lot of lads over there working on the roads. Lads are saying that construction is finished in Ireland so they decided they would try the hand in Poland.”

Cumann Warszawa completed their first season in 2010 and now have both a ladies’ and a men’s team.

“I always had it in my head to start a club. I had worked in Stockholm and they had a club there but in the beginning it wasn’t feasible, there wasn’t enough people. But then more and more people started coming so we decided that we would give it a go,” continued Eoin.

“The club doesn’t play hurling be cause the skill level is just too high and I haven’t played football before in my life but I’m kicking away now and it’s great craic.

“The European teams are 11-a-side and we have enough now to field a men’s and a women’s team. We play in the Eastern European league with Budapest, Prague and Vienna. We actually won the European Shield Competition back in October – we have some fantastic footballers over there at the moment,” Eoin claimed.

FEWER debt judgments were served in Clare courts than in almost any other county in Ireland in 2010. A county-by-county breakdown of debt judgments obtained in Irish courts in 2010 has revealed that the Banner was one of Ireland’s three least indebted counties.

Clare finished second only to Kilkenny in the list of court judgments per head of population over the last 12 months with counties Mayo and Donegal also recording low levels of debt.

According to the figures the most indebted county in Ireland was Cavan, while counties Cork, Limerick, Laois and Sligo also recorded high debt levels.

This information was compiled by Dublin-based financial research company BusinessPro.

In a separate survey from earlier this year, BusinessPro also showed that the average debt of Clare people rose from € 6,159 in 2003 to € 20,596 last year – one of the highest levels of debt per person of any county in Ireland.

This would indicate that there are still large levels of personal debt in Clare which is not being seen yet in the amount of debt judgments coming through the local courts.

According to the whose managing director of BusinessPro, James Treacy, the situation is likely to get worse in 2011.

“We estimate an additional € 2 billion of non commercial debt coming down the line next year,” he said last week.

“Most of the consumer debt has yet to hit the courts, but with the end of the one-year moratorium for homeowners and other factors such as the proposed changes to our bankruptcy regime, we expect to see a huge surge in personal insolvencies connected with consumer debt,” he added.

The last 12 months saw the largest ever number of individual and corporate judgments registered in one year in the Irish courts.

While Clare courts dealt with fewer cases per capita that almost every other county in Ireland, the largest single corporate judgment was obtained against Donatex, the company used by Lisdoonvarna developer Bernard McNamara to invest in the Irish Glass Bottle Site in Dublin.

A judgment of more than € 62 million was also obtained against Bernard McNamara personally, arising from the € 412 million purchase of the former toxic dump in 2006 by a consortium of investors.

ALMOST three in four workers at Shannon Aerospace Ltd, have voted in favour of a restructuring programme which will see more than 100 jobs being shed from next month.

Almost one-fifth of full-time workers will face redundancy under the deal.

Shannon Aerospace, a subsidiary of German-based Lufthansa Technik AG, provides airframe maintenance, engineering, painting and technical services for airlines. It is blaming the recession, which has severely affected the aviation industry, for the need to shed jobs.

The company, which currently employs 628 full-time staff and 97 trainees, confirmed in October that it proposed laying off 107 workers, mostly administrative and support staff.

The announcement came as Lufthansa Technic announced losses of almost € 1 million between August and October this year.

After weeks of talks, between management and SIPTU, the union representing staff at Aerospace, workers voted.

After the ballot a company spokesperson said that 71.5 per cent of workers voted in favour of accepting the restructuring moves.

It is understood that workers were offered an improved redundancy package to the one originally proposed, while remaining staff have accepted an 18-month pay freeze and changes to the rostering system at the plant.

When the restructuring is complete, the company will employ more than 540 people.

Shannon Aerospace chief executive Thomas Rückert welcomed the agreement. “In my short time here in Ireland, I have been deeply impressed with the people working for Shannon Aerospace. We asked a lot of our employees and, together with the board, I am grateful for their support, which will allow us to implement our plan and safeguard the maximum number of jobs at the company.”

The original announcement by Aerospace management that jobs were to be cut was the first of three in as many weeks, all from companies who have put down roots in Clare over decades.

Within an hour of the announcement at Aerospace, management at publishing company, Elsevier, announced that it was leting 100 people go. Elsevier, who publish medical journals including the prestigious Lancet , will now have just a handful of staff in Ireland. It is not clear if the few remaining employees will still be based at Shannon.

Then came the Roche announcement that it is to shed 25 jobs at its Clarecastle plant.

The move is part of a wider restructuring programme that will see it axe 4,800 jobs worldwide.

THE CONSTRUCTION of a new secondary school in Tulla should be given the green light and a firm commitment on the project is essential.

That’s according to Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley, who has highlighted the ongoing difficulties with accommodation at St Joseph’s Secondary School.

The situation has been reviewed by the Department of Education over a number of years, amid concerns that the site is small and does not have a recreational area.

More than half of the schoolrooms are prefabricated, many of which are old and in poor condition.

The issue was raised in the Dáil in December, when Mr Dooley said that an extension had been proposed by the Department of Education some time ago. However, given the increasing population in the area, this is no longer a suitable option, he said.

“Given the population growth in the area and the very small site on which the school is currently housed, it is now clearly recognised that the needs of local children will not be addressed by an extension to the school.

“The Department should finally make a decision that the appropriate solution to this accommodation problem is a new school,” he said.

He said that an appropriate site has been earmarked for a new school and an investment is essential. “Now is the time to invest in a school building in conjunction with the community group (Tulla 2016), thus ensuring a campus-style approach catering for all the needs of the community at the same site,” he said.

“The school accommodation needs have to be addressed because during the exams earlier this year there was not enough room to accommodate the various exam centres that were required, including separate centres for children with special needs,” he added.

“Were it not for the principal (Margaret O’Brien), the board of management and the parents, the place would be falling down. They have put a tremendous amount of effort into maintaining this very poor facility. I have reasonable knowledge of schools throughout the country, and this one is in an exceptionally bad state,” he added.

Environment Minister John Gormley, on behalf of the Minister for Education Mary Coughlan, told Deputy Dooley that while the project is under consideration, “in light of current competing demands on the capital budget of the Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project at this time”.

THE BALLYVAUGHAN Community Development Group says that it will oppose the “wanton destruction of the rural environment” by the National Roads Authority (NRA).

The group is calling for local organisations from all over the county to join them in opposing the NRA’s new signage policy for national roads.

In a statement to The Clare People , the NRA said that they had already consulted with Fáilte Ireland and Clare County Council in relation to the signs and would not be meeting with the north Clare group.

“What this amounts to is the wanton destruction of the rural environment by the NRA without planning permission or any consultation with the local people,” said Patrick O’Donoghue, Chairperson of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group.

“They are putting these signs in the local flowers beds, they are placing them on private property, and all without any consultation with the local people.

“I think we all agree that the county has been destroyed with signs – I don’t see how the NRA adding to this problem is going to make anything better.

“If the NRA could invest as much money on fixing the roads as they are investing on these signs then the place would be a lot safer and easier to navigate than it is at the moment.”

A spokesperson from the NRA told The Clare People that the organisation had already had a period of public consultation before it began its new programme of signs and would not be meeting with any local groups.

The spokesperson claimed that the NRA had also consulted with Fáilte Ireland before rolling out the new signage scheme and was in ongoing contact with Clare County Council concerning its roll-out in Clare.

“The NRA has worked closely with Clare County Council on these issues and we can’t go back and have different consulting with different people at different times,” said a spokesman.

“We are conscious that existing signage in Clare is not up to scratch, it is a serious problem and has the potential to cause a safety hazard in the county.”