Month: February 2011

STUDENTS from north Clare and south Galway have been granted a one year reprieve before school transport services are overhauled drastically in the area.

The Department of Education has announced that Gort Community School and Seamount College in Kinvara will continue to have a “joint catchment area” in parts of north Clare and south Galway for the 2011/2012 school year.

It is as yet unclear what will happened to services after that with a spokesperson from Gort Community School saying that the battle to retain the service will continue.

The reconfiguring of services follows a decision to open Seamount College to male students. The school traditionally operated a joint catchment, which allowed students from all areas to take advantage of school transport to either school.

Should this arrangement be cancelled it would create a situation where new students would not be able to travel to school with their older siblings and would split a number of families between each school.

It is also estimated that the change in the services could result in a 25 per cent reduction in the amount of students attending Gort Community School. A spokesperson from the schools parent’s association claims this will have a drastic effect on the standard of education in the area.

“If this goes through Gort Community School will use a lot of its services because of the drop in numbers, with two medium-sized schools instead of one big school and one small school, neither school will be able to offer things like woodwork and metal work,” said the spokesperson.

CLARE County Council is bracing itself for further jobs losses in the coming months following the revelation yesterday that the local authority may only be half way through its restructuring programme.

The workforce of Clare County Council has been reduced by around 150 employees over the past two years and according to county manager Tom Coughlan, the local authority may be forced to shed even more jobs in the coming months.

Speaking at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, Mr Coughlan said that he expects the council to be hit hard by the reduction in public sector numbers promised by some political parties ahead of the General Election.

“There are not all going to be guards and nurses, there is going to be cuts right across the entire public sector. We are looking at severe losses in local authority as well as in the other across the public service,” he said.

Mr Coughlan was commenting on a discussion about the possibility of increasing the numbers employed by the council in roads maintenance. Mr Coughlan said that there was “no point in saying that there is a chance of us increasing our staffing levels” at the current time.

Under the terms of the Croke Park Agreement, wage levels cannot be reduced so any proposed reduction in the overall staffing costs of the local authority would have to come reducing the numbers employed.

“It is a bleak outlook and it looks certain that there will be a further cut in the numbers employed by Clare County Council, as with other areas of the public services,” continued Mr Coughlan.

Speaking on the motion, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) urged the local authority to take advantage of any national schemes which would allow the local authority to take on unemployed people as part-time council employees without adding to Clare County Council’s wage bill.

“We need to look at different ways of doing things if this is going to be the way it is in the Council,” he said.

“There is going to have to be very much more about working with communities and with the unemployed.”

Speaking on the motion Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) described the jobs cuts in the local authority as “a fundamental attack on the local authority” and “privitisation by stealth”.

ACCLAIMED Corofin photographer Kenneth O’Halloran has won a hugely prestigious World Press Photo Award for a photo essay that tells the story of Irish country fairs.

O’Halloran, who works as a freelance photographer around the world, having been a staff photographer of with The Irish Independent for many years, scooped the honour in the annual awards scheme that are recognised as the world’s best showcase of photographic talent from around the globe.

The 42-year-old was placed 3rd in the Portraits – Stories category. It is the third major international accolade for O’Halloran this year who was also recently shortlisted for the Terry O’Neill award.

“It is a great honour to be recognised by World Press Photo,” O’Halloran told The Clare People this week after receiving his latest international recognition.

“I spent over two years travelling all over Ireland to fairs and festivals, and met hundreds of amazing people, all of whom made the collection what it is,” he added.

The photo essay included pictures taken at Spancil Hill Fair, Cahirmee Fair in Cork, and Ballinasloe Horse Fair, in Galway.

O’Halloran is a son of Eileen and Michael O’Halloran, who run an undertaking business in the town. He is a former pupil of the Christian Brothers in Ennis and is a graduate of the Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design. As a teenager Kenneth always had an intense interest in photography and began his career by taking pictures of local events around Corofin, including communions and confirmations. He has travelled worldwide for newspapers and international aid organisations and has done some highly accalimed work for Goal and Concern.

In his career to date he has picked up over 10 national photographic awards. His photographs have appeared in major newspapers and magazines worldwide, including Paris Match and Time Magazine.

His website www.kennethohalloran.com is a wonderful showcase of his diverse portfolio, featuring everything from photo essays on his father, to a study of a family dealing with their father’s Alzheimer’s disease.

The award winning picture essay can be viewed on www.kennet hohal lor an.com/ #/ PROJ ECTS/ Fair%20Trade/1.

PROLONGED roadworks on both entrances to Gort are hampering businesses and may cause a number of premises to close in the months ahead. That is the opinion of prominent Gort businessman who claims that the town’s businesses have suffered a triple blow in recent months.

According to Mr Finn, the combination of the town being by-passed, the on-going roadworks and the bad weather over the Christmas period has made life almost impossible for the business community in Gort.

Mr Finn, who is currently trying to sell his furniture business which was heavily damaged in the 2009 flooding, says he can’t see a future for many businesses in the town if the situation is allowed to continue much longer.

“People have stopped coming into the town, the roadworks are having a devastating effect on businesses in the town.

“This has been going on since November and the information I have is that it is not going to be finished until April or May, a lot of the businesses won’t last that long,” he told The Clare People yesterday.

“The business community up here are very frustrated with the situation. We know that the job has to be done but the timing of the works and the speed at which it is being completed is an issue.

“The town of Gort has been hammered over the last few months. First we had the bypass, the the roadworks and then the bad weather conditions, which delayed the road works and made it nearly impossible for anyone to access the town over Christmas. It has been a real double whammy for the town.”

BUSINESSES around Clare are acknowledging the county’s volountary sector with the launch yesterday of the volounteer discount card.

The initiative, which is jointly supported by the Clare Volounteer Centre, Ennis Town Council, Clare County Council, Ennis chamber and the Clare Local Development Company, is aimed at recognising the work of all volounteers in Clare.

The volounteers discount card enables volounteers to access a range of discounts and special offers from over 120 businesses across Clare in 2011 – the European Year of the Volounteer.

The scheme is the first of its kind in the country and, according to Sharon Meaney, Development Co-ordinator with the Clare Volounteer Centre, it is hoped that Clare can be showcased as county who recognises and acknowledges the valuable contribution that all volounteers bring.

Sharon said, “You are inspired everyday by people’s stories of volounteering. Volounteers do make a difference. It’s important to say thanks. Without volounteers, the fabric if Irish life would be dull.”

Melissa Healy is a volounteer with Special Olympics Ireland and the Brothers of Charity. She urged people to volounteer, describing it as a worthwhile experience.

“When it came to the games [Special Olympics] and it all came together, the joy your work brings to the athletes and their famillies make it all worthwhile. I knew straight away it was something I was going to stay involved in.”

Melissa is a student on a community care course who started volounteering for Special Olympics Ireland last year for the summer games.

Asked what advice would she offer to anyone thinking of volounteering, she said, “I would definitely tell them to do it. You get a great feeling of self worth from taking time out of your day to help people who maybe would not receive help if it wasn’t for volounteers.”

The Clare Volunteer Centre is part of the national network of volunteer centres, supported by Volunteer Centres Ireland. The Clare Volunteer Centre opened its doors in Ennis in 2008.

Last year 256 people registered with the centre, an increase of 25 per cent from 2009, bringing the total number of volounteers registered at the centre to 496.

MAYOR of Clare Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) is to pick up the bill for his mayoral trip to New York this St Patrick’s Day.

The mayor’s council expenses usually cover the official trip by Clare’s first citizen to the Big Apple, but this year the man from Miltown Malbay said he would be covering his own costs.

“I will be paying for it myself. I think it is only right and fitting,” he told The Clare People .

Each year the mayor of the day travels to America to promote Clare from both a tourism and enterprise point of view.

The first citizen also takes part in the St Patrick’s Day parade.

“The purpose is to promote Clare and meet with the diaspora,” said Cllr Curtin.

“I will be there to show that Clare is a county worth coming back to, especially for anyone with entrepreneurial and enterprise skills,” he added.

The agenda for the visit to New York by Cllr Curtin has yet to be finalised but it is expected he will be there for March 17.

Meanwhile the mayor of Kilrush has been invited to New York to promote the town and area for the first time ever.

No decision has been made yet as to whether the current mayor Cllr Liam Williams (FG) will travel.

Ennis Town Council will not be represented at the annual St Patrick’s Day in New York, after councillors declined an invitation to attend the event at this month’s meeting.

Mayor of Ennis Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) turned down the invitation, saying the mayor’s place on St Patrick’s Day should be in Ennis.

Members of the Ennis/Phoenix twinning delegation will be in Arizona however for St Patrick’s Day.

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP); Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) and Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind), who as deputy mayor represented Ennis at last year’s parade in New York all turned down proposals that they should attend the parade in the Big Apple in place of the mayor.

It is not known if Shannon Town Council is to send a representative abroad this St Patrick’s Day at time of press.

GARDAÍ HAVE submitted a file for the DPP in connection wit h an att ack on a baby in Shannon in which a burn mark, broken l imbs and multiple br uising were sustained.

Last mont h, a 10-mont h-old baby boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries, including two broken arms – one of which was broken in three places – and a broken leg. He had also sustained br uising to several par ts of his body.

A Garda investigation swung into action and two people were questioned as par t of t he enqui r y. Gardaí then prepared a file on the matter and t his has been sent to the DPP, who wi ll decide whether charges are to be brought in relation to the case.

The Healt h Service Executive is also investigating the mat ter. Last mont h, an emergency care order was t aken out by the HSE in the distr ict cour t in relation to the baby boy.

A WAR of words has erupted between rival General Election candidates over Dáil expenses, after Cllr Tony Mulcahy accused Cllr James Breen of using a call to abolish Dáil expenses as a “cynical exercise” to get elected.

Fine Gael candidate, Cllr Mulcahy, launched a scathing attack on the move made by Cllr Breen when he said, “We should reduce Dáil expenses and abolish them altogether and oblige TDs to live on their salary with no expenses.”

“Saying he wants expenses abolished is rich,” blasted Mulcahy to The Clare People this week. “It’s cynical exercise in self-promotion in the run up to the election from a man who had no difficulty in collecting almost € 1 million during the lifetime of the last Dáil between his TD’s salary, his expenses, his independent TD’s allowance, his council expenses and council severance payments. This is like St Paul on the road to Damascus,” added Cllr Mulcahy.

However, an unrepentant Cllr Breen has reiterated his call for an overhaul of the expenses structure, even going to far as to say, “I am pre- pared to forego expenses.”

Continuing, Cllr Breen said, “I will campaign for the abolition of expenses if I am elected to the Dáil.

“There are genuine out of pocket expenses that you would have to claim for always. I will be campaigning for a reduction in expenses for everyone

and a reduction in

TDs’ salaries.”

Figures secured

by The Clare Peo

ple show that Cllr

Breen received

nearly € 400,000

in expenses during

the lifetime of the

29th Dáil between

2002 to 2007. This

included payments

for six years, with

figures showing that

he received € 71,868 (2003), € 62,539 (2004), € 75,122 (2005), € 70,947 (2006) and € 48,000 (2007).

However, Cllr Breen has defended these claims and said, “When I was a TD I had three people working for me and my expenses went towards employing three people. I had one person employed part-time in Dublin, I had an IT advisor in Clare and a girl worked two days a week in my office in Clare.

“It’s about reforming for the future, not the past,” he added.