Month: June 2011

TWO new tourism businesses are set to open in Clare in the coming weeks as more than 150 local operators came together in Ennis last week to show that the county is open for business.

Corofin locals Darragh and Aisling Quinn are preparing to launch The Farmyard later this month, one of the most innovative eco-tourism businesses ever launched in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Quilty natives Shane Ryan and Laura O’Dwyer have just launched Sugar Island, a cafe and arcade which will provide tourists and locals with something interesting to do in Quilty.

Located in the shadow of Mullaghmore, The Farmyard aims to provide an authentic family farm experience to tourists young and old. Set on a fully working farm, it will cater for children’s summer camps from July but plans to cater for a number of different groups, including residential tourists in the future and also has its own tea room and farm shop which will offer the public the best of local produce.

“The idea is that different groups can come onto the farm and engage in very simple farm and garden activities, such as feeding the animals or working in our organic polytunnel to see how fruit and vegetable grow,” said Aisling Quinn. “We are not trying to pretend to be something that we’re not – this is an authentic farmyard experi- ence and there is a market for people to come and experience that.”

After returning home from abroad, Quilty native Shane Ryan decided that he wanted to do something to make his town a better place to live in.

“The place is split into two sections, the back has a big pool and games for the kids out the back and at the front section we have a cafe for the parents so they can relax while they keep an eye on the kids,” said Shane. “There is nothing anywhere around us like this. When I was growing up in Quilty there was nothing there for young people to do so we decided why not do something good for the local people and liven the place up a bit.”

Meanwhile, more than 150 Clare tourism operators participated in the Gala Clare Tourism Networking Evening at the Armada Hotel last week. The free business networking event featured more then 80 tourism information stands from all over the county.

A KILDYSART couple, who provide round-the-clock care for their terminally ill son, say they will have to do the unthinkable and sign the six-year-old into the care of the State if there are any further cuts in the carers allowance or services provided by the HSE.

Bridget and Eugene Lorrigan have been providing round the clock care for six-year-old Jason who suffers from a number of serious mental and physical disabilities – the cause of which have never been diagnosed.

CLARE’S four TDs have started their term office in Leinster House by claiming nearly € 600 a day in expenses for the number of days the 31st Dáil has been in session in its first two months.

Figures secured by The Clare People this week have revealed that Deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey (FG), Deputy Timmy Dooley (FF) and Deputy Michael McNamara (Lab) claimed the maximum amount of expenses for March and April of this year, even though the Dáil only sat 17 times in that two-month period.

Fine Gael colleagues, Deputies Breen and Carey, top the expenses league in Clare for these two months, each claiming € 10,091.68, a figure that’s broken down to € 5,045.84 for March and April respectively.

Deputy Timmy Dooley claimed € 4,982.84 per month in the same period for an aggregate expenses total of € 9,965.68, while Deputy Michael McNamara claimed € 4,951.84 for a total of € 9,903.68 for his first two months as a member of Dáil Éireann.

Meanwhile, the Oireachtas timetable of business in that period has revealed that the Dáil only sat for eight days in March and nine in April.

This means that in addition to earning an annual salary of € 92,672 a year, Clare’s four TDs who were elected in the February 25 General Election have claimed over € 40,000 between them in expenses for the 17 days that the Dáil sat.

The breakdown of those expenses reveal that for those 17 days that the Dáil convened, Deputies Breen and Carey each claimed € 593.62 per day, while Deputies Dooley and McNamara claimed € 586.21 and € 582.56 per day for the first two months.