Month: September 2011

THE tender process of the € 12.8 million second phase of the Ennis flood relief scheme is at an advanced stage, a meeting has heard.

Under the scheme, flood defences will be improved along the river Fergus from Bank Place to Doora Bridge. Measures introduced in phase one of the scheme ensured large parts of the Ennis town centre were spared from flooding in November 2009.

According to the latest quarterly progress report on Ennis Town Council projects, “the Office of Public Works (OPW) are awaiting pre-contract documentation from the preferred bidder and the OPW will be in a position to proceed with the award of the contract once this is received”.

The report by Town Engineer Eamon O’Dea also provides details on a number of other flood relief scheme currently underway in Ennis. It states that work will start on the Lough Girroga Scheme (Gort Road Industrial Estate) in September and should be finished by early December.

The report continues, “The part 8 planning procedure for the Fioruisce works started on August 26 and will be on display until October 7 with submissions by October 21. The part 8 planning procedure will be before the Council for their consideration in November. The tender process will follow.”

The report states that site investigation is underway at the Watery Road / Elm Park scheme. It adds, “It is expected that the tender process will be completed b the end of November 2011. The commencement date of works will depend on river levels. The Council has a temporary pumping system for the storm drain in place at Watery Road to cater for high river levels until permanent works are in place. The Council monitors the Fergus and Claureen river levels.”

According to the report, detailed design is nearing completion on the St Flannan’s / Tobertascáin – Ballybeg lake flood relief works. Site investigation is currently underway.

Speaking yesterday at a meeting of councillors in the Ennis Electoral Area, Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan said every area hit by flooding in Ennis in 2009 is covered under the current flood relief programme of works. He said the tender process of phase two of the Ennis flood relief scheme was at an advanced stage. Mr Tiernan said a wide range of works are currently underway to ensure Ennis withstands the effects of any future flooding. “An awful lot is happening. It many not be visible but the work is going on. An awful lot is happening,” he added.

COMPLAINTS of unsavoury odours in the Smithstown and Ballycasey areas of Shannon are being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Clare County Council. The Clare People can reveal that an investigation has been launched, which involves EPA inspectors carrying out odour checks in the vicinity, in an attempt to isolate a potential source for the smell which has been circulating in recent weeks.

“So far, no particular source has been identified but work continues,” a spokesperson for the EPA told The Clare People .

This has come about amid several complaints about odours in areas including Smithstown, Ballycasey and Tullyvarraga, in recent weeks.

According to some reports, the smell is an unsavoury pungent odour, while other people are complaining of a sewage smell.

Last week, Independent Councillor Patricia McCarthy called for Shannon Town Council to write to the EPA to investigate the issue. She said that it should be addressed as a matter of urgency, after a previous odour was in circulation for two years.

“My concern is the length of time it is going to take to sort out this issue. We have been here before, albeit not the same area. A number of complaints have been lodged.

“They need to sort it out and let the people know what is the cause of it. We need openness and transparency and we need to know when they carry out their checks,” she told The Clare People.

“They need to act straightaway,” said Cllr McCarthy.

Meanwhile, the town’s grading in terms of EPA monitoring has dipped in recent days. Last week, the air quality was deemed ‘very good’, by the EPA, but has now changed to ‘good’. According to the EPA, this arose out of monitoring on August 31.

In March of this year, the EPA put monitoring measures in place and recorded a result of ‘good’ at the time.

The EPA’s mobile laboratory which is located in the town actively analyses the quality of air in the town and surrounding areas. When the EPA announced the measure in March, it indicated that the initiative would continue for up to a year.

The assessment is done via a trailer which is located at the rear of the civic offices in Shannon. Analysers are contained in the trailer and these are read on a regular basis.

There is also a fixed network whereby a number of sites around the county are monitored on a continuous basis.

THE county manager has said he does not see the need for an inquiry to be carried out in relation to an affordable housing scheme in Shannon.

After repeated concerns were expressed by residents, and in turn councillors, over the affordable housing scheme at Cluain Airne, there were calls for County Manager Tom Coughlan to carry out an inquiry.

The 22-unit scheme development got underway in June 2009 and it was initially envisaged that it would be completed within a year. How- ever, it was subsequently halted and the initial contractor’s contract was terminated.

The scheme got underway despite concerns from local residents, who objected to the project. They stated that they did not want the houses built in the area and argued that there was inadequate infrastructure in the area to cope with the new houses. Residents have also expressed concerns over the closure of the right of way. A new contractor was appointed in July of this year and the council expressed hope at the time that the project would be completed within 16 weeks of its restart.

In a letter to Shannon Town Clerk Liam O’Connor, which was read out to councillors at their meeting last week, Mr Coughlan stated, “As the purpose of an inquiry is to elicit facts and as the relevant facts are being advised to the elected members, the need for any such inquiry is not apparent and as all relevant facts have been or will be provided by the Town Manager, I fail to see the need for an inquiry.”

He said if councillors were of the view that an inquiry was necessary, “I would appreciate exact criteria which would necessitate” it.

In response, Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independent) said he was disappointed.

“It’s a cop out. It’s no more than I expected. It’s regrettable he did not accede to the request. The place is destroyed,” he claimed.

Fine Gael Councillor Seán McLoughlin asked why it had taken so long to secure a new contractor to complete the works.

The Town Manager Bernadette Kinsella explained the circumstances surrounding the development and said, “The facts clearly show the land was zoned for housing in 2003 and in a subsequent plan.”

She said there was a high level of demand for housing among first time buyers in Shannon, during a study which was carried out.

“I have endeavoured to implement the agreed policy and decision of the council, the democratic wishes of the council. The county manager hasn’t refused to carry out an inquiry. An inquiry is to determine the facts. The facts have been presented this evening,” said Ms Kinsella.

“If there are further facts that members would like to be put in front of them, I’d be happy to do that,” she added.

She said the delay in securing a contractor to complete the works was due to a procurement process and officials had to wait for a nomination from the guarantor.

A NEW era where Kildysart can cash in on the natural amenity of the Shannon Estuary could now be in the offing after a 10-year campaign by a local action group to remove “hulking eyesores” from Cahercon Pier has been brought to a successful conclusion.

Members of Cahercon Pier Pressure and the Kildysart-based chairman of the West Clare Economic Task Force have rowed in behind new moves to have the pier transformed into a community amenity that would be a huge boost to tourism along the estuary.

The call comes after a cargo ship named the MV Matrisha that has been abandoned at Cahercon Pier for over a decade, as well as a number of other vessels have finally been dismantled and removed from the controversial site that lies two kilometres west of Kildysart.

“We have been campaigning for this for many years, because this hulk of a wreck and other ships were an eyesore at Cahercon,” a spokesperson for Cahercon Pier Pressure said this week.

“We want this to be a new start for Cahercon Pier and we want it to be developed into an amenity for the community, because it could benefit tourism along the Shannon Estuary and could also be put to commercial use.

“We had made a number of submissions to Clare County Council about what we want done with the pier. We want it to be declared a protected structure, because there is a lot of history attached to it and we want Clare County Council to play its part in restoring the pier to its former glory and transformed into the public amenity that it should be,” the spokesperson added.

The 1000-tonne MV Matrisha was wrecked on the south coast of Ireland in 1991 and was susequently towed to Cahercon Pier, from where the CW Shipping company operated a salvage business.

The Japanese-built ship became known as the ‘Ghost Ship of Cahercon’ and its presence, along with a number of other vessels sparked a local campaign that was waged for a long number of years to have the pier cleared up. The final removal of the MV Matrisha took place during a five-month operation that involved it being cut up and taken away.

Clare County Council owns Cahercon Pier, but in 1988 councillors voted to allow the local authority enter into a 35-year lease agreement with Whelan Engineering Ltd, with an initial rent of £500 a year, to be reviewed every five years.

Due to internal re-organisation of Mr Paddy Whelan’s companies in 1996, he sought to have CW Shipping Company Ltd, substituted for Whelan Engineering Limited in the lease.

“I am now seeking clarification regarding the lease agreement that’s in pace,” Cllr Oliver Garry told The Clare People . “The removal of the wrecks is a welcome development and there is massive potential there for the pier. At this stage I would be hopeful that the pier can be developed, not just for the local community, but also for commercial purposes,” added Cllr Garry, who is also the chairman of the West Clare Electoral Area of councillors and West Clare Economic Task Force.

SEA and coastal conditions are set to return to normal around the county this morning as the last effects of Hurricane Katia are felt along the north and west of the county.

The former hurricane, which was downgraded to a storm before it made landfall in Clare, caused minor damage around the county with a top wind speed of 102 kilometres per hour recorded at Shannon Airport yesterday.

Despite the rough sea, two boat owners risked a swim ashore at Doolin Pier on Sunday when they were unable to dock their boat because of rough sea conditions.

The boat, which carried four passengers, had departed from Doolin to the Aran Island’s earlier that day but was unable to dock safely following the return journey.

Despite the large sea swell two members of the crew jumped overboard and swam ashore to collect their car and boat trailer before driv- ing to calmer water at Ballyvaughan where the boat was able to dock safely.

Meanwhile, opening hours at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience are expected to return to normal tomorrow after the centre closed two hours early yesterday because of the weather.

The early closure follows a warning by the centre’s management against any visits to the world famous tourist attraction yesterday.

This is not the first time that the centre has been forced to close because of poor weather conditions but it is the first time that a closure has been necessary in the month of September.

“The track of this storm was always predicted to head for the to northern corner of Scotland and the strongest winds of any storm always occur about 100 km from this tip, so we were lucky enough in Clare to miss the very strongest winds from this storm,” said Mark Dunphy of Irish Weather Online.

“The winds will continue to abate but there could be some gusts around the county until Tuesday afternoon. There has been rough seas all around the county but we had not had any reports of coastal flooding yet in Clare, which was a big fear because of the high tide.

“There is another system which is likely to track this way in the days ahead. Maria is a tropical storm at this point and it is likely to track a bit more north than this storm so we should miss the worst of that.”

THE success of the Loophead Lighthouse visitor project that has been running on a pilot basis for the past seven weeks is set to be built on as Clare County Council and its partner bodies put plans in motion to develop a range of tourism products in place for the 2012 season.

That’s the message delivered this week by the local authority’s director of service for tourism, Ger Dollard, who has revealed that a wide-range of new visitor experiences could be in the pipeline as tourism interest groups bid to build on the success of lighthouse experience.

“We went into it thinking that we were going to spend € 20,000 or € 30,000 over the three months and lose it – we were willing to do this on the basis that we were trying to see if we could build something at Loophead,” Mr Dollard told The Clare People this week. “The fact that it has been so successful, every single box has been ticked. The big thing we learned is that there is a very strong tourism product in Loophead – it’s how we develop that,” he adds.

Up to date figures released by Clare County Council this Monday have revealed that 15,507 have visited the tourist attraction since it opened its doors to the public, with children making up 3,793 of these.

Now, a new range of visitor attractions are set to mushroom around the lighthouse, with the county council director of service revealing that the challenge is now to “marry everything together, develop it into something on the tip of West Clare that can financially sustain itself”.

“It’s hoped to rebuild the lookout post between now and next summer – that’s part of history being put back in place. There’s a walk planned around the lighthouse and in this we have worked with local community and are getting it costed,” said Mr Dollard. “That should be in place for next summer. We have been talking to a geology group – a lot of geology work is being done in the area. It’s an element that could developed in a display of the geological history of the area.

“We have been talking to Inis environmental consultants who are working with UCC – they have ideas about a bird observatory on the site and we are seeing how that could be incorporated in an overal visitor product.

“Our biggest problem is that we have too much stuff between maritime, geology, the lighthouse itself, the flora, the fauna, the walks, the lookout post, the coastwatch service. It’s how you bring it all together in a coherent way and to try to prevent the natural beauty of the Loophead area being destroyed,” he added.

A RADICAL plan that would see Shannon Airport given its freedom from Dublin Airport Authority control has been tabled with the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, but the controversial move by management at Clare’s international airport has polarised political opinion in the county.

Despite the sale of state assets being firmly on the Government agenda, local Labour Party TD Michael McNamara has rounded on the SAA proposal that the airport be leased out to private intererests for a period of between 15 and 35 years.

This is also the stance taken by Clare’s lone Fianna Fáil TD, Timmy Dooley, who also doubles as his party’s transport spokesperson, but local Fine Gael TDs, Joe Carey and Pat Breen have reserved judgment on the SAA submission, until more details of its contents become available.

Deputies Dooley and McNamara have emerged as the leading voices of opposition to the plan for the aiport, which will celebrate the 75th year of the sod turning that marked the building of the airport on October 8 next.

“Government have responsibility from a regional development perspective to promote and retain the airport,” said Deputy Dooley, “and if it’s passed to a private entity, leased to a private entity or sold, it’s responsibility is gone and they’ve washed their hands of it. That’s not the best thing for the airport,” he added.

“I hope that we don’t ever see the situation whereby there is a shortterm effort to turn a buck in Shannon to the detriment of the long-term development on the region, to which Shannon Airport is central,” said Deputy McNamara.

“What’s to be gained from leasing Shannon. I don’t see that there’s going to be any financial gain – I can see a potential gain for hawkish investors, but I’d be very reluctant to see people who are involved in Shannon Airport turn a buck in Shannon,” he added.

“I’d like to see the full proposal that the management in Shannon are putting forward,” said Deputy Carey, while his party colleague Deputy Pat Breen told The Clare People that ahead of making a decision of Shannon’s future within the DAA “Minister Varadkar is very much aware of the airport’s role in balanced regional development while at the same time conscious of the need to secure the airport’s future on a sound economic footing”.

Ryanair, which has called for Shannon’s separation from the DAA has told The Clare People that government backing for the SAA submission could represent a new start for the airport.

“This could help the airport do what it needs to do and that’s return to a low cost model and have low cost ethos,” said spokesperson Stephen McNamara.

“That’s where it is at across Europe. It’s about a local focus and a local delivery of a really good tourism product. If they can get that the airport can return to growth.”

KILNAMONA Church was targeted by burglars at the weekend. However, nothing was taken in the break-in to the church which took place between 10.30pm on Friday and 8am on Saturday.

A window on the porch was broken and while money boxes are understood to have been searched, nothing was stolen.

According to gardaí, the window used to gain entry was small and they are investigating the possibility that the intruder was a young person or someone of slight build.

“They got nothing and they didn’t damage anything,” said the local parish priest, Fr Seán Sexton.

“It’s common place. There was no damage whatever done apart from the broken glass. It was all fixed in a couple of hours. We have moved on,” said Fr Sexton.

Gardaí across the county, meanwhile, are investigating a string of burglaries.

A house at Brickhill West, Cratloe, was broken into at around 11pm on Friday. The intruder was disturbed by the occupier and fled the scene empty-handed. The intruder is described as having a Limerick accent, aged in his early 20s and of thin build. He was dressed in black and wore a black balaclava and carried a hammer. No-one was injured in the incident.

A house in the Newpark area of Ennis was broken into at around 3am on Saturday. A handbag and wallet were taken, along with various bank cards and a driver’s licence.

A camcorder and small amount of money were stolen during a break-in to a house on the Lahinch Road in Ennis on Friday. The house was burgled between 7am and 5pm.

Gardaí in Kilkee are probing a house break-in overnight last Monday, during which a safe containing money in various currencies – including US dollars, Russian Rubles and sterling – was taken. Entry was gained after a window was forced open.

A selection of alcohol was stolen during a break-in to a house at Radharc na hEaglaise, Killaloe, overnight on Thursday.

Two incidents involving theft of property are also being investigated by gardaí. A galvanised feeding trough and an electric fence battery were stolen from a field at Moanreel South, Ennistymon, last Monday. In Cooraclare, several gates were stolen from a gate crush between 2pm last Wednesday and 10am on Thursday.

Also in Ennis, the golf club was targeted overnight on Wednesday, when a number of greens and tee boxes were damaged.

Anyone with information on any of those incidents should contact their local garda station or Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100.

IN ONE of his final interview before his tragic death last week, Clarebased Polish diver Artur Kozlowski, admitted that his mission to map the unexplored caves of North Clare and South Galway was extremely dangerous – with death the possible outcome of each solo dive.

Mr Kozlowski and his diving companion Jim Warny successfully mapped more than 13 km of dangerous underwater caves in the Burren region over the past six years. This work was achieved through of more then 60 solo dives.

“This was virgin exploration so we don’t know what is behind the next corner. We can’t see it because the visibility is so low, about one and a half metres, so it is dangerous,” Arthur told The Clare People last year.

“Because the caves are so small the dives are safer to be undertaken by one person at a time. So if you get into difficulty under there you are really on your own. You are on your own but we do have back-ups to all our equipment and we are both very well trained.”

Mr Kozlowski body was recovered from a cave in Kiltartan, just north of Gort, last Saturday, five days after he undertook his final underwater dive. His body was recovered by a specially trained British rescue team just before 5pm on Saturday, before his remains were taken for a postmortem at University college Hospital in Galway.

The British team, which was led by Coventry firefighter Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, working with the Doolin based Irish Cave Rescue Organisation and the local Gardaí, to complete the rescue operation.

The British team had been flown in as part of an inter-governmental request, due to their international expertise in cave rescue situations. Mr Kozlowski’s mother and sister also travelled to Ireland and prayers were said at the scene on Saturday evening by local priest Fr Tommy Marrinan.

Arthur went into the water at 3pm on Monday, September 5, and had enough oxygen to last until approximately 9.30pm that evening. The alarm was raised when he did not return and it was hoped that the experienced diver might have found an air pocket in a section of the underground cave.

In a statement over the weekend the Speleological Union of Ireland, the national organising body for caving, offered it condolences to his family saying that in recent years Artur has been pushing Irish cave diving to its furthest limits.

“Artur’s life was devoted to cave diving. He died pursuing his dreams, exploring to the limits,” it said.