Month: September 2011

CLARE County Council is to go ahead with a plan to demolish and rebuild the historic listed buildings at Blakes Corner in Ennistymon, with a Part 8 planning request likely to be completed before the end of this year.

This follows the completion of a report which recommends the demolition and reconstruction of the building to make space for a new road design at the dangerous junction.

It is unclear whether the report will be circulated to councillors before the Part 8 planing permission is formally lodged, despite repeated calls from Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) to take the “cloak and dagger” out of the development of Blakes Corner.

“I am concerned that there is a perception out there that we are dragging out feet on this,” said Cllr Arkins (FG). “We need to take the cloak and dagger out of this – for once and for all. If this report is done, and the people who have compiled this report are experts, then it should be able to stand up to scrutiny. The report has been done for almost a year now and I have asked for this to be circulated to elected members a number of times going back to last February or March.”

Cllr Arkins also asked that his latest request for the report to be circulated to all elected members be formally marked on the meeting of yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting. Despite these protests, it is unclear whether the report will be made public before it is included in the official Part 8 planning documentation.

“To my mind, to let the report out now properly contextualise the whole development process. I would have a concern that this report could become the subject of unbalanced debate because it is not accompanied by other documentation,” said senior engineer at Clare County Council, Tom Tiernan.

Cllr Arkins urged the local authority to reconsider this approach saying that if there were any flaws in the report it would be best to identify them sooner rather than later.

It was also revealed at yesterday meeting that the Part 8 planning permission is likely to be before the a full meeting of Clare County Council before the end of this year.

“I ask that the preparation of the Part 8 be an absolute priority. The only person who seem to be left out of this process is the general public and there are 400 students, elderly people walking to mass and people just trying to do business in Ennistymon,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).

“We need a definite date for this Part 8 and when the development will take place. We have been waiting for a long time for this and we can’t be waiting much longer.”

THE decision by the Irish Aviation Authority to grant a license to Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd to operate a seaplane service from Lough Derg brings to an end a campaign that was first started 35 years ago.

In 1976, aviation history was made in Clare when a flyingboat flew into Killaloe and landed on Lough Derg for the first time, which revived the mid west region’s association with the flying boat era from the 1930s to late ‘40s.

The Southern Cross was piloted by Captain Charles Blair – who had piloted the last schedulted sea plane flight from Foynes in 1945. Thirty one years later, Blair was accompanied on his historic flight by his wife Maureen O’Hara and Captain Paddy White of the Department of Transport and Power.

The Killaloe landing was part of a feasability study by the Department of Transport and Power into using Killaloe as a base for flyingboat operations, following a decision by Aer Arann Teoranta to apply for a license to run a service.

As part of the Aer Arann Teoranta application, the plan was to provide one-hour flights along the coast from Lough Derg at a £15 a head. However, the plan came to nothing.

Thirty five years on, Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd chief executive Emelyn Heapes has estimated that the cost of flights for his new operation would be between € 50 and € 160.

“This is huge news for us,” said Margaret O’Shaughnessy of the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, “given our history with sea planes and the museum. I am just back from a promotion visit to the US and we got a fantastic response. The fact that we will now be able to offer flights on sea planes will just be mega for Foynes and tourism in the wider region”.

MOUNTSHANNON can become Clare’s new international aviation hub drawing thousands of people to the mid-west region and eating into Dublin’s dominant position in the lucrative tourism market.

That’s the claim sounded out this week by Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd after being granted an operational license for a commercial seaplane base on the shores of Lough Derg at Mountshannon.

This is the first approved Com- mercial Sea Plane base in Europe and launches not only a new era in aviation history but a welcome development to the tourist industry,” Harbour Flights’ chief executive Emlyn Heapes told The Clare People .

“Failte Ireland and Shannon Development should be supporting this innovated enterprise which has now taken four years to archive this historical landmark in aviation and in tourism development.

“It will enable Lough Derg to become a major and vibrant tourism market leader as its prime location is perfect for sea plane owners to visit from all across Europe and a fantastic scenic introduction to beautiful Mountshannon and Lough Derg.

“Dublin receives half of our annual tourists with the west of Ireland predominately being a day destination. Our intention is to change this perception and make Dublin the day visit while opening up all of the tourist destinations in the west and have them easily accessible by the sea plane.

“Instead of attraction visits being a full day, with the majority of the visitor’s time being spent on a bus, we will shorten this to being under an hour.

“We are looking at opening the west and not only has our concept attracted the support of Failte Ireland, but we have also engrossed Tourism Ireland in the concept who have stated that it is an innovated tourism idea that they will use to promote tourism aboard,” he added.

Up to 45 new jobs are expected to the created by the Mountshannon based company that’s now set to embark on securing licenses for flights between Dublin Bay, Galway, Limerick, Foynes and Cobh.

The National Flight Centre, currently the largest flight training school in Europe, will also be using the Mountshannon base to establish the only European Aviation Safety Association (EASA) approved ‘Floats’ training base in Europe.

“This exciting development will greatly influence tourism revenue and help create a thriving training base that will attract budding pilots from all over Europe,” revealed Mr Heapes.

CLAIMS by a former Fianna Fáil councillor about alleged Fine Gael interference in the selection of Clare Vocational Education Committee’s (VEC) representative on the Standing Council of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) have been rejected by the committee chairman.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) was responding to comments made by former Mayor of Clare, Flan Garvey, at the September meeting of Clare VEC.

Mr Garvey claimed that he had been told by a Fianna Fáil councillor “not to bother” seeking the nomination to the IVEA standing council, as it was a “Fine Gael seat”.

Mr Garvey, who formerly served as Clare VEC’s representative to the IVEA, said he was disappointed to hear about this alleged arrangement. He said the seat was not the property of Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

Earlier this year committee member, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) was chosen to replace then Fine Gael councillor Tony Mulcahy as Clare VEC’s representative to the IVEA. The vacancy was created when Mr Mulcahy was elected to the Seanad. Cllr Brennan told last Thursday’s meeting that the decision to select Cllr Keating had been made by Clare VEC and not by any political party. He rejected Mr Garvey’s claims about political interference in the work of the committee. Responding to Mr Garvey’s claims about a political deal, Cllr Brennan said that he had served on Clare County Council since 1985 and was well aware of how political parties acted. “That’s democracy, that’s they way it goes,” he added. Cllr Brennan said apparent arguments between political parties should be dealt with by parties and were not the business of Clare VEC.

A SURVEY carried out by Ennis Chamber of Commerce indicates that there are currently 44 vacant units in the town centre.

The survey, which excludes Parson’s Quay, hotels, public houses and community buildings, appears to show an approximate vacancy rate of 15.3 per cent in the county capital. The figures are taken from a survey carried out on September 4 and are included as part of Ennis Chamber’s submission to a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

The submission, prepared by architect Michael Leahy, states;

“This alarming level of vacancy represents an approximate vacant area in the ground floor premises of the town centre of some 3,600 sq meters.”

Mr Leahy states that it is generally accepted that a vacancy rate of 15 per cent “is not sustainable into the medium to long term” and could lead to the development of “ghost shopping estates”.

He explains, “As we all know the period 2002 to 2008 was a period of unprecedented building activity across all sectors and we are now facing the consequences of excessive construction in the housing market in the form of ghost estates with the real possibility that many construction projects will have to be demolished. Can we not draw a similar conclusion in regard to the overprovision of retail space within County Clare and a likely development of “ghost” shopping areas particularly at town centre locations?”

The Chamber says they have prepared the submission to highlight modifications to the plan, which the business community feels “will have a significant negative impact on the vitality of Ennis town centre”.

The submission states that the changing of zoning provisions in the existing plan, which could facilitate the development of a proposed new district centre at the junction of Tobertascáin Road and Limerick Road, “will tend to attract traffic from the existing town centre”.

The submission also highlights concerns over access to and from the proposal site, which is currently the subject of planning application. The Chamber argue that “Any develop- ment of “ about 10,000 sq m” at an out of centre location would clearly have a devastating effect on the retail vitality of the centre of Ennis”.

In conclusion, Mr Leahy states, “It is our opinion that the modifications implemented have the potential to have a significantly detrimental effect on town centre retail.

“This will in turn lead to great difficulties in ensuring the survival of the building fabric in the historic town centre. Decreased viability of the town centre will in turn lead to negative effects on the sense of community within the town of Ennis.”

OPPOSITION to proposed changes in retail policy which could pave the way for the development of large out of town shopping centres will be outlined at a meeting in Ennis tonight.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce has called the meeting to discuss its submission on a proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.

The submission, prepared by architect Michael Leahy on behalf of Ennis Chamber, sets out the case against changing the zoning laws to facilitate the development of a new a “district centre” at the junction of the Limerick Road and the Tobertascáin Road.

Mr Leahy states, “Our main concern in respect of the proposed modifications to variation number 2 are in respect of what we see as a significant change of retail policy embodied in the proposal to dramatically change the zoning provision for proposal site number PS7, located at the junction of the Limerick Road and the Tobarteascaun Road. We are also concerned at certain other proposed changes to wordings in the development plan which we believe will have a negative impact on the manner in which future retail proposals are to be assessed.”

The site is currently the subject of a planning application from Michael Lynch Ltd, who is seeking to develop a retail park with Tesco as the anchor tenant. It is estimated that the project could create 500 jobs.

Mr Leahy states that Ennis Chamber “are not making specific comments in regard to that application other than for purposes of illustration or where it appears to us that elements of the proposed modification are being introduced to facilitate that application.

The main concerns of Ennis Chamber, as listed in the submission, are as follows:

(1) The proposal to incorporate a “district centre” into the zoning for proposal site PS7; (2) The proposal to permit direct access and egress on to the Limerick road from proposal site PS7; (3) The proposal to delete the requirement, as contained in na- tional guidelines for the carrying out of a sequential test in the assessment of planning applications for retail uses.

Mr Leahy adds, “We are particularly concerned that the above proposals will have a severely detrimental impact on the retail vitality of the central shopping area of Ennis and that as such it contradicts many aspects of the existing development plan as well as the National Spatial Strategy, the Retail Planning Guidelines and accepted planning principles.”

THIRTY people officially defected from the Catholic Church in the Killaloe Diocese in the 12-months before Canon Law was changed to prevent the process from taking place. The Cla r e People understands that 30 people wrote to the diocese offices in Ennis, asking to be removed from the Catholic Church between May of 2009 and May of 2010.0

This process was brought to a close by the Church through a change in Canon Law at the end of 2010 but the “Count Me Out” organisation say that they are on the verge of finding a new way of allowing Irish people to leave the Church – and could be up and running again in a matter of weeks.

“We had a lot of people contacting us about leaving the Church before the change in Canon Law. It was around the time of the Ryan Report so there was a lot of angry people out there. We had thousands of people contacting us in the first couple of days but of course all of them did not go through the formality of actually leaving the Church. Most people are happy enough just to stop going to mass but some people out there are keen to formally disassociate them from the Church,” said Paul Dunbar of Count Me Out.

“After the change in Canon Law the Church in Ireland said that they would no longer accept formal letters of defection, instead they would only keep a register of people who wanted to leave the Church. Since then we have been trying to get around this and we have been working with a Canon Law expert to find a way around this. But at the moment you effectively can’t leave the Church,” he said.

Count Me Out have been working with Canon lawyer Fr Tom Doyle who has just completed a report on the options now available under the new Canon Law.

“We are hoping to have something up and running again in a matter of weeks. It will be a trial and er- ror process and there is no guarantee that that what we do first will work but we are hopeful,” continued Paul.

“We are hoping to do it through Canon Law but if we can’t do that we might look at a civil way of trying to find a way of allowing people to leave the Church.” The Cla r e People contacted the Killaloe Diocese in relation to this story but no official comment was forthcoming at the time of going to press.

N E W M A R K E T- O N – F E RG US woman Sinead Corbett strengthened her claims to be recognised as Ireland’s best female plougher as she took second place in the Under-28 Conventional Category at the National Ploughing Championships in Kildare last week. Sinead, who is a nurse by profession, made history in 2007 when she became the first female to win in a mixed-gender competition at the championships.

Having competed successfully for years in the female ploughing category, known as the ‘farmerettes’, Sinead made the jump over to competing against the male farmers in 2006 and won the U-21 category outright the following year.

Her success is the latest in a long line of successes for the family in the championships, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather.

Last Tuesday’s competition saw- Sinead square up against the best young ploughers in Ireland in the final of the Under-28 Conventional Competition. Having received 80 points from her first plough, Sinead was sitting in fourth place, behind John O’Brien from Tipperary, Aiden Kelly from Longford and Robert John Barry from Cork going into the last plough of the final. The Newmarket woman showed great composure in the final minutes of the competition and was one of the few contestants to improve on her score in the second round of ploughing – registering 84 points, enough to lift her into second place overall.

Sinead is currently on a well deserved break abroad but, speaking after her previous victory, she said that she was not phased by competing against the lads. “I’m used to ploughing against the lads at this stage and I suppose they are used to me. When I started, I used to get a bit of slagging but that’s the way it goes. I guess they have changed their minds. As long as you can plough, that’s all that matters as far as I’m concerned,” she said.

Sinead’s grandfather, John, won the All-Ireland Junior Horse competition in Wexford in 1960, while her father Frank won the All-Ireland Junior Tractor competition in 1997 and 2003.

Sinead was the top-placing Clare plougher at this year’s competition but there were a number of other notable performances, including Barry Donnellan who competed in the Under-21 Conventional Class; Patrick Quinn in the 3 Furrow Conventional Class; John Joe Donnellan in the Junior Conventional Class; Eanna Cronin in the Under-40 Horse Class; Jim Cronin in the Senior Horse Class; and John White in the Vintage Two Furrow Mounted Class.

GARDAÍ are appealing for information on two serious road accidents in the county on Friday night.

A walker was injured in an accident in Tulla shortly before midnight, while a number of people were injured in a two-car accident at Minister’s Cross, Bunratty, shortly after midnight.

The pedestrian is receiving treatment for serious injuries in hospital in Cork and gardaí are anxious for witnesses to come forward.

The two vehicle accident in Bunratty resulted in some of the occupants being cut from the cars and taken to hospital in Limerick.

Also over the weekend, gardaí are investigating a break-in in which the home of an elderly man in Sixmilebridge was targeted.

Four people went to the man’s home at Mount Ivers, Sixmilebridge, between 6.30pm and 7pm. While there, they stolen a sum of money. One of the four was a small woman of heavy build in her 40s; another was a tall thin man about 6’ 3” who wore a beanie hat. They were accompanied by two young people, aged approxi mately 10 and 16.

Meanwhile, a handbag containing cash was stolen during a break-in at Roslevan, Ennis, between 5am and 6am on Sunday.

Kilrush gardaí are investigating a trespass incident shortly after 10.30pm on Thursday night. A man was disturbed in the back yard of a house at Henry Street in the town by the occupant, after he heard noise outside. The man had his head covered and was wearing a blue top with army style buttons.

Gardaí are investigating the theft of 100 metres of wiring from two poles at Leitrim, on the road between Broadford and Limerick, between midnight and 9am on Friday.

In Cratloe, an incident in which diesel was siphoned from the tank of a lorry is being investigated. The incident occurred in the Gallows Hill area of Cratloe between 11am last Monday and 8.30am on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, gardaí have issued a fresh appeal for information on the theft of a motorbike in Clarecastle earlier this month. A blue and white Yamaha motorcycle was stolen from Skehanagh on Thursday, September 8. It was parked near the new Skehanagh roundabout between 6am and 2pm that day. Gardaí say the bike was unique and is easily identifiable. The registration is 99 CE 5375.

The silencer on the bike is painted blue to match the body colour, while the gold coloured bracket on the right side has been replaced with a silver one.

“It’s an unusual make, a sporty model. It is valuable to the owner,” said Clare’s Crime Prevention Officer, Sergeant Joe Downey.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100.

THE views of Clare’s music community will be sought as part of an effort to secure a € 200,000 funding deal that could create new employment and transform the teaching of music in the county.

Clare VEC is currently in the process of preparing a new application for funding from the Music Generation Initiative, which is backed by music giants U2.

Musicians, teachers and young people throughout the county will be surveyed while Clare VEC is also hoping that support from the University of Limerick will “strengthen the application considerably”.

If successful the Clare bid, which is also supported by organizations including Clare County Council, Shan- non Development and music school Maoin Cheoil and Chláir, would see music teachers employed to work in school and out of school settings, teaching music to children and young adults around the county.

Acclaimed musician and scholar Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin is among the high profile supporters of the Clare application, which will seek to capitalize on the Banner County’s strong association with music.

Despite making an initial 23 county shortlist, Clare missed out on round one funding from the initiative, which has been made possible through the support of U2 and the Ireland Fund that supports music eduction to the tune of € 7m.

Dr Sean Conlan, Education Officer with Clare VEC, explained that Clare VEC on behalf of the Clare Music Education Partnership is developing an application for funding under round two of the Music Generation Initiative.

In his monthly report to members of the Clare VEC committee, Dr Conlan explained that the maximum fund available to each successful project is € 200,000.

He added, “Additional assistance from the University of Limerick has been achieved and this should strengthen the application considerably. Additional consultation sessions with music teachers, providers and young people will be a feature of the new application.”

Music Generation will provide three-year seed funding to establish local services, which will be sustained by Music Education Partnerships on a long-term basis.