Month: December 2011

CONSTRUCTION work on a new € 4.2 million Cystic Fibrosis Unit will begin in the new year after a historic fundraising effort by parents in Clare, Tipperary and Limerick.

The sod for the new facility was due to be turned in September of this year but work on the facility has now been delayed until the new year. Despite this however, the TLC4CF group are confident that progress will be made on the new facility early in 2012.

The group have also just launched a new fund-raising cook book which they are hoping can raise as much as € 100,000 to help to fund the completion of the unit and the machinery needed to fill it.

“The sod turning has not taken place yet unfortunately but we are confident that that will take place early in the new year. We are confident of that,” said Corofin mother and member of TLC4CF Marcella Clancy.

“This is the second Food 4 Thought cook book that we are released for TLC4CF. The first book was released two years ago and it was compiled by Breda O’Shaughnessy from Adare who is a great chef.

“The first book was a great success with more then € 100,000 being raised between Clare, Tipperary and Limerick from its sale. We will see how this one goes now – a lot of people were asking for a second version of the book to be launched.

“The book has all new recipes in it and while some of the recipes might be a little bit advanced they are presented in a way that anybody could do them. It does through the whole lot, from starters to soups, main courses to deserts. It is the kind of thing that would make a lovely Christmas present and it’s not too expensive at just € 10.

“We would also like to like to wish a happy Christmas to everyone in Clare and beyond who have supported TLC4CF in the past, their support is greatly appreciated by everyone in the Clare Branch of Cystic Fibrosis and everyone involved with TLC4CF.”

When completed, the new facility will be the only dedicated facility for people over the age of 16 who have Cystic Fibrosis in the west of Ireland. The facility, which will be built on the grounds of Limerick Regional Hospital, will be built entirely with money raised by TLC4CF and while the HSE has committed to staffing the facility. Food 4 Thought is available at Mary Kelly’s news agents in Ennis, O’Mahoney’s Bookshop in Ennis, Donnellan’s Centra Service Station in Ennis and the Spar Supermarket in Corofin.

A RARE original copy of the 1916 Proclamation, belonging to a Clare volunteer who was wounded during the Easter Rising, was sold at auction last week for € 55,000.

The proclamation, which is one of just 40 originals copies of the famous document still in existence, was removed by Clare volunteer Murty Tubridy, who was wounded in the head while defending his post near North King Street, beside the Four Courts, on the day of the rising.

Just 1,000 copies of the proclamation were printed, under armed guard, at Liberty Hall on Easter Sunday 1916. The proclamation was printed on poor quality, newsprint-style paper – something which contributed to such a small number of such a small number surviving to this day.

Less than 40 copies of the original document still exist and few are in good condition. Murty Tubridy’s copy remained in excellent condition except for a section of the third paragraph of the proclamation – which was torn away when it was removed, in haste, from North King Street.

The area around North King Street saw some of the most intense fighting during the Easter Rising. The copy of the proclamation was removed by Murty Tubridy while his post was taking fire from British troops.

Mr Tubridy served in Ned Daly’s Battalion during the Rising and was part of a unit headed by Peadar Clancy. His main involvement centred around the Four Courts, where he was appointed as grenade thrower and was also responsible for constructing a blockade on Kings Street.

On the second last day of the fighting, he received some minor injuries and was grazed also on the ear. He was sent to Richmond Hospital for treatment and while being moved to the hospital by his comrades he first removed the proclamation from the hoarding at King Street which he had been blockading.

Soon after he arrived at Richmond he was advised to leave the hospital immediately as it was about to be overrun.

His battalion surrendered on April 29, 1916, but Tubridy was not detained at this time. He was later imprisoned at Dundalk Jail, where he was granted parole for four days to attend his father’s funeral in Clare. Following the Rising, Mr Tubridy also served in Belfast with Terence Mac Swiney, Thomas Mc Curtin and other prominent Republicans of the day.

DESPITE a well-received bid, Clare has missed out on a € 200,000 music teaching windfall.

The Clare Music Education Partnership (MEP) is to meet in the New Year in order to consider making a third bid to the Music Generation a programme co-funded by U2 that aims to provide up to € 7 million to music education initiatives in Ireland.

Members of Clare’s music community met in October to formulate the bid, which was spearheaded by Clare VEC.

A successful bid would have seen € 200,000 invested in the Banner County over three years. Clare Music Partnership would also be expected to provide matching funding in the same period.

Local authorities, Maoin Cheoil an Chláir and the University of Limerick were among the groups who had backed the Clare bid.

In a report to Clare VEC, Dr Sean Conlan Music Education Officer confirmed that the Clare application had been unsuccessful.

He stated, “A second submission to Music Generation on behalf of the Clare Music Education Partnership (MEP) was made in November. Clare VEC was the lead agency. Unfortunately the application was unsuccessful again on this occasion. The Clare MEP application received a score of 71 per cent across the three key evaluative measures, core values, feasibility and value for money.”

Dr Conlan continued, “A further round of applications will be announced in the autumn of 2012. Successful projects will each received a maximum grant allocation of € 200,000 annually over three years. This has to be co-funded at local level and after three years the music education partnership is expected to be in a position to self finance its operation with collaborative funding from the Department of Education and Skills. The Clare MEP will meet early in the New Year to consider its position.

The second round of Music Generation funding was announced last week with partnership’s in Laois, Cork City and Wicklow receiving up to € 1.7 million.

In July 2009, U2 and The Ireland Funds announced a € 7 million donation to support music education programmes.

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.

TEACHERS may have to be hired on a temporary basis to cope with retirements from Clare schools, a meeting has heard.

It has been predicted that a high number teachers will take early retirement in February.

According to the Association of Secondary School Teachers in Ireland (ASTI),

“Under the terms of the Croke Park Agreement, teachers who retire before February 29, 2012, will have their pension and lump sum calculated on ‘pre-cut’ salary – the salary they were earning before the pay cut imposed in January 2010.”

Clare VEC is waiting to see how many teachers take up the option in order to assess the impact on Clare schools.

At the December meeting of Clare VEC, Fianna Fáíl councillor, Peter Considine asked what contingency plans are in place to cope with teacher retirements.

“Hopefully there will be no disruption to students,” he added.

CEO George O’Callaghan told the meeting that teachers could be hired in a temporary capacity to take classes until the end of term.

Mr O’Callaghan said there should be no problems filling posts given the high level of unemployment in the country.

He said the VEC would examine the situation more closely in February.

Concern was also expressed over the impact of cuts to career guidance services announced in this month’s Budget.

Under the new system schools will have to provide the guidance service from within their general teacher allocation.

Mr O’Callaghan said the VEC would study the implications of the decision when to it receives its teacher allocation quota from the Department of Education and Skills in February.

“However he told the meeting that for schools in Clare and around the country, the cut “effectively means a de facto increase in the pupil teacher ratio”.

Mr O’Callaghan said the decision would have a varying impact on various schools, adding it would have “an upward impact on the pupil teacher ratio”.

In response to questions from Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF), Mr O’Callaghan pointed out that pupil teacher ratios would not increase at ‘disadvantaged’ or DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools around the county.

UNOFFICIAL REPORTS from the Beckman Coulter manufacturing plant in East Clare have indicated that the plant, and the majority of its 180 strong workforce, is likely to survive the company’s restructuring programme.

An announcement has been expected concerning the future of the plant for more than two months since vice presidents Pamela Miller and Charles Pittman visited the O’Callaghan’s Mills plants in early October.

The company now operates two manufacturing plants in the west of Ireland with the Beckman Coulter top brass expected to close either the East Clare plant or its sister facility in Galway City and roll operations into one location.

Workers at both factories have been warned to expect an announcement at some stage this week but no formal time or date for an announcement has been identified. The company currently employs 180 people in East Clare with more than 200 people employed in its Galway facility.

SIPTU are currently engaged with ongoing negotiations with the company and unofficial indications are suggesting that it will be good news for the East Clare facility.

“It is looking positive at the moment but we must stress that we have heard nothing official from the company at this stage,” said local Cllr Joe Cooney (FG).

“This would be a huge boost for the area if the factory remains in East Clare, especially when you consider the 70 or so jobs that have been lost at FINSA over the last 12 months. It would be a massive blow for the area of something happened to this facility as well after what has been a really tough year.”

The East Clare facility was formally operated by Olympus Diagnostics until it was purchased by Beckman Coulter in 2009. Beckman Coulter was in turn purchased by US medical giant, the Danaher Corporation, earlier this year and it is this latest buy-out which has brought about the stand-off between the Galway and East Clare factories.

The two facilities, which have both retained the Beckman Coulter name, develop and manufacture products used in complex biomedical testing. While Beckman leases the facility in Galway, the company owns the site in East Clare, which has also been upgraded in recent years.

This is thought to be one of the key factors which may swing the decision in favour of the Clare factory.

MORE THAN 200 volunteers were out in force on Saturday and Sunday as the search continued for a woman who has been missing from the Cliffs of Moher for more than a week.

The missing woman, who has been named locally as Gillian Richardson from Limerick, was last seen on Saturday, December 10, and the alarm was raised when local gardaí located the car belonging to the 38-year-old Dell employee parked on a road close to the Cliffs of Moher.

More than 200 people took part in one of the largest searches to take place in north Clare in recent years with the emergency services being joined by more then 150 family, friends and neighbours over the weekend.

The Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, who have been leading the search effort, was joined by volunteers from the Kilkee Coastguard and the Lough Derg Rescue Service over the weekend as-well-as members of the Gardaí and a number of local volunteers.

The search area has also been widened and now stretches from Blackhead, between Fanore and Ballyvaughan in north Clare, and Quilty in West Clare. According to Mattie Shannon of the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard, the search will continue for a number of days this week but is likely to scaled down later in the week if no major discovery is forthcoming.

“We are still searching and we will continue to search tomorrow (Tuesday, December 20), and later on into the week.

“We had more than 170 people out with us looking on Sunday with most of them being relatives, family and friends,” said Mattie.

“The search area now stretches from Blackhead down to Quilty so it is a very large area to be searching. The search will continue for the time being, but is likely to be scaled down later this week.”

As well as the various local units of the Irish Coastguard, family, friends and relatives, the search has also included the Shannon based Irish Coastguard Rescue Helicopter aswell-as the SARDA Dog Team.

The search was officially launched on Saturday, December 9, when a car was discovered on a road near Aill na Searrach a short distance from the Cliffs of Moher on the road to Doolin.

Inquiries also confirmed that the woman had left her home early on Friday and she is understood to have told family members that she had a doctor’s appointment.

CLARE County Council will have no landfill facility in operation during 2012, but the aftercare costs associated with the landfill that was located at Ballyduff beg in Inagh have broken through the € 1m barrier for the first time. The Clare People can reveal that Clare County Council has budgeted to spend € 1,122,201 on aftercare maintenance of the controversial landfill facility that has now been shut down – over double the sum they budgeted for and spent in 2011.

These figures are contained in the Draft Budget 2012 that was put before members of Clare County Council this Tuesday by County Manager Tom Coughlan.

The closure of Inagh Landfill last month means that the bill for having a landfill operation in Clare has reduced to zero, as against the € 3,886,535 that was provided for the facility in the 2011 Budget.

However, this significant cost saving is significantly cut by the spiralling maintenance costs associated with the facility, as well as the loss of over € 2m in income to the council because of the landfill’s closure.

The council’s budget has set aside € 1,122,201 for aftercare services, as distinct from just € 482,625 in 2011, which represents a jump of € 639, 576.

“The closure of the landfill will have a significant effect on the budg- et for 2012,” the county manager has revealed.

“The operating costs of the facility will reduce, but provision has to be made for the maintenance of the closed landfill. There will also be a reduction in income at the facility of € 2.1m.

“The closure of the landfill will mean that all waste deposited at our three transfer stations in Scariff, Lisdeen and Ballyduff beg will need to be transferred by licensed waste management companies to landfills outside the county,” he added.

The final cells at the Inagh landfill were filled in November 2011, bringing an end to landfill activity in Clare, but the recycling facilities still remain open, while small quantities of household black bag waste continue to be accepted at the facility.

PLANS to generate an award winning and booming night-time economy in Ennis have been backed by local Gardaí.

Ennis is seeking to obtain the Purple Flag – a UK-run initiative that recognises a town’s night-time activities and services. Details of plans, which would seek to position Ennis as the west’s night-time tourism destination of choice, were outlined at meeting in the town on Thursday night.

Ennis Town Council is exploring the possibility of bringing the scheme to the town. Members of Ennis’ Municipal Policy Committee (MPC) and local gardaí recently met with Association of Town Centre Managers, the body who adminis- ter the scheme. MPC Chairman and local Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn told the meeting that Ennis along with Kildare and Dublin City have expressed an interest in taking part in the scheme.

Cllr Flynn who, along with Garda Supt Peter Duff, met with Purple Flag organisers in Dublin recently, explained that the scheme could provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the local economy. He said that studies have shown that towns and cities with an active night-time economy such as Galway and Cork tend to fare better in times of recession.

He said that night-time businesses account for 27 per cent of turnover in towns and cities in the UK while providing for 5 per cent of employment. He said it is time that local authorities, businesses and emergency services come together to agree that the attractiveness of Ennis at night is improved.

Speaking at Ennis Chamber’s crimewatch meeting, Cllr Flynn said that by meeting the Purple Flag’s strict criteria, Ennis could become a “mini Galway”. Supt Peter Dufff told the meeting that gardaí would support any initiative that makes Ennis more attractive to visitors.

Positive features of the town that could help it gain Purple Flag accreditation, he said, includes a good transport network and a crime rate that compares favourably with other similar sized towns in Ireland.

He said gardaí had noticed a decline in footfall on Ennis’ streets at night in recent years, adding that on some nights gardaí return to the police station at night having “talked to no one”.

Supt Duff explained that public order offences in Ennis are down “considerably” this year. He said this was not just a result of policing but also of the economic impact of the recession.

The Purple Flag is run by the Association of Town Centre Management (UK) and is awarded to towns based on the quality of its nightlife and the types facilities and services in place at night.

In order to qualify for Purple Flag status, successful towns must meet four standards, wellbeing, appeal, movement and place.

Towns are judged on a number of criteria including active policing, safe late night car-parking, public transport, public utilities nightlife and street activities.

BUSINESSES have been urged to take appropriate security measures at Christmas to prevent instances of “opportunistic” crime.

Senior gardaí met with local businesspeople in Ennis on Thursday night to promote greater awareness of crime prevention at an event organised by the local chamber of commerce. Gardaí also outlined their plans for dealing with crime over the festive period and warned business people to remain vigilant of counterfeit or “dud” money.

Asked about specific aspects of crime, Sgt Paul Slattery told the meeting at the Rowan Tree Hostel that there have been instances of “travelling crime gangs” coming to Ennis. However he added that gardaí haven’t encountered much of that activity lately.

In a presentation, Sgt Slattery urged business people in Ennis to take security of their premises and assets seriously. He said appropriate measures helped to protect staff, reduce losses and avoid the risk of increased insurance premiums.

Sgt Slattery told the meeting that “opportunism” was one of the most common factors in all crimes in Ennis. He said thieves are deterred by little money being readily available on premises. He explained that criminals look for premises with poor security measures in place and where there is a lax attitude to security.

Sgt Slattery recalled how in one burglary, thieves were granted easy access to a night’s takings after a clearly labelled key was left by the business owner beside the safe.

Practical security steps that can be taken, Sgt Slattery explained, include: not leaving large sums of cash in tills; training staff in security procedures; maintaining safe keys under dual control and varying the times when cash is transferred to the safe.

Emphasising the importance of CCTV, Sgt Slattery said cameras should be linked to a lighting system. Supt Peter Duff said given the low level of burglaries in Clare, CCTV enabled gardaí to rule in and rule out suspects.

Supt Duff said fully functional and properly managed CCTV cameras often play an essential in Garda investigations. He told the meeting that footage from Garda CCTV combined with that from cameras outside premises can be used to track a suspect’s movements.

He said that 90 per cent of crime in Ennis is “opportunist” and that very few break-ins are linked to organised crime.

President of Ennis Chamber and local businessman, John Dillane, said light is the “greatest deterrent” to criminals.

In relation to ‘beat on the street’ activities over Christmas, Supt Duff told the meeting that Garda resourc es would be concentrated in maintaining a visible prescence on Ennis’ streets.

SHANNON Airport can finally realise its full potential and chart a new future for itself away from Dublin Airport Authority control, as bodies like Shannon Development and Clare County Council and private sector interests step up to manage its affairs.

That’s the view of Shannon Development this week as the regional development agency has welcomed the new vision for the airport’s future that has been recommended to the Government by Booz and Company consultants.

Sources have revealed that developing a ‘Luton Airport model’ with Shannon, whereby it would remain in public ownership, but was operated by a private sector body that also included Shannon Development and Clare County Council.

“Shannon Development is a natural partner,” said Shannon Development chief executive Vincent Cunnane. “This is very much in line with what Shannon Development has recommended has revealed.

“We would be happy with that. We have believed for a long time that separation from the DAA is vital for Shannon to realise its full potential,” he said.

“I think that is the view of the region. I believe you need more competition in the airport sector in Ireland. What works for Dublin and possibly Cork, is not actually working for Shannon,” he added.

Shannon Development played a key role in the running of Shannon up until 1995, concentrating of a marketing and route development role within the airport – a link that current chief executive, Vincent Cunnane has described “some of the its most successful days, certainly its most innovative”.

A potential Clare County Council involvement in Shannon was endorsed in November when councillors gave their unanimous support to a local authority submission calling for public sector bodes to be given a frontline role in managing the airport.

The council said that its involvement would “have a number of distinct advantages in that the public sector authorities have a vested interest in the sustainable development of the region”.

The submission also called for the airport and adjoining landbank to be “vested in the people of the region through the democratically elected local authorities on a long-term basis”.

“The airport would remain in State ownership, through the public sector authorities in the region,” emphasised Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan.

“That could be the local authorities in the region, the local authorities with Shannon Development, it could be the local authorities, Shannon Development and Shannon Foynes port. It’s the public agencies operating in the region,” he added.