Month: April 2012

TWO West Clare women are setting up a support group for people suffering from the little known condition fibromyalgia.

The condition, which is on the arthritis spectrum, affects people physically, mentally and socially.

Support from other people with the condition is essential for those who believe they are suffering alone, and up until now no such support group has existed in the county.

When Doonbeg woman Bernie Sexton was diagnosed with the condition she had never heard of it before.

She believes it affected her for many years before she sought treatment and then took another year for doctors to diagnose fibromyalgia. Ms Sexton explained that it is a very difficult condition to diagnose as it does not present in blood tests or x-rays.

It is also a very individual condition affecting everyone differently.

This can make it very difficult to explain to others and for others to sympathise she said.

Chronic pains in the muscles, fatigue, sleep problems, and painful tender points are just some of the symptoms that affect those with the condition.

Bernie’s symptoms made it difficult for her to continue working so she retrained as a librarian, a job she finds allows her to move when she needs to and sit when it is required.

“I found when I was diagnosed I was very isolated. I would have loved to have had a group in the early days,” she said. Bernie was not alone in her belief that a support group was needed in the county.

Margaret Labrum was having the same idea and together the women are setting up the West Clare fibromyalgia support group, which will service the whole county.

Ms Labrum, who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2008, said the support group would not only raise awareness of the condition but also provide information, support and shared experiences among members.

She said for many people at the beginning it feels like they are going insane, as their symptoms don’t add up. She like many with fibromyalgia, has chronic pain, which can prevent her from living her life the way she would like.

“You can go at that level for a while and be fine and then something triggers a flair up and the pain is too much to carry on.”

The first meeting of the group will take place at 11am in the Kilrush Family Resource Centre on April 19 and all are welcome to attend. Further information is available from the founders of the group on 087 838 3499 or 087 6528769.

TWO local authorities have announced their intentions to draw up a master plan to re-develop the Watery Road area of Ennis.

The plan is to be drawn up in response to concerns over local authority housing in the area. Yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council heard that of the six houses on Watery Road, two are occupied while four are vacant and boarded up.

Both Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council are to meet with landowners to discuss the plan.

In a letter to the council, Fiona Mooney Acting Senior Executive Officer, Housing, Cultural and Emergency Services with Clare County Council, outlined the council’s intention for the area.

She stated, “As discussed this council considers that a long term and sustainable resolution to the various housing, community and environmental issues must be developed. It is the intention of the Housing Department to assign an architectural resource in quarter two of 2012 to begin with a process of developing a Master Plan for the Watery Road area.”

Ms Mooney continued, “This proposed Master Plan will facilitate inputs from adjacent landowners, Clare County Council, Ennis Town Council and local resident’s groups. It is proposed that the Master Plan, once developed, will be presented to both Clare County Council and En- nis Town Council for consideration and incorporation into the Ennis and Environs Development Plan.”

Town clerk Leonard Cleary told the meeting that of the six local authority houses, two are occupied while four are currently vacant.

He said that Clare County Council is currently in the process of preparing a submission for the Department of the Environment to seek funding for the plan.

Mr Cleary described the process as “fairly complex” but said a commitment had been made to move on the plan by April. He said, “The current arrangement and provision is not satisfactory.” Welcoming the plan, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) said residents in the Watery Road area had “put up with a lot” over the years.

CLARE’S most westerly Garda Station closed at the weekend.

The West Clare village of Carrigaholt is now without a Garda Station for the first time since the formation of the force.

The station in the Kilrush Garda district was one of 29 nationally to close at the weekend, and the only station in County Clare to be vacated under the current cuts.

H o w e v e r Garda Chief S u p e r i n t e n d ent John Kerins predicted further closures in the coming years, during the January meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC).

The small village station in Carrigaholt fell victim to a drop in Garda personnel due to an employment freeze and mass retirements, and the ever-tightening Garda budget.

The Carrigaholt area will continue to be patrolled by gardaí from Kilrush and Kilkee.

Meanwhile the chief superintendent, in conjunction with the local superintendent – Gerry Wall, are planning to reassign gardaí from Kilrush to the smaller sub-stations in the area on a part-time basis. These gardaí will man the stations, such as Labasheeda and Doonbeg, at advertised hours a few days a week. Chief Supt Kerins reassured members of the JPC that he did not believe the policing service would be affected. Gardaí have also highlighted the importance of community and neighbourhood watch schemes in rural areas.

ENNIS Town Council is considering the introduction of waste byelaws to combat the problem of illegal dumping around the town.

Councillors and officials are to meet with members of Clare County Council’s Environment Section to see if the byelaws could be introduced on a countywide basis.

It follows a motion submitted by Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Cllr Flynn stated that household waste byelaws are needed, as nearly 50 per cent of Clare householders do not avail of a waste collection service. He told the meeting that the problem of fly tipping and dumping has become too prevalent in and around Ennis.

He said that 47,000 tonnes of waste are produced in Clare each year. Cllr Flynn added, “People should be responsible and should deal with their waste in a responsible manner.”

He said Ennis had been “badly affected” by fly tipping while dumping is “destroying” the approach roads into the town.

There was broad support for the proposal from all councillors present at yesterday’s meeting.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) described the motion as timely, adding that he had seen 80 plastic bags of rubbish in the garden of one house in Ennis.

Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG) said the amount of household rubbish being dumped is “shocking”.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) said that while byelaws might be necessary, the council had to be careful not to target people who bring their rubbish directly to the dump because they can longer afford to pay for a waste collection service.

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said it is “dreadful” to see people dumping rubbish in fields and roads around Ennis. She suggested that in order to help people who can’t afford to pay for waste collection, the council should place public skips at locations around the town.

However there were objections to this proposal. Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said skips in town had previously become dumps.

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said that while byelaws are a good idea, he was “wary” of the proposal. Cllr Brennan told the meeting that a lot of the rubbish dumping in Ennis, is not being done by people from the town.

MOVE over men of Clare, it’s now the time of Mná an Chláir – all because for the first time in 140 years there are officially more females than males living in the county.

That’s one of the many changes to emerge in the 2011 Census of Population for Clare, details of which were revealed last Thursday by the Central Statistics Office with the publication of the first in a series of official reports on population trends nationally.

The county’s population now stands at 117,196 – the largest it has been since 1901 – with females out numbering males for the first time since 1871, with 58,898 females to 58,298 males in Clare. The number of females in the county grew by 4,098 in the past five years, while male numbers only grew by 2,298 in the same period.

STAFF shortages, overcrowding and continuous cuts have resulted in “dangerous conditions” for patients and staff at Ennis General Hospital.

Early last week one nurse was left alone to care for 22 acutely ill patients in the county hospital, while care assistants replaced nurses in vital areas of care. The under pressure staff are also dealing with overcrowding at the hospital, as 12 to 15 patients are regularly cared for over-night in the medical assessment unit.

Nursing staff have to be taken from other wards to care for patients in the unit, which was added as part of the hospital reconfiguration programme and is supposed to be closed at night. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Association described the situation as unacceptable stating “this level of care is dangerous for patients.”

Sources close to staff at the hospital told The Clare People that they are concerned for patients and frustrated that they do not have the time to care for patients the way they should and would like to.

INMO Industrial Relations Officer, Mary Fogarty explained there is an acute shortage of nursing staff at the Ennis hospital since the monitorium was put in place. This has been exacerbated by recent retirements.

“We are very concerned about the standard of care across the system,” she said. While the staffing freeze does not allow vacant nursing posts to be replaced, the HSE is employing care assistants through an agency at € 12 per hour in an attempt to fill the widening staffing gap.

“While care staff have a vital role to play they cannot replace nurses. They do not have the education or experience,” she said.

Ms Fogarty was also critical of the reconfiguration process that took 25 beds out of Ennis General Hospital without having replacement infrastructure in place. “This is a very inefficient way of managing,” she said.