Month: November 2012

NO FURTHER warning letter concerning payment of the Household Charge will be issued by Clare County Council until a complete and accurate list of those who have not paid is made available to the local authority.

That is following a motion put forward by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council. Standing orders were suspended last night to allow councillors to fully debate the recent issuing of 33,000 letter to people in Clare.

It has also emerged that County Manager Tom Coughlan contacted the Department of the Environment and asked that letters be issued by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and not by Clare County Council. According to Mr Coughlan, the Department of the Environment said that Clare County Council was required to issue the letters because it was the agency who the fee was payable to – despite the fact the the LGMA was tasked with collecting the payment.

Mr Coughlan also said that it would be the responsibilty of Clare Country Council and not the LGMA to take any legal action against home owners who do not pay the housing charge.

More than 33,000 letters were issues by Clare County Council to homeowners in Clare, despite the fact that less than 16,000 people still owe for the property charge. A large number of people in Clare received multiple letters, including many household who received letter for deceased relatives.

“This is totally counter productive. All this has done is convince the 30 per cent of people who have not paid that they should not pay. Because nobody has a clue who has paid and who hasn’t,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).

“I think at this point we should issue a letter of apology to those who received letters for relative who were deceased.”

Mr Coughlan said he was unhappy in the way the issue was handled. “I am unhappy as well. I am unhappy about the reputational damage which has been done to Clare County Council about this. I am unhappy about the time and resources that were spent on this and I am very unhappy that people got letter from this council which caused them upset.”

CONFUSION reigned at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council where the councillors appeared to be asked to vote twice on the same issue – with the result of the first vote being reversed on the second occasion.

The situation concerned two motions in which Clare County Council asked the elected members to allow the council to raise two loans to cover firstly, the costs of overspends on road projects – including more than € 3 million on the Gort Road distributor road in Ennis – and a second to cover the extra cost an affordable housing scheme at Glaise na Rinne.

An applications to approve a loan for overspends involving road was approved – but only after a motion put forward to Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) to defer the vote was defeated. Cllr Flynn requested that this vote was conducted on a roll-call basis, where the votes of each councillor would be recorded in the minutes of the meeting – but this motion was rejected by the Mayor of Clare Pat Daly (FF). The vote was then decided on a show of hands, with the way in which individual councillor voted not recorded on the minutes of the meeting.

The vote resulted in 13 councillors voting to defer the decision for a week to allow for more information to be presented with 17 voting to approve the motion as it stood.

A similar motion, which asked that a decision on taking out a loan to cover the extra costs of the afford- able housing scheme at Glaise na Rinne, was proposed by Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind).

A show of hands vote was called on this motion of deferral and 16 councillor votes in favour of deferring the decision – a majority of the 30 councillors in the chambers at the time.

This vote was not completed however, and the number of councillor who were against the proposal to defer the decision, and those who planned to abstain from vote was not recorded.

Following a heated debate, Mayor of Clare Pat Daly asked councillors to vote again on the motion and this time, with all 32 councillors present, they voted by a majority of 18 to 14 to approve the loan and not to defer a decision for a week.

SIX water and sewage projects have ended up costing Clare County Council almost € 8 million more than the tender price – according to figures release at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Councillors last night agreed to allow a loan to be taken out by the local authority to cover the costs of price increases to projects which were carried out by contractors. These price increases brought about as a result of “extras” – or unforeseen elements which were discovered during the process of the six developments.

According to County Manager Tom Coughlan, these discrepancies in the final cost of projects were brought about under an old contract system, which allowed developers to charge more than the tender prices for reasons such as an increased cost of labour and materials.

The total price discrepancy for the six projects amounted to € 7.7 million which represented € 2,325,000 for the Feakle/Scariff/Quilty Sewage Schemes, € 1.5 million for the Newmarket on Fergus Scheme, € 1.3 million for a scheme at Gillogue, € 1 million for the Ennis Water Treatment Scheme, € 848,000 for the Lisdoonvarna/Ballyvaughan Waste Water Scheme and € 627,000 for the Clareville Scheme.

“The balances are for work which have already been done. The problem is that the tender which was accepted was substantially lower than the final price of the projects,” said County Manager Tom Coughlan.

“This happens especially where there are conditions which were not anticipated at the planning stage such as ground conditions.”

A number of councillors raised concerns over why these projects cost more than the original tender.

“People will be asking questions why these contracts were not scrutinised better to make sure that there were no holes in them for this sort of thing. We need to look at contracts in the future to make sure that this does not happen again. There must be a way to ensure that contracts cannot be hiked up after the fact like this,” said Cllr Michael Kelly (FF).

County Manager Tom Coughlan reiterated that the overspend was for six historic projects which were entered into under an old system of contracts which is no longer used.

CLARE County Council is not so much wishing for a white as much as a green Christmas this year.

The local authority is urging members of the public to “think green” and spare a thought for the environment in the run-up to Christmas this year.

The council will launch its annual Green Christmas campaign at a special event in Áras Contae an Chláir on Thursday, November 22, during which food and crafts producers will illustrate the importance of purchasing goods locally and the knock-on positive effects for the environment. Talks on upcycling will also demonstrate to members of the public who attend the many benefits by providing new ideas for customised, sustainable Christmas gifts.”

The council’s Environment Section will also host an information stand promoting the importance of upcycling, recycling and waste prevention during the festive period.

The event coincides with European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), a European-wide project aimed at promoting sustainable waste reduction actions in Member States.

Mayor of Clare Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said the upcoming event will help to raise awareness about the benefits of supporting local producers for both the economy and the environment.

He said, “By shopping for locallyproduced food or fair trade labels, the people of Clare will be helping the environment by reducing the air miles required in sourcing such products.

“There are also many ways in which the public can help protect the environment in the lead up to, during and after Christmas. Each December and January the council sees a huge increase in activity at its recycling facilities and bring banks, which is testament to the public’s heightened awareness of the importance of protecting the environment around them. “This year, I would appeal to everyone to take heed of the ‘green’ tips being provided by the council to help reduce the amount of waste we produce.”

Pre-Christmas tips from the local authority include buying presents that do not require excessive packaging, wrapping presents with recycled paper, sending festive e-cards to cut down on packaging, supporting local and fair trade producers, recycling shopping bags and composting food waste. Householders are also being urged to recycle all packaging, and take empty bottles and tins to one of Clare’s many bring banks.

According to Joan Tarmey, Clare’s Environmental Awareness Officer, “One of the main objectives of the campaign is to inspire people to add a twist to their Christmas gifts this year by upcycling. Upcycling is the latest trend, and it’s all about being creative and reusing everyday items to make creative and truly original items. We all love customised gifts, so if you’re looking for original gift ideas, drop into the 30 minute upcycling talks starting at 1pm in Aras Contae an Chláir in Ennis. There will be some sample ideas there to inspire you.”

THE construction of the remaining section of the M18 north of Gort has hit a fresh snag and the National Roads Authority (NRA) are unable to sign contracts for the motorway, despite a preferred contractor being chosen.

It had been hoped that work on the € 530 million project might start early in 2013, but this now seem unlikely unless funding can be found in the coming weeks.

The Government announced in July that works on the motorway were back on track and the Gort to Tuam section was one of the only roads projects signalled to go ahead as part of the national stimulus package.

At the time, the Government announced that the Direct Route consortium had been awarded the contract to build the Public Private Partnership (PPP), but a contract still has not been signed as no Government funding has been put in place.

It had been thought that the Government would source funding from the European Investment Bank for states share of the PPP funding, but this has not happened to date.

It is understood that more than € 150 million has already been spent on the project – with the vast majority of this money spent on the acquisition of lands through compulsory purchase orders.

This is the second time that the Government has been unable to sign contracts with a consortium to complete the M18. In November of 2009, the BAM Balfour Beatty consortium declined to sign the contract for the M18 because they were themselves unable to secure funding for the construction work.

It is understood that the economic situation of Ireland at that time made many European banks unwilling to invest in the project.

The motorway will provide a major boost for the thousands of Clare people who commute to Galway for work and college every day. When built it is also expected to provide a major boost for Shannon Airport, with sections of Galway and Mayo provided with easy access to the airport.

BORD Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) have rejected claims that a planned € 50 million fish farm off the North Clare coast is a “disaster in the making.”

The board has identified an area of Galway Bay as a site for a proposed deep-sea organic fish farm. The venture could create a total of 500 direct and indirect jobs, according to BIM.

According to BIM, the project will create 350 jobs directly through the operation and maintenance of the farm and a further 150 jobs through support industries locally. BIM are about to open a period of public consultation in relation to the development and will send a final application for a license to government after that.

BIM are applying for a production license and, if successful, would hold that on behalf of the taxpayer and find a suitable commercial investor.

Details of the project were heard at a meeting yesterday of Clare County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) for Community, Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services.

Donal Maguire, Director of Agriculture Development Services with BIM, told the meeting that the project would require an investment of € 50 million. He said the capital budget for fish cages and ships would be close to € 27 million.

He said the site would have no impact on beaches in North Clare, Galway and the Aran Islands.

Mr Maguire, who is originally from Kilkee, said aquaculture can live side by side with tourism.

He added, “We think it’s an exciting project and it could make a lot of employment in Clare and Galway. It will not create an environmental impact.”

Mr Maguire admitted BIM have received a mixed response, saying some residents on the Aran Islands have concerns while others see it as source of year round employment.

He added, “We could see fish being put to sea in 2014, all going incredibly well.” The project did come in for criticism from one SPC member.

Patsy Perill, who represents the Environment and Conservation Sector said BIM are completely underestimating the risks to the environment posed by the proposed fish farm.

Pointing to the potential impact of sea lice and fish waste, Mr Perill said, “I think this is a disaster in the making.” “It’s going to be a wipeout of the wild fish”, he added.

Mr Maguire said studies had shown that sea lice are not the reason for the decline of wild salmon. He said Ireland has among the strictest sea regulations in the world.

“There is an amount of misinformation that isn’t true,” he added.

THE annual Éamon De Valera Commemoration in Clare will take place this Sunday at the People’s Park in Ennis at 1pm.

At 12pm there will be a mass at Ennis Cathedral in memory of deceased members of Fianna Fáil in Clare. After mass, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin TD will lay a wreath at the De Valera Monument before delivering an oration.

Clare Fianna Fáil TD, Timmy Dooley, who is part of the organising committee, said the commemoration is always a very important date on the calendar and it gives an opportunity for members of Fianna Fáil in Clare to remember party colleagues who have passed away.

“The legacy of Éamon De Valera in Clare, Ireland and throughout the world has been well documented but it must not be forgotten that he served the Clare constituency with distinction for nearly 40 years. Sun- day is an opportunity for the people of Clare to remember the impact De Valera had.

“This Sunday will also be a chance for people to commemorate all the deceased members of Fianna Fáil in Clare,” said Deputy Dooley.

Following the event on Sunday there will be lunch afterwards in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis. All are welcome.

FACT is often more shocking than fiction according to the charity Clare Haven as it calls on book clubs around the county to consisder adding the book “Into the Darkest Corner” by Elizabeth Haynes to their reading list this month.

The Clare charity that supports women who have experienced domestic violence are part of the Mid-West Local Area Network on Violence against Women and the multi-agency fora made up of representatives from statutory, community and voluntary organisations which co-operate to promote a coordinated approach to tackling violence against women in the Mid-West region.

Each year the networks come together for the ’16 Days of Action and Awareness on Violence against Women’ campaign to raise public awareness around issues such as domestic abuse, rape and women’s rights.

The 16 Days is an international campaign which starts on November 25 (UN Day Opposing Violence Against Women) and finishes up on December 10 (Human Rights Day).

This year, as part of the campaign, the Mid-West networks aim to engage people on the issue of domestic violence by encouraging readers and book-clubs to read the book “Into the Darkest Corner”.

The book is a work of fiction which follows the struggles of a woman who becomes trapped in an abusive relationship.

The book has been promoted to local libraries and book-clubs, and discussions have been organised for the book-clubs to meet with local Domestic Abuse services who will critique the book in terms of their experiences of the real-life stories of domestic violence.

The theme for the campaign in the Midwest is “You don’t need a bruise to be abused”.

Using this theme that group hopes to draw attention to the fact that that many women suffer financial, sexual, emotional, psychological, social and verbal abuse – all of which can be as harmful as a physical assault and have serious implications for their mental health and wellbeing.

It is estimated one on five women in Ireland experience domestic violence.

A JUDGE has refused jurisdiction of a case involving an alleged assault in Lahinch on New Year’s Eve.

Paul Matthews (21), with an address at Mullagh Road, Miltown Malbay, is charged with assault causing harm at the Claremont Hotel, Main Street, Lahinch on December 12 (2011).

Details of the alleged assault were heard at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. Inspector Tom Kennedy said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed summary disposal of the case.

He said it would be alleged that Mr Matthews punched another man in the face, breaking a bone in his nose. Insp Kennedy said the alleged incident appeared to be “at the higher end” of assault cases. He said the alleged victim had surgery for his injuries. After hearing a summary of the alleged facts, Judge Aeneas McCarthy said he did not deem the case fit to be tried summarily. He refused jurisdiction of the case. He adjourned the case for the service of the book of evidence.

FIVE people have appeared in court charged in connection with a public order incident in a Shannon housing estate earlier this year.

Daniel Larkin (21), Jake Egan (20), Shane O’Connor (21), David Aherne (20) and John Cahill (21) are all charged with offences arising out of an incident at Cluian Alainn, Estate Shannon on January 1.

Mr Larkin, with an address at Mount Ivers Sixmilebridge, is charged with violent disorder; Mr Egan, with an address at 53 Aidan Park, Shannon, is charged with violent disorder; Mr O’Connor, with an address at 37 Ballycaseymore, Shannon, is charged with violent disorder; Mr Aherne, with an address at Riverview, Ballysheen, Sixmilebridge, is charged with trespass and provoking a breach of the peace; Mr Cahill, with an ad- dress at 32 Cluian Driochead, Sixmilebridge, is charged with trespass.

All five appeared at Ennis District Court on Wednesday. Inspector Tom Kennedy said directions had not been received from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

He said an extensive file has been prepared in respect of the cases. Judge Aeneas McCarthy adjourned the cases until January 9 for DPP’s directions.