Month: February 2013

THE roads grant for Kilrush has been cut by 17 per cent this year to € 115,000.

For the last three years Kilrush Town Council had been allocated € 139,000 from the Discretionary Block Grant to Urban Authorities.

At this month’s meeting of the town council, executive engineer Derek Troy said the council was requested to direct as much as possible of this funding at road and footpath strengthen, remedying road and foot- path defects and maintaining and improving drainage. The work identified to be completed this year in the town is work on the main thoroughfare – Francis Street.

As well as resurfacing and new street markings, Mr Troy said the council also plan to draw up special parking spaces for buses and coaches. “It will be included but we will loose a few parking spaces,” he said.

The member of the council agreed however that the new bus spaces were necessary to promote tourism in the town.

The remaining budget will be al- located to road repair parking and public lighting, as well as signage and draining improvements. Repairs to footpaths “in the interest of safety and accessibility” will also be undertaken.

In issuing the grant, the Department of the Environment and Local Government also directed that expensive reconstruction should be avoided by timely resurfacing.

“This is particularly relevant in the case of worn concrete surfaces. Ideally resurfacing should form part of a programme extending over a limited number of years,” it stated.

CLARE County Council’s water safety officer has literally found himself between a rock and a hard place, as a “traditional bathing area” in Kilrush has been deemed unsuitable. The bathing area at Alveroo, known locally as The Rock, is missing the one thing that gave the bathing spot its name.

Former mayor of Kilrush Liam O’Looney (FF) now wants Clare County Council to replace the rock at the 150-year-old bathing area, before the summer season. He is supported in his request by the other members of the town council.

Water safety officer Liam Griffin has concerns about returning the rock however, and has advised against it. “I have visited the area known as The Rock, Cappagh, Kilrush, in order to carry out an inspection. As an International Life Saving Federation of Europe Risk Assessor, I would not recommend this location as being suitable for bathing for a variety of reasons. In that regard, I would recommend that the local authority should not carry out any reinstatement of the concrete section or conduct any works that would encourage the public to bathe at this location,” he said.

The water safety expert added that it was policy to select suitable bathing locations throughout Ireland, “which are regarded as safe and suitable to recommend to the public to use as bathing areas. All recommended bathing locations in the county have been comprehensively risk assessed with a view to public safety.

“In County Clare we have 12 such designated beaches, which are recommended for bathing. Ten of those locations are located along the west coast of Clare. We have one such location at Cappagh, Kilrush, and this beach enjoys Blue Flag status. Two lifeguards are employed at this beach during the bathing season.”

Cllr O’Looney said he was disappointed with the water safety officer’s response, adding that no specific reasons were given for his conclusion. “I think people are going to continue to swim there,” he said.

Cllr Ian Lynch (FG), who is also a member of the RNLI, argued “placing the rock there does not make it any less safe. If anything, putting the rock back would indicate end of the water.”

Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Mairead O’Brien (Ind), was also concerned that the life buoy at the marina had gone missing three times in the last six months. She said in a bid to counteract the situation a special talk on water safety was to take place at the local secondary school.

CLARE County Council could be set to scrap all planning permissions charges for new commercial buildings as part of a new plan to make Clare the most business friendly county in Ireland.

The local authority confirmed that they will be examining a number of possible changes to the planning process in the next month, including a proposal to wave all planning contributions.

This comes following a commitment by the Clare County Council to Shannon Airport Authority and Shannon Development to help give the Shannon area a kick-start for new commercial development.

A motion, put forward by Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council, requested that any waver for planning costs in the Shannon area be extended countywide.

“Under the act planning levies are not mandatory. A local authority can decide what levies they set in different areas. It is my opinion that rates collected after the first three years would cover the costs of waving the planning levies,” he said.

“We should take an initiative here and bring some business to Clare. This would, for example, give Crush- een a huge competitive base over somewhere like Gort. It would give the North Shannon an advantage over the South Shannon. This would create building activity in Clare and it would create a rates base for the future in Clare.”

The motion was seconded by Cathal Crowe (FF), who said that this waver could have the same effect as Ireland’s low corporation tax has nationally.

“The manager has already waved this for Shannon Airport and its hinterland. I think it is important to look at this as a countywide exercise,” he said.

“This would give us a real edge as a county. It would be like Ireland’s low corporation rate, except on a county basis. This would make Clare the best place in Ireland to do business.”

Clare County Council gave a cautious welcome to the proposal, but did indicate that money collected from planning development contributions don’t go directly into the council’s yearly budget – they are earmarked for works associated with the development itself.

“Careful consideration will have to be given to the extent of incentives that can be offered as a balance has to be struck between the need to support economic activity and cost recovery from services provision,” said a spokesperson.

CLARE County Council paid out more than € 688,000 in legal expenses last year.

At last night’s (Monday) meeting of the council, members asked if such costs had to be entailed.

Cllr Christy Curtin who requested the breakdown of the council’s legal expenses said, “The advice of law is a burden on our resources.”

He asked if the council could avoid the cost of legal advice in the future.

Director of Services Bernadette Kinsella told the members the county manager “was exploring other options”.

Of the € 688,830 paid out by the council on legal fees and for legal advice the majority of the costs were paid to Michael P Houlihan Solicitors.

County Solicitor John Shaw is a member of the firm, accounting for the majority of these costs.

The second highest payment made by the council was to Dublin-based senior counsel, Dermot Flanagan SC. He received € 96,469 for representing the local authority at two An Bord Pleanala oral hearings last year.

The hearing into council plans to construct a new bridge crossing at Killaloe lasted 10 days, while a separate oral hearing into plans to construct a contentious pier at Doolin lasted one day.

The Shannon bridge crossing proved the most expensive project from a legal standpoint last year, adding up to € 134,614 in total.

Extinguishing a right of way also proved legally expensive at a cost of € 93,006. The legal costs pertaining to Traveller accommodation for the year came in at € 89,726 and the Ennis Water Treatment Settlement at € 76,73.

Payments to Michael P Houlihan Solicitors included legal work on the acquisition of land and wayleaves; civil claim water services; extinguishment of right of way; enforcement cases relating to planning and the environment; the Killaloe Bridge Crossing; Traveller accommodation and other miscellaneous services.

A sum of € 59,339 was made from the council to James Connolly SC for a number of legal issues, with Patrick G Quinn receiving € 49,740 for legal work on a number of issues.

A NUMBER of new jobs are on the way for Shannon, following the expansion of local firm Tekelek in the UK market.

The Tekelek Group have announced the purchase of English-based company Ingenion Design for an estimated € 2 million. It is thought that this investment will help the company to expand into the markets of Europe and further afield and could provide a major springboard for the Clare company.

The company, which already employs 30 people at its Shannon headquarters, is understood to be planning to increase its staff to meet the increased demand expected follow- ing the purchase.

“Ingenion Design is an excellent strategic fit for Tekelek. Since its establishment in 1984, its innovative designs have been recognised by a series of awards under the UK’s Small Firms Merit Awards for Research and Technology (SMART) run by the UK’s Department for Trade and Innovation,” said Tekelek founder and managing director Peter McCarthy.

“Like Tekelek, it has developed many new technologies within its market and beyond through linkages with leading experts and universities. Its latest innovation, a novel method of measuring the calorific value of natural gas, was developed jointly with the research team at British Gas, and it now has an exclusive manufac- turing licence to produce this product for CUI Global.”

The product has already been tested and trialled across Europe, the US, Canada and South America and is set to transform Ingenion, with turnover expected to double in the next two years.

“This acquisition will give Tekelek access to new technologies, new sectors and new markets. Our Shannonbased workforce will expand incrementally over time from its current level of 30 employees,” continued McCarthy.

Tekelek has partnered with distributors In Australia, US, and other world markets. Founded in 1995, the company is a provider of level sensing and tank monitoring solutions for oil, LPG gas and water tanks.

THE scale of the challenge faced by the newly independent Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) has been revealed with the news that the number of flight movements dropped to just 37 per day, last month – the lowest average monthly total for more than a decade.

This drop, which coincides with the airport’s first month of independence from the Dublin Airport Authority, represents a 10.7 per cent year-onyear drop in flight movements.

Despite these figures, the airport is expected to show an increase in flight movement later this year with a number of new services announced in recent months. It is hoped that the January figures represent a bottom- ing-out in terms of flight movement, which are expected to show significant gain later this year.

“The early months of the year are always the most challenging and particularly in the current climate but we are fortunate that we can look forward to increased traffic over the course of the year thanks to the commencement of new routes and a strengthening of existing ones. This wasn’t the case over previous years,” said an SAA spokesperson.

“On transatlantic routes alone we have 25 per cent increase in capacity during the summer season [from March to October] thanks to new routes coming on stream for Philadelphia and Chicago. The upswing kicks off next month with the return of Aer Lingus early on JFK New York and Boston routes, in time for the St Patrick’s weekend celebrations, and we also have Delta returning for the summer on JFK.

“Outside the US, we also have a new route announced for Faro, which is one of the most attractive sun destinations in Europe, as well as a doubling of our services to Bodrum in Turkey for the summer season. We will be very strong on the UK routes again this year and have recently added Glasgow to our schedule with Flybe.

“In addition to the gains we have already secured, the newly independent Shannon Airport will be marketed aggressively and competitively for other sustainable services.

“The environment remains challenging and these new services, which were hard won, will need to be supported by the public. But after a really difficult four years for the airport, we are confident that 2013 will be the turning point for us.”

It is also understood that the Shannon Airport Authority will soon officially announce the make up of its new board on management.

TWO men who attempted to have an altered cheque lodged to a bank account in Ennis have received prison sentences.

Ondrej Pollak (23), with an address at 9A Dun na hInse, Ennis, and Peter Sivak (22), with an address at 311 Brookville, Drogheda, Louth, appeared before Ennis District Court last Wednesday.

They pleaded guilty to dishonestly by deception inducing a member of the bank’s staff to accept a fraudulently altered cheque in the amount of € 4800 to be paid to the Bank of Ireland held at Bank of Ireland, Bank Place, Ennis.

The incident occurred at Bank of Ireland, Dunleer, County Louth on May 24, 2012. Detective Garda Claire O’Shaughnessy said the cheque had been altered from its original amount of € 22.50 to € 4800.

The court heard that Ondrej Pollak supplied the account for which the altered cheque was intended while Peter Sivak lodged the cheque in Dunleer.

Both men claimed they had been approached by a man named Tony, to carry out the transaction.

Mr Pollak said Tony requested the use of the account as his own had expired. Mr Sivak said Tony asked him to lodge the cheque in Dunleer.

Both men told gardaí that Tony agreed to pay them each € 100.

Det O’Shaughnessy told the court that gardaí did not find anyone named Tony connected with the case. She said that the accused claimed Tony was either from South Africa or Nigeria. Bank of Ireland discovered the deception and contacted gardaí. No money was removed from the account. Solicitor for Mr Pollak, John Casey, told the court that his client has lived in Ireland since he was 11. He said CCTV captured Mr Pollak checking his balance at the Bank of Ireland after the deception had been uncovered.

Mr Casey added, “He was always going to get caught. It was his account, his address.”

Solicitor for Mr Sivak, Daragh Hassett told the court his client, a Czech National, has lived in Ireland since he was 13. He said the father of two was in difficult financial circumstances when he was approached by Tony.

Mr Hassett said it was indicative of his client’s amateurism that he had signed the bank lodgment slip with his own name.

Judge Patrick Durcan said the men were not hardened criminals. He said their story involved the introduction of a “most curious character named Tony.”He added, “I do not believe one word about the existence of Tony or the responsibility of Tony.” He said the men had engaged in “criminal thievery of the worst kind”.

Mr Sivak received a six month prison sentence. Mr Pollak also received a six-month sentence but had the final two months suspended. Reco gnaces were fixed in both cases in the event of appeals.

A FAMILIAR face will return to Kilrush Town Council this evening (Tuesday), when Christy O’Malley (FF) is welcomed back to the council. The former mayor of Kilrush, who lost his seat in the 2009 election, has been seconded by the Fianna Fáil party to take the seat vacated following the death of the late Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF) last December. At a Fianna Fáil convention on Sunday evening in the Haven Arms, Kilrush, the retired Garda sergeant was returned unopposed to take the seat. Law student Emmet Greaney, a native of Kilrush and member of the local Cumann, had also been nominated, along with Mr O’Malley, to contest the appointment. He withdrew his nomination on the night, however, and the more experienced Fianna Fáil man was returned uncontested. The soon-to-be-reappointed Cllr O’Malley is no stranger to local politics. As well as serving on the town council, he was also chairman of the Kilrush Special Olympics Committee when Kilrush Town hosted the Georgia Republic in 2003. His party colleague, Cllr Tom Prendeville, said the former mayor took some persuading as he was convinced to return to local politics. “He brings with him so much experience and expertise. I always felt he brought common sense to the council table,” he said. Cllr Prendeville added that Mr O’Malley’s selection was met with a positive response from the community as it pointed to continuity within the council. Christy will take up his appointment this evening when the February meeting of the council begins at 7pm. He will take part in just 14 more monthly meetings before the council is disbanded in 2014.

CLARE has one of the highest rates of sheep kills by dogs in Ireland, according to new figures released by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA). Figures compiled by the IFA reveal that Clare recorded the sixth highest number of sheep kills in Ireland last year, despite having a relatively low sheep stock compared to other counties.

According to Clare Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, the number of sheep kills recorded by the IFA is only the tip of the iceberg as most kills are never reported. “There would be an awful lot more attacks than that in Clare. That is only the number reported to the IFA. The real number is likely to be much much higher.

“Just four years ago we had 42 sheep killed by two dogs in one night down in Shannonbanks. That was € 5, 500 worth of damage in one night. We were lucky enough to catch the own- ers in that case and they had to pay for the damage done. The dog owner is always liable in that situation.”

Frankie also urged dog owners to be sure that their animals are secured properly over the lambing season – even if there are no sheep flocks nearby and your dog does not have a history of violence.

“Lambs have been born all over place in the last two weeks and it is inevitable that dogs will attack sheep. Dogs will travel; if they hear sheep far off in the distance they will travel to find them,” continued Frankie.

“Dogs will come out of towns, out of villages, out of housing estates and look for sheep, but also from farm houses. The law states that dogs must be on their own property and secure.

“All dogs will attack sheep, given the opportunity. Everybody thinks that their own dog won’t attack a sheep but the reality is that 95 per cent of dogs will. Dogs gather in packs and the wildness come out with them.”

EDUCATION Minister Ruairi Quinn has warned that it’s “unacceptable” that every national school in the Shannon and Newmarket-on-Fergus area remains under the patronage of a Christian Church.

Minister Quinn made his comments as the month-long school patronage survey close on Friday, just as fears have been raised locally that “pressure” was brought to bear on parents to demand that the status quo of eight Catholic schools remain in the Shannon and Newmarket-onFergus catchment.

“Ireland is a changed place and we have to reflect that change,” warned Minister Quinn, “so it’s simply not acceptable that 96 per cent of primary schools in the country be under the patronage of a Christian Church.

“The Shannon area has to play its part in that, so we have asked parents what kind of ethos they would like to have other than what’s already there. I would expect that in the Shannon region it’s not unreasonable to say of the eight Catholic schools, at least one of them should be in a position to be transferred by way of patronage to the Department of Education.

The eight Catholic schools in the survey area are Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire, Clonmoney and Stonehall in Newmarket-on-Fergus and Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, St Aidan’s, St Tola’s, St Senan’s and St Cronan’s in Shannon. A number of parents have complained that a letter circulated in Newmarket-on-Fergus amounted to pressure from the Catholic Church wanting three schools in the parish included in the survey to remain under Catholic control.

“The schools are rooted in the community and each one has its own distinct identity. A change of patronage would have major implications for staff, boards of management, parents and children,” the letter said.

The results of the survey of these schools will be made known to the Catholic authorities by the end of the month. The church authorities will then have to come back to the Department of Education within three months, ahead of a final resolution of the patronage issue by the end of the year.

“We want to reflect the change in Ireland and provide people with a choice,” said Minister Quinn. “We will assist the Catholic Church authorities in whatever way they want in identifying and selecting a school that could be reasonably transferred.

“In this day and age I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that one or two of those schools can’t change. If this is a true Republic and we accommodate and respect everyone equally. If this is the Banner County, where De Valera was elected for so many years, he would be to the forefront of a republican approach.”