Month: March 2013

HOMEOWNERS in four Clare ghost housing estates remain exempt for the local property tax, due for payment from July.

However those that own or pay the mortgages on houses in 19 other es- tates exempt from last year’s “household charge” are now expected to pay up this new tax.

All properties identified as not liable for the new property tax by Clare County Council for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government that are in the south and east of the county.

Ard na Deirge, Knockycloraun, Killaloe and Radharc an Locha, Scarriff Road, Mountshannon are two of the four Clare estates named in the list of unfinished housing estates published in the last week.

The remaining two estates are in Sixmilebridge – Chuirt an Droichead, on Main Street and Ard Ratha on the Broadford Road. Last year’s waiver applied in respect of the € 100 Household Charge was applied to 23 ghost estates.

The new list however contains 83 per cent less housing estates and reflects what the department describes as “the significant progress made by local authorities in reducing the number of problem estates.”

Not all householders agree however. Approximately 5,000 households nationally are eligible for an exemption under section 10 of the Finance Local Property Tax Act 2011.

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said;

“It is right and proper that households in unfinished developments should be exempt from payment of the Local Property Tax.

“The number of properties eligible for a waiver reflects the progress made in tackling unfinished housing developments, as well as the more objective approach to categorisation applied to the 2012 National Housing Development Survey.”

“I would urge people not to assume that just because they were eligible for a waiver from the household charge they will be eligible for an exemption from the local property tax. The list has changed substantially reflecting the improvements made by local authorities in resolving problems in unfinished housing developments,” he said. Information is available on the Department of Environment and Clare County Council websites.

A CLARE businessman has been ordered to pay just over € 13,000 to a 15 year-old girl who broke her wrist after she came off an inflatable slide.

Mike McKee of the Shannon based HT Promotions was ordered to pay damages of € 12, 500 and special damages of € 630 to Kyiah Moloney, at Ennis Circuit Civil Court on Tuesday.

Kyiah Moloney, with an address at Clancy Park, Ennis was suing through her mother Jacinta Moloney.

The girl was aged 11 when the occurred at a party at Carnelly Woods, near Clarecastle on June 6 2008. Kyiah Moloney sustained the injuries after a section of an inflatable slide deflated “suddenly and without warning”, the court heard.

The plaintiff claimed that the slide deflated because of an inadequate repair job carried out a few days earlier at the section of the slide where it deflated.

Mr McKee told the court that the slide could not have deflated in the manner alleged as the structure of the bouncy castle is compartmentalised in such a way to take into ac- count the effect of tears.

Mr McKee said the company advises hirers that only two people be allowed on the slide in question at the one time.

Under cross-examination from Counsel for Moloney, Pat Whyms BL, Mr McKee admitted that the restriction is not included in the printed terms and conditions given to customers.

Mr McKee said that the slide could have deflated because of someone jumping on the area.

The court heard that HT Promotions provides a range of inflatables and that the terms and conditions is a standard document.

Judge Tom O’Donnell said he was satisfied that no negligence is applicable to the plaintiff.

He said he was satisfied that there was no evidence of abuse of the section where deflation occurred.

He said he considered the terms and conditions “vague in the extreme”. Judge O’Donnell said it was “not adequate” that the hirer is given an oral warning regarding the number of people permitted in the inflatable.

He said that on the balance of probabilities, the plaintiff is entitled to succeed.

A JUDGE has branded as “crazy” the lack of places in facilities for juvenile offenders in Ireland.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the comment after being told that there were no beds available anywhere in the country on Friday for juvenile offenders.

Judge Durcan was imposing sentence on a 16-year-old Clare boy who pleaded guilty to a public order offence committed at a Health Services Executive (HSE) in Ennis last January. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of theft from Dunnes Stores last April.

Judge Durcan said he was com- pelled to agree with the recommendation of the Probation Services that a detention order be imposed on the teenager.

He said he would impose two detention orders of four months each.

However, Bláthnaid Connolly of the Probation Services, told Judge Durcan that no custodial beds were available anywhere on Friday.

Judge Durcan said, “This is a crazy situation.”

He said it is a matter for the State to provide facilities for young people.

Inspector Tom Kennedy urged Judge Durcan not to finalise his order without a place being available for the boy.

Defence solicitor Tara Godfrey requested that the Court finalise it’s order. She said that if sentencing was adjourned for a week, there was a danger her client “would run away or kill himself.”

Ms Godfrey added, “The court should make this order today.” The court heard that the boy had suffered from drug abuse problems and suffers from ADHD.

Solicitor for the HSE, Aisling Carr, said a significant number of resources had been allocated to the boy over the past year.

Ms Carr said the boy had missed appointments and not co-operated with his addiction counselor. She said the teenager must co-operate with the services to a certain degree.

The boy’s father told the court that he did not want his son to attend a particular service in Limerick City because issues had arisen with some people from the area.

Ms Godfrey said her client suffered from a “bad form of ADHD.

She added, “His father has tried to stand by his son every step of the way.”

Judge Durcan said the boy had to realize he could not be the sole determining factor of his own immediate future. He said the boy had “abused” any level of freedom afforded to him in the past.

Judge Durcan remanded the boy on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on March 27 for sentence.

He said the HSE had a “particular responsibility in this matter.”

A CZECH man was carrying a concealed knife for his own protection when he was stopped by gardaí in an Ennis estate, a court has heard.

Milan Torac (22) was discovered with a four-inch knife by gardaí in Dun na hInse, Lahinch Road, Ennis on Jnauary 29 (2013).

Mr Torac, with an address at 7 Dun na hInse, Ennis, appeared before Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of having a knife or a blade that was sharply pointed contrary to the firearms and offensive weapons act.

Inspector John Galvin told the court that gardaí found a small knife concealed in a canvas holder inside Mr Torac’s belt.

Insp Galvin said, “He said he kept it for his own protection.”

The accused has no previous convictions, the court heard.

Defence solicitor Billy Loughnane told the court that his client is an unemployed mechanic from the Czech Republic who has lived in Ireland for two years. Mr Loughnane said his client would say that the carrying of knifes in the Czech Republic is not uncommon.

He added, “There is no suggestion he had it for a sinister intent. Thankfully the knife has been confiscated”

Judge Patrick Durcan said he was concerned by the case. He said a dangerous situation could arise if Mr Torac had been carrying a knife with him while out drinking.

He added, “I am particularly conscious of how dangerous these weapons can be and I think every Judge is conscious them.”

Judge Durcan adjourned the case for a brief period to allow him to consider sentence. When the case resumed, Judge Durcan said he needed more time to consider the case. He remanded Mr Torac on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court on March 27.

“This is an indication of how serious I consider this case,” he added.

Judge Durcan also requested to see the knife taken from the accused.

A MAN has appeared in court charged with the harassment of a woman on four occasions at a housing estate in Ennis earlier this year.

William Keane (39), with an address at 71 Hawthorns, Limerick Road, Ennis, is charged with the harassment of a named woman at Abbey Court, Limerick Road, Ennis.

It is alleged that Mr Keane did harass the woman on January 25 (2013), January 27 (2013), January 29 (2013) and February 3 (2013). Handing in evidence of arrest, charge and caution by schedule, Inspector John Galvin said the accused made no reply to charge after caution.

Legal aid was approved for solicitor Daragh Hassett. Mr Hassett said he required time to seek disclosure from the State.

Insp Galvin said directions are being sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in respect of the case.

Solicitor for the alleged injured par- ty, Stephen Nicholas, told the court that he retained a watching brief in the case.

Bail was approved for Mr Keane, on the condition he have no contact with the alleged injured party.

Mr Nicholas requested that that the Court order Mr Keane not to have contact of any kind with the woman.

Refusing the application, Judge Patrick Durcan said his original order already stated that the accused was not to have contact of any kind with the alleged injured party.

Judge Durcan added, “That means text, email, ringing, a letter, a knock on the door, anything.”

At one point during proceedings, Mr Hassett told the Court that the alleged injured party was attempting to speak directly to Judge Durcan.

Mr Hassett said he objected to anyone other than Mr Nicholas addressing the Judge.

Mr Keane was remanded on continuing bail to appear again in Court on May 15. DPP’s directions are expected to be known by that date, the court heard.

THE Office of Public Works (OPW) says it will attempt to “minimize as much as possible” any interruptions to traffic during the construction of the latest phase of the Ennis Flood Relief Scheme.

Work on the estimated € 7.1 million project from Bank Place Bridge to Doora Bridge has already commenced at locations around Ennis town centre.

It is anticipated that the works will approximately 18 months to complete and will lead to the protection of 849 residential and 425 non-residential properties on completion.

Defences including enhanced river walls, pumping stations and new drainage systems are included in the project, which is aimed at protecting Ennis against a 100-year flood event.

Mayo firm Wills Bros Ltd are carrying out the works.

Work is currently underway at Abbey Street car park leading to a temporary closure of an area close to the river wall. Drainage works in some areas of the town may lead to lane closures, explained Richard Long, Senior Employee On-site Representative for JB Barry / OPW.

He said, “There are going to some disruptions but we not going to close roads. It will be more a case of lane closures. Traffic plans for streets in different areas are being drawn up and they will have to get the approval of the local authorities. We will be reviewing our plans and we will attempt to minimize as much as possible any disruptions. The overall goal is to protect Ennis from floods.”

Major works will take place in the coming months at Francis Street and Ennis Courthouse where a new pumping station will be installed. Other areas including Harmony Row and Newbridge Road will be affected by the works.

Improvements to embankments near Knox’s bridge and the Clarecastle barrage also form part of the project.

Mr Long said, “The plan is to get it done as quickly s possible.”

Phase one of the Ennis Flood Relief Scheme, which involved works at Parnell Street and Mill Road, is credited with preventing floods in large areas of the town centre during November 2009.

Earlier this month An Bord Pleanála approved an application from Clare County Council to construct the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme which when completed will deliver flood defences in Clonroadmore, Ballybeg and Clareabbey. The estimated cost of the project is € 4 million.

IRELAND’S Tour de France hero, Stephen Roche, will be in Lahinch this weekend to lead a community cycle on Sunday morning.

Roche, who created history in 1987 by winning cycling’s triple crown of the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the World Championships, will lead the cycle from the Lahinch Promenade on Easter Sunday morning, March 31, at 10am.

Cycling has undergone a renaissance in North Clare in recent years with the Burren Cycling Club becoming one of Ireland’s leading amateur clubs as well as the formation of a new club in Ennistymon earlier this year.

The cycle is being organised by Roi- sin Ni Ghairbhith, An Taisce Green Schools officer for Clare, who is also organising a free bike fixing event in Ennistymon this Saturday.

“We fixed a record breaking 116 bikes the last time we did this back in September so we are back due to popular demand,” said Roisin.

“This time we are under no pressure to break the record so we will be focussing more on teaching people how to fix their bikes as we fix them with them. I’ve organsied this event mainly to encourage people to use the brand new cycle lane all the way from Ennistymon to Lahinch.”

There will be 10 bicycle mechanics at the Teach Ceol in Ennistymon from 3pm to 6pm on March 30. People are also encouraged to come along who want to buy or sell a bike on the day.

CENTRAL government is being asked to stump up the cash to complete works in over 23 unfinished estates around the county after it was revealed that using money from its own resources could close libraries and lead to a further downgrading of the county’s road network.

The move was made at last Friday’s March meeting of Clare County Council when council officials backed the Revenue Commissioners ruling that only four housing estates in the county be exempt from the new property tax.

Amid calls for Clare County Council to take charge of every unfinished estate in the county and take responsibility for putting upgrading works in place, County Manager Tom Coughlan warned that such a policy would seriously impact on other lo- cal authority services.

“The money has to come for somewhere,” said Mr Coughlan. “The property tax is going to replace the Rates Support Grant. The property tax is going to go towards paying for services that the council is providing at the moment – that’s providing road services, that’s providing libraries, providing open spaces, all the services that the council provides.

“If you decide that the council puts a significant amount of money into unfinished estates, something else is going to have to suffer. The services we provide at the moment cannot be provided. Let me be very clear on that.

“You’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll be deciding if you put money into roads, or whether you put money into unfinished estates. That’s the bottom line. The money has to come from somewhere, unless the money (for unfinished estates) comes from central government.

“You have a budget of about € 100m – of that the vast bulk is mandatory contractual work where you have no discretion. You have something between € 7 to € 10m where you can decide to spend money. If you decide you are going to spend money on unfinished estates, it comes from other services,” he added.

The County Manager made his comments after independent Shannon electoral area councillor, PJ Ryan called on revenues from the controversial new property tax to be “ring-fenced” for unfinished estates.

“It has to go directly back into those estates to bring them up to an acceptable standard,” said Cllr Ryan. “Our Oireachtas members have to support this, that this property tax isn’t taken off the council budget and is used to develop roads and other facilities around the county like unfinished estates,” he added.

CLARE could soon have a direct connection to the British throne following the bizarre revelation that Queen-in-waiting, Kate Middleton, has ancestry in the Banner County.

Middleton’s Clare connections were revealed in the House of Commons last week when a detailed genealogy of the Duchess of Cambridge was presented at an event attended by Taoiseach Enda Kenny (FG) and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

According to the genealogy, Middleton is a blood descendant of Killaloe warrior Brian Boru. The research, which was carried out by Tourism Ireland, reveals that Middleton’s ancestors, the Lupton family from Yorkshire, are descendants of a Fitzmaurice family from Kerry, who are themselves blood descendants of Brian Boru.

This news could prompt a stop in the Banner County for Kate, who is currently five months pregnant, and Prince William during their planned trip to Ireland next year. Buckingham Palace is currently finalising plans for the royal couple to visit Ireland in early 2014 but the exact itinerary for the visit has not yet been decided.

The trip is expected to take place in the first half of next year and has been planned since before Middleton’s pregnancy. The trip had been expected to be focused on the east coast, given Prince William’s time served as a rescue pilot in the Irish Sea, but the Clare connection could prompt organisers to plan a flying visit to Killaloe.

This visit would coincide with the 1,000-year anniversary of Brian Boru’s death, with thousands already expected to descend on Killaloe to mark the man who drove the Vikings from Ireland.

Middleton was in London on Sunday, where she presented shamrocks to the Irish Guards regiment in Hampshire. Should a royal visit to Clare take place, it would mean tens of thousand of extra visitors, as well as the world media, descending on the Banner County.

A SECOND school in the Burren region was broken into last week as criminal activity in the area reaches worrying levels.

The offices of Seamount College in Kinvara were broken into on Thursday last, March 14, just over a week after a similar incident took place in nearby New Quay National School in North Clare.

Gardaí car ried out a technical examination of the Seamount College on Friday after the break-in, which is believed to have taken place at some time between 8pm on Thursday evening and 7.30am on Friday morning.

Three offices at Seamount College were broken into and ransacked and a small sum of cash was also taken.

The nearby HSE Medical Centre was also targeted in the raid and it is understood that both incidents are connected. Nothing was taken from the medical centre.

Gardaí from Gort have car ried out door to door enquiries in the area and are asking anyone who might have information about the incident to contact them on 091 636400.

These latest break-ins come just a week after the theft of eleven laptop computers and a number of other pieces of electrical equipment from New Quay National School in North Clare.

The New Quay School break-in took place some time between 10pm on Wednesday night, March 6, and 9am on Thursday March 7.

The thieves gained access to the school’s computer room by forcing open a back window.

Eleven Toshiba laptops were taken along with a white camcorder, two Fuji digital cameras, a black Ni kon camera and a small amount of cash.

There is no evidence that the two school break-ins were connected in any way.

Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating the New Quay break-in and anyone with information is asked to contact 065 7072180.