Month: April 2013

A WEST Clare school principal is expected to become the second president of the INTO from the county in six years.

At the primary teacher’s union 145th Congress in Cork this week, Mullagh’s Sean McMahon is likely to be elected vice president of the national union.

Traditionally this means he will become president at the union’s 2014 congress next Easter.

In March 2008, Corofin man Declan Kelleher was appointed president of the INTO after a long career in teaching and working for the union.

Like Mr Kelleher, Mr McMahon has been a strong union man championing the cause of small rural schools, class sizes and teaching principals.

The North Clare man has been involved in the INTO since the 1980s and had represented District 11; Clare, Tipperary and Waterford, on the CEC since 2007.

He will lead a strong delegation of 20 from the Clare branch of the INTO to a congress that will put forward such motions as calling for larger taxes for high earners and for free primary school education to live up to its constitutional claim.

The Clare West branch will also call for the INTO to fully investigate the proposed changes in school patronage with a view to ensuring that teachers’ rights are fully protected during these changes.

This proposal will be put forward by secretary of the branch Brid Hanrahan INTO and Liam Woulfe Principal of Labasheeda National School.

MAUREEN Mason is alive today and living a full life thanks to the generosity of an organ donor.

And while the mother of four from Scariff is grateful for this act of generosity on her own behalf, she is also thankful to two other donor families, whose decision to donate their loved ones organs, saved and improved the standard of life of two of her brothers.

When Maureen and her brothers were teenagers their mother was diagnosed with polycystic kidneys, a hereditary disease that eventually leads to the failure of the kidneys.

The family were tested for the condition and it was discovered Maureen and two of her brothers Tommy Joe and Andrew Sheedy also had the condition.

Eight years ago Tommy Joe became very ill but by 2008 he was well enough to under go a kidney transplant.

In 2010 Maureen received the news she had been expecting but which was still a shock to the system – she would also require dialysis.

“After my brother’s diagnosis they were keeping a check on me in the renal clinic. Then in 2010 I was told I was facing dialysis, it was a terrible downer to hear it,” she said.

From that day on Maureen’s life was structured around dialysis.

Every Tuesday at midnight she would sit in the renal unit in Limerick while she received the life-sustaining treatment. On Thursday at 4pm and again on Sunday at midday the process would be repeated.

“We were made very comfortable but I was not able to sleep. There were two needles in my hand – one for the blood leaving and one for its return. You would be very conscious of that because you had to keep your hand very straight, but other than that it was comfortable. You could read and watch television,” she explained.

The Feakle native was to receive a second shock just four months after she started dialysis.

There was a kidney available for her.

“I was shocked when they called so quickly. I was told most people wait for at least two and a half years. I got the call at work. It was marvellous but then you don’t know how you feel,” she said, conscious all the time that someone else had passed away to allow her this life saving operation. The all-important call came at noon that day, and thanks to a Garda escort from Scariff to Dublin Maureen had her operation at 5pm. “The kidney worked straight away and I was discharged six days later,” she said. “I am so grateful to the family who made the decision to donate at a very difficult time. It was a happy time for me but I was aware that it was a sad time for someone else. He or she [the donor] is always in my thoughts and prayers,” she said.

“Hundreds die every year waiting for a call. I was lucky.”

Since her transplant, Maureen has the freedom to live a life free of dialysis, full of energy and free of dietary restrictions.

She now enjoys spending time with family and friends, and of course chocolate, coffee, milk and other treats again.

“On dialysis it is difficult to arrange anything.”

In 2011, Andrew, Maureen’s younger brother was the third member of the family to receive a kidney transplant.

Maureen said that she would encourage people to carry a donor card and speak to their families about any such decision.

She thanked her employer and the local community for their support and assistance with fundraising for the IKA.

UP TO 50 people in Clare live week to week on dialysis, and most of these people are on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.

The average wait for a life saving organ donation is now up to three years according to Peggy Eustace, treasurer of the Clare branch of the Irish Kidney Association.

There are currently 36 people from Clare travelling to the haemodialysis treatment unit at the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick and to the Fresenius Unit on the Dock Road Limerick for treatment.

Clare people from the north of the county travel to Unit 7 in Merlin Park, while up to half a dozen are on home dialysis.

There are three members of three different Clare families awaiting a transplant, as in many cases the conditions that lead to organ failure are hereditary.

This year Ms Eustace and the IKA are encouraging people not just to support their fundraising efforts during organ donor week, but also to carry a donor card or avail of the organ donor section of their drivers licence.

“There is a great debt of gratitude to families of donors who give the gift of life at a very difficult time,” said Ms Eustace.

Last year 78 Irish families made that decision and 206 organ donation operations took place.

In 2010 however there was almost a record low for organ donation, 2011 was a record high and 2012, at 17 per cent less than the previous year, was below average. The Irish Kidney Association chief executive, Mark Murphy, said, “I don’t know of another European country, even of a similar size population, with such wide swings in deceased donor activity.”

Throughout this week IKA volunteers will be out on the streets, and in shopping centres throughout the county, selling ‘forget me not flower’ emblems (the symbol of transplantation), brooches, pens and shopping trolley discs. All proceeds will go towards the Irish Kidney Association’s aid for patients on dialysis and those patients who have received a kidney transplant. Donor cards will also be available.

AN OUTBREAK of whooping cough in the community has been attributed to a “fading in the immunity with age” of a childhood vaccine.

Cases of pertussis, more commonly known as whopping cough, has doubled in the last year from 217 cases in 2011 to more than 444 cases in 2012, with a number reported in Clare.

The illness can be fatal if contracted by infants, and public health specialists are now calling on pregnant women to be vaccinated against the disease, even if they were previously vaccinated as a child.

First year students in secondary schools are also been vaccinated against whopping cough as part of a routine secondary school vaccine programme, as the vaccine is now considered to have a ten-year life span.

Dr Rose Fitzgerald, Specialist in Public Health Medicine based in the mid-west, said the most at risk from pertussis are babies less than two months as they are too young for the vaccine.

The HSE is therefore putting emphasis on pregnant women and recommending they be offered Tdap vaccine between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy to enable protection of the very young baby via the transfer of maternal antibodies.

Close family adult contacts of babies born before 32 weeks are also recommended vaccination if not vaccinated.

Siblings of these babies should be age appropriately vaccinated.

As many as 32 per cent of whopping cough cases occur in case where children are less than six months old.

THERE were 236 Clare people on a waiting list for home help hours at the end of last year as the county receives the lowest access to hours in the HSE West region.

Figures released by the HSE show that Clare receives just 1.46 hours of home help per head of capita compared to Roscommon who receive 4.67 hours per citizen.

“This is a huge discrepancy in the same are under the same management structure,” said HSE West Forum member Cllr Tom McNamara (FF).

“There is no equality of delivery of service here,” he said.

Bernard Gloster, Area Manager, HSE Mid West PCCC, admitted that a reduction of home help hours during the last three months of 2012 resulted in Clare being under its targeted hours by 750. This has been restored in 2013.

However 87 Clare people were still remaining to be assessed for home help hours at the end of 2010, while a further 149 were waiting to be allocated hours following assessment.

Cllr McNamara said the inequality in providing hours was of great concern.

He said disparity in the allocation of the number of home help hours in Clare and Limerick-North Tipperary was extreme.

Limerick-North Tipperary received 2.71 hours compared to Clare’s 1.46 he argued.

“Regarding the differences quoted by the councillor for Clare and North Tipperary and East Limerick, it should be noted that between one quarter and one third of this target is for the Limerick area. While this leaves some difference still between Clare and North Tipperary, that is historical and had many reasons. Home help hours are not equally divided on the over 65 population across the country,” said Mr Gloster.

“County Clare has more access to older people’s beds than North Tip- perary and this is a factor when considering the overall resource provision to older people,” he added.

“County Clare has more investment in day services expansion than North Tipperary. In 2013 a new day centre funded by the HSE has opened at Carrigoran, Newmarket on Fergus, (€ 100,000) and enhancement of the centre in Clarecastle (€ 50,000) with no such expansion in North Tipperary. This is substantial in providing services to older people. County Clare is at an advanced stage of planning for further day provision for people with dementia through the Alzheimer’s society with no such dedicated provision in North Tipperary.”

WHILE the take up of childhood vaccinations in Clare has increased significantly in the last number of years, it is still not high enough for the HSE to consider the population immune from diseases such as measles, whooping cough and certain strains of meningitis. Specialist in Public Health Medi- cine Dr Rose Fitzgerald told The Clare People that the ideal vaccination target is 95 per cent. “We know if we get 95 per cent up take we get herd immunity,” she said. The public health expert said that there has been a significant increase in the number of people having their children vaccinated in the last five years with the per centage opting for the state vaccination programme jumping from the mid 70s to 94 per cent in many cases. In County Clare there is a slight drop off in the up take towards the end of the programme which Dr Fitzgerald attributes to busy mothers returning to work after maternity leave, and a recent change in the vaccine schedule which led to some confusion. Apathy also plays a part she maintains. Figures from July to September last year show that 98 per cent of Clare parents allowed their infants to be vaccinated against tuberculosis at birth. However that number fell to 94 per cent and less for all others vaccines, with the exception of the first 6 in 1 injections at four months. This was as high as 96 per cent. Dr Fitzgerald said that it was never too late to have a child vaccinated. “Just bring the child to the doctor straight away. “The schedule might change slightly depending on the age of the child in question,” she said.

TWENTY beds have been reopened at a Limerick hospital to alleviate chronic over crowding at the regions only 24-hour accident and emergency department.

Patients from Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary have been subjected to long waits and hours on trolleys as the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick struggled with patient numbers at it’s A&E.

On Wednesday chief executive of the Mid Western Regional Hospitals Group Ann Doherty announced the reopening of the 20 beds at St John’s Hospital in Limerick.

A statement from the HSE said she was supported by the Minister for Health Dr James Reilly, the Special Delivery Unit and the HSE in her decision.

In the lead up to the announcement a large number of very sick patients were presenting with acute medical conditions particularly respiratory complaints at the hospital, placing the already pressurized hospital in an even more chaotic state.

The HSE confirmed that there has been no indication of a flu outbreak.

“We have had a succession of acutely unwell patients over the age of 70 presenting at the ED. The majority have required admission to a bed. All inpatients are reviewed three times a day to assess their fitness for discharge. However, the reality is that every bed in the hospital is occupied by somebody who needs to be there,” explained Ms Doherty.

“There are no delayed discharges due to people waiting for Fair Deal home care packages or because of inappropriate stays,” she added.

“We are very much aware of the limits of the present Emergency Department and construction has commenced on a new department which is expected to be operational in two years,” she said.

Meanwhile a risk assessment is currently being conducted at the hospital under the direction of the local fire service.

Limerick County Council, as the Fire Authority for the Mid-West Regional Hospital inspected the overcrowded A&E following a complaint.

The HSE has until Friday to completed the Risk Based Assessment.

A spokesperson for the HSE said, “We are very much aware of the inadequacies of the present emergency department and construction has commenced on a new department which is expected to be operational in two years.”

THE site which contained the outline of five buildings constructed to floor level also had exposed service pipes, a concrete trough like structure that proved a drowning hazard if it filled with water during heavy rainfall and some discarded waste including a razor, bottles, broken glass and a disbanded sign advertising three bed semi detached houses for sale.

Mother Jean Kavanagh told The Clare People how she had to bring her five year old daughter for a tetanus shot after she ran on to the site after a ball and fell.

The concerned mother said that a wooden fence has been erected at that point of entrance since the incident, which has proved successful at that end of the estate, but large areas still remain dangerously exposed.

Brian Canny is one of the unfortunate homeowners who look directly on to the derelict building site.

“Since my family moved into the estate in 2008, there has been little or no work done on the site,” said the young father who had planned on raising his family in a friendly and safe neighbourhood.

Cluain na Laoi Kilkishen is currently divided into two parts with approximately 30 houses accessible from the main road.

This part of the estate appears to be complete, however 12 semi-detached homes at the back of the estate are accessible only through a temporary entrance off a side road.

Three of these houses remain unoccupied, but the remaining nine have young families as householders.

As well as the dangers of the building site, concerned resident have raised fear about the lack of public lighting facing at the back of the estate.

Cassandra Dinan explained how a child was almost knocked down by a reversing car due to the lack of proper lighting, only to be saved by the screams of a neighbour.

“We are trying to be reasonable because we know the economic climate is not easy. We all know we must pay the property tax as that is the law, but we get frustrated when we hear that estates have been finished to a reasonable level when they are expected to pay the tax,” she said.

The small community has bonded over the issues and filled all of the forms required of them so as to allow a bond to be released to the builder to finish of this part of the estate.

Ms Dinan said that the group would be happy if this were to happen but no progress has been made on this issue since last December.

Adding his support to the young families Michael Hogan of Kilkishen Tidy Town’s Committee and the Local Community Development said the village was working hard to enhance the aesthetics of the area, but this remained an eyesore.

CLARE County Council said it is unlikely that housing estates like Cluain na Laoi will be made exempt from paying the residential property tax, even though it was added to the household charge exemption list at a late date,

“The list of estates for exemption from the property tax was compiled in accordance with criteria issued by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and following a comprehensive assessment by Clare County Council of all estates in accordance with that criteria according to Director of Services Ger Dollard.

“The key test was whether the estate was in a “seriously problematic condition” i.e. incomplete to a substantial extent and without services such as roads, footpaths, public lighting, open space etc,” he said.

“Persons who were exempt from the household charge but are now liable for the property tax are not now retrospectively liable for the household charge.” The council official said there was no provision to add to the exemption list as it is carried out by Ministerial order.

“I would expect that the list would be reviewed on an annual basis to take account of progress made on developments which may remove them from being in a “seriously problematic condition” category,” he added.

“Both developments at Kilkishen and Sixmilebridge are on the Council’s active list for progress. We are satisfied that any public safety issues have been satisfactorily dealt with and we are working with the developer to achieve progress on issues on both estates. Work has been undertaken and we would expect further works to take place in the short term.”

Local Councillor John Crowe (FG) said he believed Cluain na Laoi should have been on the tax exemption list, similar to another estate in the East Clare village of Kilkishen.

“The people of Kilkishen have reason to be aggrieved. There are two estates in Kilkishen in that situation and one is still exempt,” he said.

Cllr PJ Ryan (Ind) said he was also of the belief that a resolution to the payment of part of the bond would have to be found, even if it meant the county council buying the material directly for the suppliers. The Cla re People attempted to contact the builder yesterday (Monday) but had no response at time of going to press

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ANOTHER late night aggravated burglary in Kilmihil has sent shock waves through the West Clare community, with many people now living in fear.

According to Clare County Councillor Bill Chamber (FF) “Anyone living alone is living in fear, especially vulnerable people such as the elderly and disadvantaged.”

He was speaking in the aftermath of a Holy Thursday night aggravated burglary during which a gang of three armed men broke into a house in the Knockalough area of Kilmihil.

Carrying iron bars the three entered the home of a 61-year-old man and threatened him.

They left the house on the main Ennis to Kilmihil road shortly af terwards with a sum of money.

Gardaí in Kilrush are investigating this latest aggravated burglary and are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward.

Two elderly brothers from Kilmihil were also the victims of an aggravated burglary before Christmas.

“The Government has to lift the moratorium on Garda recruitment. We need more gardaí and we certainly cannot do with less,” said Cllr Chambers.

“There is a lot of fear out there at the moment.”

“The whole judicial system has to be looked in respect of this type of crime,” he said adding that such crimes need to be fast tracked through the court system and the criminals put behind bars as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Gardaí in Ennistymon are appealing for information following an aggravated burglary in a rural area of Clare last week.

An elderly married couple were subjected to a frightening ordeal when a group of intruders broke into their home in the Inagh/Connolly area in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

It is thought that two or three people entered the home, which is an isolated rural area. A quantity of cash was taken.

The couple were unhurt but are said to have been left extremely traumatised by the incident. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating and have appealed for anyone who may have noticed any suspicious activity in the area to contact them at 065 7071020.

A Garda spokesperson said, “They were traumatised and very upset. It was obviously a very frightening experience for them.

They have been getting support from their neighbours and family. They have been extremely upset by it. Everyone in the area has been upset by it.”

Gardaí are also urging people to call and check in on any elderly neighbours living in their area.

“It is something we would encourage people to do, calling into elderly neighbours.

“It is important, especially in rural communities, that people call in and check on their neighbours.”

ONE man was airlifted to hospital while at least two other removed to hospital by ambulance following a traffic accident on the main Ennis to Kilrush Road on Holy Thursday afternoon.

Traffic on the N68 was disrupted at Lissycasey for three hours following the incident.

An elderly man had to be cut from the wreckage following the crash, which occurred at the Ennis side of the West Clare village at approximately 12.30pm.

He was then taken to the local GAA pitch from where he was airlifted to hospital.

A passenger from his car and the driver of a second vehicle were removed to hospital by road ambulance.

Fire crews from Ennis along with HSE paramedics and gardaí attended the incident.

This follows an incident last month when a mother and her two children escaped with minor injuries following a collision involving an articulated lorry and two cars near Lissycasey on Tuesday, March 19.

The collision occurred at around 8.30pm at Crown approximately five kilometers west of Lissycasey on the main N68 Ennis to Kilrush road.

The woman and her children, aged between 7 and 10, were travelling in one of the cars involved in the incident.

They were taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick by ambulance as a precaution.

The occupants of the other car and the lorry driver escaped uninjured.

The road was closed for more than two hours.

Gardaí from Kilrush are investigating the accident.