Month: June 2013

MORE THAN 300 disabled Clare people are celebrating a significant victory this week as the government has been forced to row-back on plans to abolish the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant.

The you turn has been heralded as a major victory by Clare based organistion Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) – who committed to “waging war” against the proposed cuts in March of this year.

Following a number of protest meeting held in Ennis and in Dublin, the Government has agreed to set up an inter-departmental group, to look at alternatives to scrapping the disability payments.

Organiser of Disabled People Against Cuts, Ann Marie Flanagan, yesterday warned disabled Clare people that they must be ready to fight against any future funding cuts.

“We welcomes the news that the Government will continue to provide individualised payments to significantly disabled people.

This demonstrates the benefits of speaking out and having direct representation on decision making processes,” she said.

“The Government has decided that new statutory provisions will be established to provide individual payments to people with severe disabilities who require additional income to address the costs of their mobility needs.

“The Government has agreed that payments should temporarily continue to be made by the HSE to those persons currently in receipt of the Mobility Allowance for a further number of months, pending the commencement of a statutory scheme on the basis that this would prevent hardship and alleviate stress, anxiety and uncertainty among a vulnerable group in society and having regard to the exigencies that have arisen.”

Earlier this year the Department of Health decided to ax both transport schemes after Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, warned the age limit on the payments was in contravention of equality legislation.

It was claimed at the time that the scheme was discriminatory against old age pensioners and – according to the Department of Health, to roll out this scheme to all people over the age of 66 would cost an estimated € 170 million per annum.

New criteria for a new schemes to assist severely disabled people with transport needs is likely to come before Government in October.

It is not yet clear how many of Clare’s estimated 9,000 disabled people will qualify for this new scheme. Criteria for the existing schemes was already considered by disable groups to be very strict – with only 300 Clare people – or 1 in every 30 disabled people – qualifying for the payments.

AT LEAST four Kilrush families have emigrated en masse and another young family with two children under the age of 10 are packing their bags this week for Canada.

The plight of families with no option but to leave the country was highlighted by Cllr Ian Lynch (FG) at Thursday night’s meeting of the council.

He said that in many cases these families are arriving in foreign soil with no immediate prospects, just a little more hope for a future.

However many of these families have no work organised in advance and in many cases are working off hearsay that there will be work available. There have been cases where the opposite has been discovered when they arrived in another country, leaving them homeless and penniless.

Cllr Lynch said he does not want to see the people of West Clare suffer the same fate as the homeless man who died on the streets of Ennis last month.

Adding to the plight of this generation are those that are now arriving home on the completion of their visas to a country here nothing has changed.

“When they come back they aren’t entitled to anything. There is a long wait for social welfare,” said Cllr Lynch.

The former mayor of Kilrush called on the Taoiseach to establish a department of emigration that will assist the thousands of emigrants leaving every day.

This office would ensure a central point to obtain information in relation to the new destination they hope to travel to.

The office would also assist those returning home by ensuring they have appropriate and correct information on social welfare entitlements and provide further direction on introduction back in to the work force.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) said she was aware of one family that returned to Kilrush and although they were not entitled to any social welfare, they were looked after by the Government due to their circumstances.

Not all councillors agreed that people were misinformed about their decisions, as Cllr Christy O’Malley (FF) argued, “The youth by their nature are idealistic” and will travel.

Cllr Lynch added, “I always say young people should go and travel when they are finished their education but when you see young families forced to leave that is different.”

“It is a sad indictment that we are here discussing that not only our best and brightest emigrating but that when they come back that there is no hope for them, and the only thing we can see for them is social welfare,” said Cllr Liam O’Looney (FF).

A BUSLOAD of tourists were sent on an extensive tour of West Clare which would not be an issue if that was their original intention.

However at the time the bus driver was attempting to drive the less than impressed passengers directly from Mullagh to Kilimer in time for the ferry, but poor road signage sent him on a tour through Doonbeg, Bellaha and into Kilkee before making the journey back to Killimer. Needless to say the tourists did not make their intended crossing on schedule and were delayed reaching Kerry as a result.

Kilrush Town Councillor Tom Prendeville (FF) said it was time for the council to follow through on a promise to upgrade signage, especially on approach roads to the town of Kilrush.

As a result of the 35 kilometre detour an appointment to have food in Kilrush also had to be cancelled.

“That was lost business to Kilrush,” said the local councillor.

“I am all for promoting West Clare and keeping tourists as long as possible in the area to sample the many attractions we have here.

“Signage should certainly offer tourists alternative destinations, but in this instance it was misguided and deceptive.

“That can be a great source of annoyance and irritation for some visitors on a tight schedule,” he said.

There is some hope for disgruntled bus drivers and bemused tourists however as Síobhan Garvey, Marketing and Development Officer in Kilrush said that the National Roads Authority is currently re-signing the national secondary N67 route from Miltown Malbay to Kilimer.

This will include the Kilkee Kilimer approach roads.

“As part of the process that will also be removing unlicensed roadside signage. The installation of their new signage scheme will provide clear directional guidance to the visiting motoring public and will include some tourist signage,” she said.

The marketing officer recognised that signage has been an issue in the area.

“There are plans to look in more detail at the Ennis approach road as a starting point by the Tidy Towns Liason Committee in the coming months.

“However both the Town Council and Tidy Town Committee are conscious that the NRA have not completed their signage project on the N67 and would like to see the outcome of this project so a clear plan can be put in place to deal with what signage needs to stay or be removed from the other approach roads in order to provide some unity to the entry – exit points of the town,” she said.

A TOTAL of 304 people presented as homeless last year in Clare according to the county’s draft homelessness plan

More women (160) than men presented as homeless with the majority of people (122) aged between 20 and 29.

A total of 19 people under the age of 19 and 10 persons aged 60+ presented as homeless in 2012.

Most of those presented (212) said Clare was their county of origin.

The next highest number of people came from Limerick (27). Non European Union homeless people accounted for 12 with three coming from EU countries.

12 people from accession state countries presented as homeless in 2012.

83 people found themselves homeless due to domestic violence; 52 due to breakdown of an independent living arrangement; 34 people pre- sented as transient; 20 people were evicted from private accommodation and 18 people presenting as homeless had been released from prison.

According to the figures four people were discharged from acute hospital; three were discharged from a treatment centre and one person was homeless due to alcohol and drug addiction.

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) told the June meeting of Ennis Town Council that young mothers and children are now becoming homeless.

She added, “That’s what I find heartbreaking about this, the stories behind the figures. This isn’t partying kids.” Cllr Howard was speaking in response to earlier comments from Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) who claimed that some homeless people who secure housing through agencies could be the source of antisocial behaviour in housing estates.

“There is often no follow up (by these agencies) in the estates,” he added.

Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said that while it is “unfortunate” to see people drinking in laneways, homeless people “seem able to get housing more than our local people.”

“There are people using this homeless thing, especially in Ennis where the problem isn’t as big as that,” he added.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind) said he found the figure of one person being homeless due to alcohol and drugs as “disingenuous.” He also claimed that the number of young people affected by homelessness is growing.

CLARE residents could face an annual charge of up to € 145 to fund the cost of water meters – even though the meters themselves are likely to cost a fraction of that amount.

Clare County Council has been directed to survey all houses in Clare to determine the number of type of water connections that exist in the county.

Councillors at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council raised a number of questions about the roll out of water metering by the newly formed Irish Water – specifically the cost of water meters and the possibility that houses with existing water meter could be forced to pay for these functioning meters to be replaced by Irish Water.

“I think that the public should be informed that there will be an ongoing charge, which could amount to as much as € 145 per annum, for this meter that will cost a couple of euro,” said Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND).

“We may no longer be responsible for water but I think the least that we can do as a local authority is to ask if the department [of the environment] a number of questions- like will there be an allowance, will there be a standard charge for the metres, will there be bulk metering for large apartment complexes – who will have the responsibility for collecting water chages. I think that it is our responsibility to ask these questions of the department – whether we will have a role in this or not.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (IND) said that there is a lot of pubic confusion about the roll out of water metering.

“A lot of people had to replace water meters a few years ago during the big freeze – it seems, from looking to this information, that these might have to pay for new meters now,” she said.

“It seems like the more we heard about this, the more confusion that there seems to be. The sooner that the department brings some clarity to this the better. Every answer seems to bring another questions and there is a lot of confusion out there.”

Council spokesperson Carmel Greene commented that the cost of metering was a matter for Irish Water and Clare County Council had no role to play. She also said that, as far as she was aware, functioning meters would not have to be replaced by home owners. Tue11June13

A COROFIN actress has won a starring role in a new feature film, set to start shooting later this month. Fresh from her success in the All Ireland Drama Awards last month, Maura Clancy, will feature in a big screen adaptation of the 2013 novel ‘A Nightingale Falling’ by Kilnaboy writer and broadcaster, PJ Curtis.

The film explores the difficulty faced by many southern Irish Protestants during the Irish War of Independence. Though a work of fiction, the novel was inspired by a family who lived close to PJ in North Clare.

“The genesis of the story begins here [in Kilnaboy], where there were two Protestant sister who came under some suspicion and even some ostracisation during the Irish War of Independence,” he said.

“It was a very difficult time for the Protestant Irish living in Ireland. They were perceived as being sympathetic, if not in down right in cahoots with the British Army and later the Black and Tans.

“This was the inspiration for my story and the idea grew from there. One of the sisters in the story wakes up one morning and there is a body of an almost dead soldier on her doorstep. They take him indoors and set about doing the best they can for him. As they nurse him back to health they realise that they are in a bit of a dilemma – if they give him back to the army, they know that the IRA will hear about it, but if they give him to the IRA, then the Black and Tans will see to him. So they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.”

The film features and impressive cast including Tara Breathnach, Muireann Bird and Gerard McCarthy and will begin shooting next month in Offaly. Tara is currently starring in The Last Days of Anne Boleyn on BBC2, Muireann Bird has just completed a UK and Irish tour of Brian Friel’s Translations and Gerard McCarthy is currently on our screens in the hugely successful BBC series The Fall.

The film is scheduled to be completed in 2014.

THREE Shannon dolphins, who captured the publics imagination earlier this year when they took up residence in shallow waters close to Bunratty, were discovered safe and well over the weekend.

The Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF) have been attempting to locate the dolphins since they were last sighted in Bunratty in April.

The “Bunratty Three” were spotted by a monitored dolphin tour boat in the deep water of the Shannon Estuary on Friday.

The dolphins were last spotted in Bunratty on April 13 and the SDWF and other dolphin group were keen to confirm that they had managed to reconnect with their main Dolphin population.

“The SDWF carry out annual monitoring of the dolphins from dolphin tour boats operating from Kilrush and Carrigaholt, and during dedicat- ed boat transects,” said a spokesperson from SDWF.

“During the first monitoring trip from Kilrush this week, three dolphins were recorded by the SDWF. Each dolphin in this small, discrete population is important and it is reassuring to know that the ‘Bunratty Three’ are healthy and have rejoined the Shannon population.”

Thousands of people traveled to see the dolphins during their two week long stay in Bunratty earlier this year.

It was originally thought that the dolphins were trapped in the shallow water in Bunratty and were unable to swim underneath a nearby bridge because of the sound of heavy traffic.

A rescue attempt was planned but an expert assessment of the dolphins condition revealed that the animals were in good condition and in no immediate danger.

The dolphins eventually left the shallow estuary but were unaccounted for for the three months leading up to last weeks confirmed sighting.

A MILTOWN Malbay supermarket is to open this week creating up to 90 local jobs. Jones’s SuperValu on the Ennis Road will become one of the biggest employers locally when it opens its doors tomorrow (Wednesday). John and Claire Jones have already employed 50 full time staff to work at the € 4 million supermarket. Plans are also in place to employ a further 20 part time staff at the 10,000 square metre shop in the coming months and 20 more full time staff within the year. Employing staff for the West Clare business was a long process with Mr Jones receiving 500 job applications. Leading the team will be Nathan Mhar (sic) who has seven-year experience working as an assistant manager for other Super Valu, before securing the top job in Miltown Malbay. “We are delighted we have come to this stage,” said Mr Jones who also owns the Centre shop in the town. He told The Clare People that 95 per cent of the staff were local with the remaining staff coming from elsewhere in the county. “Obviously we would like to take on more but for now all of the jobs are full time,” he added. The town’s first ever playground will open adjacent to the supermarket next week, with an Astro turf pitch also part of the project. This community part of the development was built as part of the supermarket with LEADER support funding. “I would like to thank all the local community for their patience in waiting for the shop,” said Mr Jones. “There seems to be a lot of local excitement about the opening and I am sure there will be a spin off benefit for the local community.” Jones’s Centra on Church Street, Miltown Malbay will also remain open.

A SUNNY June has already seen a much need boost to the Kilkee tourism trade, and the party mood will continue this weekend as The Kilkee Bay hotel is officially reopened under new ownership by Clare football manager and Kerry great Mick O’Shea.

Owner JJ McCabe said he is looking forward to the opening and the new venture in the hotel business.

The hotel has already been open to the public for two weeks, with a good trade reported.

A champagne reception, food, music and dance planned for Saturday night will be the icing on the cake for the millionaire owner Mr McCabe.

The Clarecastle farmer, hotelier and businessman purchased the 41bed hotel on the entrance road to the seaside town in March, creating more than a dozen local jobs.

The 74-year-old purchased the west Clare hotel for € 320,000 – € 5,000 over the initial reserve and has since invested a quarter of a million euro in upgrading the property.

As well as providing accommodation to visitors and tourists, Mr Mc – Cabe said there will be entertainment at the hotel every weekend, including live bands and discos.

Mr McCabe, who’s land sold for € 18.8 million in the biggest deal in Clare during the property boom, also has property in France.

He has also run as an independent candidate in local and general elections in Clare, but has ruled out returning to politics.

ENNIS Town Council has been urged to step in and demolish a derelict apartment block in Ennis amid fears it has become a haven for antisocial behaviour.

The Fairways apartment block near Steele’s Terrace and Marian Avenue has already been declared a derelict site the Council. It follows concerns from residents living in the area about the condition of the privately owned building and the level of antisocial behaviour it has attracted.

Marian Avenue resident Noel Purtill says the building is an “eyesore”.

He adds, “Marian Avenue is one of the oldest estates in the town. It’s a quite area. But you look at that (Fairways) and not to put too fine a point on it, you’d think you were in Beirut. And the residents of Marian Avenue have to put up with this eyesore.”

He adds, “It’s a disgrace that Clare County Council have to come along now and tidy up someone else’s mess.”

Mr Purtill says teenagers have been observed entering the building and throwing rubbish from windows.

The Council has issued a notice to the owner and is seeking to establish the market value of the site.

Ennis Town Clerk Leonard Cleary states, “The structures on the land are in a ruinous and derelict condition. The building is not fit for human habitation; the glazing is missing from most of the windows. The structure on the land is in unsightly and objectionable condition. The building is in need of re-painting; the curtains are flying out the unglazed windows.

“The surrounds of the land are strewn with litter, rubbish, debris and waste.”

Mr Cleary added, “It should be noted that there is no immediate solution in this type of situation and is subject to the owners cooperation or court proceedings.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) says it is open to the Council to issue a vesting order and take control of the building. He told a meeting of Ennis Town Council that the building should be “demolished.”

He said problems with the Fairways building have “festered” for too long and now require “direct intervention” from the Council.

Deputy Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said residents in nearby Marian Avenue have “put up with hell over the past couple of years.” The Clare People has previously highlighted the case of one homeless wheelchair bound man who had been sleeping in a squat in Fairways.