Month: July 2013

THE regeneration of a Kilrush housing estate is back on track, after council officials met with a resident who raised concerns that his home would be devalued by the plans.

Last month the John Paul Estate resident told a meeting of Kilrush Town Council that the proposed Wilson’s Road entrance would pass directly beside his house devaluing the privately-owned family home.

He also raised concerns that the road would result in a lack of privacy for him and his family.

Due to these concerns the council agreed to suspend Part VIII approval for the plan, which meant the project would not get the green light from the members until the issue was resolved.

Kilrush town clerk John Corry said these issues have now been resolved after a meeting between the concerned resident, Mr Corry and a council planner.

It has been agreed to situate the footpath further from the home in question allowing for more privacy.

Mr Corry said the family are happy with this, and the council has signed of on the Part VIII.

Under the plan, which has gone to tender and a builder appointed, three houses on Elm Drive will be demolished to create an entrance to the council estate from Wilson’s Road.

This phase of the ongoing regeneration plan aims to open up the estate and remove more of the alleys at the back of some houses, which were encouraging anti-social behaviour.

The work is still subject to Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government funding, but Mr Corry said the council are very “hopeful”.

“The fact that we have received funding for the first and second phase, was are making the argument that we are brining it to completion,” he said.

“The department indicated that it is the most high priority case in the county.”

BISHOP of Inis Cathaigh (Scattery Island) and Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn in New York Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, was not expecting to have to pick up his own tab when he was invited to a special ceremony on the 6th century monastic island early next month.

A representative for the bishop emailed Kilrush Town Council last week asking if the bishop would be reembursed for his travel expenses.

The council, who issued the in- vite last year, shortly after he was appointed bishop, agreed at this month’s meeting of the council that they did not have the funds to cover the costs.

Kilrush town clerk John Corry told the members that the email was sent from the bishop’s office as preparations were made to book his flights.

“We’ve had different receptions before and we haven’t had to pay expenses. I was proposing to reply on the basis that we certainly would be delighted to welcome him but that we don’t have the budget to cover that,” the town clerk told the members. All members were in agreement. Cllr Liam Williams (FG) said, “We look forward to his arrival and we’ll host a reception for him.” While Scattery Island no longer functions day to day as a diocese, the ancient title is bestowed on a newly ordained auxiliary bishop by the pope. On August 22, 2006, when Bishop Caggiano was ordained Auxiliary Bishop he was given the ancient Irish title. When he arrives on the island in August he will be the first bishop of Inis Cathaigh to do so in living memory.

A TOTAL of € 4.06 million has been collected from households in County Clare from last year’s household charge.

The € 100 tax per household proved controversial at the time, and has since been replaced with the property tax. The Revenue Commissioners have not yet provided an analysis by county of the Local Property Tax collected to date.

However Clare people have proved to be compliant with the former household charge with more than 80 per cent paying up.

Clare county councillor Christy Curtin (Ind) believes the Government should return money taken from the council coffers last year because just over 60 per cent of property owners had paid the charge.

The high compliance rate and the amount of money collected makes a good argument for the funding to be returned he maintained.

The General-Purpose Grant allocation from the Local Government Fund was reduced by € 243,631 in July 2012 as a penalty set by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

This reduction was based on the level of household charge compliance achieved up to July 2012. This adjustment was confirmed by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government in September 2012.

The household charge introduced in 2012 has been replaced by the Local Property Tax, which became operational on July 1, 2013, resulting in a half year Local Property Tax charge in 2013. A full year charge will apply from 2014 onwards. In 2013 there is not a direct allocation to Local Authorities from the Local Property Tax.

Niall Barrett, Head of Finance at Clare County Council, said the Minister of Environment, Community and Local Government has indicated that of money collected from Local Property Tax in 2014, 80 per cent of the amount collected for a county will be remitted to the local authority where the tax is raised.

“The remaining 20 per cent of the tax collected nationally will be redistributed on an equalised basis to local authorities within the context of the annual allocations of the General Purposes Grants,” he said.

TO BEE or not to bee – that is literally the question facing Clare County Council as it considers designating Ireland’s first Honey Bee Sanctuary in the Burren.

The native Irish Black Bee is under threat and non-profit Banner Bee Keepers are supporting the Native Irish Bee Society to preserve the bee natural to the area.

The society has now proposed that the Burren be designated a sanctuary for the endangered bee.

There are several threats to the native honeybees in Ireland. The gene pool has been drastically reduced by the varroa mite – an exotic parasite which originated in Asia.

Up until the mid-nineties, Ireland was one of the few varroa free zones left in the world. It arrived in the country with imported honeybees. The tiny little mite has resulted in the near eradication of feral colonies of honeybees that existed in the wild from time immemorial.

“Importation of honey bees is a practice which beekeeping bodies and most beekeepers in Ireland do not condone, as many more bee pests and diseases could enter Ireland in a similar way in the future,” explained Frank Considine of Banner Bee Keepers.

“There has been an upsurge in interest in honey bees in the last few years and some people are tempted to import honey bees. This can have dire consequences for the native bees which can cross breed with them and become aggressive,” he said.

“This in the long term could have a devastating effect on the sustainability of the native honey bee in Ireland. Some parts of Ireland have larger populations of pure native bees than others. It is hoped in the future, that these localities will become conservation areas for this endangered sub species of European honey bee.”

Supporting the need for a bee sanctuary, Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) said this is a necessary project but it will be quite difficult to develop, as it will need to include a number of bodies including the council, the OPW, and the National Park and Wildlife.

BORD Fáilte has refused to pay out for proper signage highlighting the tourism information point in Kilrush. That is just one of the many accusations levelled against the national tourism promotion body, who closed its two tourist offices in West Clare this year.

Instead it tendered for two private businesses to take on a Bórd Fáilte-supported Tourist Information Points, but Rebecca Brew the proprietor of Crotty’s in Kilrush who won the tender is not enamoured by the support to date.

She said that the information stand for the thousands of booklets and leaflets was inadequate and Bord Fáilte sent a plastic A4 sign to indicate where the information point was that was also inadequate.

The businesswoman added that Crotty’s was happy to provide the service and would purchase a sign “but the sad fact is we have four paid staff who are trained to provide information and we can’t get € 100 for a sign”.

Crotty’s staff were sent on information trips by the business and not by Bord Fáilte so that they could tell tourists about facilities all over Clare.

“We are doing the best in the capacity we have,” said Ms Brew.

Kilrush town councillor Tom Prendeville (FF), who has been critical of Bórd Fáilte’s support of West Clare tourism, said that he would sponsor one sign.

He criticised Bord Fáilte for closing the tourist office in Kilrush and Kilkee and insisting whoever took on the responsibility of the information point would take on all of the overheads.

He added that € 150,000 is given by Enterprise Ireland to the Dublin Horse Show every year but a € 100 for a sign in West Clare cannot be found.

LONG term plans to develop a market in a car park off Lysaght’s Lane would involve creating an access point from O’Connell Street through the old Moran’s building, a meeting has heard.

The prospect of Ennis Town Council buying the building to connect the car park directly to O’Connell Street was raised at yesterday’s special meeting of Ennis Town Council. Councillors met to discuss a report by architect Richard Rice on plans to develop a covered market in the centre of Ennis.

The Moran’s car park had been identified by the report as the preferred location for the first in a series of phased steps that would significantly alter access and the overall appearance of the market.

The council views the plan as major flagships and legacy project. Mr Rice’s preliminary report stated, “We recommend that the Lysaght’s Lane option be considered for development as the location for the Farmers Artisan Market. It is at the retail core of the town; is within a defined urban space that offers very positive development potential; establishes a pedestrian zone at the town centre; offers opportunities to local business to develop their premises towards the new market location.”

Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) spoke in favour of Mr Rice’s recommendation saying the cost would be significantly less than developing other parts of the market.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting that a number of traders and local businesses had expressed support for the proposal.

However a majority of councillors proposed that the re-development start in Garraunakilla and Barrack Street.

Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) told the meeting that he spoke with conservation officer Dick Cronin about the proposal to put a covered market on Lysaght’s Lane.

He said Mr Cronin is “very much against” the proposal as it is an “architectural heritage area”.

Cllr Paul O’Shea (Ind) requested the council seek a report from Mr Cronin about the proposal.

Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) urged the council to explore the possibility of covering Parnell Street and erecting arches at either end of the street.

He added, “Businesses in Parnell Street are paying rates and they have to be given a chance to come back.”

Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind) also called on the council to devote more resources to Parnell Street, claiming it had been left neglected by the Council.

Town clerk Leonard Cleary said the council will look at Parnell Street and will hold discussions with local businesses in Barrack Street about the possibility of a covered market there.

ENNIS Town Council is to press ahead with plans for a significant face-lift of the Ennis market area.

A covered market will be placed in Garraunakilla the cur rent home of the Ennis Farmers’ Market. The second phase of the plan will see a covered market style development in Barrack Street.

The council is to proceed with a Par t VIII planning repor t for the re-development of both areas after a majority of councillors at yester- day’s meeting of Ennis Town Council spoke in favour of the proposals.

It comes after a report by architect Richard Rice identified a car park off Lysaght’s Lane in lower market street as the prefer red star ting point for the re-juvenation of the market.

However councillors yesterday expressed opposition to the Lysaght’s Lane proposal and urged the council to begin work in Garraunakilla.

The proposal was backed by councilors Tommy Brennan (Ind) and Mary Howard (FG) who said the council should look after traders in the farmers’ market.

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) also suppor ted siting the new covered market in Gar raunakilla. He said, “I suspect the majority of people, from the town and country, would like to see it in the traditional market area of the town.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) told the meeting that the farmers’ market strongly opposed any move to Moran’s car park. He said no trader wanted to be “isolated in a dreary cor ner of a car park”.

Councillors agreed that Moran’s car park would be considered as part of a longer term re-development of the market.

There will also be an impact on the mall area of the market with town clerk Leonard Clear y saying an area will be closed off for pedestrianisation when the area is eventually re-developed.

He explained, “It’s going to look and feel ver y different and it’s obviously going to have an impact on traffic as well.”

The council has set a June 2014 deadline for work to start in Garraunakilla and Barrack Street.

The meeting heard that the re-de- velopment would involve the drawing up of new traffic management plans for the market.

Richard Rice of Healy Par tners Architects was commissioned by the council to explore the possibility of developing covered markets in Ennis.

The repor t strongly recommends the nor thern elevation of Gar raunakilla develop appropriate retail activity.

It also recommends the inclusion of a covered area and a kiosk if Gar raunakilla is retained as a farmers’ market.

A FATHER drove a car the wrong way around a roundabout nine times in the centre of Ennis last year, ramming into vehicles including a Garda car, a court has heard.

Bernie McDonagh Snr (46) was the driver of the car that contained a 10-year-old boy strapped into a rear seat of the car. He crashed into three vehicles including a Garda car and attempted to run over three men who fled a Hiace van in terror.

Astonishing details of a violent public order disturbance that occurred at the Maid of Érin, Ennis, on October 14 (2012), were heard at Clare Circuit Criminal Court on Friday. The court was told that a garda was used as a human shield between a man and a 16-year-old boy carrying a hatchet. Martin Doherty grabbed Garda Martin O’Brien (Ennis) to use him as “shield” as the boy brandished the hatchet, the court heard. The teenager dropped the weapon after he was pepper sprayed.

The violence witnessed at the Maid of Érin last October was sparked by an alleged incident at a wedding in Ennis some days earlier. A garda has spoken of how her “life was turned upside down” after the reckless actions of the driver on the Maid of Érin roundabout, an incident she thinks about every day since.

“It was my belief that I was going to be seriously or fatally injured,” she told the court. Garda Marie Burke said in her six years as a garda she had never seen anyone behave in such a reckless manner, adding it was a “miracle” that nobody was killed.

MORE people have drowned in the county in the last eight days, than have died in the county’s roads so far this year. Last evening (Monday) a third man, believed to be in his 60s and from Shannon, died while swimming in Kilkee.

The tragedy occurred at 4.55pm when another bather noticed him in trouble and brought him ashore.

A team of lifeguards tried to resuscitate the man while the defibrillator was brought from Nolan’s shop just yards away.

The coast guard helicopter was in Ballybunnion at the time of the incident and was on the scene within eight minutes, and had the man airlifted to University Hospital Limerick by 5.15pm.

Kilkee Coast Guard area officer Martony Vaughan said, “everything that could be done was done”, as paramedics, the coast guards, lifeguards and doctors were on the scene within minutes.

“The lifeguards performed exceptionally,” he added referring to the team of lifeguards who also worked during a similar incident on Sunday week last in Kilkee, during which Limerick man John Looby drowned.

AN APPLICATION by the Ameri- can government that whistleblower Edward Snowden be arrested if the lands in Shannon en route to Cuba where he could be granted political asylum was turned down by the High Court on Monday. Judge Colm Mac Eochaidh said in his judgment that he was “compelled” to reject the application for an arrest warrant made by the US embassy to the Department of Foreign Affairs last Friday. Judge Mac Eochaidh said he was satisfied that the US request met a number of the conditions set out in the relevant act for him to grant the arrest warrant. However, the judge observed that the request did not state where the offences actually took place – a condition that must be met by such applications. “The question of where the offence took place is not a minor detail but is a matter which could have very serious consequences in any further stage that might be reached in an extradition process,” he wrote. “That is because if it is the case that the offences took place outside of the territory of the United States of America, the question will arise as to whether there is extraterritorial effect in respect of the US offences, but more importantly, whether the Irish equivalent offences have an extraterritorial effect or aspect to them. “There would need to be sufficient similarity between the two offences in order for there to be an extradition,” he added. Snowden is currently holed up in Moscow airport after applying for asylum in over 20 countries. Ireland is one of the countries considered for asylum by the 30 year old who worked as a consultant for the National Security Service. Tue9July13