Month: April 2014

ENNIS Town Council yesterday heard calls for shaving foam, eggs and other messy substances to be banned from the town during certain public events such as St Patrick’s Day. The ban was called for by Cllr Mary Howard (FG) in the wake of a number of unsavory incidents which took place during this year’s St Patrick’s Day festivities in Ennis.

According to Cllr Howard, large numbers of young people gathered at the Fair Green during and after this years parade because they were “too scared” to go up town.

“I think that it is obvious that if a group of 11 or 12 year olds are buying lots of shaving foam that they are not all going home to shave their legs. I walked through the Fair Green on St Patrick’s Day. I asked the young why they were gathered there they told me that they were too scared to go up town. It doesn’t look good to have people frightened or intimidated,” said Cllr Howard.

“Shaving foam creates a huge mess. I raised this with a member of the local Chamber of Commerce who said that we could not ban the sale of shaving foam on these days because traders have had a bad year. I think they [the traders] will have worse years if people don’t come into town for [for St Patrick’s Day] next year.”

Cllr Howard called for the council to foster to join with local businesses, the Gardaí and local schools to draw up a voluntary code of conduct for days such as St Patrick’s Day and the last day of the school year.

Meanwhile, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG), called for Ennis Town Council to introduce a scheme to aid people make Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) against a group of “untouchables”, which he saws are hurting the image of the county town.

“It is heartening to hear that they are looking at issuing warning notice for these groups which are in the town centre. If you took out maybe 12 of them [the untouchables] out of the town centre, and put warning notices on them, it would take another dozen or so out of the equation as well,” he said.

A DERELICT complex, once used by homeless people who were sleeping rough, has gone on the market and the members of Ennis Town Council believe the local authority should buy it.

At last evening’s meeting of the council, Cllr Brian Meaney (FF) suggested that the council request permission from the Government to raise the loan necessary to purchase the Fairways which has gone on the market for € 75,000.

The derelict building, which was described by Cllr Tommy Brennan as “an awful eye sore”, is situated on the entrance to the town from the Galway side, across from the Fairgreen (Active Ennis Tim Smyth Park).

Dereliction orders have previously been served on the building, according to Town Manager Ger Dollard, who agreed to “investigate with a full view to a solution”.

Cllr Meaney maintained that the purchase prices tag of € 75,000 would be more cost affective to forcing a dereliction order to its conclusion, which is a lengthy and costly legal process.

“It is a landmark site that I believe will increase in value,” he said.

The purchase of the building should “well be within the ability of the council,” the councillor argued.

“What we are dealing with here is a legacy issue from another planning era.

“You would never get planning permission for that now.

“I think this is an opportunity where we can begin the process again.

“Maybe improve it or maybe demolish it and use the site for some- thing more appropriate.”

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) seconded Cllr Meaney’s motion stating that from a Tidy Town’s perspective there is nothing that can be done with the building currently.

Ennis Town Clerk Leonard Cleary told the meeting that the building was not suited to the housing needs of Ennis Town Council clients as there are “significant building management issues.”

“If a property such as this were to be developed for social housing it may need the management oversight of an organisation such as a volun- tary housing body,” he said.

“An initial viewing of the building would indicate there would be considerable works required.”

The Town Clerk said that such issues as this would have to be assessed before seeking permission for a loan.

CLARE could be site of Ireland’s first ever waste-to-energy factory, as plans for a facility which would burn 300,000 tonnes of waste per annum have just been lodged with an Bord Pleanála.

The plans were lodged as a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) with the planning authority last week by Limerick based company WTP Energy Limited.

The SID process allows companies to apply directly to an Bord Pleanála and work closely with the national planning authority if the project is deemed to be large enough and of a regional or national.

The proposed facility would use a process known as pyrolysis, which involves burning organic materials without the presence of oxygen.

The process can take place at temperature of as much as 550 degrees Celsius and is, according to a spokesperson from WTP Energy Limited, a cleaner from of waste-to-energy production than traditional incineration.

The company also claims that the factory will create more than 100 full time jobs when completed.

“The proposed facility will be using proven technology developed by TechTrade International GMBH, a German company which has advanced pyrolysis as a form of waste treatment worldwide, and will assist the State’s compliance with European Waste Directives as well as providing 100 full time employment positions directly,” said a WPT Energy spokesperson yesterday.

“The phrolysis process has been demonstrated to be considerably more efficient at converting waste to energy energy when compared to mass burn- ing incineration and achieves a more complete conversion to energy and also has lower associated emissions rates,” he added.

While the site has been listed as a County Clare site with the planning authority, the company confirmed yesterday that they don’t have an exact location in mind at this point and that possible locations in other counties will also be examined.

Should the proposal be granted SID status then Clare Council will not have a formal role to play in its planning.

“The pre-application consultation before an Bord Pleanála is to assess if the development proposal and process comes within the requirements for a strategic infrastructure proposal.

“A classification of strategic infrastructure results in an Bord Pleanála dealing with any subsequent planning application,” said a council spokesperson.

“The council understands that the proposal at this point is not site specific to Clare but has been listed under Clare County Council for administrative purposes only.

“This will be clarified when formal communication is received from an Bord Pleanála.”

KILRUSH Town Council is expected to vote on Thursday night to ring fence and redesignate money once earmarked for Civic Offices for other local community projects.

More than € 373,000 had been sitting in the council’s coffers to pay for office buildings, but as the council is to be dissolved next month concerns had been expressed that this money would be lost to central government.

In March former mayor Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) had proposed that the council use the rarely used Section 140, Subsection 3 of the Local Government Act 2001, which would request the manager to ring fence money from the town council capital funds for specific projects such as the sports field on the Cooraclare Road.

Town Manager Anne Haugh had suggested that a request be made to the county manager and Head of Finance to ring fence the town council’s money for the projects for which it had been intended.

This Thursday the council is expected to reallocate the money from the Civic Office fund to community projects, and ring fence monies already designated to other projects for the purpose they were intended.

Cllr McMahon Jones said that she is happy with this outcome.

“It is important this money stays in Kilrush for what it was intended after the council is dissolved,” she said.

“As long as the money is prioritised for projects that will benefit the town of Kilrush and the hinterland, I am happy with that. The main objective here it to see the town and area well served.”

Meanwhile the Department of the Environment and Local Government released € 350,000 of the council’s budget for local capital projects.

Town Clerk John Corry had expressed his frustration last month that the department had not given permission for projects already identified by the council as necessary and strategic.

It is understood that the € 350,000 released by department will be used for the astro turf pitch element of the sport facility of the Cooraclare Road with the remainder to be used to progress other identified projects. ��������� ���������� ������������ �����������

GENDER balance is unlikely in the new look Clare County Council from next May, as just seven of the 60 candidates declared to date are female.

This week the local authority’s only female representative, Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind), announced her retirement from elected politics, which means there are no sitting female county councillors contesting the election on May 23.

Fine Gael has nominated just two women – two of its sitting female town councillors – Cllr Mary Howard, Ennis, and Cllr Marian McMahon Jones, Kilrush, to contest the council elections.

These are the only two women among the party’s 16 candidates in Clare.

Fianna Fáil’s gender balance does not compare favourably either.

Again, just two of its 18 candidates are female: Louise Roche McNamara, contesting the Shannon area, and Clare Colleran Molloy from Ennis the Municipal Area.

And while the two larger political parties in the county have just four women candidates between them, Labour and Sinn Fein have as yet included no women among their candidates.

The party’s are expected to announce candidates for the West Clare area in the coming days.

The remaining three women who have put their name’s forward to date are all Independent candidates, and contesting the Ennis area.

These include former Labour member Paula McNamara, school teacher Seonaidh NíShiomoin and Ann Norton from the Clare Crusaders.

Those voting in the Killaloe Municipal Area will not see any women on their ballot papers come polling day, unless some one declares in the next few weeks.

Asked why she believes there are so few women involved in local politics in Clare, Cllr McCarthy said, “What I have found is that women always want to get things done and solve problems. We are not as patient at just talking about it and putting it off on the long finger. You want to get something done, to feel you are achieving something. Now maybe men feel the same but it doesn’t come across, but I think women they just don’t see it as something they want to get involved in.”

Candidates have until April 24 to declare as a candidate.

TENDERS have been invited for a ferry service between Kilrush and Scattery Island.

A ferry service has been provided to the historical landmark off Kilrush by a local company for the last number of years, and once again the contract has been put to tender by the Office of Public Works.

The monastic island has seen an increase in visitors of more than 62 per cent last year, with the manager of OPW Heritage sites in the Shannon region, Pádraig Ó Ruairc, and the Scattery Island Heritage and Tourism Group working to increase that number again.

The Commissioners of Public Works are seeking the services of ferry operators for the provision of a ferry service from a designated berth at Kilrush Creek Marina to the picturesque island.

Located 2.5 kilometres off Kilrush, the island is home to a monastery founded by St Senan in the early sixth century consisting of a round tower and several churches. Visitor facilities located on the Island house some exhibition material on the history of the island and a free OPW Guide Service is provided during the tourist season or on special request.

Applications for the ferry contract are invited from those who are interested in tendering for the concession to provide a service between the OPW berth and the island for the 2014 season.

Closing dated for receipt of expressions of interest is mid-day Thursday, April 17, 2014.

AN ENNIS postman is on the verge of making a big splash in the film world with two new film credits to his name in 2014.

Local postie, Kerry Whitehouse, took up composing as a hobby a number of years ago and has been inundated with offers of work, including two films which will receive Irish releases in 2014.

Kerry worked on the sound effects and title music for Irish film ‘Somebody’s There’, which will released on DVD and Blueray across Ireland and the UK in June of this year.

He also completed the score for the American horror film ‘Slender’, which will be shown at a number of Irish film festivals in the coming months.

Indeed, Kerry has been in so much demand lately that he was considering giving up composition altogether because it was taking up too much of his time.

“It is going really well. So much so that I was considering packing it in before Christmas because I was just too busy.

“I work a full time job and the film composition has always been more of a hobby,” said Kerry.

“If the opportunity arose I’d go into it [film score composition] in a heart beat. I work in the post office and I get my fair share of bad weather going around the place.

“It is difficult though – even composers who are working on film shows in America often have another job. But if the opportunity arose I’d jump at it.”

Kerry is also in line to work on a new TV series which will deal with the events surrounding the famous Roswell alien sighting in 1947.

“I think one of the maddest things that I’ve been involved in recently is to do with the UFOs.

“I do music for a radio station in America and through that I came across Jessie Marcel, the grandson of Lieutenant Jesse Marcel – who was first on the scene at the Roswell UFO incident in 1947.

“He is putting together a new series for the Sci-Fi channel in America and I am in talks about doing that as well,” continued Kerry.

SHANNON Airport has taken to the Big Apple to promote the latest strengthening of its US network – Aer Lingus’ first year-round service to New York since 2009.

The airport kicked off the most significant week for route commencements in almost a decade as it held meetings with travel, trade and US media in New York to promote the enhanced services.

Airport chairman Rose Hynes and marketing manager Marie Slattery led the Shannon delegation and during the four-day visit also held meetings with New York-based business interests and investors with regard to the wider Shannon group activities, including members of the influential Irish diaspora.

According to the airport chairman, the American market for services into the west of Ireland is heating up. “We have had a tremendous response from the trade, which is our key audience this week, as well as US media. There is a particular demand from the US for services into the western half of the country and Shannon because of the uniqueness of the product we have.

“Shannon is, of course, the only airport on the entire Atlantic coast with direct access from the US and we are delighted to have strengthened the services this year again. The Wild Atlantic Way is also generating considerable interest. It will be the longest coastal driving route in the world and that’s the type of product the discerning US market demands,” she said.

Aer Lingus will add 31,000 seats on its transatlantic services in 2014, a significant increase in capacity over last year when it operated seven flights a week between Shannon and the US compared to 13 flights a week this year.

Said Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America Alison Metcalfe, “The Shannon region has extensive links with the US, forged over generations, and it has been a major gateway to the West of Ireland for US visitors over the years.

“Getting to the Shannon region has never been easier with great value non-stop flights from cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia with a welcome that is second to none.”

CLARE drill makers Mincon made a record profit of € 15 million last year, despite a general slowdown in the international mining sector. The Shannon-based company last week posted operational profits in excess of € 15 million for 2013, despite a sizable shrinkage in their overall sales.

The company, who famously played a key role in a mission to save a large group of Chilean miners trapped un derground for 69 days in 2010, saw their overall sales drop from € 63 million in 2012 to € 52 million last year. Despite the reduction in overall sales, Mincon managed to raise their overall profits by nearly 20 per cent over the last 12 months.

The company’s increased profits came against the background of a shrinking global mining market, with the price of precious metals continuing to decline in 2014. Mincon’s yearly sales were also hot in 2013 through by currency fluctuations in some of its key markets, particularly in South Africa and Australia.

Indeed, according to the company’s accounts, this currency fluctuation cost the company € 1.3 million in profits last year. The company determines that the profit increase has been brought about by increasing its share of the global rock-drilling products markets, which generates higher margins than what it can earn from the sale of third-party products.

Earlier this year, the company’s two biggest shareholders gave employees € 1.2 million from their own private funds to reward them for their hard work over the years. Company founder Paddy Purcell and Kevin Barry initiated the employee recognition plan, which excluded all members of senior management. The money was paid to Mincon’s 140 eligible employees across the group and was based on years of service with a payment of € 1,000 per staff member per year of service.

The company was founded in 1977 and listed on the Dublin and London stock exchanges late last year. Many of the company’s Shannon based employees have been there for a number of decades.

ENNIS Town Council yesterday heard calls for shaving foam, eggs and other messy substances to be banned from the town during certain public events such as St Patrick’s Day Parade.

The ban was called for by Cllr Mary Howard (FG) in the wake of a number of unsavoury incidents which were reported to have taken place during this year’s St Patrick’s Day festivities in Ennis.

“I think that it is obvious that if a group of 11 or 12 year-olds are buying lots of shaving foam that they are not all going home to shave their legs,” said Cllr Howard. See page 17 for more