Month: July 2014

A SENIOR director with the Ombudsman for Children has said that to the best of its knowledge it has not yet been asked to investigate childcare services in Clare.

On June 10, a District Court Judge ordered that the Guardian Ad Litem of a number of children taken into State care request the Ombudsman to examine a case where the children were unallocated a social care worker for more than three months.

At a sitting of the Family Law (District Court) in Clare last month, Judge Alan Mitchell directed that the Guardian Ad Litem also refer the matter to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The children, who lived in Clare and were found to have been neglected by their mother, have since been allocated a social care worker.

Judge Mitchell granted a full child care order on application from the CFA in respect of a number of children. In the case, Judge Mitchell said the un-allocation of social care workers in Clare was “a source of serious concern” to him.

A senior social care worker described the staffing difficulties that led to the un-allocation as “scandalous”.

Yesterday, Niall Muldoon, Director of Investigations with the Ombudsman for Children, told The Clare People that to the “best of my knowledge, we have not received anything yet”.

Mr Muldoon said that in the event his office is asked to investigate, the case would first be examined to see if it falls under the remit of the Ombudsman.

“After that we look at it on a case by case basis,” he added.

A spokesman for HIQA would not confirm or deny the case had been referred to the authority.

“It is a policy of HIQA not to comment on specific cases,” he added.

Figures supplied to The Clare People last month by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, showed that as of June 13 there were 10 childcare cases unallocated in Clare.

The Children in Care team in Clare (CIC) is currently providing services to approximately 160 children in care.

A spokeswoman said the “staffing arrangement has by and large remained stable over the last four to five years, and in fact there has been a significant improvement”.

She continued, “Clare social work department was allocated five additional social worker posts in 2010 in the wake of the Ryan report and also a social worker post in 2012. Changes to core staffing group have been due to maternity leaves and special carers’ leaves.”

CLARE home owners may not now receive the expected cut in their annual Local Property Tax (LPT), despite the Government allowing local authorities to reduce rates by up to 15 per cent.

From 2015 onwards, local authorities will be allowed to keep 80 per cent of the funds raised through the LPT. Clare County Council will also be granted the power to reduce the rate of property tax paid by residents by up to 15 per cent from the same date and it had been expected that councillors would be in positing to sanction such a cut.

However, it now look likely that Clare, along with 10 other local authorities, may see cuts to its Local Government Fund (LGF), which will makes introducing cuts to the property tax impossible. The LGF is paid to local authorities from central government and a cut in this stream of funding may impact on the council’s ability to reduce the rate of the LPT.

Cllr Tom McNamara (FF) said the proposed cut was unfair on Clare homeowners, especially considering that the county has one of the highest rates of LPT payments in the country.

“I am not happy about this situation at all. We should have the scope to reduce rate of Local Property Tax as was promised. The Local Government Fund must stay at the same level as it was in 2012,” he said.

“When the property tax was brought in we were told that we have the leeway to reduce it if we had the funds available. This proposed cut to the Local Government Fund must not take place. It is just camouflage to take away our ability to cut the property tax.

“We have been penalised time and again. They [Department of the Environment] took € 247,000 off us when our collection rate was below 80 per cent but we were supposed to get that back. We never got that back, even when the payment rate was was above 80 per cent.”

Cllr McNamara called on Clare’s three Government TDs to seek clarification on the proposed cuts to the Local Government Fund. The proposed cuts to the Local Government Fund are understood to be one of the items up for discussion between Labour and Fine Gael follow Joan Burton’s election at Labour party leader last week.

IT MAY be more than 50 years since Whitegate GAA last club ruled the Clare hurling roost, but the club now sits on the most impressive pedestal in the county following the construction of a massive replica of the Iron Throne from ‘Game of Thrones’, made entirely from hurleys.

The project was the brainchild of Mountshannon sculptural chairmaker Paul Berg, who completed the massive structure with the help of local people at the recent Iniscealtra Festival of Art. The throne is more then seven foot tall and, according to Paul, is strong enough to seat seven senior hurlers at one time.

“We decided to put the word out to the local community and to the Whitegate GAA club and, within a week, Whitegate delivered 150 hurling sticks, most of them signed, and a lot of them battered and cracked from the players. Once we got those we knew we were in business,” he said yesterday.

“We then received a further donation from Mountshannon and Lakyle National School and people were just arriving up to the house with hurleys every day. We made a box frame for the throne and then we organised a community workshop during the festival to build the thrown itself.”

The throne was made by Paul with the help of Nard Slabbers, Bernd Schneppe and a further 10 volunteers from the local community.

The throne has now been donated to Whitegate GAA club for use during big matches and community events.

“They are now storing the throne in the clubhouse, since Whitegate gave the majority of the sticks. We’ll take it out and tour around a little bit. When the matches take place we can have it beside the pitch so that people can pose and take photos on it,” continued Paul.

“It is a big structure though and people can certainly sit on it. Just today we had seven hurlers sitting on it at the same time. So it is a big structure.”

For more on the Throne of GAAmes visit www.facebook.com/hurleysculpture.

THE launch of the 27th annual South East Clare Show will take place in Bridgetown on Friday.

Details of the show, which takes place at the Bridgetown showgrounds on July 27, will be outlined at the official launch. There is a packed programme of events for this year’s show with visitors getting the chance to have their photo taken with the Liam McCarthy cup.

Show secretary Yvonne McNamara said the launch will give people a taste of what can be expected on the day.

“This evening will include some fun for children, a taste of what we have to offer on the day of our Show and the chance to meet Charlie The Great Dane Dog on the evening. The Liam McCarthy Cup will be present for some photo opportunities together with a possible appearance from the Clare Rose,” she explained.

This year the South East Clare Show have chosen Milford Care Centre as it’s charity of choice. The show committee hopes to present a donation after the Show to Milford, a centre that touches the hearts of so many people in the local community.

The society held its first show in 1990 and has grown annually in volume and popularity, now widely acknowledged as one of the top ten agricultural shows in Ireland.

Show Chairman Pat Hayes acknowledged the efforts of all those who contribute to making the show the success that it is.

“The show provides a showpiece for the best livestock, bloodstock, horticultural produce as well as crafts and home industry. It would also be equally important for me to acknowledge the efforts of the present committee who have spared no effort in preparation of this years show. To all the competitors sponsors, supporters, patrons and friends of the show I say a sincere thank you and wish you an enjoyable day on July 27,” he said.

This year’s event introduces plenty of new events and features families, children and patrons both in the leisure and competitive capacity.

The launch takes takes place in Bridgetown on Friday night, 8pm.

AN UNNAMED Clare festival has been connected with Child A, a Roma baby wrongfully taken from her family by Gardaí last October.

The family of Child A were trading at a Clare music festival last July when an unidentified member of the public noticed the baby’s blond hair and blue eyes and later repor ted the incident to the Garda Missing Persons Bureau, describing it as a “suspected child abduction”.

This repor t led Gardaí to the removal of Child A from his family last October. The baby was later returned to his family after blood tests proved that Child A was a bio- logical part of the family.

According to details of the Logan Report, seen by The Clare People , the member of public repor ted the incident to the Missing Persons Bureau on October 21 last, three months after the sighting at the Clare festival. The report described the person stopping at a festival stalls to allow her child to have her braided when she noticed Child A.

“While my children were getting their braids in, I preoccupied myself with the little baby [Child A]. He had very blonde hair and the bluest eyes and his complexion was also fair… I commented on his colouring and the young woman then said ‘ehh his grandfather’ meaning he got his genes from his grandfather. Apart from the baby, all the others were completely dark in complexion, eyes and hair,” said the original email to the Garda Missing Persons Bureau.

Gardaí were able to identify the family by examining the details provided to Clare County Council by the family in order to obtain a licence to trade at the festival.

The Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald (FG) last week apologised to the family of Child A and called for all sections of society to work to tackling stereotypes.

According to Orla Ní Eili of the Clare Immigrant Suppor t Centre, there are between 200 and 300 Roma families cur rently living in Clare. Of these families, many Czech Roma, Slovak Roma and Polish Roma have blonde hai r and blue eyes.

“We have a well-settled Roma community in Clare who are getting on well and doing their best to make a future for themselves and their families,” she said.

“The circumstances that many of these families are coming from is horrifying. The level of discrimination that many of these people felt in thei r own country before coming here is hard to describe.”

The Clare Immigrant Support Centre is campaigning for better educational suppor ts in school to help Roma and other migrant children make a life for themselves in Ireland.

SCATTERY Island is to celebrate its association with Brian Ború later this month when the tenth century invasion of the monastic settlement by Clare’s high king will be re-enacted as part of a local festival.

The re-enactment of the raid on the island by Brian Ború and his the Dál Cais army is the main event of the upcoming Scattery Island Festival that takes place on July 26 and 27 and is part of the national Brian Boru Programme, which coincides with the millennial anniversary of Ború’s death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.

The invasion of Scattery and the subsequent killing of the Viking King of Limerick and his two sons will be recreated – a battle that historians say paved the way from Brian Ború to become High King of Ireland.

“Whatever one’s opinion is of the manner in which the Norse King was slain, it is clear that his death paved the way for Brian to enjoy unchallenged rule over his home Province of Munster,” says historian Dr Catherine Swift, of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick.

Rita McCarthy of the Scattery Island Heritage and Tourism Group said the re-enactment will be the focal point of this year’s festival, the theme of which is ‘Invade Scattery’.

“We are inviting former island inhabitants and anyone with a connection with Scattery or indeed, its rich history to join us on the weekend,” she revealed. “Last year’s inaugural festival, held as part of the Gathering Ireland initiative, proved to be a huge success with more than 5,000 people travelling to the island. This has helped to raise the profile of what has for many years been one of Ireland’s least known monastic settlements.”

Uninhabited since 1979, Scattery Island – also known as Inish Cathaigh – is located approximately one mile from Kilrush in the Shannon Estuary and is home to a monastery founded in the early 6th century by St Senan. The island features the ruins of six churches and one of the highest Round Towers in Ireland at 120 feet high.

The festival will feature guided walks, lectures, music and song, and marine activities celebrating the island’s association with St Senan, the Vikings, Brian Ború, the Spanish Armada and later as a defence outpost for the British.

TWO Clare towns are set to benefit from improved broadband services following a multi-million euro joint venture between the ESB and telecommuncations giant Vodafone.

ESB and Vodafone have signed an agreement to invest € 450 million in building a 100 per cent fibre-to-thebuilding broadband network offering speeds from 200 Mbps to 1000 Mbps.

Ireland will also become the first country in Europe to utilise existing electricity infrastructure on a nationwide basis to deploy fibre directly into homes and businesses, initially reaching 500,000 premises in 50 towns.

The broadband scheme is expected to be rolled out in Ennis and Shannon. The fibre will be deployed on ESB’s existing overhead and underground infrastructure.

The ESB and Vodafone say that direct access to 100 per cent fibre broadband of up to one gigabit per second will transform the internet experience of small and medium businesses (SME), remote workers and consumers.

Subject to European Commission approval, the 50:50 joint venture will begin rolling-out the new network across Ireland in the coming months, with the first customers able to avail of 100 per cent fibre broadband from the start of 2015. The initial phase of the project is expected to be fully rolled-out by the end of 2018.

Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said, “This innovative ESB-led initiative is a major milestone for Ireland as the fibre broadband network will be a key enabler for a knowledge-based, services-led economy that will help to attract investment to Ireland. This fibre infrastructure will use ESB’s existing electricity infrastructure, maximising the use of state assets to the benefit of Irish society.”

According to Fine Gael Deputy, Joe Carey, the investment will “help to both attract new investment and sustain existing businesses, as well as improving the quality of broadband available in people’s homes”.

A COROFIN priest, who attempted to set up a colony of Clare people in California in the 1840s, has just been identified as the man who precipitated the start of the American Mexican War.

It has also been uncovered that maverick priest Father Eugene Mcnamara died in mysterious circumstances while in possession of a fortune in Paris in 1852 and that fortune passed back to his Clare family.

Long lost details of the life of Eugene Mcnamara, who was originally from High Street in Corofin, has been uncovered following years of research by Professor John Fox. Fr Mcnamara had planned to bring thousand of Clare people to California, which was then a part of Mexico in the 1840s, but was wrongly iden- tified by the Americans as a British spy.

Fearful that Mcnamara and his Clare settlers would give the British a foothold in mainland North America, the US invaded California, starting the American-Mexican War.

“He goes to California to choose the land for the colony but at that same time the American government become aware of him and see him as part of a British plot to take California. He really wasn’t, but when he starts getting lifts from the Royal Navy all around the Pacific, they become convinced of it. The Americans very much viewed him as British spy at this stage,” said Professor Fox.

“This leads directly to the American president taking America to war with Mexico to prevent them from allowing a British colony to be formed on California, a colony which they believed Mcnamara was about to start. The moment the president learns about Mcnamara the American president starts planning to take California either by force or by money. Mcnamara receives 20,000 acres in California from the Mexican government. He gets the deed from the land in California on the same day as the American army comes in and takes over. The British navy arrives eight days later and there is a moment when the Royal Navy appear in Monterey Bay with their cannon primed and find the America navy ready with their canon primed. It could have gone one way or the other.”

Mr Fox’s book ‘El Proyecto Macnamara’ will be published later this week by Irish Academic Press. Check out the Life section of next week’s

DETAILS of the life and medical history of Ballyvaughan woman Ellen Moore will be heard by the United Nations Committee Against Torture next week, following the unanimous decision of the Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SOS) group to reject a last gasp compensation offer made by the Irish Government last week.

Ellen, who was given a symphysiotomy without her knowledge or consent while giving birth to her first son in September of 1965, has been actively campaigning for recognition of the wrongs done to the hundreds of Irish women who were given symphysiotomies in the 1960s and 1970s.

In March of this year it was announced that her case would be one of a number of case studies sent forward to the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

The SOS move to take the case to the UN came after months of discussions and lobbying with the Irish Government.

With the UN hearing just days away, the Government made a compensation offer to sufferers last week. This offer was unanimously rejected at two survivor meeting in Dublin and Cork last week and the UN hearing is now set to go ahead on July 14.

The SOS spokesperson, Marie O’Connor, has called on the Government to admit that all symphysiotomies done in Irish hospitals were wrong.

“Truth has been the main casualty today. The official lie, that symphysiotomy was acceptable medical practice, continues,” she said.

“The Government has never admitted that these operations were negligent and that they should never have been done. All symphysiotomies were wrong, not only those done in the aftermath of a C-section.”

After meeting with Mrs Moore and other members of the Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SOS) group last October, the Health Minister, James O’Reilly (FG), agreed to lift the stature of limitation involving symphysiotomy and allow sufferers to gain compensation through the courts. The minister also agreed to release the second half of the Walsh Report, which probed the use of symphysiotomies in Irish hospitals. Neither of these promises have, to date, been kept.

THE North Clare coast has a new aquatic star. While Dusty the Dolphin may have abandoned Doolin in favour of the Aran Islands, a new creature has appeared in the waters just off Ballyvaughan.

The Galway Bay Protection Group (GBPG) last week launched a giant floating model of a fish riding a bicycle into Galway Bay, just off the pier in Ballyvaughan. The permanent structure, which has already gained much attention both from locals and tourists, was built as a protest against the proposed construction of twin fish farms in Galway Bay, just off the coast of Doolin and Fanore.

The proposed fish farm, which would be the largest ever made in Ireland if it gets the go ahead, has divided many in the fishing community with the two state fishing organisations – Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) on different sides of the argument.

While no decision has yet been made about the fish farm, it had been thought that the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney (FG), was a firm backer of the BIM proposed farm. However, with Minister Coveney in line for a change of portfolio at this week’s cabinet reshuffle, it is now envisioned that a new minister will make the final call on the multibillion euro project.

BIM, who lodged the original application for the fish farm license, say that they have had strong interest from a number of international companies who wish to take on the operation of the fish farms. BIM also claim that hundreds of local jobs will be created if the farm gets the green light.

IFI say that the farm will damage local wild fish stocks and put the livelihood of scores of local fishermen and the local tourism trade in jeopardy. A final decision is expected later this year.