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TOWN councillors in Kilrush felt “snubbed” when they were left off the invitation list for the official launch of the CCTV cameras in the John Paul housing estate.

That was according to Councillor Colie Sweeney (Ind), who last week said he was entitled to be told why he and his fellow councillors were not asked to attend the switch-on of the cameras in February.

He said that the town clerk, town manager and local superintendent were all invited, as was the Mayor, Cllr Stephen O’Gorman. However he said many of the elected members

were unhappy they were not aware it was taking place.

“Many of the elected members felt snubbed and slighted when we were not invited to the official launch of the CCTV initiative. Can you offer us an explanation why we were left off the official list of invitees?” he asked, at the monthly meeting of Kil- rush Town Council last Thursday.

“I was under the impression that this council represented all the areas of Kilrush. I really am at a loss for words to know why all the elected members failed to get invited to a town council initiative?” he added.

Town Clerk Fiona Mooney said the event wasn’t so much a launch,

rather a press event. Superintendent Joe McKeown, who was head of the Kilrush garda district at the time, was invited along for the photograph opportunity.

“They have been live since Decem- ber,” she said.

She pointed out that councillors were sent a letter, in the aftermath of the event taking place, apologising that they weren’t invited.

Cllr Sweeney replied, snubbed, living in the area.”

Ms Mooney said there was no in- tention to snub anybody and mem- bers will be sent press releases in advance of future events.

Cllr Tom Prendeville said he was

“IT felt

asked by locals in the town why he had “kept away” from the opening, after photographs of the event ap- peared in the local media.

He said he accepted that the town clerk is “‘a busy lady” and that she did not intend to cause offence.

“It 1s very important that public representatives would be _ treated with the utmost of respect. I know it was an oversight. It appeared as if we stayed away,” he said.

Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) said, “It was a bit embarrassing to be deputy mayor and not be invited, but sure we will get over it. It was an oversight.”

Cllr Sweeney then said he accepted it was an oversight.

DOONBEG was again the venue for the launch of the premier golfing tournament for businesses in Clare. Ennis Chamber of Commerce and sponsors Sherry Fitzgerald McMa- hon were in Doonbeg Golf Club last week to finalise details of the Golf Classic, which takes place at the prestigious club April 26 and 27. This is the premier social event for Ennis Chamber with over 200 golfers participating from the business com- munity in Clare. It is expected that colleagues and clients from around the country will also be attracted to

this opportunity to play at one of the world’s top links courses.

Launching the event in Doonbeg Golf Club were Dermot McMahon and Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon along with En- nis Chamber President John Mad- CF

Commenting on the occasion Mr Madden said, “Ennis Chamber is delighted to be back in Doonbeg for the second year running for our An- nual Golf Classic. We have received tremendous support and valued input from our sponsors Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon in order to ensure a suc- cessful event. Furthermore, this 1s

the ultimate links experience for all golfers and promises to be a hugely enjoyable event at a top quality resort – not to be missed!”

This year, Ennis Chamber has in- troduced a spa package for partners of golfers or for anyone who is not a golfer but would like to avail of the five-star treatment and comforts Doonbeg Golf Club, Lodge and Spa has to offer. All participants will enjoy a three course meal as part of their day, prepared by award-win- ning chefs. There is also an accom- modation package available for those who wish to savor the delights of the Doonbeg resort a little longer.

Teams of four will play for a range of executive prizes with the annouce- ment ceremony taking place at 9pm on Friday, April 27 in Doonbeg club- house.

Tee times are available late morn- ing as well as mid afternoon on both days. Teams of Four are €700; with individual players at €175 are wel- comed to be teamed up. Individu- als can avail of the spa package for €125.

Brochures and booking cards are available from Margaret Neylon, En- nis Chamber, 54 O’Connell Street, Ennis, 065 684 2988. Book early to secure your preferred tee time.

SHANNON Airport could see an additional 100 extra military flights every month with an expansion of services by Omni Air International, one of several airlines contracted to carry US military personnel for the Pentagon.

While the new services were not ex- pected to start until next month, two Omni Air flights arrived at Shannon on Saturday afternoon prompting calls from anti-war group the Peace

and Neutrality Alliance to call for campaigners to step up their protests at Shannon.

Former Irish Army Commandant and well known anti-war campaigner Ed Horgan said the passage of US troops through Shannon is becom- ing accepted custom and practice because not enough Irish people care about the killing of ‘foreigners’ in places such as Iraq.

News of the expansion in services by Omni Air will, however, be a sig- nificant boost to the airport after the

biggest carrier of US military per- sonnel for the Pentagon pulled out last year.

World Airways shifted its military technical stops to Leipzig, Germany citing economic reasons.

With the loss of World Airways, there has been a dramatic drop in US military traffic at Shannon.

Almost 15,000 more troops passed through the airport in January 2006 than in the first three months of this year combined.

26,817 troops stopped off at Shan-

non on 268 flights in the first quarter of this year, representing a drop of almost 77 per cent on the figures for 2006.

The Dublin Airport Authority, which still governs Shannon, has al- ready warned that Shannon Airport should not rely on the military transit nee nelen

DAA Chief Executive Declan Col- lier said that Shannon’s losses are “only slightly camouflaged by the military transit traffic which is not a sustainable business.”

Shannon has earned an estimated €8m a year for the past six years from US military traffic and its loss- es would be far greater if it did not have the military business.

A spokesperson for the Shannon Airport Authority confirmed that Omni Air are putting a programme of flights through the airport from next month.

This new business is expected to see up to 100 flights a month carry- ing as many as 10,000 troops.

IARNROD Eireann has apologized after commuters were left stranded in Ennis yesterday.

The scheduled 6.45am service be- tween Ennis and Limerick did not operate as planned forcing passen- gers to make their own travel ar- rangements.

A mix up in driver rostering has

been identified as the reason for the no-show.

Passengers were offered a place on a min-bus hired from a local tax1 firm after larnrod Eireann were un- able to locate a bus to bring passen- gers to Limerick.

However, many had already paid for taxis in order to catch a connect- ing train leaving Limerick for Dub- lin. Subsequent train services ran

as normal throughout the rest of the Cr MA ;

A spokesperson for larnrod Eire- ann apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused.

“We do apologise to passengers for what happened with the mix up. It was an unusual situation that I can’t remember happening before.”

He explained a mix up in the roster- ing of drivers was the reason for the

nen p.qnel oy

“It appears there was mix up in ros- ters and that there was no driver there in the morning. Inspectors in both stations contacted both Bus Eireann and local coach operators but weren’t able to get a bus at such short notice.

“They managed to get a mini-bus from a local taxi firm, but by then some people had made their own ar- rangements. That taxi left Ennis at

oer: 100 a

He added there was no further dis- ruption to services during the day.

“It was just the one service in the morning that was affected. Normally we have a back up arrangement in place either with our sister company Bus Eireann or with local operators. But it was particularly difficult to get one at that hour of the morning at such short notice.”

THE council’s practice of leaving eravel margins on the side of roads Where they have acquired land for road improvements is providing an opportunity for illegal parking, a lo- cal councillor has claimed.

Cllr Joe Cooney told a meeting of Clare County Council last week that

the practice of leaving such land open gives carte blanche for illegal park- ing and in some cases, dumping.

“IT had asked that Clare County Council maintain and fence off all waste ground which the council ac- quired for road improvements on the sides of roads throughout the county. I’m not happy with the reply,” he Sr HKOe

In reply to his motion before the council, officials told Cllr Cooney that “in many cases, on relatively mi- nor road improvement schemes, ad- ditional land is acquired to make the road safer by just providing addition- al sight distance. In these situations it would not be appropriate to erect any fencing as this would interfere with the available sight distance. In other

cases the improved section can have CBN Arc Da rca eneeCcoOlMmrstseMmAeCoMB Koni UOLMmOerelI a lay-by remains.

‘There are a number of such lay-bys around the county and in many cases they have been treated to discourage unauthorised parking. Where prac- tical, in carrying out re-alignments nowadays we endeavour to return the by-passed section of road to agricul-

tural use.”

The officials added that if there were any specific locations where action 1S needed, these would be as- sessed on an individual basis.”

Cllr Pat Hayes said that the illegal parking of Travellers caravans in some areas 1s becoming a problem. ‘In one place there were 15 caravans parked along the side of the road.”

A TUBBER inventor has come up with a system of letting doctors know at a glance what medical conditions a patients suffers from and what me- diction they are taking.

The Medical CV is the brainchild of Michael Quinn and can even include such information as blood groups

and organ donor requests.

Michael has just finalised design- ing the website for his medical CV at www.mymedicalcv.com

The idea behind the CV is that it gives a pre-designed form which pa- tients can download for themselves, fill in their medical history and then print it out to be carried around with Wetoeee

“I got the idea to do something when I was in a hospital waiting room one day and a woman was having difficulty remembering what medication she was being prescribed and what dose.

“The doctor had to get hold of her GP who had to consult her records. I was thinking, there must be some way to record information like that

and have it to hand.”

The idea of how it could be done struck Michael sometime later when he was delivering a CV to a recruit- ment agency.

“T thought, if you can put your ca- reer details into a CV then why not have some form that would hold all your medical details? Then, if there’s an emergency, doctors know imme-

diately if you have something like epilepsy or what blood group you are without any time being wasted,” Michael told

THE Drumbiggle Residents Associ- ation is to meet next week to discuss an ongoing dispute with Ennis Town Council.

Last month the group opted to with- draw from participating in the RAP- ID funding scheme. The group cited a number of issues regarding housing policies, illegal dumping, unfinished road surfacing and anti-social behav- ior among the reasons why.

According to Ferdie O’Donoghue, Chairman of the Drumbiggle Resi- dents Association (DRA), the group want further dialogue with the coun- ote

“They haven’t come to us yet. We are not budging until they come to us. We are going to have a meeting next week to discuss the matter. This has been going back for years. All of these things should have been sorted out years ago.”

The DRA represents eight areas in the town Clancy Park, Waterpark View, Waterpark Heights, Waterpark Court, Radharc na hInse, Ard Carrig, Stone Court and McHugh Villas.

Mr O’Donoghue added “People might think that we are against RAP- ID, but we are not. Our fight is with the council they should do what they are supposed to do. They say they are going to start the showgrounds road now and that is going to take six months. It’s up to them to contact us.

We are waiting to talk to them. It’s up to them to make the move.”

Ennis Town Council and RAPID delegates have urged the DRA to re- engage with the process.

Ennis RAPID area comprises six residential areas. The areas include Drumbiggle, Dalcassian/Turnpike, Old Military Barracks, Hermitage, Clancy Park and Cloughleigh. RAP- ID Projects rely on an inter-agency (HSE Midwest, Ennis Town Council, Clare VEC, Dept of Social & Family Affairs, FAS, etc) and are based on a strong partnership with the commu- nity and voluntary sector.

The programme aims to ensure priority attention is given to tackling the spatial concentration of poverty and social exclusion within the 45 designated areas through targeting state resources

Under the scheme, communities in Ennis have benefited through the provision of amenity projects. Im- provement works carried out include landscaping, improvement of open Spaces, white lighting and _ traffic calming measures.

IRISH farming organisation gave a lukewarm response this week to the new Farm Improvement Scheme which is nearing the final stages of preparation in the Department of aNcau(Gullalvuce

Details of the scheme are not avail- able to the public but the organisa- tions were given a sneak preview by the Department of Agriculture last week.

The new Farm Improvement Scheme will replace the Farm Waste Management Scheme and the Dairy Hygiene Scheme which are currently operating. A general grant rate of 40 per cent will be available for most in- vestments, while some mobile equip-

ment will only receive 20 per cent.

Everything that qualifies for grant aid under the current schemes will continue to receive grant aid under the FIS while there will be a few new additions like rubber mats on slats and cubicles, automatic feeding systems for the dairy, computerised calf feeders, outwintering pads, meal bins, meal stores and meal silos.

“While everything that we sought to be included has not been accepted by the Department of Agriculture and Food, we will continue to pur- sue the inclusion of these items in an effort to enhance labour-saving and health and safety on the farm,” said Conor Creedon of the ICMSA.

The IFA have meanwhile called for the scheme to be implemented im-

mediately and have set May I as a deadline for this to take place.

‘The introduction of the FIS is an Opportunity to grant aid for the first time in many years to the moderni- sation of agricultural holdings,” said IFA Rural Development Chairman, Padraic Divilly.

“Grant aid under the new scheme will be 40 per cent with an additional 10 per cent top-up for young farmers less than 35 years of age. The invest- ment limit will be €120,000.”

In relation to the dairy hygiene scheme, a separate €120,000 invest- ment limit will apply with increased investments limits of €25,000 for bulk tanks, €40,000 for milking ma- chines. In addition feeders in the par- lour will be eligible for grant aid.

Divilly expressed serious concern that the Department of Agriculture iS proposing to discontinue grant aid for splash plates slurry tankers from the end of December 2008 with ap- plications having to be lodged by De- cember 2007.

“This 1S unnecessary as many farmers requires small scale invest- ment to meet their slurry spreading requirements”, he said.

‘There was no reason why the new FIS could not be introduced over the next number of weeks. Many farmers are anxiously awaiting this scheme, which will in many cases compli- ment investments which are already been undertaken under the Farm Waste Management Scheme.”

THE Department of Agriculture last week announced a series of last minute events designed to help pre- vent the expected chaos as the dead- line for the applications under the Single Payment and Disadvantaged Area Schemes.

Informal information roadshows will take place nationwide and the help-line number will have extended hours of operations to help farmers deal with the complex application ORO ete

Minister Coughlan confirmed on Friday that personalised Single Pay-

ment Scheme application forms, complete with pre-printed data con- cerning land parcels and start dates have been issued by her Department to all Single Payment Scheme partic- ipants. It was also confirmed that the department will provide an enhanced customer service in the run up to the closing date for the receipt of appli- cation forms on Friday, May 4. This will involve information meetings throughout the country and helplines which will also operate outside of of- fice hours.

“I believe farmers should have the most up-to-date information avail- able to enable them to correctly com-

plete and submit the 2007 SPS ap- plication forms by the closing date. For this reason I have made provision for the information roadshow and in- creased helpline facilities.” she said.

“I am aware that some farmers would prefer to speak directly to ex- perienced staff from my Department prior to the completion of their SPS application forms. In response to this need I have made arrangements for information sessions in 26 locations throughout the country between 16 April and 1 May where my officials will also be available to meet appli- cants.”

This will be achieved through

an extension of the opening hours of the Department’s help lines un- til 10.00pm on weekdays and from 1.00pm to 6.00pm on Saturdays and Sundays commencing _ yesterday, April 16, and continuing until the closing date for the receipt of appli- cations on May 4.

“The additional opening hours of my Department’s helplines and the opportunities being afforded to farm- ers to meet with staff will greatly as- sist them with inquiries about these and related matters,” she said.

Details of information meetings and lo-call numbers will be an- nounced in the coming weeks.

PATRICK O’Dwyer drank a concoc- tion of alcohol at a party at his home just two days before he killed his sis- ter, the trial heard.

Marguerite organised a party at her parents’ house, just two nights before her death.

Patrick O’Dwyer told gardai that his sister initially invited a few friends to the house on the Saturday night, but up to 25 people attended, eight of whom stayed overnight.

He said that the party had been planned for a while. There was an assortment of drink at the house, he said.

The accused told gardai that he had four cans of cider, two cans of Red Bull with a full bottle of vodka, a mixture of shots in a pint glass, fol- lowed by other shots, all in the space of about an hour.

Asked by gardai was it normal for him to drink that amount of alcohol, he replied, “No.”

He said that some of his sister’s

friends smoked joints, but he didn’t take drugs.

He said that somebody wanted him to go to a birthday party. He passed out on the way there and fell and hit his head at around 10.30pm. He didn’t make it to the party.

One of his friends later gave out to him about his excessive drink- ing. His friend told him that when he goes out, he did so with the intention of getting drunk fast and not gradu- MUA

The accused said he told his friend

he was going to give up drink until Oi tetiaeerky

The day after the party — Sunday — Marguerite went to work in Lahinch. Patrick took paracetamol and later spoke to his parents on the phone.

Marguerite arrived home from work that evening. The accused was asked by gardai did she give out to him about his drinking and was told that she didn’t.

“She just told me she never saw me as bad. Everyone said that. I was mad with myself,” he said.