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IRELAND’S first ever Euro- pean style outdoor Christmas market opens in Ballyvaughan this weekend with a host of activities, shopping and cheer which is sure to warm the hearts of locals and visitors alike.

The idea of an outdoor Christ- mas market has been popular in Germany and Austria for Several centuries, but the Bal- lyvaughan market is the first of it’s kind in this country.

The market will allow people to shop from a range of out- door stalls at a leisurely pace and enjoy an occasional glass of mulled wine and some local delicacies.

Last year the Ballyvaughan Christmas market started out aS a spontaneous idea born only two months before the Ste tiserheer here

This year however, the organ- isers have gone one step further with the purchase of traditional wooden huts which will be erected in St John’s Hall.

The stalls will sell a wide range of products and serve food and drink from _ these nutty

They will be decorated with fir garlands and chains of lights while inside the hall there will be a large array of crafts, gifts and food.

This year there will be 28 traders, the majority of which will be local craftsmen, as well as horse trap rides around he village and some traditional carol singing.

A number of stalls will also be filled by farmers from the Ballyvaughan farmer’s market which completed it’s second year of trading last weekend.

Aside from the market visi- tors to Ballyvaughan will be able to take in performances from Galway’s award-winning Cois Cladaigh Chamber Choir and John Spillane.

As-well-as_ these concerts there will also be a series of workshops on topics such as Christmas entertainments, and Christmas decorations using natural materials and floral decorations.

The Christmas market will run from 10am to 6pm on De- cember 3, 4, 8, 10, 17 and 18.

For more information: ballyvaughanireland.com

A JUDGE yesterday granted bail to a man who, it is claimed, threatened to burn his wife’s house Keyan

But Judge Joseph Mangan said he was giving the O’Callaghan’s Mills man bail on condition that he live in Limerick.

Denis Peppard of Keldara, O’Callaghan’s Mills, was before the court accused of criminal damage, and breaching a barring order.

Gardai gave evidence in Killaloe District court of having arrested Peppard after getting a call from his wife in the early hours of Monday morning.

Gardai had asked the court to remand him in custody until the case can be heard.

Garda Colin McGrath said that he responded to acall from Peppard’s wife and found her at her home “in a very distressed state. She alleged he told her that he would burn the house down.”

Garda McGrath said that he took the threat se- riously.

Sergeant Gerard Mulqueen said that at the house, he saw that a window had been broken by having stones thrown through it.

While he was there, Sgt Mulqueen said more large stones were thrown in.

The sergeant told Judge Mangan that the ac- cused man “lives in a caravan on his own land

about 100 feet away from his wife’s house.”

Peppard’s solicitor told the court that her client is contesting the charges and that he would abide by any bail conditions imposed.

After hearing that Peppard works in Castletroy, Judge Mangan said he would agree to bail, pro- vided Peppard lives in Limerick and that he would go there directly. The judge asked if the gardai would drive the defendant into the city in a squad car.

He also ordered that Peppard have no direct or indirect contact with his wife and that he sign on daily at Henry Street garda station.

He was remanded to appear again in Tulla Dis- trict Court on December 1.

this system is of concern to parents. ‘Nobody wants to be paying for teachers. We lost two teachers last July because the roll dropped in September 2004,” said Mr Mac Cor- maic. “Now the roll has come up again, but we

will have to wait until September 2006 to get out teachers back. Despite appeals to the De- partment of Education and lobbying our elected representatives for even a part-time extra teach- er our requests have fallen on deaf ears. All we are looking for is a part-time teachers, for fifth and sixth class students. This doesn’t make sense. The reason we are fundraising is that the children get an equal chance,” he added.

He said the Department told the Board of Management that if there were 187 students (just five more than is the case at present), the school would have been allocated two addition- al teachers. Mr Mac Cormaic said the problem could be overcome if the fifth and sixth classes were split up, but this would not be fair to the students and teachers concerned.

A number of fundraising initiatives have tak- en place in recent weeks, including a golf out- ing, while a sponsored walk and table quiz are also planned.

INCREASING class sizes are impacting on the level of attention teachers can give to pupils.

Principal of Ballyea National School, Eddie Liddy believes overcrowding in the classroom is one of the main problems facing schools in Clare. He said the current situation, where classroom sizes are increasing, imposes extra burdens on teachers and limits the amount of attention they can give to students. In Ballyea the problem has been particularly prevalent in split classes, where children from two different classes share the same room.

‘Absolutely it is a big problem. We have split classes with 32 children in them, where one teacher in one classroom is looking after all of

the junior infants and half of the senior infants. In the other classroom a teacher has all of first class and half the senior infants. It can be very difficult to manage.”

The issue of class size in primary schools was discussed at a public meeting of representatives of parents, teachers and management in Ennis last night. There are currently 159 children at- tending Ballyea National School and this year the school received an extra teacher in accord- ance with directives issued by the Department of Education. “We still have huge class sizes but it definitely has made a difference.”

Ballyea National School had been highlighted as being typical of the overcrowding problem but the school is hopeful of getting a new build- ing in the future.

A CLAIM that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment owes more than €30,000 to the White hotel group is not true, Inspector Michael Gallagher told the court.

He said information given during the hearing last month by White hotel group accountant, Robert Hurley, was incorrect.

“That department owes no money and owed no money on the date of the hearing,” said the in- spector, who added that a member of staff from the department was in court to give evidence to this effect.

Defending solicitor Eugene O’Kelly said this was a “scurrilous” and “outrageous” allegation of perjury.

Mr Hurley had told the court last month that during the past two to three years, 194 applica-

tions were made to the Department for work joes WNDU

None of the 194 were taken on and the money had not been refunded.

Each application now costs €400.

Meanwhile, the outcome of the two-day court hearing was hugely disappointing and may be appealed, according to the managing director of the two hotels at the centre of the case.

Jim White, a former Fine Gael Donegal South- West TD, told The Clare People, “I am very dis- appointed with this court ruling.

“Tt is a very difficult place to run, Lisdoonvar- na, opening in March and closing in September.

“T think it has been unfairly treated. I still have to decide on an appeal.”

He pointed out that out of the 190 or 200 work- ers employed by the hotel group, just a few were found to be illegal.

A MASSIVE €33 million shortfall in the Shannon Development pension fund will have to be met by the taxpayer.

Accounts recently filed with the Com- panies Office also show that the company would have made a much greater loss last year than the €1.6 million recorded, but for a €12.518 million profit made in selling off property. This included €4.2 million on the sale of Shannon town to Clare County Council.

The pensions deficit increased by €6.9 million during 2004. However, the accounts state that the exchequer will meet any short- fall, as a result of a High Court settlement between the Trustees of the pension fund, and the company and Department of Fi- nance last year.

The company’s pension fund stood at €46.5 million at the end of last year. But the anticipated cost of the fund — which gives each employee a guaranteed amount at the end of their working lives – is €80 million, resulting in the shortfall.

The company has declined in the past to give a breakdown of the numbers working in each department.

However, accounts show that the high- est number (75) work in industrial devel- opment, and these are the jobs threatened through the new mandate for the company announced by the Minister for Trade, Em- ployment and Enterprise, Michael Martin ETS aves

This is currently the subject of negotia- tions between SIPTU and the Dept of En- terprise, Trade and Employment, where SY UE ORS ee lacoseel olan stam comm ClUs nome soMBADIRUD KS of Shannon Development in promoting the Shannon Free Zone.

Staff costs, including salaries and pension provision, cost €14.535 million in 2004.

In a bid to reduce staff numbers, Shannon Development has had in place a voluntary retirement scheme costing €2.24 million over the past two years.

In relation to the transfer of Shannon town to Clare County Council, the company spent €690,000 on redundancy and €922,000 on other costs. And it cost €104,000 to remu- nerate its Board of Directors last year.

Underlining the importance of the com- pany’s property portfolio, the accounts show that €17.913 million was generated in rental income last year.

The company’s balance sheet shows that its fixed assets were valued at €150 million at the end of last year.

TALK of a possible coalition between Fine Gael and the Green Party could af- fect the larger party’s rural vote in the next election, according to rural housing lobbyist, Jim Connolly.

Speaking to The Clare People, the sec- retary of the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Asso- ciation warned that “courting the Greens is a high risk strategy when looking for votes in rural Ireland”’.

Mr Connolly accused the Green Party of being totally against one-off hous- ing, adding that Green county council- lor Brian Meaney expressed such views when he addressed the IRDA conference in Kilkee last September.

Cllr Meaney countered that Mr Con- nolly was listening to the “honeyed words of Fianna Fail, and they are the ones directing policy. Where are the Green Party members that are influenc-

ing this (one-off housing) policy?” he asked.

“Mr Connolly is blinkered in his thinking and his logic. He needs to re- visit some of the comments made to him in the past by members of larger parties. I went back (to Kilkee) and gave policy and no one else did,’ he said.

Cllr Meaney sent a transcript of his speech to The Clare People. In it he said, “T wish to state clearly that the Green Party is fully committed to the develop- ment and prosperity of rural areas.

‘Development and prosperity has to be achieved in a balanced and a sustainable fashion, and no reasoned argument can be made to allow uncontrolled develop- ment, be that badly-designed and sited commercial development, or uncon- trolled ribbon development along every road in the country.”

Cllr Meaney continued, “We believe the best way to maintain and increase

population numbers in rural areas, based on the evidence of the recent census, 1s to support villages and clusters, as vil- lages and clusters have held their popu- lation better than scattered communities in the open countryside.

‘Areas of population loss, as indicated by CLAR maps, match areas with poor or non-existent village and cluster struc- ture. This lack of structure is the main reason these areas suffered more popu- lation loss than others.

“Therefore, we believe that the best way to address population loss in weak areas is to create new villages or village clusters and to actively prevent further dispersal of settlement,’ he said.

Meanwhile Mr Connolly called on Fine Gael to publish its policy on one- off housing. He said while Deputy Paul Connaughton (FG) was very supportive of rural housing, he was speaking per- sonally.

A WARNING by well-known soci- ologist, Fr Harry Bohan, that plans for student accommodation in Shan- non “are sowing the seeds for serious problems” has failed to prevent the development getting the go-ahead.

An Bord Pleanala ignored the rec- ommendation of its own planner by granting permission to Brook Drive Properties for 35 apartments and a gym and cafeteria to accommodate 140 students at Drumgeely in Shan- non. And Fr Bohan has appealed the eleTert (Oye

In relation to the current proposal, a senior planning inspector with the Board, Brendan Wyse, stated, “It ap-

pears that there is already a signifi- cant shortfall in car parking provi- sion in the Drumgeely area.

“In this context, I do not consider that the proposed 31 spaces, though a considerable advance on the previ- ous proposal, would be an adequate compensation for the loss of an area with a current capacity for at least 60 cars. In conclusion therefore, I do not consider that the revised pro- posal overcomes the second reason for refusal.”

However, this was overturned by the Board which stated: “In decid- ing not to accept the Inspector’s rec- ommendation, the Board considered that there was sufficient car parking on site to facilitate the displaced car

parking serving the existing flats complex together with the proposed development.”

The application is the latest of several attempts to develop the site, which have encountered strong local Opposition.

Earlier this year, Clare County Council granted planning for the development only for a number of local residents, including Fr Bohan, to appeal the decision to An Bord lene

As part of his appeal, Fr Bohan, who lives at Drumgeely, wrote, “I am appealing this decision on so- cial and sociological grounds, but I am very aware of the other serious grounds for appealing it such as con-

travention of the development plan; parking space; road traffic and seri- ous question mark over ownership to the proposal.”

Also appealing in a personal ca- pacity, Fr Bohan — a member of the Clare senior hurling management team — said: “My objection to the proposed development is based on the fact that high density develop- ments of this kind, linked as it would be to 137 existing apartments and 13 houses, 1s sowing the seeds for ser1- ous social problems.

“The proposed development at Drumgeely has serious consequenc- es for people living in that area and indeed for the future development at Shannon.”

FEARS that a €35 million hous- ing development would have a negative impact on the operation of Ennis Golf club have been dis- missed by Clare County Council and Ennis Town Council.

This follows the two planning authorities giving the go-ahead to Joe McNamara to build 159 homes on Ennis’s Golk Links Road.

Ennis Golf Club did not object to the planning application. Howev- er, local residents opposed to the plan raised fears over the impact the proposal would have on Ennis Golf Club.

They stated: “The established in- tegrity of the golf course would be seriously undermined by the pro- posed development and its future viability would be uncertain.

“Tf basic land use conflicts are

to be avoided in the future, the present housing application needs to be refused on the basis that it will result in injury to the recrea- tional and visual amenities of the area.

“The proposed housing, because of its proximity to the existing golf course, would give rise to mutual conflicts and injury to both the amenities of the golf course users and of any residential properties which would adjoin it.

The residents also requested the County Council “to refuse the planning application, as the ap- plicant site is not appropriate for housing development in terms of isolation from the sustainable ur- ban structure as a whole”.

“There are no significant public transport facilities. The applicant has failed to include a proposal in relation to the co-ordinated and

integrated approach between land use zoning and public transporta- tion provision and the merits of the scheme having regard to the principals of proper planning and sustainable development.

“The proposed development will erode the semi-rural character of the area as there are sufficient lands zoned within the Ennis en- virons plan to cater for future ex- pansion within the plan and the is premature under the current plan.

“The development as proposed would be detrimental to the amen- ities of the area and the amenities of our property and the amenities of potential occupiers of the devel- e}eyetonim

The objection continued, “Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council should have major con- cerns in regard to the principal of the development. This is a site that

is on the periphery of Ennis town.

In adjudicating on the plan, the Council stated, “Although, the proposed development is located outside the designated Residential Development Area, in practical terms, the proposal cannot be con- sidered to be premature.

“Having regard to the Residen- tial Density Guidelines and the designation of Ennis as a hub town in the National Spatial Strategy the provision of housing at the pro- posed medium density and within walking distance from the town centre is considered appropriate.”

However, having regard to vari- ous provision of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan, the Council gave the planning appli- cation the go-ahead. The decision has now been appealed to An Bord Pleanala by local residents.

ENNIS Educate Together National School (EETS) may have to turn away new students if their current situation continues.

The school’s Board of Management has called on the Department of Education and Clare County Council to assist it in purchasing the site it currently occupies on the Gort Road in order to facilitate the building of a permanent school. The Board of Management are calling on local and national elected representatives to help the school achive its goal in the short term

and say they had received assurances from Clare County Council that it would support the school in purchasing the site.

Since 1998 the school has leased its current premises on the Gort Road from Clare County Council. While the Department of Education pay the majority of the rent, the school must make up the shortfall. The pre-fabricated buildings house over 160 pupils, 12 teachers and two special needs assistants, and accord- ing to school principal Sean O’Conthaola the structural limitations of the building means the school is bursting to the seams.

‘The difficulty here is really a practical one. Because it is a pre-fab the classrooms here are smaller. There are over 160 children in the school so we are officially full, we don’t have room for anyone else but we have a very open enrollment policy and we are very reluctant to turn anyone away. We are as full as can be. We have an application in for an extension and it just seems to be bad value to be throwing more money at it. The site can’t be developed either we don’t have the money to do it and the De- partment won’t give any grant aid to a site they don’t own.”

With around 60 per cent of the school’s stu- dents living within walking distance of the building, Mr. Confhaola believes that relocat- ing the school would impose an extra burden on parents while another difficulty facing the site iS proper access to the sewage system. The big- gest obstacle though facing any future develop- ment of the site, according to Mr. O’Confhaola is planning.

“The planning issue is a big problem. The development plan for the town has zoned vari- ous sites community, originally they had zoned them educational but that didn’t go through. We looked at a few of these sites that were zoned community, but they are not actually for sale. They are owned by private developers”. He went onto add that it was “unfair to keep the school waiting just because of bad planning”.

Earlier this year Clare County Council wrote to the Office of Public Works (OPW) regarding the Gort Road site and stated that in accord- ance with the Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2003 the land adjacent to the site of the school would not be considered consistent with the proper planning and sustainable develop- ment of the town. The OPW have said that they don’t accept that the Department of Education and Science and the OPW had forgotten about the school’s situation.