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CONTENTIOUS plans by fast-food g1- ant, McDonalds, to develop a drive-thru restaurant in Ennis hang in the balance.

An Bord Pleanala has informed the company that its present proposal for the Sheils’ garage site on the Ennis-Galway Road may seriously injure nearby resi- dential amenities through noise, general disturbance and fumes.

As a result, the appeals board has re- quested McDonalds submit revised draw- ings for an amended proposal.

In a letter to the appellants in the case, the appeals board stated that the Inspec- tor’s report in the case was complete and that the matter was now at board level.

One of the opponents of the McDonalds proposal, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP), this week welcomed the board’s intervention.

He said, “It shows that the appeals board is considering all aspects of the proposal and that is to be welcomed.”

Earlier this year, Ennis Town Council refused planning permission for a fast- food outlet in the Lifford area, ruling that it would injure the residential amenities of Wetomr- Baste

Cllr Meaney said: “I would hope that

An Bord Pleanala would follow the exam- ple of the town council in refusing plan- pup panee

It is just a pity that the council did not recognise the negative impact the Mc- Donalds proposal would have on the resi- dents on the nearby Galway Road, when allowing the proposal to go ahead.”

Cllr Meaney and the other appellant in the case, Cllr Donal O’Bearra (GP) will now have an opportunity to make submis- sions on the revised proposals put forward by McDonalds.

Last year, the McDonalds proposal sparked a national debate on the impact of fast food on diets, after the Mid-West- ern Health Board’s Department of Health Promotion objected because of concerns about children’s health.

The Department demanded that Mc- Donalds carry out an Environmental Im- pact Statement (EIS) into possible health impacts on the local population, before the application be further considered.

However, the Health Board soon dis- tanced itself from this objection with the then chief executive, Stiofan de Burca de- claring that the objection was a personal statement by the community dieticians fey ileroru ileee

: “Centres like Lahinch Seaworld were never designed to make money. They are not profit making machines and if they do make a profit, it is a bonus. The value in Lahinch Seaworld is the resource it provides to the community.

He added: “I would like to congratulate the direc- tors, management and

staff for reducing the an- nual loss and the net debt by €80,000. While the balance sheet isn’t as healthy as one would like, its value is the superb facilities it provides for the community and for schools in the area.

OT OO e\ ab ab elo added: “More _ facilities like Lahinch Seaworld are needed.”

The complex employs 30 people and during the Win- ter months provides facili- ties for 40 schools in North and West Clare — while this year has added a steam room to the range of facili- ties on offer.

Sroleieter i Ceyme comm seco leuee Clare area, Martin Lafferty said: “Any resort like Lahi- nch needs a centre like La- hinch Seaworld. It is a tre- mendous development for Lahinch, while also provid- ing employment in the area.

Cllr Lafferty added: “I wouldn’t be overly con- cerned with the losses and I would urge the Council to maintain its annual con- tribution and interest in the centre.”

The accounts show that the Council guarantees loans

and overdrafts for Lahinch Seaworld to the amount of €317,000.

Now in its ninth year of operation, Lahinch Sea- world is a community-based initiative that has provided an added dimension to Lahinch’s long-standing reputation as being one of Clare’s most popular sea- side resorts.

Benefiting from over €2.5 million in EU money, the lo- cal community ensured that

the centre would become an extra tourism resource to Lahinch after individu- als from Lahinch and sur- rounding towns and villages including Ennistymon, Lis- cannor and Miltown Malbay contributed over €650,000 to the scheme.

The accounts for the end of October 2004 show that the centre had a turnover of €695,000 with a gross profit of €607,000.

However, the cost of run- ning the centre stood at €621,000 leaving an oper- ating loss of €14,000 and this led to an overall loss of €33,000 after charges of €19,000 in interest and other charges.

The accounts also show that €304,000 was paid to the 29 staff at the centre in 2004. Lahinch Seaworld also has assets worth €1.5 million.

BEING crowned _ the ‘International — Festival Queen of Ireland’ has cer- tainly not gone to Kinvara woman Emma Kilkelly’s head as the 19-year-old seems to have both her feet firmly on the ground.

Just hours after win- ning the prestigious title, which is competed for by the winners of regional festivals from all over Ire- land and beyond, Emma was on her way to Mos- ney for the finals of the community games.

After celebrating her victory late into’ the evening of Friday August 26 the GMIT business student made the journey to Mosney early on Sat- urday morning to referee the camogie semi finals playoff between Cork and Offaly.

“I knew I had commit- ted myself to refereeing the match but I had no idea I was going to win the tile,” said an overjoyed Emma. “To be honest I’ve

been coming to Mosney all my life as a competi- tor and now as a referee and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Emma qualified to take OV MBD MMO MBKION EU MEDAN being crowned the Gort Show Queen, an achieve- ment which also qualified her to compete for the Galway Rose Competi- tion. She was also select- ed as the Banrion at the Gouterievlempercmpeelar:(eme aloe val and The Oyster Pearl at the 50th International Galway Oyster Festival.

The International Fes- tival Queen of Ireland Sores} orem isco me meue- Hever! by Dundalk man Mr. Pat- sy Rogers and involved a formal interview on Fri- day evening followed by an interview live on stage later that night.

Emma was joined at the festival by her fam- ily, friends and support- ers, along with her spon- sor, Patricia Kilkelly of Streams Beauty Rooms im ecoum

FOR 20 years, Fanore man Joe Queally has been travelling to the Blasket islands.

This week, Joe sets out again to follow in the footsteps of his literary hero, Tomas O Criomh- WerenOOP

Located off the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, the Blaskets don’t seem the most obvious location to spend a month on holi- CMA

Great Blasket Island comprises 1,100 acres of unspoilt, | mountainous Keeney

It is four miles long and half a mile wide.

For Joe, the attraction has always been a spir- itual one.

“My biggest reason for going out to the Blaskets has always been my fas- cination with the island people.

“IT wanted to walk in the footsteps of Tomas O Criomhthain, Peig Sayers and Muiris O’Sullivan.

“There’s an awful lot of fascination to be able Ke say I stayed in Tomas O Criomhthain’s house. It is very special to me.

“There 1S one room 1n Tigh an Ri where John Millington Synge wrote a lot of the

WHEELCHAIR users in Lahi- nch are annoyed that an oppor- tunity to make the streets more Wheelchair accessible was not availed of during footpath recon- struction at the seaside town.

There were claims this week that Clare County Council re-laid the footpaths on the main street in Lahinch without any dishing to allow disability access.

Clare County Councillor Brian Meaney is now demanding that all street improvements under- taken by Clare County Council have regard for the access re- quirements for the disabled.

“Representations have been made to me from wheelchair us- ers, angry that the opportunity to make the street more useable to them was not availed of during footpath reconstruction in one of the county’s best-known seaside resort towns,’ said the Green Party Councillor.

“After reviewing the fact, I have to say I share their anger.”

Cllr Meaney spoke of seeing people in wheelchairs making their way along the street in traf- fic looking for a place to gain ac-

cess onto the footpath.

He is requesting that Clare County Council remedy this oversight immediately, as it is also in contravention of the Coun- ty Development Plan guidelines on access and mobility which states, “The design of new devel- opments and public open space should have regard to the needs of people with disabilities.

“It is clear that no regard has been given to the needs of peo- ple in wheelchairs and yet we are trying to promote Lahinch, and Clare in general, as a tourist des- tination for all.”

Cllr Meaney has spoken with management in Clare County Oro triTere Mm coscx-V Cu tercmmmmdeDKcmmmpONT- Nes ter and has asked for consulta- tion with the various disability eroups to identify locations on the footpaths suitable for disabil- LALO

“Not only is this a disability issue, it is also an equality 1s- sue and I will be writing to the equality officer with Clare Coun- ty Council to put in place proce- dures to ensure such an oversight does not occur in the future” concluded Cllr Meaney.

EXCITING advances are currently being made in the mobile telecoms sector and Shannon Free Zone firm Tecnomen Ltd., is at the very cutting edge of these innovations.

The Shannon company is engaged in ground- breaking research and development of various prepaid charging and messaging applications that utilise “next generation’ technologies.

It is developing sophisticated and integrated systems solutions for telecom operators and service providers worldwide These solutions enable the provision of complex telecoms serv- ices.

The innovative Finnish multinational finds

Shannon to be a very advantageous global R&D, production and logistics base. “Excellent Skilled labour, tax incentives and business in- frastructure, coupled with a strategic location beside an international airport are among the chief reasons why we have located such a cen- tral part of our global operation at Shannon’’, said Vesa Kemppainen, Chief Operating Of- ficer, Tecnomen Group.

Tecnomen markets its products and services through its own worldwide organisation and through global and local partners such as No- kia, Siemens and Nortel Networks. Founded in 1978, its headquarters are in Espoo, Finland. With customers in over 50 countries and offices in 12, it recorded net sales of €51.5m last year, up almost 14% on 2003.

With 65% of its 125-strong workforce en- gaged in Research & Development, the Shan- non facility is a key R&D Centre for the Cixe)tioy

“We handle all R&D for the Prepaid Charg- ing business, as well as jointly working with the parent company in developing new messag- ing products’, explained Philip Hayes, Director of Charging Solutions with Tecnomen.

“The availability of a highly educated and skilled workforce locally offers the group a vital competitive advantage in terms of inno- vation and product development. Most of our R&D staff are third-level graduates drawn from nearby colleges in Limerick, Cork and Galway”, added Mr Hayes.

Shannon is the sole manufacturing and glo- bal distribution operation within the Tecnomen Group. Product is shipped by air from the air- port to leading telecoms operators throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Central and Latin America.

The company provides customers with com- plete solutions to suit their particular market segments, including software licences, hard- ware, installation and training services and maintenance and support functions.

The fastest growing market for Tecnomen charging products is Latin America where sales grew by over 90% last year alone. One of its main customers in that market is America Movil, the region’s leading mobile operator

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THE Ennis couple that received over €100,000 and two free sites from a devel- oper after they withdrew their objection to a housing development planned, have lodged a fresh objection against a new residential plan proposed by the same developer.

Last year, it emerged that Vincent and Ann Coffey of Clonroad, Ennis, withdrew their objection against a €20 million housing scheme at the Quin Road, Doora, by Luxury Homes (Galway) Ltd, after the company paid them over €100,000 and gave them two free sites.

However, the Coffeys successfully blocked a subsequent application by the same de-

velopers to build a new €10 million devel- Opment on zoned lands in Ennis after they lodged an objection against the proposal.

Last month, Luxury Homes (Galway) Ltd. lodged plans with the Council for 108 two- bedroom apartments at Doora, Ennis.

The proposal lies in the adjacent field to the development that was turned down last year, due to the Coffey’s opposition.

In their objection against the new proposal, the Coffeys stated concerns over the devel- opment relating to traffic safety, the layout of the scheme and the density of the proposal.

A number of residents in the existing Bru- ach na hAbainn estate have also objected to the proposal.

In their objection, the Coffeys state, “The

density of the proposal is excessive when taken in context with the established pattern of development in the area. This submission simply seeks to maximize density to the det- riment of the future residents of the area.

“This disintegrated zonal separation of res- idential areas, traffic routes and open space being created by the proposal is undesirable and no effort is being made to integrate it with the adjoining permitted development, carried out by the current applicant.”

Expressing concerns over the nature con- servation of the area, the Coffeys state, “The site of the proposal is in the callows of the River Fergus.

‘These lands are rich in wildlife and this is an area of scientific interest. This develop-

ment if permitted will destroy this important habitat adjoining the river and is contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.”

The Board Pleanala Inspector’s report, which revealed the payment made to the Coffeys on the previous application, re- counts a letter from the Coffeys that at no time did they approach the developers with the intention of securing payment of money, gifts, consideration of other inducement by any person.

Managing Director of Luxury Homes (Galway) Ltd, Sean Cleary was yesterday unavailable for comment. A decision 1s due on the application in October.

IT’S clear that the govern- ment, and the computer software industry sector are seriously worried about the fall-off in interest in careers in ICT Gnformation and com- munications — technologies), science and engineering.

The question being asked is where are the innovators of the future going to come from? More basically, as Bill Harris the director general of Science Foundation Ireland said last week: “without en- gineers, how are we going to make things?”

So, national and regional partners in the ICT industry have now come together in a concerted effort to promote the ICT industry as a career, by sending role models work- ing in ICT companies into schools to talk about their careers. The idea is to encour- age secondary school students to take science and technol- ogy based subjects at Leaving Certificate level, and to con-

sider ICT-related courses at third-level, including compu- ter science, science and elec- WUCereU oT aNieunetee

As part of a nationwide ef- fort to promote the take-up of high-tech careers, the ICT Champions programme was launched in Shannon last week, with a briefing work- shop in Intel Communications for the role models taking part in the programme.

Three Clare schools have already signed up for visits from the ICT’ Champions – St Caimin’s in Shannon, En- nistymon Secondary School, and Kilrush Community School. The Champions will be visiting them to tell the students what roles, oppor- tunities and challenges ex- ist within the industry. Intel, which has a cutting-edge re- search and development facil- ity in the Shannon Industrial Estate, and Dell and Chorus in County Limerick, have supplied over 20 volunteers to visit schools.

“Intel will be approaching other Clare schools to see if they are interested in the pro- gramme,’ Hannah Grene of ICT Ireland told

Sentencing of a man who exposed himself and masturbated in front of a female hitch-hiker has been adjourned, pending a probation report.

Joe Clynes (33), with an address at 154 Hermit- age, Ennis, and formerly of 15, Millstream Court, Mill Road, Ennis, was convicted of the offence, which occurred at Dehomade, Lissycasey, in ALvb iter

The victim told a previous court sitting that she

had been hitching on the outskirts of Ennis on June 11, 2002, and accepted a lift from Clynes. A short distance from Ennis, she said she saw his hand on his “groin area” and his “elbow was mov- ihre

After a while, she saw “the head of his penis.” When she tried to get out of the car, the accused told her “it’s all right now” and he offered to drive her the rest of the way to Kilrush. The woman said she got out of the car and was “pretty scared”’ at that point.

In June, Judge Joseph Mangan adjourned the matter until last week’s court sitting at Kildysart, pending preparation of a probation report.But, when the matter came up, the judge was informed that there appeared to have been some misunder- standing, as Clynes had changed address. Clynes told the court he now lived at Hermitage, Ennis.

Judge Mangan told Clynes he would not accept any excuses at the next court sitting. “If you don’t hear from the probation services, you get 1n touch eLNemealsse me

THE highlight of the past weeks greyhound racing was the win of ‘Knappogue Roy- al’ in the final of the Galway Hurling Board A4 stake at the Galway track on Friday night.

The dog had been a good servant to owner Martin McDermot of Kilrush, win- ning some valuable races over the summer months and collected a cheque of €2,000 on this occasion. ‘Larch- ill Wood’ owned by Ciara Donoghue of Ennis took his chance after coming in as a reserve in trap 2 to win ina

time of 29.32 on Thursday night.

The final of the A5 Stake takes place this week, and also looking forward to a stake final at the weekend will be a long time supporter of the game Tom Flanna- gan of Ennistymon. His dog ‘Mythical Flyer’ secured his spot in the final after dead heating for first place in race 3. Race 7 on Thursday night’s card went to ‘Aulton Nikiata’ owned by Pat Hog- an of Barefield, the winners time was 30.96 seconds for the 550 yards trip. Excite- ment also continues this coming weekend for Ennis

man Frankie Sheehan. His dogs ‘Sheehans Cottage’ and ‘Joint Cottage’ did enough in there respective races on Fri- day and Saturday night and are now in line to collect big prize money.

‘Baby Lleyton’ owned by Bertie and Mary O’Doherty of Ennis was Clare’s only winner at the College Road venue on Saturday night. This was the dogs first win housed in trap one, the win- ners time was 29.78 *Lisnac- ulla Dream’ owned by Gerry Lang of Ballyea and ‘Rex the Rocket’ will also be in the line up at the Loughrea Hurling Club A3 Stake Final

this coming weekend.

Seamus and Aidan Dug- gan of Ennis kept the Clare flag flying at Limerick on Thursday night, winning race 2 with ‘Plenty of early’ in a time of 29.56. The same partnership returned on Sat- urday night with ‘Castleweir’ to finish second in the Tote retention scheme. There is €10,000 to the winner here and the Ennis lads will be hoping to maintain they’re interest over the coming weeks. Sixty dogs went to traps for the first round heats on Saturday night.