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FARM ADVISORY

PLANS for a “vital” new road to alleviate Ennis’s traffic congestion have hit a snag, over environ- mentalists’ concerns about a lake on the outskirts of the town.

Concerns expressed by An Taisce over the im- pact a new inner relief road will have on Lough Girroga has led An Bord Pleanala to demand that Clare County Council formally submit an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the scheme.

County Engineer, Tom Carey this week de- scribed the road “as a vital piece of infrastruc- ture” that will serve the €120 million Informa- tion Age Park.

The EIS process is expected to take four months and Mr Carey confirmed that it will now be next year before construction on the road commences.

A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the scheme was approved after no objections were ROCA COR

However, in a submission to An Bord Pleanala, An Taisce stated that the primary heritage impact posed by the development was its proximity to a turlough Lough Girroga, which 1s part of Ballyal- lia Lake, a candidate Special Area of Conserva- tion, which is also a Special Protection Area for Birds and Wildlife.

The site is a habitat for a range of species and significant numbers of Hooper swan and An Taisce state that “the location of such a signifi- cant ecological site, in such close proximity to the built up area of Ennis is unusual and needs care- ful protection”.

An Taisce goes on: “At the same time, the area, if properly managed, could be an enormous re- source for nature conservation, appreciation and education.

‘There is an onus on the applicants to demon- Strate that there will be no adverse impacts on the SPA/SAC and the construction and use of the road during surface run off, will be properly con- trolled and managed.

On the impact the proposed road will have on St Joseph’s Well, An Taisce argue that the existing Holy Well depends for its maintenance on exist- ing hydrological conditions.

An Taisce state that “information should be sought to ensure that the drainage impact from the road will not affect the levels of the water source or supply to the well”.

In response to the submission, the Board In- spector said that the proposed development, hav- ing regard to its nature and size, would be likely to have significant effects on the environment. This was upheld by the Board.

A MEMBER of An Taisce has warned opponents that even if it were delisted as an official body, it could still object to planning applications, “the same as a pri- vate citizen”.

Grier som COWZ INO MR eee kor sponding to Kilbaha’s Jim Con- nolly, secretary of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association (IRDA).

Ms McMullen argued that An Taisce had objected to just one one-off house in the county last year and, even if the organi- Sation did not exist, members could still have objected as pri- vate citizens.

She made her objections from the floor of the IRDA conference in Kilkee, after Mr Connolly said that the way An Taisce operated was “completely undemocratic”.

“My arguments are completely removed from personalities. Of- ficials and elected officers of An Taisce come and go. My argu- ment revolves around the basic principles that never change,” he Tne

‘An Taisce is a listed body un- der the Planning Acts. Planning

authorities are obliged to seek their opinion in certain specified situations.

“However, An ‘Taisce stands apart from all these other bodies in one vital aspect, and that is, it is an independent, voluntary

organisation whereas all the rest are statutory bodies,” he argued.

“An Taisce 1s, in effect, a se- cret society in that they refuse to publish names and details of their members. They claim privilege as a voluntary organi-

sation for private membership, but this presents an immediate contradiction with democratic principles, when they are listed to perform a statutory function.”

‘There is no place whatsoever in a democratic society for either a statutory body, or any other organisation performing a statu- tory duty, to function as a secret society,’ he said.

Ms McMullen said An Taisce was not a secret organisation, but under the Data Protection Act, could not publish members name. She said the aim of An Taisce was to protect Irish herit- age.

‘We have a very open system. Any letter we write is on file in the planning office. We are not obliged to follow Government policy.

“The impression is given that An Taisce objects to every one- off house. In 2004, in Clare, only three appeals were made by An Taisce and only one was made on rural houses.

“The majority of appeals are not against one-off houses. Plan- ners often ignore us completely,” she argued.

ENTERPRISE, Trade and Employment Minister Micheal Martin is to enter into a process of discussions with unions representing Shannon Development about the company’s future, follow- ing a meeting of the parties last week.

Talks involving SIPTU, the NUJ, the Minister and his of- ficials will commence over the coming weeks and are not expected to end until at least October.

A spokesperson for the unions told The Clare Peo- ple they would be asking the Minister to justify his pro- posal to transfer its industrial portfolio to the IDA.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, on a visit to Clare on Saturday, sought to justify his Muinis- ter’s decision.

“The analysis, which is in the public domain, was that this was the best way forward and the Government made a decision on that basis. It’s a democracy and people are entitled to put forward their counter views and they have done that, and I understand Minister Martin is looking at those issues,” he said, after

meeting a deputation from Shannon Development.

Radical proposals from SIPTU to overhaul the role and structure of Shannon Development, including the abolition of its present board, were rejected by the Govern- ment.

The SIPTU document was lodged prior to Minister Martin announcing a reduced mandate for Shannon Devel- opment in July. The Board of Shannon Development also lodged a 10-year plan with the Miunister. Both papers were ignored.

The SIPTU document stated serious concern about the reasons behind the Gov- ernment’s focus on changing Shannon Development.

“We are deeply concerned that an overly simplistic, al- most chess-like game with the company and the Shan- non region’s future is being played out from a remote dis- tance in Dublin. In our view, this is motivated by an exces- sive and dangerous over-con- centration on the neatness and tidiness of admiunistra- tive structures.”

It proposed a more inclusive board, with members drawn from organisations such as IBEC, the Mid-West Region-

al Authority, the Shannon Airport Authority and local chambers of commerce.

Reduced staff numbers, from 165 to 120/130 through voluntary redundancy and natural wastage, were also eebaviteee

It claimed that rents from properties in the Shannon Free Zone accruing to the agency, amounted to a net figure of between €lm and €1.5m, rather than the €6 million previously thought. The figure doesn’t take into account the substantial capi- tal investment that the Shan- non Free Zone requires.

Among the new roles for the agency, the paper pro- posed Shannon Development would undertake major new development projects in stra- tegic areas of opportunity such as the Burren.

The document stressed that the “new role for Shannon Development will not result in any duplication with other national, regional or local public bodies.

It envisaged a dedicated unit of experienced people, solely concerned with find- ing and building relation- ships with new private sector investors, in Ireland, Europe and, in particular, the USA.