Author: admin

A MAN questioned in connection with the alleged rape and false imprisonment of two women in Dublin last year spent some of his time living in Clare.

The man was identified in a weekend report as being the subject of a massive Garda surveillance for the previous 12 months because it was suspected he posed a threat to women. He has also previously been questioned in connection with an armed robbery.

The man moved between addresses in Clare and Dublin. He has been charged with a separate offence in Clare.

Yesterday, a senior Garda spokesperson confirmed that the man was a “person of interest” who had been stopped by gardaí.

However he said gardaí in Clare had not been engaged in an ongoing surveillance operation of the man who is in his forties.

The man is no longer thought to be in the country.

The offence alleged to have been committed in Clare is of a non-violent or sexual nature.

The man was named and pictured in The Sunday World Newspaper on Sunday last.

GARDAÍ have issued a renewed appeal for information following the death of a Polish man in alleged violent circumstances in Ennis last week.

It comes as two brothers charged in connection with the incident appeared in court for a third time yesterday.

Michael and Darren Maughan, both with addresses at 20 Stonecourt, Ennis, were remanded in custody to appear again at Ennis District Court next month.

Michael Maughan (39) is charged with the murder of Piotr Nowakowski (31) at 15 Sandfield Mews, Ennis on July 23. Darren Maughan (21) is charged with assault causing harm to Declan O’Dea at the same location and date. Mr O’Dea is currently recovering in hospital.

The brothers first appeared in court on Wednesday. Garda Nadine Keane of Ennis Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in respect of Michael Maughan. She said Michael Maughan made no reply to charge after caution on July 24.

Garda John Moore gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution on Darren Maughan.

The court heard Darren Maughan made no reply when charged after caution at Shannon Garda Station on July 24.

Separately, Darren Maughan is charged with assault and two public order offences at The Height, Ennis on July 22.

Both men were remanded in custody to appear in court on Friday where they were remanded to Ennis District Court yesterday.

On Monday, Inspector Michael Gallagher said the State were seeking a further two-week remand in custody.

Solicitor for both accused, William Cahir, consented to the application. The men, who have been supported in court by family members, will appear again at Ennis District Court on August 12.

Yesterday Gardaí in Ennis also re- newed an appeal for information on the incident.

Sgt Joe Downey stated, “The Gardaí in Ennis are investigating this incident and are currently engaged in collecting and collating all available evidence.

“We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed this incident, or who may have information concerning this incident, to come forward and make themselves known to the gardaí in Ennis”.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped in any way so far in this investigation as without their help our investigations would be made much more difficult,” he added.

CLARE County Council water service staff will continue to be employed by the Clare local authority while acting as an agent for Irish Water.

A spokesperson for the council said that there will be no redundancies among the 113 people employed in the department.

Last week the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government announced that the region’s Irish Water office will be based in Limerick, leaving questions as to what would happen the Clare council’s water section.

A spokesperson for the council confirmed to The Cla re People that Clare County Council staff will act as agents for the new national body, while remaining in the employment of the council under a 12-year service agreement between both parties.

Clare County Council will then be compensated for costs by Irish Water.

It is also expected that some staff from local authorities will move to Irish Water regional offices once the new jobs have been clarified, a process that could take up to 18 months.

Clare County Council will officially sign off as the county’s water utility provider in 2014, and the re- sponsibility passed to Irish Water.

The office servicing Clare will be based in Limerick City and will be one of three southern regional offices with two others being located in Mallow in County Cork and another in Kilkenny City.

Meanwhile the Clare water staff have begun a countywide survey of an estimated 31,000 domestic water connections in the county ahead of the Government’s introduction of water charges.

However a council official said the local authority staff would not require access to private property while conducting their assessment of water connections.

LATE night beach parties are being blamed for causing the lions share of the littering which has blighted the counties beaches over the past month. Yesterday’s meeting of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee heard that these late night parties have become more common in recent years and are increasingly difficult for Clare County Council and the Gardaí to police.

The meeting also heard that prosecutions for litter offenses are currently difficult to follow up on in Clare, with Clare County Council’s four beach litter wardens currently focused on cautioning and education, rather than bringing prosecutions.

A spokesperson from Clare County Council also highlighted illegal household dumping from people in mobile homes and holiday home as a growing problem.

“The main problem that we are having on the beaches this year is excessive littering. This is a problem not just in Clare but all over the country,” said a spokesperson from Clare County Council.

“We have provided additional resources at all of our beaches. We have provided extra bins at our beaches and promenades and we have a good crew in operation.

“A large source of littering takes place late at night, with late night beach parties and rubbish from fast food outlets. While this behaviour is regrettable, there is little that we can do to stop it. We also have a problem this year with people in holiday homes and caravans who are using the public bins. If you are staying in a holiday home, there should be a facility there for disposing of rubbish.

“We can fine people but the severity of the fine depends on the severity of the offense. But a lot of our focus is on education and caution, and not on fines.”

North Clare senator Martin Conway (FG) called for a name and shame policy to be introduced for serial offenders.

“I have already called for the fines to be increased. I realise that might require a direction from the minister. But I also think that if someone is caught littering more than once, there should be a name and shame policy. I don’t know what it is in our society that makes people do this,” he said.

County manager Tom Coughlan, confirmed that Clare County Council had wanted to introduce a name and shame policy but were instructed by the Department of the Environment not to go ahead with it.

CLIFFS of Moher Visitor Experience is t he thi rd most popular fee-payi ng tourist att raction in the count r y, sur passed only by t he Guinness Store House and Dublin Zoo.

Fáilte Ireland, the national tour- ism aut hority, published its listing of Ireland’s top visitor att ractions for 2012 and the iconic Clare tourist att raction is among t he list of top fee-charging att ractions growing by eight per cent to 873,988.

Bunrat ty Castle and Fol k Park, wit h 286, 270 visitors, was up four per cent, according to the figures released dur ing the week.

Fiona Monaghan, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Operations, said, “This list always makes fascinating reading, but it’s also a good reminder of the huge range of visitor att ractions that we have in Ireland. People visit this countr y for many reasons, but they always expect a high st andard of things to see and do, which is why we see Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience and the Bunratt y Castle and Fol k Park make t he list.

“Our visitor att ractions are a big par t of the tourism offering and with the increase in visitor numbers to Ireland, it is no sur prise that our top att ractions have also enjoyed a busy year. I have no doubt that t he recent good weather will have encouraged many Irish people to get out and about and discover what is on t hei r doorstep – next year we may be quoting even bigger numbers.

“Tourism is in a good place compared to five years ago but we can’t become complacent,” she added.

There were no Clare destinations on the list of Top 10 Free Tourist Att ractions.

CLARE farmers could be forced to begin using winter fodder, just harvested over the past few weeks, as the drought has brought grass growth in the county to a virtual standstill.

Clare farmers, especially in shallow soil in the North and West of the county, have been unable to fertilise land following the first cut of hay or silage. This, coupled with drought conditions experienced over the past two weeks, has created a situation where fresh grass for livestock is running out – and few farmers have been able to generate enough grass for a second cut of silage.

With thunder storms expected in some areas in the coming days, there is also the prospect that farmland in the county may become flooded, while other areas may remain in drought.

According to Martin McMahon of the ICMSA, Clare farmers desperately need a number of days of moderate rain to return the grass to growth.

“Grass has already started to burn in many parts of the county and this does not bode well for the rest of the year. If we don’t get some grass growth soon farmers will have to start giving out the fodder they have just saved – which is bound to create another big fodder shortage this winter,” he said.

“There is definitely going to a problem with grass. Fertiliser wont go into the ground at this stage so there is no point in spreading it. The chances of a second cut of silage on most Clare farms is not there at the moment. This mean that there will be less grass for cattle after the second cut is eventually made this year – which will put even more pressure on fodder.

“We need to get three or four inches of rain over a few days and then for the weather to clear again. If we get that then we have a good chance of saving enough fodder this year. If we don’t get that then farmers will be in trouble fro fodder again this year.”

A NUMBER of gorse fires broke out across the county over the weekend as drought condition once calling the county’s fire services into action.

Fire-fighters were called out on Saturday night to deal with a large gorse fire near the Hand Cross in Miltown Malbay.

The fire, which was situated close to a major blaze which destroyed acres of land earlier this year, was quickly brought under control.

The Clare County Fire and Rescue Service was also called to a minor grass fire on the N18 near Ballymorris over the weekend. This fire was also brought under control quickly.

The number of gorse and forest fires taking place during the recent drought has been reduced greatly as a result of the early wet start to the year. Many forest and scrub areas, which is previous years would have been susceptible to fire, have been saved so far this year because of a larger than normal growth of green vegetation earlier in the year.

Clare chief fire officer Adrian Kelly has called on the public to be vigilant and keep a close eye on vegetation in the weeks ahead.

“As the current spell of weather is conducive to forest, bog and gorse fires, we would like to remind landowners that it is an offence under the Wildlife Act to burn growing vegetation between March 1 and August 31 in any year, on any land not then cultivated. The sad fact is that if this simple rule was adhered to, many costly and dangerous wildfires would be avoided,” he said.

Landowners burning gorse, scrub, or vegetation must inform the Fire Service at least one day in advance and provide details of the location, time and duration of burning. Landowners burning within 1 mile of woodland must notify the local Garda Station and woodland owner in writing at least 7 days in advance.

HUNDREDS of Clare cars are set to be forced off the roads indefinitely later this year as a change to the procedure for taxing cars could make driving a car too expensive.

That is according to Clare based community group Dealing With Debt – who believe that the proposed changed will force poorer motorist off the road indefinitely.

Under the new scheme motorists will have to declare their vehicle off the road in advance in order to avoid being penalised and having to back tax their vehicles, even if the vehicle is not being driven.

“According to the Government the new motor tax bill was introduced to deal with non-compliant motor tax payers. [Minister for State] Fergus O’ Dowd’s comments on this, in which he describes the motor tax evasion loophole, shows the lack of reality on this issue,” said DWD chairperson, Joe Corbett.

“The sad reality is that the majority of these people cannot afford the extremely high levels of motor tax especially on older vehicles. People that can afford newer Eco Friendly vehicles can avail of the relatively low taxation bands available, however less well-off people with older and larger vehicles are penalised for not being able to afford such vehicles.”

Mr Corbett says that this new system will create a situation where poorer motorists are forced to subsidise richer motorists.

“They are further penalised in the limited payment methods available – as taxing on a three month basis is more expensive than on a 12 month and no direct debit or similar methods of payment are available under the new motor tax legislation,” he said.

“The lack of public transport especially in rural areas makes a car a necessity therefore a more realistic and affordable motor tax scheme is required.

“The bill doesn’t seem to take into account everyday problems such as NCT failures, illness and such matters which are impossible to have prior knowledge of.”

HOLIDAY homeowners are disposing of their rubbish at beaches in Kilkee and Lahinch.

Although the majority of these holidaymakers are leaving their rubbish beside public bins, they are still in violation of the Litter Act 1997.

Clare County Council’s Environment Section spokesperson Mary Skehan warned that people caught dumping their domestic rubbish on the beach, near or beside refuge bins, will be prosecuted.

“The record volume of people visiting our beaches has resulted in an increase in littering and the council has employed additional resources and installed extra bins to ensure the problem is minimized,” she said.

“However, some people are taking advantage of the situation by depositing domestic refuse at our bin collection points. Such dumping is unsightly and tarnishes the image of the locations in question and indeed, it is a breach of the Litter Act 1997 to depose of refuse in such a manner.”

Since the beginning of the warm spell of weather, the local authority has recorded a significant increase of domestic rubbish being placed alongside bins at popular seaside resorts.

“Holiday home owners and other householders are reminded that the onus is on them to dispose of their domestic waste at either of the Council’s West Clare Civic Amenity Site Recycling Centres at Lisdeen and Ballyduff beg or to avail of a private refuse collection service,” explained Ms Skehan.

Meanwhile, Clare County Council is also urging visitors to Clare’s main beaches to take responsibility for their rubbish by bringing it home with them.

“The council wishes to acknowledge those who have used the public bins to dispose of their litter. These bins are emptied regularly each day but often reach their capacity due to the unprecedented large volumes of visitors to the beaches. In Kilkee, we are finding that some people are dumping their litter along the seawall, on the beach or beside already full bins rather than bring their litter home with them. We have installed additional bins to counteract the problem but would continue to ask the public to take responsibility for their rubbish.”

Leaving or throwing litter in a public place is an offence that can be subject to an on-the-spot fine of € 150 or a maximum fine of € 3,000 if convicted of a litter offence in the District Court.

THE HSE in Clare are warning people, especially older people and those that live alone, about bogus health and care staff.

The warning follows an attempt by criminals to use a HSE identity as a cover for their activities.

The Health Service Executive is advising people throughout the midwest to always be satisfied that people presenting at their homes as HSE staff are genuine.

All HSE staff carry official I.D.

“Most people have an ongoing relationship with their HSE staff in the community and this is not a problem. However when a home visit is taking place on a one-off basis or new staff are appointed, the public don’t necessarily know the staff involved,” said a HSE spokesperson.

“In such cases it is always advisable to ask for I.D.”

If the public are not satisfied with the I.D. then they should ask for the office number of where the staff member is based and call to check that it is genuine.

If in doubt people are advised not to admit anyone to your home until fully satisfied.

Commenting on this issue, HSE area manager for the mid-west, Bernard Gloster, said, “In most cases our staff know the public and the public know our staff. However we are a large organisation and this is not always possible. We are concerned based on a recent report in the mid-west that the public need to be vigilant as unfortunately there are a small number of people who might try to use our identity as a means of gaining access to the homes of unsuspecting and vulnerable members of the public.”

“We continue to work close with our staff and the Gardaí in minimising such risk. Remember always ask for I.D. if you don’t know the person and even never let someone into your home until you are completely satisfied they are genuine,” he said.