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THE pressure of household and personal debt is creating major mental health problems for people, a meeting in Ennis has heard.

Denis Corbett, co-ordinator of the Clare Money and Advice Budgeting Service (MABS), said the service is observing first hand the impact debt of having on families and individuals. He said, “I have seen the stresses and strains that indebtedness and the lack of money has on a person’s mental health. We are going to have to start putting resources into this. It is a problem.”

He was speaking last month at a seminar hosted by Citizen Information Centre and Alliance of Social Protection of Recipients.

The event at the Temple Gate hotel highlighted the impact debt is having on Clare households.

Mr Corbett also said that there has to be an emphasis in education on responsible budgeting

He explained, “In MABS we are talking about people drowning in a river of debt and we are there at the very end pulling people out. But somewhere upstream there’s been a hole in the ditch and people have been falling into it. What we need from an educational aspect is to block that hole in the ditch.”

Mr Corbett told the meeting that the profile of people seeking help from MABS has changed drastically over the past 10 years.

He said, “What we saw happening in the last number of years in this country was that it was indeed a financial tsunami that hit us. The thing about being hit with tsunami is that by the time it arrived at our doorstep and hit our homes, it started way back and way out at sea.”

He added, “At the start typically the profile of the person we would see coming into us would be someone with a difficulty with a loan, a credit card or a moneylender. That was the sort of profile of that we were dealing with. That all changed and the next thing we were dealing with people with mortgage problems.”

Mr Corbett said that while new personal insolvency legislation “isn’t ideal, it is a start”.

He added, “At least we have this now. We didn’t have anything like this in Ireland before. I’m hopeful that it will start to provide solutions and make things much clearer because what we need is stability.”

Liam O’Connell, a solicitor now working with MABS, said 10 years ago it was “virtually unheard” of that a person would have their home repossessed.

He added, “In 2007 there was only 50 houses in the entire country repossessed. That went up again in 2008. It went up to 96 properties from the mainstream lenders. Since then we know it’s gotten worse. It’s deteriorated. In the last quarter of 2012 there were 238 cases issued as regards repossessions. There were 178 cases concluded and 11 orders granted. That’s part of the mortgage crisis. It is a very, very significant problem.”

DELAYS in processing social welfare payments are causing major hardship for Clare families, a meeting has heard.

The Clare Citizen’s Advice Centre has said that many people seeking making social welfare claims have to wait up to nine months before receiving payments.

Ann Marie O’Reilly, Advisor for the Citizens Information Centre, was speaking last month at a seminar hosted by Citizen Information Centre and Alliance of Social Protection of Recipients.

The event at the Temple Gate hotel highlighted the impact debt is having on Clare households.

The meeting heard that the centre raised the issue with the Government in a pre-budget submission last year.

Ms O’Reilly said, “Everyone knows the waiting list for all benefits are extensive. There is no quick fix for a benefit. No matter what benefit you go for, you’re going to be waiting. Carers allowance, disability allowance, invalidity pension, you’re talking possibly nine months plus. It’s going to be at least six to eight weeks before you even get a text or a letter stating that. We’ve people coming in after six or eight weeks asking, ‘Will you ring them?’, ‘How long more will it take?’. You just have to wait. The delays in processing benefits are causing major hardship.”

Ms O’Reilly said the majority of queries to the centre in Clare relate to social welfare payments.

She continued, “In 2007 the majority of our queries were social welfare. That was it. In 2010 we had a significant increase in queries about redundancies, constructive dismissal, minimum wage, everything. It was a complete change for us. It’s been changing over the years. The main thing I find in particular in Clare is that it is all social welfare queries at the moment. You might get one or two queries about something else but at the moment it’s social welfare, employment and debt. That seems to be a major factor. We seem to be referring a lot more people to MABS.”

The meeting, chaired by Ennis man Dermot Hayes, also heard from Professor Kathleen Lynch, University College Dublin, and Siobhan O’Donghue, Director of Migrant Rights Centre.

ONE man was airlifted to hospital while at least two other removed to hospital by ambulance following a traffic accident on the main Ennis to Kilrush Road on Holy Thursday afternoon.

Traffic on the N68 was disrupted at Lissycasey for three hours following the incident.

An elderly man had to be cut from the wreckage following the crash, which occurred at the Ennis side of the West Clare village at approximately 12.30pm.

He was then taken to the local GAA pitch from where he was airlifted to hospital.

A passenger from his car and the driver of a second vehicle were removed to hospital by road ambulance.

Fire crews from Ennis along with HSE paramedics and gardaí attended the incident.

This follows an incident last month when a mother and her two children escaped with minor injuries following a collision involving an articulated lorry and two cars near Lissycasey on Tuesday, March 19.

The collision occurred at around 8.30pm at Crown approximately five kilometers west of Lissycasey on the main N68 Ennis to Kilrush road.

The woman and her children, aged between 7 and 10, were travelling in one of the cars involved in the incident.

They were taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick by ambulance as a precaution.

The occupants of the other car and the lorry driver escaped uninjured.

The road was closed for more than two hours.

Gardaí from Kilrush are investigating the accident.

PLANS for the development of a community-owned pier is in stalemate, as a cash-strapped local authority does not have the funds to pay for a report that would allow the community to access Government funding.

Doonbeg Community Development and the Doonbeg Fisherman’s Association have spend years working on plans to develop Doonbeg Pier but have now been told a change in the planning process and the inability of the council to pay for a € 40,000 EPA report means their plans of developing tourism and the fishing industry can go no further.

The Doonbeg Pier was constructed in 1995, and was later extended by 35 metres.

Hundred thousand euro plans were then drawn up that would extend the capacity of the pier to allow boats to moor at high and low tide.

These plans to dredge the inner harbour, build a protective breakwater, which would protect Doonmore Tower House, reclaim the shore space and construct a larger slip way received planning approval from Clare County Council in 2007.

Shortly afterwards a foreshore lease application was submitted to the Department of the Environment but no conclusion was reached.

While the lease application gathered dust in government offices planning legislation changed, which meant that the planning permission granted in 2007 became null and void.

It was then recommended that the planning process would have to begin again.

In a letter to TDs senior engineer with Clare County Council Tom Tiernan said, “A new application would more than likely have to be submitted to An Bord Pleanala and there are significant costs involved with the preparation of such an application and the fee which would have to be paid in association with same – € 40,000 to € 50,000 is my best estimate. Clare County Council doesn’t have resources at its disposal to pursue this.”

An allocation in 2008 of € 525,000 from the Minister for Agriculture for the project also cannot be allocated until full planning permission is granted.

Tommy Commerford, PRO of the Doonbeg Fishermans Association, said that the current Minister or Agriculture, Simon Covney, has also reassured the community of his financial support for the project, but the council must first pay for the EPA report.

Michael Flanagan, Chairman of the Doonbeg Development Company, said the development of the pier would provide a new source of income for fishermen. There is currently just one fisherman working full time from the pier that once provided a livelihood for half a dozen local families.

The developed pier would also create extra jobs by stimulating the promotion of sea angling, leisure trips to view the cliff scenery off Doonbeg and help promote Doonbeg as an angling centre.

“In order for businesses like that to flourish we need to have the facilities,” said Mr Flanagan.

THE legendary West Clare athlete Willie Keane was hailed as a hero of Clare and all Ireland on Easter Sunday night as the Stella Maris Hotel in Kilkee played host to a special tribute night in his honour.

Over 200 people turned out at the celebratory function staged in the Kilkee man’s honour that doubled up as a fundraising night for the West Clare Cancer Centre in the town.

On the night friends, former teammates and rivals from around the county and around the country joined together to pay homage to the Kilkee colossus Keane whose remarkable athletics career saw him win 56 AllIreland titles between 1969 and ’79.

“Willie Keane was the king,” said former international cross-country colleague Mick Priest from Meath, “and as far as I am concerned he still is the king who did so much for NACA athletics in his career,” he added.

Sixty-three-year-old Keane was interviewed on the night by RTÉ GAA correspondent Marty Morrissey and in a wideranging discussion that was interspersed with contributions from the floor he recalled a stellar career in which he landed national titles in every distance on the track from 1500 to 10,000 metres as well as being cross-country runners of his or any generation.

“Every organisation needs a hero,” said former rival Colm Rennicks. “We didn’t have to look any farther when we got Willie Keane. That man is a legend. When you’re in the presence of greatness, you should recognise it. I knew I was in the presence of greatness the first time I met him. I still think it – it hasn’t changed,” he added.

World renowned physical therapist, Gerard Hartman revealed how it was the Keane who inspired to get involved in athletics – a journey that saw him become a scholarship student in America, multiple triathlon champion and physio to such athletic luminaries such as Paul Radcliffe and Sonia O’Sullivan among others as he has treated 61 Olympic medal winners and 47 World Champions.

“I used to see this man on Kilkee beach in an An Clár vest going up down, up down, up down. I didn’t who he was,” revealed Hartmann. “Willie was professional even though he didn’t know he was – it was his application that helped him win 56 national titles.

“Willie Keane was a great inspiration to us all – when I saw him on the beach in 1972 and I was inspired. I started running and became national triathlon champion seven times and been to six Olympic Games as a physical therapist.

“I wonder how many people have been inspired by Willie Keane – I’m sure up the country they’re all around the country. You were an inspiration to me. It’s a phenomenal tribute when you’re acclaimed by your own people. The parish and the people around you who value what you did are here tonight to respect years and years of application, dedication and success,” he added.

Among the other contributors on the night included Willie Keane’s wife Marie, Laurance Larkin of St John’s AC, former Clare NACA chairman Tommy McCarthy, Ger Keane on behalf of the Keane family, Paddy McDonnell who co-hosted the event with Marty Morrissey, chief Kevin Shaloo and Willie McGrath of the West Clare Cancer Centre.

ALLEGATIONS of council corruption led to an hour-long debate, that went round in circles in the council chamber on Friday evening last, and eventually ended up back where it started, albeit with a happier council membership and executive.

Elaborating on his questions into council contractors, how the contracts are awarded and if the contractors are compliant with employment law, Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) quoted a paper “Political Corruption is not just about Brown Envelopes” and presented by Frank Flannery at the MacGill Summer School in Donegal last year.

“Among the public there is a belief that corrupt practices are endemic in political life,” said the councillor.

County Manager Tom Coughlan was quick to raise concerns about any accusations of corruption that may be contained in quoting an article that specifically referred to political corruption.

“Are you alleging corrupt practices yes or no please?” he asked the Shannon Councillor.

Cllr Flynn said he was merely quoting from Frank Flannery, adding he carefully worded his motion with council workers and union representatives.

The county manager said that none of the issues had been brought to his attention when he met with the union just “a couple of weeks ago”.

“The chamber is not the place for these issues to be raised,” he added.

In reference to a query as to whether council staff, elected members or members of their immediate family, provide goods or services either directly or indirectly to Clare County Council the manager replied;

“It is a small county. A lot of people are related to a lot of people.

“You cannot expect me to carry out a witch hunt,” adding there was a contingency in place that put the onus on the contractor, employee or council members to reveal any such information.

“If any councillor considers there are any corrupt practices in this council let me know,” he said.

“You may not be aware but your members are aware that not all contractors are compliant,” said Cllr Flynn.

“You say you are aware. Will you give me that information?

“I don’t see how I can do something if I am not given the facts,” replied the county manager.

Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) told the chamber the issue could not be disbanded with until Cllr Flynn made it clear who he was accusing of corruption, stating a grey cloud now hung over the council.

Different members of the council called on the controversial Shannon councillor to make clear his accusation.

In an attempt to bring an end to the debate, Mayor Cllr Pat Daly (FF) “I do not think anyone is corrupt”, to which Cllr Flynn said “I didn’t say the manager or the executive was corrupt.”

“We take it from that it was the councillors that are corrupt,” said Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind).

“She’ll know next year when the elections are on I’ll give her a chance to come back,” retorted Cllr Flynn.

“I am the only female member here to say her is to suggest he is referring to me,” she replied angered.

“Are you corrupt?” said Cllr Flynn.

“Take that back,” Cllr McCarthy replied.

“Not for one minute did I state Cllr McCarthy or the manager is corrupt,” he conceded.

The manager then noted there were now not allegations of corruption at executive level.

Councillors then called on Cllr Flynn to name who he considered corrupt.

“Don’t start the innuendo and walk away from it and leave the mud on the rest of us,” said Cllr Joe Arkins (FG).

Eventually Cllr Flynn conceded somewhat – “not once did I say the council elected members or executive are corrupt. I was speaking in terms of speech from MacGill Summer School.”

This was enough for the council and we all got to go on with our lives – one hour later.

THE issue at the centre of the question over shadowed by allegations of corruption at this month’s adjourned meeting of the county council seemed to centre on a change in method of hiring local authority contractors.

In the public gallery were council workers frustrated at a new IT system that calculated tenders on a point system.

In his motion Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) asked the County Manager to provide comprehensive information concerning contractors employed by Clare County Council.

He specifically asked for a list of any of the council staff, elected mem- bers or members of their immediate family, provide goods or services either directly or indirectly to Clare County Council “in the interests of accountability and transparency in Local Government.”

The Shannon Councillor also inquired if contractors were compliant with working conditions set out by the Local Government Advisory Board such as rates of pay, pension fund, sick fund, and revenue.

He also asked for the terms of reference governing senior engineers granting contracts and if the council supplied a list of successful contractors to the trade unions.

Speaking on behalf of the council executive, Senior Executive Officer Corporate Services Michael McNa- mara said the council was not aware of any Contractor or Sub-Contractor that was incompliant with the various statutory requirements.

He also assured the councillor that a list of all successful contractors is forwarded to the unions.

“The Council’s purchasing procedures sets out levels of expenditure which staff at various levels have authority to approve subject to availability of budget.

“It is the responsibility of each approver to ensure compliance with the various statutory requirements,” he continued.

Furthermore Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001 provides for an Ethical Framework for the Local Government Service ensure that up to 137 employees and elected members complete a declaration of occupation, land ownership, shares, directorships annually and these are available for inspection.

Cllr Oliver Garry (FG) said that in his experience the tendering landscape has changed significantly in the last five years.

“I am a director of a company but I want to make it clear we do not tender for Clare County Council contracts.

“We do tender for other public contracts but not Clare County Council,” he said.

“Anything we tender for now is 100 per cent on price. Once it was on experience, or equipment or the engineer may even have had a say, but now the only concern is price.”

CLARE County Council have declined to conduct an audit of “black spots” in North Clare where illegal parking and encampments are endemic during the summer months.

According to councillors at yesterday’s North Clare Area Meeting of Clare County Council, antisocial behaviour is becoming a serious problem at certain illegal camping site in the Burren area – with the meeting told of a doorway of one home in the Tubber area being used as a toilet by illegal campers.

This follows a joint motion by Joe Arkins (FG) and Michael Kelly (FF), seeking that staking to protect black spot areas from illegal campers this summer.

“These people just want to flout the law. Many of these people are in rented property paid for my rent allowance, they have no need to be homeless, they decide to take to the roads for the summer months,” said Cllr Arkins.

“I think we need to look at possible areas that lend themselves to overnight camping and illegal encamp- ments.

“I think, rather than going to court to move people along, that we should where possible come up with an engineering solution to insure that this problem does not occur in the first place.

“I think an audit should be done – we can no longer have two fingers held up to us.”

Cllr Michael Kelly also called for the National Roads Authority (NRA) to improve the fencing on excess land beside the Gort/Crusheen bypass.

“I think the legislation is far too week.

“We should be getting legislation to insure that this sort of think does not happen,” he said.

“We need the NRA to come up to their responsibility and insure that these areas are fenced off properly.

“I know of a situation of people who were parked in front of our local hurling field [in Tubber] and a person camped illegally walked down into the front of a house of a local woman and he urinated right in on top of the door.”

Responding to the motion, Senior Council Engineer Tom Tiernan, said that discouraging illegal camping on one area will increase it in others.

“There are many areas throughout North Clare which, theoretically, could accommodate authorised parking and encampments and therefore, to ensure that adequate provision is made to prevent authorised overnight encampment would involve considerable expenses and allocation of resources that haven’t been provided for,” he said.

“To cater for some of these areas would result in an increase of vulnerability in respect of areas that may now be regarded as least vulnerable.”

RURAL roads in Clare are in danger of being littered with potholes in what will be the biggest crisis to affect the network around the county in over 30 years, Clare County Council has been warned this week.

A cash-crisis with rural roads has been sounded out following the revelation that the 2013 roadworks programme for the county has been slashed by 42.4 per cent over the past five years.

County Engineer Tom Tiernan outlined the scale of the roads budget reduction across a host of areas in the Roadworks Programme 2013 secured by The Clare People. In the report he has issued a stark warning that “the resources being made available to facilitate maintenance and restoration are falling significantly short of what is required to sustain the county’s network”.

For 2013, € 17.9m has been allocated for road infrastructure in the county – a drop of over € 13m from the figure of € 31.1m in 2008. The biggest decreases are set to be felt in rural roads: down 36.8 percent for restoration improvement; down 40 per cent in the Surface Dressing Programme; down 72 per cent for Specific Improvement Schemes and Overlay Projects down 69.1 per cent.

These figures, which were laid before the monthly meeting of Clare County Council on Friday, has led a number of councillors to voice their concerns about the county’s road network.

“Rural roads are in a horrendous state and roads in the county are crumbling away,” claimed Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) as he blasted the decision to spend € 1.3m of the council’s resources on the Limerick North Distributor Road, a project he said “that is very fictional and is pie in the sky and one that isn’t happening”.

“The alarm bells are out there – there has to be a readjustment of thinking within this council in relation to investment in county road structures going forward. People in rural Clare deserve a service and their road network has to be protected for many reasons,” said former Mayor of Clare, Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind)

“As far as I’m concerned, for us in rural areas, roads are back on the agenda. In my tenure (since 1979) on the council I’ve never had as many complaints about potholes. As far as I’m concerned we have to address it, we haven’t the manpower at present to do that,” he added.

A decision on whether to adopt the roadworks programme has been deferred until the April meeting of the council.

THE MYSTERY of the missing plaque commemorating three Ennis Republican Volunteers shot during the Civil War has been solved, as Ennis Town Council confirmed to the Clare People that it is “safely with a local community group.”

Republican Sinn Fein Clare plans to call for the reinstallation of the plaque on New Jail Road after its Easter memorial service this week- end.

According to a council spokesperson a local community group, who feared it would be damaged during the work, took down the plaque during the construction of the new road.

“It is still in safe keeping,” he said.

The town council plans to erect new signage on the New Jail Road next month and said it was happy to reinstate the plaque at that time, if the group wish them to do so.

The plaque remembers Patrick Mahoney (25), Christopher Quinn (21) and William Shaughnessy (18) who were executed on Station Road at the old gaol in 1923.

The three men will also be remembered at a memorial service on Easter Monday at the Republican plot in Drumcliff Cemetery at 3pm organised by Clare Republican Sinn Fein.

The group will also remember James Glynn who died on May 2 1934.

Wreaths will be laid afterwards by RSF Clare and the James Connolly Cummann.