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THE COST of renting a house in Clare continues to fall, despite anecdotal evidence of a recovery in the property market in the county.

The average monthly rent paid by Clare people in for the first quarter of 2014 was € 513 – a drop of € 4 on the € 517 per month average recorded over the same period last year. These figures represent a 25.2 per cent decrease on the average monthly rent of € 686 which was recorded for Clare in 2008. The report also signals a clear disparity in the cost of renting a domestic property in different parts of Clare.

The least expensive place to rent a home is Kilrush – with an average monthly rent of € 469 per month while Newmarket on Fergus was the most expensive Clare location at € 582 per month. Sixmilebridge comes in at € 576 per month, Shannon at € 573, with Ennis at € 511 and Killaloe at € 544.

These Clare figures are in contrast to the national average where a year on year increase of 3.5 per cent was recorded for the first three months of 2014.

The largest increase was in the apartment sector – where average rents have climbed by 5.6 per cent while the cost of renting a house has increased by 1.6 per cent.

THE Ombudsman for Children is to be asked to investigate a case where children in State care in Clare were unallocated a social care worker for more than three months.

Judge Alan Mitchell directed that the children’s Guardian Ad Litem also refer the matter to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

The children, who were found to have been neglected by their mother, have since been allocated a social care worker.

Figures supplied to the Clare People yesterday by the Child and Family Agency (CFA) show that there are currently 10 childcare cases unallocated in Clare.

The Children in Care team in Clare (CIC) is currently providing services to approximately 160 children in Clare.

The order that HIQA and the Ombudsman for Children consider a particular case involving social care services in Clare formed part of an extensive written judgment delivered at a sitting of the Family Law (District) Court on Tuesday.

Judge Mitchell was told by senior social worker Tina Wiseman that due to staffing difficulties, a “con- siderable case load” of the CIC team in Clare had been unallocated since November 2012.

The Judge said, “That’s a source of serious concern to me”. He said the un-allocation of childcare cases is something that the CEO of the CFA, Gordon Jeyes could hardly condone. He asked Ms Wiseman if it was worth highlighting these deficiencies both locally and nationally. She said, “I’m in total agreement with you. It is scandalous”. Ms Wiseman said, “I can’t stand over what has happened and at the end of the day, the children are in state care.” Judge Mitchell granted a full child care order on application from the CFA in respect of a number of children. The children’s parents were not present or legally represented in court. The children were represented by their Guardian Ad Litem. Judge Mitchell commended Ms Wiseman “for not trying to defend the indefensible”. After hearing the case Judge Mitchell ruled that the Court was satisfied the children “have been neglected that their health, development, welfare has been and is likely to be avoidably impaired or neglected and the child requires care or protection….” He ordered that the Guardian Ad Litem “refer this case to the Ombudsman for Children to request her to carry out a preliminary investigation under Section 8 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 and to HIQA to consider the non allocation of a social worker to the child in excess of three months, without sufficient reason being acceptable to the Court and the Court finds this practice was not in the best interests of the child and may have adversely affected the child”. The court was told that Clare CFA social workers have written to Gordon Jeyes, and the Minister for Children to express their concerns over resource concerns. Judge Mitchell adjourned the case for review to October.

THE NUMBER of Clare women travelling to the UK for abortions dropped by 14 per cent last year, however more than one woman from Clare every week makes this journey according to British Department of Health figures.

Reasons given for the decrease in the number travelling for the 12th consecutive year vary from better sex education to the availability of the morning after pill, and post abortion remorse to the cost of the procedure.

While “Pro-Life” and “Pro-Choice” groups disagree about the reason for the fewer abortions, both agree that the number of Clare women andgirls travelling is higher than the 55 officially recorded in notification forms returned to the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales.

They also agree that the overall number opting for abortion is de- creasing. CEO of the Irish Family Planning Association Niall Behan said that for certain more than 55 women from Clare travelled for an abortion last year.

Many of these women did not register their address with the clinic or gave an English address.

Others travelled from Clare to the Netherlands.

According to the HSE’s Crisis Pregnancy Programme 1,503 more women present to them for post abortion care following a termination in the Netherlands between 2005 and 2011.

This number too is expected to be higher in reality.

In 2013, 3,679 Irish women in total travelled to England and Wales for abortions, down from 3,982 in 2012, a 7.6 per cent decrease.

The number of women who travelled from Clare for an abortion has decreased by 14 per cent from 64 to 55 in the same period.

In a statement welcoming the con- tinuing reduction in the number of Irish women travelling to Britain for abortion, Cora Sherlock of the Pro Life Campaign said;

“While it is difficult to draw firm conclusions, a recent report from the HSE/Crisis Pregnancy Programme showed an increase in the number of women expressing abortion regret.

“In that study, 44 per cent of women expressed varying degrees of regret about their abortions up from 33 per cent in a similar HSE study in 2003,” she said.

Speaking to The Clare People the IFPA said it could not say for certain why the number of recorded Irish abortions abroad had decreased but there was evidence to suggest that better sex education and a change in attitude to sex and contraception played a major role.

Welcoming the reduction in numbers Mr Behan said a decrease in the number of new teenage mothers in Ireland also pointed to better sex education in Ireland.

The availability of contraception, especially emergency contraception such as the morning after pill, as well as the establishment of the Crisis Pregnancy Programme by the HSE in 2001 also played a role, he said.

He raised concerns for women living in the county who could not travel for a termination for reason of expense, lack of a visa or women with a disability that made it difficult to exercise this option.

“So what happens theses women with an unwanted pregnancies? Many resort to buying medication on line, which is unsupervised and very dangerous,” he said.

The cost of an abortion in England and Wales is estimated between € 600 and € 2,000 – depending on the clinic cost, travel cost, procedure cost and accommodation.

During recession many women cannot find such money and resort to finding cheap and medically unspervised solutions online, according to the IFPA.

DESPITE being battered by an unprecedented series of storms this winter only 35 Clare residents have been granted humanitarian aid from the government under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme.

This is in stark contrast to Limerick where a total of 531 people have received assistance under the same scheme.

According to figures obtained by the Department of Social Protection, just over € 70,000 has been paid to the 35 Clare residents to date in 2014.

This is despite Clare being the hardest hit county in the devastating series of storms which struck the western seaboard in January and February of this year. Damage was inflicted to scores of houses in North and West Clare which caused severe floods, which flood waters yet to fully recede in some areas.

A total of € 888,916 has been paid out through the scheme for the first five months of 2014.

Of this total the vast majority, € 518,104, was paid to Limerick – the home county of Finance Minister Michael Noonan (FG).

A further € 104,263 was paid to Waterford with the remaining € 250,000 being shared by 14 counties including Clare.

It is unclear whether Clare’s low level of successful application is due to a lack of applications from Clare or a high level of refusals.

A spokesperson from the Department of Social Protection yesterday encourages any Clare person who has not submitted an application to do so as soon as possible.

“The Department of Social Protection is continuing to engage with Local Authorities and other bodies to ensure that all households that require assistance are identified and provided with access to supports,” said a spokesperson.

“The Department is encouraging anybody, affected by the weather events of earlier this year, who has not yet contacted the Department to do so by contacting their local Community Welfare Service, details of which are available on the Department’s website.”

The storm damage in Clare was estimated to cost the county in excess of € 35m for repairs and some parts of Clare are still suffering the effects of the high winds and flooding.

COUNCILLOR John Crowe (FG) is the new Mayor of Clare – the first Sixmilebridge councillor to be elected as Clare’s first citizen in exactly 100 years.

Crowe will be assisted in his duties by Deputy Mayor Tony O’Brien (FF), who returned to council chamber today after losing his council seat in 2009.

Cllr Crowe is the first Sixmilebridge Mayor of Clare since James O’Regan was elected in 1914. O’Regan was the father of the late Brendan O’Regan, who pioneered many developments at Shannon Airport including both Duty Free and the Shannon Free Zone.

Speaking just after receiving his chain of office, Cllr Crowe became visibly emotional when he thanked his family and supporters.

“This is my proudest day as an elected member. I look forward to representing my family, the ‘Bridge and the people of Clare,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure that I would be elected as a councillor this time around, never mind being afforded the hon- our of representing all of you as Mayor of Clare. I accept this honour knowing that I follow in the footsteps of so many councillors who have done great work for this county in the past.”

Crowe’s elevation to the office comes 100 years ago to the month that James O’Regan was made mayor in 1914. James and his son Brendan are synonymous with Shannon Airport – with Brendan leading many innovations in Irish and international aviation in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Brendan O’Regan’s spirit and innovating thinking are in this chamber, as his believe in local people. These are characteristic which are very valuable this day,” continued Cllr Crowe.

“Make sure you support our airport, because without our airport we have nothing.”

Cllr Crowe was formally proposed as Mayor by his party colleague Joe Cooney (FG) and seconded by Independent Shannon Cllr Gerry Flynn.

GARDAÍ are investigating early morning armed robbery at a business in Ennis town centre yesterday.

The incident occurred at around 7.30am at the Xtra Vision store in the market area of the town.

A man carrying a weapon entered the home entertainment and electrical goods store and made away with a quantity of cash.

A member of staff was opening up when he was set upon by the assailant at the front door of the premises.

It is understood the man who carried out the robbery was carrying a hammer. It was unclear yesterday if the victim suffered any injuries in the ordeal.

Gardaí in Ennis are investigating the robbery and are looking at CCTV footage from the area.

The incident follows a similar robbery at a family-run shop in Ennis last month.

At around 11.30am on Wednesday, May 21, a man went into a shop at the top of O’Connell Street in Ennis brandishing a knife and demanded money.

He was wearing a hoodie and a scarf to cover his face. He stole a sum of money from the till and then fled the scene on foot. No one was hurt in the robbery.

On May 27, Cassidy’s Pharmacy in Ennis was the scene of a raid occurred at around 2.30am.

Two raiders, believed to be males, used a sledgehammer to smash in the reinforced glass paneling on the front door of the premises.

The thieves filled bags with stock, mainly brand name men’s fragrances and cleared several shelves before leaving the scene in a black Volkswagon Golf.

Gardaí have urged business owners in the town to be vigilant and take appropriate security measures such as lighting and security cameras to protect their premises.

AN application to revoke the bail of a Limerick man accused of breaking into a house in Ennis has been refused. However Judge Patrick Durcan warned Gerard Gammell (22) that he must continue to abide by the terms of his bail.

At Ennis District Court last week, gardaí sought to revoke the bail granted to Mr Gammell in April.

Mr Gammell, with an address at Ivy Home, Barrack Street, Ennis, is one of two people accused of entering a home at Glenview Road Cappahard, Tulla Road, as a trespasser and committing theft therein on April 12.

Mr Gammell’s co-accused had his bail revoked in April after a Judge found he had breached the terms of his bail.

On Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said the new application related to an alleged breach of Mr Gammell’s curfew. The accused was granted bail in April subject to a number of conditions including the observation of a curfew between 10pm and 7am.

Garda David Hannan told the court he called to Mr Gammell’s home at 11.20pm on May 18. He said he knocked on the door and received no response.

Insp Kennedy told Judge Durcan that under the terms of bail Mr Gammell has to make himself available for inspection to gardaí during curfew hours.

Mr Gammell told the court he was at home when Garda Hannan called. He said he was asleep after taking medication that helps him sleep.

“I was asleep that night. I was on cloud nine that night”, he said.

Mr Gammell claimed gardaí are calling to his home on a daily basis.

The court heard Mr Gammell was at home on other nights when gardaí called during curfew hours.

Judge Durcan asked Insp Kennedy if a daily level of vigilance, as outlined by Mr Gammell, was not coun- terproductive in terms of ensuring people on bail abide by conditions.

Insp Kennedy said it was unlikely inspections are carried out on a daily basis. But he said gardaí in Clare are maintaining a high level of vigilance on accused persons released on bail.

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were being abused for not enforcing bail conditions but you can see there has been a sea-change”, he added.

Judge Durcan said he was refusing the State’s application to revoke bail. He told Mr Gammell he must continue to abide by his bail conditions.

He remanded the accused on continuing bail to appear again at Ennis District Court tomorrow, June 18.

THE number of front-line outdoor workers employed by Clare County Council will remain broadly the same as the numbers previously employed by the local authority and the now defunct authorities Ennis, Shannon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Kilkee.

At yesterday’s June meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the council has been instructed to put in place a single management system for the entire county but services will continue to be delivered by workers based in their own municipal area.

The change will see some of the management functioned centralised to Ennis, while the front-line services will be delivered by staff based out of local offices.

“We are very clearly directed by government that there will be a single authority.

“There has to be a county-wide structure, without duplication of services. That is the bottom line,” said Mr Coughlan.

“There will be no reduction in the outdoor staff.

“The outdoor staff will be working in the same areas as they are at the moment.

“There is no suggestion that staff in Loop Head, for example, will be assigned to work in other parts of the county.

“There is a limited number of staff in the organisation. My job is to manage the staff that I have as best as I can.

“We are recording the levels of activities in each municipal district and if there is insufficient staff in some areas, then we will have to deal with that.

“Let’s see how things work out for the first six months – if it is necessary to take staff from the central area and redeploy them to the municipal districts then that is what we will do.”

It was confirmed yesterday that large-scale projects, such as road works, will not be bound by the municipal boundaries.

CLARE’S landmark tourism destinations are open for business this summer, despite the damages done to many areas in this winter’s severe storms.

That was the message from Clare County Council yesterday, despite the admission from the local authority that the damage done during this year’s storms will take years to rectify.

Speaking at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the local authority prioritised repair works which were essential to tourism location in the west and north of the county.

In response to a motion from Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind), the council admitted that repair works will take a number of years to complete.

“Ultimately, a multi-annual programme is required to deal efficiently with the extensive and varied instances of coastal damage which occurred in January and February last,” said a council spokesperson.

Cllr Curtin highlighted a lack of information coming from the Government, particularly concerning the allocation of money for damages caused during the February storm.

“There is concern out there, par- ticulary in the tourist parts of the county,” said Cllr Curtin.

“It has taken six months of locals enduring charges: they are paying property tax and housing tax, and their services are not being maintained.

“The delay is coming from a lack of response from Government. We got € 16 million [from the January storms], there was to be € 12 million from the OPW [sea armour and coastal defenses] and to date we haven’t had any of this.”

Cllr Michael Hillary (FF) said many areas will now face even greater damage as repairs and defense works will not be carried out before winter.

“In relation to a multi-annual programme which is needed now, we have reached an impasse.

“The funding which was promised has not been forthcoming,” he said.

“What is worrying me is that at this time of the year is when we should be carrying out this kind of work – while the seas are calm and the days are long, but there doesn’t seem to be any works being done on the ground.

“It looks like these people will have to face next winter without any works or defences being put in place. If we receive other storms this coming winter there will be a lot more damage next year.”

MANY of the storm repairs announced by Clare County Council earlier this year will not be done – unless the government allocates a second wave of money to fund damage done during the February storm.

Clare County Manager Tom Coughlan yesterday expressed his frustration with a lack of information and clarity from government concerning a second allocation of money sought by the local authority.

Just over € 16 million in funding was allocated to Clare County Council to fund repairs sustained during unprecedented storms in January of this year. However, Mr Coughlan yesterday said that repairs works are being frustrated because of lack of information coming from the government regarding the second wave of funding.

Indeed, he also confirmed that some of the money allocated in respect of the January storm has been used to fund emergency repairs cause during the February storm. If no allocation is made by government in relation to the February storms, Mr Coughlan confirmed that the council will not be in a position to complete all of the work previously announced in relation to the first € 16.8 million in funding.

“The second allocation [in relation to the February storm] has been on the agenda for cabinet on a number of occasions but has yet to be decided on. We have sent a number of reminders to the Department [of the Environment] but we haven’t had a response to our request yet,” said Mr Coughlan.

“We’ve done works at Kilkee and a number of other areas hit by the February storm without funding being allocated. That’s fine if funding comes through, but if we don’t get funding for the February storms, then all we can do is use the funding for the January storm. That is not a satisfactory situation. We need to see the overall level of funding.”

Clare Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan, also said that a lack of clarity from government is hindering the repair works.

“We need clarity for government, that’s the nub of the issue,” said Mr Tiernan.

“We have taken half steps in some areas, but we can’t take half steps without going to full hog. We can’t engage consultants at the moment because we don’t know what work they will end up doing [because of a lack of information from government].

“We were allocated a programme, we want to produce that programme but we can’t do it because of a lack of clarity about the bottom line.”