Author: admin

THE ESB have not ruled out the possibility of constructing a nuclear power plant at Moneypoint, once the current coal burning plant is decommissioned in 2025.

The company also say they are aware of Small Modular Reactors ultra safe mini-reactors based on the technology used in nuclear submarines – but have not yet investigated the technology in detail.

With nuclear energy prohibited by law in Ireland, the company say that their current focus for Moneypoint post-2025 involves the investigation of a coal of gas site.

However, any coal plant would require the integration of carbon capture technology, which has yet to be developed, as well as the expensive exportation of the captured carbon waste, as the storage of carbon is also currently prohibited by Irish law.

The creation of a gas burning plants is also likely to bring about a large increase in costs, unless a cheap source of gas is made available, possible through hydraulic fracturing in the Clare Basin.

“Since nuclear generation in Ireland in prohibited by law, ESB’s focus on future low-carbon generation options for Ireland does not currently include nuclear generation,” said a spokesperson.

“ESB is aware of Small Modular Reactors, but has not examined their suitability for Moneypoint.”

The ESB says it has also investigated the possibility of building a giant pipe-line from Moneypoint to the old Kinsale field off Cork, should carbon capture technology become viable and carbon storage become legal in Ireland. It is understood that such a scheme would be prohibitively expensive. “Such data is commercially sensitive but it is widely acknowledged within the industry that the cost of carbon capture and storage is high at present and that the industry is attempting to reduce these costs,” said the ESB spokesperson. According to Denis Duff of pronuclear group Better Environment with Nuclear Energy, (BENE), the ESB faces a difficult decision when the existing Moneypoint facility is decommissioned. “For environmental reasons, coal or gas fired replacements would need to have carbon capture facilities attached. ESB acknowledge that this would be a very expensive option and this is exacerbated by the costs of having to export the captured gases,” he said. “I believe that replacing coal at Moneypoint with these small reactors would be very beneficial to County Clare. The reactors are due out in 2021 and will supply affordable, clean, safe and reliable energy. For reasons of climate change, energy security and the economy in general, it is entirely likely that Ireland will install a number of these within 20 years. This will be the safest energy technology ever built and will be able to produce electricity significantly cheaper than any similar alternative.”

NINE schools that cater for 1,600 students in Clare will get a face lift this year as the Government announced its first round of the Summer Works Scheme for 2014.

The seven primary schools and two post-primary schools include Cratloe NS, Scariff Central NS, Killaloe Boys NS, Cooraclare NS, Scoil Mhichil Cahermurphy, Connolly NS, Kilnaboy NS, Ennis Commu- nity College and St Michael’s Community College, Kilmihil.

The nine Clare schools are among 387 schools nationwide to receive funding under this year’s scheme, which covers projects such as electrical, gas and mechanical works.

A second round of the scheme is expected to be announced in coming weeks. This round will cover other types of improvement works, with applications still being assessed.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn (Lab), said, “These works will be carried out in schools over the summer months, when the pupils are on holidays, so the disruption to schooling will be kept to a minimum.

“In this Year of Jobs, I and the department are committed to doing everything we can to ensure as many people as possible get back to work. These projects will stimulate economic activity by supporting 2,160 direct and 430 indirect construction jobs in the local economy,” he concluded.

EFFORTS to spend large sections of the € 16.9 million allocated to Clare following the unprecedented series of storms in January and February are being hampered because of delays in decisions being made by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

Clare Council Council cannot undertake any significant redevelopment of coastal infrastructure until the OPW clarifies which of the 15 coastal protection schemes planned for the North Clare area are to go ahead. The situation was described as “outrageous” at yesterday’s North Clare Area meeting, with the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Brian Hayes (FG), coming in for particular criticism.

“He [Minister Hayes] said there would be no delays because of bureaucracy between one department and another. The phrase used was ‘joined up thinking’ so that the projects that needed to proceed urgently would be able to proceed urgently. We are now two months on and nobody seems to know what projects will be able to proceed and what projects cannot,” said Cllr Richard Nagle (FF).

“For all the people who were battered by these storms, I think that this is not good enough. I think that it is outrageous. At this stage I would have expected that our senior engineer here [in Ennistymon] would have notifications from the department as to which projects would go ahead and which ones would not. I am at a loss to understand why we cannot proceed.”

Clare County Council has been able to complete temporary work at several North Clare sites, with access to severally damages areas such as The Flaggy Shore and the Lahinch Promenade being restored.

“We have money to do the work in places like the prom but we’re not yet sure what money we have for coastal erosion works, which has to be done first. We are waiting for clarification from the OPW. We are expecting that clarification from the OPW will be forthcoming shortly,” said a council spokesperson.

The OPW is currently processing 15 requests for coastal protection work from the North Clare area with a further 20 allocation coming from the West Clare area. Some of the request involving returning coastal protections to their previous levels while others involve further development.

Tom O’ROURKE
, Lissycasey, Clare. Reposing at his residence today (Tuesday) from 4.30pmwith removal at 7.30pmto Our Lady of theWayside Church. Funeral Mass onWednesday at 12.00. Burial in local cemetery. May he rest in peace.

Mary MCCARTHY (née Reidy)
, Lissane, Clarecastle. Formerly of Lissane, Clarecastle. Suddenly. Deeply regretted by her brother Damian, sister-in-lawBrid, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, relatives and friends. Due to unforeseen circumstances the funeral will be delayed by a number of days. See Rip.ie for details. May she rest in peace.

PJ COMMANE

CLARE County Council reached settlements totaling € 8,837 on pothole related public liability claims since 2012.

The figures for public liability and employee liability claims settled or in process for 2012 and 2013 were revealed at yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council.

Cllr Brian Meaney requested the information in a motion submitted to the adjourned March meeting.

He stated, “I request a case by case listing of all public liability and employee liability claims lodged settled or in process against Clare County Council for the year 2012, 2013”.

The Fianna Fáíl councillor also requested details of any legal costs arising from the claims.

The figures supplied by Clare County County Council show € 4,269 was paid out in pothole settlements in 2012.

Almost half of the settlements re late to a pothole in the Claureen area of Ennis.

In 2012, the council agreed settlements of € 2,117 for claims made in relation to potholes in Claureen.

Cllr Meaney questioned what measures the council is taking to ensure it doesn’t have to make further payments for pothole related claims.

He said in the case of Claureen pothole, it might be more accurate to call it the “Claureen chasm”.

Cllr Meaney also questioned what work had been done to repair a pothole in Fanore, which he said seems to have become more of a “fissure”.

The figures show that the council agreed a settlement of € 3,369.24 in 2013 for a claim arising from a pothole on the Fanore Coast Road.

“Did the car fall in, in its entirety to the thing or what happened”, asked Cllr Meaney.

He also sought further information on why the council paid out a settlement of € 10,912 in 2012 for a defective public litterbin in Shannon town.

Senior Executive Officer, Michael McNamara told the meeting that he did not have the information to hand.

A COTTAGE industry in the cultivation of cannabis seems to be forming in West Clare according to a District Court Judge.

Judge Patrick Durcan made the comments during the case of a 44year-old man who appeared before him charged with growing six cannabis plants in his Tullycrine home.

Stephen McMinn of Tullycrine, Kilrush pleaded guilty to the cul- tivation of cannabis plants without a licence contrary to Section 17 of Misuse of Drug Act 1977 and the unlawful possession of a controlled drug contrary to Section 3 and Section 27 (as amended by section 6) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984.

The court heard that on May 23 gardaí searched the defendant’s home in the presence of his wife and discovered six potted plants.

Defence solicitor Fiona Hehir told the court that he was growing the plants for his own recreational use.

“He is on social welfare and doesn’t have the money to go out at night and grows it as a pastime,” she said.

She added that he no longer smokes the drug and was “not a man typically involved” in this crime.

“It was more of an experiment,” she said.

Judge Durcan questioned if this did not make the issue more serious.

“You seem to have a bit of a cottage industry here in Clare,” he said to Gardaí.

“There is a bit of it,” replied pros- ecuting Garda Supt Seamus Nolan.

“More than a bit,” replied the judge.

The superintendent pointed out that there were a number of similar cases before the court.

“You don’t have a poitín problem down here?” queried Judge Durcan.

“More sale and supply,” replied the Garda Superintendent.

He added that it was “not something we take lightly.”

The judge ordered a probation report for Mr McMinn for May 20.

THE amount of funding awarded by the Irish Arts Council to local arts festivals in Clare has dropped to its lowest level in almost a decade.

Just € 20, 500 was awarded to Clare festivals under the Festival and Events Scheme (formally the Small Arts Festivals Scheme) for the first half of 2014 – a drop of more then 16 per cent [€ 4,000] on the same scheme for 2013. This is the joint lowest first round funding offered to Clare festivals in more than a decade – equalling the previous funding low which was allocated in 2012.

The Inishcealtra Arts Festival was the worst hit, with a year-on-year funding drop of 64 per cent. The festival’s 2013 Arts Council funding of € 7,000 was slashed down to just € 2, 500 for 2014.

This is the second major funding blow for the Inishcealtra festival, which saw its funding cut from € 9,000 to € 7,000 last year.

Both the Corofin Traditional Festival [€ 6, 500] and the Doran Piping Tionol [€ 3,000] maintained their funding levels this year with the Ennis Book Club Festival actually recording an increase of € 500 – to € 8, 500.

This funding also represents a de- crease of almost 65 per cent from the € 57,100 awarded to Clare festivals under the first round of the Small Arts Festivals Scheme on 2007.

There was also bad news for Glór, which saw a 7 per cent cut to it’s programme funding – down from € 86,000 to € 80,000 for 2014.

The Arts Council’s annual funding scheme saw a slight decrease for Liscannor’s Salmon Poetry, down by € 1, 250 to € 40,750 this year, while the Willie Clancy Summer School remained the same at € 80,000.

There was a slight increase under the Touring and Dissemination of Work Scheme with Padraig Rynne [€ 30,000] and the Hunka, Dunne, Robinson Trio [€ 8, 500] receiving a combined total of € 38, 500 compared to the € 37, 500 guided to Guidewires and Nicola Henley of the Wise Ways Projects last year.

A NUMBER of people in Clare have received a bizarre phishing email, written entirely in the Irish language, offering them $4.1 million dollars to take part in a business venture in Africa.

The emails, which are addressed from a Mr Ignacio Nwaku, are understood to be the first phishing emails of their kind written as Gaeilge.

A number of Clare people have reported receiving the email since they first appeared last week but there is no indication as yet that the emails are targeting Irish people because of the proximity to St Patrick’s Day.

The email professes to be from Ignacio Nwako – a barrister from the Togo Republic. Mr Nwako claims to be acting on behalf of his late client “Mr David” whose $4.1 million fortune has been lodged in a “coded deceased account”.

Phishing email work by enticing people to reveal important personal details like their online usernames, passwords and even their bank account details.

A spokesperson for Údarás na Gaeltachta, who examined the email for The Clare People , said it contained “jumbled up, nonsensical Irish” and was most likely made using automatic translation software.

The spokesperson also confirmed that this was the first phishing email in Irish that Údarás na Gaeltachta had ever come upon.

“I didn’t notice it at first [that is was written in Irish]. I saw that $4.1 million dollars and I knew straight away it was a scam. I was about to delete it and then I noticed that it was in Irish. I couldn’t believe it,” said one Ennis recipient who asked not to be identified.

The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources have asked members of the public to delete the email straight away.

The email reads: Tá mé Barrister. Ignacio Nwaku ó Phoblacht Tóga, chuaigh mé i dteagmháil leat ar feadh méid togra gnó i gceist é US $ 4.1 milliún dollar mbaineann le mo chliant go déanach Mr David agus tá sé sábháilte sa chuntas códaithe éagaigh. Beidh níos mó sonraí a relayed do duit ach má f haighim do freagra dearfach. Go raibh maith agat. Mr Ignacio Nwaku.

NEW charges have been brought against a Polish couple charged with offences arising from the discovery of an alleged cannabis grow-house in West Clare earlier this year.

Jagoga Gajewska (19) and her partner Adam Wrobel (22), both with a former address at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee appeared before Ennis District Court on Wednesday.

They are both charged with offences relating to the alleged discovery at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee on January 13. On Wednesday, the court heard that new charges have been brought against the pair. Mr Wrobel and Ms Gajewska are charged with knowingly permitting premises at Lislanahan Lower, Kilkee on January 13, to be used for the manufacture, production and preparation of a controlled drug.

Mr Wrobel is charged with possession of cannabis, which at the time had a market value of € 13,000 or more. He is charged with possession of a cannabis plan and cultivating without license, plants of the cannabis genus, contrary to the misuse of drugs act.

Garda Eoin Daly of Kilrush Garda Station gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in respect of both accused. Counsel for both accused, Alice Harrison applied to have the legal aid certificate extended to cover the new charges.

Judge Patrick Durcan granted the application. Insp Tom Kennedy requested the matters go back to April 2 to allow time for the preparation of the book of evidence.

Counsel consented to the application and to time being extended for the service of the book of evidence.

She told Judge Durcan that Mr Wrobel has secured bail in the High Court but has been so far been unable to take it up. Ms Gajewska has taken up High Court bail, the court heard. Judge Durcan adjourned the cases to April 2.

A BALLYVAUGHAN grandmother, who was given a symphysiotomy without her knowledge or consent while giving birth to her first son in September of 1965, says the “stonewalling” of the Irish state has forced her to take her case before the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

Details of the life and medical history of Ellen Moore were last week presented to the UN court in Vienna and Mrs Moore says the attitude taken by the current government and Minister for Health, James Reilly (FG) have forced this latest action.

After meeting with Mrs Moore and other members of the Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SOS) group last October, the health minister agreed to lift the statute of limitation involving symphysiotomy and allow sufferers to gain compensation through the courts.

The minister also agreed to release the second half of the Walsh Report, which probed the use of symphysiotomy’s in Irish hospitals, public. Neither of these promises have, to date, been kept.

“They have been stonewalling us and neglecting us. We worked so hard for the statute of limitations to be lifted and now it looks as if that that will not now happen. We were told in a meeting with Minister O’Reilly back in October that that we would receive the second half of the Walsh Report in two weeks – that still hasn’t happened,” said Mrs Moore.

“They [the Government] say one thing in public and they do the complete opposite in private. They are hoping that we will just go away. There are a lot of older women in the group and many of them have already died without receiving compensation.

“This isn’t just for us, this is for the next group of people who have something done to them without their consent. The state is not owning up to anything.”

This symphysiotomy procedure, which involved breaking a woman’s pelvic bone during labour, was carried out on an estimated 1,500 Irish women in the 1960 and ‘70s but fewer than 200 of these women are still alive.

CLARE County Council will contribute € 5,000 towards a feasibility study for the development of Doonbeg Pier.

Doonbeg Community Development and the Doonbeg Fisherman’s Association have spend years working on plans to develop the community-owned pier and have come up against issues relating to changes in planning legislation.

Previously the group had been told these planning changes and the inability of the council to pay for a € 40,000 EPA meant their plans of developing tourism and the fishing industry could go no further.

This week there was renewed hope as the council said it would contribute to a feasibility project to see if the project is viable.

Tommy Commerford, PRO of the Doonbeg Fisherman’s Association, said the group is hopeful that the report will be favourable and that Clare County Council will make an application to Europe for the necessary funding to make the pier accessible at high and low tide.

The Doonbeg Pier was constructed in 1995, and was later extended by 35 metres. Hundred thousand euro plans were then drawn up that would ex- tend the capacity of the pier to allow boats to moor at high and low tide.

The Minister for Agriculture provided € 525,000 to the project in 2008 but this cannot be allocated until full planning permission is granted.

The developed pier would 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, said Mr Commerford.

He said it would also provide access to the proposed wave energy farm at Killard.

Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara said, “Doonbeg has a small pier which is inadequate and because it is tidal; people can only access the pier at certain tides. The community is doing everything to develop tourism. Doonbeg is on the coast, so sea angling would be a normal extension of its tourism product.

“There is money available from the department to develop piers but only when the project has passed the stages of planning and Environmental Impact statements.

“The decision by Clare County Council to grant aid a feasibility study is evidence of good faith and illustrates a willingness to work with the Doonbeg community in achieving the desired upgrade.”