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THE Health Services Executive came under fire in April amid mounting claims that there’s now a growing drink and drugs problem at the Acute Unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis.

Controversy has erupted within the Clare health services after a patient and a nursing representative confirmed to The Clare People that drink and drugs represent an ongoing “problem” at the 38-bed unit that houses psychiatric patients. The Clare People has learned that patient and nursing fears about drink and drugs being smuggled into the unit by visitors has led to the gardaí being drafted in for illegal substance searches.

“There are people smoking cannabis in the Acute Unit in Ennis,” one patient from within the unit told The Clare People on Monday. “There is a garden adjacent to the unit and a number of patients were offering drugs to other patients.

“There was also alcohol being consumed – wine and cider that’s being offered to patients. The doors open from the garden into the ward and the smell of the cannabis comes in when the doors were opened. This has been reported to the nurses by two different patients,” the female patient added.

“Drugs have been an issue in the Acute Unit,” admitted Denis Meehan, a local representative of the Psychiatric Nurses Association. “The staff in the unit have done their absolute best to curtail this problem, but it’s very hard to do anything with it. Staff have called gardaí on occasion and patients have been searched. “In every prison in Ireland there are drugs, so you would expect them to be in the Acute Unit in Ennis. If this is reported to us, all we can do is search people and that’s what we have done,” he added.

A WOMAN who claims she has fallen into debt to moneylenders in Ennis has told a Judge she will have to pay the money back from her social welfare payments.

The woman, who is facing a possible 18 month prison sentence for a string of shoplifting offences, says she owes € 1,000 to a moneylender.

At Ennis District Court on Thursday, the 19-year-old woman told Judge Patrick Durcan the moneylender will be looking for her.

Asked by Judge Durcan how she would re-pay the money, the woman said, “I’ll have to give them money out of my dole.”

Her solicitor Tara Godfrey said, “I’ve done what I can to get her to make a statement but she won’t”.

Ms Godfrey said the woman fell into debt because of her cannabis addiction.

“This is not like AIB or the Bank of Ireland, the terms are quite severe. My client was afraid to be at liberty,” she added.

Earlier this year, the teenager admitted stealing € 1,300 worth of goods from Clare businesses in an 11-month shoplifting spree.

She pleaded guilty to 14 thefts from shops and pharmacies in Ennis and Clarecastle between November 2012 and September 2013.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said the woman had committed a high number of thefts. “We’re at the sentencing stage and where to go next is a big deal. “I would be delighted to see her rehabilitate herself,” added Insp Kennedy.

The court heard the woman’s father and mother are both dead and her younger brother died when he was just three years old.

The woman was described in court as a “vulnerable person at the end of her tether, financially speaking”. The court heard she was a victim of neglect as a child.

After reading a Probation Report on the woman’s family history and apparent troubles with moneylend- ers, Judge Durcan said,

“In my time as a judge this is one of the saddest reports I have read.”

Judge Durcan told the woman she is facing between 15 and 18 months in prison.

He said if the woman shows a genuine willingness to engage with the Probation Services, he would put the matter off further.

Judge Durcan remanded the woman in custody, on consent, to appear again at Ennis District Court on January 8, 2014.

Earlier this month, gardaí launched a massive operation against suspected illegal money lending in Clare. Gardaí have urged anyone affected by money lending to contact them.

MOVES to change the name of the Shannon Free Zone in an effort attract new international business has been sounded out by the former chief executive of Shannon Development, Kevin Thompstone.

Mr Thompstone, the current president of Shannon Chamber of Commerce, has suggested that a rebranding and name change could be the way forward for strengthening the region’s scope.

“Shannon Economic City or Shannon Economic Zone might better reinforce the concept that Shannon is not just a business park but a Special Economic Zone in Ireland offering a mix of airport, industrial, residential, commercial and green areas to facilitate economic activity,” Mr Thompstone told an audience of almost 300 business people at the Shannon Chamber of Commerce president’s lunch in Dromoland Castle on Thursday.

The keynote address was given by Barry O’Leary, IDA Ireland’s chief executive who highlighted Shannon’s potential as an international investment location.

“IDA is looking forward to working on behalf of Shannon and the wider region under a new structure. Our aim will be to support com- panies in the region, helping them transform their operations and also expand over time,” he said.

“IDA is pleased to place the full suite of IDA products, services and know-how at the disposal of companies, as part of a new drive to bolster the region into the future.”

While saddened to lose a part of Ireland’s economic development structure, Mr Thompstone acknowledged the imprint Shannon Development has made in the region but welcomed the fact that the focus is now back on growing Shannon just as it was when the story started back in 1960.

“With over 7,000 people employed in over 100 companies, generating over € 600 million annually for the local economy and € 3 billion in annual sales, 90 per cent of which are to export markets and, and with the highest concentration of North American companies in Ireland, outside Dublin, Shannon has a very solid base and a diverse sectoral spread of activities.

“Global names such as Intel, GE Lufthansa and Genworth sit comfortably with long-established businesses such as Element Six, SPS and Molex and with Irish names such as EI Electronics, Reagecon and Mincon. Shannon’s future is now about building on what it has and adding new types and levels of activities.”

A SEARCH will continue today for a man who was swept into the sea off the North Clare coast at the weekend.

The man, believed to be a Latvian national in his 40s, was fishing with a friend near the lighthouse at Blackhead when he fell into the water. It is understood his friend went to get a life buoy but when he returned the man was no longer visible in the water.

The alarm was raised after gardaí at Tuam Garda Station contacted their colleagues in Ennistymon Garda Station. The Irish Coast Guard marine rescue coordination centre mounted a search operation at around 4.30pm on Sunday evening.

The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard unit was alerted and mobilised while the Shannon-based search and rescue helicopter was also tasked. The RNLI lifeboat based at Inis Mór in the Aran Islands was also sent to assist in the search.

That search continued yesterday along a stretch of coastline from Fanore to Ballyvaughan.

The five-hour search, which involved the Doolin Irish Coast Guard unit, a search a rescue helicopter and some local boats, was stood down on Monday evening. It is thought the search will continue over the next five or six days. It is hoped that if sea conditions improve Navy Divers and divers from local sub-aqua clubs will be able to assist in the search.

MONEYPOINT Power Station will be fuelling the West Clare economy for at least another decade, but concerns have been expressed for the future of Kilrush and the environs if and when this station closes.

“A power station that was built in the 1980s would have probably been designed at that time to run for maybe 30 to 40 years or what ever would be typical enough for a plant. I suppose we have done the maintenance over the years to keep that in line. I would be surprised if the station didn’t have it running for another decade any- way,” said, Brendan Kennedy, Station Manager at the ESB plant.

“I would expect Moneypoint to run on a high merit in the national grid for the next number of years,” said the Ennis native.

The ESB company pays up to € 12 million in rates to Clare County Council every year, as well as supporting sport facilities, clubs, organisations and the Christmas lights in Kilrush and West Clare.

“I hate to think what Kilrush would be like if Moneypoint never came,” said former mayor of Kilrush Liam O’Looney.

THERE are no new Fianna Fáil faces on the West Clare ballot paper for next year’s local elections as five sitting county councillors were returned to contest the new Municipal District election.

Cllr Bill Chambers, Cllr Michael Hillery, Cllr Pat Keane, Cllr PJ Kelly and Cllr Richard Nagle will all be on the ticket come next summer following the party’s convention in the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point on Monday night. Councillors Nagle and Hillery were selected automatically following a directive from Fianna Fáil’s National Constituency Committee that two candidates were to come from the Ennistymon area.

The remaining six candidates from the Kilrush area, that included three sitting councillors as well as Kilrush town councillor Tom Prendeville, Michael O’Neill and Rita McInerney, went before the delegates for selection.

A decisive vote saw Cllr Kelly and Cllr Keane pass the quota in the first vote and their surplus brought fellow councillor Bill Chambers safely over the mark.

The five candidates will now go forward and represent the party in the eight seat West Clare Municipal Area elections.

The longest serving member of the council, Cllr Kelly, does not believe ‘the line up’ is complete as yet, believing another candidate will be added.

Total poll: 156. Quota: 40.

First vote: Bill Chambers 32; Pat Keane 50; PJ Kelly 51; Rita McInerney 1; Michael O’Neill 15; Tom Prendeville 7.

Second count (PJ Kelly surplus): B Chambers +6 (38); R McInerney +1 (2); M O’Neill +3 (18); T Prendeville +1 (8). (R McInerney and T Prendeville eliminated).

Third count (P Keane surplus); B Chambers + 6 (44); M O’Neill +1 (19).

THERE is just one candidate to date declared to run in the local election from the largest urban area in West Clare.

Two of the town’s urban councillors have however indicated that they may join their colleague Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) in the race as independent candidates.

Cllr Ian Lynch (FG), who was unsuccessful at his party’s convention last October said he would take time over Christmas to consider running as an Independent candidate in the Clare County Council election.

Meanwhile Tom Prendeville (FF) has not ruled out also going it alone next May if he is not added to the Fianna Fáil ticket, having also been unsuccessful at his party’s convention.

Cllr Lynch said, “I was disappointed that Fine Gael did not add me to the ticket but as the newest member it was always going to be tough to get the nomination through convention.”

Wishing Cllr McMahon well, who was added to the ticket last week, he said, “I’m getting an awful lot of contact from people disappointed I was not added and there has been considerable advice to run independent. I do feel there is a great hunger out there for a young candidate that will represent the entire West Clare area.

“At the end of the day my role is to represent the people. A lot of support is coming in for me and I believe I can represent the people and if the hunger for a young candidate is on the ground I will have to take all things into consideration,” he said.

The councillor also admitted that dividing the town vote between a lot of candidates is a concern, and could cost the urban area a representative.

Cllr Prendeville, who failed to be selected at the Fianna Fáil party convention said he was approached by a senior member of the party and asked if he wanted to be added to the ticket. He also has not ruled out run- ning independently.

Following the announcement of the successful candidates at last Monday night’s convention, he said he was disappointed not to have made the cut and added that the party had a serious problems in urban areas.

“Fianna Fáil has a problem; and has a big problem; has an organisational problem. For example within our town of Kilrush there is no registered members within five or six miles. I know we have two beside us but they are attached to another cumann up the road. We haven’t got the members.

“People aren’t coming forward so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and say everything is ok,” he told delegates.

“We are in trouble, big big trouble in the urban areas and tonight does nothing to rectify that.”

“We effectively tonight sent out a message that we are a rural organisation in our constituency, and it is inconceivable to think that where we have the municipal capital of the new electoral area we won’t have a Fianna Fáil candidate,” he said.

Chariman of the Fianna Fáil convnetion Nial Collins TD asked the delegates had to ask themselves why there wasn’t a strong membership in Kilrush and rectify the situation for themselves.

IT WAS once Ireland’s largest horse fair but the fair in Kil rush will be lost if steps are not taken to retain the accompanying traders.

That was the message from Kilr ush Town Council on Thursday night, when it emerged that casual traders were struggling to make the € 200 annual casual trading fee.

“One of the biggest attractions of the horse fai r is the traders believe it or not.

“They are the ones that bring the people into town. I think the people of the town don’t realise what we have. It is something we should be marketing better,” said Cll r Liam O’Looney (FF).

“Kilr ush horse fair was the biggest horse fair in Ireland one time, there was no such a thing as Ballinasloe. I don’t think we will ever get back to those heady days,” he said.

“I think we are killing something. I think the regulation on the traders there at the moment is quite good. I think the quantity is sufficient but I can see them dying out very very fast if we don’t do something here.”

Town clerk John Corr y said that the council staff have been accepting the payment in four installments and during the November fai r, 30 of the 33 bays available were sold on the day.

Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) said she was concerned that if the town council did not move to protect the horse fair now, it could go the way of the town council next year and be dissolved.

“It is only four days a year and it is something we should be nurturing and maintain because we are going to lose it,” she warned. M EA NW HI L E the Cooraclare Road sports facility in Kilrush came a step nearer to reality this week as it was announced that € 58,000 was provided for the development.

The funding will go towards phase one of the project – the development of artificial playing surface (Astro turf), floodlighting, security fencing and CCTV.

Kilrush town clerk John Corry told town councillors at Thursday night’s meeting that they “had been ready and waiting for the grant awarded”.

Tenders have already been sought for the project and members had also agreed on the work to be contained in phase one of the project that is expected to mirror Lees Road, Ennis.

Funding to a maximum of € 58,000 was available for the project from the Department of Sport and Irish Public Bodies with Clare County Council to contribute a further contribution in the form of a capital grant.

“It is as lot less than we were hoping for a number of years ago,” said Mr Corry, adding however that Kilrush Town Council had also ringfenced money for the project during the last number of years.

THE Burren Farming for Conservation Programme (BFCP) has launched an ambitious new bid to grow the amount spent on conservation farms in Clare to € 6 million in 2015.

The Carron-based group confirmed yesterday that € 1.1 million of extra Department of Agriculture money has been paid to the 160 Burren farmers who took part in the BFCP in 2013. In addition to this, the farmers themselves invested matching funds of more than € 330,000 on the project so far this year.

This € 1.4 million is a massive economic boost for the North Clare economy with the vast majority of the money being spent on local services and direct labour. The BFCP currently has a large waiting list of farmers who wish to take part in the project but require funding to roll out the project across the 600 plus farmers in the Burren.

The project aims to bring farming and conservation together by paying farmers to engage in Burren-friendly farm practices. These include cutting path threw scrub to allow better cattle management and allow the cattle to graze on the hazel saplings which have invaded large tracts of limestone pavement.

“The big problem with the scheme is the 400 or 500 other farmers who should be part of the scheme but are not. We would really love to have them involved but we need funding for that to be made available to allow us to do that,” said Brendan Dunford of the BFCP.

“We are campaigning to expand the project by a factor of four – so that means quadrupling the budget and getting 650 farmers in from 2015 onwards. This is a big ask and a big struggle but that is what we are trying to do because we feel really strongly that this delivers a great result for the Burren while also delivering great value.

“What we need to do is for the farmers to continue to carry out the work to a really high standard and it is really important that we are able to prove that this project works – both environmentally and financially. That is out job as the project team and we have the data to prove that this is the best value scheme in Ireland,” he added.

EU funding is available for agri-environmental under the Rural Development Programme and it is hoped that, given the success of the BFCP, the Department of Agriculture will be able to access these funds.

THE last Kilrush Town Council meeting of the year was abandoned after it descended into chaos as the town manager walked out following a heated row with a council member.

It emerged during the course of the debate about a proposed lay-by for the Back Road to facilitate the drop off of children to school, that Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) had been asked to apologise to a council exec utive engineer following February’s REMS meeting – a special meeting on traffic not open to the public.

The engineer has refused to attend any further meeting on the issue until he has been given an agreed apology.

“I know we had hard words with people and I regret many of the hard words I had and I apologise for it too, but I tell you this now, this is a bit of an insult and it is spoiling the spirit of Christmas for me a small bit,” said Cllr Prendeville on Thursday night, referring to the information and two draft designs of the lay-by provided by Ms Haugh.

Ms Haugh described the councillor’s comments as disingenuous and unfair. She pointed out that the maps were dated February 13 as agreed with the council, and not 10 months old. She added that numerous attempts were made to meet with the council on the issue since but a format could not be agreed due to unfinished business.

The manager was interrupted by Cllr Prendeville, “Why was that, can you tell the press why that was.”

Ms Haugh, “It was due to remarks made by Cllr Prendeville to a staff member present the meeting and further more…”

Cllr Prendeville interrupted her again, “and do you want to say what he said.”

“…And furthermore there was a commitment given by Cllr Prendeville to subsequently apologise to that officer at the subsequent REMS meeting.”

She said she understood the agreed apology was to be read into the minutes of the next meeting. Numerous meetings were scheduled on the issue, but were cancelled as the councillor failed to come back to say if he was agreeable to the wording of the apology to the engineer.

“No further mention was made of the Back Road or an alternative plans even though this work has been done since February until Cllr O’Looney (FF) put down his motion,” said Ms Haugh.

She asked Cllr Prendeville to acknowledge his part in the delay.

“I did at that particular meeting put forward a wording that was accepted and written into the minutes but you took it upon yourself manager, and I am going to blow this right open now, to actually send me an email suggesting the wording I would put. Listen I have studied. I have a lot more qualifications than you have and you are actually suggesting to me …” he said, his voice getting louder.

As the members interjected, Ms Haugh asked that he withdraw the last comment. “What qualifications have I got? How dare you,” she said.

“You were telling me what to say,” he replied.

“So continue councillor and I won’t be attending the next meeting you want to discuss this at either, how dare you.

“That’s what ye do. Ye get in a huff. You were suggesting to me the wording,” he shouted.

Ms Haugh apologised to the other council members and the mayor and left the meeting.

“And that is what your executive engineer did as well. He got in a huff as well and he walked out,” shouted Cllr Prendeville.

“Happy Christmas to all,” said Ms Haugh as she left the room.

As the meeting was abandoned Cllr O’Looney said his colleague should have withdrawn the comments, with Cllr McMahon Jones (FG) saying “You will be confronted with another apology now.”