Category: News

THE Burren region is set to lead the Irish tourist industry in a large scale transformation in how tourism in Ireland works. More than 200 people turned out for a major eco-tourism in Ennistymon last week, making it the largest conference of its kind ever undertaken in Ireland.

The conference, which was organised by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark LIFE Project, attracted delegates from emerging eco-tour- ism sports from all over the country.

The conference, which was entitled ‘Developing Sustainable Tourism Destinations’, also included a number of international leaders in sustainable tourism.

“A number of the younger delegates at the conference, the next generation of tourism managers, voiced the opinion that sustainability should not be an issue. They believe that it should automatically be a part of all we do, without question,” said Carol Gleeson of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark LIFE Project.

“If this is how the younger generation think, then there is definitely a future for sustainable tourism and all it stands for. We are already making a name for ourselves in sustainable tourism here in Clare. Both the Geopark [Burren and Cliffs of Moher] and Loop Head have been shortlisted for the Best Destination for Responsible Tourism Awards this year which is a great achievement.”

The conference attracted delegated from Achill Island, the Dingle Peninsula, Malin Head, Meath, Louth, Galway as well as 50 students from GMIT and from FETAC.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark is a Clare County Council initiative. This ‘LIFE’ section of the project is 50 per cent funded by Europe with match funding is provided by the lead partner Clare County Council along with Failte Ireland, the Geological Survey of Ireland, Office of Public Works, National Monuments Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Heritage Council, National University College Galway and University College Dublin.

FINANCIAL issues, debt and the 2014 Budget announced on Wednesday are seriously impacting on the mental health of the county.

According to those on the coal face, including Clare MABS co-ordinator Denis Corbett and psychiatrist Dr Moosajee Bhamjee, more and more people are presenting at their offices with anxiety and depression directly associated with financial worries.

“It has been the cause of a number of suicides as well. It is a major issue. We are now getting people in families, wives and husbands – who are worried. People think it is only contractors and builders or business people who owe a lot to the bank that are coming,” said Dr Bhamjee who reported mental health issues related to financial worries are increasing in the county year on year.

“We are seeing people with anxiety and that anxiety is turning into depressive symptoms.”

He said there is also a resulting increase in alcoholism and marriage disharmony.

“People are accustomed to a certain standard of living and now find it difficult to adjust. A lot of people need tranquillisers to calm down and maybe sleeping tablets at night. Other people are using yoga and doing some light exercise to help,” he said.

“The whole society is stressed at the moment. This budget has put more stress on mental health, more so on the elderly,” said the psychiatrist and former Labour TD.

“Counselling does give people help, support and reassurance. It might not be able to solve their financial issues but it can provide a way of coping with stress.”

Mr Corbett agreed that MABS in Clare is also seeing an increase in people with financially related anxiety and depression seeking help.

“When your basic needs are threatened then you are in trouble,” he said.

MABS is calling for a working group to be established to develop and agree mental health guidelines for banks and lending institutes so that people in debt with mental health issues are treated appropriately.

“It is about support. It is not that people don’t want to act, it is that they can’t and need support,” he said.

On Friday at a special seminar on Budget 2014 in Ennis chairperson Dermot Hayes said, “This is the seventh year of budgets cuts on welfare recipients and low income families. Pushing people further into to cutting essentials. That enable them to live a quality of life and to sustain reasonable health and lifestyle.”

CONSTRUCTION work on the final section of the M18 motorway will get underway early in the new year with the road now expected to be up and running before the end of 2017.

The news was confirmed by Taoiseach, Enda Kenny (FG), last week at the Irish Haulier of the Year Awards and comes as a major boost both for Clare commuters and Shannon Airport.

The final section of the motorway, which will connect Gort to Galway City and on to Tuam, has been on ice since the onset of the recession in 2007. However, following an announcement by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar (FG), earlier this year, work on the public private scheme had been expected to begin in recent months.

The tender process for the project is at an advanced stage with a number of local businesses in North Clare expected to benefit during the threeyear construction phase.

This news is a major boost for Shannon Airport as it will allow the Clare airport to compete against Knock and Dublin airports for the custom of hundreds of thousands of customers in Galway and all along the northern seaboard.

The news could have an unexpected negative effect on the future of the Western Rail Corridor. Campaigners for the corridor, which reintroduced between Ennis and Galway in 2010, expect the rail line to be extended north as far as Sligo before 2021.

However, the extension of the motorway as far north as Tuam is expected to undermine the business plan behind and further extension of rail services.

The 2030 Rail Network Strategy Review has concluded that the reopening of the remainder of the Western Rail Corridor will become much less necessary once M18 motorway is completed.

MORE than € 4 million will be leaked out of the Clare economy in 2014 because of a drastic cut in the number of Clare farmers eligible for Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) – formally knows as REPS.

In excess of 750 Clare farmers will come to the end of their current AEOS deal over the next 12 months, with no fresh scheme coming in 2014 following last week’s budget. The scheme, which compensated farmers for conducting environmental improvement on their land, has been dramatically cut since the start of the recession in 2007.

The lion’s share of the money allocated under AEOS payments is spent almost immediately by farmers, either on building materials or labour, meaning that this € 4 million cut will have a massive knock-on impact on the wider rural community.

“The loss of the environment scheme [AEOS] is a major blow for the county. These 750 farmers in Clare will now be spending € 4 million less in the local economy next year and that is going to effect the entire rural community. We are not talking about farmers alone here,” said Andrew Dundas, Clare IFA chairperson.

“Farmers are in a situation now where they are sending every bit of money that is coming in. You have to spend the money to be in these environment schemes and this loss will be felt by the whole comunity.”

There was some good news for Clare suckler farmers in the budget with the introduction of a € 60 calf grant. The payment will come in part from a new Beef Genomics Scheme and the Beef Data Programme and will effectively replace the old suckler scheme.

Beef or suckler farms are by far the most common form of agriculture practiced in Clare but the county’s sucker herd has fallen from a high of 76,000 in 2011 to an estimated 60,000 today.

PRIESTS in both the Killaloe and Galway/Kilfenora dioceses have been specially trained to perform exorcisms on possessed parishioners. According to Fr Fiontán Ó Monacháin, secretary to the Archbishop of Tuam, three unnamed Irish priests have received special training in how to combat evil spirits and perform exorcisms.

Father Ó Monacháin said that while exorcisms are not common practice – they do take place and the priests involved are given special training to assist them in battling evil spirits.

He said that three priests – an unnamed priest in the Killaloe Diocese, a Jesuit father based in the Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Diocese, a priest based in Carlow – have received special exorcism training.

Spokesperson from the Killaloe Diocese, Fr Brendan Quinlivan, told The Clare People yesterday that no priest in the diocese has the specific job of conducting exorcisms but that all priests receive basic training in conducting exorcisms.

Fr Sean McHugh of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, said that he was not aware of any priests in the diocese who had received special training for conducting exorcisms but that the nature of the work meant that the priests identity would be kept secret.

Before an exorcism can take place, the person involved is first assessed to ensure that he or she is suffering from a spiritual possession and not a psychological issue. The local parish priest will then generally attempt to help the effected person, usually by speaking with them or performing a mass in their home. Only when this fails is permission sought from the bishop for an exorcism to take place.

“That [local] priest would have a good idea if it’s a psychiatric or a spiritual issue. If it’s a spiritual problem, the priest would usually say prayers or celebrate Mass in the house, or give a special blessing using holy water,” said Fr Ó Monacháin.

“If that doesn’t work and if they are still suffering, a formal exorcism may be necessary. And if that’s the case there are priests in the country who are trained in that field. There aren’t many. I know of a Jesuit priest in Galway and there is another priest in the Killaloe Diocese and a Franciscan priest from Carlow.”

Fr Quinlivan stressed yesterday that every care is taken to assess the psychological state of the person involved before a exorcism is considered.

“The first consideration is always the psychological condition of the person involved. This is something that we are extremely careful about,” he said.

These revelation about modern day exorcisms came to light in the ‘Díbirt Deamhain’ programme shown on TG4 on Sunday.

SEVENTEEN Clare tourism hotspots are to benefit from a share of the € 8 million which was allocated for the development of the Wild Atlantic Way.

These coastal locations, which stretch from Black Head and Fanore in North Clare to Carrigaholt and Scattary Island in West Clare, are all destinations on the new driving route, which will be officially launched next year.

It is unclear how the € 8 million will be allocated but a portion of the funding has been earmarked for the construction of new signage and other small infrastructure projects.

This funding, which is being made available from the sale of the National Lottery, has been welcomed by Lahinch hotelier and head of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan. Mr Vaughan also welcomed the maintenance of the 9 per cent VAT rate in the hospitality trade.

“There was widespread belief that the VAT rate was going to go up and that would have created a lot of difficulty in the industry, especially for the majority of companies who have already signed tourism contracts for next year. They would have been forced to absorb the cost of a VAT increase and a lot of them would not have been able to go it,” he said.

“This VAT rate has a wide impact on the industry. Golf is one area that it effects greatly and is key here in Clare. There are a lot of gold clubs out there who feel that they cannot charge any more for their green fees and to absorb the increase would cost them into the hundreds of thousands.

“The Wild Atlantic Funding is to be welcomed and I certainly hope that Clare will receive a big chuck of that money. This is certainly good news for tourism in the county,” said Mr Vaughan.

“Overall I think it was a generally pro-tourism budget. There were some negatives, like the additional duty on wine and beer and cuts to the tourism bodies, which come to about 5 per cent. But overall, we are hopeful for next year.”

CLARE County Council has been urged to consider new bye-laws to prevent the locking of gates at private burial grounds.

The issue was raised at the October meeting of Clare County Council. In a motion, Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF) stated, “Where privately-owned lands have to be traversed to access a burial ground I propose that, in the interest of public accessibility, this council adopts a protocol that prohibits the locking of gates. If neces- sary, I propose the amendment of an existing bye-law or the drafting of a new bye-law to facilitate this.”

Cllr Crowe told the meeting that his proposed amendment would seek the outright prohibition of locking graveyard gates or the locking of gates on a case specific basis.

He said the issue could first be considered by the Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) in conjunction with the local area office.

He said that while there is good pedestrian access to most public graveyards, the problem of locked gates in private burial grounds affected most areas of the county.

In reply, Gerard Dollard, Director of Services and Ennis Town Manager, stated, “In such instances, and more often than not, such land is used for the grazing of livestock. It is understandable that an entrance gate, particularly onto a public road would be locked in order to ensure that animals do not stray onto the public road.”

He continued, “Where gates are locked, the landowner co-operates by erecting a sign specifying the location of keys and on request arranges for the distribution of keys to, for example, the local undertaker, community group, registrar, caretaker, mobility impaired individuals who are regular visitors to a burial ground etc. Usually, a burial ground can also be accessed by a stile at the entrance.

Mr Dollard said the securing of gates is seen as necessary in some burial grounds in order to discourage anti-social behaviour.

“It is clear that the motion refers to privately-owned lands and it is my understanding that the council cannot regulate the access over such lands by way of bye-law,” he added.

ENNIS Hospital has finally received a clean bill of health from the health watchdog HIQA.

Following years of reports outly ing dangers to patients health and indeed life, the County Clare hospital was hailed the cleanest and safest in the country on Thursday when the Health Information and Quality Authority.

The unannounced inspection was refined to the new hospital extension, with its two wards the Burren Ward and Fergus Ward, inspected.

“Overall, both areas assessed in Ennis Hospital were very clean with very few exceptions,” the report said of the state of the art single-room wards officially opened by Minister for Health James Reilly in April.

“The risk of the spread of Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) is reduced when the physical environment and equipment can be readily cleaned and decontaminated. It is therefore important that the physical environment and equipment is planned, provided and maintained to maximise patient safety.”

The inspectors found this to be the case in the multi-million euro building it demanded in a previous damming report.

When it visited the hospital on September 4 for the most recent report it found that it was one of the cleanest in the country although there were a few minor issues relating to the standards set to control hospital infections. These included one finding of dirt on a door joint but mostly related to inadequate signage in certain parts of the wards.

Hand hygiene was criticized in the region’s maternity hospital in the last set of hospital reports, but Ennis Hospital was found to be following HIQA protocol.

“Hand hygiene is recognised internationally as the single most important preventative measure in the transmission of HCAIs in healthcare services. It is essential that a culture of hand hygiene practice is embedded in every service at all levels,” the inspector said.

“Ennis Hospital must now develop a quality improvement plan (QIP) that prioritises the improvements necessary to fully comply with the National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections.

“This QIP must be approved by the service provider’s identified individual who has overall executive accountability, responsibility and authority for the delivery of high quality, safe and reliable services. The QIP must be published by the hospital on its website within six weeks of the date of publication of this report.”

However, the good news at Ennis wasn’t replicated in four other hospitals including Nenagh, which is also in the University Limerick Hospital Group.

A litany of problems at the Tipperary hospital means a follow-up inspection is required within six months, while the Mater Hospital was told that “many improvements were required” within the same time frame.

There were also risks to patients from infections discovered at St Vincent’s and Tallaght hospitals in Dublin because of unclean environments in wards.

THE National Roads Authority has been asked to clarify its position on the placing of signs on motorways and dual carriageways amid claims it is causing confusion.

Independent councillor PJ Ryan told the October meeting of Clare County Council, clarification on the policy is needed.

In a motion, Cllr Ryan stated that “this council would clarify with the NRA the position re: signs on or just off dual carriageway, motorway or primary roads as there seem to be a lot of confusion on this matter”.

Tom Tiernan, Senior Engineer in the Council’s Transport Department, said for road safety reasons, all illegal signs are removed from the motorway.

He explained, “Because of the fact that the motorway and dual carriageway system accommodates very large volumes of traffic moving at high speed, the safety of those using the system is of paramount importance. Drivers using the primary route network need certain basic elements of information to facilitate them in terms of destination etc.”

He continued, “The motorway signage system is designed to provide basic minimum information while at the same time it seeks to ensure that the information given isn’t overly detailed or cluttered and that it isn’t too much for a driver travelling at 120 km/hr to absorb without distraction. Effectively, the objective is to provide optimum information of the kind needed by an average motorway driver and to minimise the potential for distraction thereby facilitating complete focus on driving safely.”

Mr Tiernan stated, “For the reasons outlined in the foregoing, no signage other than that designed and approved by the NRA is allowed on the motorway system and any signage placed within the confines of the primary route system without approval is unauthorised and illegal.

“Since the NRA took over maintenance and management of the motorway system recently, this policy has been implemented fully by virtue of the fact that it is a clear stipulation in the NRA’s contract with the contractor who has been engaged to look after the motorway and dual carriageway network.”

Mr Tiernan told the meeting that any signs, which have been removed to facilitate this requirement, can be retrieved by owners at the new motorway maintenance depot adjacent to Junction 13, Tulla Road Interchange on the M18.

A JUDGE has issued a stark warning that more lives will be lost to addiction if drug treatment services in Ireland continue to be under resourced.

Judge Gerard Keys was commenting following the death of Ennis man James Sherlock Jnr earlier this year.

The 24-year-old wheelchair-bound amputee was found unconscious by his brother near the green of the eighth hole of Ennis Golf Club in August. It is thought Mr Sherlock had spent a period of time squatting in the area.

Mr Sherlock, formerly of Childers Road, Ennis, was a heroin addict who lost both his legs as a result of complications arising from his addiction.

He lived rough for a while in an abandoned squat in Ennis and was awaiting sentence for setting fire to the Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe on August 20, 2010. Judge Keys had adjourned sentencing for the purpose of ascertaining what help Mr Sherlock could get to deal with his drug addiction and what accommodation could be found for him.

“It is with a great degree of sadness that I read in the newspapers the circumstances of the death of James Sherlock,” Judge Keys said at Ennis Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday.

“He was a troubled young man with huge problems and with little or no adequately-resourced facilities to assist him in dealing with his drug addiction and the medical complications which arose there from. In this court I said this man cannot be abandoned,” added Judge Keys.

He continued, “I am now compelled to say that until the problem of drug addiction in this country is tackled and a sufficient number of properly resourced facilities put in place by the State, there will be more deaths of this kind and our prison population will increase.

“I passionately believe that if a sufficient number of properly-resourced facilities for drug addiction were established it would radically reduce crime levels, reduce our prison population and save lives.”

He conveyed his sympathies to the Sherlock family.

At James Sherlock Jnr’s funeral in Ennis last August, parish priest Fr Tom O’Gorman also spoke of the dangers of drug addiction.

“Drugs led him [Jimmy] down the wrong path and the shackles that they hold on people can lead to death,” Fr O’Gorman told mourners.