Category: News

CHANGES in the school transport policy system allied to the increase in charges could have the most impact on families in South East Clare.

The Department of Education and Skills provides subsidised school transport for post-primary pupils who live more than 4.8 kilometres away from the appropriate school.

Responsibility for post-primary school transport was transferred from VECs to Bus Éireann in January.

According to Bus Éireann, from the commencement of the 2012/13 school year, the use of the Catchment Boundary Area (CB) System, as a means of determining eligibility, will cease for all pupils newly entering post-primary school.

From the 2012/13 school year, school transport eligibility for all pupils newly entering a post-primary school will be determined by the distance students reside from their nearest post-primary education centre, having regard to ethos and language.

According to one primary school teacher, the changes will start to effect families in the coming weeks.

Fianna Fáíl councillor Cathal Crowe, who teaches in Parteen National School, said he has already been approached by parents concerned over the potential cost implications of the new school transport policy.

He said, “I think in the next couple of weeks its going to be a big issue for parents when they start getting the paperwork. I’ve had one or two enquires so far but I think there’s going to be more.

“It’s probably going to affect students in the South East of the county more than other others. I know from talking to people in parts of East Clare, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to affect them too much. In South East Clare, you have a lot of students going to Limerick City and the spread of schools is massive. The enrollment system is also different in the sense that is more like the CAO, you have to give a list of preferences.”

He added, “Areas like Parteen, Meelick, Clonlara and even Sixmilebridge could be caught up by this. Some families could end up paying double what they normally pay.”

To be considered eligible for school transport, pupils must reside 4.8 kilometres or more from and be attend- ing their nearest post-primary education centre, as determined by the department and Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Bus Éireann state that pupils who are not eligible for school transport, under the above criteria, may apply for concessionary transport subject to a number of terms and conditions. These concessionary pupils will not be exempt from paying the annual charge nor will they count for the establishment or retention of a service, the company says.

Speaking last month, George O’Callaghan, CEO of Clare VEC, told a meeting that a significant number of school goers could be affected by the changes to school transport policy.

Remote area grants are payable by the department as a contribution towards private transport arrangements for eligible pupils for whom no transport service is available. These grants may also be paid for eligible pupils who live 3.2 kilometres or more from the nearest pick-up point for school transport.

The single annual charge has also been raised to € 350 per pupil. The maximum amount for a family is € 650 per year.

CLARE students, who may be eligible, have been urged to apply for their third level grants as soon as possible.

The student grant system has been reformed and a unified application process will be implemented by one body, Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). In January 2011 new grant rates and qualification criteria was introduced.

Ennis councillor Mary Howard (FG) explained, “SUSI will replace the 33 VECs and 33 local authority bodies currently processing applications, so new students should apply for their grant though SUSI,”

She continued, “Students seeking financial assistance can apply now, regardless of whether they have chosen a college course yet. This is a phased scheme, so it is important to point out that students already in receipt of a grant and who are progressing to the next year of their course will continue to be assessed and paid by the existing award- ing authorities. However, if you are changing your course or progressing onto a new course, you should apply to SUSI.”

According to Councillor Johnny Flynn (FG), a recent Bank of Ireland survey has shown the average cost to a family of sending a student to third level away from home is € 40,000.

Students or parents with queries on the application process can contact the SUSI Support Desk on 0761 087874 or by email at support@susi. cdvec.ie.

Further information can be accessed on www.studentfinance.ie. This site gives detailed instructions on how to apply for a maintenance grant and also give information if you are eligible.

IT WAS a day to remember for one group of adult learners, as they became the first students at the West Clare Adult Education Centre to complete the Leaving Certificate.

11 students received their results at the VEC centre in Kilrush on Wednesday.

According to Back to Education co-ordinator Michael Ryan, many of the Kilrush students intend to continue to third-level courses.

He said, “Kilrush went very well. It was the first time we had Leaving Cert results from there. It was very successful. There were six women and five men, they got some superb results, all honours marks. It was a diverse group of people. They gelled very well and great credit is due to them.”

He added, “The effort that the students put in was great. They worked from a nine-month period from October through to the end of May. Some of them came in to Ennis to study.” Adult learners in Shannon and Ennis were also celebrating Leaving Cert result last week. Mr Ryan explained, “We had 10 students in Shannon. Three are going onto third level education, three are going to do Post Leaving Cert Courses (PLCs) and two are continuing with the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI).” He added, “Ennis again had excellent results. We offered the full five subjects, if students wanted to take them all. This year we had 13 men and 17 women sitting exams. It seems to be evening out in terms of the gender balance. It used to be 2/1 in favour of women. Quite a number are going onto further education and third level.”

The Back to Education Initiative offers students the chance to study maths, English, history, business organisation and geography.

Mr Ryan said the VEC hopes to offer the Leaving Cert to students in East Clare next year.

For adults interested returning to learning or studying for a Leaving Certificate, the Back To Education Initiative are organising information evenings at the Adult Education Centre in 4 Bru Na Sionna, Shannon, on Monday, September 3, at 7.30pm and at the Adult Education Centre in Ennis on Tuesday, September 4, at 7pm; in Scariff on Wednesday, September 5, and in Kilrush on Thursday, September 6, at 7.30pm. For further information contact the BTEI office on 065 6897652.

TEACHERS have credited a new focus on maths as helping boost the results achieved by Clare students in the Leaving Cert.

As students of Coláiste Muire gathered in the Ennis school on Wednesday to collect their results, school principal Jean Pound said there had been a good response to the Project Maths initiative.

Project Maths involves the introduction of revised syllabuses for both Junior and Leaving Certificate Mathematics. It involves changes to what students learn in mathematics, how they learn it and how they will be assessed.

Much greater emphasis is also being placed on student understand- ing of mathematical concepts, with increased use of contexts and applications to enable students to relate mathematics to everyday experience.

Ms Pound said students had scored “excellent” results.

“They’re delighted with the results so far.

“The Project Maths aspect of it seemed to go well. The students seemed very thrilled. We had some very good results. A few of the students had all A1s.”

She continued, “We had 90 students altogether sitting the exams, which was our smallest group for a number of years.

“We had 13 students sitting the Leaving Cert Applied. The students achieved some very distinguished results.

“Overall I’d say it was probably on a par with other years.”

Ms Pound also urged students awaiting third-level offers from the Central Applications Office (CAP) to carefully consider their options.

“They should be very pleased with what they have achieved.

Students shouldn’t get too worried if they did not get their first choice. They will always have options.”

A 17-YEAR-OLD boy is recovering in hospital in Galway today after receiving head and neck injuries while diving in Kilkee on Sunday.

Limerick teenager, Killian Rae, received 30 stitches to a large headwound after he dived into shallow water at the East End of the pier in Kilkee just after midday on Sunday.

Mr Rae, who is a regular visitor to Kilkee with his family, struck his head off jagged concrete underwater the water and was airlifted to hospital. The Clare People understands that he has responded well to treatment and should be released later today, August 14, with no permanent neck or back damage.

The youngster was rescued from the water in a joint operation by the Kilkee Rescue Service and the Kilkee Unit of the Irish Coast Guard and was treated on site by the HSE rapid response unit.

The Shannon-based coast guard helicopter was dispatched to airlift the youth to hospital but it was unable to find a suitable landing spot close to the pier. Instead, Mr Rae was transported to the Kilkee Golf Club where he was airlifted from the first tee.

Spokesperson for Kilkee Marine Rescue Manuel Di Lucia said the lack of a dedicated helicopter landing site in Kilkee could put lives in danger in the future.

“It worked out okay in this situation – except that all the sand from one of the bunkers on the first tee was blown away – but this is not an acceptable situation.

We need a proper helicopter landing space closer to the pier in case of an emergency like this,” said Mr Di Lucia.

FORGET Katie Taylor, a woman from Miltown Malbay may have the most recognisable Irish female face on the planet.

For the last six months, Lourda Sexton, from Ahey Bridge in Miltown, has been broadcasting to hundreds of millions of people on the Chinese television network CCTV.

The Chinese state broadcaster has a potential reach of more than half a billion people in China, but also broadcasts internationally on a number of cable television platforms. Based in Dubai, Lourda has been back home for the last four weeks, compiling a number of broadcasts from Ireland, including one from the Willie Clancy Summer School.

“I worked in TV and radio in Dubai for a number of years and I was delighted to get this chance to work for CCTV. China Central Television is like the BBC or the RTÉ of China – it has 13 channels and I work for the news channel, which is an Englishlanguage channel,” said Lourda.

“I’m normally in Dubai and I cover a mixture of stories but I’m spending the summer in Ireland covering a lot of different stories from here. It’s exciting work, I get to go to a lot of interesting places and meet a lot of different people.”

After the visit of Chinese VicePresident, Xi Jinping, to a Clare farm and the Cliffs of Moher earlier this year, hopes are high that agricultural and tourism links can be forged between the Banner county and China.

“I’ve already covered the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway and the Willie Clancy Week in Miltown and I’d hope to do a few more stories from this side of the country. It really is a mixture of trying to show off Ireland, and what it can offer, and the links between China and Ireland,” said Lourda.

“In China, they do have an interest in Ireland. They have an interest in everywhere. There are around 60,000 Chinese in Ireland for one, so they do want to know what is going on here.”

Lourda will remain in Ireland until September and is on the look-out for any local stories which may have an interest for a Chinese audience. Anyone who thinks they may have an interesting story can contact Lourda on lourdasexton@gmail.com.

Anyone who wants to see Lourda in action can locate her on channel 510 on SKY.

ENNIS has been officially named as the European headquar ters for Microsemi, one of the county’s largest employers.

The Ennis plant, which employs 300 people, beat off competition from Microsemi plants in Wales and Bordeaux.

According to the company, the announcement “represents a significant endorsement of the work of the Ennis facility and its contribution to the wider Microsemi global network”.

The statement continued, “Ennis has been a world-class facility and a key contributor in the manufacturing processes of the company’s high reliability products, and is well-poised to contribute to Microsemi Cor poration’s planned expansion and growth strategy.”

Ennis faced competition from Microsemi plants in Wales and France. According to Richard Finn, Vice President of Microsemi Ireland, Ennis was always in a strong position to be chosen as the company’s European base of operations.

He said, “It was something we were working on for a while. 15 years ago this was the only site in Europe but we’ve acquired a lot of countries in the past four or five years. A lot of them are small micro-units in various different countries. We’ve ended up with a total of 15 different sites and 18 different legal entities in Europe. This is an effor t to consolidate some of that and organise it a bit differently. We have all these legal and HR functions, here, for across Europe.”

He continued, “We have a site with the greatest scale. We’ve moved a lot of things in here in the last five years. Everything has worked well. We’ve a good reputation of deliver- ing what we promised. That’s probably the main reason. We have about 300 people which is well up on what it was four or five years ago.”

Microsemi provides high reliable products for aerospace programmes and satellites. Components are specially tested at Microsemi Ennis to withstand the harsh environment in space.

The Ennis facility is the largest Microsemi operation outside of the US and the company is one of the largest employers in Clare.

The announcement was made last Tuesday at a celebration commemorating the company’s 20-year anniversary in Ireland, which was attended by several senior company executives including James J. Peterson, Microsemi’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Finn added, “It’s good to get it done. We’re in Ireland for 20 years, July 1992 this site was acqui red for what was then Unitrode. It coincides with that. We’ve had our Board of Directors over here for the past three or four days for some meetings. It’s good that they are over here to see what is going on. We’ve made a lot of improvements on the site over the last five or six years.”

ENNIS is well positioned to benefit from any future expansion plans by Microsemi.

That’s according to the IDA who have welcomed the announcement that Ennis has been chosen as the European headquarters for the US company.

Barry O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer of the IDA, said, “Microsemi is a growing company with ambitious plans and Ennis is wellpositioned to contribute to this growth.”

He added, “The contribution of the company to the local economy and community is highly significant, and it is gratifying to see the partnership strengthening with the announcement that Ennis is to become its European headquarters.

According to local Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey, the news that the Ennis facility will serve as the company’s European headquarters is “a real vote of confidence in this region, its workforce and the future of the mid-west”.

He added, “The company will have done their homework and will know that we have a vastly improved infrastructure network in the midwest, easy access to global markets and a skilled and dedicated workforce, all of which will help foster future growth and development.

“I welcome the fact that 50 jobs were created this year and look forward to more announcements on jobs in the future as the company continues to grow and develop and expand its range of products and activities in Ennis.”

A SENIOR executive of Microsemi in Ireland has said the company is considering expanding its operations in Ennis.

In light of Ennis being named Microsemi’s European headquarters, Vice President Richard Finn said operations at the plant could be increased further.

Ennis was selected as a base to consolidate many of Microsemi’s legal and human resources functions.

Microsemi also recently moved a new product line to Ennis, boosting the number of people employed by Microsemi in Clare to 300.

Mr Finn sees similar developments as crucial to the growth of the Ennis plant.

He explained, “Since January we’ve taken on 50. We’ve moved a product line out of Lawrence, Massachusetts, just 20 miles north of Boston, in January.

“We’re still hiring a few engineers and technicians. Hopefully it will continue to grow.”

Asked if the designation of Ennis as Microsemi’s European headquarters could aid expansion of the plant, Mr Finn said;

“Absolutely. My job is to find what the next thing is that we can move in here because we do squeeze some efficiencies in here and we do have economies of scale in what we do which is primarily the test and burn- ing of discreet semi-conductors, which is a fairly narrow field. But we’re the best in the world at what we do. If we can bolt on something else, then so much the better.”

Mr Finn said there was no shortage of skilled workers in the labour market.

He added, “Generally yes. We’ve had a great response.

“We advertised in January and got a great response. We got huge numbers.

“We got maybe 400 people for 30 jobs in terms of people applying. We interviewed about 100. There is no shortage of people looking for work or willing to do it.

There’s always going to be a scarcity in a specialised field.”

THE future of the Burren Farming for Conservation Project (BFCP) is one of the key goals outlined in the draft Burren Charter, which was published last week.

The project, which formed part of the pilot BurrenLIFE project last year, currently supports 266 Burren farmers to farm in a way that will protect the Burren natural limestone pavement, control pollution and prevent the encroachment of scrub.

According to Michael Davoran of Burren IFA, the way of life for the people of the Burren can be saved through this charter.

“This is ground-up management for the Burren. It is about preserving the way of life for the people at the Burren and that is not something that the farmers of the Burren can do by themselves.

“We need help, we all need to work together, that is what this charter is about,” he said.

“It started off with farmers working with the National Parks and Wildlife and that is to broaden out through the Heritage Council to the management of all aspects of the Burren.

“Everyone needs to have a voice in this – it is people in once-off houses, people who live in villages around the place, people who earn a living locally through the service industry and tourism. We all interact with each other and we all need to realise that,” said Mr Davoran.

Along with the preservation of the BFCP, the charter also advocated the development of a one-stop Burren shop and helpline to support and help farmers, as well as increasing the opportunities for local farmers in the areas of conservation, tourism and enterprise to help supplement farm income.

“This is the people of the Burren managing the Burren for the betterment of all. It is the people of the Burren asking themselves, what can we do for ourselves, instead of having something imposed from above,” said Mr Davoran.

“The Burren is managed by the farmer. The archeology, the geology, the flora and the fauna are all a product of the farming which has gone on for generations. ‘If we want people to continue to support us in projects like the Farming for Conservation Programme, the more people who are playing a role in managing the Burren – farming and non-farming bodies – the better.”