Category: News

GARDAÍ have issued a warning to boy racers that dangerous driving on Clare’s roads will not be tolerated.

Chief Supt of the Clare Garda Division, John Kerin was speaking at the July meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC). He was responding to concerns raised by local representatives that speeding is a big problem around the county.

However Chief Supt Kerin told the meeting that speeding problems have declined in the county in recent years. “The problem with speeding is not the same problem as it was six years ago.”

He explained that one of the reasons for the decline has been that boy racers no longer have the money to spend on cars. “We are aware of them. We have called to them and to their parents to tell them we would be focusing on them…If we do receive a report, we will call and let them know they under garda attention.”

Chief Supt Kerin said, “There is a perception that people are not being caught but they are being caught.”

Councillors had called on the gardaí to clamp down more forcefully on speeding and dangerous driving.

Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) said a stretch of road near Barntick has become like “Shannon runway at time”. Cllr Oliver Garry (FG) said speeding on national roads was a bigger problem while concern was also expressed over cars speeding on the road between Miltown Malbay and Quilty. JPC Chairman, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) told the meeting that there is a perception that speed vans are put in locations where they catch a lot of people at the same time. He added, “There are many areas in rural Clare where there are problems with speeding that are not served by the speed van.”

Chief Supt Kerin said speed vans are used to monitor roads around the county.

UNEMPLOYMENT in Clare is at a four-month high, but the numbers signing on have dropped compared to this time last year. However, there are now more women on the dole queues than there were this time last year.

As many as 10,437 people were receiving some form of unemployment assistance in the county last month.

This is the lowest number of people seeking unemployment payments during the month of July since the number unemployed rose significantly in 2009.

In July 2008, 6,023 Clare people were unemployed. By July 2009, the number had jumped to 10,497 and increased again to 10,796 this time last year.

There was a slight drop of 271 this July when compared to 12 months ago. However, unemployment in the county had increased by 239 compared to June 2012.

While the overall unemployment number has dropped compared to last year, there was a slight increase in the number of women signing on. However there are still over 2,000 more men than women on Clare’s dole queues even though the number of men seeking job assistance had dropped by 288 on last year.

There are also less people under 25 seeking employment compared to the same time last year. However, the unemployment rate among this age group has increased by 59 to 1,729 compared to June.

The number of people over 25 years of age unemployed has now reached 8,708 an increase of 180 on the previous month but a drop of 85 on last year.

The largest number of Clare people seeking unemployment assistance do so in Ennis, with 5,995 people signing on last month.

This compares favourably to July 2011 when 6,159 people were signing on.

In Ennis, the number of women in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance and unemployment benefit has increased slightly, while the number of men in the same position has decreased.

This is a fact reflected in two of the three social welfare areas, the exception being Tulla where 1, 501 people are currently unemployed.

Here too the number of unemployed decreased slightly compared to 12 months ago. However, there was a drop in unemployment rates among both genders.

In Kilrush, the number unemployed was at 1,449, a drop of just seven compared to last year, while in Ennistymon there was a decrease of 33 to 1,492 people on the unemployment list.

OLD age pensioners and young mothers in Clare are resorting to shoplifting to survive as the recession sends a new group of people to the poverty line.

New figures show that older people are also going without certain foods, cutting back on electricity and fuel and are not buying clothes as they struggle to pay essential bills.

Clare Gardaí said they have come across a number of older people and mothers “who basically do not have enough money” and have come to their attention for shoplifting.

Superintendent Gerry Wall said there have been a number of incidents of shoplifting in Kilrush in the last seven months, with those responsible broken into three distinct cate gories – older people, young mothers and general thieves.

The increase in the number of older people and mothers resorting to crime to feed themselves and their families is a growing social concern, he maintained.

Gardaí have been treating the issue with sensitivity.

Supt Wall said that he and his colleagues are sensitive to the social needs of these people and have dealt with them by way of an adult caution. “I must say the shops in question have also been very understand ing,” he said.

Age Action Ireland, which promotes positive ageing and better policies and services for older people, said many older people are finding it impossible to make ends meet.

According to EU SILC statistics 9.6 per cent of over 65 year olds in Ireland are deemed to be at risk of poverty.

Gerard Scully of Age Action told The Clare People that the increase of household bills such as electricity and heating coupled with the reduction in the household package, which once assisted with those bills, is adding to the struggles.

“The social welfare pension has not even cut, but it also hasn’t been increased which is effectively a cut,” he said.

“A lot of older people with pri- vate pensions have also been badly hit. There is a phenomena of a ‘new poor’,” he explained.

“For the year 2010, 23 per cent of people over 65 were unable to pay for an item on the household budget. Older people are cutting back on clothes or shoes, and they wouldn’t be using electricity as much or eating meat in order to save money.

“It highlights the fact that many older people are finding it difficult to make ends meet. It belies any suggestion that older people are doing well out of the recession,” he said.

SHANNON Development incurred losses of over € 10m in 2011, but the chief executive, Dr Vincent Cunnane, has expressed himself to be “quite pleased” with company’s performance amid the challenging times of the current economic climate.

Figures from the annual report that was released last Tuesday show that pre-tax losses at the company narrowed by over 27 per cent during the year, from € 14.5m in 2010 to € 11.9m for the year ending December 2011.

The company’s performance comes against a backdrop of revenues declining by seven per cent from € 32.4m to € 30.2m in the 12 months to the end of December last. Dr Vincent Cunnane said he was “quite pleased” with this performance and pointed out that the biggest contributory factor to the pre-tax loss was a combined non-cash cost of € 10.5m made up of a depreciation charge of € 7m and a € 3.5m write-down in property assets.

“We had a small operating deficit,” said Dr Cunnane. “Over € 10m of it is a paper loss in terms of depreciation and impairment. When you take it all out their was a small operating loss of € 1.5m,” he added.

During 2011 Shannon Development’s rental earnings from its € 100m property portfolio dropped by over € 1m from € 13.3m to € 12.2m, which represented an eight per cent drop.

Meanwhile, as a direct result of the property crash, the company’s income from property sales has collapsed resulting in combined losses of € 45.6m in the past three years, largely made up of impairment charges and depreciation. “A significant improvement in un- derlying economic conditions will be required in order to facilitate the realisation of a number of major property sales and investment projects by the company,” the annual report states. “Accordingly, the company will adjust a number of the strategic plan key performance indicators such as job creation targets, visitor numbers and capital expenditure targets during 2012 and 2013 in order to take account of the prevailing economic climate,” it adds. “I believe that the best way out of a difficulty is to face it head on,” said Dr Cunnane. “In that vein, Shannon Development has managed its resources to respond to the most serious recession in a generation. “Against a difficult economic background, Shannon Development staff are continuing to craft the building blocks to help secure the economic future of our region. For this, I would like to personally commend their continued commitment and dedication. Shannon Development will continue to work to ensure that our region is a world class global location where people want to live, work and spend leisure time. As a regional development agency we are firmly focused on delivering a strong economic future for everyone living in the Shannon region,” he added.

KILRUSH’S most senior garda has reassured those who may be the victim of illegal loan sharks that they can meet his colleagues in the strictest confidence. At Thursday morning’s meeting of the Kilrush Joint Policing Committee (JPC), Superintendent Gerry Wall said he was aware of the is- sue of illegal money-lending in the town, but he needed people to come forward and make a statement if an arrest was to be made. He told the committee members that there are two ways open to the Gardaí to tackle the issue – firstly through direct reporting, and secondly throgh the assistance of specialst gardaí based in Dublin. “I have as much access to these specialist gardaí as any of my colleagues. “They are not a million miles away just because they are based in Dublin,” he said. The most direct route to an arrest is through victims and witnesses coming forward. “We are drawing a blank on people reporting this,” he added. The superintendent said he would encourage people affected to come forward and speak to Gardaí in strict confidence. During the last few months, problems associated with illegal moneylending have come to the fore in the West Clare town, with reports of lenders standing outside the post office waiting for payment as borrowers collect social welfare payments. There are also reports of lenders holding on to people’s social welfare cards to ensure payment. Those at the mercy of the moneylenders have said they are not willing to talk about their situation as they are afraid of reprisals. Many who signed up for these exorbitant loans fear the unscrupulous lenders too much to even tell the Gardaí. Gardaí in Kilrush have reassured people, however, that they will meet them in confidence.

SHANNON Development’s work as a driver for tourism in the mid-west is being rewarded with the results of increased numbers into region over the past year.

That’s the message delivered by Shannon Development chief executive Dr Vincent Cunnane following the publication of the company’s annual report last week.

Preliminary tourism figures from Fáilte Ireland for 2011 indicate that the Shannon region was one of Ire- land’s top performing areas in terms of the growth of international visitor numbers.

The region recorded 850,000 overseas visitors in 2011, an 11.7 per cent increase over the previous year, with Dr Cunnane highlighting Shannon Development key role in this upsured. “We are delighted with these preliminary results which clearly reflect the hard work that is being done on the ground and internationally to promote this region as a premier tourist destination,” he told The Clare People .

“While these figures are encouraging, we would acknowledge that not all businesses would have benefited equally. To support tourism businesses in the Shannon region, Shannon Development undertook a series of its own strategic tourism initiatives in 2011,” he said.

“These delivered 155,000 extra visitors, 310,000 bednights and an additional € 30 million in revenue. Over the past four years, tourism initiatives undertaken directly by the company have delivered a direct economic benefit of almost € 160 million for the region’s tourism industry.”

Tourism continues to be one of the key economic drivers in the Shannon region’s economy, employing more than 25,000 people in over 1,000 tourism businesses and attracting over 1.8 million visitors in 2011.

The continued success of Shannon Development subsidiary, Shannon Heritage, in this tourist drive was highlighted in the figures that show it recorded a five per cent growth in 2011 with 436,300 visitors across the board at all its tourist sites.

“The Shannon Heritage operation continues to be an economic driver by contributing an estimated € 15 million in revenue for the local economy,” said Dr Cunnane

“The Shannon region boasts a superb range of tourist attractions and Shannon Development’s Product Development team is constantly working to help the tourism trade devise new visitor attractions to entice the next generation of visitors.

“We want to ensure that this region is a ‘must visit’ destination.

“Our team is currently working on over € 22 million worth of tourism projects. A particular area of concentration for the company in 2011 was the development of sports tourism and conference business in the Shannon region,” added Dr Cunnane.

THE East Clare community of Ogonnelloe will say a final farewell this morning (Tuesday) to a father of three who drowned following a boating accident on Lough Derg.

Pat Danaher lost his life in the picturesque lake after his 20-foot speedboat capsized on Thursday. It is understood that the boat ran aground after hitting rocks.

It was later found upturned and a search of the waters was immediately carried out. The massive search involved volunteer members of the RNLI, Coast Guard, Civil Defence, Mountshannon Search and Rescue and Killaloe/Ballina Search and Recovery Unit.

Divers from the Killaloe/Ballina Search and Recovery Unit recovered the 44-year-old’s body on Friday.

His death has been described as a tragedy by Parish Priest Donagh O’Meara, who said the whole community was still in shock.

“Pat’s tragic death is an awful loss to his family and the local community. Pat was a great character, larger than life, and the community is still in shock at the news. It’s a terrible tragedy.”

Fr O’Meara was confident that the community would provide support to his widow Pauline and their three young children, Rachel, Laura and Leo.

“There is a fantastic community here in Ogonnelloe and people are great. I know they will all rally around Pauline and the children and Pat’s own family at this terrible time. Many from the community were down in Garrykennedy during the search to show their support for the family,” he said.

Mr Danaher was originally from Ballinacurra Gardens in Limerick, but the painting contractor had set- tled with his young family in Nancy’s Well, Ogonnelloe.

Gardaí and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board are continuing to conduct separate inquiries into his untimely death. Gardaí have confirmed that they are treating the death as a tragic accident.

Requiem Mass will take place this morning in St Mary’s Old Church, Ogonolloe at 11am followed by a private cremation.

Mr Danaher is survived by his wife Pauline and three children Rachel, Laura and Leo, his parents Bridie and Tony, and sisters Monique, Samantha, Sonia and Natasha.

SHANNON Development has stated that plans to develop a major new visitor attraction in Bunratty are still in the pipeline, with the company’s annual report revealing that the campaign to secure expressions of interest for the multi-million euro project is ongoing.

“Shannon Development is seeking expressions of interest for a major new international visitor attraction on its 120-acre landbank next to the world famous Bunratty Castle and Folk Park,” the report reveals.

“Research carried out by Shannon Development identified a number of possible suitable projects for the site, among them a diaspora visitor centre and genealogy centre, and a themed family adventure park,” it adds.

The deadline for expressions of interest for the project was extended earlier this year as part of Shannon Development’s attempts to spark interest in a multi-national investor coming on board to develop the project.

It was originally intended that the closing date for submission to the regional development agency would be the end of March, but in extending this deadline chief executive Dr Vincent Cunnane said, “additional time is required” because of the sig- nificant “nature of the project” that would be one of the largest to be undertaken under Shannon Development’s watch in decades.

“While the money may not be in Ireland, there is money elsewhere and the best value can be had at this point in time,” Dr Cunnane said.

This project has its genesis in a 2009 Clare County Council decision through the South Clare Local Area Plan to pave the way for the development of visitor facilities on the Shannon Development-owned site.

Shannon Development subsequently revealed that “informal discussions with Clare County Council indicated that they would welcome a tourism related planning application for this strategic site”.

In tender documents for the development of the site adjacent to Bunratty Castle, Shannon Development have highlighted gaps in the market that can be filled Bunratty – 50 years on from the start of medieval banquets in Bunratty Castle.

One of the proposals is to develop an Ireland Through the Ages History and Cultural Centre incorporating a diaspora visitor centre and genealogy centre.

“It is estimated that the size of the available market for cultural tourism in Ireland from main source markets of Britain, United States, France and Germany to be of the order of € 65 million,” the tender documents stated.

“The preferred option for Shannon Development is to enter into a development and management agreement with a preferred party for the development and operation of the new attraction,” the documents added.

Earlier this year, Dr Cunnane stated that the project “represents a unique opportunity beside an existing tourism attraction visited by 400,000 people per annum, adjacent to Shannon Airport and two hours by motorway from Dublin.

“We are hopeful that something very significant will happen at Bunratty. I’m confident that we will receive several expressions of interest,” he added.

PARTS of the mid-west experienced twice the amount of average rainfall during June and July, according to Met Eireann.

Figures for July recorded at Met Eireann’s station at Shannon Airport was 140 per cent of average in July.

Temperatures were also 1.4 per cent lower than average. The highest mean temperature, however, was recorded at Shannon Airport at 14.9 degrees. Met Eireann spokesman Hugh Daly explained that the rainfall for June and July was significantly higher than normal.

He said, “After a wet June and a wet July, we’ve had two pretty bad months. Not record-breaking bad or out of the ordinary like we’ve previously had. In June and July, rainfall recorded at Shannon was 240 per cent of average, which is significant. That’s twice the normal amount of rainfall for the two months.”

Mr Daly continued, “Having one bad month on top of another has really compounded the situation. A constant period of heavy rainfall meant the saturated soils did not have the time to recover. We had low pressure and northerly winds keeping temperatures down and rainfall high.”

“We had no string of pleasant days, it was constantly interrupted by rain. I was looking through the charts there and I couldn’t find one day in where it wasn’t raining in any part of the country. It was always raining somewhere,” he added.

Apart from being bad news for farmers, the poor weather is also contributing to a decline in domestic tourism in the west.

According to Eugene Maher, CEO of Shannon Ferries, the near constant bad weather is convincing many families to cancel short breaks and day trips.

He explained, “The biggest decline has been in domestic traffic. People just can’t afford to go anywhere anymore. People are not taking long journeys, long trips. That’s a consequence of both domestic economic woes, less money in the pocket, as much as it due to the weather. In tandem with the economic downturn, Ireland has probably experienced five of the worst summers in history that has had a huge damaging effect on domestic tourism.”

FEARS and public concern have been allayed this week that a new tourism initiative on Lough Derg would be responsible for scaring away two rare white-tailed sea eagles that have made their home near Mountshannon.

Environmentalists in East Clare had voiced their concern that an air show due to take place in Mountshannon on September 9 next would threaten the rare eagles that are now breeding in Ireland for the first time in more than 100 years.

The eagles were driven to extinction a century ago; the last white- tailed sea eagles to breed here did so in remote coastal areas of Kerry and Mayo back in 1898.

This new breeding pair – a fouryear-old male and three-year-old female – were introduced to Ireland in 2008 and 2009 respectively from the island of Frøya off the west coast of Norway.

They were among 100 birds released in Killarney National Park as part of the reintroduction programme and early last year they made their home in Bushy Island, a thickly vegetated outcrop on Lough Derg, close to Mountshannon.

“People were afraid of what might happen to the eagles because of the air show,” revealed John Harvey of Mountshannon Community Council. “But Dr Alan Mee, who is in charge of the eagles, said he doesn’t think there will be any problem unless the planes fly over the island.

“We had a meeting to address those concerns on Friday night and everyone seems to be happy. We are going to meet with the pilots before the show, so we will know exactly where they will be flying over. Once they stay a kilometre away from the island, it will be okay. They will be flying at 1,500 feet, so we seem to think that everything will go ahead without any problems,” he added.

The air show is being organised by Harbour Flights, the company that has been given permission by Clare and Galway County Councils to operate a sea-plane service on Lough Derg that will include a floating pontoon and slipway at Mountshannon.

“The intention of putting on this activity is to attract people from all locations across Ireland to Lough Derg and introduce them to what we believe is one of Ireland’s best-kept secrets,” says Rose Curtis of Harbour Flights.

“As Lough Derg is the second largest lake in Ireland, it is hoped the air show will attract a large amount of cruiser owners from as far away as the six counties,” she added.