Category: News

DRIVERS in Clare are clocking up penalty points for speeding at a faster pace than their counterparts in any other county.

Three Clare drivers have received driving bans, having accumulated 12 penalty points. Another two drivers have received 11 points, with 22 on 10 points.

The numbers of drivers who received penalty points in Clare during the first six months of this year exceeded figures for the whole of last year.

The biggest increase of any county was in Clare where more than 3,700 drivers were penalised up to the end of June. This compares with around 2,800 during the whole of last year.

CLARE County Council has been forced to spend almost € 192,000 on security at one Traveller accommodation site in Ennis over the past 12 months.

Security personnel have been engaged by the council at the Beechpark site on the outskirts of Ennis since units there were destroyed by arson and other forms of vandalism last April (2010).

In a statement, Fiona Mooney of the council’s housing department explained, “The council has security personnel engaged at the Beechpark development.”

“This weekly cost is € 3,000. The security will be withdrawn upon the installation of a CCTV system in September. The CCTV system will be funded by the Department of the Environment.”

According to information given by the council in response to questions from The Clare People , there have been eight incidents of vandalism and damage at Traveller accommodation units in Clare in the past 12 months.

Ms Mooney explained, “Four houses and four service bays have been damaged. The most serious occurred in early July when a house at St Michael’s Park, Ballymaley, was de- stroyed by fire in an arson attack. The council is liaising with the gardaí. The council’s insurers are currently estimating the level of damage and loss in respect of this attack.”

According to the statement, the cost of repairs resulting from damage and vandalism in the last 12 months is € 88,800. A total of € 24,631 of this sum was funded by the Department of the Environment.

Ms Mooney stated that the council, through the Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee in the first instance, is in the process of the mid-term review of the adopted Traveller Accommodation Programme 2009-20013.

She added, “The issues of damage and vandalism to Traveller accommodation built by the council under the earlier and current accommodation programmes are under discussion as part of that review.”

HOUSE hunters in Clare can now buy a house for less than it costs to build.

The staggering fall in property values in the county has left houses changing hands at 1990 prices, property insiders say.

According to the Residential Property Price Index results, released by the Central Statistics Office last week, property prices outside of Dublin have fallen by 13 per cent in the last year.

According to Ennis auctioneer, Diarmuid McMahon, this is the most accurate picture yet of what is happening in Clare. “House prices in Clare have fallen to sub-construction levels. From a buyers perpective, that’s fantastic news.”

The Sherry Fitzgerald auctioneer said that it is now also cheaper to take out a mortgage on a property in Clare than to rent one. “Rents in Ennis have stabalised but with quailty rental stock availability low.” he said.

“Buying hasn’t been this afford- able in a decade. We’re back to 1990 prices.”

McMahon said that a three bed semi-detaached home in a desireable area in Ennis can now be had for as little as € 150,000. Ghost estates aside, a squeeze on stock of houses may be on the cards he predicted.

“With prices such that it costs more to build than the builder will get when a house is sold, then no-one is going to build new estates.”

The CSO index is a welcome addition to the store of information available to those involved in prop- erty deals, but there is also a pressing need for a property sale price index, McMahon said.

“This is a much more accurate picture of what’s happening in the market than any of the property web-sites. But we need to know what properties are selling for so that people know what their property is worth.

“In the UK, if your neighbour sells his house you can go to a website and see what was paid for it, Here, unless there is a public auction, we are not allowed to say what price was paid for a particular property.”

A 31-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with the false imprisonment and sexual assault of his partner over the weekend, in the Killaloe Garda District.

The accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of falsely imprisoning and sexually assaulting a female, on July 30 last.

Garda Edel Crowley of Killaloe Garda Station told Ennis District Court yesterday that the accused was arrested on Sunday evening.

He did not reply when one of the charges was put to him.

In reply to the other charge, he said, “False imprisonment. Where did you get that from?”, Gda Crowley told the court.

Inspector Tom Kennedy said that gardaí were objecting to bail, on a number of grounds, including that the accused does not have a permanent address; the seriousness of the charges and that the accused may be at flight risk.

Defending solicitor Tony O’Malley said that his client was residing with the injured party.

“Matters have arisen which caused him to be charged with offences. He has been given accommodation with a friend,” said the solicitor.

“I don’t think there are any real grounds for him being at flight risk,” he added.

He said that while his client is not working at the moment, he had a good work record in the past.

Inspector Kennedy said, “He doesn’t have a place to live.

“The address put forward is a convenient address. . . That address isn’t a permanent address.”

“Based on the seriousness of the charges, one would have to be very fearful that he might leave the jurisdiction,” said Inspector Kennedy.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “There is a Constitutional right to bail.

“The seriousness of the charge on its own is not grounds for refusing bail.

“It has been put to the court that he’s at flight risk. . .

“The difficulty the court has here is a permanent address. . . Unless the accused can provide a permanent address at which he can live, then I am afraid he has a difficulty.”

He adjourned the case until later this week and remanded the accused in custody.

He said he would revisit the bail application on the adjourned date, subject to a permanent address being provided.

“If he does provide a permanent address, the court is mindful of granting bail with an independent surety.”

The judge went on to say that this surety would be in the region of € 5,000. “I have in mind a surety of € 10,000, a half to be lodged.

“All that is subject to providing a permanent address to gardaí,” said the judge. Free legal aid was granted to the defendant.

THE Barefield man, whose daughter was given just weeks to live last October, is now preparing to bring her home to Ireland after successful cancer treatment that has been described as a miracle.

Forty-year old John Malone moved to Boston with his family last winter when his four-year-old daugher Megan was given just weeks to live when diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer, SPNET Medulloblastoma.

Now, they are getting ready to come home after ground-breaking treatment in New York’s Presbyte- rian Children’s Hospital and a course of radiotherapy that’s now in its final stages.

“We have booked our flight home and we’re all very excited about that,” John Malone said this week.

“It’s been a long a difficult road for every member of our family, but especially for Megan. Our wish is that Megan will remain cancer free and enjoy every minute of a long and happy life. I haven’t seen our other children so excited in such a long time,” he added.

Megan became ill in October, just a few days after her parents Sheila and John celebrated the birth of their fourth child.

A major fundraising drive was started to enable Megan travel to America to undergo revolutionary cancer treatment, while the Megan Malone Trust was established in December of last year.

So far over € 700,000 million has been spent on her medical fees, while the estimated final cost of her treatment that’s now in its final three weeks in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

A little over four months into her treatment, her parents John and Sheila were given the results of the youngster’s latest MRI scan, which have amazed doctors.

“We could not have asked for better news. The MRI scans were reviewed by the medical team and the results are amazing. Megan’s brain now has no evidence of cancer,” John Malone revealed at the time.

“Dr Garvin told us there is complete response in the brain and that the main tumour is gone. We are in shock and just can’t believe it.

“Dr Garvin told us that this is a unique situation. Most brain tumours of this nature and magnitude are surgically removed first before chemo and many still require radiotherapy to completely remove them.”

MALICIOUS use of online social media and the Wikipedia tool on the internet were blamed last week on the spreading of “a vicious rumour” that Clare hurling legend Ger Loughnane had passed away.

The rumour, which was presented as a statement of fact, first emerged last on Wednesday evening last and from there gathered momentum through the night, before it finally emerged that it was malicious and totally unfounded.

A number of GAA websites around the country ran with the story, be- fore Loughnane family spokesperson, Matt Purcell, took to the Clare FM airwaves on Thursday morning to rubbish the false reports and allay peoples’ fear about the Clare hurling legend’s health.

“I was just talking to Ger’s family and thankfully he is still very much with us. He is as bright as a button and extremely well. He couldn’t be in better form and is responding 100 per cent to treatment,” said Purcell, who also hails from Feakle.

“The family were inundated with messages and calls yesterday and it was gone to a ridiculous point. How could someone start something stu- pid like that on the internet?

“Thankfully, we can set the record straight. Everything is going well and according to plan with his treatment. That’s about all there is to it,” Ger Loughnane’s close friend added.

Fifty-seven-year-old Loughnane was diagnosed with leukaemia in late June and immediately began an intense course of treatment in Dublin.

“It was very strange how this malicious rumour started,” said Clare County Board PRO Syl O’Connor.

“He is responding well to the treatment and they are hoping to let him out for a few days next week, all going well.

“The one thing I would wish now is that people would let him and the family get on with it. I said it when news of his illness first emerged and I’ll say it again – people should not make this story anything that it isn’t. We don’t want anybody to preempt anything, just let whatever is to happen, happen. We all wish him well.”

AN ESTIMATED 1,500 homes and businesses were affected by two major power outages in Ennis on Thursday. Shops were plunged into darkness while many banks were forced to close early due to repeated interruptions to the town’s power supply.

Restaurants and pubs were also affected, with some premises shutting up in the middle of the day. Some businesses, which had been without power since the morning, did not get supply back until near midnight.

In a statement, the ESB explained that the outages occurred as a result of cable faults in the town centre.

A spokesperson stated, “At 11am, a cable fault occurred affecting approximately 1,000 customers. ESB network crews were immediately dispatched and generators were provided at 5pm to ensure continuity of supply to the majority of affected customers while repair work was being carried out to the damaged cable. It was not possible to restore power to the remaining customers until midnight.”

She continued, “In the second case, a cable fault occurred close to Francis Street that led to an outage at 4.15pm. Supply was restored to the affected 500 customers by 6pm.”

Business representatives have called on the ESB to communicate more efficiently with businesses in the event of future outages.

Brian O’Neill, Managing Director of the Rowan Tree Hostel, said the premises were without power from 11.30am on Thursday to 1.30am on Friday.

He said that when the outage struck, he was unable to find out from the ESB when supply would return to normal. He explained, “Fourteen hours without power, it’s a disgrace. We had to make a decision to shut the restaurant. You can’t blame people for what happened but it was not dealt with as efficiently as it could have been. The communications side of it was a disaster.”

Mr O’Neill, who is Vice President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce, said staff at the Rowan Tree restaurant were forced to throw out € 1,500 worth of spoiled food.

He added that the ESB should have provided more information to business owners in Ennis.

He said, “There are enough staff with the ESB. Surely they could have had one person on the ground in Ennis with a list of businesses, updating them on an hourly basis, just as a courtesy.”

A spokeswoman for the ESB said the company was not anticipating any further problems with the supply in Ennis.

THE first move towards transforming the old Two-Mile Inn Hotel in Meelick into the biggest privately run nursing home in Clare began last week when a planning application was lodged with Clare County Council.

On behalf of the new owners of the property, Cork-based building firm Ó Mórdha Construction Ltd has applied to the planning authority for permission for “change of use from hotel to convalescence home”.

Included in this planning application that was submitted last Wednesday is a request to demolish the water tower structure on the site, an extension of the dining room facilities, a series of other internal modifications to make it suitable for a nursing home and the construction of an outdoor fenced children’s play area.

The planning application comes two months after the hotel was sold by GMV Auctioneers in Limerick on behalf of receivers Price Waterhouse Coopers.

The hotel first opened its doors in 1970, having being built by developer Tom Ryan, before being taken over by Brendan Dunne later that decade.

In October 2008, Billy O’Riordan of PriceWaterhouseCoopers was appointed as receiver and he placed the hotel on the market as a going concern, as was the Woodstock Hotel in Ennis, which was also part of the Dunne Group of hotels.

At the time, the price being sought was in the region of € 7m. However, two years later, when a buyer could not be found, the asking price was slashed to € 1.2m.

At the time, Mr Crosse described this as a “giveaway price” for such a substantial and high profile property that finally closed its doors in September 2010 before being sold last December in the region of the € 1.2m asking price.

The 123-bedroom hotel is located on an 11-acre site with substantial carparking space and when it closed employed 15 people. A decision on the planning application will be made by Clare County Council on September 20 next.

A DECISION on whether a supermarket and office development will be allowed to go ahead in Miltown Malbay is expected to be handed down by An Bord Pleanála in the next two weeks.

The appeals board is currently deliberating on the application for the project earmarked for New Line Road in Miltown Malbay – a twostory shop and office development comprising of a supermarket, newsagent, café, off-license, warehouse stores, offices, a basement car park comprising of 49 spaces, a surface car park with 23 places and a new town square.

“The new public square adjoins the entrance to the supermarket/office development and will link to the Main Street via a pedestrian lane, which will comprise of a separate planning application to Clare County Council,” the application states.

Plans for the ambitious project were first submitted by Jim Shannon and Michael Gleeson to Clare County Council in August 2010, but follow- ing five submissions/objections from members of the public, the local authority refused planning on March 16 of this year.

In refusing the permission for the project that would total 4,253 square metres, the Clare County Council planning authority said that the proposed development “by reason of lack of pedestrian connection between the site and the Main Street of Miltown would result in a development which would be functionally detached from the Main Street.”

In addition, planners ruled that the development “would adversely impact on the viability and vitality of the Main Street” and would be “contrary to proper planning and sustainable development of Miltown and the retail planning guidelines issued by the Department of the Environment”.

Following the refusal, an appeal was lodged by Mr Shannon and Mr Gleeson to an Bord Pleanála on April 14, while the decision on future of the project will be given by the appeals board, which should be revealed on August 15 next.

THE fate of Clare’s oldest construction firm, McInerney Holdings, took another twist on Friday when the board of directors of the company that was set up by O’Callaghan’s Mills man Thomas McInerney in 1909 resigned after a proposal to put the troubled house-builder into liquidation was rejected by shareholders.

Last week, McInerney Homes, which represents the Irish divisions of the construction company, was placed in receivership after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal to a previous High Court decision that refused to approve a rescue plan for the firm that had been proposed by the directors.

Had the plan been adopted, US private equity firm Oaktree Capital had pledged to invest € 54m in it and a related firm in order to keep them going.

McInerney’s directors said afterwards they were disappointed at the ruling. They pointed out that it meant that a € 54 million investment – that would have saved 100 jobs and resulted in a € 2 million payment to trade creditors – could not now go ahead.

Rebel shareholder David Nabar- ro, who owns 21.45 per cent of the group, was co-opted on to McInerney’s board after an extraordinary general meeting in Dublin city centre on Thursday.

Mr Nabarro succeeded in rallying enough support among shareholders to defeat the board’s motion to wind down the company through a voluntary liquidation. Of the 50 per cent of shareholders who voted, some 73 per cent rejected the motion.

Addressing the egm, chairman Ned Sullivan said the plc “has run out of cash, has no assets of worth and no bank facilities”. Its main Irish businesses were in receivership, the British businesses had been sold as had its Club business in Spain. Its remaining Spanish businesses had been placed into insolvency procedures, he said.

Mr Sullivan said the directors had exhausted “all possible efforts and options” to rescue the group.

“In this situation, it is not realistic to consider that there is any equity value for the shareholders,” Mr Sullivan said.

The company celebrated its centenary in 2009 and, until the recession took hold, the McInerney Group remained one of Ireland’s leading construction companies.