Category: News

JUDGEMENT day for the Burren’s bid to become one of Europe’s official Geoparks arrives next week as two Geopark evaluators visit the area.

The evaluators, who represents Geoparks in Germany and Sicily, will spends three days in the Burren judging how tourism is operated in the area before coming to a decision on whether the area will be granted membership to the European Geopark Network. Geopark membership would mean a substantial increase in the number of tourists visiting the Burren each year and it is hope that it could provide a kick-start to a number of new eco-tourism ventures which have been launched in North Clare over the past two years.

It is hoped that an increase in ecotourism, prompted by gaining Geopark status, would lead to a sharp increase in the revenue gained by local people, with eco-tourists likely to spend a number of days in the area, rather than bussing through and staying in Galway or Limerick.

While a final decision on the Burren’s bid will not be announced until September of this year, next weeks visit will go a long way to deciding what that decision will be.

“At the moment there are 45 different Geoparks around Europe and the vast majority of them are in places that we are targeting for tourists. People recognise the Geopark name in Europe and this will help attract more tourist to the Burren,” said Ronan Hennessy of the Burren Connect Project.

“It is about the type of tourists that we are going to attract; when people see the Geopark symbol it will let them know that there is more here to explore. It’s about adding value for the local people and encouraging people to stay in the area for a number of days and not move on to Galway or Limerick.”

Next Tuesday, August 2, a group of local stakeholders will meet with the delegation to try and convince them of the Burren’s suitability.

“We have organised an event at the Burren Outdoor Education Centre which will see more that 30 people from the local tourism sector and other relevant parties meet the delegation from the two Geoparks,” continued Ronan. “The European Geopark Network is a self governing body and it’s up to its own member to decide whether a new area should be given Geopark status and whether existing members deserve to keep their status.”

THE success of the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) was again evident when another Ennis batch of mature students and graduates from the county capital’s Adult and Community Education Centre received certificates.

While adult education plays a key role in learners’ self-development, it also has another strong tradition, pointed out speakers from County Clare Vocational Education Committee at the celebratory event in Cois na hAbhna. The presentations were made by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG), standing in for the committee chair- man, Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind).

Through the VTOS learning process students are enabled to create their own knowledge which in turn brings about change not just in the lives of the learners but also the communities in which they live and the wider society, it was pointed out.

The chief executive officer of the committee, George O’Callaghan, said that once students became critically aware of certain aspects of the education system they could take action to bring about change. It was no coincidence, therefore, that many former and current students of VTOS throughout the county were engaged in such activities as after-school homework clubs, voluntary tutoring in literacy and numeracy and in community groups. The Further Education and Training Awards Council of Ireland (FETAC), which certifies VTOS courses, is now an integrated part of the qualifications framework recognised in most other countries. One of the things it facilitates is starting at any point of the programme to obtain other certificates.

The most recent course participants in Ennis, in all 71 of them, were complimented by the programme co-ordinator, Helen O’Sullivan, on managing time away from their other responsibilities to devote to further study and learning. She praised them for their dedication and hard work under a brilliant set of teachers who in turn were greatly assisted by the administrative staff of the vocational education committee and the support staff in the centre.

“Those who are receiving certificates today can face the future with greater confidence,” she added. “Many of you returned to formal education after a long break, often spanning decades, and through hard work and perseverance you have achieved success. Many of you have continued with your studies, more have gone on to employment while others are still searching.

“Participation in the VTOS pro- gramme means embracing much more than vocational training. Students of this programme have commented that it is not just about certification; it is about the lifelong friendships that are made and fostered; it is also about the confidencebuilding and bringing out of skills and talent that have lain dormant for years or never tapped into before. In truth, for many it is a programme of discovery.

“We are pleased to acknowledge the achievements of all who are involved in today’s ceremony and wish all our students and graduates continued success on their path of lifelong learning,” she concluded.

PLANS have been lodged with Clare County Council for what has been described as the mid-west’s first driver training school in Ennis.

Martin Fitzgibbon Builders Ltd have applied for planning permission for the development of a driving school including entrance, roadway signs, underground services, perimeter fencing and pre-fabricated office.

According to the application, the two-hectare site at Bunnow, Doora, Quin Road, Ennis, will include a closed network of roadway with roundabout, controlled and uncontrolled junctions.

A report prepared by Complete Site Services explains that the academy will provide “total driver training for people with little or no experience behind the wheel to encounter some of the typical traffic control features in a safe and controlled environment away from other traffic”.

The report, by architect Joe Cahill, continues, “The proposed development would provide much needed employment and I am aware that no other facility of this nature exists in the mid west area.”

According to a flood risk assessment, the site is on the periphery of a flood plain and remains at risk from: flooding from groundwater; flooding via overland flow from adjacent land; flooding from surface water drainage.

The report finds that according to the initial flood risk assessment, “flood risk of the site is considered low”.

Objectors have raised concerns over the potential impact of the proposed driving school on the area. Vincent J Coffey and Sons of Clon Road, Ennis, “respectfully submit that the proposed development contravenes the zoning and aims and objectives of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan 2008 and must be refused in the circumstances”.

The submission states that land owned by Vincent J Coffey and Sons is currently used as a knackery yard and for agricultural purposes.

The submission continues, “If the development on the other hand is permitted then it will seriously impact on the validity of the whole operation and its continued existence on the site will be seriously at risk.”

Sean J Heeney of Castlewood Park, Ennis operates greyhound kennels opposite the site of the proposed development.

In his submission, Mr Heeney states, “I would point out that to my certain knowledge this site has flooded annually since planning permission was granted for kennels in 1992.”

Mr Heeney says that he was forced to evacuate his dogs in 1999, 2007 and 2009. He states that flooding at the site normally occurs between the end of September until April.

The Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government have also raised concerns about the proposed development.

In a report, Paul McMahon of the Development Applications Unit, states, “the department is concerned that the infilling and development of site will reduce the area of floodplain for the river and has the potential to result in the release of pollutants both during and after construction”.

The department has requested further information on the proposed development. This includes a copy of an emergency plan containing a protocol in the event of any pollution incident. The department is also seeking details of full mitigation measures to be put in place to protect all watercourses from contamination during construction.

The department also states that the council should “satisfy itself that the development will not result in the loss of a valuable flood plain”.

THE extent of the collapse in property prices around the county has been hammered home this week, after industry sources have claimed that a three-storey house in Kilrush has been for sold for as low as € 20,000. The Clare People has been told that a house on Moore Street in the west Clare capital was sold for this knockdown price as the drop in property prices reaches new lows in the county on the back of the economic recession.

When contacted by The Clare People on Monday, the selling agents for one house on Moore Street said that it hasn’t been sold for € 20,000, but that there was an asking price of € 60,000 on the property.

However, other industry sources have confirmed that a sale price of just € 20,000 has been agreed for one house on the street, which boasted five bedrooms, a garden and rear access.

Such a price would represent a 20year low for a house price in Kilrush and puts the town well ahead of the national average when it comes to the depreciation of property values.

Only last February, it was revealed that house prices in the county had dropped by up to 40 per cent in the past five years, figures that now put the decline of the county’s housing market ahead of the national average as calculated by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

The ERSI house prices index revealed that prices had fallen nationally by 38 per cent since 2006, while outside Dublin the drop was 8.1 per cent for 2010.

Figures secured by The Clare People showed that the rates of depreciation were higher again in Clare, with many houses across the county having dropped back as far as 2001 prices.

THE familiar site of the old Clare Library delivery van will soon be a thing of the past as the organisation was this week granted funding for a replacement vehicle.

Over the last number of years, the van has transported tens of thousands of books and other materials between Clare’s 15 libraries, making it possible for people in even the smallest rural libraries to have a full selection of reading materials.

Clare Libraries was last week granted € 40,000 in funding for the purchase of a new delivery vehicle, which library officials hope will prove as useful as its predecessor.

“Most people will be familiar with the library van which is always on the go, moving books from one library to another. The old van was a great service to the libraries over the years and made the service which we were able to provide much better,” said Frances O’Gorman, Senior Executive Librarian with Clare Libraries.

“If someone wanted a book in Ennistymon, let’s say, and it wasn’t available, then the van would transport what they needed from Ennis or whatever library had the book. So it allowed us to offer people a large amount of services, even in smaller places.

“We have 15 libraries around the county so this new van will certainly be kept busy.”

The € 40,000 was part of a national allocation of € 5.8 million announced by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government last week.

TALKS between management and staff at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Centre broke down yesterday at the Labour Relation Commission (LRC) with both parties now being sent to the Labour Courts to resolve the ongoing dispute.

The dispute, which led to nine days of strike action by SIPTU members at the world-famous visitors centre, is centred around worker payment and status.

The SIPTU members claimed that they should have the same terms and conditions as employees of Clare County Council, while management at the facility argue that the centre is a private company owned by Clare County Council, and that the workers are not entitled to equal status with council workers.

Industrial action was suspended at the Cliffs of Moher on Friday last when both parties agree to attend a meeting of the LRC. The standing down of industrial action came as SIPTU had threatened to escalate the strike action, serving notice of plans to begin a second picket at the offices of Clare County Council.

This dispute follows a ruling of the Labour Court in 2010 which instructed Cliffs of Moher Centre Ltd to give the centre’s employees the same terms and conditions as council employees.

Clare County Council have argued that the centre will not be in a position to continue operating with the same level of staff should they be forced to improve staff pay and condition. The Clare People contacted both the management of the Cliffs of Moher Centre Ltd and local SIPTU representatives in relation to this but neither party was in a position to comment on the situation at this stage.

UNEMPLOYED people in east Clare are missing out on job opportunities because of the lack of a frequent bus service to Limerick city, it has been claimed.

A Clare barworker living in Westbury – who asked not to be named – told The Clare People that he has missed chances to get back to work because there is no later or early public bus service.

“I was recently diagnosed with a medical condition which means that I can’t drive at the moment. It’s not something that would stop me working, but I can’t risk being behind the wheel. In my line of work, there’s no good expecting to work nine to five,” he said.

A bus runs to Ardnacrusha, stop- ping at various areas along the way, six times a day but the service finishes at 6pm.

The Westbury man has six years’ experience and good references. He has applied for a list of bar jobs, but says he is hampered each time by the fact that he can’t get to and from work at times outside the bus schedule.

“There’s a bit of extra work going at this time of year and I was hoping to take advantage of that. In fact, I was almost certain of being taken on for a few hours at weekends in a place the far side of the city but then I discovered it would mean taking a taxi home every time. It wouldn’t make any sense financially.”

Local Labour councillor, Pascal Fitzgerald said that he wants to see an hourly bus service connecting areas like Westbury, Parteen, Meelick and Ardnacrusha with Limerick city.

“I’m going to be asking Bus Éireann what they can do. This part of Clare has a big population and is growing. There is plenty of demand for a more frequent bus service,” he said.

Cllr Fitzgerald added that the service would boost employment prospects for east Clare people as well as allowing people to travel into the city to do business, socialise and shop and would improve matters for people who are stuck for lifts.

“I live in the area and I regularly stop to give lifts to people who are thumbing. It’s not a safe situation, escpecially when you see young people, teenagers trying to get a lift” he said.

CLARE County Council has turned down a planning application for a € 50 million windfarm at Shanovogh near Miltown Malbay. This represents the second time in a year that the promoters of the windfarm project have had an application turned down by local authority planners.

In handing down its judgment, the planning authority said the “noise generated” by the wind turbines and development itself would “seriously injure the amenities of residential property” and “depreciate the value of property”.

Planners also ruled that the development would “pose an unacceptable risk to water quality standards”, while also noting that it was “not satisfied that the proposed development will not negatively impact on species and habitats in the area” and finally concluding that the project was “contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.

In May, McMahon Finn Wind Acquisitions Ltd lodged an application to build a windfarm on a site that’s two miles away from the West Clare Renewable Energy project on Mount Callan, the green light for which was given by Clare County Council last August.

The application was for a windfarm comprising of six turbines with a height of 85 metres and was submitted to local authority planners by Cian Ó Laoithe Architects.

Last year, Clare County Council invalidated plans submitted by McMahon Wind Ltd for a 12-turbine windfarm on the same site, while a decision date on the new planning application is due in mid-July.

The second application for a windfarm development in the county falls within the guidelines of the Clare County Council wind energy strategy that has set a working target of 550 MW of wind energy to harnessed in the county by 2020.

Between 2000 and 2010, 22 applications for windfarms were lodged with Clare County Council, with one of the first projects to be given the green light being in 2002 when the ESB were granted permission for a nine-turbine € 20 million renewable energy farm at Moneypoint.

Last December, An Bord Pleanála rejected an appeal by An Taisce against a Clare County Council decision to allow Hibernian Windpower to construct a windfarm incorporating 11 turbines of approximately 2500kW capacity each, at Boolynageragh, Lissycasey.

The development site, which is three kilometres north of Lissycasey, will have total rated electrical output of 27.5MW.

The Mount Callan project is set to be the largest community-owned windfarm development in Ireland and is a € 200 million project that aims to create 300 jobs during the construction phase.

PARENTS have been urged to remain vigilant on Clare beaches and bathing areas this summer to avoid wasting lifeguards’ time

The call was made by the Head of Clare Civil Defence, Liam Griffin, who said it is very important that parents ensure children do not go missing, particularly when beaches are busy. Mr Griffin, who is also head of water safety with Clare County Council, said lifeguards should be focused on ensuring the safety of water users.

He said, “People going to the beach with children. I would urge all parents to be concious of their children’s location at all times on the beach.”

Mr Griffin added that when parents fail to keep a close eye on their children lifeguards’ time is often “wasted” looking for them. He said this is has an impact on lifeguard’s duties particularly at a time when beaches are busy and the “water is full of people”.

Mr Griffin has also urged members of the public to only swim at lifeguarded beaches and to be concious of flags that are used. The prescence of a red or yellow flag indicates that lifeguard is on duty at a beach.

A red flag means it is dangerous to swim, while the flying of two yellow flags on a beach means it is ony safe to swim between those two points, Mr Griffin explained.

“And absolutely under no circumstance should people swim after drinking alcohol. If a person has eaten, they should wait at least an hour before going in the water,” he added.

Lifeguards will be on duty everyday at 11 Clare locations from from 11am to 7pm, until the end of August. The bathing areas area – Bishop’s Quarter, Ballyvaughan; Fanore; Doolin; Lahinch; White Strand, Miltown Malbay; Spanish Point; Seafield, Quilty; White Strand, Doonbeg; Kilkee; Cappagh Pier, Kilrush and Ballycuggeran, Killaloe.

Mr Griffin said a review lifeguard cover will take place in August to determine the level of cover needed for September.

He said that emergency services had been involved in a number of rescues at Clare beaches since the summer began.

Mr Griffin also urged people to respect life rings located along rivers in Clare. He said that while the problem was “not as bad as of late”, it was still an issue in Ennis. He explained that that there had been “awful problems” with people throwing life rings into the River Fergus. He said that this tended to happen after night clubs closed on Friday and Saturday nights.

A BANK account has been set up to support the families of the striking workers at the Cliffs of Moher Centre as industrial action enters its second week at the landmark tourism site.

The striking workers have refused any donation from the public up to this point but, due to a large number of collections being organised around the county, they have established an account to manage funds coming in.

Industrial action has been ongoing at the Cliffs of Moher since last Thursday. The row centres around pay and working condition for the SIPTU members who believe that they should have the same status as employees of Clare County Council. Cliffs of Moher Centre Ltd is a private company which is owned in full by Clare County Council.

“Nobody is a winner in a strike situation. We are doing a good job of keep morale up but I think it goes without saying that everyone would prefer to be back working as normal,” said local SIPTU rep Tony Kenny.

“We have had a lot of people asking where they can donate to the workers. We have been refusing this up until now but a number of collections have been held in different work places around the country and we have set up an account to deal with this.

“The workers are not being paid while they are on strike but instead they are given strike pay by the union – which is a very small payment. It is just enough to keep people going.”

Meanwhile, management at the Cliffs of Moher have denied that anyone has been charged improperly at the centre since strike action began.

As a long established public right of way exists at the Cliffs of Moher, a € 7 charge is applied to visitors who uses either the parking facilities of the interpretive centre. However, a number of bus divers have refused to pass the picket line and instead dropped tourists on the side of the road. These tourist were charged on entering the facility, even though they did not park on site.

A spokesperson from the local authority confirmed that a number of busses had decided not to use the parking facilities but the people in these buses were charged for viewing the exhibitions.

The spokesperson said that the council was “not aware of anybody who wished to exercise their right to use the public right of way and was charged for doing so”.