Category: News

BUSINESS people in the Ballymaley areas of Ennis have been urged to exchange information in an effort to deter criminals who are targeting businesses.

The advice from gardaí came at the launch of the Ballymaley Park Business Watch Scheme, which creates a structured link between businesses in the Ballymaley area of the town and gardaí.

It is one of a number of schemes set up by gardaí in recent months across the county and follows spates of crime where scrap metal and home heating oil has been stolen.

Business representatives in the Ballymaley area were given tips on improving security by the Clare Garda Division Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Joe Downey, at the launch of the scheme at the Auburn Lodge Hotel on Thursday.

“Prevention is better than cure. The more obstacles in the way of the potential criminal, the better. Make it obvious that you have security measures in place,” he said.

He said that CCTV is essential and urged businesses to ensure images from CCTV systems are good quality. He also stressed the importance of good lighting, alarms and adequate door locks.

The theft of scrap metal has been a huge concern in Clare over the past year and gardaí have stressed the importance of ensuring that areas where scrap is stored is secure.

Ennis Community Sergeant Frank Naughton urged the business community in Ballymaley to work well together, in an effort to prevent crime.

“Use your own eyes and ears. For the people working in the estate, if ye see anything suspicious, pick up the phone and ring the guards,” said Sgt Naughton. “Alert your staff. Make them aware what ye can do to make your own place secure,” he said.

Superintendent Peter Duff told The Clare People that gardaí will continue to focus on setting up community alert, neighbourhood watch and business watch schemes.

“One of my goals here is to increase the community alert and business watch type of organisations because it is all about the exchange of information,” he said.

In relation to the Business Watch schemes, he said, “We are going in and making contact with people. We have recently set up schemes in Ballycasey in Shannon and we are also setting up a scheme for the Quin Road area of Ennis.” However, he said that Business Watch is “not a substitute for calling the guards. If you are in doubt, you should call gardaí.”

“Thankfully Ennis is not a high crime area compared with the rest of the country, but there are criminals around,” he said.

A similar scheme for businesses in the Quin Road area of Ennis is also being launched. Business representatives are invited to attend the first meeting at the Peppermill restaurant on the Quin Road at 4.30pm today, Tuesday.

WHEN Labour’s Michael McNamara was elected to Dáil Éireann in the recent General Election, the spirit of the workers’ revolution was evoked by former party member Christy Curtin when he quoted James Connolly by saying “the cause of Labour in the cause of Ireland”.

The same clarion call was sounded out by Deputy McNamara when giving the keynote address at the 1916 Rising Commemoration in Kilrush on Easter Sunday as he called on “all true Republicans gathered here to renounce murder that so besmirches our tricolour”.

“It is hardly surprising that as a Labour T.D. I propose to focus on one sentence on the Proclamation in particular: ‘The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally…’

“It is also perhaps unsurprising that I would choose wish to focus in particular on the role of James Connolly.

“Connolly wrote: ‘Whenever the clergy succeeded in conquering political power in any country, the result has been disastrous to the interests of religion and inimical to the progress of humanity.

“And indeed the clergy succeeded in conquering political power in the State that followed from 1916, and the consequences, as we can now see, benefited neither the Church nor citizens.

“The religious liberty guaranteed in the Proclamation provides not just for all religions to be able to operate freely, for all parents to be able to bring up their children in a religion of their choice, but also freedom from religion.

“To those parents who wish to have their children educated in a school with a religious ethos, the establishment of a national forum on school patronage which was welcomed ‘very much’ by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, poses no threat,” added the new Labour Party deputy.

RESCUE services have appealed to boat owners and people planning water activities to take precautions, after two weekends of boaters getting into difficulties on Lough Derg.

Five people had to be rescued from the lake near Whitegate last weekend and the previous weekend six people had to be taken off a cruiser which was sinking in Killaloe.

With fine weather bringing heavy traffic out on the water, both the Killaloe/Ballina Search and Rescue (KBSR) service and the Lough Derg RNLI have asked people to check their safety equipment and to make sure that boats which have been tied up over winter haven’t suffered damage.

The RNLI lifeboat was called out on Sunday of last weekend to a 24foot motor cruiser which suffered engine failure off shore at Whitegate. Four adults, a child and two dogs were rescued and the cruiser towed to safe harbour.

The previous weekend, members of the Irish Coastgurad, based in Killaloe, rescued six people and a dog from a hire-cruiser that started to sink after being holed in a collision with the bridge in Killaloe.

A spokesman for the KBSR said that anyone taking to the waters after a winter break should check that lifesaving equipment is in full working order.

“Check that inflatable life-vests are working and that fire extinguishers and equipment on boats is working after being put away for winter,” he said.

Boaters are also advised to be sure that they carry fully charged mobile phones in case they need to call for assistance.

Elanor Hooker, spokeswoman for the Lough Derg RNLI, said that boats which have been overwintered should be checked.

“Just looking out at the lake this weekend, it’s obvious that there is a lot of traffic and we would urge people to check that the inlets and outlets of boats haven’t become clogged with debris. Always let someone know where you are going on the lake and what time you intend to be back and a common problem is that boats run out of fuel. People say ‘it’s a lovely day, we’ll go on a bit further’ and then don’t have enough fuel. Make sure you have fuel for the time you’ll be out.”

A CLARE woman is saving the lives of hundreds of Clare dogs each year by rehousing unwanted Clare animals in Wales. Ennis woman Deirdre Ryan set up Rover Rescue in 2008 and has prevented more then 500 Clare dogs from being destroyed over the last three years.

The charity works by taking in stray Clare dogs, giving them a com- plete medical check, and then transporting them to new homes in Wales or elsewhere in the UK. Stray dogs have virtually been eliminated in the UK over the last ten years meaning that there is now a demand for unwanted Irish dogs.

“These dogs are literally on death row and there is no room for them. Frankie [Cooke, Clare Dog Warden] could have 10 lovely dogs brought into him on one evening and he only has five kennels. So if a home can’t be found quickly for them they will have to be put down. Those are the dogs that I prioritise,” said Deirdre.

“I am doing this in my own home – I live in a terraced house and unfortunately I don’t have lots of room so I depend on a number of dog fosterers who take dogs for days at a time when there is too many. I can keep four or five dogs here and after that I am dependent on help from dog fosterers and from Frankie to hold the dogs until they are ready to be shipped over to the UK.”

Rover Rescue gets a lot of help in preparing animals for transport from Second Chance, Clare Animal Welfare, the Clare SPCA and the Clare branch of the ISPCA.

“I am sending them to quality rescue centres in the UK. If it hasn’t been done already, the dogs will be neutered and will have a full health check before they are placed with a family in the UK. The group will also micro-chip all the animals and will conduct a home check to make sure they are being looked after.”

Deirdre works is the Peter Barks Dog Grooming Parlour and is also the founder of Ennis Dog Club. Anyone who wishes to donate money can lodge funds into the Rover Rescue bank account in Ennis at account number 54547426 and sort code 935387.

Anyone who wishes to help or become a dog fosterer can contact Deirdre on 065 6848684.

A MAN who was involved in a spate of crime in West Clare has been handed a 12-month prison spell.

Stephen Bourke (21), of Moyglass, Crusheen, admitted breaking into two mobile homes and stealing property at Rahona Caravan Park, Carrigaholt, in June 2010.

Kilrush District Court heard that a range of electrical items including a television, DVD player, X-Box and several bottles of alcohol were stolen in the break-ins.

The accused also admitted damaging a car on O’Curry Street, Kilkee, on June 4, 2010.

Garda Ken O’Day told the court that two alloy wheels and spotlights were taken from a car which was parked on O’Curry Street, Kilkee, on the evening in question.

He said that they were later recovered.

“Later the same night, two mobile homes were broken into at a caravan park,” said Gda O’Day.

He said that most of the items were later recovered, except for some of the alcohol.

The court heard that the accused had 80 previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Eugene O’Kelly told the court that his client’s parents had a caravan in the area, but they have been “put out of the caravan park because of the trouble their son has caused”.

He said the accused “has had considerable difficulties with the law over the years. A lot of that has been aligned to addiction and to drink”.

He said that a number of others were in his company on the weekend in question.

“He was not able to resist the promptings of the others to cause trouble,” he said.

Judge Joseph Mangan imposed two six-month jail terms and fixed a bond in the event of an appeal.

THE number of Clare people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia is set to double over the next two decades, unless a major medical breakthrough is made in the treatment or prevention of the conditions.

At present, more than 1,400 people in the county suffer from dementia, with hundreds receiving regular assistance from the Clare branch of Alzheimer Ireland.

However, as a result of increasing numbers and diminishing funding, maintaining the high level of support is becoming increasingly difficult.

“The fundraising is massively important to the organisation; we couldn’t survive without it. The HSE are very good to us but there are cutbacks in every area now and it is more and more important that we are able to get funding from other sources,” said Ann Bedder of the Clare branch of Alzheimer Ireland.

“There are a lot of good causes out there. We realise that times are tough for everyone but people are still being very generous.”

The organisation is calling on Clare people to support their national tea day which takes place on Thursday, May 5.

“This is our main fundraiser nationally throughout the year. We ask people to hold tea parties in their own home and their friends and people from the locality come into their house for tea and give a donation,” explained Marissa Butler, chairper- son of the Clare branch of Alzheimer Ireland.

“A tea morning will also take place in St Anthony’s Hall beside the Friary in Ennis on April 30. We will have tea and pastries and face painting for children – it is always a great day.”

The local branch of the Alzheimer Society provides a drop-in centre, day care, a home care service, a support network for the care-givers and an information point for anyone who needs it in Clare.

“We receive around 60 per cent of our overall funding from the HSE so the rest of the work undertaken by the group is dependent on charitable donations,” said Kay Flynn, vice chairperson of the society.

“There is still time for anyone who wants to get involved to put on a tea day themselves or come along to one of the events already organised. All the money raised in Clare stays within the organisation in Clare.”

The Alzheimer’s National Tea Day 2011 takes place across Clare on May 5 with a special tea day event taking place from 10am to 4pm in St Anthony’s Hall in Ennis on April 30. A 10k run will take place in Broad ford on Easter Monday from 2pm.

For more information, contact 065 6868621.

ONE Clare home has been broken into each day so far in 2011, according to figures released at yesterday’s meeting of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee.

The figures, which represent the first three months of 2011, show that the crime rate in the county is generally lower than for the first three months of 2010.

The largest increases were seen in the area of assaults causing harm, which increased by 21 per cent, and non-violent thefts, which showed a 19 per cent increase.

The number of burglaries in the county is marginally on the 2010 levels, with 90 break-ins taking place in January, February and March – or roughly one each day.

The number of sexual offences was down by 19 per cent year on year from 21 in the first three months of 2010 to 17 so far this year. However, according to Clare’s Chief Superintendent, John Kerin, the majority of sexual offences reported to Clare gardaí so far this year relate to his- toric rather than current incidents.

Ten of the 17 offences reported so far this year relate to incidents from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, with the oldest case dating back to 1964.

The increase in non-violent thefts has been put down to a market increase in thefts involving scrap metal and heating oil from both commercial and residential premises.

“There has been no let up on the problem. It has not been decreased but there has been no let up and there have been a number before the court,” said the Chief Superintendent.

“The price of copper has trebled in the past few years. There are now gangs at this [stealing metal for scrap] in Ireland.

“We have made recommendations that legislation is looked at to force scrap dealers to record details of the person who sold the copper to them and the registration of their car. This has happened in other countries and we think that the invoking of new legislation is the only way to tackle this.”

The issue of home heating oil theft was raised by Cllr Pascal Fitzger- ald (Lab) who said that a number of houses in his area have been targeted in recent weeks.

“The theft of home heating oil has been a problem but a lot of the home heating oil being taken from houses is not being taken by trucks.

“In one incident here in Ennis, we had two lads with five-gallon drums on them,” said Chief Superintendent Kerin.

“People need to be more alert and need to put locks on their tanks they are hitting tanks at random all over the county.”

A GROUP illegally parking beside a graveyard in East Clare were described as “disgraceful” at yesterday’s Joint Policing Committee meeting at the offices of Clare County Council.

According to one East Clare councillor, a group of three illegally parked caravans have been causing distress and embarrassment to local people wishing to access the grave- yard.

“I know at the moment in one village in East Clare there are three caravans parked illegally outside a graveyard who are causing a great disturbance,” said Cllr Joe Cooney (FG).

“It is embarrassing for people using this graveyard and it is also embarrassing for the local people who have people using their backyard as a toilet. Can anything be done to move these people on or what can we do to resolve this situation?”

The matter was raised as part of a discussion on issues related to 24hour parking in a number of Clare venues throughout the summer.

Addressing the meeting, a Clare Garda spokesperson said that the local gardaí can issue on-the-spot fines for all parking offences but stressed that the force does not “target any particular groups”.

In response to a question about large-scale illegal parking and fes- tivals and events in North and West Clare, Clare chief superintendent John Kerin said that the local force did not have the storage facilities or manpower to impound 60 or 70 caravans at the same time.

He said that the legislation as it currently stands is difficult and stressed that the same rules must apply to holiday-makers who park illegally as to serial parking offenders.

“This legislation is not the easiest in the world to enforce. If the illegal parking is taking place on private property, we must get a statement from the landowner saying that it is preventing them from using their property and then give 48 hours for them to remove themselves from the location,” he said.

“The issue of nomads travelling around the county during the summer is a different entity. We do try and enforce the legislation that is there but it is not always easy legislation to enforce.”

APPROACHES will be made to local landowners to see if there is land available to provide a new car park for Killaloe. Angry traders from the lower end of the town attended a meeting last week to demand action on the complete lack of parking for clients, business owners and staff.

The council painted double yellow lines at the bottom of the town late last year to improve traffic flow. But the move left local traders in Royal Parade and Abbey Street with just two set-down spaces for cars.

Business people say the parking ban has had a huge impact on custom and footfall in that part of town.

Business owners have also now learned that the council plans to pedestrianise John’s Lane – which cars are using as a rat run to the traffic lights – and to address parking and safety issues at the boy’s national school. Car-poolers who meet Between The Waters and leave their cars there while commuting to Limerick and Ennis make it difficut to find any parking at the bottom of the town during the day.

TD’s from Clare and Tipperary North who attended the meeting indicated that it is very unlikely that any capital will be made available from the Government’s coffers to provide a car park.

The meeting heard that it was previously suggested that Dean’s Field, which is currently owned by the Church of Ireland, might be a suitable site. This would provide room for about 150 cars.

Officials agreed that they would approach local landowners to see if there is any land available to lease or buy before grappling with the thorny question of funding.

Former councillor, Tony O’Brien, said that the difficulty is that parking is badly needed but road traffic considerations also come into it.

“People want to be able to park and to have parking for their customers at that end of the town but there needs to be a short-term and a long-term solution,” he told The Clare People .

Another meeting will be called when the council engineers have found out what is available.

LONG waiting times for marriage counselling and the lack of a dedicate Clare Family Mediation Service centre is hampering Clare married couples from getting the help they need to save their marriages.

That is according to the Clare Citizen Information Centre (CIC) who believe that Clare marriages are being pushed to the brink of collapse unnecessarily as a result of delays in getting help.

The centre, which this week reported a marked increase in the number of marriage related enquiries over the past seven months, believes that more funding needs to be made available to end waiting lists and cre- ate a branch of the Family Mediation Service in Clare.

“We would be anxious for there to be an end in the waiting times for couples who are looking for counselling. People are waiting longer than they should be and that is not good for a couple whose marriage is in difficulty,” said Paul Woulfe of the Clare Citizens Information Service.

“The services that exist are doing an excellent job but we need to extend the services to Clare and work to end these waiting lists.”

At present any Clare married couples who wish to use the Family Mediation Service must travel to either Limerick or Galway to access free counselling.

Couples counselling is also avail- able from the Accord Agency in Ennis. According to Accord, it takes the majority of people (54 per cent) more than six months to begin relationship counselling after a serious problem has been identified.

The vast majority of people who attend Accord counselling (more then 70 per cent) have young children aged 11 years or younger, while 73 per cent of those who take part in Accord courses felt that they had gained a deeper understanding of themselves through the experience.

Accord in Ennis can be contacted on 065 6824297 or by e-mail at accord.ennis@eircom.net. The closest Family Mediation Service can be contacted in Limerick on 061 214310.