Category: News

GARDAÍ in Clare arrested a total of sixty three people on suspicion of various offences between Christmas Eve and last Sunday.

The busy holiday period saw ten people arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

Five of these were stopped in Ennis, three in Lahinch and two in Kilrush.

In Ennis alone, thirty four people were arrested and in seventeen of these cases the arrests were for alleged breaches of the Public Order Act. A number of these arrests were made on St Stephen’s night.

Gardaí working round the clock over the holiday period manned twenty sixcheckpoints around the county.

The busy period and the weather didn’t stop members of the force getting out on the county’s roads to check for drink driving, speeding and other Road Traffic offences.

According to a Garda spokesperson the road conditions “weren’t a big factor” in the holiday operations as the thaw had set in and only Christmas eve and Christmas day presented some dangerous road conditions and only in some places. During the icy road conditions members of the public did also heed garda advice on driving with extra care.

While the special operations to stop people drinking and driving during the holiday period will now be stood down, gardaí are reminding motorists that checkpoints and speed detectors are a feature of Garda operations all year.

2010 was very much a year of transition for new Clare senior hurling manager Ger O’Loughlin and his management team as a combination of high profile retirements, injuries and emigrations forced his hand to introduce a new wave of young talent into the squad.

Having worked with those players over the year and assessed the standard required at inter-county level, ‘the Sparrow’ now has a clearer vision of how much rebuilding work is required and despite the large workload involved, he is very much looking forward to the challenge.

“We are hoping that this year we do get out of Division 2. We are putting an emphasis on the league in trying to get off to a good start and our goal is to gain promotion this year. We got to the final of Division 2 last year with everybody fairly new to the set-up but we have a better handle on who’s who this year. I would be hoping that we’ll give this year a very good run in the league and get ready for the championship.

“The winners of Cork and Tipperary in the championship isn’t an easy hurdle but at the same time they are the sort of games we should be looking forward to.

“Cork proved last season that they are going to have to rebuild as well and we are probably ahead of them on that side of things. “Tipp are the team to beat in the country and they probably wouldn’t focus as much on Munster now as they would be on the All-Ireland so I would see this as an opportunity for us to give either of those two counties a very good game and if possible get to a Munster final.” However, with the county side very much a work in progress at the moment, Clarecastle clubman O’Loughlin is hoping that supporters will be patient and get behind these young players in the pursuit of those goals.

“That goes without saying. No matter what way you go about it, we have to be realistic and say that the present management have inherited a very young squad and even in the last couple of months, we’ve seen the comings and goings of some guys.

“That’s the way it’s going to be until we get what you’d call a settled 25 people who have what it takes. That doesn’t happen overnight and sometimes even successful counties like Tipp, Cork and Kilkenny go through the rebuilding structure that we are going through at the moment.

“I’m really looking forward to the year though because I just think that we can come on from 2010. I’d hope that fellas have matured a bit better and that when you are playing the likes of Wexford in a league final with Division 1 status on the line, that we would be more clinical because basically if we don’t grasp those opportunities with both hands, we will remain where we are.

“So there’s an awful lot of work to be done on the mental strength side of it as well. As I say we have it all to do but I’m looking forward to working with them in the coming season and hopefully make good progress.”

THE DEAL to save the Sixmilebridge Mart has not yet been completed, despite media reports to the contrary.

A shareholders meeting to decide whether the local consortium will purchase the mart from Golden Vale Properties (GVP) will take place this Thursday, and if an agreement is reached the local group will formally bid € 300,000 for the property.

Support for the project is said to remain high among the shareholders but there is a small number who believe that the time taken to complete the deal will hamper the mart’s pros- pects for success in the future.

The mart has been closed for more then 12 months with a group of more then 500 local farmers and Sixmilebridge residents in negotiations since early 2010. The group withdrew their final bid of € 350,000 for the premises in November when Golden Vale Properties were unwilling to match their valuation.

GVP contacted the group in late December with a revised price of just € 300,000 for the property. The mart had been placed on the market with a guide price of € 600,000 in early 2010 with GVP reportedly keen to sell the property for industry or housing, rather than for a mart.

Should the bid for the mart go ahead it is likely that it will be midMarch or April before the mart is up and going again.

“The negotiations were going on for a long time and we were getting frustrated so we withdrew the offer in November and told them they could do what they like with the mart. It was then that they got interested about selling it,” said local farmer Jim Enright.

“They looked for a meeting with the negotiation committee before Christmas and they made the offer of € 300,000 just a day or two before Christmas. Now our group had offered them € 350,000 for it earlier in the year and I guess they thought that we would keep coming – but we didn’t.

“It is great news and I would have no doubt that the group will sanction the sale. There is a small doubt though. Whether it’s a pub or a shop or a mart, and it’s been closed for more then 12 months, there can be doubt because people have gotten used to doing their business elsewhere, but I am confident that it will be passed.”

A meeting for all shareholders and prospective shareholders will take place in the Sixmilebridge GAA Hall at 9pm this Thursday evening, January 6.

IF IRELAND’S political parties have a genuine commitment to democracy they would not be seeking to abolish the Seanad.

This was the view of west of Ireland Independent MEP Marian Harkin when she insisted that a reformed Seanad would be a vital protection for citizens in a situation where democracy was being increasingly eroded at Dáil level.

She said, “It is disquieting to say the least that the main political parties are trying to outdo each other in populist advocacy of Seanad abolition.

“A reformed Seanad will be essential to the preservation of an effective democratic system in Ireland and as a protection for citizens against a system which has clearly failed to protect their interests.”

Ms Harkin said that in a reformed Seanad the voluntary sector should have a valid and necessary role.

“The Seanad, as originally envisaged and constituted was a valuable brake on government arrogance or ineptitude and, having regard to the huge role and effectiveness of the voluntary sector, there would be highly qualified and highly motivated people available to perform effective roles in a reformed Seanad.”

“The Seanad could also have an essential role in considering draft EU legislation in depth and subsequently monitoring its implementation. We have had too many instances of inadequate input into new legislation.”

MAINTAINING essential services and protecting the county boundary are among the key issues facing Clare in 2011.

That is according to the Mayor of Clare, Cllr Christy Curtin (Ind) who also believes that local authorities must become more accessible and accountable to the people they serve.

Commenting in light of recent problems caused to the county’s water supply and road network, Cllr Curtin said,

“I think we need to have a look at the whole thing, at how we provide these services and how we respond in crisis situations. We must learn. These are priority services, where people are concerned, particularly water.”

He added, “I also want to see the county left intact, the integrity of the county protected fully as a far as the boundary is concerned. I’d like to see no extension of the Limerick boundary and the boundaries as they are should be left intact.

The Miltown Malbay native, who is serving his first ever term as Mayor, says that Clare County Council should also work more closely with the volountary sector.

He explained, “I’d like to see the infrastructure of the county improved but the constraints on public finances are going to make that difficult. We have to perform up to the par for the people in the county particularly in relation to the delivery of services. That’s an important thing and that we are seen to be relevant to people. I’d like to see every opportunity tapped to try and increase employment in the county and it is encouraged in every way. I’d like to see a greater involvement and partnership in place between volountary bodies and statutory bodies. It was never more relevant, especially with limited finances, that we tap into whatever strengths we have and we work together to have a better county as a result.”

Cllr Curtin said that it was also important that negative perceptions of the council are challenged.

“I still think people have respect for the council but to readily identify with it, is a difficult thing sometimes. Bureaucracy can be cumbersome and it makes it very difficult for people to access it. Accessibility must be increased at all times at all stages and at all levels”

Cllr Curtin added, “Some of it is out of our hands but some of it we can do ourselves. We must always endeavor to achieve maximum efficiency, through work practices etc… We have to get full value for money and we have to be seen to enhance our position with the volountary sector. The council has to be fully accessible and there has to be full accountability. I want people to be able to associate with the council.”

A WEST Clare man who was the subject of a European Arrest Warrant has appeared in court in Ennis, having returned to Ireland from the UK.

Terry Doyle (34), with an address at Overdale Road, Quinton, Birmingham, UK, is accused of assault- ing Brendan Naughton causing him harm, at Moore Street, Kilrush, on August 17, 2003.

A bench warrant was issued at Ennis Circuit Court in April 2008, after he failed to appear. A European Arrest Warrant was subsequently issued. This was executed in the UK in December. Mr Doyle was arrested a number of weeks ago in the UK and returned voluntarily to Ireland just days before Christmas.

He arrived into Shannon airport from Birmingham on December 23. That evening, he was brought before a special sitting of Ennis District Court, where bail was granted. He then re-appeared in court last Wednesday.

A number of bail conditions were imposed, including that the accused reside with his sister at an address in Kildysart; that he sign on daily at Ennis Garda Station and that an independent surety of € 7,500 be lodged.

At Ennis District Court last Wednesday, Mr Doyle was remanded on continuing bail and his case was adjourned to Ennis Circuit Court later this month.

ANOTHER successful year in St. Joseph’s Education Centre, Ennis, has been celebrated with the raising of the green school flag for excellence in environmental and ecological achievement.

Over 3,500 centres of education in Ireland now have the flag but St. Joseph’s is only the second among 30 Traveller training centres to gain the accolade.

An Taisce’s Green Schools Travel Education Officer, Roisín Garvey told students “achieving the flag was clear evidence of everyone’s real pride in taking care of creation which was intended by God in the first place to be cared for, not destroyed”.

The flag was formally raised by the chairman of the National Association of Traveller Training Centres, Martin Ward of Tuam, former mayor of the town council there.

Director of the St Joseph’s Centre, Brian Crossan said he was “very proud of all the great work ongoing there”, adding “we are living in times of great change and uncertainty, so it’s important to stay positive and to influence that over which they had control”.

The centre was developing new programmes and a great atmosphere plus a fine work ethic prevailed throughout.

The centre had a proud tradition over its 36 years, one of the best latest developments being the high number of males taking courses there.

Mayor Christy Curtin emphasised that “Traveller culture was very much part of Irish traditions and I’m always pleased to see how it was maintained and enhanced in St Joseph’s which was an intrinsic undertaking of Co Clare Vocational Education Committee with which I had been a teacher for many years in its community colleges.”

CLARE will have to create its own luck and its own jobs in 2011 according to the incoming President of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.

‘The most patriotic thing anyone can do for the county or the country is to create a job,” John Dillane told The Clare People .

John is calling for a special meeting to set up a group which will “involve all the stakeholders in the county. The council, the development agencies, the business people – everyone. And this group should have as its aim job creation to get this county back on its feet. We need to get off our backsides and do it for ourselves and every single person in the country needs to get involved in that.”

Mr Dillane said that according to PLATO, the organisation which supports small businesses, there are 800,000 people working in 270,000 SME’s across the counntry.

‘I’m calling on any companies that have some money in their pockets to come together and be part of this organisation for Clare. We can make a difference, we can employ more people and we have to wake up and cop on to ourselves. There’s no reason why we can’t start a movement in Clare that will turn things around for this county.”

Mr Dillane, who is proprietor of Banner Motors, says that in the coming year the “red carpet should be rolled out for anyone who is employing people”.

In his own capacity as the new President of the Chamber, Mr Dillane says he hopes to motivate people in the county to get more people back in the workforce and to persuade consumers to support their own and spend their money in the Banner.

He said there also needs to be greater recognition of what is being done by Banner county employees.

“There are business people in this county employing people and not paying themselves any wages because they don’t want to have to let staff go. That is a fact.”

“If you create one job, that creates .6 of another job. So a small company employing two people makes it possible for one other person to be in employment.

Mr Dillane is appealing to business owners and other groups in Clare to “put all our differences aside, Yes, people in business have competitors but this is about the survival and growth of business and employment in the county. If you have people at work, you have people spending money and that’s good for everybody. It’s just common sense and if anyone wants to put their money where their mouth is and make recovery a reality in Clare, I’m asking them to contact me through the Chamber of Commerce.”

PLANS to introduce a new system of charges at the Lees Road sports and amenity facility outside Ennis are likely to be met with some opposition at today’s meeting of Ennis Town Council.

Charges already apply for teams using astro turf facilities, playing pitches, dressing rooms and the recently developed synthetic running track.

Under proposed new byelaws for use of the cross-country track as outlined last month by the council, clubs will be charged € 40 per hour, individuals will be charged € 2 per hour while a daily rate of € 200 will apply in the case of large events.

Local sports clubs have criticised these proposals, claiming they unfairly impose an extra charge on players and athletes who are already charged for use of facilities at Lees Road.

Ennis councillor Johnny Flynn (FG) is calling on the council not to change the “current non-charging for the use of the cross-country track for various reasons such as fairness, inability to police a charge, etc.”

In another motion submitted to today’s council meeting, Cllr Paul O’Shea (Lab) will also call for charges not to be imposed and urges the council to erect lighting in the environ.

However the council says the charges are being proposed in the interests of “fairness and consistency”.

According to figures contained in the council’s budget, the combined cost of operating park pitches and open spaces, along with service support costs, is estimated to total just over € 1.1 million in 2011.

In a statement last month, the council said, “investment in the provision, maintenance and management of the Lees Road facility has been very significant.

“Funding for the ongoing operation must be funded from local sources.”

The statement continued, “It is considered reasonable that those using the facility would contribute towards the costs arising.”

After years of intensive lobbying from local campaigners, the Ennis Sports Development Committee, Lees Road was officially opened in June 2005 by the then Minister for Sport John O’Donoghue.

Totalling a cost of € 4.9m, the project was funded through a loan of € 3.6 million and a Sports Capital Grant of € 1.6 million.

Clare County Council acquired the land on which the facility is now based, in the early ‘90s.

Proposals for the provision of five pitches were set out in 1994.

IT NOW seems unlikely that the voters of Clare will not be asked to turn out for a General Election before January or February, as The Green Party had promised before Christmas.

That was the message from Clare TD and Minister for Defense Tony Killeen who said over the weekend that the General Election is now unlikely to take place before March.

This is to give time for the Financial Bill to pass through the Dáil, a process which could take more than two months to complete. Once the Financial Bill is successfully through the Dáil and the Dáil is dissolved by President Mary McAleese, it will take at least one month for an election to take place.

“It would seem unlikely to me that the election would come before March,” said Minister Killeen, who also raised the possibility of hosting a referendum on the future of the Seanad at the same time as the General election.

“In the kind of time scale that is envisioned for the Finance Bill it would seem to be to be possible [to host the Seanad referendum] but I am not aware that it has been considered yet.”

Meanwhile, Labour yesterday has confirmed that they will be calling for the abolition of the Seanad as part of their programme for government.

It is also understood that behind the scenes talks have taken place between Fianna Fáil and the Green Party and both side of the coalition are said to be receptive to the idea of getting rid of the Seanad.

The Green Party said two months ago there should be a general election held before the end of January. However, they have since cooled towards the idea and hope to push legislation through in the coming months