Category: Uncategorized

Shannon transport hub hits snags

FUNDING has been made available for a study to see whether it’s pos- sible to prevent future flooding on the Limerick-Galway railway line at Ballycar and other locations. Recent flooding at the location closed the line for more than 70 days. Members of Clare County Council were told last night that the funding has been made available by the Department of Transport and a team of experts will be brought on- board to see what can be done.

A representative of the rail com- pany came to the council’s monthly meeting to fill elected representa- tives in on what efforts are being made to deal with the situation.

He said that the committee of various experts will look at the fre- quency of the flooding, the likely solutions and the cost of any such solutions.

“T have to say that cost will be a considerable factor in a decision on what will be done,” he told the meeting.

Councillors welcomed the fact that

a study is being put in place.

Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) said he hoped the report would not be an- other which would gather dust.

“What locals have said to me is that at least part relief could be gained by re-opening the channel that runs through Newmarket and Sixmilebridge. That would not be an expensive solution.”

Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) welcomed the funding of the study saying, “I appreciate that we may find this 1s a once-in-20-years event but the de- velopment of the line represents an

investment of €156 million so fur- ther investment at Ballycar is surely warranted to protect that.”

Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) asked if there was “any reason that the OPW and other agencies should not be contributing to the cost of solv- barca mab swam

Cllr John Crowe (FG) said that lo- cal knowledge should be brought to bear on the study and Cllr Pat Daly (FF) said that “if the railway line between Dublin and Kildare was wet, it would be sorted out within 24 hours. This problem must be

solved.”

The issue of the rail link between Limerick and Galway – which is due to open next month – was also raised and Cllr Meaney asked whether it was correct that the journey will take two hours?

The Irish Rail representative con- firmed that would be the case and added that there are six stops to serv- ice various stations along the way.

“Tf you got into your car and went on to the motorway, obeying all the rules, you wouldn’t do it much quicker,” he said.

KILRUSH paid posthumous tribute to one of its great community activ- ists and an all-round gentleman on Thursday night last when the late Charles Glynn was named the over- all winner of the 2009 Gradaim Ui Ruachain Civic Awards.

The annual awards were established in 1993 by Kilrush Town Council in memory of its late chairperson, Cissy Roughan. The awards were to give public recognition to the great work, commitment and dedication of Cllr Roughan, a member of the coun- cil from 1980 to 1991.

In doing so, these awards were also promoting and encouraging partici- pation and achievement in the arts, social, business, entrepreneurial, education, sporting and general life of the town.

The awards, which are usually pre- sented during the summer, were de- layed last year due to the local elec- tions.

The awards were instead presented on February 4 by Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG).

The presentation and celebration was also attended by the 10 2009 nominees and their guests, and by council representatives Cllr Ilan Lynch (FG), Cllr Mairead O Brien (Ind) and Kilrush Town Clerk John Cosas

The 10 nominees that were recog- nised on the night included Mary Hamilton, Martin Cahill, Mat Kelly, Brendan Egan, Kilrush RNLI Fun- draising, Kilrush Ladies Football, Therese Young, Vinny O’Hallaron, John Fennell and the overall winner, the late Charles Glynn. Charles’s son Charlie accepted the award in mem- ory of his father.

The Cissy Roughan awards are open to everybody. Those nominated do not have to be from Kilrush or resident there but are considered to have made an outstanding contribu- tion to Kilrush society.

“Kilrush Town Council is aware of the vital importance of community spirit and activity to the town, and of the positive contribution and ef- fect of those who strive for commu- nity spirit and welfare in a range of endeavours. Such people play a vital role in sustaining and improving the quality of life to be enjoyed here,” said Cllr Lynch.

TWO men charged with assault causing harm to the late teacher and county final footballer, Brian Casey (26) were further remanded in cus- tody last Friday.

The Lissycasey man died in hos- pital two days after an incident at O’Connell Square in Ennis on St Stephen’s night.

Harry Dinan (29) of 10 Waterpark Heights, Ennis and his nephew, Kevin Dinan (22) of 3 Clarehill, Clarecas- tle are charged with the assault of Mr Casey at O’Connell Square in En- nis on December 26-27 contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

The two were initially charged on December 28 and were yesterday making their fifth appearance in court.

At Ennis District Court on Friday, Insp John Galvin sought a remand in custody for a further four weeks due to the complexity of the inves- tigation.

Insp Galvin said that the file has been submitted to the state solicitor’s officer for the preparation of a Book of Evidence.

Solicitor for the two, Tara God-

frey said that the remand in custody should be for two weeks “as the real- ity is that we are on the first stage of a very long procedure’”’.

Requesting that the remand be for two weeks, Ms Godfrey said, “I ac- knowledge that it 1s a very sensitive matter.”

However, State Solicitor Martin Linnane told the court that the Book of Evidence “won’t be ready in two weeks”.

Insp Galvin said that a further four weeks is required and Ms Godfrey consented on condition that an accu- rate clarification of where the case 1s at is provided on the adjourned date.

Judge Joseph Mangan remanded the two in custody to re-appear be- fore Ennis District Court on March a

Mr Casey was buried on New Year’s Day in his home village of Lissycasey. He is survived by his parents, Martin and Eileen, sisters Martina and Aileen, brother Niall and girlfriend, Cecila.

NEXT weekend is a busy one for children of Clare, as they compete in three very different events in the Golden Vale Clare Community Games calendar.

On Friday evening, the Table Ten- nis (Boys and Girls, U13 and U15) takes place in St Anne’s School in Ennis, starting from 6pm.

On the following morning Saturday, one of the biggest county events, the

Art and model-making, brings hun- dreds of children from U10s to Ul6s to the CBS, again in Ennis with the competition starting at 10am. Artists and model makers must bring their own equipment and paper, and are asked to arrive in plenty of time.

Then on Sunday, attention switches to north Clare, when the Girls’ In- door Soccer competition takes place in Ennistymon Leisure centre. Ac- tion starts there at 10am.

Winners in the Table Tennis and

Indoor Soccer qualify for provincial finals at the end of March, while the Art and Model-making winners will be the first to qualify for this year’s National Finals in Athlone. The first weekend of Nationals will be at the end of May this year.

The events calendar in Clare is now in full swing, and the county draughts, handball and badminton are still to come this month.

Off the field of play, Quin/Clooney were presented with the Most Active

Area award for Clare at the re-sched- uled National Area Awards cer- emony in Ballinasloe last weekend. At the same ceremony, long-serving county President John O’Sullivan of Ennis received the Vounteer Recog- nition award for Clare, and a Young Volunteer award went to Stephanie Griffin of Sixmilebridge/Kilmurry.

Quin/Clooney also received a Spe- cial Merit award, as they just missed out on the overall award for best area in Munster.

The Labour Court has thrown out complaints made by a group of east- ern European workers that they were discriminated against by well-known Clare engineering firm, Clare Civil Engineering Ltd.

The Labour Court threw out the complaints by general labourers: Lat- ivans, Vladislavs Arbuzovs, Valerijs Myjasojedovs, Sergejs Plonkins and Croat, Igor Ostojic after finding that they failed to establish the primary facts and accordingly their claim must fall at the first hurdle.

The Labour Court official dealing with the case, Caroline Jenkinson concluded that: “Documentary evi- dence reviewed by the court further showed that in some cases the com-

plainants enjoyed superior rates of pay in comparison to some of their Irish counterparts. The court there- fore cannot draw a conclusion that discrimination on grounds of race occurred in this case.”

According to the report, the claims of discriminatory dismissal by Mr. Arbuzovs, Mr. Plonkins and Mr Ostojic were withdrawn at the hear- ing of the appeal before the Labour Court on December | last, while the claim by Mr Ostojic that he suffered victimisation and a _ victimisatory dismissal was also withdrawn at that hearing.

However, the complainants’ case that each suffered discriminatory treatment on account of their race contrary to the Employment Equal- ity Act on foot of non-implementa-

tion of the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) for the Construc- tion Industry proceeded.

Counsel for the company denied the allegations of discrimination against all four complainants.

She informed the court that the company was a small family owned business with no dedicated human resources representative. She submit- ted that both Irish and non-national employees were all treated the same. At the time of the complainants’ employment they employed approxi- mately 50 staff, about 10 per cent of whom were foreign nationals.

The company submitted “that they did not issue any staff with contracts of employment and the terms and conditions of employment of all staff were dealt with in the same way.

Therefore, not issuing contracts to the complainants and not employing them in accordance with the REA and other legislation could not be seen to be discriminatory”.

She submitted that all employees were treated the same way in rela- tion to pay. Their pay was negotiated when they started on an individual net basis and was dependent on their experience.

In the report of the Labour Court officer, Caroline Jenkinson said: ‘In relation to the more specific dis- crimination claim that their race was a factor in the non-implementation of the REA, the evidence adduced at the hearing was that all workers, Whether of Irish origin or non-Irish origin, were treated in the same man- ner.”

A CHILDCARE facility in Sixmile- bridge is to benefit financially from a mammoth marathon challenge being undertaken by a local resident.

Tom Enright has set himself the task of running nine marathons this year in Ireland and the proceeds will go to Bridge Kidz. Bridge Kidz is a subsidiary of Sixmilebridge and Dis- trict Community Complex and pro- vides a childcare service for children in the area.

Tom (36) has seen the excellent service provided by Bridge Kidz as his youngest son Dylan (2) attends on a regular basis. He was so im- pressed with the facility that he de- cided to raise money for the group and hopes to accumulate €10,000 over the year.

He has set his sights on running marathons in Connemara (April), Limerick, Belfast Burren and Newry (May), Cork (June), Longford (Au- gust), Dingle (September), Dublin (October) and Sixmilebridge (De- cember).

It will be a tough challenge, not least running three marathons in May. Two of those will be run in as many days as the Limerick run on May 2 will be followed by the Bel- fast marathon just 24 hours later. The challenge will get off to a tricky start in Connemara as he has signed up to do the ultra marathon, which is 39 miles, on a tough course.

As part of the challenge, Tom is hoping to encourage 10 people to take part in the Cork marathon and he will provide training for those in- terested in this.

Tom, who 1s a native of Charleville, has ran 17 marathons over the past four years and last year took part in a Clare Crusaders cycle from Malin

Head to Mizen Head.

He explained his decision to run nine marathons this year.

“It started off as a new year’s reso- lution, but it has got a bit more seri- ous than that,’ he said.

He is hoping to encourage people to join him in running part of or all the Cork marathon in June either in- dividually or as part of a relay team. “We are hoping to get 10 people to

sing up and full support will be given to them. All that is required is a will- ingness to do it and a wish to raise some funds for Bridge Kidz,’ said ‘Tom.

It will be a tough challenge, but he is looking forward to it. “I enjoy it because I get a buzz out of it. | am doing something that I enjoy,” he PHO

His ultimate aim would be to raise

€10,000 over the year and is hopeful that he will get the support of the lo- cal community in Sixmilebridge and across the county. “It’s hard to call how much we will raise. It depends on how many people sign up for the marathon in Cork,’ he said.

DESPITE difficult trading condi- tions, one of the county’s best known hotels still managed to report an op- erating profit of €282,076 last year.

According to accounts recently re- turned to the companies’ office for the year to the end of June 2009, the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon recorded a pre-tax profit of €14,003.While this represents a 40 per cent drop on the €23,437 pre-tax profits recorded in 2008, the significant difference between operating and pre-tax profit was a €268,073 bank loan interest charge last year.

The hotel’s gross profit last year dropped by 3 per cent from €3.7m to €3.6m with its cost base dropping by 2 per cent from €3.4m to €3.3m The pre-tax profit recorded last year resulted in the company having ac- cumulated profits of €960,595.

The accounts show that the com- pany has fixed assets valued at €7.8 pebdeeLOee

The directors are listed as Daniel McCarthy and Eileen McCarthy and the accounts show that the company had a €5.2m loan from the Bank of Scotland.

The McCarthys purchased the busi- ness in 1986 when it comprised of a small 20 bedroom hotel. Now, after a significant expansion programme, the hotel has 150 bedrooms and nine duplex apartments; weddings and

banqueting facilities for up to 350 people; conference facilities for 350 people; an aqua and fitness club and a river spa which incorporates 12 treatment rooms and a thermal suite.

More recently, the Falls Hotel se- cured planning permission for a hy- dro scheme in a bid to reduce energy costs at the hotel.

The second generation of the Mc- Carthy’s are now working in The Falls Hotel. Eldest son Michael Mc- Carthy is the General Manager and his brother John is the Deputy Man-

ager.

The hotel has arich history. Towards to end of the 1930’s, it was leased for five years to the late Brendan O’Regan, who later pioneered cater- ing and sales services at Shannon International Airport. O’Regan ran the hotel during the years of World War Two, and one of his innovations was to supply hot meals in hayboxes to the golfers in Lahinch.

The next owner was a retired Welshman Gerard Henry Williams- Owen who operated the business

during the summer months only.

In 1955 John F. Wood and his wife Bridget acquired the hotel. They added the hydro-electric plant which for many years provided power to the building and the ‘plant’ can still be seen a short distance upstream, just below the cascades.

A GROUP which caters for newcom- ers in Shannon is hoping to expand its horizons this year.

The Le Chéile International Club is holding its first get together of 2010 tonight and is hoping to encourage more people to join. The group was set up a few years ago and its aim is to encourage non-nationals moving to Shannon to mingle with each oth- er in a welcoming environment.

According to co-ordinator, Trish

Fallon-Barry, the committee is hop- ing to build on last year’s successes and focus on themes and activities for the year ahead. Although some people have left Shannon and re- turned to their native shores, never- theless there are still people from a wide variety of countries living in the town.

“The main aim of Le Chéile in 2010 will be to expand and be used by and for even more individuals and families from various different na- tionalities and diverse backgrounds

represented currently in Shannon,’ she said.

“An integrated multicultural social club whose catchphrase is ‘Unity in Diversity’ provides, I feel, a welcome and much needed social outlet in the town,’ she added.

“We look forward to involving new members in running the club with whatever talents and contributions they have to offer, whether it be sim- ply by turning up on the night, by taking a lead in organising events, outings or sporting activities, by

sharing cultures and customs, mus!- cal talent or even IT skills. No matter what level of activity or involvement, all participation is gratefully appre- ciated, needed and very welcome.” The meetings take place on the first Tuesday of the month at the Shannon Family Resource Centre, starting at 8.30pm. Ms Fallon-Barry paid trib- ute to the staff at the resource centre who make the venue available every month. Anyone interested in joining the group should turn up tonight or call 061 707600 during office hours.

A SHANNON holding company for US-owned, Mentor Graphics (Hold- ings) Ltd last year sustained a 64 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to $22.6 million.

Accounts just lodged with the Companies’ Office, show that the holding company’s turnover to the end of January last dropped from $455.9million to $363.7million.

The company is headquartered in Oregon and employs 4,450 world- wide and is engaged in electronic

design automation.

The Shannon operation is the in- ternational services and distribution centre for information technology, order fulfillment, finance, purchas- ing, facilities, consulting, customer support, legal and human resources for the European, Middle Eastern and Asian business.

The accounts for Mentor Graphics (Holding) Ltd – which is the holding company for the group’s operations in Europe, Middle East and Af- rica and Asia/Pacific region – show that operating profits dropped from

$55.7million to $22.6 million.

A directors’ report attached to the accounts state that they are satisfied with the performance and that the group intends to further develop its activities over the coming year.

The company had accumulated profits of $58.5 million at the end of January. Cost of sales dropped from $100 million to $35million, while operating expenses increased marginally from $299.9 million to OSLUR Row rttletone

The company’s largest operating expenses in 2008 was ‘research and

development’ where $136 million was spent. This represented a drop of $19 million on the R&D spend in 2008.

The company employs 2,030 people with 1,215 engaged in production/re- search and development, 369 in sales and marketing, 343 in administration and 103 in management. Staff num- bers increased in 2008 from $144 million to $154 million. The com- pany paid no dividend to the end of January in 2008.