Category: Uncategorized

Disabled and stranded in Kilrush

THE number of break-ins to houses and business premises increased by 20 per cent in 2008, while just one- third were detected.

Figures published by the CSO show that just 36 per cent of burglaries in the county were detected, while just 89 of the 522 recorded cases in 2008 were brought to court. There were four cases of aggravated burglary, all of which were detected and two of which resulted in proceedings.

The number of cases of robbery dropped from 23 in 2007 to 13 in 2008. In this category, the detection rate increased significantly, from 56 per cent to 92 per cent.

Theft cases increased in 2008 – from 992 to 1,133. However, the de- tection rate slipped from 42 to 31 per cent. Just 219 of the 1,113 cases re- sulted in proceedings. 166 cars were stolen in 2008, but just 21 of those resulted in proceedings.

There were 21 cases of handling stolen property in 2008; which was an increase on 16 in the previous

year. There was a 100 per cent detec- tion rate in both years. Cases of fraud and deception increased from 76 to 108, but the detection rate dropped from 70 per cent to 53 per cent.

According to the CSO figures, the number of public order cases in Clare dropped slightly in 2008 – from 1,380 to 1,293. The detection rate was 98.5 per cent. 64 cases of trespass were recorded, but just eight of these re- sulted in court proceedings.

In 2008, there were no murder cases, compared with three in 2007. Two cases of threatening to kill were recorded in both 2007 and 2008. Seven cases of rape were detected in 2008; none of which resulted in pro- ceedings. This compared with eleven in 2007; four of which were brought to court. One case of defilement was recorded each year, while the number of sexual offences decreased in 2008 – from 20 to 13. Just eight of the 13 resulted in proceedings being issued.

While the burglary rates are alarm- ing, the trend does not appear to have changed. Several parts of Clare have

been subjected to a spate of burgla- ries in recent weeks, including Shan- non. The mayor of Shannon Coun- cillor Sean McLoughlin (Fine Gael) said yesterday, “There is a concern about burglaries and knife-related attacks in the town. I understand gardai have extra personnel and [| welcome that. Shannon traditionally has been associated with low crime rates and we want to get back to that. There is huge concern and worry in the community.

“Vd ask any member of the pub- lic who knows anything to contact the gardai. Without the public help- ing out the gardai can’t solve these crimes. It is not feasible to have a garda on every corner,” said Cllr McLoughlin.

MUNSTER Council secretary Pat Fitzgerald has hit out at the player power that has raised its head in Clare, Cork and Limerick hurling over the past year, saying that “the terms strike or picket” have no place in the association.

In his annual report to be delivered to the Munster Council Convention in Listowel this Friday night, Fit- zgerald, has stated that co-operation between players and officials is the only way forward.

“Last year I mentioned difficul- ties which arose in Cork on player issues. Sadly this issue surfaced in other counties this year with Clare and Limerick embroiled in conflict between players and officials.

‘This trend is a disturbing one and we would now hope that with the Na-

tional Agreement between the GAA and the GPA these issues will be- come less frequent if not a memory altogether.

“We must all be aware of the re- sponsibilities we have, mutual re- spect is a two-way street, no person

or group hold a monopoly on respect because of their position. Genuine grievances must be sorted out in a spirit of harmony with all sides will- ing to listen.

“However, I must make a few clear points which might seem controver- sial but they are not intended to be. It is merely as aGAA person that I’m stating my beliefs. I respect any play- er who wishes to remove themselves for whatever reason, from their 1n- ter-county panel, however, I believe the terms ‘strike’ or ‘picket’ have no place in the GAA vocabulary and never should have.

“We must be more proactive with our players at inter-county level, making sure we are always aware of issues before they become confronta- tional. The day of expecting players to play and shut their mouths are over and rightly so,” added Fitzgerald.

A 19-YEAR-OLD man, described in court as a “drunken lout’, re- ceived a three-year suspended jail sentence for an unprovoked assault on a man in Lahinch.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Sean O Donnabhain said he was “torn” between two sides when sen-

tencing Christopher Collins.

The judge said it was a very vi- cious assault and he was impressed by the evidence given by the vic- tim, who “seems a very stoic young rere be ae

He said the victim, who had lost six teeth and required a bridge, would carry the scars of the attack for the rest of his life.

“This was an unprovoked assault by a drunken lout,” said the judge. He said the severity of the assault deserved “the imposition of a pris- ONS ie eee

Judge O Donnabhain added that he was also taking into account “no previous convictions’, the death of Mr Collins’ brother and his level of co-operation with the court.

“You are showing some element, although late in the day, of matu- rity,’ he told Mr Collins.

“In the circumstances I think it is appropriate to sentence you to three years, suspended for three years.”

The judge also directed the de- fendant to stay under the care of the probation service and undertake any counselling, including inpa-

tient care, directed by the service.

Mr Collins is also to pay €20 per week until he pays back €3,000; the cost of the victim’s dental treat- eetoale

“If he doesn’t obey the conditions, to jail he will go. He is to remain sober in public for the duration of the sentence,” said the circuit court judge.

DESPITE spending €1.2 million on its environmental programme, En- nis Town Council is losing the bat- tle against litter louts, it was claimed yesterday.

At yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Clir Brian Meaney (GP) said that given the scale of 1I- legal dumping taking place around the outskirts of Ennis, it was time for the council to re-assess its litter policy.

‘The volume of rubbish dumped in Lees Road has snowballed in the last

couple of months,” said Cllr Meaney. He added, “It’s unbelievable what is being dumped there. This is a battle we are losing.”

Cllr Meaney said the council need- ed to secure some “high profile” prosecutions of people engaged in illegal dumping and should engage in “covert and non-covert” surveil- lance of litter blackspots.

Cllr Meaney said that the absence of documentation in the items being dumped showed that this was “pre- meditated” activity.

Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said that the council had lost the fight against

litter on country roads.

Town clerk Eddie Power said the council’s environmental staff were working hard to stamp out illegal olovesheyparee

He told the meeting that the coun- cil would focus on the Lees Road area during an upcoming spring oA Crea onl

Figures from the council’s 2009 report on prevention and control of litter show that a total of 130 litter fines were issued in 2009.

The report states that the council received income totaling €8,970 from litter fines while a total of 131

fines were issued in 2009.

The figures show that just 59 of these fines were paid in 2009 while two cases were referred to a solicitor. Explaining the figures, town clerk Eddie Power said that often difficul- ties arise when pursuing legal action against people for littering offences.

He said often there was difficulty in identifying litter louts while in some cases, alleged offenders may have moved away from Ennis.

Town Manager Ger Dollard said the some of the fines could be paid nO OF

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) urged

the council to consider re-locating Wheelie bins at Drumcliffe grave- yard in order to prevent dumping in the area.

She said that dumping was also prevalent along a stretch of the N85. Mayor of Ennis Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) said the bins had been removed from Drumcliffe as people had been using them to dump household rub- tOE

The litter report states that Ennis Town Council issued 114 abandoned vehicle notices under the waste management act while 24 cars were removed on behalf of the council.

NINE years ago 16.5 per cent of the county’s secondary students had dropped out of school before com- pleting their Leaving Certificate ex- aminations.

Although Clare may have had one of the highest student retention rates in the country, the fact that three out of every twenty students dropped out of the education system before their eighteenth birthday should be the cause for some concern.

The demand for increased skill levels from employers has resulted in a steady decline in job opportuni- ties for those who leave school be- fore completing upper second-level education. Leaving school early is an important indicator of educational disadvantage and in the current cri- sis, a full education is a vital neces- sity for a successful future.

Back in 2001, the latest date for which department statistics are available, there were 1,388 students attending Clare’s eighteen second- level schools. 4.4 per cent of them left school before their Junior Certifi- cate examinations and 16.5 per cent before their Leaving Certificate.

On a national level, the number of first year pupils enrolled in the 705 second-level schools was 56,278. The number who sat and were grad- ed in at least one subject in the Junior Certificate examination, amounted to 54,067. Therefore there was a 13.9 per cent drop in attendance. The fi-

nal rate of students who dropped out before their Leaving Certificate was 15.3 per cent.

Male students were less likely to complete their Leaving Certificate with a drop-out rate of 18 per cent in secondary schools; 31 per cent in vocational schools and 24 per cent in community and comprehensive schools in comparison to 13 per cent, 18 per cent and 13 per cent respec- tively for female students.

There is now a wide range of pro- grammes and initiatives focused on ensuring each participating sec-

ond-level pupil can experience and progress to their full ability by pro- viding a wider range of curricula. These include the Junior Certificate school programme, the school com- pletion programme, the home school community liaison scheme and many more.

Full details are available on the De- partment of Education website.

PUPILS from Scoil Chriost Ri, Cloughleigh, will be among thou- sands from around the world taking part in World Maths Day tomorrow (Wednesday, March 3).

Pupils from the Ennis school, who have been regular participants in World Maths Day, are busy sharpen- ing their maths skills ahead of the worldwide event.

World Maths Day is all about get- ting students to unite together. A global event, organisers say that World Maths Day 1s a fantastic op- portunity to be a part of something special. The World Maths Day team have been so impressed by the efforts of schools in 2009, they have decided to create a limited number of World Maths Day roving reporters.

Scoul Chriost Ri’s proud record in the event has seen first class pupil Maurice Abdulla being chosen to take on one of these roles.

Essentially the roving reporters will be tasked with writing a news report about World Maths Day at their school. These reports can be as creative as the student wishes and will be collated with the best ones being published online for all to see.

Each maths game is a series of one-minute quick fire mental maths questions, with four children from anywhere in the world competing against each other in each game.

All classes in Scoil Chriost Ri will be competing in the challenge and the target for this year is to answer over 100,000 maths questions in 48

hours.

Pupils can also log in at home and take on students from around the world. The challenge is to answer as many maths questions as possible during that time and to try and beat last year’s record of 64,568 correct answers.

A unique feature of World Maths Day is that it runs for 48 hours once it

is March 3 somewhere in the world.

Gearoid Roughan, learning sup- port teacher at Scoil Chriost Ri, ex- plained the school has been a regular participant in the event. He said the students were looking forward to once again taking part.

“It’s for schools from all over the world. The school (Scoil Chriost Ri) has taking part for a few years. This

year they have introduced a new fea- ture where one student is designated a World Maths Day reporter. One of the pupils here will be a reporter for the day,” explained Gearoid.

SCARIFF Community College’s as- sembly arena was overflowing for the annual open night.

Principal Sean Daly welcomed po- tential incoming students and their parents to the event which showcased the wide range of subjects and facili- ties available in the building and on the beautifully wooded 20-acre cam- pus as a whole.

Teachers were on hand to meet the visitors, demonstrating in particular the recently installed computerised information technology now avail- able in all classrooms. Part of this

development is a fixed data projec- tor for each room, providing access to information from the internet, world libraries, course textbooks and a host of other gadgetry of our in- formation age. Aided by broadband, these developments greatly enhance the learning experience for students WN uee

Current students took part in les- sons so that parents and would-be students alike got a flavour of the comprehensive curriculum of the college.

Sean Daly recalled that the col- lege, in arural setting close to Lough Derg, had a co-ed history going back

to the original vocational school in 1941. The new and imposing build- ing was completed in 1981.

He told those present that it was the college’s policy to view the devel- opment of the student in the widest possible sense, seeking to provide a learning experience both of a formal and informal nature which would lead to the development of one’s to- tal personality. “Through a broad curriculum, we seek to facilitate the development of our students so that each may leave the college equipped with good life skills,” he added.

Deputy principal John O’Donovan outlined details of the junior cycle up

to Junior Certificate and the senior cycle up to Leaving Certificate.

Cllr Pat Hayes, chairman of the college’s board of management, spoke of his unbounded admiration for the dedication of the staff and the high academic and technical results AYO eA ee mere ON ort

Before departing for conducted tours of the facilities, the visitors further heard an account from Mrs Geraldine Condren of the pastoral care action programme available in the college.

A YOUNG man who had taken a concoction of 10 valium tablets and seven cans of beer broke into a 61- year-old man’s home and attacked him, a court heard yesterday.

Dominic Hayes (19), of Inis Ealga, Shannon, and Philip Ryan (20), of R1- neanna View, Shannon, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary at a house in Shannon on December 18, 2008.

Hayes was jailed for three years, while the case of Ryan was adjourned for compensation to be paid.

Garda David Laing told Ennis Cir- cuit Court that when gardai got to the house at around 1.40am, the owner was lying on the bedroom floor, cov- ered in blood. There was a wooden stick and frame of a child’s bike on the ground beside him. He said the bedroom window had been broken with the frame of a child’s bike.

The man told gardai that he saw the two defendants outside his bedroom window. Hayes broke the window with the bike frame and beat the man with a wooden stick and bedside radio. 400 in cash was also taken from the man’s bedroom. Damage, to the tune of almost €4,000, was caused to the victim’s property that night.

The two defendants were identified as suspects and were arrested a short time later in a nearby estate. Gda La- ing said they had to be given a rest pe- riod to sober up from the alcohol and drugs they had consumed that night.

The court heard that Ryan had told Hayes to leave the man alone, as he had a medical condition.

Both men were described as com- ing from dysfunctional families and both have abused drugs and alcohol. Hayes had 18 previous convictions, while Ryan did not have any.

Hayes’ barrister Lorcan Connolly (pictured below) said his client had consumed 10 valium tablets and seven cans of beer that evening. He described his client as a ‘Jekyl and Hyde’ type of character, who changed dramatically while under the influ- ence. He asked for light at the end of the tunnel for his client.

Ryan’s barrister Elaine Houlihan said this incident was very much out of character for her client and said it was not professionally planned. She said he was easily led. ““There was an element of regrettable opportunism to the crime,” she said. Ms Houlihan said her chent could offer €1,300 in com- pensation. His case was adjourned for further money to be paid over.

Referring to Hayes, Judge Carroll Moran said the evidence was he was the most culpable and said the attack was “gratuitous, unprovoked, out of the blue”.

THREE north Clare community groups are battling it out to see who will claim the lion’s share of €10,000 in local funding as part of the AIB Better Ireland Programme.

The Ennistymon After School Club, Liscannor Child Care Services and the Ennistymon Vocational School’s Young Men’s Group are each look- ing for local people to vote for their chosen charity.

The Ennistymon branch of the AIB will share out €10,000 between the three shortlisted projects, with first place receiving €5,000, second place €3,000 and third place €2,000.

Local people now have the chance to vote on who should get the major- ity of the funding. Between now and March 15, north Clare people can text their vote or vote online and help de- cide which project will finish on top.

The Ennistymon After School Club has been organised by Scoil Mhainchin, to provide children from disadvantaged areas with fun, edu- cational after-school care. Approxi- mately 15 children are benefitting each week from being involved in the After School Club.

The project’s aim is to give children aged between eight and 13 something to do from 2.40pm until 6pm each day that promotes learning, physi- cal activity and well-being and keeps them off the streets and in school.To vote for the Ennistymon After School Club, just text ENNISTY A to 51303.

Liscannor Childcare Services 1s a not-for-profit organisation set up more than 13 years ago to supply affordable childcare for local peo- ple. The centre currently has 15 pre- school children and 12 after-school students on its books and will use any money it receives to purchase

essential office equipment and plant flowers in their garden for the chil- dren to enjoy. To vote for the Liscan- nor Childcare Service, just text EN- NISTY B to 51303.

Finally, the Ennistymon Vocational School’s Young Men’s Group was established in September of 2009

to support local young men in mak- ing all the decisions that they face in life. It is a supportive peer group that meets on a weekly basis and the group is facilitated by two members of staff from the school. To vote for the group, you can simply text EN- NISTY C to 51303.