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THE MULKEAR River in Clare is one of 50 rivers where anglers can legally enjoy fishing for salmon, ac- cording to regulations just approved.

But the permits to catch salmon come with a grim warning that their numbers are still under threat and that poachers are depleting stocks aUUmatbaseom

The Minister for Natural Resourc- es, Conor Lenihan TD, has approved a suite of regulations and bye-laws that will govern the wild salmon fish- ery in 2010. These came into effect on January |.

Under the regulations, salmon fish- ing will be permitted in the Mulkear and in neighboring Limerick in the River Feale.

The number of rivers in which a catch will be permitted is now 50, two more than last year. Four rivers which were closed to fishing in 2009 will be opened but two which were being fished – the Blackwater in Ker- ry and Glengariff in Cork – will now be closed to conserve stock.

Meanwhile scientists and officials in charge of the State’s inland fisher- ies say that poaching “has increased due to the recession” as people have more time on their hands and less money to spend on luxuries such as a0 (ecy-¥beslOyee

Fish conservationists are alarmed that poachers are ‘lamping’ salmon – using bright lights to stun them and spearing the spawning fish with

pitchforks.

The Regional Fisheries Boards have appealed to people to stop the prac- tice, which poses a “severe threat” to the future of salmon stocks and the tourism businesses which depend on Weloeen

Announcing the river openings, the minister said that 11] rivers are open only to angling on a ‘catch and re- lease’ basis because of the status of stocks. There are 80 rivers closed to fishing as salmon stocks are not meeting conservation limits. In re- gard to the scientific analysis of

salmon stocks, the minister said, “This reflects the persistent down- ward trend in marine survival which is pervasive throughout all the North Atlantic stock complexes as reported by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Significantly, Irish marine survival indices are at their lowest since records began in the 1980s and appear to be declining further.”

CLARE County Council has told Doonbeg Golf Club that it has con- cerns over the fact that its scaled down €2 million coastal protection plan may lead to other parts of the coastline adjoining the site becom- ing noticeably eroded.

The council concerns are high- lighted in a raft of new information sought by the planning authority about the golf club proposal.

The club is seeking approval for a protection plan for the most vulner- able sections of dune fronting the sixth tee and the fifth, 13th and 14th greens on the golf course.

A previous 2003 proposal was turned down by An Bord Pleanala and the golf club has now told the

council that if it does nothing, the dune system will be further eroded and this would be detrimental to the club’s viability.

The application states that “essen- tial parts of Doonbeg golf course re- main at high risk from severe coastal erosion during extreme storm events with a combined high waves and storm surge’.

Putting the plan on hold, the coun- cil stated, ““There are concerns that proposal may lead to a situation whereby other parts of the adjoin- ing coastline may become noticeably eroded, leading to a situation where further coastal protection works may be needed.”

The council has invited the golf club to submit any proposals it may have for further coastal management

work and has asked why a revised layout of the course hasn’t been ex- plored as an alternative erosion man- agement measure.

The council has also taken into account a submission from the De- partment of the Environment which states that the appropriate assessment screening does not take into consid- eration the potential effects of the development on the the Mid-Clare coast Special Protection Area (SPA) and its conservation objectives.

The department pointed out that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) lodged with the application states that the proposal is unlikely to have significant effects on Carrow- more Dunes Special Area of Conser- vation (SAC).

“In reaching this conclusion, there

is no reference to the potential ef- fects on other plans and projects, in- cluding the existing golf course and associated developments and there 1s no reference to any impacts on the SPA and its conservation objectives.

“The impacts of reconfiguring parts of the golf course to facilitate the coastal protection works and the works involved, are not considered with respect to potential impacts on the SAC in particular and on habi- tats, flora and fauna in general,” the department submission concluded.

A decision is expected on the plan later in 2010.

A MAN in his 20s, arrested in con- nection with a robbery involving a knife in Shannon during Christmas, has been released without charge.

The alarm was raised after a man carrying a kitchen knife demanded money at an off-licence in Shannon on St Stephen’s Day.

The incident happened at the off- licence attached to the Crossroads Pub in Drumgeely at around 5.30pm

that evening. The man, who wore a scarf over his face, demanded mon- ey before making way with around €200 in cash.

A staff member and a customer were on the premises at the time. Although traumatised by the inci- dent, they did not sustain injuries.

Gardai have secured CCTV foot- age of the area and have viewed this as part of the investigation, while a forensic examination has been car- ried out at the scene. A man was ar-

rested in Shannon last Tuesday and was questioned at Shannon Garda Station.

He was later released without charge and a file is being prepared for the DPP, who will decide if charges are to be brought.

“The investigation is ongoing. Statements have been taken. CCTV has been secured and is being ex- amined in order to assist the identi- fication. A forensic examination has been carried out and we are await-

ing the results of that,” said a garda spokesman.

“We are appealing to witnesses who were in the area at the time to come forward,” said the spokes- ner Ob

Shannon Gardai can be contacted on 061 361212.

Meanwhile, gardai in Tulla are in- vestigating an incident in which an elderly woman was robbed of mon- ey over the Christmas.

Two people, posing as workers,

called to her door in Tulla village shortly before 6am last Wednesday, December 30, on the pretence that they were checking for flood-related TSS oh

While one of the two distracted the woman, the other searched the house and made way with what gardai are describing as a small sum of cash. The two people – a man and woman – are described as being in their 20s. Gardai in Tulla are investigating the incident.

THE Burren’s college is launching a new selection of courses this month from it’s base in Gort. Starting in early January, the Burren College of Complementary Therapy, is offering a host of courses on complementary therapies in a number of different skill levels.

The college is being run by Enid McAleenan, who is accredited by International Therapy Examination Council (ITEC) and has been prac- ticing in the field locally and in Dub- lin for a number of years.

“What I am really doing 1s courses in complementary therapy and there are a lot of thing that come in under that banner – from holistic massage,

anatomy, physiology, aromatherapy, hot stone therapy, dietary and nutri- tion,’ said Enid.

“I get a variety of different people coming along to these courses. I get people who are interested in holistic therapies for a number of different reasons – some people are just drawn to it for themselves while others are interested in setting up some practice for themselves from their home, and maybe making some extra money out of it. Most people come for the foundation course and that is really the basics for a number of other com- plementary therapies.”

Complementary therapies have become much more popular in re- cent years with lay people and some mainstream medical practitioners.

“This is complementary therapy and not alternative medicine. I think GPs, doctors and nurses are starting to look at different ways that people can look after their health more and more,’ continued Enid.

“Somebody who is attending the doctor for a wide variety of com- plaints may now be referred to peo- ple like me for therapy. It’s just an- other way of dealing with a problem – about looking at things through not totally medical eyes and thinking about other ways to treat a situation. I think people are looking at ways to take a little more control of their own health.

“People are starting to get more open-minded about it and in the past I have worked side by side with GPs

in treating conditions in different ways. This is about working with more mainstream medical practi- tioners. It’s not alternative, it’s not instead of them, it’s about working with them and enhancing the overall treatment for patients.”

Funding is also available for unem- ployed people to take courses at the college. For more information on all of this contact the Burren College of Complementary Therapy on 091 633878 or check out www.burren- courses.com.

ENNIS’S reputation as one of the cleanest towns in Ireland took a hit yesterday when it tumbled 42 places in the latest Irish Business Against Piro mOlsyaN Relais

Ennis was listed in second place in last June’s survey but has since fallen to 46th position, from a sta- tus of ‘clean to European norms’ to ‘moderately littered’ in IBAL’s final results for 2009. Shannon has leap- frogged Ennis to become Clare’s ti- diest town, according to IBAL.

Shannon rose to 20th place and 1s described in the report as “Clean to European Norms’.

IBAL’s report for Shannon stated: “Half of the sites surveyed in Shan- non were clean to European norms, with the remainder ‘moderately lit- tered’. Some of the top ranking sites included Ballycasey Business Park, Bothar Mor approach and Bothar an Aerphort approach. Newmarket-on -Fergus road approach just missed getting the top litter grade. The town centre was moderately littered and care needs to be taken to ensure it doesn’t deteriorate.

The report looked at ten areas in Ennis and was particularly critical of the town’s approach roads.

The report stated, “There has been a very significant drop in the per- formance at Ennis since our previ- ous survey. Being clean is a 365-day responsibility for the local authority. Five of the sites surveyed in Ennis were clean to European norms but it was let down by two very poor sites – the Department of Social Welfare was a litter blackspot – clearly it has been completely neglected for quite Se) seem BDO tome

The report added, “The link road at

Citroen / Camus Garage to Cahercal- la Road had a serious litter problem – it was the worst of all the approach routes which were surveyed coming into Ennis.”

However, speaking yesterday, May- or of Ennis, Frankie Neylon (Ind) rejected IBAL’s assessment, saying IBAL should look at Ennis’s track record in Tidy Towns competition.

Town Clerk, Eddie Power told yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town

Council that half of the areas sur- veyed in Ennis were found to be clean to European norms.

“It’s hard to accept their comments because they don’t stand up to scru- tiny,” he said.

However, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said Ennis’s fall illustrated a “real credibility” in IBAL’s ratings sys- c0e8

He said the council should look at the survey as constructive criticism.

He told the meeting that approach roads to Ennis are “a mess of rub- bish”’.

“Anybody who walks around Ennis will see that. It’s people who are go- ing around and dumping rubbish. It’s a substantial problem,” he said

Cllr Meaney praised the work done by the council’s environmental war- dens and added that it was “vital we identify the wholesale dumping of rubbish by an underclass’. He said

people who engage in illegal dump- ing should receive jail sentences.

Combatting council low on true grit

HONEST Clare people are at the bottom of the tax-dodgers league, with just seven spongers per 10,000 of the population.

According to figures just published which outline the figures relating to tax defaulters over the last nine years, there were just 83 people in Clare’s 110,950 population – 7.48 per 10,000 head of population.

This puts Clare third from the bot-

tom of the league, bested only by Kildare, which had 7.30 defaulters per 10,000 head of population and Dublin, which had 6.48.

Of those who were named and shamed in the county, 15 were farm- ers, 18 were company directors, 15 were builders, seven were in the re- tail trade, two were publicans, four were employees, two worked in the restaurant or fast food trade, one in the motor trade, six in the hotel or guesthouse business and one was a

landlord.

There were no Clare towns named in the top 30 tax defaulter towns, and no Clare names appeared in the list of top ten overall tax defaulters or the top 20 Ansbacher case de- faulters.

Top of the league for being in trou- ble with the Revenue Commission- ers were Kerry people, who had 403 defaulters unmasked in the same period, 28.82 per 10,000 head of population.

Dublin had 769 declared defaulters but because of the massive popula- tion – 1,187,176 – remained at the bottom of the league of shame.

Limerick was also well down, eight from the bottom with 11.52 defaulters per 10,000 population and Tipperary was fourth from the top at 19.30 for the same number of people.

Over the last nine years, the Rev- enue Commissioners have published the names of 4,961 people who have

made settlements with them.

The names are published in the Iris Oifigidil, the Irish State Gazette, by the Revenue Commissioners each quarter. The names of tax default- ers are published where the settle- ment was in excess of €30,000, or €12,700 if pre 2005, and if the amount of fine or penalty included in the setthement exceeded 15 per cent of the tax and where the taxpay- er did not avail of the opportunity to make a voluntary disclosure.

HUNDREDS of homes across the county were left with no water for days over the holiday period, as mains burst, pipes froze and water reserves ran down.

Council water maintenance and repair teams joined road workers in battling to maintain services in the biggest freeze in five decades.

But while some areas had supplies restored in a couple of days, others were out for much longer.

An angry Pat Walsh from Loophead was one of many Clare residents who contacted

Fears for CDPs in cutbacks

CLARE’S first baby of the new dec- ade was in no rush to get going and arrived at 7.l4am at the Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick.

The 2.61 k delightful baby girl was born to Brian and Nollaig Minnogue from Poulagowan in Scariff. Her de- lighted parents took her home at the weekend after a brief stay for mum Nollaig to recover.

Parents Laura O’Neill and Joe Kiely from Bruff in County Limer- ick were delighted to welcome their baby daughter, Ava, who arrived at St Munchin’s at 2.5lam to become the first new citizen of the mid-west.

She was the fifth baby born in St Munchin’s on January 1, on what was a “quiet day” for the hospital. By comparison, there were 18 births in the labour ward of the maternity hos- pital a day previously, December 31.

December 31 was also a full moon and, according to many experts in labour and childbirth, this is a very common time for women to give birth.

Waterford claimed the honours of producing the first Irish baby of the decade. Little Ava Hennessy clocked in at just 28 seconds past midnight at Waterford Regional Hospital.

Parents Rebecca and Shane, from Dunmore East, Co Waterford, were aware that the clock was ticking down on 2009 but just wanted to lay eyes on her as soon as they could.

“The midwife said to me ‘would

you like her to be born in 2009 or 2010?’, and I said “I don’t mind’. That was 11.20pm. I just wanted to see her as soon as possible,” said Rebecca.

Ava tipped the scales at 91b 5o0z and is the fourth child for the Hennessys. She has a big brother Jamie (17) and two sisters Abbie (11) and Danielle (OF

Just pipped at the post was little Harvey Hetherington-Kelly who was born at Mount Carmel Hospital in Dublin at one minute past midnight to parents Tanya and Stephen from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

The third baby of the new year was delivered at the National Maternity

Hospital on Holles Street at 13 min- utes past midnight.

Tegan O’Neill, who weighed in at 91lb 50z, was born to overjoyed par- ents Carmel and Pat from Castle- knock in Dublin.

The first baby of 2010 born in the west arrived at 2.27am. The little girl, was born to mum Fiona Cough- lan from Athlone at Portiuncula Hos- pital in Ballinasloe, County Galway.