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FORMER TD and county council- lor James Breen is planning his come pe

The colourful politician announced this week that he intends to contest the next local election in 2009.

Not content just with a possible re- turn to local politics, the Independent candidate who got a taste for national

politics as part of the last Dail is also planning to run in the next General Election.

He took some time to consider his future after losing his seat to Fine Gael’s Joe Cary in last May’s Gen- eral Election.

The Kilnamona man was never too far from the world of politics howev- er, as he remained a regular attendee at public meetings and kept a firm in-

terest in the Ennis General Hospital Development Committee and MRSA and Families Network.

“Nothing has improved in_ the health services,” he said.

‘But I am not a one issue candidate. I stand for the betterment of the peo- ple of county Clare in all areas,” he SrHCGe

He said he was really looking for- ward to the election. “I’m just wait-

ing for the minute and the hour to fey sen me Lies heee be ee

The former Fianna Fail and later Independent Clare County Council- lor will not decide what electrical area he will run in, until the bounda- ries are decided.

He will however run as an Inde- pendent candidate.

He was elected as an Independent candidate to the Dail in 2002, after leaving the Fianna Fail party when he failed to get the party nomina- tion.

His formative years growing up in Kilnamona has had a strong influ- ence on his later life. Although not politically active his father was a Fine Gael supporter while his moth- er’s allegiance was to Fianna Fail.

Throughout his early life he took an interest in political life but describes himself as a free lancer at the time with no allegiance to a particular TEA

In 1966 he was approached to form a local cumann for Fianna Fail.

In 1979 he ran for local election on the Fianna Fail ticket and while he was not elected at that stage he was successful in 1985. He represented the party in Clare until 2002.

On February 11, 2002, James walked away from the soldiers of destiny after 36 years and decided to march alone when he did not make the party ticket.

He will begin the march again – door-to-door next year.

A KILLALOE initiative which makes life better for up to 300 chil- dren at a time is one of three in the town which has a chance of scooping €10,000 in the AIB Better Ireland aN WLU kel

Working one-on-one with troubled children, running courses in person- al development and putting the fun back into sun with summer camps, the Clarecare community childcare initiative is helping children and young people aged two to 18 years.

The childcare programme provides one-on-one support for children who have been referred by GP’s, the HSE or brought by school or families.

“Some of these children need help with dealing with a family separa- tion, anger management issues or

maybe they are having difficulty making the transition from primary to secondary school. We work with them for six to eight weeks in areas such as making good life choices and coping,’ said Community Childcare Worker with the project, Sinead Cor- bett.

As well as the individual support for around 15 young clients at a time, the initiative runs courses in schools and at their base at the Molua cen- tre to deal with topical issues such as bullying, personal development, improving social skills and sex edu- cation. Up to 170 children take part in the programmes which are offered each year.

The parents are not forgotten and they are offered the Parenting Plus programme to help hone parenting skills and offer advice on how to deal

with difficult situations.

In the summer, recreational pro- erammes see kids getting out and playing sports enjoying trips away, learning drama or hip-hop dancing and taking part in arts and crafts.

The programme runs in sections; the Youth Camp, the Pre-School Camp and three others for kids aged between five and 12 years.

For the busy summer schedule up to 20 local volunteers chip in with the childcare and social workers in- volved in the initiative.

“This is very much a community based initiative,’ said Ms Corbett. “These programmes help children to develop personal and social skills and we need funding to help develop the programmes.”

The AIB Better Ireland Awards were set up to provide assistance

and recognition for groups helping disadvantaged children. Each branch of the bank has a €10,000 top prize to give away and organisations are voted for by text.

Each text costs 60c including VAT and all proceeds, less operator charges and VAT, go to the organisa- tion voted for in the text. Competi- tion lines are open until June 6. The organisation which has the most text votes wins the €10,000.

To vote for the childcare initiative, text KILLALOEA to 53099.

A PACKED passenger jet travelled almost 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) across the Atlantic Ocean with a gaping hole in one of the its wing flaps, but the damage went undetected until the plane landed at NJetvevslelswaeeu seu m

It was only after the scheduled Del- ta Airlines flight from New York’s JFK International Airport arrived at Shannon on Friday morning that the damage to the flap and a tyre were spotted.

The outer tread of one tyre on the Boeing 757 jet was completely miss-

ing. However, the main highly pres- surised section of tyre remained in- tact.

It is understood that the tread shred- ded during or soon after take-off in New York and a piece of rubber pen- etrated the wing flap.

The Delta aircraft was grounded for further inspection and repairs by aircraft maintenance company Shan- non Aerospace. The hole in the flap was described as “sizeable”.

According to an airport source, “If the damage had been spotted when the incident occurred the pilot would have had to declare and emergency and land at the nearest airport im-

mediately.”

Airport sources also said the crew and passengers on board the flight were oblivious to the incident, heard nothing out of the ordinary and saw no debris or damage to the flap. There was no indication in the cockpit at any time that anything had occurred while the plane continued to function and land without difficulty.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport has confirmed that it 1s investigating the matter.

Meanwhile two aircraft have made emergency diversions to Shannon in the past few days.

On Friday evening a transatlantic jet which was almost half way across the Atlantic was forced to Shannon after one of its two engines failed in jubheaale

The Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200, with 144 passengers on board, touched down safely after the pilot managed to restart the troubled engine shortly before arriving at Shannon.

On Monday morning a _ female member of the cabin crew of a Virgin Atlantic flight from Boston to Lon- don was taken to the Mid Western Regional Hospital with suspected appendicitis.

Underlining the seriousness with which the council viewed the results internally, council official, Maura McNulty emailed County Engineer, Tom Carey; Town Engineer, Tom Tiernan and the HSE’s Acting Direc- tor for Public Health, Tessa Greally to say the results should have been phoned directly by the council’s con- sultants.

The records also show that the fax transmitting the hard-hitting EPA audit report to County Engineer,

Tom Carey was marked “urgent” but was never made public.

During the course of the audit, the council admitted that 17 per cent of the water entering the public water supply was bypassing the membrane toe

The EPA audit concluded that the proportion of inadequately treated water entering the Ennis public water supply was likely to increase when the raw quality was poor.

“The highest proportion of inad- equately treated water enters the dis- tribution network at a time when the risk of contamination of the supply with Cryptosporidium is at its high- ae

“The Drumcliffe water treatment plant is operating under conditions of high risk of contamination of crypt- osporidium.

“The agency is concerned that the practice of bypassing the membrane filtration plant, particularly when raw water conditions are poor, effectively removes the treatment barrier in the Ennis public water supply” the EPA stated.

Responding to the revelations, Dep- uty Joe Carey said it was “one story after another with the water supply in Ennis and the bottom line was that people were not drinking the water.

“The town engineer’s remarks that the council informs the public when they feel it appropriate, is little con- solation to those who fell il] during the most recent outbreak of crypt- osporidium.

‘Had the council been upfront with the EPA findings, and ensured that public safety dominated any other concerns, then that situation may not have arisen.

“Indeed, the fact that the council is nowhere near being in a position to comply with directives, means the public will continue to have Iht- tle confidence in their ability to pro- vide safe, clean drinking water’’,he declared.

PEOPLE are afraid to attend hospi- tals for treatment, fearing they may contract a hospital-acquired infec- tion such as C-diff or MRSA.

That is according to Fine Gael Dep- uty Pat Breen who said that he has met with people too afraid to go for treatment.

‘I had one elderly woman call me who said she was going to stay at home rather than go to hospital for her surgery. This is a genuine fear that is in the community,” he said.

The Ballynacally man said that he

has met with numerous people with similar concerns, most of them eld- ee

‘Confidence in the health services have been eroded,” he said.

Deputy Breen does not share the fears with others however that the outbreak of C-diff discovered at En- nis General Hospital will be used as an excuse to downgrade the facility.

“IT hope the misfortune of others will indicate to the HSE and the min- ister how urgent the upgrade is, and that it is needed now,” he said.

Deputy Breen along with the other three Clare TDs and the county’s

mayors will meet with the Minister for Health this Thursday to discuss the future of the hospital.

“IT am hopeful that there will be good news after that meeting,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Fine Gael Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs claimed that those caring for people outside of hospitals are still getting a raw deal.

He is now urging the Government to review the financial supports available to carers and recognise the invaluable contribution they are making to our communities.

‘The majority of carers are women and the biggest single problem they face is the fact that in order to qualify for any allowance, they face a means test.

“Under the present system many of those carers do not quality for the payment on the basis of their part- ner’s earnings and in many cases when they do qualify they are of- fered derisory amounts.

“In my view they should be indi- vidually assessed for Carers Allow- ance and the carer’s partner’s income should be excluded from the means test,’ he said.

PLANS for the first county fleadh to be hosted by Tulla comhaltas in 50 years will be announced at a lively event in the village tonight.

With more than 80 competitions to get involved in, with categories cater- ing for musicians and dancers from under nine years to seniors, there should be no lack of talented visitors to the area next month.

It’s expected that the number of competitors will at least match the 1,200 who took part in last year’s fleadh.

A sparkling night’s entertainment is planned for the launch in the court- house with music from Andrew Mac-

Namara, Seamus Buglar, Mark Don- nellan, Paddy O’Donoghue, Vincent Griffin, Pat Mullins, Joan Culloo, John Lyons and Risteard Crimmins.

Among the young musicians will be Tulla Under 15 Ceili Band. Singing will be provided by Robbie McMa- hon and Sean McMahon.

Corum UNM Nao oa Lo nU DO Tom elements (OO MUD move to John Minogue’s where there will be entertainment and refresh- ments. The good news is that every- one 1s invited to the launch. This year the fleadh is a five day event, starting on Wednesday night, June 18.

Organisers were keeping their pow- der dry for tonight’s launch but gave a sneak preview, promising the cream of musical talent for the gala concert

on Thursday, including a top musi- cian from the UK.

Wednesday will see the launch of a special archive cd, celebrating 50 years of traditional music in east Clare, while set-dancing competi- tions will be held on Friday night. There will be music categories for every instrument on Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday night, the traditional pea teea SMA O UM OLoMCLE-IB CO) e(ere NOM OOD EE TeXe for performances from the Tulla and Kilfenora Céili Bands.

The committee have been working on preparations for months under the chairmanship of Tom Conheady.

There could not be a fleadh without the competitions. But unlike previ-

ous years, no entries will be accepted during the fleadh. Anyone interested in participating should note that this year entries will not be accepted un- der any circumstances after the clos- ing date of Monday, May 26.

Members of comhaltas should en- ter via their branch secretary and non members can send their entries directly to the county secretary of comhaltas at Cois Na hAbhana, Gort Road, Ennis.

Further details on the fleadh rules are available on the comhaltas web site or on wWww.tullatradfestival.com where the full fleadh programme is listed. Also listed is the full pro- eramme of events for the Tulla Trad1- tional Festival in September.

FORMER assistant county manager Roibeard O Ceallaigh, who passed away at the weekend, has been re- membered as a great motivator for WTR UK emOvis ba tey

Mr O Ceallaigh (64), died in hos- pital in Dublin at the weekend, fol- lowing a short illness. He had suf- fered from a rare heart disorder for a number of years.

The Kilkenny native had worked in the local authority sector for 40 years, during which time he was SETA ANOKe kDa Mm Oba eee) and assistant county manager and Ennis town manager (1985 – 1994),

He also served as county manager in Limerick and Meath and also

worked with Kilkenny, Waterford and Wicklow county councils, prior to retiring in 2001. ;

Over the years, Mr O Ceallaigh had played a key role in the Irish lan- guage and had been pivotal in Ennis winning several national awards for Gere

He had been chairman of Conradh na Gaeilge in Ennis, while he was also chairman of the board of Clar na Gaeilge, a community language development programme for the county.

He was also chairman of Glor na nGael in Ennis, which won a national award last year.

Mr O Ceallaigh’s last public func- tion was in Glor in Ennis last March, when he accepted this prestigious ac-

colade, on behalf of Glor na nGael.

He was the founding chairman of Gaelscoil Cios6g in Ennis in 1983 and was also on the committee of Féile na hInise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

His colleague with the various Irish organisations in Ennis Donal O Loinsigh said, “He was in his ele- ment that night.

‘“Roibeard was a man who learned Irish. He acquired Irish and learned it in Ballyferriter (Kerry) every sum- noe

“In his professional career, he pio- neered the use of Irish in the public service. He came up with the concept of having people in every section of the council to have proficient Irish even before the language Act,’ he

Cente

“Clare County Council was the first local authority to produce fully bilingual application forms and he was a pioneer of that,’ added Mr O Loinsigh.

“He was the driving force behind anything that catapulted Ennis into the limelight nationally.

“He was a great motivator,” he Teeter

Mr O Ceallaigh had retired to En- nis and had lived in Roslevan with his wife Carmel. He had three sons Roibeard Og, Ronan and Eoghan.

He will repose at his home from 4pm today (Tuesday) and will be laid to rest in his native Kilkenny, follow- ing [lam mass at Ennis Cathedral tomorrow.

IT WAS a historic weekend for Clare underage camogie as the Under-18s claimed their fourth Munster title.

There was plenty to be gained from Sunday’s win as history stood in the favour of Cork but Clare are learning to rewrite history books in the cam- ogie world.

‘“We’ve been working for years for this and over those years we have had some great battles with Cork,” said manager Fintan McNamara. “There is a healthy rivalry brewing there and to win today is great for the girls. This group had never over come the Cork challenge before today so this just shows how hard they are will- ing to work. Progress is being made at all levels in the county, we will be hoping that this group will now be in the challenging stages for the All-Ireland and for the future Clare will be recognised as a force to be reckoned with.”

McNamara also drew attention to the belief that exists within the

squad. “The team spirit is just fantas- tic and the whole panel are working together. But best of all they know they all have to work hard for their place yet each girl is supportive of all the others. That’s so important in to- day’s game where to win campaigns and games all the panel is required.”

Afterwards, Carina Roseingrave said the win represented a new be- ginning for Clare camogie and thanked her teammates for the work and dedication they have put in over the last number of months.

Clare now have a Munster title to their credit and two wins from two in the All-Ireland series. This will put them not only in with a serious chance of qualifying for a semi-fi- nal spot but also in contention to top their group. That’ the focus of the management as the girls will take their short break for exams.

THE HSE and the Government are being asked to rethink the sums when it comes to providing health services for the county.

Fine Gael Deputy Joe Carey said this week that a proper CT scanner at Ennis General Hospital could be in- Stalled for as little as €220,000 from the health services coffers.

The HSE is currently spending €130,000 each year transporting pa- tients from Ennis to Limerick for a basic CT scan.

“This is a significant cost, but just as Significant is a cost of having an ambulance tied up on these journeys,

the costs of having beds occupied that would not otherwise need to be occupied if a scanner was on hand, and the additional staff time going into managing the situation as it cur- rently stands,” said Deputy Carey.

If the much needed scanner was put in place the HSE’s only investment would be €350,000 per annum in staffing costs, according to the TD.

This 1s anet cost of under €220,000 per year when you take out the sav- ings in transport costs alone.”

“The Mid-West Hospitals ‘Trust will fund the new scanner at no cost to the HSE.

“Clearly, when you look at the facts, it makes huge sense to make

this moderate investment in order to get the huge gains that will accrue.

“The number of people travelling to Limerick for CT scans has gone up by 33 per cent since 2004 and that figure will presumably continue to increase. 35 of the country’s public hospitals have CT scanners. Surely now there is no justification for En- nis not to have one too,” he said.

In response to his Parliamentary Questions on the matter, the HSE have also confirmed to Deputy Carey that the accommodation of a CT scanner for Ennis is curremtly be- ing pursued under the 2008 Capital Plan.

Sinn Féin in Clare also believe that

the HSE’s local policy does not add up and urged them to change their lo- cal hospital police.

The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel- opment found the government was basing its plans to centralise serv- ices and downgrade or close regional hospitals on a population-to-hospi- tal ratio presented by the College of Surgeons in England and did not take account of best practice in other Eu- ropean countries.

“The HSE and government must completely revise their plans for hos- pital centralisation in light of this report,” said Sinn Féin’s Ennis chair- person Finberg McGeehan.

YOUNG children in Quin are being afforded the opportunity to become dancing queens, thanks to a new dancing school which has been set up in the village.

Local resident Laura-Jane Allis has set up her own dancing school and teaches dozens of young children hip hop dancing along with musical theatre.

The 26-year-old set up the school, having studied in Cork and Cam- bridge. After graduating with a D1- ploma in musical theatre in Cam- bridge, she did a few shows in the West End, before deciding to move back to Quin.

Although born in Surrey, Laura-

Jane and her family moved to Quin 10 years ago and she now regards the village as her home.

She taught with the Sparks school in Ennis and then decided to set up her own school, Breakthrough Dance Sroyenyer-bas

Laura-Jane opened up in Quin and then started to teach in Ennistymon and Ennis. She now teaches children and adults from the age of six up- wards and has more than 100 young dancers on her books.

She generally teaches hip hop to be- ginners and then slowly advances her students to musical theatre, which incorporates acting with dancing.

‘Everyone loves hip hop at the mo- ment. I have slowly started introduc- ing musical theatre and am hoping to

introduce tap and jazz,” she added.

She has taught in the community hall in Quin for several months and is looking forward to a proper dance studio being opened there, when the community hall development is com- pleted later this year.

Laura-Jane found that once her company became known, the num- bers of students on her books quickly NO usrNoee

“It really has been word of mouth and the word has got around through the schools,” she said.

Having grown up in the UK, does Laura-Jane have any regrets about leaving there and moving to Quin’?

‘Absolutely not. I love it here. I definitely made the right decision. I was lost in London. This way, I get to

do what I love and it’s not too serious and they love it,” she laughed.

“I love everything about here. The whole community of Quin has been great, really supportive,” she said.

Laura-Jane will get the opportunity to show off her dancers at a concert at Colaiste Mhuire in Ennis on May 25, and she is looking forward to it. “It is a chance for the students to show their parents and friends what they are doing,’ she said.

Laura-Jane accepts beginners to her classes and can be contacted on 085 7771328.