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THE people of Clare are willing to pay for the long-term sustainability of some of the county’s most under threat natural environments.

According to anew survey commis- sioned by the Carron-based Burren- LIFE project, which was presented at the organisation’s seminar in Gort yesterday, it is estimated that the public was willing to pay farmers as much as €842 per hectare if it meant the protection of the biodiversity of the Burren.

“Using internationally recognised researched methods, we have been able to show that the Irish taxpayer

is willing to pay farmers to continue to deliver these services,” said head researcher Tom van Rensburg.

“This is a really interesting find- ing at a time when the national REP Scheme has been closed to new en- Wee D ea

The research also showed that the farming for conservation methods practiced as part of the BurrenLIFE’s method would improve water quality in the area.

The research found that many farm fields in the study did not have nutrient inputs that exceed the re- quirements of the animals and grass erowth. Areas at risk are those sub- ject to point sources of contamina-

tion, such as round feeders for silage, animals having access to streams and springs.

Other findings presented yesterday include those of Dr James Moran of Sligo IT who, together with Teagasc officials, developed a tailored feed- ing system using [rish-sourced GM- free ingredients to sustain cattle on Burren hills over the winter.

BurrenLIFE’s Dr Sharon Parr showcased some of the initial find- ings of the BLP’s ecological moni- toring work. This work indicated that grazing can help increase biodiver- sity of limestone grasslands but that scrub encroachment remains a major problem in the Burren, one that will

require direct intervention.

“Burren farmers are piloting a farm- ing system which has significantly increased their household income level through on-farm conservation measures including the maintenance of dry-stone walls, scrub removal work and the development of ‘con- servation grade’ Burren beef and lamb,’ said Ruairi O Conchuir of the BurrenLIFE Project.

The pilot phase of the EC LIFE Nature funded project is scheduled to finish in January 2010. Funding has been allocated for the roll-out of conservation farming in the area but no additional funding has been al- located as an operational budget for

BurrenLIFE.

“We can show that the Burren- LIFE model of farming can help increase biodiversity on our farms while maintaining animal health, water quality and farmer income,” said BurrenLIFE Project Manager, Brendan Dunford.

“What’s more, we know the costs involved in this and we now know that society is willing to meet these costs as they generate significant public benefits.”

PEOPLE who damage the property of others must pay for it, a judge said yesterday, as he ordered compensa- tion to be paid in a car damage case.

Jim McDonagh (19), of Dun na hInise, Ennis, admitted a charge of criminal damage at Gort Road, En- nis, on October 5 last.

Inspector John Galvin told En- nis District Court that a man called to Ennis Garda Station on October 5 and complained that his jeep had been damaged.

“He was driving along and his jeep was approached by the accused. It is alleged the accused got out with a stick and started breaking windows and damaging the paint work,’ he SrHLOe

He said that the accused admit- ted taking part, in interviews with gardai. The amount of damage caused was €1,920.97.

Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said that her client had not been fur- nished with details of the amount of the damage until yesterday. “My cli- ent doesn’t have that sort of money in court,” she said. She said there was a background to the case.

“My client was coming along in a car. The injured party made a ges- ture to his own mouth. He was act- ing in a state of heightened emotion. Emotions boiled over,’ she said.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy asked, “Is there some sort of feud going on, be- cause if there is, it’s time the court stepped in before things get out of hand?”

Ms Godfrey replied, “Things seem to have calmed down. It’s hoped that matters will resolve themselves.”

Ms Godfrey said she understood the compensation would be €500 and said her client is on social wel- fare. The judge told her, ““He should have thought of that before he dam- aged somebody’s property.’

The solicitor then asked for an ad-

journment “to accumulate a fraction of the money”. The judge said, “I’m not talking about a fraction. This man (the victim) is out of pocket. Who does he (the accused) expect to pay for this car?

“If people cause damage to other people’s property, they pay for it,” added the judge.

He imposed a six-month detention sentence and suspended it on condi- tion that the cost of the damage be paid within three months.

A NUMBER of residents who had to evacuate their homes as a result of a fire that burned down Bredin’s hard- ware on Station Road in Ennis have failed in their bid to halt the redevel- opment of the site.

The well-known Ennis store burned down in November 2007 causing a number of houses to evacuated for a number of days and, in one instance, for a number of months.

Last year, Galileo Enterprises Ltd lodged plans to replace the structure and these were approved by Ennis Town Council. The directors of Gal- ileo Enterprises Ltd are local busi- nessmen, Noel Connellan and Dan Moran and its most recent returns show that it has accumulated profits OR OPA Pa ribelnleie

However, Maeve Hoey, Paul Bar- rett (on behalf of the Estate of the late Mrs M.R. Barrett) and Sile Gin- nane lodged an appeal against the council decision on the grounds of privacy and security of their houses . They maintained that the application was “thoroughly unclear and unsat- isfactorily”’.

They maintained that there should be an overall site masterplan which would set the design quality for the remainder of the brownfield site.

An earlier submission to the coun- cil from the residents stated that “the fire at Bredin’s premises put their homes at risk to fire, smoke and as-

bestos, resulting in evacuation for a number of days to several months for some residents and the clean-up which took many months to com- ey Kome

“This experience has undermined our confidence in the close proxim- ity of large retail and warehouse units and we are not distressed with the scale of what is indicated in the masterplan site of this application,” they claimed.

However, in his recommendation, the Bord Pleanala inspector stated that “the proposed development does not represent a significant departure from the current use of the surround-

ing area and would not require justi- fication by a masterplan”.

The inspector stated that “the type and scale of the proposed uses would be in keeping with those established on the site and the proposed building would be in keeping with the charac- ter of the area”.

“The development would not seri- ously injure the amenities of proper- ties in the vicinity of the site. it would not give rise to traffic hazard or con- gestion or place an undue demand on the water and sewerage services in the area

As a result, the Board ruled that “having regard to the established use

of the site and to its planning history, the grant of permission and to the pattern of development in the vicin- ity, the proposed development would not seriously injure the character of the area or the amenities of property in the vicinity, would not be prejudi- cial to public health and would be ac- ceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience’.

A BAG, containing €2,800 worth of drugs, was thrown from a car into the river while gardai were in pursuit, a CLoLtD am Nor DKC MoI KOKerh Ys Michael McMahon (22), of Plunkett Drive, Kilkishen, and Keith Ryan (20), of Orchard Drive, Clarecastle, admitted possession of drugs for sale or supply on August 28, 2008. Inspector John Galvin told En- nis District Court yesterday that members of the divisional drugs unit in Clare were on patrol on the Quin Road in Ennis on the date in question. SW eleavaeelelateeeme. car parked beside a soccer pitch. TRAE Tete hom OD’s Michael McMa- hon and Keith Ryan was the passenger. The car pulled away and travelled in the opposite direc- tion to the gardai. He said that Ryan threw a brown carrier bag out of the car and into the river. Gardai pursued the car for a distance of five kilome- tres. During some of this time, the vehicle was driven dangerously. The bag was taken from the river

and it was found to contain cannabis herb, valued at €2,803.

The court heard that McMahon had a small number of previous convic- tions, while Ryan had none.

Defending solicitor Daragh Has- sett said that both men are unem- ployed plumbers. He said that they went overseas on holidays together in the summer and during the holi- day, Michael McMahon’s brother

drowned. He said _ that the two accused “intend to stay trouble-free for the rest of their lives”. Judge Aeneas McCarthy im- posed a nine- month jail term on McMahon and suspended this OVNMCCey NCD LALOveMmNer-NE he be of good be- haviour for two years. He said he was taking the mitigating —cir- cumstances into consideration. He adjourned Ryan’s case for two months and directed that a probation report be carried out on him.

Bredin’s rebuild gets go-ahead

A SCHOOL principal arrived at work in Ennis to find what she thought was a dead woman lying in a foetal position at the entrance to one of the prefabs.

The dramatic evidence was heard at Ennis District Court yesterday, which was told that the young wom- an was naked from the waist down, was semi-conscious and was cov- ered in flour, while a classroom had been thrashed.

The 18-year-old woman, from En- nis, remembered very little about what had happened, having drank vodka that night. Her solicitor said yesterday she could have died from hypothermia.

Arising out of the incident, she was charged with burglary, but after hearing the evidence, Judge Aeneas McCarthy dismissed the charge.

The acting principal of Clough- leigh National School, Fiona Power, told the court that she arrived at school shortly before 8.30am on No- vember 28, 2008 – the morning after what she described as the coldest night of the year.

She said she noticed that the door of one of the prefabs was opened and she saw “what looked like a bundle of clothing lying on the floor. As I got closer I realised it was a person lying on the ground. I was afraid first of all that she was dead.”

She said she touched the woman and when she heard her mutter, she realised that she was alive.

“She was only partially clothed. She was lying on the bare concrete and a mixture of flour and liquid was emptied all over the floor. She looked as if she had been rolling on the floor. Her hair was matted,” she said. There were a couple of bottles

in the vicinity, including a vodka bottle, she said.

“It was a freezing cold morning,” she said. Ms Power and another teacher brought the young woman inside and tried to warm her. She was taken by ambulance to hospital.

Ms Power said the room had been thrashed, there was writing all over the walls and tables and the “floor was an absolute disgrace. Books had been thrown all over the place and filing cabinets had been opened.” She said the prefab had been locked the previous evening.

Under cross-examination by de- fence solicitor Tara Godfrey, Ms Power said that the young woman was drenched to the skin and was not wearing any clothes from the waist down. “Her feet were on the jamb of the doors,” she said.

Garda Jason Lardner recalled be- ing called to the school that morn-

ing. He said he tried to speak to her, but she was unresponsive and ap- peared semi-conscious.

‘Her eyes were open but she was unable to speak to me. There was flour on her face and black marker on her forehead,’ he said.

He explained that the door to the prefab had been forced open. Tables and chairs were thrown all over the place, while writing on the walls had sexual references. He said the wom- an told gardai she had been drinking the day before. She went to an apart- ment on the Mill Road at around midnight and had vodka, but did not remember much after that, until she woke up in hospital.

Ms Godfrey asked the garda, “Am I the only one concerned about her … naked from the waist down and with sexual references on the wall?” Garda Lardner replied, “My imme- diate concern was for her safety that

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Ms Godfrey submitted to the court, ‘In the case of burglary against my client, the threshold hasn’t been reached.”

She said the accused could have died from hypothermia that night, given the cold.

“There’s an awful lot more doubt and fear in my mind that something else could have happened,” she said.

Judge Aeneas McCarthy said, “I have serious concerns about what happened this girl. She was cov- ered in flour and was naked from the waist down and there was graf- fit: with sexual connotations on the walls.”

He said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt and dismissed the charge.

‘Her semi-conscious state that morning also causes me concern,” he said.

that he believes the measure is “short term gain but to- tally counter productive”.

The renowned Jim Power, Chief Economist with Friend’s First was speaking in advance of his presenta- tion at “Dynamic Regions – Future

Directions in Regional Develop- ment’, which was organised by Shan- non Development to mark its 50th

anniversary. Describing the tax as a “totally counterproductive measure’ he

warned that the “tourism product in Ireland is already under pressure. Getting people to come to Ireland in the current economy is already dif- ficult.”

He said he is in “100 per cent agree- ment with Michael O’Leary about the long-term damage this will do. This tax is a short term measure with

long-term consequences.”

Speaking as workers from the pub- lic and private sector converged on cities around the country for a na- tional day of protest last Friday, Pow- er said the public service employees and unions will have to face facts and “will have to get their heads out of the sand. We have allowed the cost base in this country to get totally out of control over the past decade and that has to be brought down. Any- thing else would be disastrous for the jaUinel none

And he added that with high unem-

ployment in the mid-west, proper uti- lisation of the Task Force appointed by the Tanaiste, Shannon Develop- ment and other agencies is “vital”.

Speaking at the event in Limerick’s Thomond Park Conference Centre, Power said, “Continued ongoing in- vestment in access – by that I mean transport infrastructure such as ports, airport, rail and road, 1s criti- cal for the mid-west economy.

“Also critical for the region and Ireland generally will be a competti- tively priced power supply, without this economic and commercial activ-

ity will be in jeopardy. Broadband infrastructure will be another key business and economic enabler. Ac- cess to high speed broadband is an essential “must have’ on every inves- tors shopping list.

“A highly skilled flexible workforce iS a prerequisite to many FDI compa- nies in their search for a new base. If any of these basic requirements are missing or weak in a region, then it puts that area at a huge disadvantage. This is why it is vital to continue to invest in these key economic driv- ne

COUNCILLORS are calling for a full road safety audit to be carried out at each primary and post-prima- ry school in the Ennis area.

At yesterday’s meeting of council- lors in the Ennis East electoral area, Councillor Johnny Flynn initially called on the council to carry out a road safety audit of all schools in En- nis East.

Cllr Flynn told the meeting that an audit was necessary as there had been a “significant” number of traffic accidents at schools in Ennis.

In response, Senior Executive En- gineer, Eamon O’Dea said that the council did not have the resources to carry out the audit.

Mr O’Dea added that there had been significant investment in road signage and road markings.

He stated, “The council would be obliged to look at this proposal on a countywide basis and it would not be possible to have it carried out within our resources. There has been con- siderable investment by the council into road signage and road markings

in the vicinity of schools and the em- ployment of school wardens at many of the national schools.”

He added, “The council is willing to discuss any issues that may exist on an individual basis with the relevant

school authorities and this is usually carried out in the pre-planning phase when schools are seeking permission for improvement works.”

Cllr Flynn said he was disappoint- ed with the council’s response. “I’m

disappointed that we are not looking at this a bit more. I think we could take Ennis East as a trial area. The number of accidents and incidents outside schools is significant.”

Cllr Flynn added, “There is a sig- nificant need for this. Ennis East would become a pilot area.”

ClUlr Tommy Brennan (Ind) said he would support the motion if it was amended to include all schools in the Ennis area and not just those in En- nis East.

Clir Flynn agreed to amend his mo- tion to include all schools in Ennis.

Cllr Flynn had initially proposed that Clare County Council carry out a road safety audit at each primary and post-primary school in the Ennis East in terms of adequacy of vehicu- lar set down/collection, facilities for cyclists/pedestrians (including cross- ings), school warden needs/requests, public lighting, speed limits, effec- tiveness of signage, school bus facili- ties, etc, and make recommendations for planned phased improvements if required.

TANAISTE Mary Couglan has ad- mitted that the money is not there to implement all of the recommen- dations made by the Mid-West Task Force which was set up in the wake of massive job losses at Dell.

The Task Force was appointed by the Tanaiste herself after Dell an- nounced it was moving all of its manufacturing process to Poland, taking 2,000 wagepackets directly out of the economy and causing fur- ther job-losses in companies depend- ant on feeding the Dell plant.

After his interim report to Govern- ment, Denis Brosnan, Chairman of

the Task Force, said that any further work done by him and the Task Force would be a “waste of time’ unless the recommendations published four months ago are implemented.

Among those recommendations were that the Government should tackle costs in Ireland, to accelerate the regeneration programme in Lim- erick and to improve back to educa- tion allowance schemes.

Speaking before taking the mike at the Shannon Development ‘Dynamic Regions – Directions in Regional De- velopment’ conference last Friday the Tanaiste and Minister for Enter- prise said that while a lot of the rec- ommendations which have a national

context are being addressed, she stressed that “it has to be said that we don’t have the financial wherewithal to implement every recommendation that there is.”

But she promised that she and her government colleagues “will be bringing together two or three items that need to be addressed here in the context of the Task Force here to see if we can find the financial where- withal in next year’s budget to allow that to happen.”

The Tanaiste was speaking to the conference as Government employ- ees took to the streets to protest at proposed cuts in pay and revised work practices.

The Tanaiste told the conference that a “seismic change in attitude” is need in the public sector.

Citing the example of Shannon De- velopment “who did their own reor- ganisation without a word about it” she said that if public sector employ- ees are not prepared to co-operate to get the balance right “then Govern- ment will have to make a decision… everyone will have to take a reduc- tion in their standard of living. Many people in the private sector have done this in order to keep their jobs.

“A lot of people in the private sec- tor have lost their jobs and it is part of my portfolio to try and get those people back to work again and attract

more jobs to this country and support entrepreneurship,” the Tanaiste con- tinued.

Speaking to the conference itself, she said “I believe regional devel- Opment is now more important than ever. To be more competitive and innovative, we need more regional actions on the ground to devise so- lutions to help us on the road to na- tional recovery.

“IT believe the time for strong re- gional development is now. Mobilis- ing the contribution of each region to national competitiveness is at forefront of what we do. Strong re- gions will help us grow and sustain a strong national economy.”

IT is still unclear what power, if any, Clare’s four TDs have to influence the decisions made by Clare County Soiele

Following a lively debate at last night’s meeting of the local author- ity, the exact power the TDs have to influence the allocation of housing remains a mystery.

This follows a motion put forward by Cllr Brian Meaney (Green Party), asking for a list of all TDs who have

representatives on behalf of mem- bers of the public to Clare County Sonia

“I’m not happy with the reply. I re- quested a list of the names of TDs and I have not been given that list. I wanted to see what influence, if any, a member of the Dail can have on the allocation of houses. I want it clearly stated whether a TD does not have a role to play in the allocation of houses.

“It must be stated clearly what role a TD has in this, what weight is given

to a representation made by them. I have been contacted by people who have said that they were successful in representatives because they con- tacted their TD.”

This motion was supported by Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) who said it wrong of TDs to tell the public that they have powers in such instances if WeTeaVare (oyna

“It is wrong for elected represented to misrepresent the situation and say that they can have influence. Or if they are having an influence then we

need to know about it,’ she said it.

The role of the TD’s in local issues was defended by Cllr Cathal Crowe coy)

“T think that it is a quirk in the Irish system that elected members from all levels have a very close level of contact with the local community,” he said.

“If a representative wants to make representatives on behalf of people then I can’t see any harm in it.”

A spokesperson from Clare County Council said that all representative

from TDs are acknowledged and a TD would be given advice on the current status of the application.

“It is prehistoric and inconceivable that we elect people to legislate and they end up as social workers,” said OW rite

‘They are more interested in watch- ing their backs and deceiving the electorate,” he said.

“I don’t believe that they have any more influence on this matter than a Shetland dog but they are putting it around that they have.”