Category: Uncategorized

Thousands of Clare farmers and ploughing enthusiasts are on their way to Mogeely in County Cork today (Tuesday) for the opening of the National Ploughing Cham- pionships. The championships, which will be officially opened by President Mary McAleese, will see some 300 ploughmen and plough- women take part over the three days of competition.

Interestingly, Tuamgraney aid worker Fiona McLysaght will be at the championships helping to promote the work of Concern in Africa. An African village will be recreated at the Cork venue with each of its four huts showcasing an aspect of the work done by the charity agency.

“Over the years, the people of rural Ireland have shown excep- tional generosity to our organisa- tion, with the IFA for example, giving €100,000 to Concern and other agencies after the Tsunami,” said Ms McLysaght who was most recently stationed in Liberia. In all there will be 700 stands at the championships. These stands will represent every aspect of farming life from the serious work of the farming organisations like the IFA and Teagasc to more unusual ven- eb Keny

No less than 14 stands will be occupied by third level institutions showing how the role of education is becoming more important in the

modern farming world. Six stands will deal with health issues includ- ing the Pfizer stand which will of- fer free cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose checks.

For the motor enthusiast the will

be 13 stands, each containing dif- ferent ranges of tractor models on show. And for those farmers keen on capitalising on the natural beau- ty of the of the Irish countryside, there we be 17 stands occupied by representatives of the tourist

industry. Of course it wont be all seriousness at the championships and Ireland most famous gaelgoir, Hector O’hEochagain will be at the ‘Go Racing’ marquee looming to raise a smile.

WHAT do Seanie McMahon, Stephen McNamara and Colin Lynch have in common? Not a ten marker when eve- ry hurling aficionado knows that they are All-Ireland men.

The ten-marker is that they are all All-Ireland men who went to Rice Col- lege in Ennis, but who never played Dr Harty Cup hurling with the renowned Christian Brothers academy.

All because, during their school days top flight Harty hurling ceased to be in the school hugging the Fergus River in Ennis. Indeed, it ceased to be there for 30 years, a three-decade gap that will be bridged this Wednesday when the school once again toes the Harty hurl- ing line against Kilmallock.

The last Dr. Harty Cup game the CBS played was in 1975 when they went down heavily to a Pat Horgan inspired North Monastery from Cork. The Mon went on to win the title — the CBS went down to the lesser grades of colleges hurling.

Now, their re-emergence as a top flight hurling school will re-kindle memories of a great association with the blue riband of colleges hurling in the province. That association reached its zenith on a March day in ’62 when the CBS boys crossed the Fergus wa- ters to Cusack Park and slayed mighty St. Flannan’s by 4-2 to 2-7 in the fi- ee

St. Flannan’s are still mighty as last

season’s 21st Harty Cup success and subsequent Croke Cup triumph proved. They open the defence of their titles against once mighty North Monastery and nothing other than a big win will be expected from the James O’Connor and Con Woods coached side.

Completing the triumvirate of Clare schools contesting the Harty Cup are St. Caimin’s from Shannon. And, if Rice College’s return to the top flight after a 30-year hiatus is noteworthy, the same can be said of St. Caimin’s.

This will be their maiden voyage, a journey first undertaken by a Shan- non school in the late eighties when St. Patrick’s Comprehensive were new kids on the Dr. Harty block.

St. Pat’s famously reached the final in 1989, only to go down by 0-9 to 0-5 to St. Flannan’s in what was only the second all-Clare final in the 90 year history of the competition.

In recent years, St. Caimin’s have amalgamated with St. Pat’s for Harty Cup purposes — this year they are go- ing it alone and face Ballingarry in Nenagh.

THE possibility of Shannon library being developed as a theatre and arts centre — at a cost of up to €5 million — has again been raised and hopes are high that the project will get the go-ahead within the next few years.

Town officials and elected rep- resentatives will, over the com- ing months, view a new facility in Selva lcm senCemm im seceUlt-D am KOM ser-l motte visaged for Shannon.

Fine Gael Cllr Tony Mulcahy says there is a strong belief that Shannon needs a facility like this.

“The possibility of a theatre being developed as part of the town cen- tre was proposed a few years ago but this fell by the wayside. There is a belief that the library could be developed into a 250-seater theatre,

while retaining the library at the same time,’ said Cllr Mulcahy.

“T believe it will happen but it will be long-term and we need to put down the parameters now, regard- ing how we can move forward on this,’ he added.

He says groups including the mu- sical society and drama group could avail of the theatre, while various meetings could take place there, along with bingo, dancing and various other events. Some funding would be provided by the Depart- ment of Arts, Clare County Council and local community groups.

Chairman of the Shannon Musical Society, Derek Barrett believes the idea to visit the facility in Thurles is a positive development.

“We are delighted this is back in the public domain again and it is

one thing that would bring the town together. Various groups, societies and community groups would ben- efit from this. It wouldn’t be just a theatre, but it would be a multi-use venue,” said Mr Barrett.

He said a theatre as 1s proposed is a place where children would aspire to perform in, while various music and comedy events could also be staged, spanning a 52-week pro- eramme every year.

“This could be a cinema, theatre and cultural centre. None of these would survive individually, rather they would, together, be a multi- purpose unit. None would be viable on their own,” he said.

He added that Shannon Musical Society will celebrate its 30th anni- versary in February 2008 and “we would hope to be in the theatre by

eto

Shannon Chamber of Commerce is welcoming any development on the creation of a theatre in the town.

“While we are very conscious of both the initial costs and ongoing expenses of running such a facility, I believe the current developers in the town should contribute funding towards such a venture. They have gained considerable tax incentives and savings to-date,” said Chamber CEO Triona McInerney.

“In recent times, there has been an explosion of commercial and residential developments. It is cru- cial that social and cultural outlets are components of this growth, to ensure that a balanced approach to community development is achieved,” added Ms McInerney.

THE security company operated by convicted Ennis man, Kevin Cooper has received almost €100,000 from Ennis Town Council for carrying out security- related activities over the past five years.

Mr Cooper recently received a three-month jail term after being convicted of assault and Ennis Town May- or, Cllr Frankie Neylon (Ind) confirmed that the coun- cillors and officials would discuss the arrangement entered into with Mr Cooper’s company, if his appeal against his conviction fails.

Two other Council members, Donal O’Bearra (GP) and Johnny Flynn (FG) also stated this week that the Council engaging the services of Mr Cooper’s com- pany must be discussed if Mr Cooper’s appeal is un- SECC AUN

At a recent special sitting of Ennis District Court, Mr Cooper (43) of Loughville, Ennis received a three month jail for assault. Mr Cooper is currently on bail pending an appeal of the conviction to Ennis Circuit Court, which is due to sit next month.

Along with carrying out security work for Ennis Town Council, Mr Cooper’s company, Avalon Securi- ty Services provides security for a number of licensed premises across Ennis.

Clare County Council this week confirmed that Mr Cooper’s company has not been engaged by the Coun- cil for a number of years, however a company oper- ated by Mr Cooper, Ennis Security Services, was paid €175,000 by the County Council in 2000.

Ennis Town Clerk, Eddie Power confirmed this week that the company of which Mr Cooper is a director,

Avalon Security Ltd has been paid a total of €85,970 in respect of years 2001-2005.

Asked would the council now be reviewing its con- tract with Mr Cooper’s company in the light of the convictions, Mr Power said that the council had no further comment to make.

The recent district court sitting was also told that Mr Cooper had two previous convictions for assault, though the most recent was 15 years ago. The court was told that he was fined €63 at Tulla District Court in 1990 and fined €63 at Kilkee District Court in 1986.

Prior to sentencing Mr Cooper, Judge Mangan asked was it correct that Mr Cooper had two previous convictions for assault and was still the director of a security company which supervises doormen. Inspec- tor Tom Kennedy replied that this was the case. “Ill make no further comment,’ responded the judge.

aN) Coren Oh)

RETIRED employees of Aer Rianta and Aer Lin- gus in Shannon plan to continue to fight for im- proved pensions, following their meeting with the joint Oireachtas committee on Transport in Dub- lin last week. The group plans to protest on Dail Eireann tomorrow (Wednesday), to voice their on- going concerns on the issue.

Jim O’Sullivan, a former employee at Shannon, joined with his colleagues from Dublin and Cork, who made a presentation to the committee on the issue last week.

They are incensed over their pension rates — they claim the average pension at the end of March 2005 was just €14,000, which represents just 39 per cent of their average salary. They argue that despite discretionary increases in the scheme,

since 1990, pensions have fallen behind by 50 per cent, when compared with public service pen- SIONS.

They are particularly concerned that there are no provisions for increases in their pensions, and say that to meet their claims, the scheme needs additional funding.

“We are looking to be given the same rights as civil servants. We are going to keep going. This has to be brought to a conclusion and we have to make sure we are not going around like paupers. We want annual increases in the pension and it 1s time that this is brought to some sort of finality,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

Retired member of staff at Shannon airport, Bri- an Cronin told The Clare People there are hopes to arrange a meeting with Transport Minister Martin Cullen, to discuss the issue.

‘We have to keep pressing right up to the next general election. We are being kicked from gov- ernment to Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta and from Aer Lingus and Aer Rianta back to the govern- ment,’ said Mr Cronin.

Clare-based Senator Timmy Dooley, who is a member of the Oireachtas committee on Trans- port, says the meeting was fruitful.

‘There was a uniformity of understanding across all political parties and there was a recognition that something needs to be done. The committee is now going to get a pensions expert, to review the actuarial evaluation of the scheme.

‘There is a serious issue here and there are con- sequences not just for retired staff but also for people working in the companies at the moment. Their future pensions are likely to face difficul- ties, going into the future,” said Senator Dooley.

MORE than seven in ten family businesses go to the wall when they are passed on from parent to child, people attending a business seminar in Ennis were told.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce played host to a workshop in associ- ation with Ernst and Young, aimed at addressing and combatting the

high failure rate of businesses in County Clare as they transfer to the next generation or to a third party. Outlining the importance of the workshop, President John Galvin said, “a large proportion of Ireland’s indigenous businesses are owned or managed at family level, but 72 per cent of these companies fail once their founder hands over the busi- ness according to research by the

IMI. This is mainly due to poor or no succession planning.”

Lisa Doyle, a specialist in succes- sion planning with Ernst & Young told the business people attending the event at the Temple Gate Ho- tel that “most small business own- ers in County Clare will eventually face the challenge of transferring or selling their business to family members or third parties. We con-

sistently find that business owners with succession strategies have a significant tax advantage, maxim- ise their company value and enjoy the re-assurance that their business will continue to thrive.”

At the Breakfast Briefing work- shop, attendees were given advice on how to achieve a successful transfer to the next generation, capi- talise on the opportunities available

and avoid loss of control and the de- mise of their family business.

Topics covered included the re- tirement of the business owner /manager, planning an exit strat- egy, the recruitment of a successor, taxation for succession and legal and financial aspects of succession. Attendees will also be advised on the sale of equity and takeovers and buyouts.

A conference to discuss the future of scouting in Ireland will take place at the West County Hotel in Ennis next weekend. For the first time Scouting Ireland are hosting their annual commission- ers conference outside of Dublin. The two day confer- ence will be attended by 70 delegates including national officers who will attempt to outline how best the organi- sation can go forward.

The popularity of sports such as hurling, football and soccer has seen scout num- bers in Ireland fall consist- ently over the past few years. SUicor-KeReteCONUN A ReKoNIG dren enrolled in the scouts in Ennis along with 25 vol- unteers. The Ennis branch of the scouts opened in 1932 and will celebrate its 75th birthday in two years time.

One of the main topics up for discussion will be an evaluation of the organisa- tions Renewed Approach

Programme (RAP), a new initiative designed to make scouting more appealing in the 21st century. “Through RAP we are trying to make scouting more relevant to today’s society, because lets face it scouting isn’t cool an- ymore outside of the sphere of scouting. We are trying to make it appealing and relevant to a lot of other peo- ple. That would be one of the main challenges facing the scouts in Ireland today,’ said Julie Malone

Provincial Commissioner in the western region for scouting Ireland. To address the issue Scouting Ireland have already redesigned its uniform and released stick- ers and banners to make scouting more visible.

“Scouting isn’t just about hiking and the weekly meet- ing in the hall. There are life skills to be learned that other organisations don’t practice such as safety and first aid. These are important skills that you have for life”

THE Annual Competitiveness Report 2005, produced by Forfas, contains a wealth of information on key indicators for Irish busi- ness and industry.

GNP (Gross National Product) per capita in 2004 was €25,704, and GDP (Gross Domestic Prod- uct) was €30,691. Real GDP erowth was 4.9 per cent, while that for GNP was 5.5 per cent.

For the same year, labour force participation was 71 per cent. This refers to the portion of the population aged between 15 and 64 years that was either in em- ployment or actively seeking it.

The labour force is projected to grow by 1.3 per cent this year. There has been a substantial in- crease in employment in Ireland over the last decade, from 1.3 million in 1995 to 1.9 million this year.

With over one hundred pages of these and other statistics, the

report is well worth reading. It is wide-ranging, covering factors from quality of life to taxation and regulation, from environ- mental sustainability to entrepre- neurship and innovation.

According to Don Thornhill, chairman of the National Com- petitiveness Council, GDP is expected to grow by 5.3 per cent this year, more than double the OECD average of 2.6 per cent.

“The rate of economic growth is an important signal of com- petitiveness,’ Dr Thornhill stated. “Using this criterion, Ire- land is one of the most competi- tive economies in the developed world.”

He points out that there are challenges, however. Our rate of growth, while still high, has slowed down compared with previous years, and we are fall- ing behind our peers in North America and Continental Eu- rope in terms of prices and costs competitiveness. Costs are par-

ticularly high in the energy and waste management areas.

“Higher costs and the current weakness of the US dollar are making Ireland an expensive production location relative to our trading partners,” he com- ments.

In a foreword, An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern says that competi- tiveness is a key focus of govern- ment policy.

“The Government is_ deter- mined that the conditions for enterprises operating in Ireland should be as favourable as possi- ble,’ Mr Ahern stated. “This en- compasses policies on the skills needs of the population, the knowledge capital in the econo- my, the physical infrastructure, the costs that businesses face, the utilities and services that businesses need, the regulatory environment and other factors.”

Many of these aspects are benchmarked in the report.

A SERIOUSLY injured man lay in agony for an hour after a road accident in Scariff on Sun- day night, because the Scariff ambulance was locked up.

Distraught locals did their best to comfort the injured man, who was thrown from his motor- cycle into a garden. The motorbike demolished the pier of a garden wall.

He is now in the intensive care unit at Limer- ick’s Regional Hospital and is being treated for serious lower body injuries.

The accident, which also involved a car, hap- pened at 7.30pm at Ballyminogue on the Scar- iff to Portumna road.

One local woman who tried to help the in- jured 28-year old said that it was “absolutely dreadful. The man was in terrible pain but he had to wait nearly 45 minutes for a doctor and a full hour for an ambulance to come out from Limerick.”

The local woman said that residents on the road “came out to do what they could, but it was terrible. He was obviously badly injured, but we didn’t know what to do. An hour is a very long time when you’re lying injured on the ground yet there was an ambulance just up the road. It’s a disgrace.”

One eye-witness who came on the scene said that the “bike was mangled. It looked as if it had been cut in half.”

One Scariff resident said that the “fire bri-

gade were there very quickly, way before there was any medical help for the poor man. We need that ambulance available to us and a lo- cal number that we can ring for a doctor when

something this serious happens. It took far too long for medical help to reach him.”

Local Councillor, Colm Wiley (FF) called just last month for a full-time ambulance serv- ice for the Scariff area.

“That ambulance is under lock and key from about 7pm until after midnight because there is no funding to crew it,’ the councillor said.

He said that the injured man might well have had to wait for an ambulance to come from even further away, if one had not been avail- able to come out from Limerick.

“It’s a very serious situation and lives are be- ing put at risk because of it. I am calling for funding to be made available immediately to provide 24 -hour crewing for the ambulance which is already here,’ he said.

East Clare Senator Timmy Dooley said, the Scariff ambulance service needs to be upgrad- ed as a matter of urgency.

A report on the ambulance services for the Mid-West Region, including the service in Scariff, has been submitted to the Health Serv- ice Executive for consideration.

“This is something we have been campaign- ing for, for a while and it has been brought to the attention to the Minister for Health,’ he Sr ntee

ENNIS Town Council has given the go-ahead for a commercial development that is expected to further reyuve- nate the Drumbiggle part of eTom Kenai e

Earlier this year, Pat Hans- bury, Alan Collins and Do- nie and John Dillane lodged plans with the Council for a four storey building to con- tain 18 apartments and four retail units, along with an underground car-park to ac- commodate 46 car-parking Sey: eke

Currently, the site is waste- land opposite Ennis town Council’s Drumbiggle head- quarters and was the former site of the rundown Drumbig- gle flats before they were de- molished by the Council.

The Council subsequently sold the property and plans were lodged for the develop- ment earlier this year.

In its decision, the Council ruled that the development would not seriously injure the amenities of adjacent dwell- ings, is acceptable in terms of traffic safety and is in the interests of proper planning and development.

However, the plan has en- countered opposition from residents in the Buttermarket

area of Ennis. In an objection lodged with the Council, the residents claim that “the de- sign of the proposed structure is more appropriate to a city or sea/harbour location than a central location in a medium size town with streetscape of traditional design.”

SU ileaar Uomo t-b bee mm ner:l mmm lets proposal bears no relation- ship to any development in the vicinity with respect to scale or density and the scale of the building is excessive and will be unduly prominent in its setting with respect to all developments in the gen- eral area.”

They also claim that the building detracts from the visual amenity of the Town SEV o eel Cebuetcanysavloe miei Ker Kor@] Coxe CLO MELCLRU KOR

The residents also raise concerns over the impact the development will have on traffic in the area.

They state: “access to the underground car park is off the side road and will result in large volumes of traffic coming up and down Butter- market Street.

“This street is not capa- ble of taking the volumes of traffic that would be gener- ated by the development. The Council should also note that this street is used extensively

by school children walking to the nearby schools. Traffic generated by the development in these circumstances would be a serious traffic hazard.”

The residents also pointed out that the proposal is lo- cated within Ennis’s archi- tectural conservation area (ACA) where new buildings will be permitted where it can be clearly demonstrated that that such developments reflect the character of the area and its streetscape.

In the planner’s report on the case, it is stated: “the development now proposed, contains 18 apartments. The scale and extent of the pro- posal has now been consider- ably reduced from previous applications.

“The majority of the devel- opment now faces Drumbig- gle Rd. Rear return section has been omitted thereby reducing significantly the im- pact of the development on the adjoining cottages.

“The basement holds 46 car-parking spaces. This is not considered to be of such number that it would give rise to traffic hazard.

The council granted plan- ning permission, subject to 39 conditions including that the developers contribute €217,000.