The Clare People Archive

THE Department of the Environ- ment has raised serious concerns over plans by the Shannon Airport Authority to construct a major piece of infrastructure in a protected la- goon near the airport.

Earlier this year, the SAA lodged plans to construct a pump station in order to control water levels at the Shannon Airport lagoon. According to a submission lodged on behalf of the SAA, it stated that “the proposal

to construct and operate the pump station represents a continuation of the existing station where pumping is achieved by means of a portable, diesel powered pump”.

The submission states, “The Shan- non Airport lagoon is experiencing a reduction in salinity with some evi- OLS aTerom Mat-1 USNR KSI IOLAD ITO Re sr-Nereers in fauna and flora communities.

However, in a strong worded sub- mission to the council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment

states, “The application area is locat- ed within and adjacent to the lower River Shannon and includes the en- tire area of the lagoon.

“The lagoon is an example of the EU Habitats Directive priority habi- tat, and the candidate Special Area of Conservation (CSAC) has been listed for the conservation of the habitat.

“Pumping is having a negative ef- fect on the lagoon, including on its area, Structure and function, and on the species it supports. The proposed development will continue these ef-

fects.

‘This department considers that the proposed development will adversely effect the integrity of the SAC.”

An Taisce has also made a sub- mission stating that the “Shannon lagoon was originally developed in the establishing of Shannon Airport — it was in fact man made but over the years the migrating and wild bird population has developed into a very important bird sanctuary and 1s list- ed under the Special Protection Area of the River Shannon.”

yester- day that from October 2008 they will be increasing the capacity of the planes servicing the route. The Shannon-Charles de Gaulle service was instigated last February follow- ing the axeing of the Aer Lingus con- nection through Heathrow.

“The decision for Aer Lingus to move their slots to Belfast was a very unwelcome one for the airport and also for the region. But the decision was made and it has happened. For us it has been blow in terms of pas- sengers and spend in the airport – it was our biggest and best route,” said Shannon Airport Director, Martin Moroney.

“We lost it quite suddenly and from that we lost global connectiv- ity. It was a huge loss to the region and to the west of Ireland as well. Twelve months on it’s still a big loss and there is no prospect really of Air

Lingus coming back on the route – in the short term at least. We will keep trying to get someone else to recom- mence the service. We will keep try- ing because we know how important the route was for the business.

“By getting in Air France/CityJet we have been running a very success- ful service to Paris since February. Obviously it a much lower capacity and doesn’t make up for the loss of

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“We believe that this service does give global connectivity through Charles de Gaulle and it will im- prove later in the year when Air France puts on a large aircraft and will possibly move the first flight to an earlier time. So far a large extent this service compensates for the loss of Heathrow but no fully.

“Some people are actually flying to

Dublin in the morning and then go- ing on to Heathrow but unfortunately some people are also driving to Cork in the morning and going form there. Our aim would be to restore Heath- row service if possible because we know it was a profitable route, it’s unlikely in the short term but that is the goal.”

Mr Moroney believes that a number of new routes will be opening up in Shannon in the near future. “We have been in talks with CityJet about the creation of a London City route. There is a large business segment that have been left without a flight to London. We are very hopeful of this but nothing has been decided yet,’ continued Mr Moroney.

“Ryanair did put on extra flights to London to serve that London market – and they have become very impor- tant to Shannon. Ryanair is doing very well here – they have 31 routes here now and that is a great network.

‘Some people are saying that they are dominating everything but they are a major airline. Maybe some people are not keen to come in and compete with them but CityJet have come into Shannon and are doing (3 aan (0) 0 ee

A SPEND of €5.5 million has been put up this year to tempt tourists into the Shannon region and the West of Ireland, before counting money spent by Failte Ireland on attracting visi- tors.

The Discover Ireland’s Wonderful West US campaign has been funded to the tune of €3 million while Shan- non Development have more than doubled their promotional budget, bringing their spend to ©2.5 million this year.

In a statement on the crisis in the tourism trade in the wake of the Heathrow slots going and the imple-

mentation of Open Skies, Shannon Development chairman, John Brassil said that it has to be recognised that this is a difficult tourism year.

“Recognising that, Shannon De- velopment, in conjunction with the tourism and travel industry, is imple- menting a number of actions to se- cure tourism business for the Shan- non Region.”

In the UK market he said, the de- velopment company is “working with Ryanair and the Irish Hotels Federa- tion on a €500,000 tourism adver- tising campaign. In addition to this we also undertook a €200,000 UK TV ad campaign in May this year in partnership with Shannon Airport

and Tourism Ireland which reached a UK audience of over 20 million. We are also working with the Irish Ho- tels Federation to put a major push on selling Shannon Region based short break holidays through the short breaks website www.shortbreaksire- land.ie, and we are working closely with our colleagues in Failte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and airlines to sup- port direct air access routes into the uss) 0F

He added that Shannon Develop- ment has signed agreements with a number of airlines and tourism op- erators to drive additional bed nights to the Shannon region.

“One of these campaigns has al-

ready resulted in 20,000 additional bednights from the US this year. In addition to this, Shannon Develop- ment is working with Tourism Ire- land in association with other tour- ism authorities along Ireland’s west coast on the ‘Discover Ireland’s Wonderful West’ campaign, a ©3 million marketing campaign in the US designed to boost business to the Shannon Airport catchment area post-Open Skies.

Among the initiatives already un- derway as part of this campaign are; US print, radio and online advertis- ing with carriers, tour operators and industry partners, special promo- tions,” said Brassil.

BRITISH anglers, who were once one of the mainstays of the year- round tourism business in Clare, have become a disappearing species.

In years past, happy fishermen and women from the UK and further afield could be seen on the shores of Clare’s many lakes and rivers sport- ing tight lines in every season.

TJ O’Brien of TJ’s Angling in Balli- na/Killaloe says this 1s the worst of his 15 years in business.

“Visiting anglers have all but disap- peared. It was common in years past that a group of anglers would come from a week or a couple of weeks as mates on a fishing holiday and come back again later in the year for a fam- ily holiday. Now, if they come at all, we re seeing them come for a couple of days fishing and they go elsewhere

for the family holiday”.

With his business heavily reliant on visiting anglers, TJ has been anxious to find out what has prompted the Keren labuee

“We’ve asked those who have re- turned and a lot of them say access has become a problem. The loss of the Heathrow slot has certainly ex- acerbated things. They also say that things here have become very expen- sive and that is a factor, along with exchange rate changes.”

Rita Boner has been running a bed and breakfast business in Killaloe for the past 30 years and she is also seeing her quietest summer.

“There is no angling business any more. In the last four or five years, we’ve seen fewer and fewer anglers, and this year I can count the numbers on the fingers of one hand. I have one gentleman who comes every few

weeks and stays for a couple of days, but my doors would have closed a long time ago if I was relying on the angling business.”

She believes a combination of factors are keeping anglers away. ‘“There’s currency rates, and air fares are so cheap that people are just go- ing to the sun,” she said.

Aside from those UK anglers who used to come to Clare via Heathrow, Rita does not think she has lost fur- ther business because of the cessa- tion of the route.

“T wouldn’t normally have gotten a lot of business through Heathrow, but things are desperately quiet general- ly. We should be full – it’s the second week of July but we’re not.”

WHILE conventional large-scale tourism is enduring a difficult period throughout the county, the evolution of eco-tourism in Clare is providing some hope for the future.

A number of organisations, pre- dominantly based in the Burren region, have begun to evolve a new system of tourism based on offering a small scale and uniquely personal experience of holidaying in Clare.

One such organisation is the Bur- ren Farmers Ecological Co-operative who have begun a series of farmer- led guided Burren walks this year.

“There is untold potential in eco- tourism in the Burren. A lot of peo-

ple have been involved in eco-tour- ism for more than 20 years but just WTEAYos OM OXees OOO U UROL SB LLUOT-T MOET D (OM \CEC: airi O Conchuir of the Burren Farm- ers Ecological Co-operative.

“It’s about a different type of tour- ism. What people are looking for is a real experience with real people. Things like the farmers led walks in the Burren where they can interact on a one-to-one basis with farmers and have a cultural, archaeological or agricultural tour of the real Bur- ren. It’s the kind of experience that you can’t get anywhere else.”

The walks represent the beginning for the co-operative, with plans al- ready in place for the creation of au- thentic live-in Burren farm holidays

and farmhouse self-catering units.

“We are looking to moving into farm based accommodation. Real farmhouse accommodation where people can come and actually get a genuine experience of the Burren,” continued Ruairi.

“That can also be expanded into working holidays where people will actually pay to live on a Burren farm and work – either doing farm work or conservation work in the Burren. It happens in a number of places al- ready but we have a much greater po- tential for it in the Burren.”

Another organisation to explore the possibilities of eco-tourism is Heart of the Burren guided tours. The com- pany has this year begun hosting a

twice weekly guided walk and plans are already afoot to increase this service dramatically in 2009.

“The market has vast potential in it. The demand for guided walks is something that is growing and I think will continue to grow. Clare is uniquely placed to take advantage of this – there is a huge range of activity based holidays on offer in the county at the moment,’ said Tony Kirby of Je ( 1U0eRo) MORO) O0uce

“*T think it is even starting to be rec- ognised by the tourist authorities that the demand for tourism is changing. Shannon Development now promote the walking trails on their website – we are able to compete with the very best of these attractions both nation-

ally and internationally.

‘The forecast for the future is that mass tourism may not be able to ex- pand any further, it may even decline. But the smaller scale tourism, the eco-tourism, still has vast expansion to do. Mass tourism has probably re- alised most of it’s potential now at this stage where as eco-tourism still has huge potential to realise.

‘“Tl’m very pleased with the season to date. It’s been a challenging year across most of the tourism sector and I guess I’ve just been lucky to get go- ing with this when I did. I can see this as something that can benefit the whole community. It will benefit the visitors centres, the transport and ac- commodation providers. The lot.”

AS much as €1 million will be spent on surf-lessons in Clare this year with millions more being generated in related industries, accommodation and food. An estimated 20,000 surf lessons will be given in the county in 2008, with the industry now direct- ly employing 15 full-time staff and more than 60 extra people at peak Wb eslene

With two new surf-based_busi- nesses having set up in Lahinch and Miltown Malbay in the past four months, the county now boasts nine surf related businesses. The oldest, the Lahinch Surf Shop, has existed in Lahinch for decades and was Ire- land first surf shop. The other eight, however, have all been established in the last seven years.

“The season really hots up in July and August, but it’s starting to get busy in June and in September as well. There is some level of surfing going on all the year round though,” said Sinead Finn, Manager of the Lahinch Surf School, who operate schools in Lahinch, Spanish Point and Kilkee.

“The Irish Surfing Association were on to us recently inquiring how many lessons we give in Lahi- nch each year and we estimate it to be roughly 7,000. If you add in the

school in Kilkee and Spanish Point the figure is probably around 12,000 each year.”

The surf industry in Clare has con- tinued to grow rapidly year on year

and at present shows no signs of slowing down.

“We don’t seem to be effected by the the recession or the loss of the Shannon-Heathrow flights or any-

thing like that. The vast majority of the people who come to surf are Irish people. We still do get a lot of tour- ists coming through. We have been getting a decent supply of Europe- ans, especially German people,” said Sinead.

“A lot of the people who we deal with are just dropping in, they hap- pen to be in the area already and decide to try surfing. That said, we do get a lot of people coming over from England who are booking a full package weekend of surfing – ac- commodation, surfing the whole lot. As well as that a lot of Irish people come back again and again. And in the second, third and fourth visit they are coming specificially to surf.

‘To be honest the biggest thing that effects us is nothing to do with the re- cession, it’s the weather. If we could get a few weeks of sun then Lahinch would be booming.”

HAVING moved the Shannon-Hea- throw slots to Belfast in January, Aer Lingus have not been drawn by claims that the decision has been a disaster with vastly reduced uptake on the flights in comparison to the numbers carried in and out of Shan- Kone

But figures obtained by Oireactas Transport Committee member, Dep- uty Pat Breen, show that the take-up on the Belfast to Heathrow route is

“poor”.

Deputy Breen checked availability figures on Friday, July 25. He found that just 122 seats were booked of a possible 696 for travel on August 1 to August 3, one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. The bookings represent an 18 per cent take-up on the Heathrow route for that week- end.

Deputy Breen said he is calling on Aer Lingus to reinstate their Shan- non-Heathrow link adding that the airline has a ready made market of in

excess of 300,000 passengers in the region.

“At the recent Transport Committee Meeting I asked the Aer Lingus CEO Dermot Mannion if a year on from his decision to exit Shannon and es- tablish a base in Belfast if the move had resulted in significant growth in profits in comparison with business done in Shannon. In response Dermot Mannion said that Belfast is “holding its own,’ said Deputy Breen.

“However, Aer Lingus own seat al- location system tells a different story.

I decided to check their services on August 1, 2008, and returning on Sunday, August 3, 2008. Only 18 per cent of seats were allocated on Fri- day, the day I checked the figures on all Belfast routes to London Heath- row Outbound.”

Figures for other routes checked on the same day for travel on the Bank Holiday weekend showed that on the Paris route 19 per cent of seats were allocated, 10 per cent to Amsterdam, 16 per cent to Barcelona, 14 per cent to Rome while flights to Faro and

Malaga do better at 29 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

“IT am now appealing to Aer Lingus to reinstate their Shannon-Heathrow route, the market is here and when Dermot Mannion admitted during the Transport Committee Meeting that he regretted the damage that was caused to ‘our reputation in the Shan- non area during three or four months of last year’, 12 months on they have an opportunity to rebuild their repu- tation by committing to a Shannon- Heathrow link,’ he said.

THE AXING of the Shannon/Hea- throw route by Aer Lingus has cost Shannon Airport 57,000 London passengers, but airport bosses are staying positive, saying that to lose some of the loaf is better than losing all of the bread.

In the last 12 months of the opera- tion, Aer Lingus carried 331,000 pas- sengers between Shannon and Hea- throw.

The numbers now travelling be- tween Shannon and all of the London airports which it services are down 57,000 for the first six months of this year, a drop of 16 per cent. There has also been a 20 per cent drop on trans- atlantic passenger figures.

“It could have been worse – we could have been down 330,000, but with Ryanair putting on extra flights, in a sense, we have hung on to a lot of the business,” an airport spokes- person said.

Ryanair are now the sole carriers for London traffic, providing four flights daily to Stanstead, two to Gat- wick and one to Luton.

The airport authority has not given up on the hope that CityJet may yet provide a service to London City.

“We are still talking to them about that. CityJet were before the Oireach- tas Committee on transport last week and they expressed their satisfaction with the Shannon-Charles de Gaulle route. They told the committee they are crunching the numbers on the Shannon-London City route,’ the

spokesman said.

While CityJet’s venture in Paris ap- pears to be a hit with the travelling business sector, they cannot replace the volume of connectivity which was offered on the Heathrow slots. Until

January 14 last, Aer Lingus were of- fering 700 seats daily. The smaller CityJet planes flying into Paris are offering 200 seats a day. The Airport Authority concedes that business has been lost to Cork Airport.

“We know for a fact that the Cork- Heathrow numbers have increased greatly, so obviously some of that is former Shannon-Heathrow traffic,” the spokesman said.

Commenting on the traffic figures

generally, Airport Director Mar- tin Moroney said that a downturn in traffic had been expected due to a number of factors, but there are a number of positive developments which give rise to optimism for the remainder of 2008.

“A downturn in transatlantic traf- fic had been expected this year due to the effects of ‘Open Skies’ which are, in fact, in place since the begin- ning of the winter 2007/8 schedule. The confirmation by Aer Lingus of year-round commitment to their Shannon transatlantic routes was a welcome development as was the an- nouncement earlier this year of ad- ditional promotional funding aimed at supporting traffic development on all transatlantic routes to Shannon,’ said Mr Moroney.

He added that short-haul traffic numbers had suffered owing to the loss of the three daily London-Hea- throw services and Centralwings’ withdrawal. However, Ryanair’s re- cent announcement of new services to and from Poland will compensate for this, he said. “The new CityJet-Air France service is performing well with high load factors, albeit with less capacity and frequency than the Heathrow service had offered. How- ever, market demand is expected to result in a larger aircraft operating this service in the autumn”.

Be UAUDerea(oie mo sce) ony (Or memne ne Mazda 2 at the end of last year and this time I was due to test the re- vamped Mazda 5, the one with the sliding door. But due to a mis-under- standing I got the Mazda 2 diesel in- stead, but I have no complaints. The Mazda 5 can wait for another day.

Last year was a great one for Maz- da Ireland with sales here taking a major leap after they decided to dis- tribute the cars directly in Ireland themselves.

Also at the end of last year their Mazda 2 finished second to the Fiat 500 in the European Car of the Year competition, but didn’t make the top five when it came to vote for the Semperit Irish Car of the Year. As the Lisbon Treaty vote proved we do things different than our European colleagues.

However, Mazda has been boosted with the recent news that they were named ‘Best Carmaker’ in the second annual Which? Awards. The maga- Zine has a good reputation for testing absolutely everything and they said that all Mazda cars are interesting to drive and there is something for eve- ryone in the Mazda range.

So this light Supermini could be the car in your range. It’s reasonably small but very nippy and my family loved the fact that it had four doors. When I drove the petrol model last year | commented on how quiet it was. Naturally the diesel 1s every so

slightly noisier.

It’s has been said, mainly by me on these pages, that diesel is the new black. So if you happen to be driving a black model of the sporty-looking

Mazda 2 diesel then you should re- ally feel that you are up to date fash- 10n-wise.

In the past I have often complained about the interiors of cars being pre-

dominantly black. This time the in- terior was mainly black again, with just the odd speck of silver on the doors and a touch of great on the seats. But I did like the exterior black

and I thought it gave the car a classy look.

On the dash the instruments are well laid out and easy to use. I like the way the gear lever is incorporat- ed into the dash rather than a stand alone item. The only complaint was that the digital clock had to share dis- play space with my choice of radio station. So often I found myself look- ing at something like: ‘1I800RTEI’ or ‘(0900 TodayFM.’

Eventually I copped on that there was a dot between the time and the name of the radio station, but it was very small one and difficult to see.

While the back seat could take three adults it’s unlikely to happen with most families, but it is fair to say that there is plenty of room for children. The boot is small, but deep.

Mazda have a marketing line where they say that their cars have more ‘Zoom-Zoom’ and it certainly is true of their Mazda 2.

Prices start at €14,995 for the 1.3 petrol model, while the 1.4 diesel I drove costs €17,495. For that you get a few extras like 15 inch alloys, elec- tric and heated mirrors, air con and MP player. Also the diesel comes in at Band A, the lowest in C02 emis- sions, which means just €100 road tax per annum.

AN ENNIS man has been denied a bed in the Central Mental Hospi- tal (CMH) in Dublin due to lack of space, despite a court ruling that he be moved there.

The dramatic revelation emerged at Ennis District Court last Friday evening, shortly after Judge Joseph Mangan had directed that the man, who was in court on several charges, be taken to the CMH in Dundrum.

The court was later told that there

was no bed available for the man, whose identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons. He was then taken to the psychiatric unit at Ennis General Hospital.

Earlier the court heard there was a fitness to plead issue relating to the case.

The court heard from Derry O’Donovan, a solicitor representing the Health Services Executive. “In relation to fitness to plead, there are six different categories. Even if he is fit to be tried, it doesn’t get away

from the fact the man has a mental disorder,’ said Mr O’ Donovan.

ATUTelexemm\Y Ev oteecvomncr-D(CMmNet-lMmislommereleyas had heard previously that the accused was not fit to be tried.

Mr O’Donovan pointed out that the ultimate decision regarding whether the man be received at the CMH rest- ed with its Clinical Director, Profes- sor Harry Kennedy.

Judge Mangan said he was ordering “that the accused be transferred to the Central Mental Hospital”.

Inspector Michael Gallagher then

told the court that previously in an- other court where a similar order had been made, gardai arrived at the CMH and the patient had been re- JEU ore MSIL NAA

Judge Mangan replied, “If they refuse to take the patient at the door of the CMH, the order collapses. I don’t see why he would be brought back to this court. It’s out of the hands of this court.”

Mr O’Donovan said that he was in- volved in the previous matter which was referred to by Inspector Gal-

lagher and said the problem related to bed space. “The CMH has more staff per patients than any other psy- chiatric unit in the country. It is a very secure unit,’ he said.

‘I can’t see the director refusing. If he does, his (the patient) status 1s that of an involuntary patient in the men- tal health system,” said the solicitor.

“The CMH is the only place in the country. If there 1s no space, these particular laws are set to nought and we are dealing with sick people,” he added.