The Clare People Archive

THEY say that figures never lie and if that’s true then there is no disguis- ing the poor state of the Clare econ- omy. According to figures obtained from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) unemployment in the county has climbed by more than 25 per cent since June of last year.

More worringly, the latest figures available show the greatest single jump in Clare people signing on the live register. Numbers shot up from

5,036 in May of this year to 5,505 in June or an increase of just under ten oaceonle

This increases represents the larg- est single, month on month, jump in unemployment figures in the county in more than five years.

Each area of the county has been hit with the spike in unemployment but Tulla appears to be suffering more than most.

Between June 2007 and June 2008 the amount of people signing on in Tulla increased from 446 to 678.

This increase of 232 people sign- ing on represents a massive jump of more than 40 per cent in the space of just a year.

Ennistymon has also been hit heavily by the increase with unem- ployment figures jumping from 573 to 806 (40 per cent) in the same pe- riod.

The situation is less drastic in oth- er parts of the county with number jumping in Ennis from 2,502 to 3293 (30 per cent) and in Kilrush from 609 to 728 (15 per cent).

has learned. This, coupled with an increase in the num- bers leaving the town, is likely to see the overall Brazilian population in Gort drop for the first time in more than a decade.

This Samba-exodus has _ been brought about by a number of dif- ferent factors including the sharp de- cline in the construction sector and the relative strength of the Brazilian Real against the euro.

“The ones who have arrived re- cently, in the last year or year and a half, haven’t been here long enough to really put their roots down – to acquire the language and get them- selves settled,’ said Frank Murray of the Gort Brazilian Association and

NUI, Galway.

“The ones who would have come to Gort in the last year or so would be much more inclined to return to Brazil now that things are not go- ing so well. You can also see around the town that less people are com- ing over. Word is getting out back in Brazil about the difficulties over here and less are coming.

“The Brazilian currency is now worth more against the euro. It’s a big difference from four or five years ago. So if a Brazilian did come to Gort on a three year economic mis- sion, that now becomes a five year mission just to make the same mon- Ne ‘There is a huge Brazilian popula- tion in places like London and with the Olympics coming up there will be a lot of Brazilians heading over there. A lot will also probably head to Italy and some might go to Por-

tugal, Switzerland and places like deren

Earlier this year the International Organisation for Migration in Dublin began a voluntary repatriation which has been inundated with request in recent months.

“A lot of people have decided that enough is enough and have decided to go home. For one reason or anoth- er they are falling on difficult times and have no real option but to leave. But things are still not great in Brazil so even the worst scenario here may well be better than the situation back in Brazil,” continued Mr Murray.

“Some people will leave, but it is sure that there will continue to be a Brazilian presence here in Gort.”

NON-EU migrant workers face be- coming the first victims of the reces- sion with reports that many have al- ready been let go without being given their legal redundancy payments.

The Director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, Kilrush woman Siobhan O’Donoghue, has called on the government and the media to take a leadership roll and prevent the spread of racism by not making mi- grant workers into economic scape- goats.

‘There is a real difficulty that these people will fall between the cracks. We are hearing about lots of people

from foreign countries who are be- ing made redundant and are not been given their rights in terms of redun- dancy pay. If you are here on a work permit from outside the EU it can be really difficult to access your rights,” she said.

“We are definitely finding an in- crease of people being laid off and not getting any redundancy. There are often times in sectors which are poorly regulated and if you are not Irish and are here under a work per- mit scheme then the consequences can be dire.

“If you are undocumented you are particularly at risk and very vulnera- ble. We have done some research and

it seems that a lot of people become undocumented through no fault of their own: through being on a work permit and having an employer not renew it for some reason. They can be left with massive debts, depend- ence at home and no choice but to continue working without docu- ments. Often times this leaves them in a position where they have no choice but to continue.

“Racism is something that we are very concerned with. The way in which the media in particular and our leaders scapegoat migrants as a distraction of the real issues and how the economy is being managed can make the migrants into easy scape-

goats. Migrants are an easy target but the leadership need to come from the government. When the economy is on shaky ground the last thing that we should do is turn on each other.”

The Irish Migrant Rights Centre has stressed that while migration is on the wane from areas within the EU zone, including Poland and Lithuania, migrants are continuing to come to Ireland.

“Migration helped to create the boom and they will be a very real part of us getting out of this current slump. Migration is not like a tap that you can turn on and off,” continued Ms O’Donoghue.

“They are not coming in the same

volumes as they were six months ago, indeed it appears that numbers are down, especially those coming from within the European Union. But there are migrants who are part of Irish society, this is their home and they will stay here.

“Nobody can come into Ireland and claim unemployment. It’s actu- ally very difficult to come in and claim social protection in this coun- try – especially if you are coming in from outside the EU. You must be able to prove that you have been in full-time employment for at least a year and there are very real barriers if you ban here working for less than two years.”

THE Clare branch of the Irish Road Haulage Association has criticised IBEC Mid West’s stance on the spi- raling cost of energy, describing it as “living the dream of a wishful tomorrow”.

Last week the IBEC Director for the Mid West, Chris O’Donovan, called for a number of actions to be taken to alleviate pressure on businesses due to the rising cost of energy.

These included fuel diversification, fast-tracking the Corrib Gas project,

supports for energy efficiency and in- creasing market competition.

However, the Clare Branch of the Irish Road Haulage Association has criticised these initiatives as too long-sighted, claiming that the haulage sector will be annihilated long before the impact of any of the changes are felt.

“The crisis at the moment is far more imminent than living the dream of a wishful tomorrow. This is so ur- gent it is unbelievable. We have felt the downturn in consumer spending three or four months ago. Coupled

with this downturn was an increased price in transporting the products to the customers. This is going to hit shops heavily now and after the summer. The hauliers are at the front door of this,” said Eugene Brennan of Spa Transport Ltd in Ennis and the Irish Road Haulage Association.

“I think IBEC needs to address this in a more relevant way. If we can ad- dress this then we can have a much more sustainable service. If they want to wait until more transport compa- nies go out of business and transport gets really expensive then we will

have another peak and trough situa- tion. IBEC should come and meet us and have relevant discussions on how we can fix this.”

According to the Irish Road Haul- age Association many Clare haulage companies are currently operating at a loss and face closure in the coming nee) eLdSLe

“Tt’s cruel to the world. They are still calling it a recession but I don’t know when they are going to start calling it a depression. It’s a vicious cycle. The downturn in the building industry came at the same time as

the huge increase in oil. We have far too many trucks there for the busi- ness. Customers either don’t want to or are not in a position to pay any- thing extra towards the cost of fuel,” continued Mr Brennan.

‘The cost of fuel is a definite – we can’t get away from it. But I think that it might take a few more hauliers to go out of business before they get the message.

Hauliers are doing jobs now with no profit margin or for a loss – they are going jobs just to keep a cash flow ticking over.”

WHILE much of the county ploughed along on the last embers of the Celtic Tiger, Clare farmers have been feeling the pinch for more than six months. The recession, and in particular the cost of petrol and die- sel, has been squeezing incomes for the county’s 3,267 full-time farmers since the later stages of 2007.

Increased cost of fuel, fertiliser and feed has raised the cost of fire inputs by an estimated 20 per cent in just Te.qseslonaecy

“There are three items that have

been impacting heavily on farming in Clare over the last six or seven months. One would certainly be the increase in fuel costs, there is also the increase in fertiliser and the in- crease in feed,” said Clare IFA Presi- dent Michael Lynch.

“All the farm work done these days is influenced by fuel costs and the chemicals used which are derived from fuel. That has all combined to put up our costs substantially.

“Treland has a pretty long wintering period for stock and all the cost asso- ciated with winterage, whether it be feed or fuel, will have a more detri-

mental impact on Ireland because of that. The other detrimental impact it will have is that it will put pressure on our markets which will limit their purchasing power for farm products.

“They will move to cheaper prod- ucts and away from higher quality products such as beef and lamb pro- duced by Irish farmers. So farmers will be hit on both ends – both at the input side and the output side.”

While Clare’s full-time farmers face tightening margins, many of the county’s estimated 4,000 part-time farmers find themselves in an even more perilous position.

“That is a very serious aspect for farmers in County Clare. So many farmers in Clare have to have second off-farm income just to stay afloat. With an awful lot of them losing their jobs in the construction indus- try its going to force a lot of people who could not earn a living in farm- ing back into full time farming,” continued Mr Lynch.

While last week’s expenditure cuts announced by the Department of Ag- riculture avoided cuts to major farm related schemes, fears are growing that any further cuts would have a catastrophic effect on farm incomes.

“It really does depend on how deep this recession goes. So far it appears that there is not too many curtailments, but if it continues then who knows? We have a lot of worry about the Farm Waste Management Scheme where the deadline has to be met by the end of the year,” said Mr Lynch. “Farmers are spending a lot of money upgrading premises to the standards required by the Nitrate Directive Regulations. It’s going to be difficult to get all of that work fin- ished in time and if farmers fail to meet the deadline then they will be places into even further difficulty.”

THERE are almost 1,000 more peo- ple signing on the dole in the mid- west now than there were in the eco- nomic slump of 1985.

The region has seen a jump of al- most 5,000 in numbers signing on the dole in the last 12 months.

The latest figures from the Cen- tral Statistics Office to the end of last month show there are 19,537, in comparison with 14,559 in June of last year.

Despite reassurances that the cur- rent slow-down is nothing like the bleak economic outlook which Ire- land faced in the ‘80s, that number 1s higher than for June 1985 when there were 18,629 signing on.

Between January and June 2008,

Clare suffered the loss of 463 jobs, three per cent of the national total.

The losses put Clare in the mid- range on the redundancy scale, with counties such as Kerry and Mayo registering 383 and 295 job losses respectively. Neighbouring Limerick suffered a higher toll, with the loss of 916 jobs.

What shocked many were the high- profile companies who announced redundancies, ceased trading or had to impose short-time working. Some of the cuts have yet to be counted, with 57 workers at the Shannon based company Avocent to go and 15 jobs lost in north Clare with fears that German company Stubben Ltd may cease manufacturing at it’s En- nistymon factory.

In a double blow to Ennistymon,

the town’s largest employer, Data Display, confirmed that they had to have workers on a four day week for a period to avoid letting staff go. The factory employs 250.

Three weeks earlier, the closure of Shannon-based technology company Buffalo Technology Ireland was an- nounced with 48 job losses. This was closely followed by Kiely’s Electri- cal, with a further five jobs being axed.

Shannon based interior fit-out busi- ness Ashcoin, which employed 100 people, also ceased trading in the ETS meslenieee

PLANS for a €10 million retail park for Miltown Malbay have been with- Oe hate

In order for planning permission to be granted to the proposal, three quarters of the 32 members of Clare County Council were needed to vote to contravene the Clare County De- velopment Plan.

The council’s planning department signalled that it is ready to give the go-ahead to the plan which will de- liver 100 jobs to the town through the provision of a new Supervalu outlet.

The council has ruled that the plan would materially contravene the County Development Plan which states that the land should be retained for residential purposes.

However, due to the number of lo- cal objections, the proposed develop- ment didn’t have the support of all the six north Clare councillors and

the developer, local supermarket owner John Jones, withdrew the ap- plication.

The development was to have in- cluded seven shops, 18 apartments and offices and the plan was subse- quently revised in response to further information sought by the council and objections lodged against the proposal.

The plan was opposed by other businesses in Miltown with one busi- ness owner telling the council that the scale of the project was so large that it threatened the existing busi- ness ecology of the town.

“*T estimate that the retail space pro- posed is in excess of the entire retail floor space currently occupied by all the other businesses in the town,” the objector stated.

“In effect, this development would constitute a new town centre. it is on the scale and design of a modern shopping centre suitable for a large

town or city but is not compatible with a village. The development of an American-style shopping mall is not compatible with this vision. The attraction to tourists of a bustling vil- lage with traditional shop fronts and small individually owned businesses would be lost,’ the objection stated.

Speaking in relation to the project last year, John Jones said, ““Miltown needs something like a Supervalu and it will mean more business for Miltown. People go into Ennis and Limerick to shop, but having more services in Miltown will make sure that Miltown is a bigger draw for shoppers.”

Mr Jones said his family have been Operating a business in Miltown since the 1830s.

“We have a proud tradition here and we are well qualified to be in line to put in a new shop and we should be allowed opportunity to do it,’ he said.

QUESTIONS have been raised over the long-term viability of a pro- posed wastewater treatment plant for Byer LeNOnee

Independent councillor Patricia McCarthy told yesterday’s meeting of Clare County Council that the project was flawed and would fail to meet future requirements.

Speaking after Walter Walsh, senior engineer with water services, defend- ed the process, Cllr McCarthy said “I am not happy with the response. It is basically an admission that the plant will not meet requirements in the fu- ture. It is a shortsighted policy. If the Government are serious about pro- tecting the environment then maybe they should put aside the money for ra

“It’s a false economy. We will be back here in the 30 years time bat- tling with the department for more money,’ added Cllr McCarthy.

Mr Walshe defended the project, saying that despite financial con- straints, the plant would have suffi-

cient capacity to meet any demands arising from a growth in population.

‘There is provision enough to meet the present demand and a certain amount of extra capacity would be available. This would be a very good development for Broadford”’.

Fianna Fail councillor Tony O’Brien said the project should be progressed in order to stimulate development in the area.

He said, “I would be anxious that we don’t constrict development. We should get the best possible water treatment plant for Broadford”.

“We’re talking about areas that have stagnated and didn’t see any benefit from the Celtic Tiger. I wouldn’t like the message to go out there that we are holding back development in Broadford”.

CALLS have been made for the gov- ernment to clarify its position in rela- tion to water charges for schools be- fore the beginning of the new school year this September.

As part of a heated debate at last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr John Crowe (FG), called on central government to tackle the problem before schools are thrust into more financial difficulty.

“The reality of this is that schools in County Clare are already operat- ing on a shoestring budget. They have to organise endless fundraising to keep the schools going.

“Coupled with this the grants schemes for minor works were cut

last week despite the promises that government would not cut back from the health or the education budgets,” he said.

“Charges should only be levied if the schools use up all of their allow- ance. The schools can’t afford the fees that are being put upon them and we need central government to tackle this situation.”

Speaking on that debate, Green Party councillor Brian Meaney, said that most school welcome the charg- Ae

‘“T’m on the board of management of a number of schools and this has been a bone of contention for some time. Boards of management are looking at this in a positive way rath- er than a negative way,’ he said.

‘School are places where values are learned and thought – schools have no problem paying the charges as long as funding is available in terms of capitation or in other ways to al- low them to meet the charge.”

CUlr Martin Conway (FG) com- mented that the water charges were an example of the underprivileged being hit the worst in times of reces- sion.

“It is a clear example that when we have an economic downturn that the people most in need will suffer,’ he said.

“When the belts need to be tight- ened it’s always the elderly and the young who suffer. The government need to be clear and unambiguous about this.”

CLARE County Council mightn’t be the first organization to spring to mind when it comes to promoting rock music but the local authority is playing an unexpected role in en- couraging new musical talent in the Shannon area.

Through its County Arts Office, the council is giving support for the Shannon Music Project by providing bursaries for thirteen talented young musicians which enabled them attend the Ennis Guitar and Rock School workshops in Shannon last week.

County council’s Traditional Arts Coordinator, Tara Connaghan, who is based in Shannon, said the work- shops provided a great opportunity to work with community groups in stom D acre

The Shannon Music Project (SMP) is a Clare Youth Service project based in Shannon which provides young people aged 15-25 with op- portunities to get involved in musical events, avail of practice space and high quality musical equipment to Lou COwremelee

It has been running for over ten years and this year received some funding from Clare VEC and Shan- non Community Grant Scheme to help with the cost of new equipment purchases. The project has organised bands nights, acoustic performances and competitions in Shannon and also liaises with Ennis Music Project for similar events and workshops.

Last week, the Ennis Guitar and Rock School ran workshops in Shan-

non which included tuition by profes- sional tutors on guitar, drums vocals, CD recording and songwriting.

The Ennis Guitar and Rock School was established five years ago and runs weekly classes throughout the year from its Clonroad Business Park location and will commence beginner classes in Scariff, Kilrush, Shannon and Ennistymon from Sep- tember onwards.

Further information on the Clare Arts Office can be had from www. clarelibrary.ie/arts while informa-

tion on the Shannon Music Project can be had from Cathal Dillon in the Shannon Youth Office www.clarey- outhservice.org.

For information on the Ennis Guitar and Rock School call 065 6822516 or visit www.ennisguitarschool.ie.