The Clare People Archive

A MAJOR fundraising drive is to be launched, towards the purchase of new equipment for the gaelscoil in S)at-vevaeyen

Management at Gaelscoil Donncha Rua is planning to equip every class- room with interactive whiteboards, which will benefit the young stu- CSTE

It follows on from a recent upgrade of the furniture at the school.

The new equipment will cost up to €20,000 and the people of Shannon are being asked to help out in the fundraising drive.

“This is the first fundraiser we have done since 1992. We want to get state-of-the-art equipment. We had not changed the furniture since 1984, when the school was built,”

said school principal Eamonn Bro- nO

“The boards are computerised and use touch screen technology. They are interactive in that both the teach- ers and children can use them,” said Mr Bromell.

The first fundraiser will be a social night out at the Oakwood Arms Ho- tel, on St Patrick’s night.

“There will be five or six live

bands, followed by a disco on the night. Meals will also be provided,’ said Mr Bromell.

“This is the first in a couple of events that we have planned during the year. It should be a good start,” he said.

Tickets for the nights events cost €25 each and can be _ purchased by contacting the school on O61 363165.

RETIRED principal of St Tola’s Na- tional School, Joe Walsh, will be the master of ceremonies at this year’s St Patrick’s Day parade in the town.

Mr Walsh, who retired last year, will also be the adjudicator for the parade. He has close links with sev- eral groups and associations in Shan- non and is highly respected.

Several groups will participate in the parade this year, many of who will demonstrate novel and fun ways to celebrate the event.

While several community groups and organisations from Shannon town will take part, groups from sur- rounding areas will also enter floats

on the day.

Among those are Bunratty Rescue and the scouts in Newmarket-on- Fergus.

The Ennis Brass Band and a band from the CBS in Sexton Street, Lim- erick, will also join in the festivities in Shannon.

The local international club, Le Chéile na Sionna, has entered its own group, which will consist of members of several countries, who have moved to Shannon.

Le Chéile was set up last year and its aim is to integrate all ethnic groups in the town. It has representa- tives from countries including Egypt, France, Germany, Mauritius, Eng- land, Netherlands, Pakistan, China

and Africa, who live in Shannon.

A school group from Derby in the UK will also take part in the cel- ebrations. The group, which will be on holidays in Liscannor, will take part in music and Irish dancing in the SkyCourt foodcourt after the pa- rade.

One of the organisers of the parade, Greg Duff said everything will be done to ensure everyone is welcome to take part.

“We are going all out to try to in- clude the multi-cultural. There will be a good variety,’ he said.

“Thirty-six groups took part last year, which reflected a variety of eroups including sports groups, along with voluntary, cultural and

community groups,’ he added.

He said the decision to invite Joe Walsh to take on the role as master of ceremonies this year followed on the popularity of Aodhan Fox, who carried out the role last year.

“Joe would know the groups, schools and teams very well, as he is very well known in Shannon. We wanted someone who would be able to interact with the crowd on the day,’ he said.

The participants will meet in the Wolfe Tones carpark at lpm and the parade will get underway at 2pm. The parade will round up at Sky- Court, where the music and dancing will continue throughout the after- noon.

THE first birthday celebrations of Shannon’s youth café will take place on Friday evening (between 5pm and 110} os00)F

The Kick Back Café was set up last year at the Respond Communi- ty Building, in response to demand in the town and surrounding areas. Young people felt there was a need for a café solely dedicated to between the ages of 16 to 21.

Run under the auspices of Shannon youth office, the café has provided a safe and comfortable space for young people, on Friday evenings and Saturdays.

“The committee of volunteers who run the café are now planning activities and events for the coming months, to highlight the role of the café for young people in Shannon,” said Shannon youth worker, Cathal DIU eyne

“The first birthday celebration plans are in full swing and the café committee is currently finalising the details of the event,” he added.

Among the events planned for the night include an eighties theme disco, singstar competition and a variety of games. One of the volunteers, Aoife Wright has offered to make a special birthday cake for the occasion!

Meanwhile, the youth workers are

continuing to carry out their outreach work, on the streets of Shannon.

‘The youth office 1s open to arrang- ing projects to meet the needs of the young people in the Shannon area,” said Mr Dillon.

The office is open between 4pm and 6pm every Tuesday and Thurs- day, for young people to drop in and chat to the youth workers

Both the Skyview and Drumgeely youth clubs have re-opened follow- ing the winter break.

The Drumgeely club was set up last year and is based at St Senan’s primary school. It runs between 7pm and 9pm every Monday night.

The club has received funding from

Clare Sports Partnership and Clare VEC and a programme is currently being put together in an effort to en- courage new members to join.

The Skyview club meets between 7pm and 9pm every Thursday night. It is open to young people aged be- tween 12 and 16. Admission to the clubs is just €2 per night and further details can be obtained by phoning 061 364318.

Both clubs are keen to encourage volunteers to help organise the activ- ities every week. Volunteers should be aged 21 and over and a full range of volunteer supports and leadership training is available for those who are interested.

STAFF and students at St Senan’s National School are this week cel- ebrating their fifth green flag!

The school will be presented with the green flag by An Taisce, at a ceremony in Galway tomorrow (Wednesday).

This is the fifth time the school has won the flag, which is awarded to

schools every two years.

The project was co-ordinated by teacher Margaret Murphy and all 102 students played their roles in en- suring the environment was treated well.

During the past year, children at- tending the school have been educat- ed on the importance of reducing the carbon footprint and the impact that transport has on this. They have also

been made aware of the importance of saving water and electricity.

The staff also encouraged the pu- pils to engage in healthy eating poli- cies and cut down on refuse.

School principal Sally O’Neill said the honour is recognition of the ef- fort put in by everybody.

“The discipline of the project is good for the children and a concert- ed effort was put in by everybody.

We have the green flag for 10 years now and to maintain that momentum each time is great. It 1s an achieve- ment to have the five (flags), said Ms O’ Neill.

“It is part of the curriculum pro- gramme and it is topical too. It is 1m- portant that the students understand it as well,’ she added.

The flag will be officially raised in in the next few weeks.

ARCHITECTURAL firms received significant Clare County Council payments to consultants last year.

The council paid such firms over €1m of the €4.9m which consultants received.

Yelland Architects Ltd received €213,400 which was the highest amount paid, according to figures which the council released in re-

sponse to a freedom of information request.

Murray O’Laoire Architects Ltd received €213,233, Byrne O’ Donnell Scully Architects received €142,924; Henry J Lyons and Partners received €89,190, Dermot and Sean Merry re- ceived €70,877 and Paddy Coleman and Associates received €44,955. All payments are inclusive of 21 per cent VAT.

Payments to architectural firms

would primarily relate to firms de- signing council housing schemes and reflects the upsurge in council house eluunCeuberee

The company that designed the award-winning Cliffs of Moher visitor centre, Cork-based Reddy O’ Riordan, Staehli was paid €63,779.

Regarding other payments to con- sultants Brendan McGrath and Asso- ciates received €42,580, PH McCa- rthy and Partners received €29,249,

Michael Leahy and Paul Conway received €26,961, while Brady Ship- man Martin received €12,298.

A number of engineering firms also received substantial council pay- ments. RPS MCOS Ltd, which car- ries out work at the local authority’s central landfill at Inagh, received €581,936. White Young Green (Irl) Ltd received €284,283, while Nicholas O’Dwyer and Partner re- ceived €241,325. John B Barry and

Partners received €192,557, while Mott McDonald Petit Ltd received € 147,179.

Farm Business Advisers Ltd re- ceived €284,283. Patrick J Tobin & Co Ltd received €138,556 while Er1- naceous Consult Services (Ire) Ltd received €134,394.

The council insists that the pay- ments are subject to various internal and external council and Department of Environment controls.

TOMMY Tiernan’s live shows gen- erate plenty of laughter, but when the comedian takes the stage in Ennis tomorrow night, it will be for a dif- ferent reason.

The Navan comic will be in The Old Ground Hotel as part of the ‘Living Faith in 2008’ series of Lenten talks, organised by the Franciscan Friars. The talk is due to start at 8pm.

The most successful Irish comedi- an of his generation, Tiernan’s shows are guaranteed sell-outs. His choice of material and his willingness to tackle difficult or taboo subjects so publicly have been criticised.

Part of his 2007 “OK Baby’ show dealt with integration in society, fo- cusing on people with Down Syn-

el Keyne ten

The jokes invoked the wrath of Liveline with members of Down Syndrome Ireland saying that some of the jokes had greatly upset them.

Tiernan said at the time that many of his friends with Down Syndrome had found the routine funny, and were happy to see the jokes form a central part of the show.

As well as Tommy Tiernan, two other talks are planned for the ‘Liv- ing Faith’ series.

William Reville,

has received a number of complaints from north Clare locals in recent days, concern- ing a section of the R479 which, they claim, is extremely dangerous.

The number of motorists using the road increased dramatically over the last six months since Clare County Council temporarily closed the main Ballyvaughan to Fanore route.

“The road in Fanore is very narrow and we need to preserve as much of the width of that road as possible.” said councillor, Martin Conway.

“I was in Fanore on Sunday and it would amaze you the amount of people who were there. There was a

lot of traffic there and access is the big issue. I reported it to the county council”

The local authority has just 10 days left to take action and improve access on the road, as they are prohibited from undertaking hedge-trimming work in the area during the bird mat- ing season from March | until Au- eau

Meanwhile, Doolin Search and Rescue was involved in two rescue

Operations in the north Clare area this weekend. A foreign national had a lucky escape after falling while walking outside of the official view- ing area at the Cliffs of Moher.

‘We made contact with the man and managed to winch him to safety. He was brought to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries includ- ing a broken leg,’ said Matty Shan- non of Doolin Search and Rescue.

At 4.30pm that afternoon, a young

boy went missing while walking with his family in the Mullaghmore area in Corofin. The 12-year-old boy had been climbing with a number of family members when he became separated from the group.

The Doolin Search and Rescue was called to the scene but the boy was found and rescued before any major search effort was began.

The boy suffered no injuries in the incident.

HOUSE-BUYERS across Clare are facing massive hikes in house prices arising from contentious new Clare County Council charges.

Yesterday, council officials unveiled new draft proposals that would result in development levies increasing from less than €5,000 to €21,360, a 400 per cent rise.

House builders constructing homes on unzoned land who currently pay €4,180 will have to fork out a levy of €12,456 under the council’s Devel- opment Contribution Scheme 2008- 2011.

Those seeking to build holiday homes are facing a 300 per cent levy

increase from €9,500 to €27,050 per home.

The council imposed the levies on house builders to finance water, sew- erage, road and community infra- structure. They must be paid before houses are occupied.

The council is proposing the in- creases in order to raise €105 mil- lion to pay for new infrastructure across the county between 2008 and 2011, according to the draft docu- ment published yesterday,

The new charges came under fire yesterday. Ennis-based auctioneer, Philip O’Reilly describes the pro- posed hikes as “incredible”.

“This is a conspiracy against the first time buyer, builders, employers.

How are these figures justified when it takes six weeks to see a planner?”

At the council’s Special Policy Committee (SPC) for Planning yes- terday, Cllr Patrick Keane (FF) said, ‘These charges place on unfair bur- den on young couples wishing to construct a new home.

“IT can’t see why new home builders are the only ones to pay for roads and water where everyone will benefit.”

SPC chairman, Cllr Richard Nagle said, “I think that we are all agreed that the charges are unfair.

‘This is a policy foisted upon us by the Department of the Environment and its water pricing policy and they have passed the problem on to the council.”

Cllr Keane said that it was now important that the council came up with an alternative way to raise the money.

According to the draft document, €34 million has been collected in the existing scheme covering 2004 and 2007.

Senior council official Monica Meehan said that the proposed €12,456 charge for homes in un- zoned land would not apply in most cases as house builders would be covering water and sewerage costs themselves.

Cllr Nagle told the meeting that the charges would not be agreed at the SPC but would go before the coun- GIMME Kes mestccnnitee

ONE is every nine Clare rental prop- erties inspected by Clare County Council was found to be in breach of the Private Rented Dwelling Regula- tions, it was revealed at last night’s meeting of the local authority.

A further 25 rental properties were found to have “serious faults” by the Clare Fire Authority, with legal ac- tion being taking against a total of six landlords who failed to resolve potential fire hazards when warned by Clare County Council.

Only 434 rented properties were registered with the Clare County Council last year. Of these, 53 were

found to be in breach of the Rented Dwelling Regulations.

According to Fine Gael council- lor Joe Arkins, many Clare people on low incomes are afraid to report poor housing conditions to the local authority. The Ruan native claimed that there is a double standard of rents in Clare.

“There is a problem with the qual- ity and choice of rental accommo- dation in this county. In relation to apartments, we have two main types. Those for the well-heeled people who are moving onwards and up- wards and those for people on the breadline who live in places where they will take rent allowance,” said

CiUlr Arkins.

“This is another case where the de- partment is calling the tune but it 1s not prepared to pay the piper. We just do not have the money to carry out these inspections to a satisfactory standard.

‘The people who are not complain- ing about their apartments are those on the lower echelons of society, peo- ple who have a fear of losing their tenancy. We need to get the fund- ing so we can really put the wind up these landlords.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald (Lab) who claimed that many landlords are not even on the council’s register.

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modations out there. There are land- lords there ripping off young single parents, people who don’t have an option but to live in these places. A lot of these landlords are not even on the register,” said.

Commenting on the motion, Cllr Martin Conway compared the cur- rent situation to that of Michael Dav- itt and the land wars.

“We are dealing with a culture of landordism in this country. Land- lords and absentee landlords, the same as Davitt rose up against. Some of what I witnessed in rented accom- modation would absolutely horrify any person. We need to up our game in terms of inspection.”

CLARE planning agents and archi- tects have been accused of profiteer- ing by drawing up plans for one off rural houses that have no chance of receiving planning permission.

The accusation came at last night meeting of Clare County Council Where Councillor Martin Lafferty (Ind) called on Clare people seek- ing planning to ensure that their sites fulfil basic planning requirements before they engage the services of an

architect.

“It has come to my notice that when a person decides to go building a house they go straight to an agent be- fore they do anything else,” said Cllr Poua

“In a lot of these cases some of the agents don’t tell them about the four basic issues in one off rural planning. Sight distance, percolation and de- sign and designation of the land.

“I find that a lot of people go to agents, get them to draw up plans and then they are told by the architects to

go to their local councillor to sort it out for them.

“If people who are out there look- ing to build a house, before they go for plans they should ask a few sim- ple questions.

‘They are going to the agents and architects and they are happy to take their money. Some agents are just drawing up their plans, collecting up their money and walking away.”

Cllr Curtin asked that a simple document be drawn up in which the basic conditions of planning in rural

areas be explained for any perspec- tive builders.

The motion was seconded for Cllr Pat Keane (FF) who said there was ‘a major problem” with the current system and joined in the calls for a single document to be produced which would aid people seeking to build in a rural area.

‘This document should outline all of the criteria that 1s required to pass these tests and it should be written in as simple a language as is possible,” he said.