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ANY view that Clare County Council has failed to utilise funding available to it under the Active Travel Scheme is not correct, the September meeting of Clare County Council heard. Councillor Paul Murphy put forward a motion asking that funding be sourced so that an Active Travel/Sustainable Travel Officer be appointed to support the work already being carried out. He also asked for an update on monies drawn down, and what stage various projects are at. A written reply to his motion from Council engineer Conor McDonagh stated, “Clare County Council has made a submission to the National Transport Authority (NTA) for additional resources including for an Active Travel Officer. We await a response from the NTA in this matter.” His reply also gave an update on numerous projects, including ones already complete at Kilrush, Miltown Malbay, Doolin, Quin, Kilmurry, Clonmoney, Boston, Ruan, Lahinch and Ennis. Councillor Shane Talty praised the impact of the scheme and said the Council have …

Eoin Brennan watched St Flannan’s College produce a powerful finish to defeat St Brendan’s College, Killarney 1-12 to 1-7 in the Munster Under 15A Post-Primary Schools Football Championship Semi-Final CHAMPIONS OF 2017 St Flannan’s produced a storming finish to lower perennial rivals St Brendan’s College on their way to a second consecutive Br. Taft Cup Final in The Bog Garden, Rathkeale on Wednesday afternoon. Having been edged out of last year’s title by a brace of injury-time Tralee CBS points, the Ennis side proved even more resilient this time around, remarkably outscoring their lofty opponents by 1-11 to 1-1 over the final 35 minutes. Such a sea-change was difficult to foresee when despite facing into the conditions, the Kerry side seized full control to soar 0-6 to 0-1 clear by the end of the opening quarter. In essence, St Flannan’s gave their opponents too much space and respect but finally ignited their belief and challenge with a decisive 24th minute …

Fire crews from two Clare stations have dealt with a major blaze at a construction yard in the county. The alarm was raised shortly before 3pm when the Munster Regional Communications Centre received a report of a fire near Knock, Kilmaley. A fire is understood to have broken out in a building used to service vehicles operated by a local construction company. Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station initially responded to the incident along with Gardaí. Additional fire service resources were mobilised from Ennistymon station. Water tankers from both stations and a hydraulic platform from Ennis were also dispatched to the scene. The tankers were used to ferry water from an off-site source to the scene. Firefighters tackled the fire from above using the hydraulic platform and sprayed the building with water and foam in an effort to bring the fire under control. At least one gas cylinder in the building exploded in the blaze …

A SOUTH-East Clare landlord have been left with an estimated cleaning bill of €12,000 and unpaid rent totalling more than €4,000 after two tenants ruined a modern two bedroomed furnished cottage near the Lakes Nursing Home in Killaloe. The landlady, who purchased the cottage for €400,000 during the peak of the Celtic Tiger in 2005, was shocked to find the state of the house was in such a poor condition when her tenants eventually left a huge mess behind them. While the landlord has opted to remain anonymous for personal reasons, she decided to go public about her experience to show how irresponsible tenants are not helping the current housing accommodation crisis. A foul smell greets any visitor once they open the front door of the cottage after dogs were allowed to urinate and leave their faeces on carpets and furniture. “Food was left all over the place and bags of rubbish stored for months at rear when there were …

Tommy Corbett of Carey Corbett Financial Solutions on the new social welfare payments including one-off measures and when they will be paid.

CLARE students are being warned about the “serious impact” of becoming a ‘money mule’ . A Money Mule is a person who transfers money illegally on behalf of other people. “They allow their account to be used for the transfer of ill-gotten gains. They may or may not be aware of the crime. However, they are complicit if they recklessly allow their account to be used to launder the proceeds of these crimes,” explains Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks. Students are often targeted by organised crime gangs to act as money mules, laundering thousands of euro through their accounts in exchange for a few hundred euro, she outlines. “Anti-money laundering legislation is designed to prevent organised crime gang members from opening up accounts so they need money mules to launder their money. Students are an easy target for these “money herders”. “They are often approached online, on campus, or while out socialising.” She advises: do not allow anyone to …

AN ex-principal of St Flannan’s College in Ennis has emerged as one of a number of objectors to new plans for a €25m elderly care unit on diocesan owned lands at the college. Last month, the HSE lodged plans for the 100-bed Community Nursing Unit (CNU) on a seven-acre green field site at Clonroadmore at the post primary St Flannan’s College. The hospital is to replace the existing bed capacity at St Joseph’s Hospital in Ennis. The new unit is to contain 75 long-stay and 25 short-stay beds and according to planning documents lodged most residents will have high dependency needs “and a number may also suffer from Alzheimer’s/Dementia”. A total of 11 objections have been lodged against the proposal and in a detailed, hard-hitting objection against the application, Colm McDonagh has told Clare County Council that the proposed CNU “is inappropriate at this location and is not in the best interests of proper planning and development of the area”. …

Tommy Corbett of Carey Corbett Financial Solutions gives some examples of the tax change implications in Budget 2023.