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PLANNING permission has been sought for retention permission for works at the Diamond Rocks Cafe in Kilkee, along with permission for a new standalone toilet block there. The planning application covers two separate elements according to an accompanying letter from the applicants Kevin and Mary Haugh. “Firstly the applicants wish to apply for retention permission to regularise some alterations made during the construction of the cafe extension which was previously authorised. “The alterations to be retained consists of alterations to window fenestration, the construction of a porch and the construction of a storage shed. “Secondly the applicants wish to apply for planning permission to construct a standalone toilet block to the rear of the existing cafe. “The toilet block will be for public use and its purpose will be to alleviate the issue of a lack of public toilet facilities in the area during the peak summer months. “Presently Clare County Council have placed temporary prefab toilets at this location.”

A 59-year old year old man “just wanted to give a young fella a kick up the backside” when he doused him in petrol in his bedroom, a court has heard. That is according defence solicitor, John Casey for the accused, Mark Davies, who said that his client was “pushed over the edge” prior to the incident in Jason Morris’s bedroom on September 27 last. At Ennis District Court, Sergeant Louis Moloney said that on the night of the domestic incident at Fountain, Toonagh, outside Ennis, Mark Davies of Lower Market Street, Ennis went into the bedroom of his partner’s son, Jason Morris with a canister of petrol and poured petrol on Mr Morris and his bed. Sergeant Moloney stated that it is alleged that Mr Davies then threatened to set the petrol alight with a lighter. Mr Morris reported the incident to Gardai who arrived and declared the house a crime scene. Personnel from the Clare Fire Service also …

A PROHIBITION on swimming at a popular west Clare beach has been issued on foot of advice from the HSE. Clare County Council, on the advice of the HSE, has placed a prohibition on swimming in White Strand Miltown Malbay. The ban is due to increased bacterial levels in the bathing water at the beach as a result of recent rainfall. The local authority is appealing to the public not to swim at the beach until further notice.

HAPPY staff are more productive so the saying goes, in which case they’re all busy at Clare’s premier tourist attraction. The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience has been awarded Great Place to Work Certification, an international accreditation system for evaluating a company’s workplace and culture against strict benchmarks. “We are honoured to receive this certification and also thrilled this award is based solely on employees’ survey responses,” said Geraldine Enright, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. “The past 14 months have been very challenging for the organisation and for the wider tourism sector,” said Ms Enright. “This certification reflects the continuous hard work undertaken to strengthen the connection with our staff and to develop an inclusive and rewarding culture. Taking care of people means we are taking care of our visitors and our staff and we remain focused on taking care of both. “The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience attracts and retains the best of talent because we …

AS Ennistymon prepares to take part in the nationwide Poetry Town initiative next month, its new Poet Laureate was revealed today. Poetry Ireland, in conjunction with Clare County Council Arts Office, has appointed Grace Wells as the Poet Laureate for the town. An award-winning eco-poet, author, re-wilder, and yoga teacher, Grace says she was looking forward to celebrating the town’s “dynamic sense of place”. She added: “I love living in Ennistymon and am so proud to be invited to be the town’s Laureate. As an eco-poet navigating the griefs of environmental collapse, it’s so helpful to belong to a community where people are genuinely working to halt Ireland’s biodiversity loss, and actively creating initiatives to help the country become carbon-neutral. “Poetry can support these transitions. Ennistymon already has rich literary roots, it’s both the birthplace of Brian Merriman, and the home of Salmon Press, so I’m hoping to fuse some of these creative energies together, and really celebrate the town’s …

THE founder of a Donegal action group on defective concrete blocks is urging homeowners in Clare to work together on a national campaign for better redress. Paddy Diver from Carndonagh said an “all-Ireland movement” is needed to persuade the government to extend the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme to counties beyond Donegal and Mayo, and to increase the level of redress to 100%. Mr Diver, who is part of a working group set up to examine the scheme, warned that the situation in Clare, where more than 50 homeowners have joined a local action group, may yet be as serious as that in Donegal where an estimated 5,000 homes are affected. While County Donegal homes are experiencing damage due to mica, its impact is similar to that caused by the pyrite that is present in Mayo, Clare and potentially several other counties. “We really need to pull together on this,” Mr Diver told The Champion. “Whatever we get from government, it’ll …

AN Bord Pleanála has overturned the decision of Clare County Council in February to reject an application from Eircom for an 18-metre mast in Kilfenora. The telecommunications company appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanála, who have now granted approval. According to the original County Council decision, such developments can only go close to populated areas, but the An Bord Pleanála inspector was of the view that there had been a misinterpretation. “In my opinion,” wrote the planning inspector, “the Planning Authority have incorrectly applied the appropriate ‘last resort’ test in this instance. The test they applied relates to ‘larger towns and in city suburbs’.” The inspector was also of the view that the facility was required, due to the poor state of coverage in the area. “I have reviewed ComReg’s online Outside Coverage Map1 for this area and note that for Ireland’s three main service providers coverage generally ranges from ‘Fringe’ to ‘No Coverage’ for 4G, from ‘Fringe’ to …

THE President of St Vincent De Paul in Clare has said the dysfunctional rental market is causing huge issues for many families. This week it emerged that the average rent sought for residential accommodation in the county exceeds €1,000 per month and St Vincent De Paul is seeing the impact the red hot market is having on people around the county. Denis Carty told The Clare Champion, “Obviously a lot of the people that come to us for support would be living in private rented accommodation and the cost would be a big issue for them. “It has had a really bad impact on a lot of people, they have had to move out of Ennis or other towns to get accommodation and the accommodation isn’t of a great standard. It adds to their transport costs and to their heating costs. “For people who are driving, the cars are much more expensive to run and to repair. It’s kind of …