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An official picket was placed  Roadstone, Bunratty quarry again on this Tuesday morning following the continuation of a nationwide strike against cuts to general operatives’ wages. An official SIPTU picket was placed on the Roadstone Woods Limited in Bunratty plant on Monday by its employees, as part of a nationwide dispute affecting 20 of the firm’s locations across the country. Six general operatives and truck drivers protested outside the Bunratty plant with official SIPTU placards this Tuesday morning. According to SIPTU, workers will lose almost €20,000 in their wages over the next five years if a new cost-cutting plan is introduced against the wishes of workers. The union claims that the parent company, Cement Roadstone Holdings Limited are trying to implement unsustainable cost savings for Roadstone totalling €10 million over the next five years. The company, which makes building materials for the construction sector, has been in talks with union officials in recent times. Both parties were also involved in …

With Clare  Leaving Cert students set to start celebrating the wind up of their exams this weekend, drinkaware.ie is advising them to pace themselves to ensure they ‘ace’ their celebrations. drinkaware.ie – the alcohol social responsibility organisation – is referring students to their “Leaving Cert (and beyond) Survival Guide”, available online at www.drinkaware.ie/publications/leaving-cert-survival-guide. The guide contains lots of really useful tips on making the most of the post-leaving cert celebrations, including: · R-E-S-P-E-C-T – There are loads of people who don’t drink, or aren’t old enough to do it legally, and it’s not your job to give them a hard time about it. Respect other people’s choices, and remember that drinking isn’t the only way to enjoy a party. · Be prepared – Plan how you’re going to get home in advance, so you’re not in danger of being stranded anywhere in the dark. Make sure you have your keys, enough spare cash to get home, and a topped up …

KILMALEY man Eamonn Meehan, executive director of Trocaire, met with Pope Francis in Rome last month during a meeting of overseas development agencies about the crisis in Syria. “We have a huge moral authority and we should use it and not accept or let anyone else accept that this war be left to just play itself out,” Eamonn Meehan said at the meeting. Pope Francis agreed with him saying that many refugees in Syria were suffering. “We must accept with great sorrow that the Syrian crisis has not been resolved, but instead continues, and there is the risk of growing accustomed to it and of forgetting the victims claimed on a daily basis, the unspeakable suffering, the thousands of refugees, which include the elderly and children, who suffer and at times die of hunger and of diseases causes by the conditions of war,” Pope Francis said. Trócaire had been supporting local partners in the region since March 2012. Donations from …

BODYKE National School is taking a giant leap forward as it plans to go digital for the coming academic year, with pupils from the age of five being given a laptop from this September. The board of management, staff, and parents association have decided to embark on a project to ensure that every child from the age of five in this 24-pupil school has a laptop for the coming year. The ambitious proposal comes on the back of the school being one of a number of schools in County Clare to be awarded a Digital Schools of Distinction Award earlier this year. Colm Ó Tuathaill outlined how it came about.  “We sat down as a school, staff and board of management recently and we set about creating a new vision for the school, and that would be an e-learning vision. We could see the benefits of ICT (Information and communications technology) and we were looking at the Department of Education’s …

Clare Fianna Fáil TD, Timmy Dooley TD has deplored the Government’s failure to make any attempt to replace two support schemes for people with disabilities that were discontinued last year. The Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant were closed to new applicants from February 2013. The Government promised last June that these schemes would be replaced. “There was outcry when the Government discontinued these two important supports for people with disabilities were cancelled last year. Almost 400 people in the Mid West are dependent on the Mobility Allowance alone. They are still in limbo as the Government drags its heels on establishing alternative support schemes. It is completely unacceptable that a year later, these people are still waiting,” said Deputy Dooley. “The Government first announced the cancellation of these schemes early last year, describing them as ‘obsolete’. It caused great distress among people with disabilities who depend on such support to maintain a level of independence. The Mobility Allowance …

A County Clare graduate will work at Navan Racecourse after she was selected as one of five Horse Racing Ireland interns. Niamh Baker from Tubber began her 12-week work placement at the Navan track last Wednesday. In November 2013, HRI launched its first Student Internship Programme, offering five placements at HRI headquarters and each of the four HRI-owned racecourses, Leopardstown, Tipperary, Navan and Fairyhouse. Over 120 applications were received from students throughout the country and 35 students were shortlisted and interviewed. Niamh has just completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at NUI Galway. Niamh grew up on a stud farm and has a keen interest in horses and horse riding. She also plays Gaelic football, camogie, basketball and soccer. As part of her role at Navan Racecourse, Niamh will be required to assist in many areas of racecourse operations such as marketing, sales, social media, website maintenance, raceday operations and the promotion of events over the summer season. Welcoming Niamh, …

A Cratloe man has won a national award for his work on walking and cycling routes. Richard Manton from the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway is the inaugural winner of the Environmental Sciences Association of Ireland (ESAI) Postgraduate Researcher of the Year Competition 2014. Richard is in the write-up stages of his PhD, working on a multi-disciplinary project, entitled Route Selection and Design of Greenways: Guidance for the Irish National Cycle Network, which combines civil engineering and social science. Many people recognise Ireland’s over reliance on the private car and a shift to walking and cycling has the potential to dramatically improve the environmental, economic and health implications of Irish transport. “In the context of the unsustainability of Irish transport and restrictions on public space, a major shift to walking, cycling and public transport is needed. Although we need to curb car use and make our roads safer, the growing number of greenways represents a step in the right direction. …

QUIN National School pupil, Lauren Wall took a persuasive writing exercise to great heights this year, when, instead of writing to her teacher like the rest of her class, she wrote to the President of Ireland. Fourth-class pupils at Scoil na Mainistreach were asked to write a letter to their teacher, Eleanor Gallagher, to try to persuade her where they would go on their school outing this summer. While the majority of the class did the task as assigned, 10-year-old Lauren took matters into her own hands and wrote to President Michael D Higgins, asking him if her class could visit him at the Áras. Her endeavour resulted in fourt- class students travelling to Dublin last Friday, for a tour of Áras an Uachtaráin. In her letter to President Higgins, which she sent on March 25 last the national school student wrote: “Hello, my name is Lauren Wall, I live in Quin, County Clare and I’m aware you are from …