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SHANNON Community Gardaí are holding a community Alert Information night on April 3 at 7.30pm. It will take place at the Garda Station and Community Garda Diarmuid O’Brien said that it is for people living on the outskirts of the town, in rural areas. “This crime prevention initiative is targeting the rural areas of Shannon in the form of Community Alert. Shannon Town is currently served by a number of Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and Business Watch Schemes which serve the Urban Residential Community and Business Community. However Community Alert is a crime prevention programme where we work in partnership with the rural community in the prevention and detection of crime.” Outlining how Community Alert works he said; “It’s based on the simple principles of being aware, being alert, being secure and being a good neighbour to those around you. We will be encouraging people to get to know their neighbours particularly those living alone, to call in and visit-it’s the …

IRELAND’S  representative on the European Parliament Transport Committee, MEP Jim Higgins has today called on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to do “whatever it takes” to ensure that the new UK truck tax which he described as “discriminatory” does not come into effect on April 1.  “I have discussed the matter with Leo Varadkar over the past number of months, and he has been successful in getting small sections of the A3 near Clones exempted, but it is not enough. The Taoiseach now needs to tell the UK that the charge is going to hurt Irish hauliers, and furthermore that it is discriminatory. The Government should examine the possibility of lodging a complaint with the European Commission on the grounds of discrimination, since the tax will affect Republic of Ireland registered trucks, but not NI registered trucks.” “The Government has to send a clear unambiguous signal to London that this kind of discrimination is not acceptable.”   “We need a proper solution …

MONDAY’S Government announcement of almost €233,000 for storm damaged Clare piers will be met with relief in the communities affected. Clare Labour TD, Michael McNamara  said that four piers will benefit from a funding package for the repair of public owned piers, harbours and slipways damaged during the winter storms. Funding for four Clare Piers is as follows: Liscannor                                             €130,950 Ballyvaughan Pier                           €65,700 Seafield Pier                                      €18,000 Kilbaha Pier                                       €18,000 “These funds will be made available to Clare County Council for the immediate repair of the piers concerned as part of an extended capital programme for 2014. I welcome the Clare allocation announced by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney,” commented Deputy McNamara. “When I met him in Liscannor, where he surveyed the storm damage, I have no doubt that the minister was shocked by the scale of the damage and that fact that he has reacted so swiftly is very good news,”  Deputy McNamara added.

THE chairperson of Moynalty Tidy Towns Committee, the overall winner of the 2013 National Tidy Towns competition, will be among the guest speakers at an information gathering of  local Tidy Towns groups this Thursday  in Áras Contae an Chláir. The event is jointly hosted by Clare County Council and Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) and will acknowledge the positive work that Tidy Towns groups are doing across the county, in a voluntary capacity, to enhance the county’s towns and villages. Speakers will include Tom Coughlan, Clare county manager; Lorraine Power, environmental consultant and Tidy Towns adjudicator; Gloria Callinan, projects coordinator, CLDC; and Peter Rogers, chairperson of Moynalty Tidy Towns. The evening will conclude with a questions and answers session which will enable groups to raise any issues in relation to the Tidy Towns competition. “This event provides me, in my role as Mayor of Clare, with a real opportunity to acknowledge the positive work that is taking place by these …

ONE of the main access roads to the Loop Head Peninsula has reopened following the severe storms that impacted the County Clare coastline during January and February. Clare County Council has completed extensive works to rebuild and repair over 100m of the regional road and coastal wall along Kilbaha Bay. This work was completed in time for the St Patrick’s weekend. The reopening of the road has been welcomed by Mayor of Clare Councillor Joe Arkins, who said: “The temporary reconstruction works were necessary to re-establish connectivity in Kilbaha and the wider Loop Head Peninsula, and are a timely boost for the upcoming tourist season. Recent weeks have already seen the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way with a number of discovery points along that route situated in the greater Loop Head area.” Works undertaken by council staff include the positioning of over 3,000 tonnes of rock armour along the seafront, 1,200 square meters of surfacing works, and the pouring …

Owen Ryan SHANNON Development has applied for planning permission to demolish buildings of over 8,000 square metres in size. In the application to Clare County County Council, it has sought planning for the demolition of existing light industrial and office buildings of approximately 8,050 square metres and permission to clear the site at Block C, Shannon Free Zone. The size of the site is 1.33 hectares and a decision on the application is due by May 1. Asked about the plans for the future of the site, Shannon Development said, “The work we are carrying out at Shannon Free Zone are part of our strategy to position this area of the zone for redevelopment, with a view to developing this site in the future.” Many of the buildings at the Free Zone are relatively old at this stage and have fallen into some disrepair. Also this week, Shannon Airport Authority have applied for planning permission for the demolition of five …

CLARE County Council plans to facilitate the development of Pumped Freshwater Hydro Energy Storage facilities in the county, similar to those already developed at Turlough Hill in County Wicklow. Three locations – Slieve Callan, Slieve Bernagh and Woodcock Hill in Meelick – have been marked as “indicative areas” for the proposed facilities, which are outlined in the newly developed Draft Clare County Renewable Energy Strategy. Commenting on the proposal to facilitate the development of PFHES facilities in the county, senior planner, Gordon Daly said such technology was “relatively underutilised in Ireland but presented significant potential for the domestic renewables sector”. Clare County Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to seek to incorporate such a renewable energy strategy into their County Development Plan. Mr Daly explained that a pumped hydroelectric energy scheme is a mechanical device for storing energy, consisting of two large reservoirs located at different elevations, typically between 200m to 300m, and a number …

A DECISION by Clare County Council to refuse planning permission for a takeaway at 1 Main Street, Lahinch, has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála. A letter sent to An Bord Pleanála on behalf of Tom Battersby, the appellant, said that he “is very aware of the significance of this prominent corner site in the physical streetscape of Lahinch and does not wish to detract from this significance in any way whatsoever. In this context, therefore, my client does not wish to introduce any type of business operation that would impact negatively on this or any part of Lahinch town.” It also stated that “a ‘takeaway’, in this particular instance, does not equate with the common or more usual definition of a takeaway facility. Typically, a ‘takeaway’ refers to a fast food facility for the sale of foodstuffs of a deep-fry variety or similar, for consumption off the premises and which are sold in paper/cardboard, cartons or the like. Generally, …