News

CONTROVERSIAL plans by Michael Lynch Ltd for a €34 million retail development on the outskirts of Ennis have been refused by An Bord Pleanála. This comes more than two years after the proposal for the site on the Limerick Road/Tobarteascain Road was originally put before Ennis Town Council, who later refused the plans in January 2012 on the grounds the development would be premature pending upgrades of waste water treatment and the implementation of the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme.This week, An Bord Pleanála upheld the decision of the local authority, in a move that has been welcomed by local campaigners against the development who had feared it would lead to a ‘doughnut effect’ in the county capital.Several attempts were made by The Clare Champion to contact Michael Lynch Ltd for comment on the decision, however, these were unsuccessful.In making its decision to refuse permission, An Bord Pleanála stated it considered the proposed development “would fail to provide for synergy …

THE principal of a small rural national school, which was broken into last week has appealed for help in recovering what was stolen. Gardaí in Ennistymon are investigating the burglary in New Quay National School between 10pm and 9am last Wednesday night where a large quantity of digital equipment was stolen.School principal Carmel Thynne has said the school community has been shocked by the break-in and is asking anyone with information to come forward.“It has been a very difficult week. We came into school on Thursday morning and saw that the school had been broken into but the steel door to the room in which the equipment was held was still closed so we thought at first that nothing had been taken. It was only when we went around the back of the school and saw the broken window that we realised whoever it was had got into the room. The glass in that room was frosted and there were …

I CAN’T even pretend to have any idea who will win the Meath East Byelection to be held before the end of the month. The best I can say is that any one of four different outcomes is possible. And that’s saying nothing.  The seat, as you know, became vacant with the tragic death before Christmas of junior minister Shane McEntee. The Fine Gael candidate is Helen McEntee, Shane’s 26-year-old daughter. She is expected to get a huge sympathy vote and is tipped in some quarters, even outside her own party, to retain the seat for Fine Gael. The Fianna Fáil candidate is Senator Thomas Byrne, a former TD who lost his seat here in the Fianna Fáil massacre at the last election. Byrne is an excellent candidate and is almost certain to be put on the front bench of the party by Micheál Martin if he wins the seat. Meath East, unlike Meath West, is not strong Sinn Féin …

AVERAGE land values in the county rose by 33% in 2012 compared to the previous year. The average price paid for an acre of land last year was €8,660, up from €6,528 in 2011.According to The Irish Farmer Journal’s annual land price magazine, last year in Clare 2,059 acres were offered for sale, up from 1,826 acres in 2011. Of the 50 farms offered for sale, 26 were parcels of under 40 acres and 22 were parcels of between 40 and 99 acres.Of those 50 farms, 56% were for sale by private treaty while 44% were by public auction. A total of 27% of the farms were sold under the hammer.Journalist Joanne Fox, author of the Land Price Report 2012, said the agricultural land market in 2012 had shown the first signs of recovery since the sudden land price collapse in 2006.She told The Clare Champion factors that heavily influenced the price paid for land around the country in 2012 …

THE St Vincent de Paul charity shop in Ennis has seen a 25% fall in donations, with other charity shops believed to be in a similar situation, as efforts are made to beat bogus collectors. Fred Hannaford, shop manager of the St Vincent de Paul on Parnell Street said well-meaning people are being duped into making donations to bogus collectors that are not going to charity. A nationwide campaign has been launched by the Irish Charity Shops Association asking the public to donate unwanted clothes and household goods to their local charity shop. From Friday, registered charity shops will be displaying Choose Charity Shops First signs in their shop windows. Among those will be the St Vincent de Paul. According to Mr Hannaford, “Our donations, like many other charity shops, are reduced by 25% and this is becoming a concern not just to us but to all charity shops. One of the reasons for this are bogus collectors who put …

THE revelation that 10 Clare farmers shared almost €839,000 between them last year under the Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFP) has sparked a huge debate among farming organisations concerning the proposed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).With additional payments under REPS, now the Agri-Environmental Option Scheme (AEOS) and the Suckler Cow Scheme, some Clare farmers received over €100,000 through the post.The Clare Champion revealed last week that one farmer, with a combination of SFP, REPS and AEOS, collected over €130,000 in 2012. This was in sharp contrast to one farmer who received less than €82 in SFP.Deeply concerned by the anomalies in the current system, the United Farmers’ Association has published its blueprint for CAP reform.UFA Clare chairman, Joe Corbett, believes it is absurd to suggest the quality of land and stocking density are the reasons for the “differences between the top 10 and bottom 10 recipients of SFP in Clare”.Citing official figures, Mr Corbett insists there is no …

CPC.IE and their founder and managing director, Tony Hynes are this year celebrating a quarter of a century delivering their award-winning and internationally acclaimed CP courses.Cpc.ie will train an incredible 15,000 drivers this year alone. However, for those who have experienced the quality and professionalism of their training, this is really no surprise. Should you care to visit cpc.ie, you will read thousands of outstanding and impressive testimonials that their students have provided.Always innovating, cpc.ie have created and sponsored Ireland’s first and only reality TV series in search of Ireland’s most professional truck driver and all four episodes of this fascinating competition can be viewed on the home page of their website. Cpc.ie are currently running a new competition seeking Ireland’s most professional truck driver 2013 and this new series will be aired on TV3 in May.Not surprising then that cpc.ie are now Ireland’s foremost transport management and driver CPC trainer. They have successfully put thousands of students through their …

“Having heard all of this you may choose to look the other way but you can never again say that you did not know.” William Wilberforce. (1759 – 1833) TEN years ago this month, the invasion of Iraq was launched. Millions protested all over the world.   They were ignored. Shannon Airport gained a lucrative revenue stream through facilitating the increase in military traffic. Thousands of American people, young and old, passed through the duty free on their way to fight, die, maim and kill on the orders of their government with the permission of ours. Protestation with regard to the moral implications of such facilitation were laughed off by the Irish Government of the time. Fianna Fáil was the main custodian of power so this is hardly surprising, given that party’s somnambulism in the moral aspects of financial acquisition. Late last week, Amnesty International published a report detailing what has gone on in that distant Gulf state since the …