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THE proposed abolition of Ennis Town Council will create a “vacuum” that could effect the development, not only of Ennis but the entire county if countermeasures are not put in place, Ennis’ town manager has stated.Ger Dollard was speaking in response to calls for the implementation of a ‘town team’ in Ennis tasked with boosting business and the town’s profile. Mr Dollard commented, “The status of a town team will need to be reviewed in the context of the implementation of the Government’s reform programme for local government. “Any new structures must ensure a clear focus on the future development of Ennis, as the absence of Ennis Town Council as an entity with a sole focus on the town of Ennis will create a vacuum that needs to be adequately filled for the continued development of Ennis and the wider county.”The idea for the town team, put forward by Councillor Johnny Flynn and following the model set out by Retail …

I learned a long time ago that you should never predict anything in politics because anything might or might not happen. Just as in sport, you are quite liable to get an outcome nobody was expecting.However, I am going to put my neck on the block this time and hope the axe doesn’t fall. I am predicting that Fine Gael and Labour will still be in power this time next year despite having a very rocky road to travel over the next 12 months. I will even go further and predict that they will still be together in two years’ time.Yes, a week is a long time in politics and a year is 52 times longer and yes, the stability of this Government will be severely tested on a number of issues throughout 2013. But the two parties in the coalition will continue to believe that their only hope for survival will be to stick together, even if they have …

The Citizens Information Centre (CIC) in Ennis is reminding consumers in Clare that their Consumer’s rights when buying in the January sales are the same as they are at any other time.According to the CIC, goods, including sale items, must be fit for the purpose for which they are sold and be durable as can be expected having regard to the price paid for them and any other factor about them that may be relevant.“We get a lot of queries this time of the year in relation to goods bought in the sales,” said Paul Woulfe, manager of the Citizens Information Service. “Be careful about buying for other people in the sales. Remember, the purchaser is the ‘person with the statutory consumer rights’ so articles bought as such as gifts, which may not fit the recipient or are otherwise unacceptable to them, may not be so easily exchanged or the cost reimbursed. This rule-of-thumb is good at all times but …

CLARE’S County Pound is gearing itself up for an extremely busy start to the New Year. According to county dog warden Frankie Coote, “People have been calling us about unwanted dogs and we have been encouraging them to hold on to them over the Christmas period if possible. We are expecting it to get really busy here over the next few weeks. On average we have anything up to 15 dogs a week come into us as strays, and another 15 that are brought in to us by owners who are unable to keep their animals. We are being put under an awful strain here.”Mr Coote highlighted that one of the major concerns regarding animal welfare, particularly in recent weeks, is people leaving their pets when travelling away from home.“This is something that comes up a lot over the Christmas, and also when people go away in the summer. People going away and leaving their animals either unattended or leaving …

THE annual GOAL Mile has been hailed a great success with plenty of participants and supporters turning out for the event on Christmas morning in the Fair Green, Ennis. Mary Collins, local organiser said, “A great crowd turned out, young and old. There was a little rain but mostly blue skies. It was fantastic to see the usual participants who have been doing the Mile since the beginning and we gave a big welcome to the new people. “I would like to sincerely express my appreciation to everybody for attending and making a donation to the work of GOAL worldwide, and those who made a donation and couldn’t attend on the day.”Photos from the event can be seen on the Facebook page GOAL Mile Ennis.The GOAL Mile is held all over Ireland every Christmas and is one of the country’s biggest and longest-running annual fundraising events. The concept is simple, people run or walk a mile and donate whatever they …

The new year is upon us. Once more we cross the boundary on the calendar and tell ourselves that it represents something in the real world as well as just on the wall chart.In the spirit of the occasion, I am making a new year’s wish. It is born of a Christmas argument I had on the subject of unions. My wish is that the leaders of Ireland’s unions would take a similar cut to their salaries as those being endured by their members. It is not an unreasonable wish as far as I’m concerned and yet, in reality, I believe that my wish may not be granted. I’ll start at the beginning. The discussion which led me to my consideration of this issue was an attack, by those in my company, of the very concept of unions. The argument ran along these lines. “There is enough EU legislation these days to protect workers-rights so there is no need for …

Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Daly has accused Environment Minister Phil Hogan of “reneging” on promises made to two local Fine Gael Deputies about recouping the €243,000 withheld from Clare County Council due to poor national collection rates for the controversial Household Charge.It now seems highly unlikely that the council will receive €243,000, which was part of its initial allocation for the 2012 third quarter, pending a national review of the national return from the Household Charge.This is despite the fact that Clare had the 13th highest compliance rate, with a return of 73.23% as of December 28, out of 34 local authorities.According to figures provided by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), €3,414,477 was collected from the Household Charge in Clare up to December 30 including €118,450 in direct debits and €3,296,027 in non-direct debits.Councillor Daly recalled Clare Deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey made a commitment at a special meeting of Clare County Council that the €243,000 that …

FROM this week, all new cars bought in Clare will have a new number plate. Instead of 13-CE the new number plate will be 131-CE. Alan Nolan, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said, “While it is too early to tell how new car sales are doing, given that it is only the first day of sales, there certainly has been a lot of interest from the public in the new number plate. Only time will tell what impact the new plate might have on sales but we expect demand to increase when we begin to see new cars on the road.”This new plate format will be in place each year from now on.SIMI has also just released new car sales figures for 2012. New car sales are down 12% on 2011 at 79,498. “This figure is very much in line with our predictions,” Mr Nolan stated. December new car sales are down 15% on …