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EIGHT garda stations are to close in Clare and the county’s garda districts are being halved, following the findings of a review of the garda district and station network announced by Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan on Wednesday. Clare has four garda districts, which had each been headed up by a superintendent, atthey are Ennis, Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe. On Wednesday, Commissioner Callinan announced these districts would be amalgamated into two, namely Ennis and Kilrush. While the stations in Ennistymon and Killaloe will remain open, they will lose district status and their superintendent will be transferred out. In South Galway, Gort and Loughrea, garda districts are to be amalgamated into one, based in Loughrea. Also, as part of the plan, the following Clare garda stations are due to close: Quin, Inagh, Lahinch, Broadford, Mountshannon, Doonbeg, Kilmihil and Labasheeda. They are to be consolidated with other stations in their areas. South Galway is also affected and closures include garda stations at Tynagh, …

A 90-year-old Ennis man has described as “insulting” a letter he received from the HSE asking if he still needs treatment – 12 years after he was first referred by his doctor. Kevin Stapleton from College Green had been suffering with his instep when he was referred by his doctor to the Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Croom back in December 2000. He never got an appointment but last week he received a letter asking him to confirm if he still needs treatment. The HSE gave him two weeks to respond. “That letter is a joke, after 12 years I think it’s insulting to get this,” Mr Stapleton said. When contacted by The Clare Champion, the HSE apologised for any upset caused and outlined that every acute hospital is engaged in validating its outpatient waiting list as part of a national programme to improve services. Mr Stapleton said, “I was suffering with a lump in my instep. I couldn’t get my …

CLARE Labour TD Michael McNamara will not vote against some of the main taxation provisions in Budget 2013, despite dissatisfaction with the Government’s failure to introduce a tax on annual pensions over €100,000. According to reports on Wednesday morning, Deputy McNamara was considering his support for the main taxation provisions. He told The Clare Champion he had robustly argued for the introduction of an additional 3% Universal Social Charge for pensioners earning over €100,000 at Labour Party parliamentary meetings behind closed doors. “A new solidarity tax would not have raised enough money to avoid making significant savings elsewhere but it would have shown we are all in this together,” he said. Deputy McNamara said he is unhappy that self-employed business people, who create employment, pay a universal social charge of 10% and argued that former government ministers, high paid civil servants and bankers receiving large pensions should be contributing a lot more in taxation. While Deputy McNamara supports the removal …

FORMER Mayor of Clare, Flan Garvey has been accused of plagiarising sections of his thesis for a master’s degree at Tralee Institute of Technology, where he is currently chairman of the governing body. The former Fianna Fáil three-term councillor received his master of arts degree in 2008 but it emerged this week that 26 staff have written to college registrar Dr Michael Hall alleging his dissertation, A study of the Saiocht of a parish in County Clare, contains large sections of text identical to earlier publications. When contacted by The Clare Champion, Mr Garvey, a retired principal of St Flannan’s National School in Inagh, said, “On legal advice, I have no comment to make on those articles but will get back to you with comment in time, when advised. It may be of interest to note there are up to 500 staff members in IT Tralee”. The college lecturers allege Mr Garvey’s dissertation, which had been supervised by a senior …

WEDNESDAY marked International Day of the Volunteer. For the 100 plus volunteers and 40 groups that were involved in the Clare Volunteer Centre’s Knitting Our Community Together project, it was the day they first got to see the unveiling of Clare’s first-ever knitted poem. The foyer of Glór in Ennis was brimming with anticipation as RTÉ sports commentator Marty Morrissey officially launched the 14ft x 9ft knitted art piece celebrating Clare’s tightly knit communities. It was also the first time people got a chance to see and hear the poem written by Ciarán Collins who won the Clare Volunteer Centre’s poetry competition held earlier this year. Ciarán was presented with his prize of an Apple iPad by Vincent Hely, ActionPoint Technology, while the 10 runner-ups, Tanya Arthur, Andrew McCarthy, Amy Lenihan, Dale Woodland, Ciara Duggan, Tadhg Collins, Sadbh Dunne, Mary Kate Clancy, Nell Hartney and Deborah Lenihan were presented with €50 Ennis Gold Vouchers sponsored by local Credit Unions. As …

A PROPOSED car park in the Burren National Park has sparked another planning controversy, 11 years after the ill-fated interpretative €4.8 million centre was demolished at the conclusion of a lengthy court battle. The Burren Action Group (BAG), who were involved in the last campaign back in the ’90s, has condemned a planning application by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) for a 27-space car park at Knockaunroe near Mullaghmore as “piecemeal” and “premature” in its comprehensive hard-hitting objection lodged with the local planning authority. Their concerns are shared by An Taisce Built Environment and Heritage Officer, Ian Lumley who has requested the National Parks and Wildlife Service to withdraw its proposal. Mr Lumley stated any further plan should only be presented after proper public consultation on the updating of the management plan for the park and provision of a plan for a candidate special area of conservation. The NPWS has lodged plans with the council for a car …

THE cost of damages after an arson attack on three units in the Beechpark Traveller accommodation site at the weekend is estimated to be around €80,000, Clare County Council has confirmed. The council is paying €3,000 a week for round-the-clock security. One serviced bay unit was completely destroyed and two others suffered damage as a result of the vandalism in the early hours of Sunday morning. Residents of the only occupied unit at the accommodation site were away from their home at the time and nobody was injured. Gardaí in Ennis are continuing their investigation into the incident and a technical examination of the site has been carried out. It is understood the perpetrators gained entry by scaling the wall at the rear of the development. Chairperson of the Clare Traveller Accommodation Committee, Brian Meaney has questioned if it is time to “draw a line” on the site and render it inaccessible. According to a spokesperson for the housing section …

This week saw the launch of the second edition of Clare Youth Service’s highly acclaimed The Book, a publication designed to provide young people with the best information about the key issues in their lives. Aimed at the 15-18 age group, the first edition of The Book in 2006 proved a big hit with Clare’s young population and there has been huge demand for an updated version. Clare Local Development Company and the HSE have now helped to fund a new edition. The content has been determined by young people through an extensive countywide consultation process. Not surprisingly, much of the new content areas relate to the digital era but traditional issues also remain prominent. Social networking and cyber bullying are included for the first time while sexual and mental health, healthy eating and attitudes to the body also have their own sections, as do ‘leaving home’ and study tips. The Book has been produced to address difficult areas of …