News

A North Clare student, supported by the Union of Students of Ireland, has filed a Supreme Court Appeal against “unfair and unjust cuts” to student grants.

RESIDENTS opposing the construction of large-scale wind farms in Clare have been invited to attend the first meeting to establish a new national wind energy group.

COUNTY Clare had one of the highest percentage of yes votes in the country in last week’s Fiscal Stability Treaty Referendum. Nearly two-thirds of voters in the county were in favour of the treaty after weeks of lobbying from the county’s four TDs.

PRODUCTION at the Finsa Forest Products Ltd Plant in Scariff may have come to an end in December 2010 but it seems any hopes of returning to production are now at an end as it has emerged the company has sold its production line.

COMMENT  

EDITORIAL OVER the years Shannon Airport has found itself in the eye of several political storms. Another is now brewing.  

THE Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) group, which includes the three State airports Dublin, Cork and Shannon, would be loss-making were it not for Aer Rianta International (ARI), its 2011 annual report shows.ARI was started by Shannon-based executives in the late 1980s but the Clare airport is about to lose any claim to it or its profits, when it exits the DAA group in the coming months. It is something that Shannon interests have railed against, claiming it is a severe injustice to take something developed in Shannon under the Aer Rianta structure and present it to the airport with most passengers and advantages.According to the DAA annual report, published at the weekend, Shannon had by far the lowest passenger numbers of the three State airports last year (at 1,625,453, compared to 2,361,947 at Cork and 18,740,593 at Dublin) but a DAA spokesman said Cork is making far greater losses.“Cork Airport lost €14 million last year after interest and depreciation costs, …