News

FINE Gael’s deputy spokesperson on foreign affairs, Pat Breen has expressed his concern at the news that agreement has not yet been finalised which would see funding released to assist the 2,400 workers made redundant in the computer industry, including former employees of Dell.

Opinion PROPOSED job losses and the shrinking of its transatlantic operations at Shannon has, for many people in this region, pointed to Aer Lingus’ lack of any serious commitment to the airport.

Opinion It was a week of some major political promises: Finance Minister Brian Lenihan promised us a savage budget in December. And Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny promised to get rid of the Seanad and to reduce the number of TDs by at least 20.

THE number of Clare women and children seeking emergency accommodation in an Ennis-based refuge to escape domestic violence and abuse has almost doubled over the last 12 months, it emerged this week. According to official figures released by Clare Haven Services, 122 women and 235 children were forced to use their six-family purpose-built accommodation up to September 30 last compared to 69 women and 117 children for the same period last year.

WITH the dust settling after the Aer Lingus announcement of job losses and pay cuts for staff, Clare TDs met with the airline’s director of corporate affairs, Enda Corneille this week. Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley met Mr Corneille on Tuesday and was told that Dublin isn’t doing better than Shannon in terms of transatlantic flights, the sector of business where the airline is making its biggest losses.

Three Clare men and a Cork man are aiming to lead the way with an innovative aviation initiative, which could see charter seaplanes operating out of Mountshannon in East Clare by 2010 and could generate up to 60 jobs nationally. Harbour Air Ltd has lodged the first of a series of planning applications to develop a seaplane tourism business.

If the West Clare Railway is to establish a link from Kilrush to Moyasta and then on towards Kilkee, Cross Fine Gael county councillor Gabriel Keating has predicted that houses may have to be flattened and right-of-ways extinguished if the scope of the railway line is to be successfully extended.