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IT is full steam ahead for Clare’s rail services after a new date for the opening of the Ennis to Galway route was announced this week. It was also revealed that the Department of Transport is to examine the flooding on the line between Ennis and Limerick, which has caused disruption to services in the past.The opening of the Ennis to Athenry railway line has been delayed a number of times in the past two years but will now go ahead at the end of next month, according to Iarnród Éireann.The €106.5 million new route will be officially launched on March 29, with services beginning the following day.“Following the completion of the rebuilding of the Ennis to Athenry line and the receding of recent flooding between Limerick and Ennis, a full schedule will operate from March 30,” Iarnród Éireann claimed in a statement.Dealing with the subject of flooding, Jimmy Meade of Iarnród Éireann attended this week’s meeting of Clare County …

A development blueprint for the Mid-West over the next 12 years has been described as a “con-job” by a former Mayor of Clare.Councillor Tommy Brennan made the charge at a Clare County Council meeting on Monday during stinging criticism from councillors about the impact of the draft Mid-West Regional Authority guidelines 2010 to 2022 on Clare.Councillor Brennan claimed that the document attempted to promote Limerick City at the expense of retail development in County Clare and didn’t contain any proposals to stimulate enterprise or jobs in the Banner County.Officials from the Mid-West Regional Authority were taken aback by the vehement opposition to the plan from councillors, after they were provided with an informative briefing by authority official, Dick Tobin.It is expected that substantial amendments will be presented by Clare councillors after Councillor P J Kelly claimed at the meeting that some of the measures for population control were akin to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.Councillor Kelly warned councillors that the new regional …

THE products on sale from head shops may be just as damaging as what is available on the black market, according to Frank Hunt, treatment manager at Bushypark Treatment Centre in Ennis.“I would be extremely concerned, frightened indeed, about the effects that they would have on people who take them,” Mr Hunt told The Clare Champion.He said the fact the products are available over the counter does not mean they are safe.“I would be very concerned that they cause long-term psychological damage. The fact that they are available legally leads people to believe they can take a careless approach to what they’re putting into their bodies. Because it’s legal, it creates that mindset but the products have effects that are very similar to the most dangerous psychotic drugs.”Mr Hunt said that many people had come to Bushypark with problems surrounding the types of products available in head shops.Schools from around Clare were represented at a seminar held in Ennis this …

INTERNAL consultations going on over the past two weeks are set to bring an end to the separate identities and powerful status of the two SIPTU branches at Shannon.In a twin movement towards a regional structure and sector specialisation by union officials which will apply nationwide, union officials have been brought into a consultation process to work out the sectors they are most suited and keen to operate in and also to check out the regional centres that they would favour to working from.Implementation of the new structure will mean an end to the Shannon Aviation branch and to the branch that was set up and sited from the outset on Shannon Industrial Estate, which is now Shannon Free Zone. Established following the strike of 1951, that unionised the Shannon Sales and Catering Service when it provided jobs for approximately 1,000, the union branch at the airport was one of the first in the country to have union dues deducted …

I DIDN’T think I’d be back so soon talking about Enda Kenny’s leadership of Fine Gael, having dealt with that matter here only a few weeks ago.But George Lee’s sudden and shock departure from Fine Gael and the Dáil, only eight months after his election, raises the question once more.I have been listening to politicians from all sides – Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and the rest – telling us that George Lee was not cut out for politics. That he couldn’t hack it and that he should have stayed where he was at RTÉ.Yes. Yes. Yes. Perhaps they are right. But l believe he is a terrible loss to Irish politics and that he probably would have had a lot to contribute.But I can understand him and I understand his motives for entering politics and for leaving it so soon afterwards.He was wasting his time in the Dáil. And the vast majority of members of that exclusive club are …

An East Clare Councillor has warned that an amenity area at Whitesands in Flagmount may have to be barricaded up to the visiting public, if something is not done to eliminate anti-social behaviour there at night.Councillor Pat Hayes heavily criticised the use of the Whitesands amenity area by motorists who he claimed “do 360° turns and are engaged in anti-social behaviour”. “This is an ongoing problem. I spoke before about closing the place down altogether and it looks like we might have to do that. This kind of thing is going on all night and it’s a constant occurrence. The community are very upset and feel intimidated in their homes,” he said. The situation was exacerbated last weekend when locks were cut off the gates to the tarmaced public area. “The gates were cut, which is criminal damage. The gardaí have been informed and I hope they investigate and take this matter seriously and that the full force of the …

USING sheep to keep the grass down in housing estates and green areas around Clare was proposed at the February meeting of Clare County Council but it didn’t get much support.The proposal was made by Councillor Brian Meaney, who claimed that some British councils are doing the same thing. He was met with some heckles from opposing councillors, who claimed he was only looking for attention. “You’ll get your headlines,” one shouted.“From some councillors, I’ve been told the motion will be a lamb to the slaughter but it needs to be considered,” said Councillor Meaney, introducing the motion.Councillor Meaney said that grass-cutting costs the council €500,000 a year and that this money could go elsewhere.However, in her reply, Nora Kaye, director of services, was against the proposal.“The vast majority of green areas in housing estates are adjacent to, or in some cases surrounded by, public roads. These green areas are also multi-functional in that they create a sense of space …

A controversial development proposed for the old convent building on the Lahinch Road, Ennistymon will not now go ahead after the application was withdrawn from Clare County Council.The planning application made by Thomas Fitzgerald, Banna Developments, through Kerry architect Oliver Daly was for a 30-apartment sheltered housing scheme.The development was to include the refurbishment, extension and alteration of the existing convent building into 12 apartments, incorporating a day room, doctor’s room and laundry room, as well as the construction of a separate three-storey apartment block at the rear of the convent building, consisting of 18 apartments, ancillary site services, including car parking and all associated site works.The application submitted last September attracted submissions from the boards of management and parents’ associations of Scoil Mhaincain Primary School and Scoil Mhuire Convent of Mercy, both located close to the site of the proposed development.In a submission from the parents’ association of Scoil Mhuire, it was stated that members believed “the proposed development, …