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“SYSTEMATIC and organised” beggars on the streets of Ennis are taking advantage of the generosity of well-meaning local people, with some collecting up to €200 a day, it has been claimed. A meeting of the Ennis Municipal District this week heard calls for an investigation to be carried out by An Garda, Revenue and other State Agencies, with councillors saying organised begging is taking much needed funds away from local charities. The issue was highlighted by Councillor Johnny Flynn who said that people are being dropped off in the town centre to beg before being collected later. He said these are not local homeless people, but instead are “people plying their trade, it’s a business”. He insisted that Ennis is “one of the safest and friendliest towns in the country” adding he is proud of the actions of gardaí when dealing with criminal behaviour. He said that the actions of organised beggars “has to be called out” and an investigation …

THE Doolin Unit of the Irish Coastguard has been reconstituted on an interim basis and already eight members have been recruited, writes Gordon Deegan. That is according to Minister for State at the Dept of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton (FG) who said that there will be perhaps 12 members to start with for the unit to recommence its work. Minister Naughton said, “Currently, additional cover is being provided from Kilkee and Killaloe. Helicopter and other emergency services are also being provided.” In the Dail on Thursday, Minister Naughton told Deputy Darren O’Rourke (SF) the reconstitution of the unit on an interim basis involves a core group of volunteers who, the Coast Guard believes, can work and operate together. The Coast Guard has moved to reconstitute the unit after a report by mediator Kieran Mulvey in December concluded that no form of mediation would resolve matters of dispute at the unit. The Clare unit – one of the busiest in the country …

A Ukrainian woman has claimed Ryanair increased the price of a flight for refugees fleeing from her war-torn country by almost 200 Polish zloty while she was trying to complete a booking for one adult and two children on Sunday. Mariya Nikishanova was attempting to purchase plane tickets from her Ennis home for a friend, Maryna and her two children who are crossing the Polish border to help them fly from Poland to Warsaw and then onto Dublin on March 3. In an interview with the Clare Champion, she recalled she was buying the tickets for Ryanair from the Polish town. “The price was 543 zloty, she gave me the names and I put the correct spellings in, I started to buy and when I pressed pay on the Ryanair site it said to go back, I went back and the price was 715 zloty.” “In a few minutes because there is a demand they raised the price by 200, …

CLARE had 20 site visits hosted by the IDA in 2021, according to figures presented to Clare TD Michael McNamara. In a Parliamentary Question to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise; Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, Mr McNamara asked for a breakdown of the number of site visits hosted by the IDA in Clare, Galway and Limerick in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The figures for Clare were 2019 – 28; 2020 – 16 and 2021 – 20. In each year the number for Clare was lower than the two other counties. Clare had 64 visits over the three years while Galway had 98 and Limerick had 120. The figures includ e-Site visits, which were obviously more practical during the various lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. The written response to the Parliamentary Question also stated, “In response to COVID, IDA migrated many of its business development and client engagement activities to digital platforms during 2020. “IDA Ireland has developed a suite …

THE Russian ambassador to Ireland Yuri Filatov should be sent home, Senator Timmy Dooley believes, having been part of a campaign of misinformation in the build-up to his country’s invasion of Ukraine.  “I’m very slow to say things like that, I’m not given to that kind of carry-on, calling for people to be expelled, but I just think it has reached a threshold beyond which general diplomacy isn’t relevant. He has told lies all the way through. What purpose does it serve any of us having an actor in place who is not telling the truth?  “We’ve often had countries like that, but the ambassador would shut his mouth, he’d stay back from the front line and would remain behind the scenes and act as a back channel to the jurisdiction. “Of course they’d represent their country, but if they couldn’t tell you the truth they’d say nothing. This fella’s actions and his utterances were absolutely part of the campaign …

A FAMILY who left Ennis in recent years have opened their hearts, and their home, close to the Polish / Ukraine border to those fleeing the Russian invasion. Marcin Piotrowski and his wife Marina Sestasvili-Piotrowska who lived in Ennis for more than a decade with their children have been playing a key role in providing support to Ukrainian people escaping the conflict. As well as giving Ukrainians refuge in their guest house Chutor Gorajec in Poland, just a few kilmotres from the border, they have also been co-ordinating the gathering and distribution of vital supplies including food, tents, medicines and blankets for those still waiting to cross the border. Marcin and other volunteers regularly cross the border into Ukraine to bring donations to those in need, while Marina looks after those who have come to their guest house seeking shelter. A warehouse has been set up to house the donations which have been flooding in from all parts of Poland …

AMERICAN accents will be heard around Clare more frequently from next Thursday, with transatlantic flights finally resuming from Shannon. With Americans well known as big spenders, it is great news for the Banner’s tourism sector, which has had to cope without them for the last two years. Maurice Walsh is general manager of Durty Nelly’s in Bunratty and he said the return of the Americans will be very welcome. “We are looking forward to it with anticipation. It’s going to be a great bonus to the airport and a great bonus to the area. The flights at Shannon at the moment are really just moving Irish people in and out of the country, but the American flights will bring the tourists back into the area.” He says that he expects business to pick up significantly. “We have a lot of bookings at the start of next week. It’s the usual St Patrick’s Day rush that comes in through Shannon. They …

WITH her grandmother in a war zone, every day is filled with worry for Vlada Gorbunova, who lives in Ennis, having arrived in Ireland as a six-year-old child in 1997. “You’re constantly worried that you could get that phone call or text message, to say something happened. It could be the worst, or it could be that she lost her home where she’s lived for 40 years or more, that she has nowhere to go and I can’t give her a hand because I can’t get that deep into Ukraine. “It’s constant worry and constant stress and every time my phone rings I’m thinking it’s her ringing to say that something has happened,” she says. Her grandmother is in Luhansk, in the east of the country, and fighting is happening all around her. “I know they were shooting this morning, because when I rang her you could hear the gunfire behind her. She had to hang up very quickly and …