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PROGRESS with the provision of additional classrooms at an East Clare secondary school is moving as quickly as possible, the Minister for Education has said. Minister Norma Foley gave the assurance on the long-awaited new rooms, which will include facilities for practical work, in response to a question from Deputy Cathal Crowe. The Meelick man raised the issue in the Dáil, asking for an update and timeline on the works. In response, Minister Foley confirmed that, under Project 2040, under her Department’s Additional Accommodation Scheme two new mainstream classrooms are to be provided as well as a metalwork room and a woodwork room. She confirmed that the project has been “devolved for delivery to Limerick and Clare ETB (LCETB)”. “In respect of Scariff Community College, the project was approved in February 2017 and proceeded through the various stages of the architectural planning process thereafter,” Minister Foley outlined. “A Stage 1/2A report was received in May 2018 in that respect and …

A CLARE senator has been sharply critical of damage to rural roads by forestry operators, writes Fiona McGarry. Senator Martin Conway raised the issue with the minister with responsibility for the sector, Senator Pippa Hackett last week. The Ennistymon native told Minister Hackett that Coillte and other operators were ‘wrecking’ roads. The Fine Gael member called for forestry operators to be required to set aside funds to pay for the repair of damage. He also voiced concerns about “non-existent” communication from operators with the local authority. “The problem is when Coillte, for example, goes in and fells trees, unfortunately the roads, which are largely built on bog, are not able to handle the heavy goods vehicles that are transporting the timber,” Senator Conway said. “This has caused a major problem for people who live in the area, such as farmers and families who use the roads and the local authority. “The issue is that the local authority could have resurfaced …

THE Banner county’s property market is scorching hot according to a number of recent indicators. Research from Daft.ie this week shows that rents in the county are now more than twice what they were at the low point of the crash. The latest Daft.ie rental price report states that rents here were 15.7% higher in the final quarter of 2021 compared to the final quarter of 2020. The average asking price to rent a property in Clare is now 102% above its lowest point. Daft.ie is an extremely popular portal for people looking to rent a home, and on Tuesday it showed just 18 properties available to rent in the whole county, illustrating how tight the market is. One crumb of comfort for renters is that the rate of increase in price does seem to be slowing. The increase in the last quarter of the year was 1.6%, whereas year on year it was 15.7%. According to Daft.ie it is …

A LOTTERY player in Clare has won €30.9m in Friday Night’s EuroMillions Draw. The Banner county player has officially taken the title of 17th EuroMillions jackpot winner ever seen in Ireland following last night’s life-changing win. Before Friday night’s celebratory win, the last EuroMillions jackpot won in Ireland was in July 2020 by an online player in Dublin who won a €49.5 million jackpot. The winning numbers in Friday’sEuroMillions draw were: 13, 18, 38, 42, 45 and lucky stars 07, 11. The National Lottery are urging players in the Banner county to check their tickets very carefully today as one lucky player in Ireland now has a ticket worth €30,928,078. The winner is advised to sign the back of their ticket and to keep it in a safe place. The Clare player should make contact with the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie and arrangements will be made for them to claim their hugely …

THE Covid-19 pandemic has left it mark on Clare County Council’s coffers, writes Dan Danaher, following an 8.1% rise in the overall amount of uncollected commercial rates, which soared to €11.619 million on December 13 last. Numerous businesses throughout the county were forced to either scale down their operations or close for extended periods due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021. New figures obtained by the Clare Champion have revealed the rates arrears increased from €10.78 million at the end of 2017 to €11.619 million on December 13, 2021. A buoyant local and national economy helped the overall rates arrears bill to fall to €10,465 million in 2018 and it fell again to €10.043 million in 2019. However, the onset of the pandemic seems the most likely cause of an increase to €11.578 million in 2020 and €11.619 million in 2021. The figures, which were released under the Freedom of Information Act, show one large business in the county …

TOURISM enterprises around Lough Derg are looking forward to a wave of international business next August thanks to the staging of the Fireball World Championships in the locality, writes Dan Danaher. This will be the first Fireball World Championship since Montreal in 2019 so there is significant interest around the globe, with international teams already booking their accommodation and making travel arrangements. The International Fireball is a high-performance two-person racing dinghy popular in Ireland and around the world. The dinghy class has a small local presence in Dromineer and a larger one in Killaloe SC and in the Dublin Bay waterfront clubs. At the time of writing, teams are expected to flock to the Lough Derg Yacht Club in Dromineer from Australia, Canada, the US, France, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic and South Africa, along with a large contingent from the UK and a rapidly growing local fleet. The organisers have predicted the Fireball event should provide a significant boost …

DEPUTY Timmy Dooley has said he stands over his decision to post a photo on social media of members of a drag hunt last weekend, writes Fiona McGarry. That is despite the controversy that erupted on his Facebook page in the aftermath. The post, which commented that it was great to see people out on a bright winter afternoon, generated 219 comments and 274 other responses. “Unlike others, I don’t delete posts or cancel people who disagree with me,” Deputy Dooley told The Champion. “I’m not into hunting myself and have never been to a hunt, but there are people who are involved. Equally, there are others who hold a different view. “I’m delighted that my Facebook page was able to facilitate a debate between people of different opinions, because we need to be open to debate. “This could have just as easily been a discussion on local radio. Social media is another place where people go to air their …

CLARE’S Green Senator has described the new national retrofitting scheme as a “game changer” for those living in fuel poverty, writes Fiona McGarry. Róisín Garvey told The Champion the issue prompted her to enter politics in the first place, after her own personal experiences as a young mother. On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved a scheme that aims to retrofit 500,000 homes by the end of the decade. Launching the scheme, the Green Party leader said the scheme would help reduce the cost of living, particularly heating bills. The programme would see up to 80% of the cost of smaller insulation works met by the State. “When I lived in a house in Ennistymon with my young son, I couldn’t afford to put the heat on,” she told The Champion. “When I told the landlord, he pumped the walls and insulated the attic and we were never cold again. That was a game changer. This scheme is one of the reasons …