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A JUDGE has given the go-ahead for a Covid-19 vaccine to be administered to a disabled 15-year-old boy against the wishes of the boy’s mother, writes Gordon Deegan. At the Family Law Court in Ennis, Judge Mary Larkin has used a provision in the Child Care Act to allow the Child and Family Agency (CFA) to proceed with the vaccination of the teenager. Solicitor for the CFA, Muiris Gavin told Judge Larkin that the boy’s mother was opposed to him being vaccinated. Judge Larkin granted the order to the CFA under Section 47 of the Childcare Act after the boy’s GP in a letter stated that due to his disabilities the boy “is at risk of serious and potentially fatal complications should he contract the Covid 19 infection”. The court heard that the boy has told his dedicated social worker that he wants the vaccine so that he can go out to town and the cinema again. Judge Larkin said …

THE Ennis 2040 plan envisages attracting at least one large multinational employer by 2025, writes Owen Ryan. The document stresses that multinationals are a significant part of the Irish economy with the country recently reaching its highest ever number of people employed by foreign companies. According to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), some 229,057 people as of January 2019 are employed by multinationals, with 58% of those people being employed in locations outside of Dublin. It acknowledges, however that multinationals are only one part of a sustainable economic mix and must be combined with strong support indigenous enterprise and SMEs. Strong employment growth in the sector at 7% in 2018 as compared to 3% in the rest of the economy would suggest that this is a sector that should be specifically targeted. Research also shows that for every ten jobs created through foreign direct investment, eight jobs are created in the local economy in retail, service and other spin off …

ALMOST one in 14 Clare people have had Covid-19, while the Ennistymon Local Electoral Area is one of Ireland’s blackspots for the virus at the moment, being the sixth worst in the country. Up until midnight on Sunday, 8,221 people in Clare had contracted Covid-19 at some point. The Ennistymon Local Electoral Area was the sixth worst area of the country for prevalence of Covid in the 14 days up to October 18, the most recently available figures. With a population of 16,408 in the Ennistymon LEA, there were 171 cases in the two week period. To put it in context, the Ennistymon LEA had a 14-day incidence rate of 1,042.2 per 100,000 of population. That is more than twice the national average figure of 493. The Ennis Local Electoral Area was also well in excess of the national average, with a rate of 672.9 cases per 100k of population.  The other three Local Electoral Areas in the county, Killaloe, …

AN Tánaiste Leo Varadkar had high praise for the Ennis 2040 plan, saying he wanted to stress the Government is behind it.  “It’s a really ambitious plan for Ennis, which is the largest town in Munster, Co Clare’s capital town and the public and private sector have come together to develop a really exciting plan to increase the population of the town by 1.6% a year, to secure 5,000 jobs for the town and to develop the whole concept of Ennis being a ten minute town, where everything you need or want is within a ten minute walk or cycle of where you live. “It’s really ambitious and I’m here not just to launch it but to offer Government support and endorsement. I think it’s exactly the kind of thing we want to see other county towns developing around the country. I’m really excited to see it being launched today and look forward to it being implemented.” At the moment …

THERE was good news for Shannon this morning as Aer Lingus committed to restoring key services from Shannon and it continued this afternoon with United Airlines announcing it will resume Shannon-Newark/New York from March 27 of next year. Mary Considine, CEO of Shannon Group said: “The restoration of this service is another welcome boost for transatlantic connectivity to our region and the broader west of Ireland. “United Airlines is a highly valued airline partner of Shannon and we are delighted to have been able to work with them to restore this vital transatlantic service. Its restoration is a vote of confidence by the airline and another major milestone as we continue to rebuild Shannon Airport’s air services and fulfil our role as an economic driver for tourism, business and social connectivity.” Ms Considine said it is more great news for the airport, as it emerges from the pandemic. “Earlier today Aer Lingus announced its return on JFK New York and …

WITH a €3 million redevelopment of the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point coming, owner John Burke is looking to fill 100 positions and is also trying to offer his staff working conditions far better than what one normally sees in the sector.  While the hospitality industry has often been associated with tough working environments, modest pay and unsociable hours, Mr Burke, who famously climbed Mount Everest in 2017, says he wants to offer his workers some of the perks that are associated with certain multinational companies. “A lot of multinationals have brought certain conditions and perks to the employment scene in Ireland and maybe it’s time for the hospitality sector to start looking to them, seeing what they’re providing and wherever possible to try and introduce that.” “That’s where we’re at now, looking at the best employers that are out there, what are they doing and how can we bring that into the hospitality sector,” he said this week. In …

The award had been made after the man’s daughter had been enrolled in a secondary school without him being consulted, writes Gordon Deegan A JUDGE has overturned a state watchdog ruling that a Clare father was discriminated against because he was a man in a row over his daughter’s school enrolment. At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Brian O’Callaghan stated that he could find no evidence that the father was discriminated against by the Clare secondary school’s Board of Management concerning his daughter’s enrolment, because he was a man. The ruling by Judge O’Callaghan also overturns the €3,500 award made to the man two years ago at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) concerning his Equal Status discrimination claim. The case came before the Circuit Court following the school board of management appealing the WRC ruling from 2019. Counsel for the school board of management told Judge O’Callaghan that the judgement “was a very important judgement not just for parties involved but …

A GARDA investigation has commenced after a man was found with serious injuries in Ennis last night. At around 9pm the emergency services were summoned after the man, who is understood to be in his thirties, was found unconscious at a location on Clon Road, between the Quin Road roundabout and the junction for Toberteascáin. He was taken to hospital in Limerick and is understood to be in a serious condition. Gardai have been making enquiries in the area and anyone with information is asked to contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100.