News

IT will be lights out early in the county capital this festive season in response to the ongoing energy crisis. The Ennis Municipal District has confirmed that while the town will have its traditional Christmas lights, the festive display will shine for a reduced number of hours each evening. Details of this year’s Christmas in Ennis programme were released at the monthly meeting of the local authority this week with plans including free parking initiatives, pedestrianisation, street radio, a Christmas village and the return of retro drive-in movies. The official turning on of Ennis’ Christmas lights will take place on Friday, November 25 in Abbey Street Carpark, with the lights to stay on for 12 hours from 3pm to 3am every day. The move to reduce the time of the lights in a bid to conserve energy was welcomed by councillors at the meeting, with Deputy Mayor Mary Howard quipping, “We do our best to be on the nice list …

CLARE County Council has said that it is continuing to engage with national government and the Housing Agency on the new scheme for homeowners with defective blocks.  Despite the fact that the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme was extended to Clare and Limerick last June, the grant has still not opened to homeowners in the Mid-West. The scheme itself was revised through legislation signed by the President in July, but is still not operational in the four counties it covers. Last week, angry homeowners, facing another winter of uncertainty, told Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien of their frustration at being “trapped” in their unsafe homes. They also appealed to him to give a date for the opening of the new scheme.  In response to a query from The Champion, the Council said it is still awaiting clarity on the role of each local authority. “Since the approved inclusion of County Clare properties onto the Defective Concrete Block Redress Scheme, we are continuing to engage with …

A RECENT upsurge in the theft of catalytic converters has led gardaí in Clare to warn vehicle owners to be on the alert. At the end of last month, on October 28 at 2am, two males were seeing leaving the Rath Ban estate on the Tulla Road, Ennis after taking a catalytic converter from a car in the estate. And at 2.15am on the same night another converter was stolen from a car parked at Woodfield, Broadford. Meanwhile on October 25 between 10.30pm and 11.30pm the catalytic converter was stolen from a car parked in a shed at the rear of a house in Derreen, Miltown Malbay. “The increase in these thefts is a reflection of the rise in price of palladium and rhodium metals,” explained Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks. She advised motorists, “Defensive parking near a wall can make jacking up a vehicle difficult making this type of theft more difficult too. If you have a garage …

A LACK of pedestrian links to Tulla’s Main Street has led to a plans for a major new housing estate being turned down by Clare County Council.  After an assessment of proposals for 36 new homes on a site on Church Road, the local authority has refused permission for two reasons. Planners said the estate would be “deficient in terms of its pedestrian provision” and that its design would damage visual amenities locally.  In May, Woodhaven Developments lodged plans for the estate on a prominent greenfield site, close to Glebe House. During the public consultation phase, four submissions were made. These expressed concerns over the proposed boundary of the estate, as well as potential pedestrian access onto lands belonging to a third party.  On foot of these submissions, and separate concerns of their own, planners requested Further Information (FI) on a number of aspects of the development, including the proposed connectivity to Tulla’s Main Street. The Council also pointed out …

GARDAI have warned people to be vigilant around text message and email communication after a woman in Clare was scammed out of a significant amount of money. Clare crime prevention officer Sergeant Triona Brooks said, “During the week a lady was at home when she received a text message via WhatsApp from a person purporting to be her daughter. “The text said that she had broken her phone and needed a replacement. This person then requested money to be transferred online and attached a link. “The victim, a trusting individual did not question this at the time and clicked on the link and provided her banking details.” A sum of €550 was taken from the account of the victim in four instalments, €150 x 3 and €100 x 1 before another attempt to take €100 was declined by the lady’s bank. “This lady only realised the extent of this fraud the following day on speaking with her daughter by telephone …

GARDAI are investigating a break-in to a shop and dwelling in an east Clare village in which the owner was assaulted. At 2am on Friday last, November 4, four males broke into a shop in Whitegate by forcing windows to the rear of the shop and gaining entry to the dwelling area. The male owner was assaulted during this break-in and received injuries. The intruders made their getaway in the owner’s car which was later recovered in Whitegate. This was a very traumatic incident for the owners of the shop. Gardaí in Killaloe are appealing to anyone who may have any information in relation to this incident to contact them at Killaloe Garda Station on 061 620540 or on the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

TRANSPORT Infrastructure Ireland should be brought “kicking and screaming” before Ennis councillors to answer to ongoing traffic issues including the “serious accident waiting to happen” at the Shanaway Road and N85 junction and safety concerns at the Clareabbey Roundabout. That’s according to Ennis’ Deputy Mayor, Councillor Mary Howard who at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District suggested a so-called ‘courtesy junction’ could help alleviate traffic at the Shanaway Road junction until a permanent solution is found. She explained this would involve signage being placed ahead of the junction urging motorists to be courteous of those attempting to join the Lahinch Road from Shanaway. “It is very hard on people living and working there, on those going to play golf or staying at the hotel. They find it very hard to access the Lahinch Road and this is a new idea that could be a good solution in the interim until there is a permanent solution.” John Gannon, senior …

THE fire service in Clare had to respond to four bonfires on Halloween night, one in Shannon and the other three in the Cloughleigh area of Ennis. A spokesperson for Clare County Council said there was some trouble in dealing with the Cloughleigh bonfires. “Yes, there was opposition to the fire service when we arrived in Cloughleigh, however procedures were in place to deal with such incidents and the Fire Service worked with An Garda Síochána to respond to the calls.” Councillor Mary Howard said that many people had fun on Halloween night and children enjoyed trick or treating, but the type of anti social behaviour seen at Cloughleigh cannot be tolerated. “That kind of behaviour cannot continue. It is wrong and it has to be stamped out,” she said. “It’s a night that everyone should be able to enjoy and to be in a safe environment. Parents or whoever is in charge of those young people need to be …