Ennis

A PITCH is being made for the provision of shelters around the playing fields of an Ennis amenity to protect exposed sports fans. Ennis’ Deputy Mayor Councillor Paul Murphy says sports fans are being “drenched” on the sidelines at Active Ennis, John O’Sullivan Park, Lees Road. Speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District the councillor urged that funding be sourced to provide a large dugout or small stand to provide shelter on the perimeter of the pitches. “Provision of these would give much needed shelter from the elements to players and management of teams as well as vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled,” he urged. He said signage should be added to indicate that priority be given to vulnerable people to use the shelter. The councillor recalled his own first-hand experience of being on the side-lines recently. “The rain was falling and it really opened my eyes to what it could be like in December or …

Ennis training centre for paramedic BSc would be mutually beneficial, says Crowe THE possibility of an Ennis-based training centre for University of Limerick’s course in paramedic studies has been floated. A government minister has proposed the University of Limerick and the Clare Civil Defence should enter negotiations on the proposed establishment of a training centre for paramedics. Deputy Cathal Crowe recently asked the Minister for Education and Skills, Simon Harris if he would support proposals to develop a training centre for students of the University of Limerick’s bachelor of science in paramedic studies course at the new Civil Defence building in Ennis. Minister Harris said the best way forward would be for the Civil Defence and the University and any other relevant stakeholders to speak directly to see if there are mutually agreeable proposals that can be advanced. Deputy Crowe stated there is room to develop a paramedic training facility in Ennis. “There is a fabulous facility, which the Minister’s …

PLANS to reopen a pedestrian entrance to St Flannan’s College, not used since the 1970s, have been given the green light. Clare County Council have granted planning permission for the proposal which also paves the way for the construction of a controlled crossing point on the Clare Road. The move is part of efforts by the school to reduce car dependency and increase walking and cycling among students and staff. The board of management at the secondary school applied to Clare County Council for planning permission to re-open the entrance on the boundary wall to the Clare Road, as well as erecting a barrier and gate. The access was previously used as a pedestrian access point in the 1970s and was the school’s main access location in the 1940s and 50s. The school, with a student population of 1,181 with 100 staff, currently has one vehicular access on College View Road and two existing pedestrian access points. According to documents …

GARDAI have renewed an appeal for witnesses to an incident which occurred last Wednesday, October 27 in Ennis. A male was found with head injuries in the Clon Road area of Ennis town at around 9pm on that evening. Anyone who may have witnessed anything or may have dashcam footage from this area at the time are kindly asked to contact Ennis Garda station at 065 6848100 or any Garda station. There is one witness in particular that Gardai would like to speak to. This person assisted with traffic management before Gardai arrived at scene. The witness is a male and is described as being 5’8” in height with tight brown hair wearing grey tracksuit bottoms. Gardai are looking for this person to contact them at Ennis Garda Station.

THREE CLARE Lotto players came agonisingly close to winning the €19 million jackpot last week, matching five of the drawn numbers. Getting the five numbers last Wednesday October 27, has, however, earned 35 players around the country €22,872 each. With the jackpot again intact after Saturday’s draw another 42 players won €23,367 each. Amazingly two of the three tickets for the Wednesday October 27 draw were sold in the same Ennis shop, while the third ticket that came so close to scooping Ireland’s largest ever Lotto was sold in Corofin. The National Lottery has revealed the selling locations where each of the 35 tickets that matched five numbers in the Wednesday October 27 draw were purchased. The winning ticket holders from 13 counties will now go on to claim €22,872 each. As Wednesday night’s jackpot was capped, this meant that the funds that would usually be added to the jackpot were instead distributed to the next prize tier at which …

WHILE Ennis is in the grip of a housing crisis, the Ennis 2040 strategy suggests a significant increase in the town’s population can be accommodated. The strategy, launched by An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, proposes high density development composed mostly of two-bedroom units, with some one- and three-bed units. Up to 1,500 apartments could be developed, the strategy posits. Annual population growth of 1.6% per annum is projected, bringing the town’s population to around 37,000 by 2040, and it identifies areas where these new residents can be accommodated. First off, it says that 30 hectares of land in the town centre can be made available for housing in the inner area of Ennis. “It is envisaged that spare land capacity identified in the inner area will be used to achieve a mix of uses, in the form of a combination of commercial and residential development,” the strategy states. “Broadly speaking, a 50-50 split might result in 30 hectares of residential development …

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 …

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 …