Regional

STATE-of-the-art digital speed signs, which have been credited with reducing the speed of traffic on the Tulla Road, are set to be further rolled out on Cusack Road.Calls have been made to put in place even more of the solar-powered signs in the Ennis West electoral area.At a recent meeting of Ennis West Electoral Area Councillor Tony Mulqueen urged the council install more of the signs saying, “They are proving very helpful to road users making them aware of speed zones”.“They are excellent, of all of the things I have seen done over the last few years, they are just brilliant.”Eamon O’Dea, senior executive engineer for the Ennis Electoral Area informed the meeting, “Ennis Town Council provided four digital speed signs on the Tulla Road as part of their 2011 road works programme. Provision has been made in the Ennis Town Council Roadwork’s programme for the provision of two further digital speed signs on Cusack Road.”He stated that in meetings …

THE Ennis Innovate regional innovation centre has proven to be a success, with even more start-up businesses getting involved as it begins its second year.There are also plans for the project to target existing companies to help them boost their business.According to Majella McNamara, enterprise officer with Clare County Council, the new programme is taking in between 10 and 15 new participants. Last year, eight completed the training programme.Ennis town manager Ger Dollard has described the project as an “exciting initiative”. The centre, based in the Information Age Park on the Gort Road, is an inter-agency initiative providing support to start-up businesses as they progress from idea stage to commercialisation.It is a resource for all start-up companies providing entrepreneurs with business skills, networks, facilities and supports necessary to navigate the business start-up process.The initiative, which began in 2011, aims to create jobs and support the local economy by increasing the number of start-ups in Clare and provide access to third-level …

CLARE Museum has been named as the top tourist attraction in Ennis by a leading travel website. TripAdvisor.com, the website that assists customers in gathering travel information, has recently elevated Clare Museum to the status of the county capital’s number one attraction.The website consists of user-generated content and is used by travellers all over the world to post reviews of tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and other travel related facilities.  One visitor from Belfast wrote “Arrived shortly before closing time but [we] weren’t made to feel we had to leave… next time I’ll make sure I have more time”.Another posted, “Not a very big or elaborate place but combines the best of audiovisual presentations in many tongues detailing the local history of Ennis and Clare. Really must be combined with a visit to the Clare Library on Harmony Row to get the overall picture. Should take up a few hours of an otherwise wet day in Clare.”A visitor from Brunswick, Maine, …

A SUBCONTRACTOR this week told The Clare Champion he has twice been left unpaid following works on the affordable housing development at Glaise na Rinne, adjacent to Cluain Airne.A spokesman for Galway firm Conrock Ltd said the company is down over €60,000 and have laid the blame at Clare County Council’s door. The company are currently considering a picket of the site, in protest.In a statement, the company outlined the circumstances it has faced. “On two separate occasions, Clare County Council entered into contracts with two different building contractors, who subsequently turned out to have inadequate financial backing to complete the projects for which they had been commissioned. Not only is this a gross mishandling of scarce public funds but it has also resulted in smaller, sub-contractors like ourselves being left without payment for works done.“We were contracted on both occasions to carry out the mechanical services (plumbing, heating, ventilation, gas installation and so on) on the Glaise na Rinne …

UNICEF Ireland and Aer Lingus’ Change for Good cycle wheeled into Shannon at the weekend as part of a trip that will see it visiting the airline’s largest bases in Cork, Belfast and Dublin as well as Shannon Airport. Marking the 15th anniversary of the campaign, which has already raised $15 million for children around the world, the cycle is being undertaken by Brian Rutter of Aer Lingus’ cabin crew.“While I’m cycling across the country, the Change For Good campaign is being extended and will run right through until June 1,” explained Brian. “Normally, we would collect spare change from people on international flights only but for this week, we’ll be collecting on every Aer Lingus flight. So please, if you are on one of our flights, please give generously.” Brian was one of a group of Aer Lingus, UNICEF Ireland ambassadors who visited Zambia in February of this year to see how the money raised was changing lives there. …

THE creation of 50 new jobs at a software development solutions company has been described by its Clonlara co-founder as an exciting phase in the expansion of his company.Action Point Technology Group CEO David Jeffreys has unveiled plans to generate 50 new high-grade technology jobs in his software development specialist company based at Plassey Technological Park, Limerick.“This is a pivotal moment for Action Point as it marks an exciting phase of expansion of our company. Thanks to our unique proposition encompassing all aspects of technology and software development, we have achieved steady growth since we established Action Point in 2005.“We are now setting ourselves more ambitious targets based on the very real opportunity we believe there is for a specialist operation like ours. We believe that as a business, Action Point very much mirrors a wider opportunity for the Irish economy in the years ahead. That is delivering highly advanced services and products for the export market,” he said.Finance Minister …

A MEELICK pupil has scooped third prize in the inaugural University of Limerick Regional Writing Centre Essay-Writing Competition.Lee Dillon beat off stiff competition from pupils in over 87 secondary schools throughout the Mid-West to finish in the top three. The son of John and Liz, Lee, who attends Ardscoil Rís in Limerick, has three sisters Hayley, Kacie and Tara.Senior-cycle pupils from schools across Limerick, Tipperary, and Clare were invited to respond to the statement made by Kate Green, MP that “Lowering the voting age to 16 could help reconnect young people with their communities”.UL president Professor Don Barry and associate vice-president, Professor Sarah Moore presented awards to the winners of the competition, which was developed to highlight UL’s commitment to supporting the educational advancement of prospective students.Speaking at the event, Prof Barry commended the work of all the pupils and reiterated to them the importance of developing attributes required by employers.“Almost any employer will tell you that in these recessionary …

KEEP your eyes on the skies this September as plans are no longer up in the air for a new festival over Lough Derg, as arrangements to showcase Mountshannon’s first air show are currently being firmed up. The proposal for an air show was the brainchild of Rose Curtis of Harbour Flights, the seaplane operation based in Mountshannon and her concept was to develop a festival around an air show as a way to give something back to the local communities. Likening it to the Riverfest Festival in Limerick City, Rose believes there is no reason why such a festival on the shores of Lough Derg would not be as successful if not more.Speaking to The Clare Champion Rose said, “We are hoping to run the air show on Sunday, September 9 from 2.30pm to 5.30pm and are looking for some support from the local community councils to help make it an enjoyable weekend. Harbour Flights, in conjunction with Fáilte …