Regional

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni visited the Cliffs of Moher on Friday to pledge his support for the Cliffs’ bid to be included in the global New 7 Wonders of Nature. On his first visit to the Cliffs of Moher, he was accompanied by Marco Tardelli, assistant manager, and was met by the Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes and staff at the tourist attraction. Mr Trapattoni expressed his delight to be at the world-famous tourist attraction. “I have heard a lot about the Cliffs of Moher and am delighted to be able to visit to see its splendour first hand. I know that the Cliffs of Moher has been part of a long campaign to achieve the status of one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature and I, and the FAI, fully support Ireland in trying to achieve this designation. I am very familiar with long campaigns and hope that November can be a month when Ireland …

RESIDENTS in Whitegate affected by an outbreak of cryptosporidium in the Whitegate public water supply have been told that they are now being served by an upgraded Mountshannon water supply network. The cryptosporidium parasite was found during routine testing of the water supply in Whitegate last week but according to the local authority, they have received no reports of anyone having fallen ill as a result of the contamination. However, as a result of this detection, Clare County Council has issued a boil notice and this is likely to remain in place for at least another week as continual testing and monitoring of the water takes place. At a public meeting held in the GAA clubhouse in Whitegate on Tuesday, senior executive engineer Hugh McGrath informed those present that those on the Whitegate public water network are now receiving water from the Mountshannon public network. He explained the Whitegate water supply “is vulnerable” as the source is subject to contamination …

The gauntlet has been thrown down to Shannon Development to stimulate the economic revival of Kilrush by playing a proactive role in the creation of new job opportunities.Kilrush Chamber of Commerce has hatched an action plan for the town, which it says if implemented in the Kilrush Creek Marina and landbank areas “would result in new and increased commercial activities and the provision of new skilled jobs in greater Kilrush”.Already the report has been forwarded to Shannon Development chief executive, Dr Vincent Cunnane, for his consideration and Kilrush Chamber admits that the town, because of its size and geographic location, is unlikely to be a prominent forerunner in the garnering of new international or national-based industries.“Kilrush must therefore look into itself for its own salvation. Kilrush Chamber of Commerce has identified the Shannon Development-owned and operated Kilrush Creek Marina facility as presenting an excellent location for the creation of a mixed commercial, tourism, educational and social development.“The facility contains large …

People the world over have waxed lyrical about watching the sun go down on Galway Bay. Now scientists have come up with a state-of-the-art system to view the famous bay in a new perspective.Researchers from the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway have deployed a sophisticated coastal radar system in Galway Bay, which transmits maps of the surface currents and provides details of the height and direction of waves from the shoreline directly to the institute. The cutting edge technology has many potential uses for research and for the local community and this is the first time it is being used in North Atlantic European waters.The Modelling and Informatics Group in the Ryan Institute, led by Dr Mike Hartnett, develops models to forecast marine conditions such as tidal currents, storm surges and wave heights. The group are currently carrying out research, in collaboration with IBM Smarter Cities Technology Centre, Dublin, to improve model forecasts using the radar data and meteorological data. …

Ennis Development Forum and Ennis Chamber, at a recent meeting with Clare’s four TDs, outlined concerns at the fact that unemployment in the Ennis area has grown dramatically since 2007 from 2,000 to over 6,000.The meeting was part of an initiative whereby representatives of the business community in Ennis met with their elected representatives to highlight job retention and creation issues that require assistance and advice from both sides.  The Clare TDs had undertaken to follow up at national level on the various obstacles to the progress of job creation locally.These include the lack of adequate signage for Ennis on the motorway; the need for a marketing budget and strategy for Shannon Airport; the delays in renewable energy connection to the national grid; the threat to the development of the northern shore of the Shannon Estuary by EU designations; public transport issues including the situation for taxi drivers and the cost and regulation for doing business, including commercial rates.  The …

THE proposed abstraction of enough water from Lough Derg to fill Croke Park to the brim almost 12 times will be opposed until independent verification is provided that it will not be to the environmental or economic detriment of the lake’s catchment area.That’s the warning issued by Mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes who has expressed grave concern about Dublin City Council’s plans to remove over 350 million litres of water on a daily basis from Lough Derg.The preferred option involves raw water abstraction from northern Lough Derg, pumping of raw water to a cutaway bog near Portarlington, raw water storage at this site, water treatment and pumping facilities at this site and pipelines to convey treated water from the site to the Midlands and to the Dublin Region. Combined raw water and treated water pipelines would be about 130km in length. The proposed 2031 level of abstraction for Dublin and Midlands is about 2% of the average Shannon flow in …

A survey on the future of Gaelcholáiste an Chláir, which stands on the campus of Ennis Community College, indicates very strong support for the availability of Irish-medium education at second-level.It also indicates strong support for moving the Gaelcholáiste to its own campus, while a minority favours either independent status and remaining on the current campus or staying as it is, a unit operating within the community college.The survey was conducted by County Clare Vocational Education Committee, with the assistance of an external researcher, to assess the demand in the county for second-level education entirely through Irish.As a unit of the community college, the latter a DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) status school in the centre of Ennis, the Gaelcholáiste has 137 pupils and an average yearly intake of 30, three-quarters of whom transfer from the Gaelscoileanna throughout the county.The survey report was presented to the October meeting of the VEC but a decision on the matter was deferred …

AER RIANTA International saw its profits plummet in 2010, accounts filed with the Companies Office show. The company recorded a profit for the financial year of €2,336,000 last year, compared to €22,932,000 in 2009.In the business review section of the director’s report, it stated that last year had been relatively successful. “The trading performance of the company in 2010 has been good in light of the challenging current economic climate with turnover exceeding €60 million (2009, €62m). This has been offset by impairments of financial assets and provisions for inter company and related balances of €19.6m (2009 €5.2m). The increase in turnover in 2010 reflects an increase in the value of goods supplied to external customers and certain group undertakings, partially offset by a decrease in the value of services provided. Income from financial assets and investments was €17.7m (2009, €24.2m) and represents dividends received from subsidiary and associate companies.”According to the profit and loss account for the year, payroll …