Regional

EIGHT jobs will be lost in Ennis following the announcement that Halifax is to close its retail banking business in the Republic of Ireland.A spokesman for the company said that the job losses in Ennis included full and part-time workers and that it is likely that the branch would close in June.Joe Higgins, chief executive officer of Bank of Scotland (Ireland), said that their decision hadn’t been taken lightly. “It is with deep regret that we announce our intention to close our Halifax retail business and our Bank of Scotland (Ireland) intermediary business in the Republic of Ireland, both for the colleagues who contributed strongly to building these businesses and for the customers who joined us. We have arrived at this difficult position only after an extensive and exhaustive review of all options to secure a viable future for the bank overall and for these businesses. We will be engaging in consultation with our union partners, Unite, and we will …

Concern has been expressed about the absence of a written commitment from the Health Service Executive (HSE) to fund the new endoscopy unit at Ennis hospital this year. Clare Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen expressed his disappointment that the 2010 HSE Service Plan contains no commitment to fund this vital diagnostic facility.“Last month, I was advised by the HSE that the new endoscopy unit at Ennis general hospital was at design stage and that following a decision being finalised on the fire certificate application that they would then be moving ahead to tender stage.  “Following the publication of the HSE Service Plan for 2010, I am very disappointed to note that there is no commitment to fund this unit this year at Ennis hospital.  “However, at the same time an additional €1.5m is earmarked for the provision of a similar unit at Nenagh hospital.  It appears that one Independent deputy in Tipperary North has far more influence than two Government …

WHILE the Shannon Mayor’s Ball was set to be a casualty of the recession, a U-turn has been made and it will now go ahead later this year.The Mayor’s Ball is one of the more notable events on Shannon’s social calendar but before Christmas, Mayor Seán McLoughlin announced that it would not be going ahead in 2010, due to the prevailing economic conditions.Councillor McLoughlin said that instead he was hoping to organise smaller fundraising events to benefit the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club and the Shannon Senior Citizens’ Club.However, he has now announced that the ball will go ahead, in part due to the reaction of the local public.“A lot of people came to me and they said it was a shame it wasn’t going ahead. People said that it was one of three main social events in Shannon, along with the St Patrick’s Day Parade and the performance by the Shannon Musical Society. “They are the three events that …

A LACK of finance was the reason put forward for not providing new car-parking spaces at O’Brien Park, by Clare County Council engineer Eugene O’Shea.At the February meeting of Shannon Town Council, Councillor Michael Fleming introduced a motion asking for Clare County Council to look at providing spaces in the area but in his response, Mr O’Shea ruled it out.“Due to financial constraints, it is not possible to provide these car-parking spaces in the current year,” he stated.Councillor Fleming said that there was a real problem in the area. “People come out to go to work and there are three or four cars parked every way, blocking you.”He said he understood that the council’s coffers weren’t overflowing but said that an effort might be made to find some funding.Councillor Tony McMahon said that there had been a failure of long-term planning.“This was designed for families that had one car and it should be obvious to these enlightened people that remedial …

THERE will be an increase in the cost of allotments in Shannon for the coming year but they will still be less than one-third of the price being charged in Ennis.At the February meeting of Shannon Town Council, Councillor Seán McLoughlin asked for a change of dates for tenants to vacate the allotments from January 31-March 1 to November 31-January 1. He said that, if required, each tenant could be asked to sign a waiver that squatters’ rights cannot be claimed due to the change and he requested that the price of renting an allotment be frozen.In reply, Michael McNamara of Clare County Council claimed there was little point in changing the dates.“Given that a practical approach is being taken to issues that have arisen following on from the request to the allotment users to vacate their allotment for a month, it is not deemed necessary to change the dates as suggested in the motion. “In any case, having spoken …

THE outstanding contribution of the Killaloe Coast Guard Unit to communities in South-East Clare and North Tipperary has been honoured by a new monthly awards scheme.Killaloe Coast Guard Unit became the first recipient of the Ballina-Killaloe Community Achievement Awards, which has been set up by The Nenagh Guardian newspaper in association with the Lakeside Hotel, Ballina, Killaloe.The aim of the awards is to highlight, celebrate and reward the best in local sporting, cultural, voluntary and community achievements by an individual, club, society or organisation. Coast guard unit area officer, Michael Quigley and deputy area officer, Denis Dillon accepted the award on behalf of the unit at a function on Friday night. Their two sons are also members of the unit.Mr Quigley said the coast guard service is an integral part of the local community. “The coast guard attends schools in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, where it provides information to schoolchildren on how the unit operates and safety on water …

THE submission of revised plans, which have reduced the capacity of a Cratloe nursing home by four beds, have been approved by Clare County Council.Olivia English had applied to the local planning department for retention of a ground-floor extension, first floor conservatory, internal alterations and emergency service entrance at Sancta Maria Nursing Home, Brickhill, Cratloe.However, Ms English had to substantially amend her initial plans following concerns expressed by the council.The council attached four planning conditions including a stipulation that the development has to be carried out in accordance with details submitted on January 6, 2010 and a requirement to pay the council a contribution of €1,715 towards the provision of public infrastructure and facilities benefiting the development.According to a council planning report, six bedrooms were removed on the ground floor and were replaced by administration offices, visitors’ room and store.The report noted that the existing day room on the ground floor would be converted into two bedrooms with a new …

Scariff Community College transition-year pupils, along with Fishbowl Youth Club, Scariff, are part of a core group working on the first Irish Youth Democracy Project.The project, which is run by Léargas, the National Agency for the EU Youth in Action Programme in Ireland, aims to inspire active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the European Union’s future.This project is the first of its kind in Ireland and follows the EU Youth policy directive encouraging involvement by young people with the democratic process and interaction with decision makers.Nine pupils from Scariff Community College and two pupils from Scariff Youth Reach are participating and together, they will take on the challenge of the research-based project. The pupils will explore the strong and weak points of each system and aim to come up with action points for improvement. The process includes workshops, discussion groups and PR, which will be documented on film. The project has …