Tag Archives: shannon

UNEMPLOYMENT in Clare crept upwards slightly in January. In December there were a total of 9,285 people on the live register in the county but in January that went up to 9,418. The majority of those- 5,623- were male, while 3,795 were women. The number of men increased by 73 in January while the number of women was up by 60. The number of young people signing on also rose, from 1,358 in December to 1,400 in January. Sinn Féin County Council candidate Mike McKee said the numbers show a failure of the coalition. “These figures are an indictment of the Government. They represent misery for families across our county. We also need to remember when we read this report that 240 people every day on average are emigrating from Ireland. Each one of those represents a family torn apart, many of those who leave will never return. It’s shameful.” He was particularly critical of the Government’s treatment of young …

CLARE County Council has this Tuesday afternoon reiterated its appeal to land, home and business owners in flood prone locations to remain vigilant during the coming days with further heavy rainfall expected to cause localised flooding. Council engineers are continuing to monitor water levels on the River Fergus and Lower River Shannon and say the risk of flooding will increase as a result of rainfall from this evening’s frontal system and further rainfall up to and including the weekend. The council, in conjunction with the emergency services, is progressing contingency arrangements in terms of additional pumping capacity and other flood alleviation measures at flood prone locations along the River Shannon and River Fergus. Meanwhile, Clare County Council is continuing to assess the scale of the damage caused by Storm Brigid to local authority managed public infrastructure over the weekend.   It says it is focusing on the cleanup of storm affected areas and to undertake remedial works to local authority managed …

FIFTY-five Shannon workers are getting an unexpected financial boost after their employers, Mincon Group PLC decided to reward them with payments of €1,000 per year of service up to the end of 2013. The company came to prominence in 2010 as it was behind the drill piece used to make initial contact with the trapped Chilean miners. It recorded a pre-tax profit of over €13 million in 2012. Commenting on the move, Paddy Purcell, who founded the Mincon Group with his wife, Mary in 1977, said; “It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Mincon Group employees that it has grown from its origins in Shannon into the international business it is today, with operations in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australasia and with its securities quoted on the ESM and AIM.” Mr Purcell and Kevin Barry, Mincon Chief Executive, are providing around €1.2 million from their private funds to fund the award to employees, excluding …

A PROPOSAL for the development of a crematorium on the outskirts of Ennis has come under fire from the man who has taken over plans for the construction of a similar facility in Shannon. Jim Cranwell has acquired the interests of Illaunamanagh Ltd, which had originally been granted planning permission for a crematorium, chapel and remembrance garden in Shannon in March of 2009. Last year, the local authority granted Mr Cranwell an extension of planning permission for the development at Illaunamanagh, and  he intends to begin construction within the next 12 months. He is now urging Clare County Council to refuse an application for planning permission for another crematorium close to Ennis. The site is two kilometres south of Ennis and one kilometre to the west of Clarecastle and is currently zoned residential. Late last year,  Fenloe Property Development Limited applied to the local authority for permission to construct a chapel, crematorium unit, furnace and remembrance gardens and cemetery at Ballaghfadda …

A WASTE management company has been requested to ensure bins are not collected in  Shannon as early as they are on Saturdays at the moment. Local Sinn Féin spokesman Mike McKee said, “This company charges over  €300 for 12 months bin collections and they should be treating their customers with more respect and dignity than driving through housing estates at such an early time on the weekend, creating a racket that wakes people unnecessarily. “The company is collecting bins at 6am on a Saturday, while all other bin companies collect at a reasonable hour from Monday to Friday. Sinn Fein plan to pressure the company to cease its bin collection at an unacceptable time on a Saturday,” he said. Mr McKee was speaking after he was re-elected as chairperson of Sinn Féin in Shannon. In his address to the AGM, Mr McKee stated that during this year’s Clare County Council election campaign, he intends to hold public bodies to account, …

A TENDER document for the design of the Shannon Venue, a project which is seeking to provide a multi-functional civic and arts venue for the town, is being issued this week. Derek Barrett of Shannon Venue Ltd said that progress is being made. The tender document was issued last week and there’s around three weeks to submit a tender. “We have retained someone to score the applications and we’ll pick a design team. Then they’d have a number of months.  We’ve given an outline of the kind of things we want in it, the spaces we want and what we need,” he said. A target of €7 million has been set for fundraising, which they claim is required to give Shannon the best possible facility. By last November they had raised €700,000 from business sources and a sponsor a seat initiative was launched for the run up to Christmas, with seats available from €1,000. Nameplates carrying messages are to go …

LIMERICK Institute of Technology has launched a new Certificate in Aviation, which will be delivered at the Atlantic AirVenture Aviation Centre in Shannon. The course is due to commence on February 11 and will last 10 weeks. It aims to equip those currently working within aviation, or who would like to explore career opportunities in the sector, with a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of aviation and the aerospace industry. It will be delivered by professionals working in the sector and is validated by the Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering at LIT, as part of their flexible learning programme. Jane Magill, Atlantic AirVenture director said, “Atlantic AirVenture Aviation Centre is delighted to partner with LIT to offer an exciting opportunity to explore the career options available in the aviation industry, locally, nationally and internationally. The aim of this course is to provide participants with practical information on training options and routes available within the industry from engineering to …

HARSH words and some insults were traded at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, as the emotive issue of high commercial rates for businesses was aired yet again. Independent Cathy McCafferty put forward a motion calling on the county council to rescind fees charged at recycling centres, significantly reduce commercial rates and calling on the Minister for either Finance or the Environment to clarify which specific local services the local property tax is supporting. However, her own voting record was queried by Councillor Patricia McCarthy, who noted that the Derry native had backed increasing the town charge for Shannon from what was originally proposed in the draft budget for 2014. Councillor McCafferty was one of a majority of councillors who last month voted to reduce the town charge from 2.11 to 2.06. However, the original proposal from the council executive had been to cut it to 1.90, before a majority of the members opted to up it, to provide …