Green light given to extend BurrenLife project

THE BURRENLIFE project has received a late reprieve after the European Commission extended the project’s work for a further five months.

The work of the BurrenLife group – which is putting in place a blueprint for the future development of farming on the Burren – was due to expire on August 31st next.

However, project director Dr Brendan Dunford confirmed yesterday that the commission had given the green light for the extension of the project to January.

Dr Dunford said that the extension was vital for BurrenLife to complete its work.

Recently, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith announced that farmers in the Burren were to receive €3 million to implement the practices developed by BurrenLife across the Burren over a three-year period from 2010.

The EU conservation programme has been in place for the last five years and has identified the central importance of the farmer and the cow in the conservation of the Burren.

Dr Dunford said yesterday: “There has been a tremendous amount of research collated over the past five years and it is our job to bring that data together now.

Dr Dunford said the data will form the blueprint for future farming in the Burren.

Since 2005, the project’s work has centred on 20 farms covering 3,000 hectares in the Burren and Dr Dunford said that the aim was roll this out to 700 farms across 72,000 hectares from 2010.

The chairman of Burren IFA, Michael Davoren, said yesterday: “We are absolutely thrilled that the scheme has got an extension. BurrenLife has done wonderful work over the past 4½ years and we are hopeful now that the scheme can be rolled out across the Burren.”

The importance of the farmer and the cow to the Burren was first recognised by the State six years ago when the Department of the Environment hired a herd of cattle to conserve the site of the iconic 5,800-year-old Poulnabrone dolmen.

Dr Dunford said: “The pilot project posed the questions and now we have the answers and with the various legal designations on the Burren landscape and a possible World Heritage site designation, all of that in the future will be contingent on the work BurrenLife does.”

He cited a recent study which shows that 88 per cent of Burren farmers are positive about the impact of BurrenLife.

He was hopeful that the Department of the Environment would provide the funding to allow the administration and research for the spending of €3 million over the three years from 2010-2012.

For some years scientists have been reassessing their views on what influences in the past, whether natural or man-made, made the Burren as we know it today.

The long-held view was that the action of glaciers was the only influence that created the moon-like landscape seen in some parts of the Burren.

However, research by Prof Michael O’Connell, of the palaeoenvironmental research unit in NUI Galway’s school of natural sciences and botany, conducted research which showed that there had been extensive grazing activity across much of the Burren.

Cattle, not glaciers, cleared the rough limestone landscape of surface vegetation.

In addition, there had been extensive open pine forest cover in the north Burren west of Ballyvaughan

For some years it was argued that livestock should be kept off the Burren in order to protect rare species of flowers such as the gentian. Researchers showed however that scrub bushes will quickly colonise and overwhelm areas where there are no cattle or sheep to eat these plants as they sprout.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

'Victory' claim on council access

A Green Party councillor was last night claiming victory in his move to have TDs banned from the non-public sections of Clare County Council's planning offices.

At the council's January meeting, Cllr Brian Meaney (Green) tabled a motion to have Clare's four Dáil deputies banned from securing access to the non-public sections of the planning offices. However, the motion coincided with plans by the council executive to ban councillors themselves from the non-public sections.

As a result, councillors and the officials held a meeting behind closed doors last Monday against the background of TDs railing against the move to have them banned.

Cllr Meaney's motion was adjourned to yesterday's meeting and he said he was withdrawing his motion.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Meaney confirmed that at the private council meeting last week, the county manager, Alec Fleming, said that the 32 members of the council would be provided with electronic cards that would ensure unhindered access to the planning office.

Cllr Meaney said: "I'm happy under this new arrangement that the TDs will no longer have access and be able to skulk around the planning office."

Mayor of Clare Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said: "The issue of access for councillors to the non-public section of the planning office has been clarified and councillors are to be issued with key cards.

"In relation to anyone else, it is a matter for the county manager to manage who has access to and from the council headquarters."

Cllr Martin Conway (FG) said that the withdrawal by Cllr Meaney of his motion was a good compromise.

He said: "Councillors will still have access to the planning department, but we have given an undertaking that we will only use the keys in special circumstances."

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Cliffs of Moher - planning or branding

Gordon Deegan writing in The Irish Times tells us its the branding, not the planning of the Cliffs of Moher, that's the important thing ...

A ROW has erupted between two of the agencies involved in the €31.5m Cliffs of Moher visitor centre over registering the Cliffs of Moher brand as a trademark.
Less than four weeks away from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern officially opening the centre, it emerged yesterday that a Shannon Development subsidiary has lodged a formal objection against an application by Clare Co Council to register a Cliffs of Moher brand as a trademark on an EU-wide basis.
The subsidiary, Shannon Castle Banquets and Heritage Ltd (SCBH Ltd) also has an application before the Irish Patents Office from last November to register the Cliffs of Moher.
Shannon Development are former partners of the council in the project and SCBH Ltd is leasing shop space from the council in the new centre. The council's project leader for the Cliffs centre, Ger Dollard, yesterday described Shannon Development's approach as 'extraordinary'.
He said: "The Council had not been advised by Shannon Heritage or Shannon Development of their intention to lodge an objection to our application for a trademark despite meeting at chief executive/county manager level on other issues relating to the project early in December.
"As the council is the public authority for the county and is the body who has invested over €31m in improving facilities and site management at the site, I cannot comprehend how another party could justify opposing our application for this particular trademark.
A Shannon Development spokesman said yesterday: "Shannon Development/Shannon Heritage registered the Cliffs of Moher as a trademark many years ago, to allow use of the name on merchandise sold at the company's commercial outlet at the Cliffs of Moher, and has continued to pay an annual fee to retain ownership and use of the trademark.
"Shannon Development/Shannon Heritage would be happy to share its Cliffs of Moher trademark with Clare Co Council, if this arrangement was acceptable to the Trade Mark Office, but would object to the council having sole ownership of the trade mark which could undermine our long-held commercial position at the Cliffs," he said.