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Tag Archives: Brian Meaney

Clare forest owners to join pilot scheme

FOREST owners in the county may be included in a Knowledge Transfer Group to be funded by the Department of Agriculture. The Clare Timber Producer Group will be holding meetings in Kilkishen Cultural Centre on Wednesday night next and the Fiddle Head in Kilmihil on December 12 to outline the draft pilot project, identify forest owners willing to participate and gather feedback to develop the project with the department. The department is proposing that participants will receive expenses for taking part in the pilot project. Welcoming the inclusion of Clare in the pilot project, Brian Meaney, secretary of the Clare Timber Producer Group, stated, “This is an opportunity to increase the level of forest management activity among participants of the project, realising and improving the value of their forests and will ultimately benefit all forest owners in County Clare. “It is also important to develop a forest owners group in Clare to operate as a collective to improve financial return from farm forestry, to develop …

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Mulqueen seeks room for new blood

By Owen Ryan WITH local elections looming, Councillor Tony Mulqueen didn’t get any support from his colleagues this week, when he called for new legislation to stop people completing more than three terms, or 15 years, as a county councillor, TD or senator. Giving their backing to such a proposal would, for many members of Clare County Council, effectively say that it would be better if they were not allowed hold their seats, so it was unsurprising that Councillor Mulqueen was the only one who voted in favour of his motion. It was, however, seconded by Councillor Brian Meaney, who presumably wanted to hear what arguments would be put in favour of the motion but, when it came to a vote, he didn’t back the motion. Arguing in favour of his motion, Councillor Mulqueen (who has been elected since 2009) pointed out that a President of Ireland can only be elected twice, thus only holding the office for a maximum …

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Cahercalla Hospital

Cahercalla surgery unit closure ‘catastrophic’

Thousands of private patients will have to travel to Limerick or Galway for day procedures and consultations with the closure of the surgical unit at Cahercalla Community Hospital from May 1. Catering for up to 2,500 day surgical admissions and 5,000 consultations annually, the unit, which has signicantly reduced waiting times for patients for almost 15 years, is no longer deemed viable.  The ending of this service also places a question mark over the future of 11 employees. Describing the closure as “catastrophic”, HSE West Forum member, Councillor Brian Meaney, said it is another major blow for health services in the county. “Its closure is a significant loss in the options available to Clare people to have their health issues dealt with locally. The availability of   medical  and surgical services at the facility where many Clare people were born, reduced the stress many people encounter when they have health concerns,” he stated. “This also sends out a distress signal for …

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Moneypoint earmarked for nuclear plant

By Dan Danaher MONEYPOINT electricity generating station has been earmarked as a possible site for a nuclear power plant, a local county councillor has claimed. Councillor Brian Meaney has warned that a lobby group has already made representations to the Oireachtas Committee for Transport and Communications requesting the conversion of Moneypoint to a new nuclear plant once it is decommissioned in 2025. Speaking at a council meeting on this Monday, Councillor Meaney revealed  Pro Nuclear Lobby Group BENE (Better Environment with Nuclear Energy) has stated that the coal-fired  915 MW ESB  power plant at Moneypoint is the only suitable site for a nuclear power plant for Ireland. One of the main reasons is that it is the only power plant in the country that has the existing 440 kv  grid connections to distribute the power generated from a nuclear power plant. Also it is a costal location, seen as optimal when siting a nuclear power plant According to Councillor Meaney, the need to …

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Ennis councillors refuse to back NY parade boycott

By Dan Danaher ENNIS town councillors have rejected a proposed boycott by their mayor of the New York St Patrick’s Day Parade as show of solidarity to gay rights groups. Amid heated exchanges between rival town councillors, Ennis Town Council members voted by seven votes to two for deputy mayor, Councillor Brian Meaney to accept an official invitation to march in the New York parade. Mayor Blasio has decided not to march in his own city parade over the long standing exclusion of American gay and lesbians  publicly express their sexual orientation under a banner. Despite passionate appeals from Councillor Paul O’Shea and Councillor Johnny Flynn to support this boycott, other members steadfastly refused to support the right of the town mayor to attend the parade as first citizen of Ennis. Participation in the parade was supported by Ennis mayor, Mary Coote-Ryan, Brian Meaney, Michael Guilfoyle, Peter Considine, Frankie Neylon, Mary Howard and Tommy Brennan. It was opposed by Councillor …

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Little support for tribute to Michael Tierney

By Dan Danaher ENNIS Town councillors have objected to the provision of a local authority permanent tribute to the late Michael Tierney, a well-known character in the town for decades. A number of councillors questioned whether Mr Tierney’s family would support the proposal tabled by Councillor Brian Meaney and criticised the description of the man, which was placed on the council agenda at this week’s meeting. However, the Clare Champion has learned that Mr Tierney’s closest remaining living relative supports an official acknowledgement of the huge contribution this colourful character made to the town. His first cousin, Cyril Quinn, who resides in Hermitage, confirmed he would really appreciate some form of tribute to Mr Tierney. “If ever a man deserved a tribute, Michael Tierney did. He lit up the place wherever he went. If you went on one of his tours, the enjoyment you would experience would never be repeated. “He enthused energy and laughter from everyone. If you were …

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Heavy caseload for early intervention teams

  EARLY Intervention Teams (EIT) for children with disabilities in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary have double the nation case load, it has been revealed. HSE West Forum member, Councillor Brian Meaney is not only unhappy with this situation but also that EITs in the Mid-West have four times the number of children per team compared to other counties in the West. Councillor Meaney was reacting to HSE figures released in response to a Dáil question from Deputy Colm Keaveney. The figures show that nationally there are 58 early intervention teams providing disability services for 6,399 children and young people. That is an average of 110 children and young people per team. There are 12 EITs providing disability services for 2,764 children in the Mid-West, which is an average of 230 children – double the national average case load per team. Five EITs provide services to 430 children in Galway, which equates to 86 children per team. HSE Mid-West area …

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