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Tag Archives: Christy Curtin

The late Judith Ironside – a great volunteer

JUDITH Ironside, a woman whose voluntarism permeated through local and national organisations all her life, died peacefully at home in Spanish Point this week. Wife of the late James Ironside, a well-known vet, Judith was a person who threw herself headlong into any projects she became involved in. She was a founding member of Ennis Soroptomists, one of whose most significant achievements was to set up Caring for Carers, subsequently to become Caring for Carers Ireland, with a presence in 23 counties. Judith was a great ambassador for West Clare in a quiet way, as she attended many prestigious functions over the years. She was especially proud of Spanish Point and Miltown Malbay and was involved in several committees who shared a common goal of working to achieve major social and infrastructural improvements in the area. She was an active member of the local Church of Ireland community and was a member of the committee responsible for the €22,000 restoration …

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“This is unprecedented” – Clare shut down by snow

CLARE has experienced its most severe snowfall in decades, with virtually all parts of the county badly affected. Commercial life in the county was almost non-existent today, with many businesses closing and few people leaving the safety of their homes. Shannon Airport is closed until tomorrow morning, while the annual Ennis Book Club Festival, which was due to be held this weekend, has been cancelled. This afternoon all but a handful of businesses in Ennis town centre were closed. Very few vehicles made their way into the central parts of the town, and some of those that did were clearly struggling with the conditions. With inches of snow lying on the footpaths it was also very difficult for pedestrians. “I’ve never seen the likes of this before,” said Councillor Joe Cooney, of the conditions around East Clare. “A number of roads are impassable today and will be tonight as well,” he added. In the west of the county things are …

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Buncrana trip expenses prompts call for in-house training

Expenses totalling €12,329 were incurred by 20 Clare county councillors for their attendance at a training conference in Donegal last year. Councillor Gerry Flynn, who did not claim any of his statutory annual training allowance of €3,300, has called on the Government to provide in-house upskilling for councillors at local level, to eliminate the need to travel to the four corners of the country. His call came after almost three-quarters of the 28 elected members travelled up to Buncrana for the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) conference on May 5 and 6 of last year. Councillors Michael Begley, James Breen, Pat Burke, Bill Chambers, Clare Colleran-Molloy, Joe Cooney, John Crowe, Christy Curtin, Pat Daly, Pat Hayes, Michael Hillery, Gabriel Keating, PJ Kelly, Pat McMahon, Paul Murphy, Richard Nagle, Tony O’Brien, PJ Ryan and Bill Slattery each made the round trip of 672 kilometres. They received payments ranging from €453 for Councillor Christy Curtin to €680 for Councillor Bill Chambers, …

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Kelly chalenges council’s legal spending

If Clare County Council were a private company, it would be insolvent and its directors fired, Councillor PJ Kelly claimed at this week’s meeting of the local authority. He made his comments while discussing legal costs incurred by the council, having sought information about costs awarded to and against the council regarding court proceedings over the last five years. The information he sought was not available and a written reply said it “will take time to compile this information and, should the councillor require, this information can be collated over the coming weeks”. Councillor Kelly said the council has “very scarce finances” currently, while he noted that €100,000 had been spent on the council’s entrance door. He added that the council is open for 250 days in the year and that the legal expenses incurred averages at in excess of €3,000 per day. “That would be high wages for 15 people; I can’t accept that it is justified,” he commented. …

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Concerns raised over Kilrush warfarin clinic

THE University of Limerick Hospitals Group chief executive officer has pledged to take into account concerns expressed about the impact of the phased closure of the Warfarin clinic in Kilrush. Professor Colette Cowan made the pledge after a meeting with Deputy Pat Breen this week, amid growing unease about the proposed ending of this service. “CEO Colette Cowan assured me that she would take my concerns on board. She advised me that the HSE is currently in discussions with GPs regarding a number of issues and that the warfarin services in Kilrush will feature in these discussions. “She is very aware of the concerns, the logistical problems which it could cause for patients who would require ongoing treatment and is hoping that a successful resolution and agreement can be reached with the GPs to accommodate those patients locally. “Following our meeting, she is to revert back to me at the earliest opportunity,” he said. Deputy Breen had sought a meeting …

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No compensation for homes left without water

THERE will be no financial compensation for those affected by recent water restrictions in North and West Clare, Clare County Council and Irish Water have said. The Kildysart and Corofin public water supplies were both subject to restrictions, following separate incidents. Councillor Christy Curtin requested a report on them at a recent meeting of the West Clare Municipal Area, which now includes Corofin and other parts of North Clare. He asked that the report outline the “arrangements with Irish Water for a water rates rebate to the affected customers”. He expressed his confidence in local authority staff but said “the jury is out on Irish Water”, after a council official outlined the work carried out to monitor and restore the water supply to the two areas recently. Carmel Greene, senior executive officer at the Water Services Department in the council, gave a lengthy written response. She said that on July 29 in Kildysart, “The HSE, in conjunction with Clare County …

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Storm funding still unknown

CLARE County Council is still waiting to find out how much, if any, funding will be provided for repairs to infrastructure damaged in the February storm. Most of the damage from both the January and February storms occurred in the West Clare Municipal District but more than seven months on, the council is none the wiser on how much money it will receive from Government. At the recent district meeting, Councillor Michael Hillery asked when repairs to Spanish Point beach would be completed, following the January/February storms. Tom Tiernan, Clare County Council’s senior engineer responsible for transportation, responded in writing outlining the work completed in Spanish Point to date. He said decking and access steps were rebuilt and some retaining walls were constructed. Footpath and bridge works were carried out and replacement of railings is continuing. “Outstanding works include kerbing and other relatively minor concrete works, fencing and more than 100m of retaining wall. The retaining wall is the single largest …

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