Tag Archives: Councillor Pat Mcmahon

PRICE gouging in the entertainment industry was widely condemned at a meeting of the local authority, now that major acts are returning to Ireland after the pandemic. The matter was highlighted by Councillor Pat McMahon who said that only Ed Sheeran had provided “reasonably-priced tickets” last year and played venues around the country.  Calling on the County to request that the Consumer Protection Commission would examine pricing of “high-profile concerts and major events in Ireland”, the Newmarket man, said he had been alerted to the problem by family, neighbours and friends. He outlined that after researching the matter, he became aware that two major global companies dominated ticket sales and concert bookings. “What amazes me it was no competition whatsoever,” he said. “If you look closely at the major concerts on in Ireland, only two major firms are mentioned all the time. I’m talking about the major concerts, The smaller concerts have smaller companies running them. It’s amazing in a …

THE TRANSFER of Shannon Heritage’s Clare sites into the ownership of the local authority cannot proceed without a funding package from government, Council members have been reminded.  At the July meeting of Clare County Council, CEO Pat Dowling said that while intensive work is ongoing on the matter, a decision is still awaited on vital financial support.  A written response to a motion tabled by Councillor Pat McMahon also noted that “the ambiguity surrounding Shannon Heritage ownership is having a negative influence on operations and the morale of the 170 no. employees”. Councillor McMahon’s motion urged the Council to look at opportunities to spread the benefits of Clare’s tourism product, in light of the transfer moves.  “We could explore something like the ‘Ring of Clare’ to bring people right through county,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “We could also hold a competition on branding and invite submissions from schools.” The Shannon area member also noted the lack of hotel beds …

AN URGENT call has been made for improvements to supports for childcare services, which one Clare councillor describing a “crisis situation” for the sector. A motion was tabled by Councillor Pat McMahon at Monday’s local authority meeting, in which he appealed for support to put pressure on government on the matter. “Childcare workers are barely getting the minimum wages in some cases,” Councillor McMahon said. “People are studying for years in college and they are just not being appreciated. Childcare services are finding it difficult to recruit staff as a result. The councillor state the minimum wage “is not good enough for such an important role”, pointing out that childcare workers are highly qualified and, like everyone, affected by issues accessing housing, health and education. “We need a strong childcare system, but it’s falling apart,” said suggesting the government “gets serious and looks at countries with same population like Finland”. “There is a huge amount of people leaving the sector, …

A CALL has been made for branded signage at access points to the county, to highlight Clare’s unique musical and cultural heritage. At the December meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Pat McMahon made the appeal, saying such an initiative could help to rejuvenate tourism and hospitality in the wake of the pandemic. “We all know about the decimation of our hospitality over the last couple of years and that we need to get the rejuvenation going,” he told the meeting. He then explained that his motion was inspired by his own travels and seeing how different regions are promoted around the world. “In Florida, each county you go through, there’s a symbol of that county,” he said. “It leaves a seed in the mind. You see the same in Cornwall and in Oranmore in Galway. It leaves a seed as to what that area produces. “What I would love to see is that, no matter from what direction you …

AN alternative to repeated lockdowns, in response to the pandemic, could lie in the promotion of ventilation and air filtration systems in homes and businesses, according to a West Clare member of Clare County Council. Addressing the November council meeting, Councillor Cillian Murphy asked the authority to undertake a campaign and to contact other councils “to build awareness at a national level of the impact better indoor air quality has in reducing the spread of Covid-19”. His motion was seconded by Councillor Patrick O’Gorman. Noting a written response from Senior Engineer Cyril Feeney saying that responsibility lay with the HSE, Councillor Murphy urged the authority to consider what it could do to promote the message. “To-date the health promotion message had focused on social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing, but there is now an increasing understanding of air-borne transmission and proper ventilation of buildings,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “Clare County Council has been instrumental in delivering HSE recommendations …

GAMBLING online was described as being “out of control” in Clare, at the monthly meeting of the county council. Calling on the minister for justice to update the legislation and appoint a regulator, Councillor PJ Ryan outlined how he had been contacted by the mother of someone who spent all of his money, overnight, by gambling online. “The woman who has a son in college forwarded him money on a Friday night and by the next day at 9.15am, he had used all of it for online gambling,” the Independent member said. “Online gambling is a serious, serious problem and there has been not update to the law on gambling since 1931. Another woman told me that her husband, who is working from home, is gambling most of his wages online and she never realised it. It is too easy to do it. If a ten year old child gets their father’s credit card, they can gamble online. It’s a …

“HORRIFIC and shocking” were the words used by Clare’s Green Party senator to describe a rise of almost one-third in the number of barring orders breached in this county over the last nine months. Senator Róisín Garvey expressed grave concerns about the figure, which was revealed to members of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee by Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran. The Garda chief outlined that there had been 52 breaches relating to barring orders and safety orders between January and September of last year. Over the same period in 2020, the figure increased by 16 to 68, a rise of 31%. The number of domestic disputes increased by 7% in the first nine months of this year. Reacting to the figures, the Inagh-based senator questioned what additional supports were in place to respond to the situation. “This is an really shocking figure,” she said. “If you have a barring order, you fear for your life. Breaches like this are horrific. What I …

CLARE County Council will face a major financial headache trying to balance its books next month following confirmation the authority is facing a €12.6 million deficit in funding due to the catastrophic economic impact of Covid-19. The grim financial situation facing the council was laid bare this week after it emerged the projected loss of income from commercial rates will total €5 million, €5.6 million will be missing from other income that is normally generated, while an additional €2 million had to be spent on unplanned public health measures. The major financial challenge facing the council was raised by Councillor Pat McMahon at a recent local authority meeting when he asked chief executive Pat Dowling to outline the financial impact of Covid-19 on the operations of the council and the council’s interactions with other bodies and agencies. Councillor McMahon stressed it will be vital to seek substantial government support as no local authority could sustain this shortfall. Commenting on the …