EFFORTS are to be made to ease the process of providing information to health professionals when people need emergency care.  Councillor Mary Howard is proposing that ‘Smart ID Cards’ be created, so that when people need care, their medical records can be easily and quickly accessed. At the July meeting of the local authority, the Fine Gael member asked that Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, be called on to investigate the matter. “These Smart ID cards would contain information like date of birth, PPS number, allergies, health conditions, surgeries etc these would be especially useful if they need to attend hospital or A&E,” Councillor Howard’s motion said.  Councillor Howard told Council meeting that she heard about the idea through the HSE West Regional Health Forum. “They would be similar to PPS card really,” she explained. “People don’t get sick, especially those who are infirm, 9am and 5pm. Often they are upset, in pain, or brought in by neighbour. “To have …

ROADS in a Clare housing estate were described as “an embarrassment” at a meeting of the local authority. Asking that funds would be allocated next year to the Municipal Districts (MDs) for infrastructure in local authority estates, Councillor Cillian Murphy was scathing about the situation. “At the heart of this motion is a lived and very frustrating experience,” he told the July Council meeting. “The issue is falling between the Housing Section and the MD offices. If you take Marian Estate in Kilkee, the roads there are, quite frankly, an embarrassment and they should be to the Council. “I have asked the Housing Section and they said it’s the MD office. The MD said they had no budget, and round and round and round we go. The only solution is to have a specific item in budget for MDs to tackle estates. We are not asking for more money, but for clarity.” Co-sponsors of the motion, Councillors Pat O’Gorman, Shane …

EMIGRATION stories from East Clare parishes to the United States will be the focus of a talk at Waterways Ireland Building in Scariff on Bank Holiday Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31 during the local Harbour Festival. It will be followed on both days by free individual genealogical sessions to assist people in creating their family backstories or guiding them through stages of that journey. ‘An Epic Journey – from East Clare to Ellis Island’ is a story told through the eyes of professional genealogist, Jane Halloran Ryan, who will explore the reasons why a cross section of East Clare emigrants made the journey through Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century. “I will be telling the story of what brought people from parishes like Scariff, Mountshannon, Whitegate, Tuamgraney, Ogonnelloe and Killaloe, to board a ship for Ellis Island, looking into whether they remained in New York or went elsewhere and what they ended up doing,” said …

OFFSHORE energy opportunities could turn West Clare into the “Aberdeen of the wind industry”, local authority members have heard. A debate on the potential of the renewable energy sector to transform the local economy was triggered at the July meeting of Clare County Council by a motion from Councillor Joe Killeen. The Fianna Fáil member sought an outline of current and future efforts to harness offshore wind and wave energy and “efforts to position Clare as the location that companies throughout Europe will choose when considering investment in renewable energy”. Councillor Killeen also called for a seminar, in the autumn, on renewable energy. “If you’re not pushing forward, then you’re in reverse,” he said. “We will be overtaken when it comes to renewable energy. This is a Europe-wide issue. The most appropriate place for this industry is along the West Clare coast.” Referring to the deadline for submissions on the work of the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce, which is Friday, …

HOUSING dominated debate at the July meeting of the local authority, with members resolving to write to Minister Darragh O’Brien, asking him to declare a housing emergency.  A motion from Councillor Donna McGettigan called on the minister to “introduce an immediate moratorium on evictions” for a period of three months, and to increase income thresholds for social housing support.  “I saw this motion being passed by Limerick City and County Council and brought it here,” she said. “This is now an issue affecting all social classes. There are just 13 properties available online to rent long-term in Clare. A two-bed apartment will cost €1,000 a month and that’s just not affordable. We are increasingly seeing families having to take in family members and couch surfing is the norm.” The Sinn Féin member accepted that local authority staff are doing their best and she urged her Council colleagues to write to the minister seeking more support.  “The homeless action team are …

AN UPLIFTING Feakle Festival is promised from August 4 to 8, with a surge of interest in the return of full in-person workshops, sessions and concerts.  Organisers of the 35th festival have just launched a new website, which captures a sense of what’s in store as some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians prepare to gather for the eagerly-awaited event. “We’re thrilled with how the site has turned out,” said Aoife Hayes, a member of the festival’s organising committee. “Planning for the site was done by our full team, but because I’m one of the youngest people involved, I got the job of working on the layout and the script. The site was created by Jereon Bos (Artvaark Design) and we left the design completely his hands.” The site has several important features, including a direct link for ticket sales to the Glór box office. “Tickets were always available through Glór,” Aoife said, “but now we have the link straight to …

LEGISLATION underpinning the revised scheme for homeowners with defective blocks has passed all stages in the Seanad and will be signed by the President. The Bill was debated in the upper house of the Oireachtas last week and while 69 amendments were tabled, the legislation went through largely unchanged. Senator Timmy Dooley told the chamber that despite the work done to date, concerns remain for many, including members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group. Paying tribute to its members, he described Dr Martina Cleary and Mary Hanley as “two formidable women who have worked hard to put together a comprehensive response” to the Bill. “One of the main issues I hear about from Clare homeowners concerns the damage threshold, he told the Seanad. “There is a belief that it will determine who will be accepted under the scheme. As yet, that damage threshold has not been determined. People are worried that when regulations on this are set, 90% of applicants …

THE COST of public liability claims against Clare County Council more than doubled last year, according to figures released to a West Clare member. Councillor PJ Kelly sought detailed information about public liability claims against the local authority over the years 2020 and 2021, ahead of the Council’s July meeting. In a written response, the Lissycasey man was told that 159 claims were settled over the last two years, with payments made in 127 cases. The cost of claims settled came to just under half a million Euro in 2020, while in 2021, the figure was €1,009,173. According to the Council’s data, the average award over the past two years was €9,485. The average for 2021 was €14,213. The largest category of claim related to “footpath slips/trips”, the response said. The Council stressed that their insurers “contest every claim through the various stages” and noted that 32 claims were settled over the last two years, with zero financial payment. Those …