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CLARE junior minister, Pat Breen says that he has received confirmation today (Monday) from Minister for Health, Simon Harris, that he will, prioritise the 60-bed modular unit at the University Hospital Limerick. “I have been in communication with both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health on the issue of the 60-bed modular unit at the University Hospital Limerick and as late as today, Minister Harris confirmed to me that “funding will be provided for this important project to progress,” Deputy Breen said. “There were concerns raised a number of weeks ago that the construction of the proposed unit, which is aimed at alleviating overcrowding, could be postponed due to the overrun of the National Children’s Hospital. Immediately, I contacted the minister for health to ensure he understood the importance of the unit to the Mid West. He assured me he did and that he was committed to the project. He said he intends to fully honour this commitment to …

Alright, whose bright idea was in to launch Audi’s first electric car in the oil state of Abu Dhabi? Either someone was having a laugh or there was a real sense of irony behind the choice. I’ve never been to the United Arab Emirates, or indeed anywhere near this part of the world, so it was quite a culture shock to see the city for the first time. Everywhere you go, you can see signs of serious money having being spent. You get the impression that if you came back again in five years, any scrap of desert you see would have another skyscraper built on it. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, in the heart of the city, in my view is one of the wonders of the world. Completed only 2007, it contains €30 billion of white marble and if you ever get the chance to see it, grab it with both hands. Now, we’ve seen many Audi e-trons at …

A total of €26.5m has been allocated to Clare in 2019 funding for regional and local roads. €8m of that figure will be directed to the Shannon crossing in Killaloe, while €80,000 will be spent linking the N68 Ennis to Kilrush road, with the R458 Limerick road in Ennis. A further €100,000 will be spent on the Northern Distributor Road in Limerick. This years overall figure is a 12% increase on 2018 funding. More details will be published in Thursday’s print edition of The Clare Champion.

A fuel spill has been reported on the M18 southbound. The spill is at the slip road, J11 Dromoland to the Newmarket on Fergus Road (R458). AA Roadwatch advised caution on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, heavy traffic is expected in Ennis today (Sunday) before and after Clare’s NHL division 1 tie against Kilkenny in Cusack Park at 2pm.

ONE of the only planned towns in the country, somehow Shannon has developed without a conventional centre or streetscape, and it is something locals have been seeking for years. Only recently the group behind the Venue (a proposed multi-functional Community, Civic and Arts Centre for the town) stepped away, after several years of unsuccessfully seeking funding. Derek Barrett was part of that group and has lived in Shannon since he was a child, arriving in the late 1960s. A former member of Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council, Sean McLoughlin has been in the town since 1970. The two met with the Clare Champion on Monday, and Derek said in his view the town is missing something important, which was there in his youth. “Shannon was well planned, it had the community hall, the shopping centre, all around Drumgeely Hill. There was a focal point. I know a streetscape is now being mentioned as the thing that Shannon needs, …

In the first edition of our new current affairs podcast The Champion Report, Carol Byrne and Owen Ryan discuss the inquest into the death of Gerard Tubridy, why Shannon Airport is being left behind and the sky high prices being sought for Lahinch accommodation during the Irish Open.

JOBS are at risk at Shannon IT company Avocent today. The company is a subsidiary of Vertiv, and in a statement it said, “Vertiv has notified the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection that we are considering staffing changes at our Shannon site. We are keeping our employees and customers informed. This is part of our efforts to deliver our products and services to our customers in the most effective and affordable way possible.” According to its accounts, Avocent International Designated Activity Company employed 84 people in the year to September 30, 2017. It had an after tax profit of US$6.4 million. Owen Ryan      

CORK’S Coroner’s Court has returned an open verdict into the death of West Clare man Gerard Martin Tubridy, who died following a head injury sustained on March 18, 2017 at Clohanmore, Cree, County Clare. At the inquest into his death assistant state pathologist Margaret Bolster told Thursday’s sitting of Cork Coroner’s Court that 59 year old Gerard Tubridy suffered a large linear fracture to the skull consistent with blunt force trauma on March 18, 2017 at Clohanmore in Cree. She detailed to the court that the injury which was sustained by Mr Tubridy was not consistent with a simple fall from an upright position as was the account presented to her, and was more likely associated with an accelerated fall. As to what caused the acceleration she said she could not definitively say. Having heard evidence from five individuals who travelled with Mr Tubridy on a short journey from Walsh’s in Cree to Mr Tubridy’s homeplace at Clohanmore, and also …