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GARDA Declan Fawl has moved to clarify the role he played in the aftermath of a single vehicle crash at Ballycar on Wednesday. “I arrived at the scene after the call came in and at no stage did I pull anyone from a burning car,” he said. He confirmed his role had been limited to making sure the area was safe following the crash, in which a couple and a young child were in a car that overturned. “People were moved to a safe distance, the area was secured and the fire brigade arrived a short time later as the car was alight.” Local woman Aideen O’Hanlon was one of the first people who came upon the accident, in which the three passengers had a lucky escape. “I came onto the scene seconds after it happened. The car was upside down. Myself and two other men went over to help them. The couple were in the front and they crawled …

UL Hospitals Group is asking the public to “consider all of their care options” before attending the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) this Thursday, while the Injury Unit in Ennis is closed today due to ongoing industrial action. In the 24-hour period up to 8am on on Thursday morning, a total of 261 patients attended the Emergency Department, one of the highest levels ever recorded. “As members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (IMNO) commenced 24 hours of industrial action from 8am, UL Hospitals continue to work with the INMO to secure the safest possible level of nursing and midwifery cover in our hospitals during the period of the strike and contingency arrangements are in place,” the group said in a statement today (Thursday). UL Hospitals Group expects that the Emergency Department will be busy throughout the day. Injury Units in Ennis, Nenagh and St John’s hospitals are also closed on account of today’s industrial action. The Injury Units will reopen …

Heavy rain in Ennis has led to some spot flooding in parts of the town, including on the Tulla Road. Motorists are asked to drive with care in most parts of the county as some additional bouts of intermittent rain are likely. There have been regular instances of heavy rain throughout Tuesday, results in instances of rain pooling on busy roads.  

GARDAÍ have searched an address in Clare as part of Operation Ketch 5, which targets suspects involved in the possession and distribution of child pornography. Searches of 23 properties were made between February 1 and 4 as part of an on-going search and recovery operation targeting suspects involved in the possession and distribution of Child Exploitation Material (Child Pornography) either through Social Network sites or via File Sharing Networks. The Online Child Exploitation Unit (OnCE) at the Garda National Protection Services Bureau is leading the operation, and involved searches under warrant issued pursuant to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 in a number of Garda Division throughout the country, including an address in County Clare. Liaison is being maintained with the Child and Family Agency regarding any child protection concerns that arise. The searches were conducted by the Online Child Exploitation Unit and the newly established Divisional Protection Service Units and local Detective Units. These searches were conducted in 11 counties across …

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.