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IN MORT O’Loughlin’s home, nestled among the hills of North Clare, a very special archive has been painstakingly gathered over the last five-and-a-half decades.  Since the late ‘60s, Mort has been The Champion’s Ballyvaughan Notes Correspondent, keeping his finger on the pulse of all things local. After 55 years of stalwart service, he is beginning a well-earned retirement and reflecting on the changing times he has witnessed.  To visit the home of Mort and his wife, Teresa, is to take a step back into the history of Ballyvaughan and its scattered Burren hinterland. Clippings dating to the early ‘70s have been carefully preserved as a record of births, marriages, deaths and all manner of community festivities and tragedies over the years. The area’s attraction for motorsport enthusiasts have been well documented, as well as now defunct traditions like the roasting of a kid goat for dinner on St Patrick’s Day and Easter. The animals would be coaxed by local farmers …

WHILE it was a giveaway budget, Paschal Donohoe did take a measured approach and kept an eye on the future, according to Tommy Corbett of Ennis company Carey Corbett Financial Solutions. “In the main it was a very targeted approach. They wanted to look after those on social welfare and the lower paid, but also targeted towards the squeezed middle, and those with children in university,” he said. Regarding those on social welfare, he said, “There’s a €12 increase in the rate of social welfare and the pension. There’s also an increase in the fuel allowance of €400 as far as I know, and they’ve also widened the net for those applying for the fuel allowance. There’s something like 80,000 more people will be able to apply for fuel allowance.” And what measures will benefit the so-called squeezed middle? “The increase in the tax band from when you go from paying 20% to 40%, that went up by €3,200. If …

A CLARE man who was among thousands of passengers stranded after an IT problem saw Aer Lingus cancel 51 flights earlier this month has praised an Ennis Travel Counsellor for his help in getting him home. Michael Lorrigan from Quilty had traveled to Bulgaria and was due to return to Ireland on September 10. However, it was only on arrival at Bourgas Airport that he became aware of what he describes as “the Aer Lingus fiasco”. The disruption was caused by what Aer Lingus said was a “major incident” with their network provider which meant its cloud-based systems enabling check-in, boarding and website were unavailable. Michael describes the scene at the airport as “chaos” with people, including families with young children, arriving to discover their flights had been cancelled. Fortunately Michael had a place to stay while he tried to organise a way home. The next morning he contacted well-known Ennis travel counsellor Gearoid Mannion, through whose company he booked …

THE Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) in Clare is suffering serious decay after official figures reveal almost 3,000 fewer local medical card holders were treated over a two-year period. This is despite a dramatic increase in the number of Clare patients who are eligible for treatment under the DTSS, which increased from 31,909 in December 2019 to 33,064 in August 2022. In total, 8,683 Clare dental patients were treated under the DTSS in December 2019, according to figures provided to Councillor Cillian Murphy at a HSE Forum West meeting on Tuesday. This slumped to 5,762 in December 2021 and the latest statistic for 2022 is for August, which stands at 3,661. Private dental practitioners contracted under the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provide dental services to medical card holders adults who are 16 years of age or older. The latest shocking figures come hot on the heels of an anti-poverty strategy commissioned by the Clare Public Participation Network, which showed …

WHILE families have been identified as the ‘winners’ in Budget 2023, the Coordinator of West Clare Family Resource Centre has said many measure are only designed to “get people over a hump”. Mary O’Donoghue said that while the raft of family-friendly initiatives in the Budget are welcome, longer-term strategic measures are needed to significantly improve people’s quality of life, particularly in the West of this county.  Among the measures announced in the Budget are a double Child Benefit payment to be paid in November; free school books from primary school children; and a 25% cut in the cost of childcare for those using the National Childcare Scheme.  Social welfare payments, and pensions, are to increase by €12 per week and a once-off double week “Cost of Living Support” payment will be made to all social welfare recipients in October. The normal Christmas Bonus will be paid in early December. An extra €500 for Working Family Payment and Carer Support Grant …

SUPPORTS could be put in place to encourage a new service linking Shannon and one of the EU’s major hub airports, Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton told the Dáil this week. Clare TD Cathal Crowe asked if the Department had received a Public Service application in relation to a service from Shannon to Amsterdam Schiphol, and Ms Naughton confirmed that such an application is now being considered.  “I can advise the Deputy that my Department is currently considering a request from Shannon Airport in relation to the establishment of a Public Service Obligation (PSO) route to provide EU Hub connectivity from Shannon Airport. “To date, policy on regional airports has been largely influenced by the need to optimise conditions for regional development and connectivity. “While the establishment of air services is a commercial matter between airports, airlines and other market actors, the Regional Airports Programme provides for a PSO air services scheme in compliance with …

A NEW levy on concrete products, designed to fund grants for homeowners with defective blocks, has been criticised by a leading Clare campaigner.  As part of Budget 2023, a levy of 10% on concrete blocks and other products is to come into effect from next April. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the charge will help to support the new defective blocks grants scheme, which was extended earlier this year to include Clare and Limerick.  Dr Martina Cleary, Founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG), said the move ultimately ends up hitting consumers, including those who will need to buy materials to remediate their homes. “Of course, there has to be a penalty on those responsible for defective blocks, but this levy is not targeting the real culprits,” she said. “The culprits are highly profitable companies who should be facing significant fines. The levy is just putting the cost back on individuals and families, as well as those who need …

SUPERMARKET giant Aldi has said the decision to deny it permission for a store in Shannon was unfortunate for the town, but it hasn’t indicated whether it will make another application. Colin Breslin, Regional Managing Director, ALDI Ireland, said, “ALDI Ireland is extremely disappointed at the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for our proposed new store in Shannon. “This application has been six years in the making and we have gone to considerable lengths to meet all that was asked of us by planners and others. “We will be reviewing this decision by An Bord Pleanála carefully, as it is really unfortunate news for the people of Shannon, Clare and the entire mid-West.” “The cost-of-living crisis is impacting every household and we are very aware what it means for our customers. Being able to offer our customers the best value at locations most convenient to them matters more than ever. Against this backdrop, the decision of …