News

VISITING restrictions have been put in place on the inpatient wards at Nenagh Hospital due to the increased level of COVID-related activity within the hospital and in the community at present. A spokesperson for UL Hospitals Group said, “We regret the inconvenience these access restrictions cause for inpatients. The decision has been taken to help keep all our patients, their loved ones, and our staff safe, and to ensure essential hospital services can remain open for patients. “The situation is being monitored on a daily basis, and hospital management hopes to reintroduce visiting to relatives of inpatients as soon as it is safe to do so. “We wish to reassure patients and their loved ones that all appropriate infection control precautions are being followed to minimise the risk of spreading infection among staff and patients within our health facilities, and also within the wider community. All other services in the hospital continue to operate as normal. The only exceptions, on …

THE lack of motorway service stations is forcing people to turn the side of Clare’s stretch of the M18 into a public toilet, a local authority member has asserted.  Offering to produce video evidence of the practice of public urination along the M18 and N18, Councillor PJ Ryan appealed to the Council to ask Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the Transport Minister to install public services on the Clare stretch of the motorway. “It has been brought to may notice that quite a lot of vehicles cars on N18/M18 are using side of motorway when they need to go to the toilet,” he said. “Making a public toilet out the motorway is a disgrace It is mostly on the south-bound side that there is the problem. The north-bound stretch has services at Birdhill. Clare County Council needs to do something.” Seconding the motion, Councillor Pat McMahon agreed that the Tipperary stretch of the motorway has better services. “In Tipperary, there …

A PROPOSAL to develop housing in Lahinch has been refused planning permission due to inadequate sewage treatment. The local authority stated the development would be “premature” due to a deficiency in sewerage facilities locally and “result in a risk of pollution and would be prejudicial to public health”. John Talty Construction Ltd had applied to Clare County Council for planning permission to construct a development of eight houses, comprising six detached and two semi-detached homes. The proposal included all associated site development works, wastewater pre-treatment and connections to public services at Cill Stuifin, School Road, Attycristora, Lahinch. However in refusing permission Clare County Council stated the proposal would be “premature by reference to the existing deficiency in the provision of sewerage facilities in Lahinch and the period within which this constraint may reasonably be expected to cease”. The planning authority’s decision continued, “It is further considered that the proposed development of eight houses to be served by means of an …

THE country’s most successful soccer club, Shamrock Rovers is a Dublin institution. However, when the club had an away tie in the first qualification round of the Champions League this week, the Hoops ended up flying from Shannon rather than from the capital, even though it is 188km further from their ground than Dublin Airport. The club spent over €100,000 on chartering a flight to Malta for their second leg tie against Hibernians, but so congested was Dublin Airport that they couldn’t fly from there and had to go to Shannon instead. While it was unfortunate from the club’s point of view, it was yet more positive marketing for Shannon at a time when Dublin Airport is struggling to cope with the numbers using the airport, which is helping make the case that Irish aviation is far too centralised. Shannon Airport tweeted pictures of the Rovers squad at the airport and after wishing them well added, “It’s easier, faster and …

Passengers from a flight that made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport on Wednesday had to be bussed across the country to hotels ‘near’ Dublin, as there weren’t enough rooms available in the Shannon area. Travellers were left stranded in Shannon for several hours on Tuesday after their Delta Air Lines flight from Edinburgh, Scotland to Boston in the U.S. was forced to divert and make and emergency landing at Shannon Airport. Delta Air Lines flight DL-123 took off from Edinburgh Airport at around 12.30pm on Tuesday bound for Boston in the United States. Soon after departure, the crew of the Boeing 767-300(ER) reported ‘serious issues’ with one of the aircraft’s hydraulic systems. So left on a @Delta #767-300 out of #EDI & one of the hydraulic systems failed over the Irish Sea, so we are sitting here now at #SNN – #Delta doesn’t service #Shannon so not sure what’s going to happen. #Boeing767 #avgeek #aviation #Boeing pic.twitter.com/PEUI8ZRTia — Chris …

PLANS to develop more private housing in the town of Tulla have generated some concerns locally and prompted the Council to probe a number of aspects of the project.  In May, Woodhaven Developments lodged plans for 36 new homes on a greenfield site, close to Glebe House, on Church Road. The company, who already have permission to build 17 houses and a commercial centre nearby, on the site of the former St Joseph’s Secondary School, told planners the latest plans will help to meet housing need in Tulla; create 42 construction jobs and represent an investment of around €3.75 million in the town.  Within the window for public consultation, four submissions were made. One, from a couple living on Church Road, described the development as being “of great benefit to the Tulla area” and “very well designed”. The residents asked that, in the event permission is granted, a two-metre high boundary wall would be erected along the entire boundary between …

A FREIGHT yard at Ennis Rail Station should be used to provide tourist and student accommodation, helping to alleviate a “critical” shortage of accommodation in the county. That’s according to Councillor Johnny Flynn who believes the freight yard situated at a transport hub with the national rail and bus network could attract students commuting to neighbouring counties during term time, while opening up to tourists in the summer. Speaking at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District he urged that discussions take place with Clare County Council’s Tourism department, Irish Rail, third level institutes in the Mid West and Failte Ireland to investigate the possibility. The councillor stated that the Clare County Council Tourism Strategy identifies “deficiencies” in Clare tourism offering “including a serious defect in tourist accommodation beds both in Ennis and Clare”. It also identifies poor transport links within the county to countywide tourism attractions in West, North and East Clare, he said. Making the case for tourism …

A PLEA has been issued to Clare TDs to fight for far-reaching changes to the Bill underpinning the revised grant scheme for homeowners with defective concrete blocks.  Councillor Ian Lynch has written to each of Clare’s Dáil representatives, ahead of a debate on Wednesday, where just two hours was set aside for discussion of 80 amendments. While the grant scheme will now be extended to Clare and Limerick, major concerns have been raised about the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022. In a series of letters, seen by The Champion, Councillor Lynch said he fully supports the 80 amendments, which have been proposed jointly by the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) and campaigners in Donegal and Mayo. He appealed to the TDs to use their influence to improve the Bill and he condemned the “physical, mental and financial hardship” that will result if the new grant scheme is not fit-for-purpose.   Asking TDs …