News

AFTER a decade of false dawns, Ennis Town Council this Tuesday received a planning application from the Health Service Executive for permission to develop a two-storey state-of-the-art extension to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis.

CALLS have been made for the establishment of a new action committee in Clare to oppose proposed cutbacks in health services in the county and throughout the Mid-West totalling €35 million.

THE Limerick Tunnel opened on Tuesday, following four years of work and an expenditure of €660m.The development connects the M7 Dublin to Limerick Route with the N18/M18 Galway to Limerick road, while it completes the Southern Bypass of Limerick.

THE Mid-West services of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), which include Childline, Teenfocus and fundraising efforts, are appealing for volunteers from Clare to ensure that their work can continue.

A VERY serious reduction in staff numbers at Clare County Council has already taken place over the last two years, according to Mayor Christy Curtin.

AS Dr Willie Walsh heads into the final few weeks of his tenure as Bishop of Killaloe, he has once again spoken of his anguish in dealing with the issue of clerical sexual abuse. No other aspect of his 16-year ministry as a bishop has occupied as much time, or energy and carried with it so much pain and shame, he said this week.

THE Government is going to shy away from imposing either a property tax or water charges in the December Budget.

KHUN Bedu, Khun Kawrio and Khun Dee De are three young men arrested in Myanmar on May 10, 2008. They were taken by the authorities and tortured for 15 days. They were beaten, forced to kneel on stones and made to lie in the sun for hours at a time. The temperatures they were enduring rose to over 30 degrees at times. At the end of this abuse, the men were sentenced before a military court to jail terms ranging from 35 to 37 years. There was no judge present and the men were not represented legally.