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PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina visited the local branch of the Samaritans on the Kilrush Road in Ennis last week, as it celebrated its 40th anniversary. The Samaritans provides confidential emotional support to people experiencing feelings of distress and despair, including feelings that may lead to suicide. The current local director Margaret McMahon said Gardai had been at the branch well in advance of the visit, and around the Tuesday of the week before the Presidential visit it had been confirmed he would be coming. On the day he presented certificates to two of the longest serving volunteers. “One of them, Teresa, is one of the founding members and has 40 years of service, while another one, Mary, has 39 years,” said Margaret. Speaking about the visit, she said that they had shown him their premises, while they found he was familiar with the charity. “We brought him in and showed him our visitors room, the operations …

RESEARCH involving two Clare natives has provided further insight into how remote working can support balanced regional development and revitalise rural communities.  Among the findings of the third annual National Remote Working Survey is the fact that this county ranks inside the top ten locations for workers who have relocated since the pandemic. Clare was the seventh most popular destination for those relocating. The potential offered by remote working had prompted 4.4% of those relocating to opt for County Clare. Of the survey respondents still considering moving, Clare was the tenth most popular choice.  The study was led by Labasheeda native, Professor Alma McCarthy and Noreen O’Connor at NUI Galway; as well as Quin’s Tomás Ó Síocháin and Deirdre Frost at the Western Development Commission (WDC). The survey gathered responses from more than 8,400 employees, in late April and early May, on their current experience of remote working. While more than half of respondents (58%) had never worked remotely before the …

A PLANNING application for the construction of a new €25 million community hospital in Ennis to replace long stay and short stay beds at St Joseph’s will be lodged in the last week in June, the HSE has confirmed. Responding to Clare Champion queries, the HSE has confirmed it also hopes to host a public consultation event about its plans on June 22. There have been a number of false dawns in relation to this planning application, which was was previously supposed to be lodged last December. If given the green light, the 100-bed community nursing unit will be situated on the grounds of a green field 5.09 acre site adjacent to St Flannan’s College. A design team has completed an outline design phase of the project. The unit will include 88 single and four twin rooms, and four palliative care facilities. The project has already been included for funding in the HSE Capital Programme 2021. An allocation of €1.05 …

Vueling Airlines, the low-cost Spanish airline, will operate a twice weekly service to Paris Orly Airport on Mondays and Fridays starting from September 12. Shannon Group welcomed the announcement of the direct Paris service with fares starting from €30.99 calling it a “further boost to Shannon Airport’s pandemic recovery”. Orly Airport is the nearest airport to the centre of Paris, just 13km from the city of lights. It is the second largest airport in France and provides hub connectivity with onward connections to major European cities and Middle Eastern countries. Commenting on the announcement, Shannon Group CEO, Mary Considine said: “We are delighted to welcome our new carrier Vueling, part of IAG, to Shannon Airport. This service is another major boost for inbound and outbound business and tourism interests in the region. “We have been working closely with Vueling to deliver the service and are looking forward to seeing our passengers jet off to this globally renowned city, steeped in …

THE Mid-West HSE has advertised for two dietitians to support the assessment and treatment of children and young people with eating disorders. Maria Bridgeman, Chief Officer, HSE Mid West Community Healthcare has outlined what supports are available to young people with eating disorders in Clare following a question tabled by Councillor Mary Howard at a recent HSE West Forum meeting. Ms Bridgeman stated the East Clare and West Clare HSE CAMHS Teams offer assessment and interventions to children and adolescents with eating disorders, as well as supports to their parents and carers. Services provided include assessment and family based treatment is line with the National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders. The HSE also support admission to CAMHS inpatient units if necessary. It provides referral consultations and pre-admission/post discharge support and funds private sessions on an needs basis. The work of Bodywhys a national organisation supporting people affected by eating disorders that operates on a self-referral basis, has also been higlighted. …

AN EXPERT engineer has described the causative link between pyrite and the cracking of affected homes in Clare as “abundantly clear, categoric and incontrovertible”. Simon Beale and Associates sent a detailed report on behalf of Clare County Council to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), last month. The documentation, seen by The Champion runs to over 1,000 pages. It was compiled on foot of queries raised in December by the DHLGH over the original report submitted last July to make the case for Clare’s inclusion on the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme. In his latest report, Mr Beale noted the the Department had “requested that Clare County Council demonstrate the link between the building damage and defective concrete blockwork by showing clear evidence of oxidation of pyrite to form other minerals, the presence of secondary minerals and gypsum production”. As part of the process of responding to the DHLGH, five homes owned by Clare County Council, located …

PYRITE-affected homeowners in Mayo shared their experiences with those in Clare during a major conference this week on the impact of defective concrete blocks.  Entitled ‘Losing Your Home,’ the event was hosted by the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and organised by lecturer and Chair of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG), Dr Martina Cleary. The two-day interdisciplinary event brought together expert engineers and geologists, politicians and affected homeowners.  Co-Chair of the Mayo Pyrite Action Group (MPAG), Josephine Murphy outlined the emergence of the problem in 2013 in the home of north Mayo couple, Dorothy and Tom Keane. “They received a letter that December from the SEAI [Sustainable Energy Association of Ireland] to say that a cavity wall [insulation] service should not be delivered due to cracks in their walls, that was the first sign,” Mrs Murphy said. “It was not until 2020 that tests confirmed the problem of pyrite. Two samples taken from their home were described as …

THE town of Ennis has been firmly in the national spotlight recently with a visit from President Michael D Higgins as well as a full episode of RTÉ’s Nationwide dedicated to the hard working volunteers of Ennis Tidy Towns. On Saturday President Higgins and his wife Sabine arrived in the county capital for the unveiling of a plaque to mark Ennis’ achievement in winning the 2021 Tidy Town Competition. The couple also visited the Samaritans branch on the Kilrush Road to mark the charity’s 40th anniversary. The unveiling of the plaque took place at the president’s Alma Mater of St Flannan’s College where they were greeted by a guard of honour as well as some young local musicians. The Ennis Brass Band played the Presidential Salute as the guests of honour made their way through the audience of invited guests including other members of Tidy Towns committees across the county. President Higgins described the overall Tidy Towns award as not …