News

THE incidence of Covid-19 in Ennis has jumped 56% above the national average prompting a nursing union to call for the reintroduction of mandatory mask wearing. The 14-day incidence rate of Covid-19 has almost doubled in the Ennis area over the past week. There were 469 cases of Covid-19 in the Ennis Local Electoral Area (LEA) from March 1 to March 14. This translates into a 14-day incidence rate of 1,517, which was much higher than the national average of 1,188. Since then, the number of Covid-19 cases in the Ennis LEA has jumped to 885, and the 14-day incidence is 2,863 compared to the national average of 1,871 from March 15 to March 28. Apart from the Ennistymon LEA where the 14-day incidence is 1,657 following the detection of 272 cases during this period, the 14-day rate is higher than the national average in other parts of the county. There were 399 cases recorded in the Kilrush LEA during …

A NUMBER of Nigerian people who were living in Kyiv until a few weeks ago are now being accommodated in the West County Hotel. On Friday two of them, a 28-year-old female doctor and a male marine biologist of the same age said that they have had a fantastic welcome to the Banner. While neither wished to be named publicly, both said that the people of Clare have shown a lot of empathy, and done whatever they could to make them comfortable here.  Both originally went to Ukraine to study, and the woman said that it was possible to receive a very high standard of education there, at a reasonable cost. “Studying medicine in Ukraine is quite affordable compared to other European countries or in America, the tuition is much cheaper.” Her friend agreed, “Studying in Ukraine is quite affordable, and in the field of marine engineering they have some of the best universities, they have a very good reputation.” …

THE people of Clare will once again walk together in solidarity from ‘Darkness Into Light’ this year as the popular event in aid of Pieta returns to in-person walks on May 7. This year’s walk will launch on Thursday evening, April 7, in the Temple Gate Hotel with Davy Fitzgerald and Aoibhin Garrihy there to show their support. Representatives from all Darkness into Light walks within County Clare will also be at the launch. Plans are underway for events in Ennis, Shannon, Sixmilebridge and Kilmihil in the early hours of May 7, while a swim will also be held in Spanish Point with June Curtin. Darkness Into Light had its first walk in Ennis in 2011 with 550 people participating, growing to over 3,500 in 2019. The 2020 walk was cancelled due to Covid-19, and last year a virtual event was held. This year’s Darkness Into Light will be a hybrid event, with the return of in-person walks alongside the …

CLARE County Council has announced that the main street in Ennis will be closed to traffic for a period each day from this Friday to facilitate temporary pedestrianisation. The Council indicated on Twitter that O’Connell Street, Ennis, will be closed to traffic from O’Connell Square to the junction with Station Road, Friday, April 8, from 11:30am to 5pm, Monday-Sunday, seven days per week, to facilitate the introduction of temporary pedestrianisation. This road closure will remain in place until the commencement of the Ennis Public Realm Works, currently anticipated to commence on Monday, May 9, 2022. There will be no through road from Abbey Street to O’Connell Street for the duration of the closure. Diversion will be at O’Connell Square, at the junction of Bank Place and O’Connell Square.

THE Council has been requested to examine ways to make the housing waiting list and application procedure more user friendly for people not familiar with the system. The request was made via a motion at the March meeting of Clare County Council from Fianna Fáil Councillor Pat McMahon A written reply from the Council’s social directorate set out what is being done to accomplish that. “Application forms for housing support are widely available with the form itself available on the website and in the offices of Clare County Council. “Explanation material is also available in plain English to assist those with literacy issues in the completion of the form. “The form is a national template and can only be locally amended to include areas of choice relevant to County Clare. “Staff of the Council are available to support applicants in the completion of the housing application form. In addition, Citizens Information and MABS provide support to many who are seeking …

A LARGE sum of money was taken from a Clare woman’s account and put into a Revolut account in India according to gardaí. In light of this latest scam, gardaí in Clare have again issued advice to help prevent people becoming victims of frausters. The woman had received a call from a man purporting to be from Amazon Prime who told her that to continue her account with them that she needed to pay €80. He convinced her to download a number of apps on her phone, two of which were Revolut. She later discovered that a large sum of money had been taken from her Bank of Ireland account and placed into the Revolut account and withdrawn in roubles in India. Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks has this advice if you receive a suspicious call or text, “Hang up if the caller pressures you, claims urgent action is needed or threatens negative consequences. “Never provide any personal …

THE HSE has confirmed a €9.95 million capital budget allocation for the upgrade of a theatre at Ennis Hospital The project has already progressed to design stage according to Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara who received confirmation of the allocation from UL Hospitals Group CEO Collete Cowan. Ms Cowan confirmed the news to Deputy McNamara in response to his representations on theatre utilisation rates at Ennis Hospital, University Hospital Limerick (UHL), Nenagh Hospital and St. John’s Hospital during the pandemic. “While I very much welcome this long-awaited investment in theatre facilities in Ennis, I would like to see the project accelerated as figures given to me confirm the HSE’s pandemic response disproportionately impacted theatre usage at Ennis Hospital compared to other hospitals within the UL Hospitals Group,” commented Deputy McNamara. Some 2,021 procedures were carried out in Ennis during 2019, but this figure dropped by 56% to 897 in 2021. This compares to a 40% reduction at Nenagh Hospital (3,392 …

In the second instalment of her series on climate change actions, Keir McNamara, acupuncturist, sports injury specialist and former agricultural scientist tells Bridget Ginnity that taking a small bit of personal responsibility can have a big effect cumulatively in the quest for sustainable living THE past president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, made an impression on me. He donated 90% of his salary to charity, lived on a bit of a farm outside the city instead of the presidential mansion, drove an old Volkswagen Beetle and said “I can live well with what I have.” Travelling over the years, I saw how people in third world countries make do with modest amounts, which showed me that there is no need to have as much as we do. I also witnessed at first-hand how human intervention has caused environmental disasters. I spent time in Australia in the mid-nineties and saw how removing natural vegetation for agricultural land indirectly caused high levels of …