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THE Government appears to be abandoning the development of the Northern Distributor Road, Senator Paul Gavan has claimed. Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton appeared before the Seanad last week and while raising a number of issues regarding transport around Limerick, Senator Gavan included the Northern Distributor Road. “This is a key element of infrastructure for Limerick city. Right now we have serious traffic congestion at the Mackey roundabout. “We have serious problems across the University of Limerick campus. At its peak level of busyness, it can take up to 45 minutes to get from the back of the campus to the front gates. “We have massive traffic issues across Corbally, all of which would be relieved by the Northern Distributor Road. “Unfortunately, the senior Minister has set his face against this road being developed. It is not mentioned in the national development plan.” When replying to him, Ms Naughton spoke on a number of other …

MET Eireann has issued a status yellow wind warning for county Clare and nine other counties for Tuesday. The warning takes effect from 4am and will remain in place until 3pm, until further notice. Strong to near gale force and gusty southeast to south winds on Tuesday morning and afternoon. These winds will be accompanied by heavy rain clearing to squally showers through the afternoon, with hazardous driving conditions and localised flooding possible. ⚠️Status Yellow – Wind & Rain warning issued for Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo Valid: 04:00 Tuesday 08/03/2022 to 15:00 Tuesday 08/03/2022 More detail➡️https://t.co/l8JdKfwZt9 pic.twitter.com/jtHso8yxQW — Met Éireann (@MetEireann) March 7, 2022 There is also a status orange marine warning in place off the coast from 6am to 1pm on Tuesday. South to southeast winds will reach storm force 10 for a time Tuesday morning and early afternoon on Irish coastal waters from Valentia to Slyne Head to Rossan Point. Cork, Kerry, …

MOTORISTS have been locked in a ‘stalemate’ with other drivers due to a lack of pull-ins on a narrow road leading to a Clare cemetery. A meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard calls for the pull-ins to be put in place on the road from Templemaley graveyard to the bottom of Templemaley Hill. Proposing the action, Councillor Pat Daly outlined that the route is very narrow and is popular with walkers. “Pull-ins are definitely required, people have to reverse back and it’s just not good enough in this day and age.” Barry Conway, senior executive engineer, told the meeting, “The L-4146-4 at Templemaley is a narrow road bounded on either side by stone walls. “The addition of pull ins would be most practical in the vicinity of existing gateways or field entrances and would require the cooperation of landowners. Ennis Municipal District will examine the location to identify if suitable locations exist and if so, engage with landowners to …

AN experienced former member of the Doolin Coast Unit has secured a High Court settlement following proceedings initiated a few years ago against the Minister for Transport and the Irish Coast Guard, writes Dan Danaher. Davy Spillane, who was an advanced coxswain with 20 years’ experience with the Doolin Coast Guard, said he can’t comment on the settlement figure. The case arose after the tragic death of Spillane’s Doolin Coast Guard colleague and friend Caitriona Lucas in September 2016. Welcoming the settlement, Irish Coast Guard Volunteers’ Representative Association (ICGVRA) spokesman, Jim Griffin said the result was a vindication of the case taken by Mr Spillane. The group has sought a meeting with the Minister for Transport and has lobbied a number of Senator and Dáil deputies to address the Oireachtas Transport Committee shortly. Mr Griffin said the group wanted to get the opportunity to highlight serious issues involving the National Coast Guard, which has impacted on members throughout the country. …

A BOYCOTT of Russian goods in response to the invasion of Ukraine has been called for by Ennis councillors, who have also urged the people of Clare to support local efforts to provide relief for the war-stricken country. Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy, speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, urged that retailers who are stocking products made in Russia withdraw them from shelves as she described President Vladimir Putin as a “modern day Hitler”. She said that the people of Ireland are “repulsed” by recent events in Ukraine. She acknowledged, “This is not the Russian people, they are in the dark, this is being done by a megalomaniac who is detached from reality. He doesn’t care about Russian soldiers in Ukraine who thought they were going in on exercises. This is an appalling betrayal of his own people. But this shouldn’t deter us from boycotting Russia economically.” Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Ann Norton praised the people of …

SINN Féin councillor Donna McGettigan has said that the rancorous departure of Violet Anne Wynne from the party is unfortunate, while she says she herself has not considered a future Dáil bid. On Tuesday, she said efforts had been made to deal with all issues raised by the woman who caused a major upset by taking a seat in the 2020 general election. “Any issue that we were made aware of, we tried locally and nationally to resolve them. It’s just very unfortunate that they couldn’t be resolved and Violet Anne felt she had to leave the party. “I’m not going to get into the tit for tat, the he said she said, because it’s not going to help her and it’s not going to help us either. Unfortunately she’s gone, the seat is gone and what we’re going to do going forward is hit the ground running. “On our social media you’d have seen we’ve been out, we’ve delivered …

URGENT action to control the deer population, which is said to have “exploded” in areas like East Clare, is being sought, writes Fiona McGarry. Two farming organisations have appealed to the Department of Agriculture to reinstate a national forum to manage the population, as concerns intensify about links between bovine TB and uncontrolled numbers of certain deer species. The Deputy President of ICMSA has told the joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture that the presence and prevalence of Bovine TB after “70 years and counting” of continuous TB Eradication Programmes was a damning indictment of official oversight and efforts. Lorcan McCabe said that far from moving forward at an appropriate rate, the latest eradication programme seemed condemned to repeat the mistakes and inaction that had given us several decades of missed opportunities and often ruinous expense for farmers. Mr McCabe noted that ICMSA alone had attended 30 meetings on TB strategy in just the past year. He said that farmers “desperately” …

THE tragic death of teacher Ashling Murphy sparked calls for an audit to be carried out of Ennis’ public spaces to ensure they are safe. This week’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard Councillor Mary Howard urge that the examination be carried out with a focus on lighting levels, footpath conditions and hedgerow maintenance starting with the Fairgreen and Lees Road. She said she was inspired to propose the motion following the “awful events” of last January in Tullamore when the teacher was killed while out jogging. “In light of recent events I believe it is important to ensure our public spaces / physical environment are safe,” she said. The councillor cited a United Nations Women’s Safety Audit as an example of what could be used to determine how safe the local environment is. “I’m putting this forward because women are asking me to, they just felt some places might be a little bit overgrown? The lighting mightn’t be …