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CLARE’S Green Senator has described the new national retrofitting scheme as a “game changer” for those living in fuel poverty, writes Fiona McGarry. Róisín Garvey told The Champion the issue prompted her to enter politics in the first place, after her own personal experiences as a young mother. On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved a scheme that aims to retrofit 500,000 homes by the end of the decade. Launching the scheme, the Green Party leader said the scheme would help reduce the cost of living, particularly heating bills. The programme would see up to 80% of the cost of smaller insulation works met by the State. “When I lived in a house in Ennistymon with my young son, I couldn’t afford to put the heat on,” she told The Champion. “When I told the landlord, he pumped the walls and insulated the attic and we were never cold again. That was a game changer. This scheme is one of the reasons …

CLARE County Council is seeking an annual €3 million subvention for capital works to fund planned maintenance and upgrading of local Shannon Heritage sites, writes Dan Danaher. This was revealed at a briefing meeting involving senior council officials and Clare Oireachtas members on Friday. It is understood this is one of the authority’s key requirements before it will agree to the transfer of these key tourist attractions from the Shannon Group. The proposed grant, which will be subject to government approval, is being sought for about three years in view of the apparent deterioration in the condition of some of the Shannon Heritage attractions in the county. This would also help the council to cover some of the operational overheads to manage Bunratty Castle, Knappogue Castle and Craggaunowen. Deputy Michael McNamara said work is required to repair the roof on Bunratty Castle. Even though a lot of money was spent on improving the Walled Garden in Knappogue Castle a few …

A ROAD worker has been injured after he was struck by a car at a work site on a busy road in Co Clare this afternoon. The collision occurred shortly after 3.00pm at roadworks on the R352 main Ennis to Tulla Road in Clooney Village. The man was struck by the car which then collided with a mini-digger. National Ambulance Service paramedics and Clare County Fire and Rescue Service crews from Ennis station responded to the incident along with Gardaí. It’s not known whether there was anyone in the mini-digger at the time of the collision but the driver was out of the vehicle when emergency services arrived. The injured worker was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. It’s understood that the worker suffered multiple fractures while the driver of the car escaped injury. Fire crews made the crashed car safe and set up an emergency traffic management system …

TAOISEACH Micheál Martin has come under fire after an impatient response when quizzed about the future transfer of Shannon Heritage properties to Clare County Council. Responding to questions from Deputy Michael McNamara, the Taoiseach said if the council wanted to take over the sites, they should just get on with it. A due diligence process regarding the transfer of the assets, (including Bunratty Castle, Knappogue Castle and Craggaunowen) began last summer, but with the 2022 tourist season approaching, it still has not been concluded. It is understood that Clare County Council is looking for a commitment that it will receive around €9 million in capital funding over a few years if it takes over the assets, with significant improvement and maintenance works set to be required in the coming years. Clare TD Michael McNamara raised the future of sites with the Taoiseach on Tuesday, asking him for a commitment to provide Clare County Council with the backing it needs. “I …

A CLARE Dáil Deputy has called for increased resources for the ambulance service after personnel assisted her to have her sixth child outside Kilrush Golf Club on Monday, writes Dan Danaher. The ambulance that collected Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne didn’t even make it to University Maternity Hospital Limerick in time and the baby girl, who weighed 6.10oz was delivered in the ambulance beside Kilrush Golf Course. Having commenced her maternity leave in January, Deputy Wynne’s due date was not until March but she instinctively suspected it would be early. Mother and baby are doing well and the Kilrush-based Deputy was due to be discharged on Wednesday evening. She told The Clare Champion that she is delighted with her new baby. “I am over the moon to announce the arrival of my sixth child. Albeit an eventful labour and birth, I couldn’t be happier to be holding her in my arms. “I am thrilled to welcome the newest member of our family …

IN the second half of last year the prices of three-bedroom semi-detached houses rocketed in Clare, increasing by a greater percentage than any other part of the country. That’s according to the latest residential property price research from the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers. In a report issued this week they stated, “In the three-bedroom semi segments of the market, Clare scored the strongest growth rising 13.53% to an average of €206,250.” According to its findings the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Clare is €120,750, while for a three-bedroom semi-detached house it is €206,250 and for a four-bedroom semi it is €260,000. Writing in the report, Pat Davitt IPAV Chief Executive, stated that house prices are close to where they were at the end of the Celtic Tiger years. “Our barometer tracks house prices achieved by auctioneers, as opposed to asking prices. During 2021 in particular that differential was crucial given the intense demand against a scarcity …

A CLARE-BASED driver education programme has launched Ireland’s very first e-scooter safety course which is set to be rolled out in schools across the country. The Irish School of Excellence, founded by Clare native Kieran O’Brien, has joined forces with Bird, a leader in environmentally friendly electric transportation, to launch the course. The announcement of the new programme comes just weeks after the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI), the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind highlighted the hazards caused by e-scooters, calling for a ban on their use on footpaths and a reduced speed limit of 12km/h among other proposals. Mr O’Brien, CEO and founder of ISOE, explained that when it came to setting up the new course he was moved by the organisations’ statements to the Oireachtas Committee on Transport highlighting their concerns about e-scooters. “We were going to add e-scooter training as part of our overall driver education programme in schools, Mr O’Brien …

A SALMON poacher threatened to stab a fisheries officer with a knife during a foot-chase on the west Clare coastline almost two years ago, a court has heard. At Kilrush District Court sitting in Ennis, Judge Mary Larkin convicted John Linnane (43) of making a threat to Inland Fisheries Ireland Officer, Raymond Byrne intending Mr Byrne to believe it would be carried out to kill or cause him serious harm at Carrowdotia, Killimer on June 1st 2020 contrary to Section 5 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. In evidence, Mr Byrne told the court that during the chase, Mr Linnane of Griffin Road, Kilrush said to him that “he wouldn’t do time for this and that he had a knife in this pocket and he would take it out and stab me with it”. Mr Byrne said that he then withdrew from the scene following Mr Linnane’s threat. He said: “I was taken aback by what he …