News

COMPLIANCE with national standards significantly improved in a Meelick nursing home in recent months, according to the latest inspection conducted by an independent health watchdog, writes Dan Danaher. Inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) found Ennis Road Care Facility (ERCF) was non-compliant with four standards, records, governance and management, fire precautions as well as training and staff development following an inspection on February 25. This an unannounced risk-based inspection to follow up on previous inspection findings in 2020, all of which had identified issues with the governance and management of the service. This had resulted in the HIQA Chief Inspector reducing the number of beds registered from 84 to 45 to allow for governance and management structure to strengthen and to demonstrate sustainable governance. Eight breaches of national health regulations were detected following a previous unannounced inspection last September. However, when HIQA inspectors conducted an unannounced visit to examine the standards of care being provided to 44 …

AN Ennis man has been promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) for the Defence Forces. Major General Adrian Ó Murchú, originally from Hermitage and son of the late Christy and Bridie Murphy, took up his new role from September 29 having been appointed by the government.  In this role he is responsible for personnel, logistics, infrastructure, finance, legal, medical and other combat service support functions for Defence Forces activities at home and overseas.    General Ó Murchú joined the Permanent Defence Forces in 1982 as a member of the 59th Cadet Class. Prior to that, he spent several years in the Army Reserve (22nd Infantry Battalion FCA) in Ennis. After commissioning, he saw early service in the 6th Infantry Battalion, the Army Ranger Wing, Military Intelligence and the Infantry School. Later appointments included Second in Command of the 5th Infantry Battalion, Chief Instructor of the Cadet School, School Commandant of the UN Training School Ireland and Commanding Officer of the DF’s …

SHANNON Tidy Towns has recently completed a biodiversity action plan to enrich the town’s public grasslands and it hopes to plant 20,000 trees over the next ten years. Derek Clune of Shannon Tidy Towns explained how the project began. “We have been looking at the green spaces in Shannon, there have been a lot of problems with the grass cutting contractors, but there has been a big improvement this year. “We felt that there could be better use made of the green areas, there are around 200 acres of green areas in Shannon and there are large chunks, where all that was done was the grass was cut. We wanted to look at what better use could be made of them.” Meetings were held with the Shannon Municipal District of the County Council and work got underway. “We set up a biodiversity forum and out of that it was agreed that we would apply to the Heritage Council for a …

UL Hospitals Group has announced increased access for nominated support partners of patients at University Maternity Hospital Limerick from this Tuesday. With effect from Tuesday morning, nominated support partners will be able to access all three inpatient wards at the hospital, from 8am to 9pm daily. The new measures, being enacted at UMHL are in line with the guidance of the Health Protection Surveillance Committee (HPSC), which was updated on October 21 for implementation on November 1. In the interests of the safety of staff, service users and their support partners, these and all access measures at the hospital continue to be reviewed and risk-assessed in the light of the COVID-19 transmission rate in communities locally, the number of staff in the hospital and the possibility of those healthcare workers becoming unwell, and the infrastructure of the hospital site. This is the latest, and most significant, of a series of measures that have been taken since April of this year, …

HOLIDAY options from Shannon Airport are set for a welcome boost from next weekend as the airport launches three new Ryanair services to Fuerteventura, Birmingham and Budapest. The Fuerteventura service will commence on October 31 and operate weekly on Sundays. It will depart Shannon at 6.20am. A new twice weekly service to Birmingham will operate from November 1 on Mondays and Fridays departing Shannon at 7.40am both days. The new Budapest service operating twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays from November 3 will depart Shannon at 5.25pm and 7.45pm respectively. A new Turin service will commence weekly from December. These flights are part of a series of new services announced by Ryanair for their Winter season which included services to Gran Canaria, London Luton and Edinburgh which are already operating. Welcoming the commencement of the new air services Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group, which owns and manages Shannon Airport said: “This is another milestone moment in our efforts to rebuild …

AFTER years of campaigning residents of Corrovorrin “see light at the end of the tunnel” with confirmation that a mini roundabout is set to be installed on the Tulla Road, writes Jessica Quinn. It is expected this will mean an end to frustratingly long delays for residents trying to exit Kevin Barry Avenue onto the busy Tulla Road. A special meeting of the Ennis Municipal District heard details of the plans for a Low Cost Safety Scheme on the junction with Kevin Barry Avenue at Corrovorrin. The improved junction layout on the R352 will facilitate “safer access and egress from Kevin Barry Ave” through a mini roundabout, removal of parking spaces, installation of bollards, refurbishment of road lining and marking and realignment of footpaths, the local authority has outlined. Speaking after the meeting in which councillors gave the plan their backing, local resident Tom Verling said, “This is absolutely brilliant, it’s been a long time coming, going back to the …

A WEST Clare hotel has today announced its intention to create more than 100 new jobs to be filled by February 2022 as part of €3m redevelopment plan. To fill the roles, in a sector hampered by difficulties attracting staff, the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point has set up a recruitment agency, complete with its own beach hut. The renovation project which was placed on hold last year due to the pandemic will see the delivery of a large extension housing ‘Aileens’ – a brand new 90 seater restaurant with its own 100% sustainable energy kitchen. There will also be a new ocean bar with an “interactive cocktail space”; a private dining area for parties of up to 12 guests; and a dedicated space for wedding arrivals with feature bar and panoramic views. The remainder of the renovation works will take place in January when the hotel is closed to guests. To facilitate the work, the hotel has launched a …

After an enforced closure due to Covid-19 restrictions, Shannon’s Men’s Shed members are meeting up once again IT has been a long and trying hiatus, but the Shannon Men’s Shed is up and running again. With older men at a particular risk of social isolation, the Men’s Shed offers an important outlet, but Covid meant that it was closed and its members were denied the opportunity to interact with one another. For the last few weeks they have been going to the club’s premises and spokesman Christy Collins said they are very pleased to be getting back to normality. “We had been closed for 15 to 18 months really, so the men were absolutely delighted to be back. There are a lot of men living on their own and everything was closed down. As you know a lot of men wouldn’t be going shopping, so they could end up inside watching the television.” One of the projects they are working …