News

THE Minister for Housing has said that any changes to or extension of the existing defective concrete block scheme will require consideration in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Office of the Attorney General, writes Owen Ryan. Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien was responding to a parliamentary question from Deputy Joe Carey that asked when Clare will be incorporated into the defective concrete block scheme. Responding, Minister O’Brien said, “My department received correspondence from Clare County Council in October 2020, requesting the extension of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme to Clare. A comprehensive reply was subsequently issued to the Council in November 2020. “My department informed the council that before any extension of the scheme could be considered, the same rigorous analysis as that put in place prior to the rollout of the scheme to the counties of Donegal and Mayo would have to be undertaken. “Following further discussions between my Department and Clare …

HOPES are high the government will allocate funding to facilitate the planning and design stages for the eagerly-awaited Scariff Regeneration Project, writes Dan Danaher. Clare County Council has lodged a Category 2 application with the Department of Rural and Community Development for funding under the Rural Regeneration Development Fund. If successful, the funding would enable the local authority to proceed with the design and planning stages of the project before submitting a Category 1 funding application to deliver the works. A decision on the application is expected during November. This project has been described by Deputy Michael McNamara as the “biggest infrastructure investment in the town in a generation”. Deputy McNamara this week wrote to Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, to pledge his support for the project. He said it would have “long lasting positive implications for the community and economy of the town and surrounding area”. The Independent Deputy said the proposed delivery of an …

THE strong bond between St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe and the local community has been lauded by its new principal, Eukaria O’Grady, Dan Danaher. A native of Limerick City, Ms O’Grady, who took up the post a few weeks ago, is very impressed with the respect between staff and students, which has been built up over the years. St Anne’s has almost 600 students and 45 teachers, which includes a few part-time. The previous principal, Aideen Walsh retired recently. As she settles in to her new role, Ms O’Grady, who is almost 40 years of age, is feeling more comfortable, and really likes the students and the local community. “It is a real community school. The staff and the parents’ association work with the community and the community works back into the school. “I get a great sense of that strong link between the school and the community in Ballina and Killaloe. There is a great interest among the staff …

AN unemployed Ennis man who gardaí say paid for a €43,000 SUV in €50 notes has failed in a bid to have the vehicle returned, writes Ronan Judge. At Ennis District Court, Judge Mary Larkin refused the application brought by Ned Doherty (30), with an address at St Michael’s, Ballymaley, Ennis. The court heard the Toyota Hilux SUV was seized by gardaí in March as part of a wider garda operation. Doherty brought an application under the Police Property Act, seeking the return of the jeep. The applicant’s solicitor, Daragh Hassett, said that this is his client’s second such application since the seizure of the jeep. Mr Hassett said his client instructs that not many items were taken by gardaí during the March search and that the jeep was taken as gardaí left, “almost out of frustration”. The solicitor said the court was told during the first application, that the investigation was at an advanced stage and this is not …

GARDAÍ are investigating the discovery of a body on the coastline in south County Galway this afternoon, reports Pat Flynn. The office of the State Pathologist has been notified and requested to conduct a post-mortem examination of the remains which are believed to be that of a woman. Gardaí have confirmed that the outcome of that examination will determine the course of their investigation. Gardaí were alerted at around 11.30am on Tuesday after a person out walking reported finding a body washed up at Doorus north of Kinvara. Gardaí responded to the scene and on arrival found a body on the shoreline. Gardaí requested assistance from the fire service to help reach and recover the remains. Units of Galway Fire and Rescue Service from Gort station travelled to the scene at around 1.30pm and assisted with recovering the body. Crews had to carry the body over an embankment and back to the road before it was removed to the mortuary …

CLARE’S Oireachtas members have been urged to lobby for a dramatic change in the allocation of population growth for the county compared to other counties and cities along the West coast, writes Dan Danaher. Under the National Planning Framework, Councillor Joe Killeen said Cork City is to grow by 105,000, Galway City is expected to increase by 45,000, Limerick City is set to attract an extra 35,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, while Clare’s population is expected to jump from 119,000 to 130,000. With Ennis projected to grow from 25,000 to 35,000 under the Ennis 2040 plan, and a 3,500 increase planned for the Limerick/Shannon Metropolitian area, Councillor Killeen told a council meeting on Monday there isn’t a huge population growth planned for West Clare, North Clare and North East Clare. He claimed people living in some parts of the county were effectively paying the price because they couldn’t afford to secure new homes in tourist hot spots. “We are delighted we …

IN LINE with national guidance on Covid-19, U Hospitals Group is now asking all patients attending its acute hospitals about their vaccination status. The group stated today that the move was to keep all patients and staff in their hospitals safe from Covid infection, as numbers with the virus remains stubbornly high. All patients will receive care and treatment whatever their vaccination status, a spokesperson for UL Hospital said. “Knowledge of vaccination status enables safer management of patients, and assists with contact tracing either in the hospital or afterwards in the community, if a patient comes into contact with a COVID-19 case in any of our hospitals,” UL Hospitals Group Information on the vaccination status of patients in acute hospitals would be determined and recorded, either prior to admission or as soon as possible thereafter. The request for the information applies particularly for unscheduled attendances at the Emergency Department in University Hospital Limerick. People attending acute hospitals can present the …

THE Clare Association in Dublin (Muintir an Chláir) has a new chairperson. Tom Conway, a native of Ballyea, Inagh, will now lead the association for the coming year after his unanimous election at the association’s annual general meeting at the Clasac Comhaltas Ceoltoírí Centre, Clontarf. He succeeds Gerry O’ Reilly, who stepped down after a very successful term as the association’s chairman. The new chairman and long standing association officer, Liam O’Looney, also from Inagh, were among those who paid tribute to Mr O’ Reilly for his efforts and wonderful work on behalf of the association. He will continue to support the association as one of its officers. Mr O’Reilly thanked all members of the association for their endeavours and all who assisted the association in any way during his term in office. Mr Conway, who was a chief superintendent when he retired from An Garda Siochana in 2016 after 41 years service –most of it in Dublin- joined in …