News

LAST week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District heard criticism of the new draft masterplan for Shannon Town Centre, and a request that the deadline for submissions on it be extended. Very close to the outset of the meeting independent Councillor Gerry Flynn made the call for the time for submissions to be extended. He said that just the previous day the county development plan had been pushed back for seven months, because there hadn’t been adequate consultation due to Covid-19. Putting the deadline back for the Shannon masterplan is necessary, he said, with local people unhappy about the level of consultation. “There is widespread anger in the community because they haven’t had proper engagement.” After Jason Murphy of the Council’s executive said he would run the request by Brian McCarthy of the Council’s planning section, Councillor Flynn said this would not be adequate. “This is something for the Chief Executive to decide on.” Councillor Flynn said he had put forward …

A COMMUNITY mural will be painted during the summer months on an exterior wall of New Quay National School. The mural will be dedicated to the people working and living around Bellharbour and New Quay and created by professional artist Richard Hearns who is living in the area. Some funding has been offered by Clare County Council’s Community Support Scheme which will help the artist to purchase the necessary supplies. The concept of the design is based on ‘GROWTH’. There are many aspects within this concept -whether it be the growth of a child through school years mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. There is also the growth of nature and natural phenomena which Richard also plans to incorporate into the design. An oil painting will be created by Richard to begin the process and then in collaboration with a mural artist they will follow this design and produce the mural at the school. New Quay Community Development Group is inviting …

A WEST Clare pool lifeguard has been hailed a “hero” after rescuing a young girl who fell into the water at the rear of Seafield Pier in Quilty. Leah Peters (7) was visiting Seafield pier, in Quilty, West Clare, when she fell from the pier into the water. Her mother, Julie, has described the incident as her “worst nightmare”. Patrick Mungovan (25), was walking his dog along the pier last week when he heard the girl’s mother calling for help. The mother-of-three had a baby in a pram and another older child. This was the first time that Mr Mungovan had to use his life-saving skills in an emergency situation. “I was just there for a walk with the dog, I saw this lady screaming and crying. She was lucky I just happened to be there in the right place at the right time. Mr Mungovan has been a lifeguard since he was 16 years of age, and was providing …

CLARE Gardaì have issued a further warning about internet fraud on foot of a recent report from a man who was almost the victim of a scam. The man did a search on the internet regarding investing his money, clicked on an unknown website and filled out a form, submitting same. He was later contacted by telephone by a male with an English accent claiming to be from a well-known and reputable multinational investment bank and financial services company. He was offering him a 3.5% annual return on his investment over three or five years. The man did not invest but unfortunately in the recent past an elderly couple presented at a Clare Garda station with the exact same fraud and they did lose money. Whilst the scammers may change their stories or methods, their goal is always the same – they want to access your sensitive information and get their hands on your money. Never give out your information …

PUBLIC patients in Clare look set to face even longer waiting times following another series of elective cancellations, which has prompted stinging criticism from Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne, writes Dan Danaher. The number of patients on public in-patient waiting lists in the Mid-West has increased from 4,798 in January 2020 to 6,569 in May 2021. There has also been a worrying rise in the number of outpatients waiting to be treated, which is up from 47,134 in January 2020 to 50,363 in May 2021. In a hard-hitting statement issued to The Clare Champion, Deputy Wynne, claimed University Hospital Limerick (UHL)has been the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland every day this year. “It has had the highest overall number of patients waiting for care without beds in each consecutive year since 2017. Despite additional recruitment and over 100 extra beds, it still faces runaway overcrowding. “University Hospital Limerick has been accommodating the highest number of people on trolleys for many months in …

THE cost of accommodating patients in public long-stay residential facilities is almost double private nursing homes, with a €790 gap between the dearest and cheapest beds in Clare, new figures have revealed. The maximum weekly Fair Deal rate for a bed in St Dominic Savio Nursing Home is €860, according to latest figures obtained by The Clare Champion. This compares to a weekly fee of €1,650 in Raheen Community Nursing Unit, €1,607 in St Joseph’s Community Hospital, €1,481 in Ennistymon Community Nursing Unit and €1,422 in Regina House Nursing Unit. The cost of care in publicly-run facilities throughout the country was set in January 2020, but the figures for private and voluntary nursing homes came into force at the end of last month. The average Fair Deal rate in Clare is in the region of €910 weekly. Carrigoran House Newmarket-on-Fergus is the dearest of the privately-run facilities in the county, with a weekly rate of €1,010. Other facilities charge the …

CLARE County Council has given approval for a multi million euro biomass combined heat/power plant in Stonehall, despite numerous objections including one from the local national school. Carbon Sole Group Ltd received planning permission for the development, which will also include a gasification and methanation plant for the production of advanced biofuels and a thermal energy recovery and storage facility for district heating distribution. The company claims it is an environmentally friendly development, which will benefit the local area. While the County Council have now approved it, it is open to those in opposition to appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála, and given the volume of objections, it seems very likely this will happen. The site in question was owned by the Shannon Airport Authority at the time planning permission was sought, but in a letter to the Council, it said it had agreed to sell it to Carbon Sole. In a video on the Carbon Sole website, CEO …

THE resignation of Susan Crawford of the Green Party from Clare County Council was prompted by an opportunity to take some ground breaking work on autism to the next level, she told The Clare Champion this week. When a research team approached her about a concept she had been working on, Ms Crawford said she knew she would have to resign from the Council. “My mind was made up for me for want of a better way of putting it. I was working on a medical device to relieve anxiety for kids with autism and a research team in DCU said they were really interested in driving this on, we want you for the team. I kind of had to make a call then, something had to give.” She said that to concentrate on the research, she knew she would have to stand down from the Council. Ms Crawford said work is currently taking place on patenting and intellectual property …