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Parents claim new Loop Head peninsula collection point is “dangerous”

BUS Eireann has been accused of selecting a “dangerous junction” for a new collection point on the Loop Head Peninsula that leaves two local secondary school students without a home collection. Philippa Doherty has claimed there is no safe place to park her car at Crotty’s Cross as she waits for her son to be dropped off from a school bus coming from Kilkee Community College. Crotty’s Cross is a small crossroads and the last junction before Loophead lighthouse on the Wild Atlantic Way, which attracts heavy tourist traffic. “There is nowhere to pull in safely, one way is blind so you cannot see oncoming traffic and the bus should not be turning at this junction for safety reasons. The safest way for the bus is to continue down the L2000 from Crotty’s Cross down Fodera and back to Kilbaha village so the bus would not have to turn around at any point,” she explained. She is being supported by …

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Recent thefts a catalyst for Garda warning

GARDAÍ are advising car owners to be vigilant following a spate of thefts of catalytic convertors in the county. The latest theft occurred in Clarecastle last week. In the early hours of Wednesday morning last at around 3pm the owner of a car on Patrick Street, Clarecastle discovered the catalytic converter had been cut away from his car. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks explains that the car owner had thought he had heard the sound of a grinder outside his home before making the unfortunate discovery. Sgt Brooks outlined that there were two similar incidents last week in East Clare, and it can cost the owner up to €2,500 to replace the catalytic converter. “It can take as little as three minutes for a thief to remove it which are being stolen because of the increasing prices in the scrap metal market, platinum, rhodium, palladium and other precious metals they employ to clean exhaust emissions, getting €100 to €300 …

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Online safety concerns spiral after lockdown school closures

A CLARE-based psychologist has said she has been inundated with concerns from parents over their children’s online activities during the months while the schools were closed. Dr Maureen Griffin is an online safety expert who provides psychological services in the areas of online offending and safety. She also works, at a preventative level, with schools, students and parents. The forensic psychologist has reiterated calls for social media companies to do more to enforce age controls. Dr Griffin also described the availability to children of dangerous content on apps like TikTok as “deeply concerning” and warned we are in danger of creating “a guinea pig generation” in terms of potential online harm. Last week, research from Cyber Safe Ireland showed that, over the last year, 61% of children had been contacted by strangers through online games. TikTok was found to be the most popular app. Despite the fact that it has a minimum age requirement of 13 – three years below …

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Decision on Ennis social housing plans deferred

A DECISION on whether or not to grant Part 8 planning permission for the development of social housing units in Ennis has been deferred by councillors. At the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, a deferral on the vote was sought by Councillor Paul Murphy on behalf of the seven members of the Ennis Municipal District. He asked that a month be given to address residents’ concerns about issues including overlooking and the removal of existing trees. The request was seconded by Councillor Mark Nestor, who said that would give time for the authority to meet residents of nearby Elm Wood, some of whom attended the council meeting on Monday. Councillor Johnny Flynn added his voice to the deferral request, suggesting that a period of two months might be needed. Contributions were made by a number of other Ennis members with Councillor Colleran Molloy asserting that residents were reasonable and had no objection to social housing. “We need to go …

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More homeowners count the cost of suspected pyrite defects

MORE than 40 homeowners in Clare are believed to be living in properties seriously damaged by defective materials like pyrite and mica, according to Deputy Cathal Crowe. Since the establishment last month of the Clare Pyrite Action Group, a number of people have come forward. Deputy Crowe, who has tabled a number of questions to the housing minister, is calling on others to do so. Mary and Séamus Hanley live in a detached house near Shannon which was built in the late ‘80s. “We have the house painted every few years and noticed hairline cracks two or three years ago, which we didn’t really take much notice of,” said Mary. “A year ago, my son said, ‘There’s a huge crack along the end of the house’. That’s now going from top to bottom and things have really deteriorated since then.” The couple engaged an engineer who judged their home to “significantly damaged”. “We had heard about pyrite in other parts …

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Big strides made on Tuamgraney to Ogonnelloe walking trail

A NEW walking trail between Tuamgraney and Ogonnelloe has been hailed as a fantastic asset for East Clare. At this week’s meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District, Councillor Joe Cooney sought an update on the amenity path which is to run from Tuamgraney to Bealkelly and which will ultimately provide greater connectivity between Scariff and Killaloe. Councillor Cooney noted there had been extensive cooperation between Tuamgraney Development Association (TDA) the Ogonnelloe Community Group and the local authority and capitalised on the funding from the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme. “It’s very positive to see funds being secured and the groups involved are very appreciative.” The Fine Gael member asked the executive if there were any plans to widen the trail and how much of it would be paved with ‘blacktop’ over the coming months. Councillor Tony O’Brien seconded Councillor Cooney’s motion, saying the tail was “a fantastic selling point”. “With all of the spurs that will link to this route,” he …

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Children in Clare gifted the joy of reading as part of Culture Night

CHILDREN in a family hub and two Direct Provision centres in Clare received a gift package of new books by leading Irish authors as part of an Arts Council initiative to ensure that as mny people as possible can experience Culture Night. Encouraging all parents to participate with their children, the government agency for funding and developing the arts, has partnered with Children’s Books Ireland to publish a special guide to 100 of the best Irish books for children. The Books Make Things Better reading guide will be distributed free of charge through bookshops and libraries, or can be downloaded on the Internet. Two direct provision centres in Meelick and Lisdoonvarna and Novas family hub in Ennis are among those to benefit from the initiative. “This is the first year that the Arts Council has taken on the stewardship of Culture Night, and it’s a year of extraordinary challenges, not least for artists and the entire arts sector,” said Arts Council Director Maureen …

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Frail elderly patients left waiting on chairs in UHL

EIGHT frail elderly patients were left on chairs in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) due to chronic overcrowding on Tuesday night, according to a nursing union. The Clare Champion can reveal that some vulnerable elderly patients were reportedly using a bed table to lean on due to the absence of proper facilities amid claims that the situation in the hospital is “unsafe”. The INMO has estimated there are close on 100 nursing vacancies at the hospital as nurses struggle to cope with a surge in activity. Concerns have been expressed about the impact of overcrowding at the hospital after the number of patients on trolleys increased from 62 on Monday to 69 on Tuesday, which was the highest level in the country. This compared to 27 in Sligo University Hospital, which was the second most overcrowded hospital in the country. The UL Hospitals’ Group has cancelled all elective activity and certain diagnostic procedures at UHL from Wednesday to Friday to de-escalate …

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