News

DRAMA was kept to a minimum when members of Clare County Council gathered at Glór in Ennis for their first full meeting since the lockdown. The state-of-the art auditorium, which has capacity for 485, enabled the attendance of councillors, media and the general public, while also ensuring social distancing. “It’s great to see you all,” said CEO Pat Dowling. “We’ve missed you – a little.” Monday’s meeting coincided with the first day of Phase Two of the road map for the re-opening of Ireland and provided an opportunity for local authority members to assess the impact to-date of Covid-19 on Clare, and to consider the actions needed and the choices to be made to turn the county’s fortunes around. Any councillor considering making a song and dance, in a venue more accustomed to theatrical performances than political ones, would have been dissuaded by the CEO’s sombre account of the economic impact of the coronavirus. Outlining the additional expenditure of €500,000, …

KILLALOE councillors are to seek a briefing from the developers of a multi-million euro wind farm development planned for a site on the slopes of Slieve Bernagh, just over two kilometres from Bodyke. Earlier this month, Coillte confirmed that it is to lodge an application shortly, to An Bord Pleanála, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act. Raising the proposed Carrownagowan Wind Farm at the May meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District, Councillor Pat Hayes asked for details of communications and correspondence between officials and the developer. “I would like those details to be revealed,” the Caher-based member said. “The lack of consultation has been very remiss of Coillte.” The Fianna Fáil councillor insisted that communication with officials was not sufficient and ignored the role of elected members. “This day last year, we were re-elected and have never had personal communication [with Coillte],” he said. “Consultation behind the scenes with different departments is one thing, but we are the voice of the …

The HSE has offered over 1,000 appointments at the drive through community test centre at the county GAA grounds of Cusack Park since it opened back in April. However, the HSE has declined to confirm how many if any people tested positive for Covid-19 saying “we do not provide information on individual test centres. The NPHET reports on the numbers tested positive daily”. The Cusack Park community test centre has the capacity to test 200 people per day but the HSE outlined that there hasn’t been the need to test at that level as the public have implemented the government’s Covid-19 guidelines and continue to hold firm. The HSE, however, acknowledged the role of all HSE staff “who continue to show commitment to community testing during this pandemic”. The Cusack Park community test centre opened April 23 last and the Covid -19 test is an appointment based service following a referral completed by a GP, out of hours GP services …

AN Ennis company has joined the fight against Covid-19 by adapting sections of its production to begin making protective face shields. Cup Print, which normally produces sustainable paper cups, has begun production of PPE. With their core hospitality and catering sector clients preparing to reopen, the company says there is significant demand for protective face shields, particularly for safeguarding customers and employees that are not protected by Perspex screens or physical distancing barriers. Cup Print are already producing clear, full face visors for sizeable healthcare contracts and have capacity to expand the offering to both new and existing customers across the EU. They anticipate the face shields to complement ongoing orders for cups produced at their facility in Ennis. The Irish firm was founded in 2009 by businessman Terry Fox following the financial crisis. It now typically manufactures almost 10 million cups every month for coffee shops and bigger multinational clients. The company specialise in customised, short-run printing of paper …

A total of €35,000 in in funding has been allocated to carry out essential repairs and maintenance on the iconic O’Connell Monument in Ennis. Funding was allocated as part of more than €4.3 million set aside under this year’s Historic Structures Fund (HSF) and Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) The funding will go towards ‘emergency and stabilisation’ works on the O’Connell Monument. Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Joe Carey said, “The funding is being released as we move to phase 2 of the Government’s roadmap to reopen our economy to ease the Covid-19 restrictions. It will help provide employment for many small businesses, conservation specialists and tradespeople involved in heritage-related construction activity in Clare. “These schemes will play a vital role in helping local communities to regenerate the areas where they live and work, and to protect our built heritage for future generations.  “As the phased reopening of our economy continues, it is hoped it will be possible that many of the projects under the two …

CLARE sea anglers are to play their part in online survey aimed at improving the management of stocks and in support of conservation efforts. This online survey seeks to collect information on the behaviours, attitudes and catch preferences of all Irish sea anglers. This information will feed into the Irish Marine Recreational Sea Angling Survey (IMREC) project where it will be analysed by researchers. Inland Fisheries Ireland has established this new programme which will give a clear picture of how fishing activities relate to stock levels. This work is funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Dr Cathal Gallagher, Head of Research and Development at IFI said, “We know that there are approximately 126,000 sea anglers in Ireland and we hope that they will help us to find out how often people go fishing, what they catch and what they release. Sea angling is an important activity here in Ireland and we want to ensure the future of …

BANK of Ireland has confirmed that three Clare branches closed due to Covid-19 restrictions will re-open later this month, but with reduced opening hours. Concern had been growing when outlets in Tulla, Kilkee and Miltown Malbay remained closed since mid-March. There has been a widespread welcome for news that the branches will open from Monday, June 29. Bank of Ireland said that where ATMs are available, these will also have facilities for the lodgements restored. The three Clare branches will have advice and self-service banking available from 10am to 1pm. Announcing the date for the re-opening, the bank said it would have dedicated supports for healthcare workers, carers, self-isolating customers, mortgage holders and businesses. Gavin Kelly, CEO of Retail Ireland at Bank of Ireland, commented: “We have been monitoring and adapting our operations throughout Covid-19 to reflect customer demand and public health advice. As the economy starts to reopen, which is critically important for families and businesses across Ireland, we …

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that a total of 1 person with COVID-19 has died. There have now been a total 1,679 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight Saturday 6 June the HPSC has been notified of 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 25,201 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. In Clare, no more cases have been diagnosed for a fourth consecutive day, leaving the total in the county since the outbreak began at 368. The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread. Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Friday 5 June (25,176 cases), reveals: · 57% are female and 43% are male · the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years · 3,321 cases (13%) have been hospitalised · Of those hospitalised, 409 cases have been admitted to ICU …