Tag Archives: Cathal Crowe

The opening hours at the Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis Hospital are to be extended. As part of plans first announced by the Department of Health in April, the Ennis MAU will now operate sixteen hours from 8am until 12 midnight. The move was welcomed by Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF). “I am delighted to get confirmation from Minister Stephen Donnelly and the HSE today that the opening hours at the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Ennis Hospital are to be extended,” he said. “Currently, the MAU operates for 12 hours a day, from 8am until 8pm. From next Monday, October 14, the MAU will be open from 8am until midnight. “This is welcome news for the people of Clare and a positive step in alleviating pressure and attendance numbers at the already over-stretched hospital at UHL. “Currently, half a million people in the MidWest have only one Accident & Emergency department available to them, at University Hospital Limerick. “I …

ANXIETY levels for young families usually rise as the summer ends and school returns, but an already stressful time has been worsened in many homes this week as a number of school bus services around Clare have been cancelled. With full employment the retention of bus drivers is now far more difficult than it was just a few years ago and a number of services had to be cancelled at the eleventh hour. Parents who had expected their children to use the services have been left to scramble, in many cases having to take time off work or look to family members for help with drop offs and collections. This week East Clare based Senator Timmy Dooley found himself trying to act as a recruiter, as he posted on social media asking people licensed to drive buses to get in touch with him. On Wednesday he told the Clare Champion that the school bus service crisis is quite widespread. “There’s …

QUARRIES who supplied the defective concrete products that have devastated homes across the county came in for severe criticism, when members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) met on a thundery Friday night last (June 16).  After outlining that it would be another five weeks before homeowners here could apply for the new grant scheme, Deputy Cathal Crowe gave an assurance over the government’s commitment. He accepted people’s reservations about the terms of the grant, but said that further amendments to the underpinning legislation, which was debated last summer, could have jeopardised the funding. “There was a state of economic flux and I think it was right to ring fence the money, and drive on to some degree for better or worse,” he said. “I accept you’re not all happy.”  Responding, Séamus Hanley of Drumline, whose home was visited by Minister Darragh O’Brien in 2021, said the solution to funding concerns was to pursue those responsible for the defective …

A CABINET meeting earlier today saw approval granted for a funding package that is set to see Clare County Council take over responsibility for Shannon Heritage attractions in the county. It is understood that the Council will receive €6 million in funding this year. They will also receive a ‘letter of comfort’ promising further support in 2024 and 2025. Clare County Council are set to discuss the offer in the coming days and are likely to accept it, which would end a long running saga around the future of the sites. In a statement this afternoon Clare TD Cathal Crowe welcomed the development. “Today the Cabinet met and approved a funding package which will now go to Clare County Council to be ratified. “This funding package secures the future of the iconic sites in our region including Bunratty Castle and brings certainty to the workers of these sites who, for far too long, have been left wondering what the future …

HOUSING Minister Darragh O’Brien has announced draft legislation to support the remediation of apartments and duplexes with fire safety defects constructed between 1991 and 2013. The Government is also set to cover costs already incurred, which is good news for owners of property at Bru na Sionna in Shannon; more than five years ago it emerged that works costing €4 million were required there. Clare TD Cathal Crowe said that it is a very welcome development for the property owners who were shocked to find that their homes hadn’t been built to the required standard.  “Today marks a major step in ensuring that the owners of the apartments in Bru na Sionna receive the remediation that they have long asked for,” said Deputy Crowe. “In a 2017 inspection, an inspection of the development identified serious defects, which caused serious concern among the owners about how the €4 million bill would be footed. “The scheme approved today will help to protect …

PLANS to house refugees in an industrial building in Shannon have been criticised by local elected representatives. Last week the Office of Public Works (OPW) said it had made Unit 153 at Shannon Business Park (a large building close to where Molex had been located) available to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and that it is being adapted for emergency accommodation. In a statement to the Clare Champion the Department acknowledged it is working with the OPW “to develop proposals/design to use a state-owned property in Shannon Free Zone to accommodate International Protection Applicants.” However, it contradicted the OPW’s claim that it is currently being adapted for the use of refugees, saying that engagement between the two bodies is ongoing and contracts have yet to be agreed or signed. Unit 153 is a large building that is not currently in use. Speaking to The Champion on Tuesday, Clare TD Cathal Crowe said he doesn’t believe that …

CHAIRMAN/PRO of the Ennis Sinn Féin cumann Tommy Guilfoyle has defended its being named after Peadar Clancy and Mairead Farrell, following criticism from Clare TD Cathal Crowe. Deputy Crowe had claimed that relatives of Clancy were opposed to his name being adopted by the Cumann, but Mr Guilfoyle said that some people connected to him are proud of the association. In a statement to the Champion, Mr Guilfoyle said, “Ennis Sinn Féin is proudly named the ‘Peadar Clancy Mairéad Farrell Cumann’. We have held this Cumann name for over a decade and we honour both Republicans by remembering them in our Cumann name with fraternal pride and the utmost respect. “Our members and their families have attended the Cranny Community ‘Peadar Clancy Festival’ and we would like to congratulate the community on a fantastic festival and on the very fitting memorial monument to Peadar in the heart of the community. “Our Cumann Officers have attended the ‘1916-1921 Committee’ commemoration to …

CLARE TD Cathal Crowe said that there has been some disquiet in the Meelick area after a man involved in a violent incident at a direct provision centre in Kerry was granted bail, on condition that they reside at the centre in Meelick. “A few locals have been on to me about it and are not happy. This morning I contacted the Chief Superintendent’s Office at Henry Street in Limerick and asked him for clarification on this. I’ve also asked that they would have some oversight of this,” said Deputy Crowe. Deputy Crowe said that there is a need to be careful about the accommodation of people leaving troubled countries. “There was an incident, maybe four years ago, where a male, a very nice man, was fearful of his life. He was being accommodated in a room or dormitory close to other men, who his people were locked in a conflict with in his home country. “By night he was …