Tag Archives: Cathal Crowe

FIANNA Fáil TD, Cathal Crowe has called on the Minister for Transport to use Co Clare as a trial spot for an urban e-scooter rental scheme, with a view to it eventually being rolled out nationwide. Such schemes already exist for pedal bikes in the likes of Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Cork and in last week’s meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communication Networks, the idea of a similar scheme for e-scooters was discussed. “We are undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny on an updated version of the Road Traffic Act to include for e-scooters and new forms of electric transportation, including automated cars,” said Deputy Crowe. He added, “I asked Minister Eamon Ryan if he would consider Clare, and in particular Ennis, as a pilot area to trial urban e-scooters. He was positive to my suggestion and said he and his department would be happy to look into this possibility.

THE announcement of €920,000 in funding for Shannon Airport is being welcomed this afternoon by Clare TD Cathal Crowe. The funding has been announced today as part of an almost €23 million overall Covid-19 fund for Irish airports. “Every little helps when it comes to Shannon Airport so I welcome today’s announcement of this funding,” said Deputy Crowe. “This was on a pro-rata basis, based on an appraisal of traffic figures through each airport in the comparable period of April, May and June of 2019 – so the year before Covid. “It was on this basis that each airport’s share was calculated. “Whilst Shannon will need a lot more money, and €920,000 might feel like a drop in the bucket, this injection of funding from the EU will certainly play a role in helping to turn around Shannon’s fortunes as aviation reopens. “I’ve had a number of chats with both An Tasoieach and the Finance Minister Paschal O’Donohoe about the …

DEPUTY Cathal Crowe has confirmed he will not support any motion of no confidence, if one is tabled against an Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the near future. Media reports have claimed that rebel Fianna Fáil deputies are plotting behind the scenes to oust Deputy Martin as leader after a series of poor opinion polls. There is growing unease within the party after its worst ever 4.6% share of the first preference vote in the Dublin Bay South constituency recently. Speaking to the Clare Champion, Deputy Crowe said the Taoiseach is doing a good job leading the government, which has prevented the economy from imploding and also saved lives in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. He believes the Fianna Fáil party needs to “settle” itself now and avoid any leadership contest at the moment, which would be very destabilising for the party and the country. However, once Deputy Martin’s term as Taoiseach ends, he feels this would be an ideal …

AER Lingus have exploited the pandemic, using it to address industrial relations issues, Clare TD Cathal Crowe alleged at Tuesday’s sitting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Deputy Crowe said that the State had been paying the vast majority of the Aer Lingus wage bill, but the airline had still not treated its workers with respect. He said he had sight of a Shannon employee’s pay slip, which showed how little the airline had been paying. “They got €635.89 in a fortnight. The Irish taxpayer paid €600 of that, Aer Lingus’ net contribution was €35.89. I think when the taxpayer is contributing majorly to the airline there’s a certain onus on you to commit to airports, to your workforce and not wait until the eve of reopening, to the final furlong of Covid, before pulling the carpet from under them and use terms like inefficiency.” He accused the airline of abusing the support it has got from …

STAFF in St Joseph’s Hospital have hit back at recent “inaccurate” claims that residents were left unwashed for months. The Clare Champion has learned that staff members in St Joseph’s are furious over recent public statements made by Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne and Deputy Cathal Crowe in the Dáil in view of their assertion patients were left unwashed for months. The newspaper can reveal that staff are also upset with the HSE for giving a public apology concerning care in St Joseph’s as they believe this was not justified. A union official has confirmed staff couldn’t shower patients during a Covid-19 outbreak but instead used a basin with soap and water, which was used to clean a patient from head to waist before this was emptied and a new basin was obtained to clean the patient’s bottom half. This was completed in line with agreed HSE procedures, which was not referenced in the recent HIQA report. The newspaper has been assured …

Clare Oireachtas members angry over ‘extremely disappointing’ Aer Lingus snub AER Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton opted not to attend a sitting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport & Communications on Wednesday, at which she would have faced questioning from Clare’s Oireachtas members following the airline’s decision to close its Shannon cabin crew base. The airline has received significant financial support from the State while it is in discussions looking for more, and Wednesday’s decision by Ms Embleton not to appear has provoked some irritation. Ms Embleton had been given the option to attend either remotely or in person. Despite being unavailable for the committee meeting, which would have been open to the public and media; she was set to meet with the Taoiseach privately on Wednesday. Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty would have attended the committee meeting in her place, but that was unacceptable to the members and the meeting was deferred until Ms Embleton is available. According …

CLARE Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has tendered his resignation from the Ireland-Israel parliamentary friendship committee in protest against Israeli state aggression in the disputed Gaza Strip/West Bank region and in solidarity with those impacted by this action. “I have contacted the Ceann Comhairle’s office this afternoon to inform him of my intentions to resign from the Ireland-Israel parliamentary friendship committee with immediate effect,” said Deputy Crowe. “I am doing so in protest against continued Israeli aggression and incursions into disputed parts of the Gaza Strip. “In recent days, there has been a huge escalation of violence in the Gaza area with rockets being fired by both militant fighters on the Palestinian side and the Israeli Armed Forces. “I don’t condone what either side is doing but I think the root cause of this latest ignition of violence has been works to create a new Israeli settlement in the disputed land earlier this month. “The Israeli government has acted very …

THE announcement this week that Ennis is to become a university town has been described as “fantastic news” for the county capital and the entire region. The green light has been given for a new Technological University in the Mid-West and Midlands. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has designated Athlone Institute of Technology and Limerick Institute of Technology Ireland’s next technological university. LIT’s Ennis campus on Bindon Street will fall under the remit of the new institution. Announcing the designation of the new TU on Wednesday Minister Harris TD said, “This is another hugely important day for higher education in Ireland and in particular for the Midlands and Mid-West regions. “The higher education landscape is rapidly evolving and the people of the Midlands and Mid-West will henceforth be at the heart both geographically and practically of that evolution. “This new technological university designate will increase higher education access, provide enhanced research-led teaching and …