Tag Archives: Cathal Crowe

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 …

RYANAIR has delivered on a promise to refund a school group from St Joseph’s in Tulla, whose planned Transition Year tour to Barcelona last April had to be called off because of the pandemic. The repayments were confirmed by Deputy Cathal Crowe who said the money was received on Tuesday morning (March 16). Following the intervention of Deputy Crowe and Senator Timmy Dooley, Ryanair agreed to make the refund. The money went to the school who then repaid students and families. “Even though, following my intervention last month, Ryanair’s CEO Eddie Wilson agreed to directly refund the school so that they in turn could reimburse all parents, the reimbursement was delayed,” said Deputy Crowe. “This prompted me last week to engage with Ryanair to ensure that the matter would be brought to a conclusion. I’m delighted that there has been a successful outcome to this dispute.” Despite the successful outcome, Deputy Crowe described the delay, on Ryanair’s part, as “ridiculous”. …

FÁILTE Ireland is set to support an approved Local Link bus service for East Clare, boosting public transport facilities for visitors and residents alike. News of the development was secured by Deputy Cathal Crowe who said additional routes will be added as part of the Shannon Tourism Masterplan, which was unveiled last week. The Fianna Fáil TD said that the planned investment will play a major role in rejuvenating the entire east of the county. “There is huge untapped potential in terms of Lough Derg and East Clare’s tourism product,” said Deputy Crowe. “For many decades, the entire focus has been on developing the Cliffs of Moher and West Clare’s tourism offering and while this has been great, it has led to an imbalance of tourism development within our county and there has been a neglect of the Lough Derg-Lower Shannon area for too long.” Deputy Crowe also noted the importance of the new routes in the context of the …

CLARE County Council has ordered the decommission and removal of a controversial wind turbine, which was erected a few weeks ago near the village of Parteen near the Limerick border, for “non compliance with planing permission”. The council originally granted permission in October 2011, to the named applicant, Seamus Madden, “to erect a single 800kW wind turbine, 73 metres high with a rotor diameter of 53 metres, and with ancillary road access, at Knockballynameth, Parteen” after no objections were lodged. There were no objections when an extension to the permission was granted in 2016, as no works had appeared. However, when the structure did appear last month, locals contacted The Clare Champion and local politicians voicing concerns about its size and proximity to houses in the local area. It’s understood the turbine was to be used to generate electricity at a local blow moulding manufacturing facility. Fianna Fáil TD, Cathal Crowe, who lives within the vicinity of the development, said …

MEASURES to kick-start tourism in the wake of Covid-19 have been welcomed, with Clare’s Fianna Fáil TD pledging to fight to have both the rates waiver and lower VAT rate extended. Deputy Cathal Crowe, the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on tourism, also welcomed proposals to extend the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), as well as to reform the insurance sector and revise the Stay and Spend Scheme. The measures form part of a suite of recommendations made this week by the Tourism Recovery Oversight Group. “Although all the measures to keep the tourism sector buoyant at this time are costly to the State,” Deputy Crowe acknowledged, “it makes sense that they should continue – because simply put, the alternative is to stand back and watch the sector collapse, resulting in a huge amount of other pressures on the State’s social welfare system. In this time, we have seen the tourism sector reach a rock bottom …