Tag Archives: Cillian Murphy

The number of Health Care Support Assistants (HCSA) employed in North Tipperary was more than six times higher than Clare in 2021, new figures have revealed. Councillor Cillian Murphy (FF) asked at a recent HSE West Forum meeting for a list of all the types of home care supports provided by the HSE, and the numbers of staff for each type that are directly employed by the HSE in Clare, Galway, Limerick and Tipperary for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. The HSE confirmed there were just 28 HCSA’s employed in Clare in 2021 compared to 176 in North Tipperary and 218 in Limerick. This improved in 2022 when the number of HCSA’s in Clare jumped to 75, the number in North Tipperary stayed the same at 176 and the numbers in Limerick fell slightly to 215. All areas in the Mid-West benefited from an increase in HCSA’s in 2023 – Clare went up to 86, North Tipperary jumped to …

AT Friday’s West Clare Municipal District meeting Councillors Ian Lynch and Cillian Murphy requested that the Council set up a Designated Activity Company to deliver the Maritime Training Centre in Kilrush. However it emerged at the meeting that such a company is already in place, having been established in 2018 as part of an application for funding, and an allocation of resources has been assigned for a business manager. The project has been awarded almost €3.5m in Rural Regeneration Development funding, with €700,000 match funding from the county council. Speaking afterwards Councillor Murphy said that it’s time the company became active and the over €5 million allocated in funding be used. “There is a necessity now for this to be taken off the shelf and activated. It is sitting there as a shell company but now it needs to be activated and directors taken on board. “There was an Enterprise Ireland grant of €1.7 million and somewhere in the order …

ACCORDING TO Clare County Council, the structures are in place to make sure Clare benefits from the development of renewable energy off its coast. That was the message at the September meeting of the County Council from Director of Service Liam Conneally who said development contributions are still likely to be required, even if the development is off the coast. He was responding to a motion from Kilkee-based Cillian Murphy inquiring what mechanisms were in place for Clare to benefit given “the extremely significant future investments that will be made in off-shore renewables in Clare, and in the absence of rates income for these off shore developments”. Councillor Murphy wished to clarify how, under planning legislation, these developments could deliver added income through levies for the provision of housing, amenity, waste, roads and other infrastructure necessary to ensure ourcommunities can capitalise on the increased economic activity. A written reply provided by Mr Conneally said, “The Maritime Area Planning (MAP) Act …

A WOMAN working at Kilkee Golf Club had to receive medical attention following an incident last weekend. It occurred at around 10.35pm, in the vicinity of the clubhouse, when the woman approached a group of youths and an altercation took place.  At the time of writing Gardai are seeking witnesses to the incident, and no arrests had been made. Kilkee-based County Councillor Cillian Murphy said that it was a very disturbing incident. “It’s hugely concerning. This is an older lady just doing her job on ostensibly private property. There are serious questions to be asked as to who are the responsible adults over these young people. Do they know where they are, do they know what they’re doing, do they know what their behaviour is like? I think it’s appalling.” The incident came shortly after a young person was imprisoned for an assault on a garda in Kilkee in 2020. Councillor Murphy said that while most young people are well …

FOLLOWING Eddie Lenihan sharing the story of his rental nightmare in Kilkee, local councillor Cillian Murphy says it illustrates a wider problem in the seaside town. “There’s no getting away from the fact that people who want to live permanently in the town can’t get long term rentals. “Eddie isn’t the only one that we know of, I think it really crystallises what we’re losing. Here’s a guy with a job who can work remotely, can elect to live in Kilkee, they have a family and it’s a loss to the community, the kids are a loss to our schools and sporting organisations. “Eddie would have been very involved with Foróige, with the football clubs and sporting organizations, as would his wife. The social capital that that family unit brought to the town is gone. “It just shows in one family the loss to our community of not having long term rentals available and affordable housing.” Councillor Murphy said that …

SINCE the pandemic the value of property in the Kilkee area has increased significantly, and while this is good news for some people in the area, it is also causing problems for others. Councillor Cillian Murphy said that much of the local housing stock consists of purpose built holiday homes, but many other houses are now being bought by people looking for second homes. “There are a couple of aspects to it, one is there is a lot of housing in Kilkee that was granted planning permission specifically for holiday homes, so they’re operating within the space they’re supposed to be operating,” said the cathaoirleach of West Clare municipal district. “What we’re seeing more and more of now is that even in our local authority estates houses are coming up for sale, it might be the second time they’ve been sold, and our local community are competing in an international market for housing. They have to compete with people who …

COUNCILLOR Cillian Murphy has called for a report on the impact of short term lets on communities across Clare to be commissioned by the County Council. In response to his proposal, a written report prepared by Direct of Services Liam Conneally said it was recognised that an over-concentration of holiday homes and short term lets in an area can create a high level of vacancy outside of the main tourism season. This, he said, can have a negative effect on the sustainable development of rural settlements and areas and their communities. Mr Conneally’s response stated, “It is therefore essential to achieve a balance between the tourism needs of the county and the need to support the permanent population of settlements and rural areas. “The provision and distribution of holiday homes in settlements and rural areas throughout the county, particularly along the Atlantic Coast is monitored through the development management process to ensure that the overall vision of sustainable communities is …

FEARS have been expressed about the impact of the “never-ending” overcrowding problem in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) after 83 patients were left waiting for beds on Tuesday. HSE West Forum member, Cillian Murphy has called for an examination of ways to reduce the number of patients being admitted to the ED in UHL, and to speed up the discharge of treated patients in a safe manner. “From conversations with ambulance crews it seems the ED is the default response for emergencies,” the FF member noted. “This may only have a marginal impact on trolleys but we have to look at other ways to treat people such as care in the community. “At some point someone is going to have to say this isn’t good enough any more. Despite all the extra resources that are being fired into the health system, we still doesn’t seem to be able to cope with what is landing on the doorstep in UHL,” said Councillor …