Tag Archives: Councillor Ann Norton

FAMILY carers in Clare have been completely neglected by the lack of priority in the national vaccination programme, a local councillor has claimed. While patients aged 16 to 69 with serious underlying health conditions have been moved up the national vaccination priority list from category seven to category four, Councillor Ann Norton said general practitioners have not been directed by the HSE to make this change. “It is farcical what the HSE have done putting people into different groups and are then changing their minds. We don’t know whether we are coming or going. “The HSE are completely undermining the work family carers are doing. We are being left to one side because we are looking after a family member and there is no appreciation there whatsoever.” Councillor Norton outlined that her own daughter, Nicole, has severe disabilities including Cerebral Palsy and needs a vaccine against Covid-19, but her general practitioner isn’t in a position to provide a definite timeline …

OLDER residents of Ennis are “feeling very isolated” because of the condition of footpaths during cold spells, a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District has heard. The growing numbers of people enjoying the outdoors during the latest lock-down has prompted calls on the local authority to ensure footpaths are safe and salted during cold spells. Councillor Ann Norton raised the issue at a recent meeting of the local authority where she pointed out that there are now many people out walking as Covid restrictions are preventing people from going outside of 5km. “I’m asking the Ennis Municipal District to make sure that footpaths are safe and maintained and with cold icy weather that footpaths are salted where possible to prevent accidents.” Eamon O’Dea, senior engineer, responded, “As cold spells in Ireland are normally of short duration it is difficult to structure a maintenance schedule for footpath salting or gritting. Where cold weather conditions prevail the key access point within the …

FULL time carers and people with disabilities should be vaccinated as soon as possible, according to Councillor Ann Norton. Councillor Norton has called on the government to follow the example of the United Kingdom by prioritising carers and family members they are looking after for the vaccine against Covid-19. As a parent and full time carer, the Independent Councillor wrote to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, Tanáiste Leo Varadkar and An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin about the need to prioritise carers as part of the national vaccination programme and was very disappointed with the lack of any serious engagement. She received a standard acknowledgement from Minister Donnelly’s secretary, an automatic response from Deputy Varadkar and no response from the Taoiseach. Councillor Norton, who cares for her daughter, Nicole, (23) said it was time for the government to recognise carers were saving the state huge sums of money by keeping children and adults out of long stay residential facilities. “Full time carers are …

ACCUSATIONS of an ambush on Clare’s first citizen, as she chaired the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, were robustly denied by three members who tabled a motion calling for a ban on the use of the title ‘Mayor of Clare’. Councillors Ann Norton, Mark Nestor and Paul Murphy refused a number of requests from fellow councillors to withdrawn their motion. They noted that, under the Local Government legislation, the only mayoral title is that of ‘Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District,’ owing to the population of the area, and that the title for the county council chair is ‘Cathaoirleach’. Their motion asked “that the executive use the correct titles of Cathaoirleach of County Clare and Mayor of Ennis in all correspondence and media releases”. Responding, Councillor Howard, who is the current council chair, said she found it hard not to take the motion personally. She agreed with the assertion of Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy that it represented an ambush. …

DESPITE a number of upgrades, Ennis General Hospital won’t see its former status return, and will remain a Model 2 facility, the Chief Clinical Director of the UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) has said. Professor Brian Lenehan told a briefing for local authority members that while new operating theatres are planned for the site in the county town, they won’t change the status of the facility within the hospitals group. He noted progress in a number of areas at Ennis General, including a new outpatient department which is now equipped and set to open in the first quarter of next year. “We will increase the range of services available in Ennis over the course of the year,” Professor Lenehan said. “The Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and the Local Injuries Unit (LIU) will see upgrades. The MAU is now open seven days a week and sees 32 patients a day. University Hospital Limerick (UHL) would struggle without it.” Professor Lenehan described the …

THE number of nursing homes with Covid-19 outbreaks in the Midwest stands at 20, according to the most recent update from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). As high rates of community transmission spill over into enclosed settings, the number of outbreaks in this region has risen steadily since July. However, clusters of infection in private houses, of which there are 155 in the Midwest, account for the largest number of clusters. Last week, a major outbreak at the nursing home in East Galway sparked concern about the capacity of the sector to cope with a second wave of the virus. The Nightingale Nursing Home in Ahascragh had 25 cases among 27 residents, with only one nurse and one carer available to cover at 72 hour period because of positive cases among other staff. Councillor Ann Norton, director of the Clare Crusaders in Barefield, was sharply critical of the response of the Health Service Executive (HSE), saying that they had …

THE Ennis Municipal District are being urged to put its back into supporting local students. Councillor Ann Norton has proposed that the local authority meet with students to hear first-hand about their experiences of heavy school bags and the effect it has had on their backs. Speaking at the monthly meeting of the council she stated, “There has been an enormous amount of students already suffer injuries and pains due to this issue and it is exactly this situation that will cause long term damage to our children’s backs. There is a body of international medical and academic research that supports the correlation between weight of school bags and lower back pain in adolescents. Can Ennis Municipal District look at supporting students to highlight this issue to the Department of Education and the Minister of Education? We should invite students in to tell us there experiences and look at the best way forward to look at reducing the weight of …

FUNDING to pilot a trial introduction of communication boards at amenity sites in the county is to be sought in response to calls from an Ennis councillor. Councillor Ann Norton, at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council urged that the local authority put up the boards in locations such as John O’Sullivan Park (Lee’s Road). She explained that the boards use photographs or symbols and support those who may find it difficult to express themselves including people with disabilities, limited language skills and elderly people. Siobhán McNulty, acting director of social development responded, “The installation of communication boards would be a welcome addition to Clare County Councils amenity sites and in this regard we will seek a funding stream to pilot a site and trial this initiative. That said the premise of these boards is that they are interactive and given current Covid-19 restrictions we would not be in a position to commence a pilot at this time. We …