Tag Archives: Councillor Cillian Murphy

COMMUNITY playgrounds are facing huge hurdles in securing insurance cover, with the county council being urged to step in to support them. The matter was raised at this month’s meeting of Clare County Council, where Councillors Cillian Murphy, Ian Lynch and Joe Garrihy tabled a motion calling for new playgrounds and those whose policies had lapsed to be taken in under the council’s policy. “We could soon be looking at two-tier communities,” Councillor Murphy said. “Those who have community playgrounds and those who don’t, if this situation isn’t resolved. This is a grossly unfair and utterly risible situation.” The Fianna Fáil member said he was aware of two community groups who would not be able to draw down their core funds for playground facilities, if they are unable to get insurance cover. “In one case a group has spent €275,000 and is ready to go, but the playground has to have insurance cover,” he said. “Significant time and energy has …

COUNCILLOR Cillian Murphy has requested actions to provide insulin pump therapy and Type One Diabetes Self-Management Education for  Clare adults with Type One diabetes. Speaking at a HSE West Forum meeting on Tuesday, Councillor Murphy asked the HSE if it could confirm whether diabetes dietitians and diabetes specialist nurses posts have been included by the UL Hospitals’ Group in their 2021 Budget Estimates. If this is the case, he wondered when would the public be informed when these vital posts were approved. UL Hospitals’ Group chief executive officer, Colette Cowan confirmed there is only one whole-time equivalent (WTE) consultant endocrinologist in UL Hospitals’ Group working with adult diabetic patients and noted a second consultant endocrinologist is due to commence in October 2020. The adult diabetes service is supported by a dedicated team of clinical nurse specialists (CNS) and staff nurses. Diabetic nurse support is available in St Johns, Ennis and University Maternity Hospital Limerick. In addition there are currently two …

AN APPEAL has been made for greater support for what remains of Clare’s fishing industry. Figures seen by The Champion show the total value of fish landed at ports in Clare last year was worth just over €350,000. That accounts for around 0.1% of the national total of fish landings which came to more than €282 million. Councillor Cillian Murphy from Kilkee, who spent much of his working life in the fishing industry, said the data was an indictment of the policies of various governments since the 1970s. “The reality is that a decision was made to sacrifice fishing for farming and this has been the approach for decades,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “What’s happening now is that most of the fish landed is fired into the back of a truck and exported. Fishermen are only getting a commodity price. Jobs and income are being sent out of communities.” On foot of the Clare figures, which show that Quilty …

NURSING homes across Clare to from benefit from a donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), secured after a fundraising drive coordinated by the Midwest Hospital Campaign. The initiative was prompted by concern at the start of the pandemic about the difficulty in accessing supplies of PPE, particularly for nursing homes and other congregated settings. “The donation will be especially important now that visiting has begun once again at nursing homes and there’s even more demand for PPE,” said Noeleen Moran, one of the coordinators. Some of the PPE was sourced through a network of contacts for manufacturers in Poland, while more was handmade by hundreds of individual volunteers and groups across Clare, including the Irish Countrywomen’s’ Association (ICA). Hilary Tonge of the Midwest Hospital Campaign said the effort to secure PPE had involved many groups and individuals from across the county. “When the pandemic was declared, there was a huge fear that there would not be enough PPE,” she said. …

THE wisdom of Nelson Mandela was cited at the monthly meeting of the local authority when no less than 12 members called for a new system to make sure that all motions adopted result in action on the ground. “Vision without action is just a dream, action without vision just passes the time, and vision with action can change the world,” said Councillor Cillian Murphy quoting the late South African leader. “It is relatively easy to have a motion passed here on the council, but the real work is ensure there is a follow-up.” Along with 11 council colleagues of all parties and none, Councillor Murphy asked the authority to devise a publicly-accessible system to record all motions, official responses and follow-up actions. “Many motions come from environs outside these walls and arise from conversations with constituents,” he noted. “It can be very wearying to track what progress has been made and we must prove to constituents that action is being taken. What we are proposing would …

A CALL has been made for more flexibility in the kinds of waste water treatment processes considerable acceptable when applications for rural housing are being considered by Clare County Council. Councillor Cillian Murphy made an appeal, at the July meeting of the local authority, for more consideration to be given to alternative systems, which he said are increasing in sophistication and effectiveness all the time. “There are farmers out there with sons and daughters who want to stay in West Clare,” he said. “There is a perception that they are unlikely to get planning permission because a number of other applicants on nearby sites have already had failed percolation tests. There is a sense that assessors can tell by looking at the maps, what the local drainage is like, and whether a percolation test is likely to pass or fail.” The Fianna Fáil member stressed that he was in no way advocating that environmental guidelines be bypassed, but pleaded with …

A MEMBER of the West Clare Municipal District has expressed his fears over the safety of holiday-makers at a caravan park in Carrigaholt, where there is no footpath on a 350km section of road into the village. Tabling a motion at the most recent district meeting, Councillor Cillian Murphy said there was an opportunity for the council to put in a path after work on the drains along route between Carrigaholt and the Amigos Holiday Park. “This road is narrow, fast and dark,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “There are 120 caravans, the council gave planning permission for site. There could be up to 400 people staying there, many of them children.” Expressing his dissatisfaction with a response from the local authority, saying there are no plans to construct a footpath, Councillor Murphy said, “The park is a key economic driver for the village and is a rate-payer. The lack of a path reinforces reliance on cars”. The motion was …

WEST Clare must stand ready to capitalise on the opportunities coming its way, despite the challenges of Covid-19, according to the new Cathaoirleach of the Municipal District. Councillor Joe Garrihy said that while 2020 would be a difficult one, in light of the pandemic, there was strong potential to develop West Clare if members work together on strategically important projects. “It is a challenging time for the district in terms of tourism, agriculture and the overall recovery from the impact of Covid-19,” the Fine Gael member noted. “We have a great team, but we will need help from central government and strong representation. We will also need to diversify and end our over-reliance on tourism.” Councillor Garrihy, who was elected last year as a first-time member of the local authority, identified opportunities in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the investment in climate change projects. “Sustainable energy projects will be possible across West Clare,” he noted. “A new town …