Tag Archives: Councillor Liam Grant

SEVERE disruption to the Clare Fire and Rescue Service looks likely after a union served its intention to conduct a ballot for industrial action on behalf of local fire fighters on October 26. This vital life-saving service may be curtailed unless Clare County Council can address the “recruitment and retention crisis” affecting the local Retained Fire Service. The union has served the council a two-week written notice of its intention to ballot their members in the Retained Fire Service for industrial and strike action, which started on October 12. It also confirmed the union remains available to “seek an agreed solution to this dispute”. In a letter to Chief Executive, Pat Dowling dated October 12, SIPTU stated as a result of the failure “and/or refusal of management represented by the LGMA to honour its commitment to make proposals to address the long standing issues giving rise to the recruitment and retention crisis affecting the Retained Fire Service in the county …

TENSIONS between campaigners and political representatives have ratcheted up significantly this week, as the Oireachtas moves to finalise the Bill to underpin a new grant for those with defective blocks.  On Tuesday, Clare’s government TDs, Deputies Cathal Crowe and Joe Carey, voted in favour a proposal to allow just two hours to finalise the draft law. The move has angered local campaigners who had sought 80 amendments. Campaigners themselves, meanwhile, came in for criticism from some members of the local authority. The Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) along with campaigners in Limerick, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal, challenged councillors to declare their support for the amendments. A poster was then circulated on social media with an X through the faces of those who had not responded by the deadline.  Councillor Gerry Flynn, one of two Clare councillors who didn’t respond, described the approach as “totally out of order”. “We are parish pump, we don’t sit at the Cabinet table,” he said. …

CLARE people are afraid to go to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) due to chronic overcrowding and huge trolley numbers in the ED and corridors, a councillor has claimed. Councillor Liam Grant told a HSE West Forum meeting on Tuesday that patients were dying due to overcrowding in UHL and the longer a person waits on trolley for care the higher the risk of sickness or even death. Having visited UHL in his role as an emergency medical technician on a regular basis, Councillor Grant alleged there is a lack of dignity and respect treating patients in the hospital. “It has gone to the stage where people are afraid to go to UHL, which is a sorry state of affairs. Staff are exhausted and demoralised. “Elderly people are being moved on trolleys around corridors and hallways. They are scared, alone and are not being looked after properly. It is a sorry state of affairs the way we are treating elderly people …

“PISSY beds and insects are a good thing,” members of Clare County Council heard at their May meeting.  The comments came from Green Party councillor, Liam Grant, who asked that the local authority stop using chemical herbicides in amenity areas. The Lahinch man suggested that more environmentally-friendly alternatives be found and that substances like glyphosate be limited to the control of invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed. Councillor Grant’s motion also outlined that, “A shift is needed by the public in how we manage weeds and how best to promote biodiversity”.  Addressing the meeting, Councillor Grant said he would love to see the authority follow the lead of the likes of Cork City Council. “We have done a lot of great work, but we could do more,” he said. “I know it might be easier for a city council than one like Clare which is largely rural, and I acknowledge that for Japanese Knotweed, you have to use herbicides. We …

County Clare’s marine mascot has been popping her head up again around the coast and has had a close encounter with a county councillor. With calm water and sunny weather not conducive to surfing, Councillor Liam Grant, the Green Party representative, was relaxing by the sea when Dusty the Dolphin showed up. The pair are familiar with one another as Liam told the Champion, “I’ve been swimming in the area for around 15 years and she does actually remember people, so when she recognises you she is quite chilled out. “There were people in swimming at the weekend, though I was just sitting on the rocks myself when she swam up looking for belly rubs. “I had my camera with me though, a go-pro, and it has this sort of reflective casing, so anything shiny like that she is intrigued by it. So when I had the camera in the water she came up looking at it. “I’ve actually seen …

HEALTH services for women in the Mid-West must be improved as a matter of urgency, according to a former Mayor of Clare. At the April meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard described the waiting list for gynaecological appointments at Ennis General Hospital, which are the second highest in the country, as a sign of an “ongoing crisis”. In a joint motion, tabled with Councillors Donna McGetitgan, Alan O’Callaghan and Liam Grant, the Ennis woman outlined how figures released to the Dáil recently. These show the average wait time for an outpatient gynaecology appointment at the hospital is close to one year and five months and is second only to Tallaght Hospital nationwide “Waiting times at University Hospital Limerick are around half that number, averaging out at 291 days,” the motion said. “Some 599 women are currently waiting for such appointments in Ennis, along with a further 1,455 at UHL. “On foot of this information we request the Minister …

CLARITY is being sought on the impact of wastewater plants on the county’s Blue Flag beaches, after a councillor claimed bathers are getting sick because of untreated effluent, writes Fiona McGarry. The Green Party’s Liam Grant hit out, at a recent meeting of West Clare councillors, at the suggestion that raised bacteria levels at beaches are caused primarily by heavy rain. A motion tabled by Councillor Grant called on the Council “to examine the daily discharge of wastewater treatment facilities for the last two years in Lahinch, Ennistymon and Kilkee with the intention of comparing this data with closures of nearby blue flag beaches to see if there’s any correlation between the two”. The motion noted water quality issues at several Blue Flag facilities. “I believe this has a lot to do with wastewater treatment facilities not being fit for purpose,” Councillor Grant stated. Addressing the meeting, the Lahinch native was sharply critical of Irish Water: “I’m worried about elevated …

LIFEGUARDS in Lahinch performed 43% of all rescues in water-based amenities in the country in 2020, writes Dan Danaher. Councillor Liam Grant has revealed that lifeguards in Lahinch performed more rescues than counties Kerry, Cork, Donegal and Sligo combined last year. Speaking at a meeting of Clare County Council, he outlined Lahinch lifeguards completed 208 out of the 473 water rescues last year. The Green Party councillor called on Clare County Council to provide a fulltime lifeguard service for the month of June at the busiest beaches in the county. “With the increase in popularity of sea swimming and other water sports, there is now a need for lifeguards every day at the most popular beaches during the month of June.” He congratulated Clare McGrath on her appointment as chairperson of Water Safety Ireland, having done so much work to promote water safety in recent decades. The Lahinch councillor said there is a large increase in the number of people …