Tag Archives: Councillor Pat Mcmahon

AN URGENT call has been made for improvements to supports for childcare services, which one Clare councillor describing a “crisis situation” for the sector. A motion was tabled by Councillor Pat McMahon at Monday’s local authority meeting, in which he appealed for support to put pressure on government on the matter. “Childcare workers are barely getting the minimum wages in some cases,” Councillor McMahon said. “People are studying for years in college and they are just not being appreciated. Childcare services are finding it difficult to recruit staff as a result. The councillor state the minimum wage “is not good enough for such an important role”, pointing out that childcare workers are highly qualified and, like everyone, affected by issues accessing housing, health and education. “We need a strong childcare system, but it’s falling apart,” said suggesting the government “gets serious and looks at countries with same population like Finland”. “There is a huge amount of people leaving the sector, …

A CALL has been made for branded signage at access points to the county, to highlight Clare’s unique musical and cultural heritage. At the December meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Pat McMahon made the appeal, saying such an initiative could help to rejuvenate tourism and hospitality in the wake of the pandemic. “We all know about the decimation of our hospitality over the last couple of years and that we need to get the rejuvenation going,” he told the meeting. He then explained that his motion was inspired by his own travels and seeing how different regions are promoted around the world. “In Florida, each county you go through, there’s a symbol of that county,” he said. “It leaves a seed in the mind. You see the same in Cornwall and in Oranmore in Galway. It leaves a seed as to what that area produces. “What I would love to see is that, no matter from what direction you …

AN alternative to repeated lockdowns, in response to the pandemic, could lie in the promotion of ventilation and air filtration systems in homes and businesses, according to a West Clare member of Clare County Council. Addressing the November council meeting, Councillor Cillian Murphy asked the authority to undertake a campaign and to contact other councils “to build awareness at a national level of the impact better indoor air quality has in reducing the spread of Covid-19”. His motion was seconded by Councillor Patrick O’Gorman. Noting a written response from Senior Engineer Cyril Feeney saying that responsibility lay with the HSE, Councillor Murphy urged the authority to consider what it could do to promote the message. “To-date the health promotion message had focused on social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing, but there is now an increasing understanding of air-borne transmission and proper ventilation of buildings,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “Clare County Council has been instrumental in delivering HSE recommendations …

GAMBLING online was described as being “out of control” in Clare, at the monthly meeting of the county council. Calling on the minister for justice to update the legislation and appoint a regulator, Councillor PJ Ryan outlined how he had been contacted by the mother of someone who spent all of his money, overnight, by gambling online. “The woman who has a son in college forwarded him money on a Friday night and by the next day at 9.15am, he had used all of it for online gambling,” the Independent member said. “Online gambling is a serious, serious problem and there has been not update to the law on gambling since 1931. Another woman told me that her husband, who is working from home, is gambling most of his wages online and she never realised it. It is too easy to do it. If a ten year old child gets their father’s credit card, they can gamble online. It’s a …

“HORRIFIC and shocking” were the words used by Clare’s Green Party senator to describe a rise of almost one-third in the number of barring orders breached in this county over the last nine months. Senator Róisín Garvey expressed grave concerns about the figure, which was revealed to members of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee by Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran. The Garda chief outlined that there had been 52 breaches relating to barring orders and safety orders between January and September of last year. Over the same period in 2020, the figure increased by 16 to 68, a rise of 31%. The number of domestic disputes increased by 7% in the first nine months of this year. Reacting to the figures, the Inagh-based senator questioned what additional supports were in place to respond to the situation. “This is an really shocking figure,” she said. “If you have a barring order, you fear for your life. Breaches like this are horrific. What I …

CLARE County Council will face a major financial headache trying to balance its books next month following confirmation the authority is facing a €12.6 million deficit in funding due to the catastrophic economic impact of Covid-19. The grim financial situation facing the council was laid bare this week after it emerged the projected loss of income from commercial rates will total €5 million, €5.6 million will be missing from other income that is normally generated, while an additional €2 million had to be spent on unplanned public health measures. The major financial challenge facing the council was raised by Councillor Pat McMahon at a recent local authority meeting when he asked chief executive Pat Dowling to outline the financial impact of Covid-19 on the operations of the council and the council’s interactions with other bodies and agencies. Councillor McMahon stressed it will be vital to seek substantial government support as no local authority could sustain this shortfall. Commenting on the …

CLARE County Council is to ask government to call on the EU to introduce a clearer system for consumers assessing the cost of purchasing environmentally-friendly products and retrofitting their homes. It follows the tabling of a motion from Councillor Pat McMahon who said the situation in terms of accessing independent information on costs and savings was a major problem for consumers. “We are facing into the future with many options available on environmentally-friendly cars and other products to save energy in the home,” the Fianna Fáil member noted. “The biggest problem is the scarcity of independent assessors. For example, it’s difficult to get an accurate idea of how the savings that something like triple-glazed windows would produce over ten years. It’s the same for other items that can be retrofitted to save energy.” When it comes to motoring, the Newmarket-based councillor said the situation was also confusing for the consumer. “There are many options available now when it comes to …

Thirteen months after resident GP Colm Hackett retired from private practice in Newmarket- on- Fergus, the HSE has finally found his successor. Dr Colum Galvin, the Principle Medical Director of Saffron and Blue Medical Centre in Clarecastle and a native of Ballynacally, will provide the GP service from Carrigoran’s Health and Wellness Centre, beginning on Monday, June 22. Dr Colm Hackett retired from practice in May of last year and in the interim the people of Newmarket-on-Fergus have been without a family doctor. Those that needed treatment had to travel to Dr. Yvonne Williams who was based at the Shannon Medical Centre. Locals were beginning to lose faith of a successor being appointed when the possibility of a new GP being in situ fell through last September. However, the long-running saga is now at an end. Local councillor Pat McMahon admitted it has taken a lot of time and work to finally get to this stage and the overriding emotions …