Tag Archives: Deputy Cathal Crowe

DESIGN work on the proposed Scariff to Limerick Greenway is to begin now that contracts have been signed, Clare’s Fianna Fáil TD has confirmed. Deputy Cathal Crowe, who is his party’s tourism and aviation spokesperson, described the potential of the 41km route as “transformational in South and East Clare”. The project, led by Waterways Ireland in conjunction with the ESB and Clare and Limerick County Councils, will result in a greenway stretching from Scariff to Killaloe, along the Errina Canal, crossing the River Shannon at the Black Bridge near the University of Limerick (UL) and on to Limerick City. “There are really good road linkages between south and east Clare and Limerick City but a greenway will take people off the beaten track and allow them to experience the natural wonders of our county,” Deputy Crowe said. “The old Errina Canal was once one of the busiest waterways in Ireland but has fallen into a state of dereliction over the …

THE 2021 Capital Plan has made an allocation of €6 million for health facilities in Clare, with six projects earmarked for investment this year. The blueprint unveiled by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and seen by The Champion allocates €1.89m towards the provision for what is described as a “fit-for-purpose residential addiction treatment service” to replace the existing facilities at Bushy Park, outside Ennis. In respect of the replacement community nursing unit for St Joseph’s Hospital, which will comprise two 50-bed units on a green-field site, 75 of which will be long stay and 25 short stay, an allocation of €0.95m has been made by the Department of Health. Provision for the equipping of the new Out Patient Department (OPD) at Ennis General Hospital – which will include the provision of an X-ray room and other diagnostic facilities has been made and represents a spend this year of €0.44m. Meanwhile, Phase 1b of the redevelopment of Ennis General Hospital which will consist …

THE founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group has warned of the serious mental and physical impact of any delays in extending redress to homeowners in this county. Dr Martina Cleary welcomed the news week that, last Friday, the local authority made a detailed submission to the Department of Housing asking that The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, which is currently only open to Mayo and Donegal, be extended to Clare. She cautioned, however, that any delay on the part of the government would have a detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of those living in defective homes. “The minister now has everything he needs to make the decision to extend the scheme,” Dr Cleary said. “He has the proof that the problem is the same as in County Mayo. There is no reason now to delay. The longer we’re left out of the redress scheme, the more our homes are going to deteriorate. What’s worse is that …

TWO of Clare’s most renowned heritage sites are to be considered for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List for Ireland. The Cultural Landscape of the Burren Uplands and Inis Cealtra are among six sites nationally being considered by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for inclusion on the list. The sites on the highly prestigious list are updated every ten years. Following a public call and a deadline of June 30, six entries were received by the Department. In addition to the two Clare sites, the entries include the Trans-Atlantic Cable Ensemble going from Valentia, County Kerry to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; the Royal Sites of Ireland located in Counties Kildare, Westmeath, Tipperary, Roscommon and Meath; the Passage Tomb Landscape of County Sligo; and Glendalough Valley in County Wicklow. An independent advisory group will now consider the applications to determine which may be included in the next list of World Heritage sites in Ireland. “It’s a huge …

THE possibility that a major public building has defective concrete blocks has been raised in the Dáil by a local TD, who said that if this proves to be the case, it will put Clare “to the top of the list” in terms of government support. Deputy Cathal Crowe made an impassioned plea for Clare homeowners affected by pyrite and/mica to be given equal access to redress scheme and a Local Property Tax (LPT) exemption, currently only available in Donegal and Mayo. Addressing the Minister for Finance, he was sharply critical of the scope of the existing Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, which offers a maximum of 90% of remediation costs to homeowners in those two counties. “I am of the view that a major public building in a certain county has pyrite in it,” Deputy Crowe told the chamber. “Many people hope it does not. I hope it does for the simple reason it will advance the cause of …

BROADFORD Post Office was just one of four nationwide that closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, it emerged this week. Deputy Cathal Crowe has called on An Post to review this branch closure after representatives from An Post appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications recently. Deputy Crowe disputed claims the post office was closed due to Covid-19 or contractual changes. “When I asked about the reasons behind the closure, a number of policies were laid out to me – distance between branches, size of communities and so on. This, however, is not the reasoning behind Broadford’s case,” said Deputy Crowe. “There had been a commitment to keep Broadford open and only for personal reasons necessitating the postmaster’s retirement, this branch would be open today. “So it is incorrect to say that Broadford’s closure has been a result of Covid-19 or contractual changes or so on. “I believe there is cherry picking going on here and I don’t …

RESIDENTS of a Clare community will hope foul smells from outdated sewerage works will soon be just a bad memory. Final site investigation works were undertaken by Irish Water, working with Clare County Council, as part of the planned upgrade to the existing wastewater infrastructure in Ballycannon, Meelick, last week. Local residents have been forced to endure foul smells from the existing sewage treatment plant for decades. This project will ensure that there is adequate treatment of wastewater, for now and into the future, as well as protecting human health and safeguarding the environment. There are plans to construct a new sewage pumping station, replacing the existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. A new sewer will also be constructed to transfer the sewerage flows from Ballycannon to the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant in Limerick City. These works will be subject to statutory requirements such as planning permission, land acquisition, appropriate assessment and road opening licences. In a statement issued to the Clare …

GRANTING a licence allowing Irish Cement to burn waste material instead of fossil fuels at its Castlemungret plant has been condemned as a “retrograde decision” by Deputy Cathal Crowe. The Environmental Protection Agency has given Irish Cement the green light to proceed with its €10 million plan to change its production process. In 2018, An Bord Pleanala granted the go-ahead to Irish Cement to construct the buildings, which would be used for the storage of the materials and the granting of a licence was a major boost for the company plans. This development, which supports 105 full time positions at the factory, has been opposed by a number of local environmental campaigners, Deputy Cathal Crowe and anti-incineration lobby group Limerick Against Pollution (LAP). Irish Cement has previously stated it is no plans to construct an incinerator and noted using alternative fuels is safe and has been standard practice in cement factories throughout Europe for 30 years. It has claimed extensive …