Tag Archives: Deputy Cathal Crowe

A 25-YEAR campaign by flood-hit residents in South-East Clare has finally reaped dividends after An Bord Pleanála gave the green light to the construction of a €1.2 million flood protection embankment. Springfield resident, Geraldine Quinlivan has praised the dogged determination of the local community for securing the long-awaited flood protection works. This South-East Clare rural community has been hit by flooding in 1995, 2002, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2018 and in February 2020 when families had to be evacuated from their homes after their access road became impassable. More than 7,000 sandbags and pumping stations were delivered to houses in the locality as part of a flood management plan implemented by Clare County Council to assist other locals in the battle to keep water from entering their premises. Speaking to the Clare Champion on Wednesday, Ms Quinlivan said residents were delighted with the latest ruling from the appeals’ board after decades of lobbying. She hopes that no one will lodge a …

THE Mid-West Health Service Executive has confirmed a new Covid-19 testing centre will open on the outskirts of Ennis on November 16. This announcement comes in the wake of increasing concern about the number of people from West Clare who have been referred for Covid-19 testing in Limerick and North Tipperary in recent weeks due to capacity issues. A new Covid-19 testing centre will open in the Ballymaley Business Park, Gort Road, Ennis, on November 16. This will replace the existing test centre, which was provided at Clare GAA’s headquarters in Cusack Park. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne has expressed concern about official statistics confirming more than 600 planned Covid-19 tests were marked as no-shows across the Mid-West from October 19th to 25th. “I am deeply concerned about the continued trend of no-shows for Covid-19 tests across Clare, Limerick and Tipperary in recent days. “The HSE have said that up to late last week there has been around 600 missed appointments for …

“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 …

DEPUTY Cathal Crowe is appealing for a collective effort from Clare people to reduce the very high incidence of Covid-19 in the county and avoid spending Christmas in lockdown. As Clare people face six-weeks of Level Five restrictions from last Thursday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases exceeded 1,000 for the first time in the county when 1,030 were notified on October 17. Thirty-three more cases were confirmed a day later bringing the county total to 1,063 on October 18. Deputy Crowe said he feels particularly bad for businesses facing closure again and remains fully available to help and advise them in terms of supports. “The people of Clare have already made huge efforts to flatten the curve back in the spring months and yet here we are facing into the same situation once again. “I know how disheartening this will be, how detrimental it will be to people’s mental health, but I hope that people in their individual actions …

DRUGS have been described as “a catalyst for many other crimes,” by Deputy Cathal Crowe who has called for dealers who parade their wealth around villages and towns in Clare to be tackled by the Gardaí. “They are in every town and village and a real scourge,” he told last Monday’s meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC). “We all know the guy who doesn’t go to work in the morning, but has a lifestyle that none of us could hope to aspire to. There are people going in and out of his house at all hours and packages are being dropped through car windows. These are the people that we want to see taken down. The trouble they are causing is untold.” Deputy Crowe added that “a mini CAB” in the county had been effective in tackling those living on the proceeds of crime. He also called for a liaison officer to be tasked with working with the council …

THE delay in restoring full GP out-of-hours services in Clare three weeks after a HSE pledge about the full resumption of facilities has been criticised by a union official. In response to a Dáil question from Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, the HSE primary care general manager, Carmel McLaughlin outlined that Shannondoc has commenced the restoration of services on September 14 in Hospital, Roscrea and Thurles and that planning is underway in relation to the resumption of services in Clare. Ms McLaughlin stated the HSE and Shannondoc were committed to the full restoration of all services that were in existence pre Covid-19. A spokesperson for Shannondoc said, “As a result of the Covid-19 public health crisis, a consolidated model of service operating from five treatment centres across the Mid-West was introduced at Shannondoc. “These changes were necessary to protect its GPs, its front-line staff and patients while ensuring the service was maintained to patients through-out the mid-west during the crisis. “Shannondoc, supported …

MORE than 20 people shared their stories of living in homes which are cracking, crumbing and letting the elements in, at a meeting between members of Clare Pyrite/Mica Action Group and political representatives. In one case, a homeowner has had to put metal cladding over a gable wall to stop the rain getting in. Since the action group was set up at the start of last month, 31 people have contacted it to call for the extension of a grant scheme for those with defective concrete blocks. A number of their stories have been covered to-date by The Champion. At the outset of last Monday’s meeting, which was held on Zoom, group founder Dr Martina Cleary outlined details of a survey conducted with 24 members. Homeowners across the county have now come forward, from Fanore to Feakle and Kilrush to Meelick. The majority of the houses were built in 1989 and 1990, but homeowners with properties built between 1984 and …

MIXED views have been expressed by local deputies about the provision of a record €600 million for the government’s 2020/21 Winter Plan. The importance of providing an effective Winter Plan was illustrated on September 16 when 80 patients in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) were without a bed, which was the highest figure recorded in an Irish hospital since Covid-19 restrictions began. This resulted in at least eight vulnerable elderly patients being left on chairs in UHL. The INMO has called for urgent intervention from the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly with the immediate appointment of an external crisis management team to oversee governance at the hospital Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne described the Winter Plan as a “wish list” lacking in detail, targets and timelines for staff recruitment and bed delivery. “It falls far short on the number of beds and staff required to safely deliver Covid-19, non-Covid-19, and catch up care in the coming months. “Our plan, which I launched in …