Tag Archives: Deputy Cathal Crowe

THE obligation on Aer Lingus to serve Shannon-Heathrow expired last week, but on Wednesday the airline’s representatives said that the link is set to continue into the future. Its representatives were before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications on Wednesday and they also said they plan to continue with Boston and New York services from Shannon, but don’t plan to look at other destinations in the US.  Following a question from Clare TD Cathal Crowe, Aer Lingus Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty says the Shannon-Heathrow route is doing well and will continue. “The arrangement has elapsed, but we are still selling Shannon-London Heathrow, it’s doing well, all of our routes out of Shannon have performed well during the course of 2022 and we expect that to continue long into the future, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t.” Although he said several times that the existing Aer Lingus flights at Shannon are doing well, Mr Moriarty said he …

PATIENTS are left to “wallow” in pain on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick for long periods after they are assessed, a local Dáil deputy has claimed. Having attended the ED recently with a family member, Deputy Cathal Crowe told a recent Dáil Health Committee meeting there isn’t enough follow up with patients who are left waiting in corridors. “Charts and extensive data can be seen by someone going to the toilet or the shop, people going into see their relatives can see patients with bedpans. There is no privacy there. There is very few people who come along with a cup of tea or a slice of toast to perk patients up.” “There is enduring pain when you are sitting on a trolley. People feel from triage to trolley, you are left to wallow.” Professor Brian Lenehan said UHL are focusing on providing privacy and dignity for patients following the HIQA report. He explained patients are triaged for care based …

A PLANNING saga involving a controversial wind turbine erected on the outskirts of Parteen took a new twist after Clare County Council granted retention planning permission. An Enforcement Notice issued by Clare County Council on March 8, 2021, requested Limerick Blow Moulding to decommission and remove a wind turbine erected near the factory on or before Thursday, April 8, 2021 following an alleged breach of a planning permission condition. However, the wind turbine, remained in situ, though it was not operational. The company applied for retention permission for a revised site boundary and revised position of a single 800 KW wind turbine, 73 metres high to hub height, as granted under previous planning permissions at Gortatogher, Parteen. Employing 70 people, with more than half living in Parteen, Clonlara and Killaloe, Limerick Blow Moulding manufactures food packaging for the Irish Dairy industry, and pharmaceutical packaging for export into the UK and Europe. Seamus Madden, c/o Limerick Blow Moulding, was granted planning …

A CLARE TD has asked that the Irish State provide support to a French-based Cratloe woman whose son was taken from her by armed police in May, following a court sitting that she claims to have been unaware of. The two-year-old boy was subsequently taken to Malta by his father, meaning 36-year-old Sarah Jane O’Brien has not seen him since, other than through photographs and video calls. The matter was raised in the Dáil on Wednesday by Deputy Cathal Crowe. A translation of the judgement from the court sitting, which took place in Marseilles in early May, stated that the boy’s father had reported the international abduction of his son in January. The judgement stated that the boy’s father “had indicated that the family, who usually reside in Malta, had come to spend the Christmas holidays in France, but that at the end of their stay on January 6, 2022, Sarah Jane O’Brien fled with the child in her father’s …

FOUR projects in county Clare will share €197,754 in funding under the CLÁR programme. Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has announced a total of €2.75 million to support 74 community projects nationwide in the latest tranche of funding under the scheme. The successful projects in Clare are: St Flannan’s NS Inagh – €50,000 (Inagh community car park – resurfacing car park, disabled parking and green school biodiversity) Doonbeg Tidy Towns – €47,754 (Fair green community sensory garden) Miltown Malbay NS – €50,000 (Multi-Use Games Area) Cloonanaha NS – €50,000 (Develop community garden and outdoor recreation area) Commenting on the announcement, Deputy Cathal Crowe said, “I’m delighted to see these four projects be successful today in their bids for funding under the CLÁR programme. “Not only do these grants benefit to schools and committees that they are allocated to, they also have a huge positive impact on these rural communities as a whole. “Our sports clubs, schools and …

Deputy Cathal Crowe returned €800 out of a €1,000 political donation from a Cratloe party supporter after he was advised by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPOC) it exceeded the maximum amount that can be given in cash. Daniel Lehane, Cratloe, sent a cash donation worth €1,000 to Deputy Crowe on January 26, 2021. Deputy Crowe was the only Clare Oireachtas member who declared a political donation above €600 from one source. Deputies Joe Carey, Michael McNamara, Violet-Anne Wynne made no political donations declarations for the period January 1 to December 31, 2021, according to the publication of a new report from SIPOC. Senators Martin Conway, Timmy Dooley and Roisín Garvey also made no political declarations to SIPOC for last year. Under the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, public representatives may not accept donations in any year of more than €200 in cash, and not more than €1,000 in total value from a single source. They must disclose any …

Deputy Cathal Crowe has called on the government to publish long-awaited new planing guidelines for wind turbines without any further delay. Frustration is growing among communities throughout Clare who have major misgivings about the proliferation of wind turbines and the ongoing delay in updating the 2006 national wind energy guidelines. In fact, the government commenced a public consultation process on these guidelines on December 12, 2019. In November 2019, Deputy Crowe recalled they were due to come before the Dáil for ratification but these draft guidelines were not brought into law and have sat on Minister Eamon Ryan’s desk. “I raised this at a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party and I was backed up by a number of rural deputies. “The National Guidelines on Wind Energy date back to 2006, which are outdated and not fit for purpose. “New wind farm guidelines are absolutely vital, no matter what side of the fence you are on. If you want a proliferation of …

DEPUTY Cathal Crowe has fired a shot across the bow of government policy by calling for an end to the allocation of more Ukrainian refugees in Clare due to the lack of suitable accommodation. While Deputy Crowe stressed he agreed that the Banner County should take as many refugees as possible, there was now a point where these refugees were sleeping on airport floors and new tents in Meelick. The Fianna Fáil Deputy said Ukrainian refugees needed a roof over their heads, education, transport, health provision and pastoral care to deal with the trauma of coming from a war-torn country. He believes the government is now doing a “disservice” to these refugees by not properly meeting their needs and by proceeding to accommodate them in tents on a so-called temporary basis, which is likely to continue for months due to the lack of permanent dwellings. The provision of tented facilities for up to new 100 asylum seekers in Meelick has …