Tag Archives: Deputy Cathal Crowe

Clare deputies have hit out at AIB’s decision to go cashless in 70 of its 170 branches nationwide, including Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Shannon. AIB branches will be losing traditional services in the coming months, meaning that no transactions involving notes, coins, cheques, foreign exchange or bank drafts will be offered in the affected banks. ATMs located outside the 70 branches are also set to be removed. “This is yet another blow to rural Ireland and even more so to those who are of an older generation,” said Deputy Cathal Crowe. “There are people out there in their 70s or 80s – many younger again and some even not far off my own age – who have never used a debit card and prefer to operate in cash. “While this won’t be the way forever, it’s completely unjust to dismiss these people who have spent their lives working and contributing to society in the later years of their lives. “This …

THERE was friction between Clare TDs yesterday, when two Government party deputies voted to pass the controversial Bill underpinning the new grant for homeowners with defective blocks.  Deputy Michael McNamara, who drew up some of the 160 amendments sought by campaigners and the Opposition, was the only Clare TD to oppose the guillotining of the legislation yesterday (Wednesday, July 6). Deputy Violet Anne Wynne was not present in the chamber when the Bill was passed the Bill by 74 votes to 69. Frustrated at lack of time for amendments, and the stance of his constituency colleagues, Deputy McNamara was sharply critical of those ‘talking out of both sides of their mouths’. Despite voting for the guillotining of the Bill, Deputy Cathal Crowe made a number of points about the defective blocks issue. “It is very important that, while this €2.7 billion is ring-fenced, redress be expedited and further improved and refined by regulation in the autumn,” he said. The Meelick …

FIANNA Fáil spokesperson on Aviation Cathal Crowe is calling for strong consideration to be given to the establishment of a hydrogen fuel farm within the Shannon Airport complex. He said this would see the airport establish itself as a world leader in terms of sustainable aviation, at a time of significant change in the sector. The Clare TD said he had written to the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce, outlining his proposal to plan for a hydrogen fuel farm at Shannon Airport. “The Green Atlantic Windfarm planned off of the coast of Clare provides for a €50 million Synchronous Compensator, will convert electricity generated via the wind turbine infrastructure to storable hydrogen fuel. All of this will happen on site at Moneypoint, just 65km west of Shannon Airport. “Meanwhile, a fuel farm was developed at Shannon Airport in the 1970s and has the capacity to store 33,000 metric tonnes of aviation fuel. “It would make perfect sense for the hydrogen generated …

A CALL has been made for the opening of a ‘one stop shop’ in Clare to support midwestern homeowners affected by pyrite.  Deputy Cathal Crowe is seeking the facility, which would be overseen by The Housing Agency and would support homeowners accessing the new defective concrete blocks grant scheme. The calls has been made in parallel with the progressing of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022. Deputy Crowe said the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) is examining the option of opening regional support centres and he believes that the centre for the midwest should be located in Clare.  “The Housing Agency would oversee this,” he told The Champion. “It would provide an interface between the public and government staff and support homeowners in accessing the grant and getting remediation works done.” The new Bill, published last Tuesday evening (June 21), is a 62-page document outlining the revised blocks scheme. While Clare and …

INTENSIVE efforts to ensure consultation on the new defective concrete blocks grant, which is to cover this county, have resulted in an agreement to hear from affected homeowners before legislation is finalised. The announcement from the Housing Committee falls short of full pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS), which had been sought by campaign groups, including that in Clare. However, it will mean that members of Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) are likely to get the opportunity to address the committee next week. It also means the legislation can be fast-tracked. The move follows a request by Deputy Joe Carey and two party colleagues to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing to engage in a PLS process. “With Deputy Kieran O’Donnell from Limerick and Deputy Joe McHugh from Donegal, I have written to the Chair of the Housing Committee seeking PLS,” Deputy Carey confirmed. “I have also asked Minister Darragh O’Brien to facilitate a full briefing for the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) …

FOLLOWING a series of false dawns, it looks like works are finally on track to replace a 40-year-old sewerage treatment plant in South-East Clare that is causing foul odours for local residents. Householders in Ballycannon Heights, Meelick, have campaigned for years to get Clare County Council, and in more recent years Irish Water, to replace a waste water treatment plant that is no longer fit for purpose. Responding to Clare Champion queries, Irish Water confirmed land acquisition for this project is underway and it is expected that a CPO will be submitted in the coming weeks. “The construction start date will be subject to the completion of this process and planning approval,” said an Irish Water spokesman. Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is insisting that works to put in place a proper wastewater treatment plant for Ballycannon Heights should be separated from the ongoing Limerick Northern Distributor Road project. Temporary infrastructure was put in place back in the …

Plans for the construction of a family home for Deputy Cathal Crowe have been put on hold after the local planning authority requested further information on the application. There has also been a strongly worded submission to the planning application that questions among other things what transpired at extensive pre-planning meetings between Deputy Crowe and Clare county planners. The submission also highlighted the potential environmental impact of the proposed dwelling and questions whether unauthorised development may have taken place in clearing the site. Permission has been sought for a private dwelling house, detached garage, wastewater treatment system and associated site works at Heathmount, Cratloe, for Maeve Fehily and Cathal Crowe. In its request for Further Information, Clare County Council considered the information submitted in the application is insufficient to make a complete planning assessment of the proposal. The applicant was requested to submit a site layout plan with a slope of 1:8 or less as per the EPA guidelines and …

ACTION on bullying in schools is to be reviewed and updated to take account of cyberbullying, Clare’s Fianna Fáil TD has been told. In response to a parliamentary question from Deputy Cathal Crowe, the Minister for Children outlined a number of responses being undertaken to make the online sphere safer, including a review of school policies that date back to 2013. Responding to Deputy Crowe’s question, Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the Department of Education is soon to update its interventions in relation to bullying. He noted that Minister Norma Foley’s Department has already published a strategy document for schools.  “My colleague the Minister for Education has also brought forward significant policy initiatives in this area this year including the publication of the new Digital Strategy for Schools in April, which focusses on further embedding the use of digital technologies in all teaching, learning and assessment activities and includes building awareness and knowledge around online safety,” Minister O’Gorman said. “The Department …