Tag Archives: Deputy Cathal Crowe

AN INCREASE of just six in Garda numbers in Clare, over the past decade, has been described by Deputy Cathal Crowe as “alarming”. As Garda Commissioner Drew Harris addressed the Joint Policing Committee meeting this week, Deputy Crowe appealed to him to get more Gardai back onto the streets. The Fianna Fail member was among those to table formal questions to the Commissioner in advance of his visit to Clare. Both he and JPC chairperson, Councillor John Crowe raised the issue of Garda numbers in the county. The Meelick TD’s comments followed a response from the Commissioner in which he outlined changes to the size of the police force at national and divisional level. “There is a truly unique dynamic in Clare, in terms of policing,” Deputy Crowe said. “We are a rural county wedged between two cities. We have the largest urban centre that is not a city. We have an airport and a number of Direct Provision sites, …

Fiona McGarry heard calls at the Clare JPC to tackle people moving up the ladder in drug dealing DRUGS kingpins are living like Pablo Escobar and openly flaunting the proceeds of crime, Clare’s Fianna Fail TD told the Garda Commissioner this week. At the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting, Deputy Cathal Crowe questioned whether the law is too soft and failing to prevent people moving up the ladder from small-time dealers to global gang leaders. Denying the claim that the criminal justice system is not rigorous enough in tackling drugs, Commissioner Harris said there had been a large number of successful operations in Clare over the last year. He said hundreds of thousands of Euros worth of drugs and tens of thousands of Euros in cash had been seized in the county, and he undertook to provide a written report to JPC members. In a written question to the Commissioner, who attended the JPC meeting at the invitation of its …

Pyrite Action Group still waiting on a decision six weeks after Housing Minister’s assurances ANGER at the delay in providing State support to Clare homeowners whose properties have seriously defective concrete blocks will be voiced at a meeting in Ennis on Friday. Members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group have invited all public representatives to attend the gathering at Treacy’s West County Hotel. The event will take place six weeks to the day that the Housing Minister assured homeowners that a decision on their access to The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme would be made “in a matter of weeks”. “Our homes will fall down around us if we’re waiting much longer,” said the group’s founder, Dr Martina Cleary. “On his visit to Clare on August 27, Minister Darragh O’Brien promised that an answer on whether County Clare would have access to the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme, would be “in a matter of weeks”. It is now six weeks …

Meetings with Oireachtas members highlight Clare farming issues ahead of Budget 2022, reports Dan Danaher CLARE farmers are being urged to lobby local Oireachtas members to tackle agricultural issues in the run up to the Budget. As part of a series of meetings with Oireachtas members, Clare IFA chairman, Tom Lane met Deputy Joe Carey, Deputy Violet Anne-Wynne, Deputy Cathal Crowe, Senator Timmy Dooley and Senator Martin Conway to discuss a number of key farming issues. While Oireachtas members were not in a position to give any firm commitments ahead of the Budget, they have pledged to raise IFA concerns with the relevant government ministers. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Mr Lane urged farmers to familiarise themselves with the IFA’s Pre-Budget Submission and CAP proposals, with a view to voicing concerns or making proposals for improvement in agricultural policies to their local Oireachtas member. He stressed farming is entering a critical period with a number of key issues to be …

A FUNDING plan for the long-awaited sewerage scheme for Broadford is due to be outlined in October, the Housing Minister has said. On a visit to Clare last Friday (August 27), Minister Darragh O’Brien met PJ Mason and other members of the Broadford Action Group and explained that a review of the National Development Plan will contain details of a funding stream for unserviced villages. Minister O’Brien commended the action group, which he described as “very organised”, and pledged that the situation of Carrigaholt, Cooraclare and Doolin would also be looked at. “Last year, I gave €188 million extra in capital to Irish Water,” the Minister told the media at an event in Ennis. “Now we got to look at the towns of villages where we want people to start living again, and to regenerate them. “We can only do that if we got the wastewater and freshwater capacity to do so… I’d expect in the National Development Plan review, …

A teaching union has declined to comment on Deputy Cathal Crowe’s decision to register as a substitute teacher for work in national or secondary school free of charge. The Clare Fianna Fáil Deputy has registered as a substitute teacher for the 2021/22 academic year, to assist Clare schools that are in need of cover. A primary teacher by trade, Deputy Crowe is offering his services to both primary and secondary schools on days when politics doesn’t take up his time. “I’ve registered with Sub Seeker, which is an online platform for school principals to get substitute teachers to cover absences within their staff,” said Deputy Crowe. Responding to Clare Champion queries, the INTO stated as a matter of policy, the union does not comment on the registration status of individual members. The union remains concerned that the national supply panel for primary and special schools, which provides ready access to a qualified teacher to schools requiring substitution, does not cover …

A FACELIFT is on the cards for six Clare towns and villages, three of them in the East and the South East of the county. A pot of €7 million is to be shared among 124 areas across the country under the Streetscape Enhancement Initiative. In Clare, the beneficiaries will be Tulla, Scariff, Clonlara, Kilrush, Corofin and Clarecastle, where property and business owners will be invited to apply for funding. The allocation will support a number of activities to brighten the appearance of towns and villages. These include strategic collaboration between property owners to paint buildings or shopfronts in vibrant colours and the commissioning of murals in towns and villages. The funds also enable the upgrade or restoration of historic and traditional shopfronts; as well as the provision of street planting, shrubbery, trees and flowers boxes. Enhancements through the illumination and lighting of architectural features can also be carried out, as well as the installation of canopies and street furniture …

CLARE’S Fianna Fáil TD has hit out at the “optics” surrounding social media commentary on the botched plan to make Katharine Zappone a special envoy to the United Nations (UN). Deputy Cathal Crowe told The Champion he “wouldn’t know where to find the Merrion Hotel” where a controversial gathering was held by the former minister days before her planned appointment was revealed. Deputy Crowe was sharply critical, however, of some Opposition party’s calls on social media for the resignation of the Tánaiste, who apologised for “letting his guard down” by going to the outdoor event. Since the event, which generated a political storm and caused pandemic guidelines to be clarified by the Attorney General, efforts have been intensifying on social media to identify the attendees at the Merrion Hotel event. “I wasn’t invited,” Deputy Crowe said. “I wouldn’t have attended and I don’t mix in those circles. When I’m in Dublin, I work damn hard and then I get back …