Tag Archives: Deputy Timmy Dooley

Councillor Cathal Crowe will fly to the top table in Clare County Council tomorrow afternoon when he is elected as the its next first citizen after councillors hammered out a new power-sharing deal. There were fears that the 15-year power-sharing pact, which was in operation since 2004 was coming to an end after Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independent Technical Alliance failed to agree on a new deal earlier this week. However, intensive talks late on Wednesday night broke the logjam and ensured power-sharing will continue for another five years. Councillor Cathal Crowe is delighted to get the opportunity to succeed Councillor Michael Begley as Clare County Council chairman at the local authority’s annual general meeting on Friday afternoon. “I feel hugely honoured and excited to be at the cusp of taking on this important leadership role and I promise to give it 110%,” he said. Councillor Crowe’s elevation as the next council chairman is a timely boost for …

CLARE has voted by a significant majority to remove the crime of blasphemy from its constitution. As expected, Clare voters endorsed this move with 61.88% voting in favour and 38.114 voting against. The total electorate was 83,044 and the total poll was 41,766. There were 755 spoilt votes leaving a total valid poll of 41,021. The blasphemy referendum, which was held alongside the presidential election is the latest sign of the weakening of religious conservatism in the country. The last prosecution for blasphemy in Ireland was in 1855, but three years ago gardaí investigated comments made by Stephen Fry on television in which the comedian described God as “capricious”, “mean-minded”, and an “utter maniac”. The investigation, which was initiated following a complaint made in Ennis Garda Station was later dropped after gardai decided insufficient numbers of people had been outraged. Ireland voted to allow same-sex marriage in 2015, and nearly two-thirds of Irish voters backed the repeal of the country’s …

Dr John Hillery and Deputy Timmy Dooley were selected to represent Fianna Fáil (FF) in Clare at the next General Election following the selection convention in Hotel Woodstock on Thursday night. The son of former President of Ireland Patrick Hillery beat off the challenge of Rita McInerney as Deputy Dooley was returned without a contest. In total, 278 FF members in the West Clare Municipal District voted in this contest, Dr Hillery secured 154 votes while Ms McInerney got 123 votes. Interestingly, these two successful candidates also represented Fianna Fáil in the 2011 General Election when transfers from Dr Hillery helped Deputy Dooley to win a Dáil seat without reaching the quota in the midst of a national meltdown for the party In his acceptance speech, Deputy Dooley requested all his supporters in West and North Clare to give their first preference in the next General Election to Dr Hillery. Acknowledging this was a difficult thing to do, the Mountshannon …

  Councillor Cathal Crowe has confirmed his shock withdrawal from the Clare Fianna Fáil Dáil Selection Convention, after claiming party headquarters scuppered his chances of election with a “political bombshell”. The Clare Champion can reveal the experienced Meelick Councillor will officially withdraw from the covention next Thursday, after an unprecedented geographical directive from Fianna Fáil headquarters. While Councillor Crowe will not contest the convention, he is hoping to convince senior party officials to subsequently add him to the party’s Dáil ticket in the Banner county. In fact, he is seeking an urgent meeting with general secretary Sean Dorgan and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheal Martin to present what he believes is a strong case to be added to the line-up. Hundreds of delegates, who are eligible to vote in the convention in Woodstock Hotel next Thursday night, have been issued with a controversial party directive requesting them to select one candidate from East and West Clare. Five candidates were initially nominated …

  Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Timmy Dooley has called for attractive incentives in Budget 2018 to support Irish motorists in making the move to electric cars. Deputy Dooley claimed Ireland is already playing catch up when it comes to moving to electric and thereby decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels. “Budget 2018 is an opportunity for the Government to send out a clear and unambiguous message that it wants to support Irish motorists in making the move. “The use of electric vehicles will play a major role in addressing climate change and can also cut costs for the motorist. “There are many things that we can do to help ease and incentivise the transition,” he said. The Fianna Fáil Deputy proposed measures in Budget 2018 such as removing motor tax for all EVs for the next five years, eliminating motor tolls for five years, and rolling out more fast-charge points across the road network to remove …

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Timmy Dooley has said that the proposed new bin charging regime must be frozen pending the establishment of an independent waste regulator. Deputy Dooley was commenting after Minister Naughten’s announcement that from July 1 waste collection operators will be allowed to provide either pay by weight or pay by lift services all over the country. “There is deep unease and concern right across the country, in both urban and rural communities that this change will lead to rocketing prices. This is of special concern to consumers who are on fixed incomes or those who have considerable waste output as a result of medical concerns. “Many feel that the current offer of €75 per year for people with excessive waste usage due to medical issues is too low. Minister Naughten must explain how this level of support was calculated, and should, we believe, ensure that hard pressed families with a large number …

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed it will challenge efforts by the independent health watchdog HIQA to impose restrictions on new admissions to St Joseph’s Geriatric Hospital in Ennis. HIQA is on a collision course with the HSE over regulatory issues at the hospital, which provides vital public step-down facilities to elderly people. The Clare Champion has learned that admissions will continue at St Joseph’s, pending the outcome of a court appeal being prepared by the HSE. A SIPTU spokesman told The Clare Champion that its members have been providing the best quality care to patients in St Joseph’s. The spokesman explained the regulatory issues do not cover patient care but moreso difficulties in relation to the physical infrastructure, which HIQA have been highlighting for some time. Over the last three years, he said there have been plans to carry out remedial works at St Joseph’s, as well as an overall plan to construct a new facility on the …

The planned reduction in GP out-of-hours services in Clare has been condemned as “deeply flawed” by Deputy Timmy Dooley. Shannondoc’s Kilrush and Ennistymon service will close from Monday to Friday, relocating to Miltown Malbay, while the out-of-hours clinic will only open at weekends in Kilrush and Ennistymon. The Killaloe clinic will open during weekends only, on an as-needs basis, with a mobile doctor serving the centre. At weekends, the operating hours will change from 9am to 9pm to 2pm to 6pm, with patients to be seen in Limerick, Ennis and Nenagh centres outside of those hours. The changes to the Killaloe service will start next Monday while the timeframe for changes in West Clare is expected in the near future. The problems caused by the reduction in the number of centres from five to three were outlined by Deputy Dooley, during a special debate in Dáil Éireann. The Fianna Fáil Deputy said it is clear that the evidence upon which …