Tag Archives: James Breen

AN Ennis mother whose adopted son was racially abused at a local sports complex has appealed to her local representative to raise the matter at next Tuesday’s Council meeting. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect the identity of her two ‘dark-skinned’ adopted children, has written to Councillor James Breen and asked him to raise the matter at the Council meeting. She told Councillor Breen that since they adopted their eldest son in 1995, and their second son in 1998, “I have noticed a substantial increase in racism and racist assaults perpetrated on my sons, this has been both physical and verbal in nature and is not confined to any one aspect of life but is to be encountered on a daily basis from people of all ages and social class.” She said she was particularly concerned when, before the summer, her 15-year-old son, who plays all sports extremely well, was verbally abused three times over one weekend. …

ENTERPRISE Ireland figures for 2013 show that the Mid-West was the agency’s worst performing region and client companies delivered a net gain of just one additional job in the Banner County. While much has been made of Ireland’s prospering export sector, the figures show the benefits are not being seen in Clare to the extent they are in some other parts of the country. County Councillor James Breen has reacted by claiming Clare is becoming a “poor relation” in terms of jobs and that the county’s Oireachtas members are not delivering. Enterprise Ireland is the government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. It published its annual report and accounts on Thursday of last week, which showed 2013 results as the best performance in over a decade in terms of net job creation. The report showed a net increase in full-time employment of 3,620 across its six regions. While each one showed some level …

A paramedic who brought a patient to Dooradoyle had to argue with staff to get his trolley back, so under-resourced was the Regional Hospital, this week’s meeting of Clare County Council heard. Councillors also speculated that overcrowding at the Mid Western Regional Hospital is leading to people dying prematurely. Standing orders at the council meeting were suspended, as the members discussed the current situation at Dooradoyle, which all agreed was unacceptable.They called for A&E services to be restored at Ennis, while they also want urgent action to be taken to put an adequate facility in place at Dooradoyle. Councillor PJ Ryan said when he brought someone to hospital, he saw a “paramedic pleading with staff to give him his trolley back so he could respond to an emergency”. He said someone could have been dying of a heart attack but the driver wasn’t able to leave and it amounted to “a disgraceful situation”. Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom McNamara said the inadequacy of …

Seven out of the eight Clare County Councillors elected to the Ennis area will hold the title of mayor over the coming five years, it emerged this week. Fine Gael’s John Crowe, from the Shannon Municipal District, was elected Clare’s first citizen on Friday, after days of negotiations between his party, Fianna Fáil and the technical group made up of independents and the local authority’s only Sinn Féin member. The Sixmilebridge man will be the only Fine Gael mayor of Clare during this council term. However, at Tuesday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, the only municipal area where the title of the chairperson is ‘mayor’, Fine Gael’s Johnny Flynn was elected as Mayor of Ennis. This is due to the fact that Ennis has a population in excess of 20,000. His fellow Ennis councillors, Independent James Breen and Fianna Fáil’s Tom McNamara, will both hold the county’s first-citizen role during this five-year term. The Mayor of Ennis position will …

Fine Gael councillor, Johnny Flynn is the new Mayor of Ennis.  He was elected to the position at the inaugural meeting of the Ennis Municipal District on Tuesday afternoon. While the position of mayor has been abolished in most towns, it can be retained in towns where the population is in excesss of  20,000. The other council members in the Ennis area include Mary Howard and Paul Murphy of Fine Gael, Tom McNamara, Pat Daly and Clare Colleran of Fianna Fáil and Independents, James Breen and Ann Norton. Councillor James Breen was elected as deputy mayor on the proposal of Councillor Tom McNamara and seconded by Councillor Pat Daly. Mayor Flynn said he was “proud” to be elected as the new mayor for the newly aligned municipal district and said he would be “impartial” and treat its members with respect throughout his term. He paid tribute to his family, who were there to support him at the council chamber, and …

Coming up to 11.30a.m. at the count centre in Treacy’s West county Hotel, from tallies in the Ennis area, it would appear that James Breen, independent and Johnny Flynn, Fine Gael are on their way to taking seats. Also looking well at this stage are Tom Mc Namara, Fianna Fail, and Pat Daly, Fianna Fail. In the European elections, Brian Crowley, Fianna Fail, is cleaning up in Clare. [doptg id=”13″]

MAYOR of Clare Joe Arkins said he has decided he will never willingly go back for treatment at the emergency department in University Hospital Limerick. At a meeting of Clare County Council, the mayor said he had spent a night and a day on a trolley in the hospital and that he “decided I’d never be there again if I was conscious”. He made his comments as the council passed a motion calling on the Minister for Health, the HSE and the management of University Hospital Limerick to intervene to stop overcrowding in the emergency department and to stop people being kept on trolleys for long periods of time. The motion was put down by Fianna Fáil’s Pat Hayes, who said the current situation is “a total disgrace” and that there had not been proper preparation for scaling back at Ennis and Nenagh. He claimed when the Minister for Health made a visit there, people on trolleys were moved into …

A YOUNG nurse at University Hospital Limerick broke down in tears on her doorstep after outlining the problems caused by chronic overcrowding. That’s according to Councillor James Breen, who has requested Health Minister James Reilly to take urgent action to address the lack of beds at UHL. During a recent canvass, Councillor Breen met a young nurse who asked him if there was anything he could do to stop the “inhumane treatment of patients who are made to lie on trolleys for hours waiting for admission. “The pressure and stress on nursing staff that are at the cold face of this situation and who also have to contend with abuse and criticism on a daily basis, is adding to the already intolerable work conditions,” he said. As a former member of the Ennis Hospital Action Committee, he said it is distressing to think that 20 years since the committee was founded, nothing has changed. “Only this time there seems to …