Tag Archives: Mike McKee

AGEISM needs to be made a thing of the past in Clare, according to Sinn Féin Councillor Mike McKee. “The recently published Census 2016 showed a huge and rapid rise in the number of people aged over 65 years in Clare. Since 2011, there has been an increase of 19% of people aged over 65 and a 13% increase in the number of people aged over 85. This poses great challenges but Sinn Féín believe that we should see improved health and longevity as an opportunity, as well as a challenge, celebrating the contribution older people make to our communities in Clare. “Negative societal perceptions of our older people are a massive obstacle. Our older people are a valuable resource, not a burden. As active citizens, older people contribute massively to local communities in Clare and their participation in the voluntary sector enhances and enriches life for people of all ages, while contributing to services of social and economic value. …

APPROXIMATELY 150-200 people attended a protest outside Shannon Airport last night, against the implementation of a ban on immigration to the US from seven Muslim majority countries and the use of Shannon by the US military. While the protest was peaceful, a minority of protestors did engage in verbal abuse of Gardai particularly after the demonstrators were prevented from entering the airport. This was by far the largest demonstration at the airport in recent years, the turnout more striking when one takes into account the wintry conditions. A small number of Syrians were among the protestors, refugees who have been resettled in Newcastle West, Co Limerick. The demonstrators began assembling beside the roundabout closest to the airport before 6pm, with a noticeable police presence there also. The crowds were then addressed by a number of speakers, all of whom were critical of Trump and the restriction on US immigration. Some also hit out at the continued use of the airport …

THE plight of those evicted from their homes was highlighted at this week’s meeting of Clare County Council, with one councillor voicing fears that someone could take the law into their own hands. Calls were made for the Government to introduce a moratorium on evictions until the social housing crisis has been resolved. Councillor PJ Ryan commented, “One of these days I can see somebody taking the law into their own hands if the situation is not rectified. The banks are 95% the cause of the problem and they need to take a reality check.” Councillor Mike McKee raised the issue with the local authority where he outlined increases in the numbers of people evicted across the country, those in mortgage arrears and families being made homeless. “Hard-working families are being dragged through the courts by the banks, the very same banks that were bailed out,” he stated. “There is a crisis in social housing at the moment and until …

THE provision of a crematorium in Shannon has become a possibility once again. A proposal to dispose of a piece of land to a man who wants to develop it, is set to come before Clare County Council. If it happens, it will be the first crematorium in the county and, indeed, the first in the West of Ireland. Originally proposed a number of years ago by the late Sean Hillery and Tony McMahon, both former county councillors, the use of a site at Illaunmanagh, close to the cemetery in Shannon has been controversial since the idea first arose. The matter resurfaced at Wednesday’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District Councillors. While most of the members were supportive of the development, Shannon-based Councillor Gerry Flynn likened the council executive to a previous government who, he claimed, had kept putting referendums before the people until they got the answer they wanted. On the other side, Sinn Féin’s Mike McKee said he wants …

ENDA Kenny is to face protests when he comes to Clare on Monday, with the revised water charges still the subject of much public anger. Gardaí met earlier this week to make plans for Monday, when the Taoiseach is set to visit TTM Healthcare at Ballymaley, speak at the Shannon Chamber president’s lunch in Dromoland and open Genworth’s new business centre in Shannon. There is speculation that jobs will be announced at TTM Healthcare and while there were reports that new jobs would also be announced at Genworth, a company spokesman told The Clare Champion this is not the case. It is understood that another Shannon company, which is due to take on new staff in 2015, are also hopeful that the Taoiseach will visit them. At a so-called street meeting in Shannon on Tuesday night, representatives of the We Won’t Pay anti-water charges campaign said they have plans to protest when the Taoiseach is in Clare. They also said …

ALL over the country, Sinn Féin’s vote has been growing for years but it was last weekend that the party really started to see results in the Banner County. Perhaps the biggest result of the weekend was Mike McKee’s victory in the Shannon Electoral Area, giving the party its first seat on Clare County Council since PJ Burke triumphed in West Clare in 1974. Patricia McCarthy, who bowed out of the Shannon political scene at this campaign, said she wasn’t overly surprised with the McKee triumph. “Once I saw the way Sinn Féin were going nationwide and the way the polls were going, I had pencilled him in as a possibility.” She felt McKee would get a sizeable amount of number ones due to his years on Shannon Town Council. However, he exceeded her expectations and she hadn’t realised he would draw support from around the municipal district. “I initially thought he might have between 500 and 600 votes that …

SINN Féin’s Shannon election candidate Mike McKee has proposed to Clare County Council that they apply a new commercial rates scheme for the Skycourt Shopping Centre.  He suggests it should be based on guidelines such as how long a premises has been vacant. Mr. McKee delivered a policy proposal document to the council and explained, “We need to develop Skycourt as a commercial and social hub for Shannon. That will encourage local people to shop locally and workers who visit Shannon every day to stop and shop here too. Lower rates will potentially provide more revenue as currently empty shells are opened up again. The weekly footfall in the centre is 50,000. That should be producing a far more vibrant shopping centre. The rents are actually amongst the lowest in the region but anyone we’ve talked to agrees that high commercial rates are a major problem”. “Senator Trevor O’Clochartaigh has asked the council on our behalf for an explanation about …

UNEMPLOYMENT in Clare crept upwards slightly in January. In December there were a total of 9,285 people on the live register in the county but in January that went up to 9,418. The majority of those- 5,623- were male, while 3,795 were women. The number of men increased by 73 in January while the number of women was up by 60. The number of young people signing on also rose, from 1,358 in December to 1,400 in January. Sinn Féin County Council candidate Mike McKee said the numbers show a failure of the coalition. “These figures are an indictment of the Government. They represent misery for families across our county. We also need to remember when we read this report that 240 people every day on average are emigrating from Ireland. Each one of those represents a family torn apart, many of those who leave will never return. It’s shameful.” He was particularly critical of the Government’s treatment of young …