Tag Archives: Senator Róisín Garvey

CLARE’S Green Senator has described the new national retrofitting scheme as a “game changer” for those living in fuel poverty, writes Fiona McGarry. Róisín Garvey told The Champion the issue prompted her to enter politics in the first place, after her own personal experiences as a young mother. On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved a scheme that aims to retrofit 500,000 homes by the end of the decade. Launching the scheme, the Green Party leader said the scheme would help reduce the cost of living, particularly heating bills. The programme would see up to 80% of the cost of smaller insulation works met by the State. “When I lived in a house in Ennistymon with my young son, I couldn’t afford to put the heat on,” she told The Champion. “When I told the landlord, he pumped the walls and insulated the attic and we were never cold again. That was a game changer. This scheme is one of the reasons …

Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD will visit Clare next week. On Thursday, February 10, Minister Ryan will attend ‘In conversation on Climate’, a public event for the people of Clare, hosted by Clare Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey. This is a free and public event, beginning at 8.30pm in The Old Ground Hotel. Everyone is welcome to attend and questions will be taken from the audience. On Friday Minister Ryan will give a Climate Action Plan briefing to county councillors in the Council Chamber. In addition, he will join the Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg Walking bus, visit public realm in Ennis and a social housing retrofit project and a visit to Shannon and the airport. Senator Garvey said, “It is great that my Green Party colleague Minister Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Climate, is taking the time to speak to Clare councillors on the Climate Action Plan. “In fact, he hopes to attend every council chamber in …

DUSK was gathering as the town of Ennistymon came to a standstill last Friday to honour the memory of Ashling Murphy. In solidarity with the town of Tullamore and communities all over Ireland, hundreds stood silently in The Square. The sense of sadness and shock at the murder of the 23 year-old teacher was palpable. The only sounds were the traditional airs that rang out to honour the talented young fiddle player, and muffled sobs when emotion became too much for some to bear.  Tiny children, helped by the guiding hand of their parents, lined up to leave their candles and flowers. The pool of light around the memorial slowly grew brighter and stronger. Many children were the same age as the members of Ashling’s own first class at Durrow National School. Too young to take in such a terrible tragedy, they stared up at the solemn candle-lit faces of the adults around them. Stealing shy glances at each other, …

GREEN Party Senator Róisín Garvey is calling for multi-faceted approach to the ongoing problem of flooding. The Inagh native introduced a Private Members’ Motion to the upper house to calling for a multi-faceted, catchment-based approach to managing flooding. Senator Garvey introduced the motion, which recommends a multi-faceted response to flood management while maintaining a multi-annual investment programme managed between the OPW and the local authorities. “I’m raising this motion because of what I’ve seen happening first-hand in my own county of Clare over the last few years and across the rest of Ireland,” she told the chamber. “The climate has changed and so has our rain fall in both frequency and ferocity. I am deeply worried about what lies ahead if we don’t take action.” “International best practice demonstrates that catchment-based solutions, using a combination of natural flood management approaches and hard engineering, are the best way forward and cost less than using only hard engineering solutions.” The motion calls for …

FIVE Clare schools have been chosen to take part in a new programme aimed at supporting walking and cycling infrastructure for primary and post-primary schools. St Flannan’s NS, Inagh, Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg, Inis, Holy Family Junior School, Ennis, Holy Family Senior NS, Ennis, and Clonmoney National School, Newmarket-on-Fergus, were among 170 schools nationwide selected in the first round of the Safe Routes to School Programme. The scheme was announced in March of this year, with 932 schools, representing almost one in four schools in the state, expressing interest. The schools selected were assessed against a range of criteria including school type, location and the school’s commitment to sustainable travel. Clare’s Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey has said that the scheme will offer a variety of benefits. “Safer routes to school are needed outside every school in Ireland. This is something I’ve worked passionately on for years inside and outside of politics. “We know that children in schools across Clare want …

VILLAGES and towns in Clare can’t sustain new housing developments because of the lack of adequate water and wastewater facilities, according to a local senator. The lack of proper water infrastructure in Broadford and Miltown Malbay was raised by Senator Róisín Garvey in the Seanad recently. Commenting on a new Green Party policy setting out the recognition of clean water as a human right, Senator Garvey stated new houses can’t be built until proper water infrastructure is provided. “In Broadford and Miltown Malbay in County Clare, we have all of the money, the sites, and the houses have been designed and are shovel-ready, but without water infrastructure there will be nothing built. Therefore, we must take water infrastructure seriously and invest in it. “Infrastructure deficits in Ireland impact on the provision of safe and secure drinking water. They lead to pollution and environmental damage. They present a challenge to achieving sustainable development across urban and rural Ireland. “Water supply must …

THE plight of a number of Clare tourism businesses was raised in the Seanad this week as Minister Catherine Minister appeared before the upper house. Senator Timmy Dooley voiced concerned that venues including the Ail wee Cave and Doolin Cave might not be allowed to reopen at Level 3 as outlined last month in the Path Ahead Plan. The Fianna Fáil member told the chamber he had had communication from The Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions outlining how such venues have extensively invested in new and updated safety measures and training Fáilte Ireland’s Covid-19 safety charter. He argued that these attractions are well placed to reopen “as safe spacious places”. “Given the likelihood outbound international travel for Irish holiday makers will be hugely curtailed this summer, and recognising that there will little, if any, inbound tourism, there is an onus on all of us involved at State level to try to ensure these facilities are supported and the restrictions …

PUTTING in walking and cycling trails at the site of Clare windfarms was among the ideas mooted at a recent Active Travel briefing for the county, attended by Transport Minister Éamon Ryan. The well-attended event, which was organised by Green Senator Róisín Garvey, highlighted cycling and walking projects in the county and looked at how funding and staffing resources might be captialised upon for Clare. Acknowledging that the issue could be controversial, Senator Garvey noted that there are a number of windfarms already in Clare and several other developers looking for planning permission. “Even retrospectively, they could make good cycling and walking trails, it’s been put to me by a number of people,” she said. “Can recreational trails be incorporated into windfarm planning? It might be something to think about. I know they give some money to communities for things, but there’s a lot of land around wind farms, they do take up a lot of space and maybe it’s …