Tag Archives: Senator Róisín Garvey

SHARED bike schemes for a number of Clare towns were mooted at an online Active Travel briefing last week. The event which was attended by an expert panel, including Transport Minister Éamon Ryan, heard calls for a Dublin-based scheme whereby bikes are available for short-term rental at a variety of locations, to be rolled out outside of the capital. “The Dublin Bike Scheme is great, is there any chance of that being rolled out in towns?” Green Senator, Róisín Garvey, who organised the online event, asked. “Is it a private enterprise, because it would work in Shannon, it would work in Ennis and in Kilrush, maybe. People have been talking a lot about this.” The minister noted the popularity of the scheme as well as some pitfalls. “I think we could and should [extend it],” he said. “It is a private scheme. In Dublin, it was JC Decaux who did a deal with the council, they’re the signage company. I’ll …

SLOWING traffic on some routes around Clare has the potential to increase cycling tourism, the minister for transport has told an online Active Travel briefing. Responding to queries from some of the 200 people who attended the event last Thursday night, Éamon Ryan discussed the possibility of encouraging cycling by reducing speed limits. Minister Ryan outlined how he had operated cycling tours for 15 years before his political career and brought thousands of people around Clare, by bike. “I’ve real experience of it,” he said. “My sense is that I could do that on the existing road network. Sometimes, you pick your roads, but it doesn’t always have to be segregated to my mind. In my mind, all our country roads, local roads, should be suitable for cycling. It depends on the volume, but critically, it depends on the speed. “I always judged it in terms of that old-fashioned things when you’re driving along and if someone’s walking or cycling …

CLARE will ‘have its hand up’ when it comes to accessing a recently-unveiled fund of €1.8 billion, a briefing on the Active Travel has heard. The online event with Transport Minister Éamon Ryan was attended last Thursday night by up to 200 people and facilitated by Green Senator Róisín Garvey. Among the expert panel was Senior Engineer with the Project Management Office (PMO) who told the minister that Clare County Council is “a winning local authority,” ready to capitalise on the transformative opportunities offered by the fund. At the outset, the Green minister said his department would work with authorities who were willing and able. “If other counties aren’t willing or aren’t interested, that’s fine,” he said. “We’ll get those who are to show best example and best practice.” Minister Ryan who, at one time, ran a cycling tourism enterprise in Clare, outlined his vision for the Active Travel initiative, citing his own memories of this county. “I always remember …

CLARE’S Green Senator has shared her experience of trying to help a woman who was experiencing suicidal feelings during the lockdown earlier this year. Speaking at the meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC), Senator Róisín Garvey said she was concerned for the woman, as well as the time it took to access emergency support services. She called for more detailed figures to be made available to members on the number of mental health issues Gardaí had responded to. “There has been an increase in the number of people experiencing mental health crises because of Covid-19,” she native said. “I met a woman who was suicidal and after speaking to hear for an hour, I phoned the Gardaí. I rang one of those stations that we have spent a lot of money on. The Garda couldn’t come out for 40 minutes and after that, the woman was seen by a GP. I found the whole situation deeply disturbing.” Senator Garvey …

THE number of nursing homes with Covid-19 outbreaks in the Midwest stands at 20, according to the most recent update from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). As high rates of community transmission spill over into enclosed settings, the number of outbreaks in this region has risen steadily since July. However, clusters of infection in private houses, of which there are 155 in the Midwest, account for the largest number of clusters. Last week, a major outbreak at the nursing home in East Galway sparked concern about the capacity of the sector to cope with a second wave of the virus. The Nightingale Nursing Home in Ahascragh had 25 cases among 27 residents, with only one nurse and one carer available to cover at 72 hour period because of positive cases among other staff. Councillor Ann Norton, director of the Clare Crusaders in Barefield, was sharply critical of the response of the Health Service Executive (HSE), saying that they had …

“HORRIFIC and shocking” were the words used by Clare’s Green Party senator to describe a rise of almost one-third in the number of barring orders breached in this county over the last nine months. Senator Róisín Garvey expressed grave concerns about the figure, which was revealed to members of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee by Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran. The Garda chief outlined that there had been 52 breaches relating to barring orders and safety orders between January and September of last year. Over the same period in 2020, the figure increased by 16 to 68, a rise of 31%. The number of domestic disputes increased by 7% in the first nine months of this year. Reacting to the figures, the Inagh-based senator questioned what additional supports were in place to respond to the situation. “This is an really shocking figure,” she said. “If you have a barring order, you fear for your life. Breaches like this are horrific. What I …

CLARE Person of the Year, Dr Susan Crawford took her seat on Clare County Council on Monday evening last, following her co-option to replace Senator Róisín Garvey. Dr Crawford becomes Councillor Crawford and takes the Green Party mantle on the local authority and a seat in the West Clare Municipal District. Nominating her at the monthly local authority meeting, Councillor Joe Garrihy said that amid all of her previous accolades the autism action campaigner would begin “a new journey”. “It gives me great pleasure to nominate Susan to fill Róisín Garvey’s seat,” he said. “Susan’s addition is very timely. The West Clare district makes up half of the county and Susan is coming on board at a time of lots of challenges and exciting opportunities. Having Susan join us will provide a great boost across so many areas.” Mayor of Clare, Councillor Mary Howard said she was “honoured and delighted” to second Dr Crawford’s nomination. “I took the autism awareness …

NURSING homes across Clare to from benefit from a donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), secured after a fundraising drive coordinated by the Midwest Hospital Campaign. The initiative was prompted by concern at the start of the pandemic about the difficulty in accessing supplies of PPE, particularly for nursing homes and other congregated settings. “The donation will be especially important now that visiting has begun once again at nursing homes and there’s even more demand for PPE,” said Noeleen Moran, one of the coordinators. Some of the PPE was sourced through a network of contacts for manufacturers in Poland, while more was handmade by hundreds of individual volunteers and groups across Clare, including the Irish Countrywomen’s’ Association (ICA). Hilary Tonge of the Midwest Hospital Campaign said the effort to secure PPE had involved many groups and individuals from across the county. “When the pandemic was declared, there was a huge fear that there would not be enough PPE,” she said. …