Tag Archives: Shane Ross

LATE November and December is the peak book-selling time, and the author of a new major Irish political biography was in Ennis last week. Former TD Shane Ross came to town to sign copies of Mary Lou McDonald – A Republican Riddle, which grapples with an intriguing but often unasked question: how did a private school and Trinity College-educated South Dublin woman become leader of Sinn Féin of all parties? There are other questions, such as why Mary Lou wasn’t active at all in politics until her late twenties? Even when she joined a party it was Fianna Fáil; where was her commitment to republicanism? And, perhaps most worryingly in many people’s eyes, to what extent is she really the leader or are ‘shadowy figures’ in West Belfast in control of the party that won most first preference votes in the last General Election? Of particular Clare interest is the experience of Violet Anne Wynne, who Ross spoke to in …

SPEAKING in the Dáil yesterday, caretaker Transport Minister Shane Ross announced a task force for the recovery of the aviation sector. “I know that the aviation industry is anxious to have some visibility of how and when we will move forward to reopening for business and it is concerned that aviation does not feature in the Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Business and Society. I share that concern,” he said “Therefore in addition to establishing a Taskforce for Aviation Recovery my Department is progressing the development of an Aviation Recovery Plan through a number of inter-related strands of work,” Minister Ross added. Outlining some of the plans, he said, “We are looking to the experience of other countries in opening borders and monitor the effectiveness of measures to control any resumption of COVID 19 growth. We will consider how a phased approach to reopening might developed based on the criteria outlined by the European Commission as a basis for an aligned …

THE issue of Clare Bus has been raised in Dáil Éireann, with three of the constituency’s TDs appealing directly to Minister Shane Ross to intervene in the dispute with the National Transport Authority (NTA), which resulted in new contractors being appointed to the rural transport service in March. Deputy Cathal Crowe outlined the importance of the service saying, “We are not a leafy suburb with DARTs and Luas trams going down through it. We rely very much on rural transport.” The Fianna Fáil TD described the dispute over funding as “shambolic” and, referring to the staff of Clare bus said, “They are the only group of workers I can think of in the State at present who have been made redundant, not by the Covid crisis but by Government body hard-balling.” In her maiden speech in Dáil Éireann, Sinn Féin TD, Violet-Anne Wynne asked, “Will the Minister also step up and engage an independent mediator to resolve contractual issues between …

INCREASING penalties for drink driving saw Shane Ross being slammed in pubs and by publicans all over the country, but the man himself denies the changes to legislation were unpopular in rural Ireland. Speaking to The Clare Champion last week about the reaction he had received, the Dublin TD said, “One thing I think you’re mistaken about it, it wasn’t unpopular in rural areas. We did we did a lot of sampling on it. It was approved of in rural areas and very strongly approved of in rural areas. “Vested interest in rural areas and some TDs were very, very loud against it. But the sampling, the polling that we did on it or the RSA did on it, was very much in favour. In fact, it was more popular in rural areas than it was in urban areas.” He said the drinks industry had exaggerated the level of opposition and had been supported by certain politicians. “On top of …

ADJACENT to Shannon Airport’s runway, The Honk Bar is in the rural townland of Rineanna in the parish of Newmarket-on-Fergus. John and Mary Quinlivan run the bar, which has been in John’s family for a couple of hundred years. “We’re the eighth generation here; it’s been in the family the whole time. It would be one of the oldest pubs in the country, definitely one of the oldest in Munster.” Born and reared there himself, John’s brother Pat also ran it, before John took over in 2001. “It’s part of the community. The local Community Alert was set up here; the few meetings that are on would be in here,” he says. It may be relatively isolated but its location close to the airport means it is fairly well known, right around Clare and Limerick. John has been around the bar all his life and says the changes in pub culture have been drastic. “When I was a young fella, …

A CLAMP-DOWN on unaccompanied learner drivers came into effect in the past week with the introduction of new legislation. “Once and for all we need to stamp out the entirely false notion that once someone has a learner permit they are free to drive as they wish. A learner permit is not a driving licence,” declared Transport Minister Shane Ross, as the “Clancy Amendment” became law. This is three years on from when Geraldine Clancy (58), and her daughter Louise (22), died on December 22, 2015 when an unaccompanied learner driver lost control of her car at a junction a kilometre from their home in Kilworth, County Cork. The unaccompanied learner driver was given a three-month suspended sentence for dangerous driving. She admitted failing to yield at a blind junction and striking the Clancys’ car. Minister Ross said there new provisions now make it an offence for the owner of a vehicle to knowingly allow an unaccompanied learner or an …

Provisional road collision statistics for 2017, published by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) following an analysis of fatal collision reports supplied by An Garda Síochána, show that there has been a 15% drop in road deaths in 2017 compared to 2016. Up to the December 31, 2017 a total of 158 people lost their lives on Ireland’s roads as a result of 143 fatal crashes, compared to 186 lives lost in 174 fatal crashes in 2016. This represents 28 fewer fatalities or a 15% drop in deaths and 31 fewer fatal crashes or an 18% drop in fatal crashes. 2017 was also be the safest year on Ireland’s roads since road deaths were first recorded in 1959. Previously, 2015 (with 162 deaths) was the safest year on record. Mr Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism observed, “It is very encouraging to see that we have reversed the upward trend in road deaths witnessed in 2016. The combined focus on improved …

Alcohol is a contributory factor in 38% of fatal crashes in the lead up to Christmas, a Road Safety Authority (RSA) analysis of Garda investigation files for fatal crashes in the months of November and December has found. The figure was revealed today at the launch of the RSA and An Garda Síochána’s annual Christmas and New Year Road Safety Campaign. Another analysis of preliminary Garda data from 2008-2016 reveals that a total of 292 road users were killed in the months of November and December. The average number of fatalities each month for this nine-year period was 16 in November and 16 in December. The new RSA analysis also shows that: • Dublin, Cork and Galway had the highest number of RTC fatalities in November and December and accounted for almost a third (32%) of the total number of fatalities that occurred during this time period. • The most prevalent times of day were between 4pm-8pm (33%) and 12pm-4pm …