Tag Archives: Taoiseach Enda Kenny

This month, 70 years ago the first transatlantic flight touched down at Rineanna Airport – now Shannon International Airport and to mark this milestone, The Clare Champion has published a special supplement. Among the contributors is Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who writes: IN 1945, Shannon Airport’s geographic position between Europe and America made it an ideal stepping stone between the old and new worlds. On October 24 this year, the airport celebrates the 70th anniversary of the first commercial transatlantic flight from the US to Shannon. I would like to acknowledge this major achievement and congratulate the airport on achieving yet another milestone in its illustrious history. American Overseas Airlines was the operator 70 years ago of that historic first flight and today, American Airlines, its successor, flies from Shannon to Philadelphia. Today, Shannon Airport is a vital access point in the transatlantic journey of many passengers, with its location on the Wild Atlantic Way making it even more attractive to …

TAOISEACH  Enda Kenny has accused Deputy Timmy Dooley of having “some neck” following a dispute over their respective parties’ record on social housing. Deputy Dooley alleged the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny has a “habit of making statements, which are untrue”. “In some instances, people have come to accept them as fact. Deputy Kenny initially made the statement that the problem with social housing went back to the previous government’s time, where they didn’t build houses. That is patently untrue,” he claimed. When Fianna Fáil were in government during previous recessions, Deputy Dooley said they increased the house building programme to meet the demand and need. “It seems to me that Enda Kenny doesn’t care about this issue. He is only interested in winning the next general election and he will sail into the sunset, leaving a pent-up problem for future generations,” he claimed. However, a spokesperson for the Taoiseach said Deputy Dooley has “some neck” accusing any other party of leaving …

A GARDA with strong County Clare family ties has been awarded the prestigious Scott Medal for Bravery, for facing down an armed robber. Garda Michael Bolton, a grandson of the late Teresa and Michael Bolton and the son of the late Michael Bolton from Scariff, was honoured for foiling an armed robbery in Portmarnock, Dublin on November 16, 2012. When he responded to a credit union robbery on a bicycle, the garda encountered two suspects, one of whom pointed a gun at him. The suspect fired a shot at Garda Bolton and he was subsequently forced to dive behind a parked car for cover. The armed raider later approached Garda Bolton a second time, in an effort to frighten him away. Because of the persistence and courage of the Malahide-based garda, the culprits were later apprehended by support units and brought before the courts. The citation for the award stipulated that the Scott Medal was being awarded for “exceptional courage …

The new Suicide Prevention Strategy ‘Connecting for Life’ has been launched Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Primary and Social Care Kathleen Lynch. Dr Shari McDaid, director of Mental Health Reform, the national coalition on mental health, said, “It is positive that the strategy is described as a plan for the whole of Government because reducing suicide and self-harm requires action to influence the full range of health, social and economic factors that increase risk. Implementation of the strategy’s commitment to collaboration and coordination across departments will be key to its success.” “In Mental Health Reform’s submission to the National Office for Suicide Prevention last year, we had recommended that the new strategy include a plan to ensure that 24/7 crisis intervention be available in every mental health service. The current lack of 24/7 crisis supports in some areas is an issue that people have raised again this year at our public consultation meetings and one which needs urgent action. …

EAST Galway Labour Senator, Lorraine Higgins has been selected as the party’s candidate in the constituency for the 2016 General Election. Senator Higgins is the Seanad Labour Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade and was nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, in 2011. She had run in the general election earlier that year but was narrowly beaten. Last year, she ran as the Labour candidate in the Midlands-North-West constituency in the European Parliament election. Speaking at the Labour Party convention in her home town of Athenry on Friday, Senator Higgins said she planned to win a seat in Dáil Éireann. “In regard to the question of whether or not I can win, the simple answer is yes. The perception that Galway East is not Labour heartland no longer applies. At the last election, we turned that thinking on its head, when the party received almost 8,000 first-preference votes, enough for me to take a seat next time …

A new television series on the Wild Atlantic Way is expected to have an audience of 15 million British viewers when it airs on ITV in the coming weeks. Wild Ireland is fronted by renowned TV personality, Christine Bleakley, who explores the highlights of the world’s longest continuous coastal route by driving, cycling, hiking, swimming and kayaking her way from Malin Head in Donegal to Mizen Head in Cork. The first of six 30-minute episodes will premier on British TV screens on Monday, April 13. Viewers in Ireland can tune in on UTV Ireland weekly from Wednesday, April 15 at 9pm. Behind the project is Louth-based Big Mountain Productions, run by husband and wife team, Philip McGovern and Jane Kelly, who specialise in creating original format TV series. At the launch, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said, “The Wild Atlantic Way is 2,500 kilometres of the most captivating coastal scenery you will ever lay eyes on, which is why it is attracting …

The Government’s new tourism policy launched by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Paschal Donohoe has received a broad welcome in Clare and the Mid-West. The tourism industry as a whole accounts for 4% of gross national product (GNP) and now supports almost 205,000 jobs – equivalent to 11% of total employment in the country, some 54,000 of which are in the hotels sector. Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, chair of the Shannon branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), acknowledged the important support provided by the Government in ensuring tourism remains at the heart of Ireland’s economic policy and in recognising the valuable role played by tourism in growing the Irish economy and generating increased employment. Ms Fitzgerald Kane stated that hoteliers in Clare look forward to working with the Government to achieve the targets set out in the tourism strategy, including plans to grow overseas visitors to 10 million per annum by 2025. This would increase annual revenues from overseas visitors …

More than half those killed in the 1916 Easter Rising were ordinary members of the public, it has been outlined. This detail was explained at the launch by Taoiseach Enda Kenny of the 1916 Easter Rising Necrology compiled by the Glasnevin Trust. The necrology contains the names of all 485 people who lost their lives in the 1916 rising, including innocent civilians, British soldiers, as well as members of the Irish Volunteers. This is the first time a list of this scale has been collated and made available online. The Necrology, researched and complied by the Glasnevin Trust, shows 485 men, women and children were killed during or as a direct result of the 1916 rebellion. This major piece of research revealed many interesting and previously unknown facts, the most striking of which details that 54% of total dead were civilians, as opposed to British Army or Rebel forces.  The full Necrology and statistical analysis is available on www.glasnevintrust.ie. An …