Tag Archives: TD

ENNIS local Margaret Hurley has been presented with a national award for her volunteering work. Margaret was named a winner in the Health and Wellbeing category in the national Volunteer Ireland Awards for her commitment to the Irish Wheelchair Association. Margaret Hurley has been volunteering with the Irish Wheelchair Association in Ennis for over 15 years. Known to her friends as ‘Mags’, she has been the backbone of the Ennis branch, and has been the driver, literally and metaphorically, of hundreds of activities over the years. She is currently the Branch Treasurer, but also acts as a driver of IWA’s wheelchair accessible minibus when required. Despite the considerable time commitment Margaret gives to the local volunteer branch, her dedication to the organisation is so strong that she also has another volunteer role with the Irish Wheelchair Association charity shop in Ennis. According to Clare Volunteer Centre Manager, Sharon Meaney, “The Clare branch of the Irish Wheelchair Association were determined to …

IT would be something of an understatement to say that a lot has happened in the months since Monday, February 10. It snowed in North Clare on the day that Cathal Crowe was unveiled as a new TD, after a General Election count fraught with drama. And while many thought hell would freeze over before Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would coalesce, and join with the Greens in a history-making new administration, that is what has transpired, against the backdrop of a global pandemic. Ten days later Deputy Crowe took his seat in the Dáil, and received the keys to his new office on the third floor of the Leinster House 2000 building. Since then, he has been putting in gruelling 14-16 hour days and, after the protracted process of government formation, he believes he has found his stride as a national representative. “As a first-time TD, you’re on a very steep learning curve,” he said. “It’s like Fresher’s Week …

A total of €35,000 in in funding has been allocated to carry out essential repairs and maintenance on the iconic O’Connell Monument in Ennis. Funding was allocated as part of more than €4.3 million set aside under this year’s Historic Structures Fund (HSF) and Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) The funding will go towards ‘emergency and stabilisation’ works on the O’Connell Monument. Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Joe Carey said, “The funding is being released as we move to phase 2 of the Government’s roadmap to reopen our economy to ease the Covid-19 restrictions. It will help provide employment for many small businesses, conservation specialists and tradespeople involved in heritage-related construction activity in Clare. “These schemes will play a vital role in helping local communities to regenerate the areas where they live and work, and to protect our built heritage for future generations.  “As the phased reopening of our economy continues, it is hoped it will be possible that many of the projects under the two …

FARMER and former TD Michael McNamara is supportive of the Beef Plan protests and is holding back his own cattle. “I have cattle that are fit to kill and I’m not moving them. I’m going to hold them until this strike is over, one way or another. Whether they are under 30 months or over 30 months, I’m going to hold them,” he said. He expects things could become even more tense at the front lines of the protest, as he predicts that the “big companies will do everything they can to break the strike”. Mr McNamara slammed the Competition Authority for not looking closely at what is happening in the beef industry. “The only investigation the Competition Authority in Ireland has carried out in relation to price fixing was that they raided the IFA offices. The Competition Authority in Ireland is a joke and I’m happy to be on the record to say they are a joke. They’re like …

A judge has refused an application by former Labour TD Michael McNamara for a Digital Audio Recording (DAR) of the evidence in his dangerous driving case. At Ennis District Court today (Wednesday), Judge Patrick Durcan refused Mr McNamara’s application for the DAR of the day’s evidence in the case, as the 43 year-old prepares an appeal against his dangerous driving conviction to the circuit court. The conviction, which carries an automatic two year driving ban, is in respect of Mr McNamara’s driving at Tobernagath, Scariff on December 10, 2016. Mr McNamara can continue to drive pending his appeal being heard. In court on Wednesday, the solicitor for Mr McNamara said that the application was being made to obtain the DAR to help deal with shortcomings in the prosecution case against him. The application was opposed by the gardaí with Inspector Tom Kennedy telling Judge Durcan: “That is not what the DAR was designed for.” Insp Kennedy said that Mr McNamara …

Oireachtas members last night enjoyed dinner blindfolded to raise awareness about the challenges faced by people with sight loss. Dine in the Dark is an initiative which has been promoted by the National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI) and the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) to increase awareness of the challenges faced on a daily basis by people who are blind and visually impaired. The dinner was hosted by Senator Martin Conway, who is himself visually impaired. The fully booked meal included Ministers, TDs and Senators from across all political parties and is the first time in the history of the Houses of the Oireachtas that such an event was held. Senator Conway said, “The NCBI’s Dine in the Dark event is a fantastic initiative that challenges people to go outside their comfort zone and gives them an insight into what life is like with vision impairment. “Last year the event was a great success for the NCBI …

DEPUTY Michael Harty has confirmed that he favours allowing abortion in certain circumstances but not in the latter stages of pregnancy. In an interview with The Clare Champion, Dr Harty said as much as possible needs to be done around education and provision of contraception to ensure that women are not left in what he called an “unenviable position”. He said, “I am male and I will never have to consider having an abortion and I think that’s an important factor, when males are speaking about this issue. “We don’t know what the wording of the referendum is going to be so it’s difficult to comment on how one will vote, when one doesn’t know the wording of what legislation is proposed to define the circumstances under which termination of pregnancy is going to be allowed. We have to wait for that, before we can make a definitive decision on how to vote.” While Dr Harty favours allowing terminations in …

PLANNING approval for a controversial Cooraclare mast, linked to claims by recently elected TD, Dr Michael Harty of serious problems with his own internet connection, is now on hold. An Bord Pleanála has been asked to take a fresh look at Clare County Council’s decision to grant Brian Sexton of Clare Broadband planning permission to retain a broadband mast at Cloonreddan, Cooraclare. One of the original objectors, Angela Collins, has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála. In a letter to the council on July 20 last, Dr Harty and his wife, Geraldine, a registered nurse, expressed a number of personal objections. They stated it was disappointing that a letter sent by the council concerning this unauthorised development was met by defiance and, instead of removing it, the owner/operator chose to develop it further instead. “Our Vodafone service has been severely limited since this mast was erected. Several telephone calls to the service provider have resulted in no improvement. “As …