Connacht Tribune
Hopes that flood works should restore home insurance cover
Hopes have been expressed that insurance companies will now restore flood cover for houses in Ballinasloe following the announcement of an €8.6 million investment in the town.
The funding for the extension of the flood relief programme will include the extension of the flood wall and an ease of access for rising waters to escape into the River Shannon.
But local councillors have expressed the view that the works are both taking too long to complete and that there is no guarantee that insurance companies will provide flood cover for homes in Ballinasloe.
The Office of Public Works presented area councillors with a plan for the Ballinasloe Flood Relief Project which is expected to commence this year.
Cllr Aidan Donohue told a meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council that he was concerned about the length of time involved in the design stage and also the fact that it would not be completed within the next four years.
His Fine Gael colleague Cllr Michael Finnerty said that even when the extension of the flood wall is completed, there is no guarantee that home owners in Ballinasloe will be afforded flood relief cover from insurance companies.
The proposed works under consideration by the engineering team to protect the town of Ballinasloe include the construction of 530m of new flood defence walls, 5km of flood defence embankments and a demountable flood gate, and of two new 6m wide flood alleviation arch culverts at Ballinasloe East Bridge.
It also involves works on the riverbank 130m upstream and downstream of the bridge to 35.3m to maximize efficiency of the flood alleviation culverts, as well as the construction of two lock gates across the Canal and a sluice gate across the channel flowing into the marina from the canal.
In addition, it would see an upgrade of existing culvert to a 2.0m diameter culvert, and the existing Kilclooney Road Bridge on the River Deerpark, along with works on the riverbed upstream and downstream of Kilclooney Road Bridge to maximise efficiency of the upgraded structure.
It also includes maintenance works of the west and east channels to ensure their full capacity can be utilised in a flood event.
Cllr Donohue has been assured that the staffing shortages that currently exist within Galway County Council will not delay the project.
However, he is concerned about some of the time frames involved in the flood relief process.
“There are elements to this project that are taking much longer than they should be. If we get another deluge like at the end of 2015 or 2009, then it will be a disastrous situation again,” he said.
Cllr Finnerty added that when the works are completed, then the home insurance companies should be left with no choice but to provide flood cover for every dwelling in the town.
Meanwhile, Deputy Denis Naughten said that this announcement builds on the investment of €400,000 already allocated in conjunction with Minister Sean Canney for flood relief measures in Ballinasloe, South Roscommon and East Galway since the Government was formed.
“To complement the flood measures to date and those planned for Ballinasloe, work is ongoing on the River Shannon itself, south of where it meets the River Suck, to remove blockages in the flow of the river that have a direct impact on flooding south of Ballinasloe.
“Other projects throughout County Roscommon and East Galway are currently under consideration and further measures will take place along the River Shannon over the coming months which will have a direct impact on flooding problems along the River Suck and River Shannon,” Deputy Naughten said.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
