Connacht Tribune
Objections are flooding in against mining licence
Opponents of mining in Connemara have inundated the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment with objections to plans to issue a prospecting licence in Ballyconneely and Roundstone.
The Exploration and Mining Division (EMD) of the Department has confirmed it has received some 619 submissions from the public on Toronto-based MOAG’s plans to search for minerals in Connemara.
The closing date for submissions was July 6, and Department officials are mulling over the objections, and compiling a report. Richard Bruton is the relevant minister but a decision about whether to grant the prospecting licence, according to the Department, has been delegated to Junior Minister, Sean Canney, an Independent Galway East TD.
A local committee (Protect Connemara – Keeping Ballyconneely and Roundstone Bog free from Mining) has urged people to lobby Minister Canney to turn down the request for a prospecting licence.
“We are trying to keep the pressure up. We want to stop it now – we need to nip this in the bud,” said Terri Conroy, a member of the emergency committee of the grassroots group that formed to oppose mining in the picturesque area.
Ms Conroy said the Ballyconneely/Roundstone group has linked-up with another recently formed committee, Keep Mining out of Joyce Country, which organised a well-attended meeting in Maam late last month to oppose plans to renew a prospecting licence to a different Canadian mining company, BTU Metals Corp, in an area stretching from Killary Harbour to Lough Corrib.
She said that as well as prospecting for gold and silver, MOAG want a licence to search to find Molybdenum.
“It’s a mineral that’s used to harden steel, and in missiles and wings of aircraft but the price is dropping and there are a lot of Molybdenum mines closing down around the world because they’re not viable,” she said.
Ms Conroy said it was not true that mining would bring jobs to Connemara.
“We can only go on past experience. MOAG has been in Carna for the past two years and they’ve employed three people, part-time, which is one and a half full-time jobs. There are only 1,500 jobs in mining in Ireland. How many jobs will be lost, in tourism, through the destruction of the environment?
“I don’t think people realise what it entails. It’s open-cast mining and use of chemicals. We are campaigning to protect our livelihoods, culture, heritage, farms, water and air, health and wellbeing, as well as our beautiful environment,” she said.
Protect Connemara will hold an annual general meeting next Thursday (August 22) in Ballyconneely Hall, where officers will be elected. The AGM is open to the public, and more volunteers are encouraged to attend, but politicians will not be allowed to speak at the event. The group will then host another public meeting – where everyone will be allowed to air their views – when new officers are in place.
The Department insists that a prospecting licence relates to prospecting only, and does not confer mining rights.
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.
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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
