Connacht Tribune
Councillors reject call to take animals into account when housing Travellers
Councillors have rejected a proposal to recognise the ‘need for culturally appropriate accommodation’ for Travellers that would include a provision for horses.
As part of ongoing deliberations over the Draft County Development Plan, Cllr Alastair McKinstry (Green) proposed that the document – which will go on public display early next year – should take into account the importance of horses to Traveller Culture.
This followed a recommendation of the European Human Rights Agency that the animals were ‘fundamental’ to Traveller identity. The motion was seconded by Cllr Tom Welby (Ind).
It failed to garner much support from councillors, with many arguing that the motion could have far-reaching consequences and may leave it more difficult for Traveller families to be accommodated.
Cllr Peter Roche (FG) said he was ‘vehemently opposed’ and said the motion could result in a land requirement for Traveller households where horses could be kept.
Cllr Jimmy McClearn (FG) echoed this and said by including such a stipulation, it could result in Travellers being excluded from future social housing schemes.
“My concern is [the motion] could have unintended consequences. If you must provide facilities for horses, then you are ruling out the chance of any Traveller getting social housing as we know it.
“You couldn’t have horses in a built-up housing development and my concern would be we would be leaving Travellers in a worse situation,” said Cllr McClearn.
Cllr McKinstry said the proposal was ‘mild’ and simply sought the recognition that Travellers and horses were ‘interconnected’.
“The motion does not require land to be purchased. It will need fleshing out,” he said, adding that the Housing Strategic Policy Committee would be the place to do that.
Cllr PJ Murphy (FG) also opposed the motion and said: “We don’t provide for the hobbies of any other citizens when talking about social housing tenants.”
Other councillors raised concerns about animal welfare issues including Cllr James Charity (Ind) and Cllr Karey McHugh Farag (Ind) who said while she supported Traveller ownership of horses, the Council didn’t make provision for other groups around the ownership of animals.
“It is honourable but I do have concerns that it doesn’t specify that horses should be registered or microchipped,” said Cllr McHugh Farag.
Cllr Noel Thomas (FF) said “anybody who gets a house should be glad to get it”.
“Do we provide culturally appropriate houses to farmers, to dog-breeders . . . it is an open-ended book and would cost a small fortune to accommodate for everybody,” said Cllr Thomas.
Cllr Eileen Mannion (FG) said was working with a number of Traveller families seeking accommodation and room for horses was not a priority for them.
“While I respect where Alastair is coming from, I don’t think this is the road to go down.
“I have contact with a number of Travellers who are looking for a home – they are not looking for anything else but a roof over their heads,” said Cllr Mannion.
Director of Services for Housing, Liam Hanrahan, told the meeting that the Council’s existing policy already included ‘supports for horses’.
“Our Traveller accommodation plan is, I believe, enough to cover all requirements,” said Mr Hanrahan.
Cllr Liam Carroll (FG) said accommodation for horses could be made available in relation to Traveller-specific accommodation, but argued that if this motion were to pass, new Part V requirements that include for 10% social housing in all new-build estates would exclude the Traveller Community.
“It would be very difficult to accommodate horses in that type of situation. While it’s very well-meaning, we are trying to get the integration of Travellers into all parts of society and this may have negative consequences.
Only three councillors backed the motion; 24 were against while eight abstained.
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
