Connacht Tribune
Council won’t tolerate bottles being left at banks – even if they’re already overflowing
Recycling centres are not dumping grounds for the residue of the festive season when households have an unprecedented amount of bottles to dispose.
That was the warning from Galway County Council CEO Jim Cullen who said that, while it might not be possible to empty the bottle banks as regularly as they would like, the Council would do all in its power to prosecute people who just dump bags of empties there.
“There will be occasions when people turn up to bottle banks and find them full but that doesn’t mean that they can leave their bottles there,” he said.
“They are not to be treated as dumping grounds over the post-Christmas and New Year period and those who do flout the law will be prosecuted by the Council.
“Every effort will be made to empty them as regularly as possible but there will be occasions when this will not be possible but there remains an onus of responsibility on the public to dispose of bottles appropriately,” Mr Cullen said.
He was speaking at a meeting of Galway County Council when he said that there would be extra pressure on the local authority to empty the bottle banks given their expected usage.
This time last year the pressure on the recycling centres through the county broke all records given the volume of home drinking over the Christmas period.
Already many of the recycling centres across the county are full to capacity and need to be emptied on an almost daily basis. Some have experienced illegal dumping because the bottle banks were overflowing.
Cllr Padraig Mac An Iomaire (FG) has urged Galway County Council to empty the bottle banks on a more regular basis in the aftermath of Christmas and the New Year.
The South Connemara councillor said that invariably they were going to be full much quicker than at any other time of the year and particularly as people were not frequenting pubs as often and, instead, were drinking at hime.
“It goes without saying that people are going to bring their recycling to the bottle banks and the vast majority will just leave them there if the bins are full to capacity rather than bringing them home,” Cllr Mac An Iomaire added.
Meanwhile, an additional 16 large bins with an 1,100 litre capacity have been installed around Galway City to help cope with increased rubbish during busy periods.
The bins, which cater for recycling and litter, have replaced wooden bins at Spanish Arch, Wolfe Tone Bridge and the Salthill Prom.
It follows the installation of an additional 21 solar compactor bins this year, a 25% increase on 2020 levels.
Fine Gael Councillor Eddie Hoare has welcomed the investment by Galway City Council saying that for too long during peak periods, he has seen bins overflowing.
“It is not surprising that this has led to numerous calls for more bins around the city and the rollout of additional bins has been very welcome,” Cllr Hoare added.
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
