News
Big increase in sex crimes in Galway in year to date
There was a staggering increase in reports of serious and sexual assaults in the first quarter of 2015 in Galway City, however overall crime was down in the period by 15% compared to last year.
According to figures released by the Gardaí to the Galway City Joint Policing Committee, the number of incidents reported to officers in divisional district dropped to 1,673 for the first three months of the year, including the number of burglaries, which fell by over a third to 109.
The trend for home invasions is still worryingly high – there were 274 burglaries reported across the whole of 2014 in the division, with 105 successful prosecutions.
While theft from shops jumped by a third, the incidence of car break-ins plummeted by nearly 70%. People caught for possessing drugs dropped by almost half – with cannabis still the drug of choice in the city with €50,000 worth of weed confiscated in the period.
There were 13 incidents of assault causing harm in the first quarter – a 44% hike in cases reported. There were seven reports of sexual assault – up by 75% on the same period last year.
Superintendent Marie Skehill said six of these cases were historical.
During the three months, 134 checkpoints were mounted and over 1,000 breath tests performed, leading to the detection of 44 drunk drivers, a minor increase.
Fine Gael Councillor Padraig Conneely pointed to the 275 public order offences reported in a very short period as evidence that violence was on the increase.
“Assaults causing harm – serious assaults – are up by 34%, that’s of concern. I read court reports about these and they’re getting more vicious. I feel the regime of sentencing is not strong enough. Anybody who uses a bottle or glass should get five years.”
Cllr Frank Fahy (FG) remarked on the €14,000 worth of Ecstasy confiscated.
“I probably find Ecstasy tablets more often in my taxi that I find €5 or €10. I can see the effect on people. They are very disorientated. It draws them to water. A lot of people who end up in water are accidental drownings as a result of Ecstasy rather than deliberate suicide.”
Cllr Catherine Connolly (Ind) believed fewer people were reporting crimes such as sexual assault or burglary due to the cut in support services and fewer Gardaí on duty to visit a home broken into.
Cllr Niall McNelis (Lab) said businesses around town were concerned there was lots of petty theft being perpetrated but not being reported.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (SF) asked how local politicians could stand over the crime figures following serious concerns raised by the Central Statistics Office about the accuracy of how crime was recorded by Gardaí. He referred to a report by the Garda Inspectorate which found that nearly one third of offences reported by the public were not being recorded on the Garda Pulse system.
Superintendent Marie Skehill said incidents of crime were reported to the Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) staffed by civilians in Castlebar for inclusion on the Pulse system.
Operation Aimsir was still underway in the city, which involved identifying ten of the city’s most prolific burglars, following them in a bid to catch them in the act of a crime and monitoring them while out on bail.
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
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
