Connacht Tribune
An Post claims Carna post office closure is temporary measure
Residents in Carna have been assured that the current closure of their local post office is only temporary – and that An Post is committed to maintaining its facility in the village.
That’s what Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Seán Kyne, said in Carna on Monday night at a public meeting called on foot of the post office closure since May 3.
An Post says the closure is due “to circumstances beyond their control” – and Minister Kyne said he could not comment in any detail on an investigation by An Post into certain matters at the post office in Carna. The Minister said these were matters involving An Post and the Postmistress in Carna which related to the contract between both parties.
But Minister Kyne said he had arranged that a deputation from the meeting would meet the regional personnel in An Post, if they wanted to do that. He hoped this could help in moving closer to getting the services up and running again in Carna. It was agreed that a deputation would meet the Post regional management at an early date and that there would be a call for an early resolution to the situation in Carna.
The deputation will also indicate the support and satisfaction expressed for the present Postmistress in Carna to An Post regional management.
A petition will be available for signatures in the Carna area. The deputation will be accompanied by politicians.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said that the closure of the post office in Carna was a totally unfair inconvenience to the public in the area and he said questions needed to be answered about An Post’s protocols in cases like this.
Councillor Joe Folan said that an early resolution to the post office situation in Carna is needed and that he had indicated this strongly to the regional management.
Over 80 people attended the meeting which was arranged by Coiste Pobail Charna who are working in tandem with Fóram Iorras Aithneach and community interests and business in the area on the post office issue.
Meanehwil – with up to 300 post offices across the country facing closure under a rationalisation programme – a public meeting has been called on Gort next week to discuss the future of the entire network.
The meeting is organized by Galway East Deputy, and will take place in O’Sullivan’s, Gort, next Monday at 8.30pm.
Guest speaker on the night is her Fianna Fail colleague, Communications Spokesperson, Timmy Dooley.
“Deputy Dooley has been consistent in raising concerns over the uncertain future of rural post offices, he has been the driving force behind the campaign for the Government to up its game, to invest more in the post office network, securing its future”, explained Deputy Rabbitte.
“This is an important opportunity for the people of Galway East and surrounding areas to come together and raise their concerns, to highlight the significant role the post office plays in their communities, and impress upon the Government the need for their post office to be protected.
“This is your opportunity to be apart of the discussion, and I would urge everyone with an interest in protecting this vital community service to attend the meeting and have their voice heard,” concluded Deputy Rabbitte.
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
