News
Call for unity as details of flood funding revealed
Some of the State’s main agencies are to be approached over the coming weeks in a desperate effort to try and resolve the flooding disaster in South Galway.
This comes in a week that saw confirmat that Gort area has received 75% of the special allocation awarded by the Government to address the damage to roads as a result of the flooding. This month’s meeting of Loughrea area councillors was told that €1.14m has been granted for road upgrades in the Gort Engineering Area as a result of recent flooding – out of €1.5m in total across the district and €6m to the county.
But at the same time, around 200 people attended a meeting in Gort to discuss what action to take to avoid a repeat of last winter which left hundreds of acres under water and several main roads closed to traffic.
Recently it was announced that €6.5 million has been allocated for the Dunkellin drainage scheme but there are two other smaller projects that could be completed before the end of the year if funding was made available.
Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon said that it was now time that there was a unified approach to resolving the flooding problem that has bedeviled the Gort and South Galway area for decades.
Deputy Cannon explained that €400,000 was being sought for the Kiltiernan to Ballinderreen scheme with €700,000 required to provide a permanent channel from Cahermore to the sea in Kinvara.
The meeting was attended by fellow Galway East TDs Sean Canney and Anne Rabbitte as well as councillors Joe Byrne, Mogie Maher and Gerry Finnerty.
Local researcher David Murray has carried out an indepth analysis of flooding in each locality made a presentation to the meeting and Deputy Cannon then invited contributions from the floor. He stressed that local knowledge was critical to solving flooding problems across South Galway.
It was agreed that agencies like Galway County Council, the Office of Public Works, the National Parks and Wildlife and Coillte should be invited to a round table discussion to try and resolve the flooding crisis and try and secure the necessary funding.
“In two hours we learned a lot about how we are going to approach this challenge but above all, we learned that if we work together and pool all of our talents and knowledge we will be a powerful force to be reckoned with.
“In the past when the state got involved in major infrastructure projects such as flood relief, locals were never consulted or involved in identifying solutions.
“This time we want to turn that process on its head and we are adamant that local knowledge will form part of the solution. We are also committed to keeping everyone informed of every development along the way”, Deputy Cannon added.
Speaking at the Loughrea Municipal Area meeting, Councillor Joe Byrne said the large allocation for the Gort Area of €1.138m confirms the devastation caused by the flooding in the South Galway area generally.
“The works primarily comprise of making permanent the raising of roads which were temporarily provided during the flooding crisis to maintain roads open where possible,” he stated.
“It will also ensure that the necessary accommodation works are provided to adjoining lands and homes for owners adjacent to the works. Safety mitigation works will be provided by providing crash barriers and the rebuilding of walls.”
Among the projects earmarked for restoration are Ballyboy, Ardrahan €60,00; Loughanawadda, Peterswell €60,000: Caherglaussaun €76,000; Golf Road in Gort €78,000; Mannin Cross €55,000; Tierneevin Area €84,000; Cahermore/Caheravoneen €108,000.
The rest of the allocation will fix damage around Loughrea, Crinnage and Portumna.
Councillor Byrne also confirmed that a second application will be made to the department next week for additional funding.
“I believe that this should focus on roads which have deteriorated as a result of being used as detours during the recent flooding. An example of this is the Ballymaquiff/ Coolfin Road in Ardrahan which has been damaged.”
He welcomed the road restoration and resurfacing of the Ballinabucky Road near Kilcolgan in recent weeks, which cost in the region of €120,000.
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
