News
City museum funding poses major issue
Longer opening hours and additional public funding for Galway Museum would come at a cost – and potentially mean an increase in property tax or commercial rates – city councillors have been told.
The reminder came from the local authority Chief Executive Brendan McGrath, who was reacting to criticisms levelled at the director of facility during a presentation to members.
“I’d love to open the museum for 50 hours, who’s going to fund the staff?” Mr McGrath asked them.
“We all want to develop the museum, but the income side of our budget is stagnant – unless you provide me with additional sources of income. You have to make choices – it’s either, or.
“Even increasing the visitor numbers increases costs, with the numbers using toilets, there’s wear and tear, and maintenance costs. The museum is a credit to Galway City Council, but you can’t operate the facility to the standard you want to.
“In few weeks’ time (budget), you won’t want to increase rates or property tax, and I’m trying to run a city on your behalf with no buoyancy. That’s the choice you have. I can’t constantly expand the services.
“You can’t get extra staff, additional running costs, or money to match Fáilte Ireland (grant aid) unless it comes from somewhere.”
Director of Galway Museum, Eithne Verling, had been invited to speak to members about a major undertaking that would, if successful, bring the building up to a higher standard which would enable it to receive valuable artefacts.
“It is like an ISO9000 (quality standard) for museums, a root-and-branch check of all aspects,” she said.
She said that the final date for the submission of 10 lengthy documents to the Heritage Council was September 30 last, and assessors are due on November 23, with full accreditation expected next year.
Although supportive, Cllr Padraig Conneely said that even if staff were successful in obtaining this distinction, there were larger issues to be dealt with, mainly that the building was not fit for purpose.
“A lot of money will have to be spent on it, about €200,000, as it is not fit to be a museum,” he said, claiming that a previous senior official had decided what it should be used for at the last minute.
“There are certain items that wouldn’t be lent to Galway because of the lighting and windows. Money has to be spent by Galway City Council to get it up to standard.”
He welcomed the expansion plans for the building and the surrounding Spanish Arch area, which are dependent on a significant grant from Fáilte Ireland, to be matched by the local authority.
“They have been very mean and slow with public funding for structural projects in this city, and I hope they will come up with the €4.5m to develop this area.
“There are fantastic plans drawn up for that. The Spanish Arch is one of our best known tourist attractions, and I’m very much supportive of the whole project.”
Cllr Ollie Crowe was critical of the short opening hours of the museum, which he described as unacceptable.
However, the response from the majority of the councillors was one of unanimous support.
Cllrs Mairead Farrell and Niall McNelis both praised museum staff for their 1916 Centenary events and displays. The latter added that the building was a great asset to the city.
Ms Verling acknowledged that there were some issues that needed addressing within the building, but disputed Cllr Conneely’s claim that it was not fit for purpose.
“There are issues, but these are being dealt with in different ways,” she said.
“We have made an application to the Department of Arts for funding to help us mitigate the environment – so we will be able to take international material for longer periods. It’s just an adjustment, and we have a good and clear plan on all of that.
“We currently have 350 objects given to us by the National Museum, and the National Gallery has also given us a bust of Eamonn Ceannt.
“We’ve applied to Fáilte Ireland for the extension (€6.5m), and plan to build into Comerford House, which is an integral part of our imagination for the city. We will know about funding for that in January, but we have received very positive soundings for that money.
“We would love to be there every day, but we just don’t have the staff, or the resources. We are planning to mitigate that as well.
“We are trying to increase revenue by introducing new revenue streams which will offset our costs. We are looking at a shop, maybe a franchise, interesting merchandise, tours, re-enactments, and at charging a fee into the new building.”
Ms Verling was not confident at the possibility of Galway Museum getting involved with the de-commissioned LÉ Aisling.
“We would love to be involved but the problem is funding – anything you have in the water is about 10 times more expensive than on land,” she said.
“There is so much maintenance, health and safety, and insurance. We would be very excited by it, but don’t know about the practicalities.”
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
