Connacht Tribune
Community schemes’ cash caught in red tape
Two community schemes in Galway to improve village recreational facilities are under threat – because of bureaucratic wrangling.
Last October, the Kilconnell Tidy Towns Committee was awarded €5,580 to create a pathway around their sensory garden – adjacent to the polytunnel used to grow vegetables – to allow access for wheelchairs, buggies and those with mobility issues.
And the Hymany Trail Walking Way was also granted €5,500 to lay reinforced matting on the section of the greenway between Portumna to Ballygar.
The funding application was submitted by the Galway Rural Development Company (GRD) on behalf of both community groups to the Department of Rural and Community Development which was overseeing the €12 million Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme as part of the Government’s ‘Action Plan for Rural Development’.
The schemes were to have been completed by the end of last year but the groups had applied for an extension, which was granted.
Now, however, six months on, the money has still not been handed over because of red tape between the Department and the GRD.
Minister of State for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development Sean Canney said the delay was down to wrangling over who had responsibility for the maintenance of the projects completed.
Chairperson of Kilconnell Tidy Towns, Debbie Donnelly, said as part of the application they had to secure quotes from contractors and, of the ten they contacted, only two were willing to carry out the works.
This contractor has been put on hold for months while they wait to receive the money from the GRD.
“We have been told we can’t start it until the GRD draw down the money but this delay is threatening the entire project because our contractor is a landscaper who is coming into his busy time.
“It’s also holding up another project – we got funding to build an outdoor mud kitchen for children beside the sensory footpath so we start that until this work is done,” she stated.
“We have sent numerous emails, left many messages, all to no avail. How can community groups – all volunteers – be expected to deal with this farce and how could we have confidence in either department going forward?”
Deputy Canney said he had been working with Independent Councillor Tim Broderick to sort out the issue.
“The funding is safe but I’m annoyed it’s still not sorted. We’ve been trying to get the Department and the GRD to sit down and work it out – it’s not huge money but it will have a huge impact on these communities,” he told the Connacht Tribune.
“I don’t want to see community groups tied up in red tape and having their projects that they work so hard on getting delayed. It’s not affecting all grants in this scheme – just some of the grants allocated to leader companies. If I had my time over again I’d have urged the groups themselves to apply for the funding as they are the ones which will have the liability for the maintenance.”
CEO of the GRD Delia Colohan confirmed that two community groups have had their work held up ‘due to lack of clarification on a number of queries’ to the Department.
“Drawdown of funds will happen when the work is completed – GRD does not hold the funds. The chairperson of GRD has written to the Department seeking an explanation and we are waiting for a response from them.”
Ms Donnelly said the community had successfully executed projects such as a playground and a park before with public funding but they had never experienced such nonsense.
“We have three community employment schemes here who would help to maintain it. We have had the Brothers of Charity out planting, saying they would use it. It’s beside the school, near a nursing home – it would be a well-used facility. If it goes on much longer we’ll lose our contractor.”
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.
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.
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
