Connacht Tribune
Councillors vote down social housing blueprint
Conamara councillors have voted to defer a masterplan to provide 100 social houses in Moycullen – despite being warned it would be a retrograde step at a time when the demand was at an all-time high.
Cllr Noel Thomas, who proposed the motion to defer the Galway County Council masterplan first mooted almost two years ago, stressed that he recognised the demand for social housing – but he disagreed with ‘lumping’ them all together instead of providing mixed developments of private and affordable housing.
Cllr Thomas said he had spent a long time researching and getting answers from council officials on the matter and he wasn’t going to back down now, adding that in light of other recent announcements on other council housing schemes for the area, going ahead with the masterplan would not be advisable until the local area plan was completed.
That scheme was to be completed within the next decade but the Council has since bought a site on the N59 on the Galway side of the village with the intention of providing 49 social units.
That planning application made originally by a private developer was turned down by the Council but granted on appeal to An Bord Pleanala.
There are further plans to build a social housing estate on the Coillte site on the Church Road, another 39 adjacent to Uilinn closer to the village as well as a housing agency’s plan to build 15 units opposite Sweeney’s Shop and Fuel Station west of the village.
“I am not against social housing but I don’t believe in creating all social housing estates. Have we not learned from our mistakes in the past?” he asked.
“People have already expressed their concerns over these plans. They are going mad that they are being put into big lumps. This is a village with no social housing and now there are plans to provide over 200.
“I don’t understand why it can’t be a mixed development and I believe that the Coillte site should be allocated for affordable housing to help young people to buy their own home instead of putting them into social housing.”
Senior Executive Engineer Rachel Lowe told the meeting she had no housing need figures for Moycullen (two years ago it was over 200) but that there were 3,200 people on the housing list county wide and, for 150 of them, Conamara South was their area of choice.
She told the Conamara Municipal District meeting in Oughterard that there were 14 units under construction in Carraroe, 18 in Ros a Mhíl, eleven in Letterfrack and 13 in Anach Mheáin in Beal a Daingean, with another 26 units being provided in the former St Joseph’s School and Laundry in Clifden.
She also listed the 39 units coming on stream in Moycullen as well as a number of other units in the former post office in Inverin giving the meeting a flavour of how the Government’s commitment to investing in housing under Rebuilding Ireland was going on.
Cllr Thomas said he appreciated that there was ‘a big demand for social housing in Moycullen at the moment’ but hoped the Council would use ‘some common sense and try to keep people in their own area though that’s not always possible’.
He said he thought the plans to build over 200 social housing units in Moycullen was ‘out of proportion’ and that the Council was missing out on an opportunity to provide some badly needed community facilities for the village, reminding the meeting that the primary school was already full to capacity.
“That school is using prefabs with plastic on the roofs to stop water leaking in and there isn’t even a proper bus service. We need to step back.
“It’s ridiculous to ram these all together as it won’t work. We should be taking baby steps to see how it’s managed before moving onto the next step. I don’t think we should be developing that site on the Spiddal Road for 100 units (the masterplan) until the local area plan is completed.”
He said the new poor were the working class who were trying to keep on top of bills and that it would be more in line to provide an affordable housing scheme.
Ms Lowe warned councillors it would be a “big step back” to defer the masterplan at a time when there was a national debate on the need for social housing. She further asked that the vote be deferred to October 4.
Cllr Séamus Walsh seconded Cllr Thomas’ motion – and it was carried, with Cllr Alastair McKinstry voting against it.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
