Connacht Tribune
Crackdown is working on fly-tipping
Galway County Council’s campaign to stamp out illegal dumping is working, a meeting of the County Joint Policing Committee has heard.
According to Chair of the JPC’s Illegal Dumping & Littering sub-committee, Cllr Michael ‘Moegie’ Maher, the €82,000 spent by the local authority cleaning up litter blackspots has rid many areas of the scourge of illegal dumping – with an investment in CCTV cameras acting as a deterrent for repeat offenders.
In many cases, culprits have been rooted out, by means of anonymous reports or by searching the rubbish for evidence which may reveal their identity, said the Loughrea-based councillor, adding that the Council is successfully bringing the culprits before the courts.
“It’s great to note that there are cases in front of the courts for people who were caught dumping. These people have been warned, on radio, in the papers, all over the place.
“I’m not sorry for them,” said Cllr Maher.
CCTV cameras have been installed, or are due to be installed, in a number of locations known for regular dumping. The cameras, which are hidden in boxes, could be placed anywhere, said Cllr Maher, and so those engaged in the activity are unaware they are being watched.
He praised the work of Gardaí who join forces with community wardens to tackle the problem – an approach he said had been hugely successful.
“The initiative we are taking is working and I think we need to promote Galway as a green county,” said Cllr Maher.
However, he warned that staff numbers in the Environment Section at County Hall would need to be increased if the problem was to be solved once and for all.
“I am calling on Galway County Council to make sure there is enough staff because presently, there is not.
“The people who are illegally dumping are not always nice people to deal with and it is understaffed,” said Cllr Maher.
Chair of the Joint Policing Committee, Cllr Peter Roche (FG) said despite the “exorbitant” cost of carrying out clean-ups, the benefits were “extremely welcome”.
Referring to one particular area that has been cleared in Abbeyknockmoy, Cllr Roche said it was now a popular route for local walkers.
“The one thing that must come from us, as a Council, is resources. I don’t want it to be that we’d ever, as the local authority, be skimping with the resources we employ or deploy in tackling this blight on society.
“Anyone who thinks it’s okay, or continues repeatedly dumping, won’t get away with it for too long,” said Cllr Roche.
Cllr Maher said the sub-committee had also been working with local businesses to reduce waste and packaging and praised one local fast food outlet for the example they had set.
“I have to compliment Supermac’s. They have set up a green team in each of their outlets and they do a litter pick after closing, 100 yards to each side of the business.
“They have reduced packaging and I have to compliment Pat and Una McDonagh for that,” he said.
The sub-committee has been working to encourage businesses to eliminate single-use plastics in favour of items like paper straws and reusable cups.
Cllr Maher said they were in talks with the Council to ensure that all of its operations would be setting an example, and called on the Gardaí to do the same.
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
