Connacht Tribune
Holidaymakers play the waiting game over Covid
Sunseekers hoping to spend a few days on faraway shores in the New Year are playing a Covid waiting game, according to one of Galway’s to leading travel agents.
Maura Fahy, Managing Director of Fahy Travel in Galway City, said for the moment, it appeared as though antigen and/or PCR testing required to travel to many destinations were only in place until the end of January – but there remained a lot of unknowns.
However, there was still a huge desire among Irish holidaymakers to travel abroad, despite what has been two years of turmoil for the industry.
“To be honest, we were delighted with the business we saw from July and once people saw others travelling, they followed and we had big numbers travelling in October and November – we were very busy and I think that was a great indication that people will certainly continue to travel.
“Irish people are very resilient and we’ve had a lot of people in picking up brochures so we know the desire is still there,” said Ms Fahy.
Cruises were one area hit hard by Covid-19, with many of the first headline-grabbing outbreaks taking place on board cruise liners.
Ms Fahy said regular cruisers were returning to book but said industry figures were hoping that the situation would improve early this year to reassure those who were more hesitant in all areas of travel.
“Hopefully we will get a bit of a lift in January because like every business, we have been badly affected,” she said.
Meanwhile, a suite of measures has been announced by government to support travel agents and tour operators – in recognition of the impact the pandemic has had across the sector.
Galway West TD and Minister for State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, announced that €10 million would be made available to assist the sector in its recovery, and said it had ‘suffered significant ongoing disruption’ during the pandemic.
“The sector which comprises of mostly small and family-run businesses has remained open throughout the crisis in support of its customer bases. While various horizontal Government business supports have assisted this sector, I am pleased to have secured this targeted funding for the sector which has a strong affiliation and is a reliable source of bookings and revenue for airlines.
“The trade generated via licensed outbound travel agents and tour operators is a factor in generating demand for air service connectivity between Ireland and overseas markets,” said Minister Naughton.
Ms Fahy said any support from government was welcome. Travel agents had been hit hard and this was the first targeted scheme for the industry, she added.
“It is badly needed. Our figures are nothing like they were in 2019 and it will take a year or more to get back to that level.
“We would be delighted to see any support to see us through the next few months. With travel agents, none of us see any money until people actually go on their holidays, so if people cannot travel, we don’t make anything,” said Ms Fahy.
The next five months would be tough for the industry, she said, but the indications were good in that people do want to travel.
“The way it is at the moment, Ireland has a higher rate of Covid than most places people are going, so in actual fact it can be safer there than it is here,” said Ms Fahy.
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
