Connacht Tribune
Kids join childcare list – before they’re even born
Mountbellew Community Childcare Centre has a waiting list for children not even born yet, with 30 pupils attending an afterschool run by their staff in the nearby national school gym.
Planning permission for a €180,000 extension was granted last year but their application for a Pobal grant to part-fund it was turned down last year. This year they have applied for funding of €70,000 to build the extension which can accommodate 118 babies and children in the crèche, playschool, breakfast club and afterschool.
The centre has 50 places available since it opened in 2008 and has almost always been full, according to manager Denise Flanagan.
But in the last three years demand from parents has sky-rocketed due to the convenience of the before and after school service as well as the free playschool scheme.
“I’ve had parents coming up to me and saying they are a few weeks pregnant and can I put their name down for a place,” Denise told the Connacht Tribune.
“There’s a staff member who couldn’t get their child in here and they have to leave to pick up their child from a different playschool and bring them to a babysitter. Another family moved across the road and they can’t get in. It puts so much pressure on families – I hate having to tell local people we can’t fit them in.
“We can take six babies from six months old and we’re booked until 2020 – these are babies that haven’t even been born yet.”
The centre which has 18 staff has children who travel from afar as Skehanna and Ballygar for childcare. Some parents have had to arrange multiple pick-ups and drop-offs as they could not secure a place in the community childcare facility.
For the last two years Mountbellew National School has agreed to rent the school gym to the centre to facilitate the afterschool but the arrangement is not ideal as it means pupils spend a long time on school grounds.
“When the Government set up the free playschool scheme they didn’t investigation whether there were enough places. Now parents are putting their children into playschool from age three so it’s putting pressure on childcare centres.”
The centre held a public meeting last month to discuss the situation and 70 parents turned up.
“They’re all desperate to get their children in. We’ve been fully compliant with our Tusla and Pobal inspections and most of the staff have been with me since we opened in 2008 which is pretty rare in childcare.
“We know our children very well, it’s a very family atmosphere and we’re proud we’re doing so well but it’s causing a huge amount of stress on parents to find a full-time childcare place,” explained Denise.
“We are ready to go with the extension. We have a bank loan approved on condition we get Pobal funding and the local priest has agreed to sell us the site beside us. We’ve put a huge amount of effort into making sure the application is right.”
Roscommon Galway TD Eugene Murphy urged Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone to review the case of Mountbellew Community Childcare Centre.
“I have been contacted by so many parents and members of the public from the Mountbellew area regarding this pressing matter. One concerned father told me in January of this year he and his wife queued outside Mountbellew community childcare centre from 5.30 am to try to get their daughter a place for September, only to be told there was no room at the inn,” the Fianna Fáil deputy told the Dáil.
“Mountbellew is fortunate to have a childcare centre of this calibre. All the emails to me from parents have noted the professional nature of staff and the loving, caring and nurturing environment. Investing in this centre makes economic sense. We must be able to facilitate parents to work and contribute while our children, the future generation, are nurtured in the best environment possible.”
Minister Zappone replied that over the past four budgets, investment in early learning and care and school age childcare has increased by 117%, rising from €260 million in 2015 to €575 million in 2019.
This year there was a capital budget of €9.6 million for the sector, with €6.1 million of this funding for the 2019 early learning and care and school age childcare capital programmes.
She was unable to comment on the application process but stated that the outcome of the appraisal would be communicated to applications this month.
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.
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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
