Connacht Tribune
More than 2,000 submissions on waste facility licence
Thousands of objections have been lodged with Galway County Council against a proposed licence for a waste facility in Ballinasloe.
A meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council heard that 2,075 hard copy submissions had been lodged with the County Council by the deadline earlier this month.
Last year local residents won a High Court challenge against the granting of a licence for a waste facility at Poolboy in the town.
The court ruled that Galway County Council had erred by granting the licence for a waste facility to Barna Waste, contrary to requirements for protecting natural habitats.
At a meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council, Fianna Fail Councillor Michael Connolly described the town as being ‘dogged’ down through the years with dumps and said the transit of waste through Ballinasloe town again would be ‘detrimental’.
Independent Councillor Aisling Dolan said she is happy that five out of the six local area councillors are supporting the ‘Ballinasloe Says No’ campaign.
She told the meeting that one in every three people living in the urban area of Ballinasloe has lodged a formal submission to the Environment department of the county council against the proposal for a waste licence.
The opposition to the waste facility centres on concerns regarding potential health implications and road safety.
Local residents claim that waste trucks will have to navigate through the town, passing Portiuncula Hospital, schools, children’s playgrounds and homes and could increase the risk of serious accidents or fatalities.
Residents also feel that there could be health implications as a result of a potential decrease in air quality.
Among the concerns of local residents is the potential impact on tourism in the East Galway town which is part of the Hidden Heartlands initiative.
They claim that a waste facility at Poolboy would deter investment for Ballinasloe and people would be less likely to want to live and work in the area.
There was some confusion at the Ballinasloe meeting regarding how many tonnes of waste per year would be permitted at the facility, if the licence is granted.
Independent Councillor Declan Geraghty said there is a perception that hundreds of waste lorries will pass through Ballinasloe each week if the facility is granted a licence.
However he added that his calculations suggest no more than three articulated loads of waste would traverse the town if the facility is to only cater for 23,000 tonnes of waste per year.
Independent Councillor Tim Broderick said the licence would allow 23,000 tonnes of waste at the Poolboy facility at any given time.
Councillor Geraghty says he is not against the waste facility but is also supportive of the local residents and would like clarity on the figures as it would be ‘unfair to hauliers and people who are trying to create jobs’.
The location of the proposed site at Poolboy has been described as ‘wrong’ by Sinn Fein Councillor Dermot Connolly, who is arguing that an alternative site, away from the populated area, should be explored and then maybe supported. Galway County Council is due to make a decision regarding the proposal for a waste licence in Poolboy by the end of November.
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
