Connacht Tribune
President Michael D returns to campaign in Galway
He might be facing a barrage of criticism over the lack of transparency over how he spends a €317,000 Áras allowance, but Michael D Higgins is anything but contrite in defence of his presidency.
The presidential incumbent campaigned on home turf this week amid claims by fellow candidate Peter Casey that the only memorable encounter during his seven-year term was with the British Queen and he was guilty of a 42% fall-off in engagements since his first year in office.
Dressed impeccably in a black three-piece suit and paisley tie, Michael D dismisses the Dragons’ Den businessman with a wry smile and a perfectly controlled lashing of the tongue when asked his reaction to such a harsh assessment.
“It isn’t only harsh, but I don’t really get involved in that kind of stuff . . . I’ve made an appeal for respect and for a positive campaign,” he starts off, before launching into a counter attack.
In the first two years of his term, Ireland was a very broken country, he recalls. He was out and about meeting with communities where all the young people were emigrating.
“Each year of the seven years was a different . . . context. For the return visit to the United Kingdom, I spent a lot of time preparing, not just the speech that I gave in reply to Her Majesty, but also the ones I gave in several different parts. One of the most moving was the one I gave in Coventry.
“That figure he’s using is one that is in the printed diary to which the Press are invited, but I wasn’t inviting the Press to come and see me going to Richmond Park and St Pats or to go to Dalymont Park to see Bohs, but even more importantly, then there were people producing important books and then they would come and visit with seven or eight people.
“There were special groups that would come, people with achievement in the voluntary sector, and we wouldn’t have put that in. It was really we became more informal in relation to the more we were doing.”
In relation to what he calls “the famous €317,000 fund”, he has promised to release details of the spending in November when his term is officially up – and when the October 26 election has passed.
He insists that he has spent it in the same way as his predecessors.
“If I was to make any change to suit the electoral purposes in my view it would not be proper. I have said I’m going to put the presidency above everything else. That’s why I don’t change the president’s commitments in the diary to facilitate me to do more campaigning,” he argues, referring to his non-attendance at some of the campaign debates.
When asked whether he has followed the debate about Galway 2020 and the schism that has developed between organisers and the arts community, Ireland’s first Minister for the Arts recalls how in the European Parliament, he used to sit beside the Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri, who first conceived the European Capital of Culture programme.
“In running something like the city of culture in Europe . . . you have to try and achieve an integration with what is local in the city and you have to be conscious that people will be looking for legacy when it’s over.
“It’s a wire that’s very high in the air in relation to choosing between satisfying those issues and also having an event that would be of international standing. If you in fact would fall on the event side to a greater extent, you might lose capacity in relation to some of the others. I want to wish Galway well. It is possible to solve it – these high-wire balancing acts. I appreciate it’s a very particular kind of management skill. And people should realise that every euro spent will come back tenfold when it’s cultural spend, that’s how it is.”
International investment and employment is something his three Dragons’ Den opponents constantly talk about wooing if they took up office.
But the 77-year-old – who has spent a lifetime in politics and academia – is adamant his lack of business experience does nothing to detract from the role of president.
He cites examples of leading delegations to Vietnam, Australia and China, where hundreds of contracts were signed.
“The reason I did a trip to China at the request of the Irish Government was they had been waiting three years for an appointment. President Xi Jinping had visited the Áras as Vice President from China and he said he wanted to meet this President, we changed it around and I took off to China and there Bord Bia made 200 food companies get projects.”
He believes that over the next seven years, when the president will be dealing with the consequences of Brexit, personal contacts will prove crucial.
He recalls a private lunch he had with the presidents of Italy, Portugal and Greece following an academic conference.
“These folk – we were all about the same age – we were there, we discussed what was happening in Europe, both in terms of racism and migration and social Europe and was there a disconnect between the institutions and the people and how could it be repaired. How did we see Brexit? These contacts are invaluable and contacts abroad in relation to Asia are very, very valuable.
“You don’t turn yourself into the IDA or Enterprise Ireland. You help them in opening doors and you help them by making the contacts that are valuable. And you help them by putting on a good performance.
“It means you stay attuned to what is happening economically both in Ireland and in Europe so you can talk with authenticity and what the people want in this election frankly is authenticity.”
There’s no doubt that Michael D can put on a formidable performance. And with the aid of regular yoga teaching and a right knee much improved from the last time he was on the campaign trail, it’s hard to see anything stopping him.
“Truthfully, I’m in much better shape than in 2011,” he says, flashing a very authentic smile at the mention of yoga.
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
