Connacht Tribune
Rent for courthouse is ‘value for money’
Whatever criticism has been levelled at the Courts Service for their failure to develop the old courthouse in Tuam, their expenditure on rented accommodation has been described as “very acceptable”.
The old courthouse in Tuam closed down more than a decade ago for health and safety reasons and since then the sittings have been taking place in rented properties around the town.
The Courts Service have told The Connacht Tribune that they have spent €166,000 on leasing accommodation over a twelve year period since the old courthouse closed down – this equates to less than €1,200 a month.
Cllr Donagh Killilea acknowledged that this represents good value for money but it should not detract from the overall aim to have the old courthouse on the Dublin Road in Tuam revamped as a matter of urgency.
The Fianna Fail councillor said that there were people paying as much, if not more, to rent a three bedroom house and added that the Courts Service got good value for money since the old courthouse closed down back in 2005.
“We feared the worst but it is great to hear that the Courts Service have been able to source rented accommodation relatively cheaply but that does not mean that they should continue to rent indefinitely as the old courthouse is lying idle and in a state of dilapidation,” Cllr Killilea added.
Under a Freedom of Information request from The Connacht Tribune, the Courts Service revealed that between 2005 and 2010, they forked out €75,000 for the rent of the Town Hall in Tuam where the court sittings were held.
Since then the courts have been taking place in the chapel of the old Grove Hospital in Tuam and when that lease has expired at the end of September, they will have paid the Health Service Executive €91,000 in rent.
At the end of the year the court sittings are set to move again – this time to a warehouse-type building on the Weir Road in Tuam. This is also the first time that the Court Service will be renting from the private sector. This building has to be adapted to suit the court sittings and work on this is expected to commence over the next couple of weeks.
In the response from the Courts Service, they also stated that since the old courthouse closed down in 2005, they have spent almost €25,000 on its upkeep. This figure also includes costs for water rates, maintenance, structural maintenance, electricity bills along with electrical repairs.
Cllr Killilea said that, in the circumstances, the amount of rent paid out by the Court Service was relatively small compared to some State bodies such as the Health Service Executive of which he is an elected member of their forum, which meet on a monthly basis.
“The HSE squander money left, right and centre but when it comes to the Courts Service, the amount that they have paid out in rent is very acceptable by comparison. It is vital that the court sittings are retained in Tuam and it is hugely important that the vacant old courthouse is renovated and brought back into use,” he said.
A detailed examination is to take place in an effort to determine if the old courthouse in Tuam is worthy of being a protected structure as progress has been made to renovate the building for a state of the art facility. It would cost around €2 million to renovate it.
Four representatives from the Courts Service recently visited Tuam and met with both officials of Galway County Council and a number of local councillors and indicated that a new courthouse is in the offing.
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
