Connacht Tribune
Residents’ campaign fails as councillors approve social housing
A major battle to prevent ten social houses from being built in a Ballinasloe estate failed this week after councillors voted by a large majority to allow the development to proceed.
It is now hoped the new homes will be completed and occupied by the end of the year.
But a number of Fianna Fail councillors, who voted against the €1.7 million development of the social housing scheme, have come in for some stinging criticism for their decision to oppose the provision of the new dwellings.
They have been accused of having no regard for those on the housing waiting list. “They should be ashamed of themselves,” remarked Cllr Pete Roche of Fine Gael.
This week members of Galway County Council were asked to approve planning for the ten houses in Garbally Drive, Ballinasloe. A total of 26 voted in favour of the houses going ahead, three were opposed while three councillors abstained.
A meeting of Galway County Council, at which some residents of Garbally Drive were present, was told that there were 332 families in the Ballinasloe area waiting to be housed. Of these, there are 63 requiring three-bedroom homes.
The 10 houses that are to be built in the estate will all be three-bedroom and it means that the housing waiting list in the area will be significantly reduced. Tenders for the development will be sought over the coming weeks.
The residents in Garbally Drive opposed the development of the houses amid concerns they had over potential flooding and that they may give rise to traffic problems in the estate.
They engaged a hydrologist and an engineer to examine the Council’s proposal for the housing.
In their submission to the Council, the residents were concerned about the presence of a turlough in the area and believed that this would contribute to the potential for flooding. They also said that a turlough is a natural habitat for wildlife.
But local Fine Gael councillor Michael Finnerty proposed that the social housing plan should be granted planning permission and was seconded by Cllr Dermot Connolly of Sinn Fein.
Cllr Finnerty said that he had inspected the hydrologist’s report and was satisfied that the development of housing would not cause a flooding problem in the estate.
As part of the social housing plan, four sides will be given over to the local Gaelscoil and Cllr Finnerty said that the development would provide homes for some good neighbours.
“All of the new occupants will be fully vetted and I am sure that the new home owners will have the height of respect for the dwellings that will be allocated to them,” he said.
However, Fianna Fail councillors Donal Burke from Ballinasloe, Tuam’s Donagh Killilea and Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council Cllr Michael Connolly voted against the plan. Their decision to do so has come in for some severe criticism.
Fine Gael’s Cllr Pete Roche said that he was ‘flabbergasted’ that three Fianna Fail councillors would vote against the plan.
“We have a huge housing crisis on our hands and for these councillors to try and deny families a home is absolutely disgraceful and they should be ashamed of themselves,” he told The Connacht Tribune.
He added that all three councillors were elected for the good of the people they represent and said that their decision to oppose social housing is “nothing short of mind-boggling”.
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
