Connacht Tribune
Sites in County Galway mooted to house city Travellers
Two sites in County Galway have been suggested as suitable for halting sites to re-home Travellers from Galway City, who are currently living in overcrowded hardstands.
Galway Airport at Carnmore was flagged as a possible site for caravans to help solve the city’s Traveller accommodation shortage, which is said to be at crisis point.
A site in Oranmore, owned by Galway City Council, is another option being eyed-up by the local authority.
During a discussion on the mid-term review of Galway City’s Traveller Accommodation Plan (TAP), 2014-2018, a kite was flown about the possibility of using Galway Airport as a halting site.
Fine Gael City Councillor, Pearce Flannery said the facility was jointly owned by Galway City and County Councils and was currently “lying idle”.
Chief Executive Brendan McGrath said it was not true to say it was idle but Cllr Flannery insisted it was “radically underutilised” and would be ideal for a halting site.
Cllr Flannery told the special meeting that the Galway Airport site could be used as a short-to-medium term solution.
“This is not a Galway City problem. We need to deal with it in the context of our county counterparts,” he said.
Cllr Flannery urged Mr McGrath to liaise with Kevin Kelly, CE of Galway County Council, with a view to finding a city and county solution.
“I don’t agree with hardstands and never will,” said Cllr Flannery who said the long-term solution was “societal integration”.
Mr McGrath said that Galway Airport was “not properly zoned” to facilitate a halting site. And he pointed out that half of it was owned by the County Council.
“So, you have a problem,” he said, hinting that Cllr Flannery’s proposal might not find favour among Galway County Councillors.
Mayor of Galway, City Councillor Noel Larkin, said: “I don’t think Galway Airport will solve the problem. You can’t just take over the airport.”
Councillors were given a map and some detail about what the City Council has planned in terms of Traveller Accommodation at Carrowmoneesh in Oranmore.
A proposal for 10 caravan bays on the eight-hectare site off the N18, which is adjacent to Galway Metals and Deerpark and opposite Galway Business Park, was presented to City Councillors.
Mr McGrath said anything in Oranmore would require obtaining planning permission from the County Council, and subsequently An Bórd Pleanála.
Senior Executive Officer, Dermot Mahon, outlined how Traveller accommodation in the city is at “breaking point”.
Cúl Trá in Salthill is a six-bay halting site that is severely overcrowded with 18
caravans and 35 children living there.
The meeting heard how Cúl Trá is a fire hazard and an ‘Carrickmines’ in waiting – a reference to the tragedy in South Dublin where 10 Travellers including a young pregnant mother lost their lives at a fire in a halting site in 2015.
The ‘temporary’ halting site at Carrowbrowne has been there for eight years. The 13 families with 46 children are living on a site where planning permission has expired in December 2015.
Galway County Council has notified the City Council that it is an unauthorised development and “enforcement proceedings” are anticipated.
Mr Mahon outlined plans for five new halting sites at Keeraun in Knocknacarra, Westside, Headford Road, Merlin Park and Oranmore.
City Couniillors deferred approval of the mid-term review until the March 6 meeting.
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
