Connacht Tribune
Stability fund saves Mna Tí after summer schools bite the dust
The Government has announced plans to bolster the income of the Irish summer colleges sector – unveiling a €4.7 million stability fund following the cancellation of this year’ courses due to Covid-19.
Minister of State for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands Seán Kyne said the fund would provide a lifeline to over a dozen coláistí samhraidh in Galway, and the mná tí who provide care for visiting students in the Connemara Gaeltacht.
Under the scheme, €3.1 million has been allocated to colleges to enable them to refund parents who had deposits paid, while €1.6 million will be ring-fenced to offset the loss of income of host families.
Gaeltacht residents had expressed fear that one of their only sources of income would be cut off following the cancellation of courses – compounded by the fact that the April 20 cancellation was not accompanied by an announcement of financial support for those adversely affected.
However, Senator Kyne said the scheme had to get the approval of the Department of An Taoiseach and of Public Expenditure and Reform – with the almost €5 million scheme to be funded from within the Department’s existing budget.
“There was funding there in the Department’s Community and Language Supports Programme, but we had to get permission from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to repurpose that funding.
“There are obviously huge demands on budgets at the moment so I had to get permission before that money could be spent,” explained the former TD for Galway West.
This funding would be crucial, he said, to allow colleges to begin planning for 2021 courses and to ensure the sustainability of the sector which is worth in the region of €50 million to mostly rural Gaeltacht areas.
“It’s a very important sector and what’s most important at the moment is to prepare for 2021. Part of that task is to ensure that we leave the coláistí samhraidh viable for 2021 and that the mná tí would be willing to participate in 2021.
“The major challenge is getting through this year, but ensuring that we have it set-up for 2021, by providing stability for the sector. It’s also important that we provide this stimulus to the local economy,” said Senator Kyne.
While the funding announced was only a small portion of what would normally be generated by over 26,000 students travelling to the Gaeltacht each summer, it would go some way in ensuring that there was money circulating in these areas.
“Obviously, we won’t have the bonanza we normally have with parents coming from Dublin and elsewhere of a Sunday to see their child in the coláistí samhraidh – that won’t be there this year – but there will be some funding for the mná tí to ensure the viability of the sector through 2021 and beyond.
“The summer colleges, from autumn, will be taking bookings again and working on next year’s bookings, preparing brochures and so on. It’s very important that they are able to move ahead and plan for that,” said Senator Kyne.
Meanwhile, Conradh na Gaeilge has welcomed the announcement, with Uachtarán Dr Niall Comer stating that summer colleges were crucial to the survival of Gaeltacht communities.
“The Gaeltacht summer colleges have and will always be an essential part of the very fabric of the Gaeltacht communities and if the Gaeltacht areas are to survive, those colleges must be identified as a central component of their future.
“All of us in the Irish speaking community and further afield have a duty to stand strong for local Gaeltacht communities who have, for decades, provided a haven for the language and its learners. We welcome this decision to support the Gaeltacht colleges and communities in these exceptional times and thank Senator Kyne for his work in ensuring the delivery of this support scheme,” said Dr Comer.
Senator Kyne said application forms for the scheme for both the colleges and mná tí would be available within the next fortnight.
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.
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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.
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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
