Connacht Tribune
Tenants protest over ‘eviction’ ahead of redevelopment
Eviction orders are to be issued against a number of householders in Tuam who are steadfastly refusing to move out of a Council estate which is set for an €8 million facelift.
It is understood that the residents, who are all Council tenants, are unhappy with the alternative accommodation that the local authority is providing for them and want more spacious dwellings.
Galway County Council’s plans to regenerate Gilmartin Road in Tuam involve the demolition of around 30 existing dwellings and the development of 40 houses in their place.
The estate has been mainly occupied by members of the Travelling community over the years who are now being relocated to other estates around but there are some who are ‘digging their heels in’.
It is the intention of Galway County Council to create a ‘new estate’ in which new two-bedroom and three-bedroom houses will be provided that will accommodate young couples, single occupants or small families in the town.
Cllr Donagh Killilea said that it was a move in the right direction in that it would change the whole fabric of Gilmartin Road and would create a totally new environment of young families to enjoy.
“I know that Galway County Council are dealing with a number of families who are refusing to leave and have presented various demands on the local authority that that cannot be accommodated.
“But hopefully these issues can be resolved or else the Council will be left with no option but to seek eviction orders as this development has to take place. The money for this regeneration is available”, Cllr Killilea added.
It is understood that the contract for the regeneration works cannot be signed off unless the street is vacated. Works are expected to commence by mid-October and will be completed within 16 months.
Tender documents were issued for the €8 million redevelopment of the mainly Council estate and it attracted a lot of interest from a number of local builders who have experienced the building slump in recent years and are anxious to win some major projects.
With very little building going on in the county’s rural towns at the moment, it is little wonder that some of the more established building contractors are anxious to successfully negotiate this particular housing project.
When completed, it will result in a complete transformation of Gilmartin Road with the construction of 40 new houses and the refurbishment of more than 20 others as part of the biggest development ever to take place since the estate was built in the 1950s.
The proposed redevelopment involves the demolition of 30 existing houses on Gilmartin Road and the construction of 40 new houses, consisting of two and three bedroom homes, along with the demolition of a house on Cloonthue Road and the landscaping of the whole area.
This means that many of the existing tenants will be relocated elsewhere in the town and that has created its own difficulties.
Some have refused to move unless they get accommodation that meets their requirements. This is despite the fact that they are local authority tenants.
If the tenants in Gilmartin Road in Tuam refuse to move, then they will be faced with eviction orders which have to be processed through the courts, which do not reconvene until September.
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.
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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
