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Windfarm developers pledge to give millions to community
The developers of Galway Wind Park in Connemara have pledged to spend millions of euro on local community organisations over the next 25 years.
SSE and Coillte say they want to leave a “lasting and enduring” legacy long after the windfarm is constructed by the end of next year.
The windfarm at Doon East, which is located in Rosscahill, two miles west of Moycullen, when finished will be the largest onshore windfarm in the country.
Once the park becomes operational, SSE and Coillte have vowed to “jointly establish a community fund to benefit the local community, as well as the wider area, over the 25-years life of the wind park”.
The exact amount of cash injection hasn’t been revealed but the two organisations say the fund “is expected to be split between a multi-million-euro local community fund and a multi-million-euro regional fund.”
During the construction stage, SSE and Coillte say they have already invested €150,000 to support over 30 local community projects, including sports teams such as Moycullen Ladies GAA, St Paul’s basketball team, Oughterard RFC, Moycullen Basketball, and Killannin GAA. Men’s Shed Moycullen, Killannin Scouts, Oughterard Scouts, Galway Hospice, and Moycullen Active Retirement, also benefited from funds from the developers.
They promise to pump millions of euro into local community groups over the next two-and-a-half decades was contained in the Galway Wind Park Sustainability Impact Report, which was officially launched in Moycullen last week.
The report, commissioned by SSE and Coillte, claims that over 100 local businesses have provided products and services to the wind energy project, representing a €20m spend so far with the local supply chain in County Galway.
Nationally, Galway Wind Park has already contributed €88.7m to Irish Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the report.
When completed in late 2017, it will be the largest onshore wind farm in Ireland, with the capacity to generate enough green energy to power around 89,000 homes, equivalent to almost 80% of the homes in Galway.
Speaking at the launch in the Forge, Moycullen last week, County Councillor Noel Thomas, Cathaoirleach of Connemara Municipal District, welcomed the community-gain element of the project.
“The benefits to the local community from the development by both companies of Galway Wind Park have been very positive, with both short-term and long-term impacts,” said the Fianna Fáil Councillor.
“We have seen short-term benefits from employment during the construction phase, creating a great opportunity for local contractors to expand, invest in their businesses and provide significantly more employment in the area. Over the long-term there is going to be a major investment by SSE and Coillte in a community fund. This will be a multi-million Euro fund that will be available for local communities to draw down on, and this will have a very positive impact in the local community over the next 25 years,” he added.
The report quotes local suppliers, who are involved in the project. Niall Curran, of Niall Curran Plant Hire, Moycullen said he was very grateful for the opportunity to work on the project. “I’m happy to say that as a result of working on the project, not only have I been able to invest significantly in new plant machinery, I’ve been able to provide additional employment to six local people, not to mention the jobs created by other local businesses that I use to keep my machines working. As for the future, working on this project has already led to securing work elsewhere around the county,” said Mr Curran.
Tom Gilligan of Lydon Steel Ltd in Galway, which provides steel for the turbine bases, is also “delighted” to be part of the project.
“Not only has our association with the project allowed us to significantly grow our business somewhere in the region of 20%, but crucially we have been able to employ an additional three people, creating much needed employment in the local area. We are also proud to have contributed in some way to bringing a source of renewable energy to Galway,” said Mr Gilligan.
In advance of the launch of the report, representatives of SSE management met with Doon East residents in Killannin Community Centre. The meeting was called in response to repeated concerns expressed by locals in relation to how the project is being managed.
Residents have expressed concerns about impacts on their health from the construction, and traffic.
Speaking about the meeting with residents, Catherine Hannon, SSE Public Affairs Manager, said: “We are grateful for the ongoing support of the residents, communities and other stakeholders. We continue to engage with all stakeholders in the area to ensure the local benefits of the project are maximised and to minimise any disruption.”
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
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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
