Connacht Tribune
Work begins on Ros a’ Mhil pier redevelopment
Work on the development of a new €30 million deepwater quay at Ros a’ Mhíl will begin in January.
It comes after Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Charlie McConalogue, signed a works contract with Kilcolgan-based engineering company Ward & Burke Construction Limited to expand the harbour in the Conamara Gaeltacht.
The project is expected to be finished by September 2024.
Currently Ros a’ Mhíl has 325 metres of quayside but is limited in deep water to a maximum of -5.8 metres chart datum and experiences congestion in busy fishing seasons.
The new development will be accessible to large vessels such as Irish Navy vessels, Marine Institute Research Vessels, marine survey vessels and marine leisure craft.
It will provide an additional 200 metres of quayside to accommodate larger fishing vessels and attract additional landings from both Irish and non-Irish boats.
Minister McConalogue said: “Our fishery harbour centres are critical infrastructure for the seafood industry and Ros a’ Mhíl is a clear example of how these facilities stimulate economic activity for the surrounding rural coastal communities with the potential for downstream development and jobs.
“This project is further evidence of this Government’s commitment to addressing the impacts of Brexit on the fishing sector and to a strong future for Ireland’s seafood primary producers.”
The Minister announced his backing of the project in February 2022, after a twenty-year campaign by the local community.
At the time, businessman Nicholas O’Connor of Coiste Tacaíochta Chalafoirt Ros a’ Mhíl, a committee that campaigned for the development, said it was a ‘historic day’ for Conamara. He predicted its importance to the area would be on a par with the setting up of Irish language television station, TG4.
The first feasibility study examining a deepwater berth was commissioned in 1999, and campaigners have been lobbying for the development since. In 2017, a cost benefit analysis by MWP consultants on behalf of the Department of Marine recommended investment in a deepwater berth at the Fisheries Centre.
Planning permission for this phase of the port’s development was granted by Galway County Council in 2017.
Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív said this latest announcement was a ‘huge vote of confidence in the West’.
He said he approached his party colleague when he was appointed minister with responsibility for marine and brought him to Conamara to see the plans.
“As a Fianna Fáil Minister he realised the importance of this project to the Gaeltacht, to Conamara and the West. I hope now that this development will give a major boost to the fishing industry in Ros a’ Mhíl and lead to a re-opening of the Iasc Mara factory there, which was a major employer in the past,” he said.
Deputy Ó Cuív added the harbour could also become a key asset to the offshore wind energy sector.
The project will be funded through the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme.
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.
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.
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
