Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has called for additional Garda resources in light of the arson attack on a residential property in Sixmilebridge earlier this week.

Deputy Crowe made the calls following a visit to the property of Carmel McElligott, whose shed was destroyed when a firework was dropped through a grate and into her back garden.

Deputy Crowe said: “The recent and shocking arson attack on Carmel McElligott’s home is case in point for the need for greater Garda resources.

“The local Gardai do an excellent job with the resources they have but they are very much overstretched between their duties in Shannon Town and other outlying communities.

“Sixmilebridge is no longer a village, it is now a sizable town, and is the third most populated area in the County.

“I’m calling on An Garda Siochana to allocate more personnel to policing duties in the Sixmilebridge area to reassure local residents and deter further anti-social behaviour.

“I personally visited Carmel during the week and it was quite shocking to see the damage that a small firework, which was purposefully dropped in over the gate to her back garden, caused so much damage to her back garden.

“I am also appealing to parents across County Clare to confiscate and dispose of any fireworks their children might have amassed in recent weeks ahead of Halloween.

“What happened to Carmel and her family is a criminal act. They are a peaceful, law-abiding family but youngsters deliberately targeted her property, and this could have had catastrophic consequences with a number of residential properties located immediately beside it.

“I am glad that the Gardai have been robustly following up on this case. I am certain that some people in the local area know the identities of the culprits and I would urge them to come forward and assist the Gardai in their investigation.”

Clare’s Fianna Fáil TD has signalled alarm over plans to install windfarms in proximity to radars at Shannon Airport.

Planning permission has been sought for a number of wind farm locations in East and South Clare, including Oatfield, Ballycar, Knockshanvo, Fahybeg, Carrownagowan and Lackareagh.

Deputy Cathal Crowe has today voiced concerns over the potential interference to air traffic control radars caused by the installation of nearby wind turbines.

Radar uses radio waves to detect the location of airplanes in the sky. The waves travel at the speed of light until they hit an airplane, then bounce back off the plane and back towards the radar. A computer uses these return waves to determine the precise location based on the strength and travel time of the radio waves. The location is then displayed on an air traffic controller’s screen.

According to Deputy Crowe: “In recent weeks, we have seen both AirNav and management at Shannon Airport lodge quite hefty planning objections against wind farms proposed in East and South Clare. These objections state that the construction of wind turbines close to the all-important radar infrastructure near Shannon Airport could compromise flight safety.

“As the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Aviation, I too have weighed in with similar submissions to the planning process. When Clare County Council previously zoned lands in East and South Clare for potential windfarms, I don’t think the safety risks relating to radar were properly understood or considered.

“Now that these risks have been laid bare, I think Clare County Council have an onus to urgently consider these zonings and I have written to the Chief Executive of the Council in this regard.

“If wind turbines are installed on hill tops, in proximity to Shannon Airport, there’s a very strong possibility that the radar system will be distorted by the rotating turbine blades.

“It is essential from a safety point of view that the location of an aircraft can be identified with pinpoint accuracy at all times.

“This is the case where aircraft are taking off or landing at Shannon Airport, but also for the thousand or so flights passing over Irish airspace every day on transatlantic routes.

“If a local authority becomes aware that an area is a flood risk, it would act on the situation and remove land zonings that would allow for development.

“Similarly, I think now that the concerns relating to radar, air traffic control and wind turbines have been made clear, I would hope that Clare County Council would urgently review some of the wind turbine zonings in South and East Clare.”

The opening hours at the Medical Assessment Unit in Ennis Hospital are to be extended, Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has learned.

The extension of hours was confirmed this afternoon when Deputy Cathal Crowe raised the issue of the Ennis hospital with Minister Stephen Donnelly and senior HSE officials who were in front of the Oireachtas Health Committee to discuss University Hospital Limerick.

According to Deputy Crowe: “I am delighted to get confirmation from Minister Stephen Donnelly and the HSE today that the opening hours at the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Ennis Hospital are to be extended.

“Currently, the MAU operates for 12 hours a day, from 8am until 8pm. From next Monday (14^th October), the MAU will be open from 8am until midnight.

“This is welcome news for the people of Clare and a positive step in alleviating pressure and attendance numbers at the already over-stretched hospital at UHL.

“Currently, half a million people in the MidWest have only one Accident & Emergency department available to them, at University Hospital Limerick.

“I have long criticised the woeful 2009 decision to close Ennis hospital, and I think it is well beyond time that Ennis returns to a full, 24-hour Model 3 Hospital.

“Minister Stephen Donnelly has already commissioned a HIQA report to establish the needs of the region and if a second Model 3 in the Mid-West is necessary. I think the outcome of this report, which is due early next year, is blatantly obvious and I’m sure it will absolutely reinforce the calls for a second Model-3. This needs to be based in Clare.

“While we await the outcome of that report, the extension of opening hours at Ennis MAU is a welcome step in addressing patient needs. I want to thank Minister Stephen Donnelly and senior HSE officials for taking on board my calls, and those of other Clare Oireachtas members, for longer hours in Ennis.”