Ennis now officially a university town

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  • Technological University status for LIT given government designation
  • Historic day for LIT and education in Ennis

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has welcomed the news this morning that LIT has officially been given government designation as a Technological University, securing university status for Ennis.

The LIT-AIT consortium formally commenced in October of 2019 and was granted €5 million by the Higher Education Authority to assist it with creating and developing a technological university.

“Today, LIT is receiving government designation as a Technological University in what is a hugely historic day for LIT but also for our county, with the Ennis campus on Bindon Street now meaning our county town is officially a university town,” said Deputy Crowe.

“Two years ago, LIT and its Athlone equivalent formed a consortium in order to reach a higher benchmark and achieve this university status.

“This new technological university will comprise a student population of up to 15,000 and a staff complement of around 1,200 people across its six campuses in Ennis, Limerick, Clonmel, Thurles and Athlone.

“As a TD for Clare, I’ve been in regular contact with Professor Vincent Cunnane, president of LIT, since my election and on many occasions I raised this campaign to be classed as a university with An Taoiseach and my colleagues in government.

“Today, I am particularly delighted for Vincent, his team and all of the staff and students of the college.

“The opening of the LIT campus in Ennis took place to much fanfare during my tenure as Mayor of Clare and it was an incredibly exciting day for all.

“Elevating it to TU status is a real boost for the town and for our county as a whole.

“It’s also important to note that the new TU campus being so close to Shannon Airport and the Shannon Free Zone – less than 15 minutes by car – is invaluable and no doubt played a major role in securing this upgraded status for LIT.

“I think there’s huge potential here to pioneer aviation courses and training from a university in Clare.

“Along with the huge boost in terms of the provision of education in Clare and the Midwest region, this has massive potential for the economy of Ennis.

“I look forward to seeing hundreds of students living here, working here and spending their money in the wealth of local businesses we have in our county town.”

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Education Minister to hear concerns on future of Ennis Educate Together

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  • School accommodation needs to be discussed
  • Collaborative approach will be needed

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has secured a meeting between Education Minister Norma Foley, management of Ennis Educate Together National School and Clare’s coalition Oireachtas members to discuss the extreme accommodation needs for the school.

Ennis Educate Together NS is located on the Gort Road in the county town and at present, has no permanent building in which it can deliver education to its pupil population.

Deputy Crowe has been in consultation with the Minister, her officials and school management for a number of months with a view to furthering this case.

Minister Foley will meet virtually with all stakeholders tomorrow to hear the reasons behind this critical need.

“In recent months, I’ve held a number of discussions with the principal and management at Ennis Educate Together,” said Deputy Crowe.

“As many people will be aware, the school is located beside the Cois na hAbhna site on the Gort Road and is made up of a complex of prefab buildings, most of which are not fit for purpose.

“I have raised concerns with Minister Foley that, on a long-term basis, the school will not be able to continue to operate out of this facility and will need a new building to be constructed.

“There has been some talk at departmental level about a site being acquired elsewhere in Ennis town to provide for a new building for the school but we need to hear some certainty on this.

“I also hope that Minister Foley and her department officials will also consider the DEIS status of the school.

“DEIS status means that the department support schools that may have pupils experiencing socioeconomic and educational disadvantages and this is crucial to ensuring these kids get the education they need and deserve.

“For this reason, the school are hoping that they can be reclassified, and I’ve corresponded a number of times with Minister Foley on this particular aim and will be raising this in our meeting tomorrow (Wednesday).

“The meeting will also be attended by other Oireachtas members from the county who are members of government coalition parties and I will work with them in furthering the work that I’ve been carrying out in relation to this school.”

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Taoiseach appoints Cathal Crowe to All-Party Consultation Group on State Commemorations

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Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has been appointed by An Taoiseach Mícheál Martin to represent the Fianna Fáil party on the All-Party Consultation Group on State Commemorations.

The committee’s role is to, among other things, promote a consultative and open approach to commemorations, which seeks to strengthen peace and reconciliation across the island of Ireland.

“I’m deeply honoured to take on this new role and I hope this committee will allow me an opportunity to express my great interest in history and also my experiences of being involved in very successful community-led commemorations in Clare,” said Deputy Crowe.

“As we move through the decade of centenaries, we are shortly going to have to face some of the more challenging aspects in terms of state commemorations.

“The month of May marks the centenary of the partition of Ireland and we are now also approaching the centenary of the Civil War period, which divided Ireland not just at that time but for the decades and generations that followed.

“I think things in Ireland have moved on and generations of people who had familial divisions relating to the Civil War period have now passed on.

“In this context, the commemorations should be able to take place in a historic space and I am of the firm view that we shouldn’t take a revisionist approach to how we view these events.

“It was utterly wrong last year for the previous government to be pushing ahead with plans to commemorate the Royal Irish Constabulary.

“I have always considered commemoration to be an act of celebration and whilst we must remember historical events on an inclusive basis, we must be extremely cautious and not let ourselves cross a line which involves eulogising in any way forces which a century ago sought to suppress the long-standing Irish desire for independence.

“As a member of the All-Party Consultative Group, I look forward to engaging with Minister Catherine Martin and other TDs on across-party basis.

“My own outlook on commemoration has very much been shaped by my local commemorative committee, which has successfully erected seven memorials in the Meelick, Parteen, Ardnacrusha and Cratloe areas.

“In a Clare context, I very much admire the leadership in commemorations shown by historians like Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc, Padraig McCormack, Tom Twomey and Mary Crawford and her team who have led commemorations for the Mid-Clare Brigade of the Old IRA.

“Away from politics, history is a major passion of mine. History and politics can and should co-exist but history shouldn’t determine how contemporary political decisions are made.

“Over the past year, many people have continued to ask me to expand on my opinions regarding the RIC. I think there should be an expanded education programme in schools so that we learn about the RIC but I think we need to stop short of having whole-scale commemorations for this policing body.

“I look forward to engaging with my colleagues in this group and furthering historic education as we form an outlook on how commemorative events can and should take place.”

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New plan for Moneypoint a lifeline for West Clare

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  • Offshore wind development project proposed
  • Would generate power for up to 1.5m homes

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has welcomed news that a lifeline has been thrown for Moneypoint Power Station in West Clare.

An offshore wind development project is being planned off of the coast of Clare and Kerry under a new public-private partnership between the ESB and Equinor, a Norwegian-based global energy firm.

“I’ve long held the view that offshore wind energy is a strong means by which Moneypoint Power Station’s future can be secured,” said Deputy Crowe.

“I’ve seen first-hand how such developments are much, much less visually obtrusive than onshore wind farms and therefore much less likely to ruffle the feathers of objectors.

“More importantly than that is the fact that offshore wind farms have the potential to generate more electricity at a steadier rate than their onshore counterparts, due to higher and more consistent wind speeds.

“I’ve spent months engaging with the government and with the ESB on this project and I am so thrilled to be able to see its unveiling now.

“Crucially for West Clare is the fact that this will create in the region of 600 jobs and, should planning go through without any obstacles, this really could place Moneypoint and Clare at the centre of Ireland’s offshore wind energy future.

“The project is expected to be carried out in two phase – the first located 16km off of the Clare and Kerry coastline and the second 20km west of the first phase – the final windfarm is likely to cover an area of around 70km squared.

“We all know that coal-burning operations are on the wind-down at Moneypoint and I’ve long made the point that something needs to be looked at as an alternative or it could spell the death knell for West Clare, so I know this news will be so very, very welcome to the people of Kilrush and its surrounding communities.”

HSE’s Covid text system leading to mass confusion

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  • Bulk text system being dismissed by some as scam
  • Leading to no-shows at vaccine clinics

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling on the HSE to urgently review its text alert system for Covid-19 vaccination appointments.

People have reported missing their scheduled time as they believe the text informing them of their appointment to be a scam, due to the nature of how it is issued.

“The text messages people are receiving are very casual,” said Deputy Crowe.

“They begin with ‘reply yes or no’ and in this day and age people are quite savvy to scams and phishing texts and this has been well flagged in the media, on Crimeline on RTÉ and so on.

“At any given time, there are quite a number of text scams circulating in the country and for this reason, a lot of people I believe have been put off from replying to the text and therefore have lost out on their vaccination appointment.

“One lady contacted me on Facebook after I highlighted this to say she didn’t reply to the text but nonetheless, presented herself for the vaccine at the Radisson Hotel at her scheduled time but couldn’t be vaccinated by staff because she hadn’t replied to the text – others have dismissed it completely and not attended at all.

“So the text is leading to mass confusion and in think this may, in some small way, account for the number of no-shows at the vaccination centres.

“I have been conducting my own investigation into how this is arising and it appears to me that the HSE has contracted a bulk text company to issue their messaging.

“This same company obviously has a number of other contracts, including a local auctioneering company so, for example, people who previously availed of services from this auctioneer and got a text from them are also getting texts from the same mobile number from the HSE, leading to people not trusting the legitimacy of the message.

“I’ve asked the HSE vaccination coordinating team to urgently look at devising a more formalised message or a better mechanism for announcing the schedule of vaccinations.

“I think better communication is badly needed if we are to ensure everybody gets their vaccine at the appropriate time.”

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European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control should pull funding from other European agencies

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  • Budget and staff numbers falling short
  • Europe lagging behind US

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling on the EU to redirect funding from other sources within its coffers to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, in an effort to up the ante in the fight to vaccinate the population.

At present, the ECDC’s budget falls well short of its equivalents elsewhere in the world, despite the centre being responsible for overseeing the bloc’s defences against infectious diseases like Covid-19.

“At the moment, we are living our lives dictated by figures and statistics from NIAC, NPHET, the HSE and so on,” said Deputy Crowe.

“The vast majority of us are happy to play our part in keeping the figures down to the best of our ability but we also need assurances that this disease is being fought by mothership Europe.

“The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is a Stockholm-based organisation that is alarmingly small, with just 300 employees working within its walls. For comparison, our small country’s state broadcaster RTÉ has six times that number on its payroll.

“As well as its scale, it runs on annual budget of €50 million whereas its US equivalent has an annual budget of $12 billion.

“So it should come as no surprise, then, that an agency set up in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak in 2002 is finding itself rather inept 18 years on, in trying to steer every European nation through one of the most treacherous outbreaks we have faced.

“In fact, the likes of the HSE, the NHS all the national agencies across the continent are outperforming the main European body that is responsible for fighting back against viral spread of diseases.

“If you look at the European Space Agency, it has a €6.7 billion budget – that’s a budget that this year could be channelled back into public health rather than sending rockets into space, which is ordinarily a scientific exploration that I think most people would support.

“I also think EU needs to look at its expert labs and the vast scientific knowledge it has right throughout its member states and work towards the bloc having its own vaccination, its own rollout – we’re fully reliant on third parties at present and we’ve seen how AstraZenica has let us down.

“We also must look at countries like Norway – Norway is not in the bloc but time and time again has identified key strategic companies in their country over the past three decades and has become a stronghold for a number of industries.

“The bottom line is we need more money in Europe for the jabs and this must be the focus of the EU and the ECDC.”

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€17 million outdoor dining scheme provides huge opportunity for Clare

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  • Scheme has long and short-term goals
  • Aims to emulate successful outdoor dining in Europe

 

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Tourism and Aviation Cathal Crowe has welcomed the announcement of a €17 million outdoor dining grant scheme.

The Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme comprises two parts and will be delivered in partnership between Fáilte Ireland and Local Authorities across the country.

Part One of the scheme targets the short-term goal of providing funding for individual tourism and hospitality businesses to develop and increase their own outdoor seating capacity.

Funding allocated under Part Two will enable Local Authorities to develop permanent outdoor public dining spaces in towns and urban centres, like those that exist in various European cities.

“I’m delighted that this scheme will operate on a nationwide basis,” said Deputy Crowe.

“A previous iteration of this scheme launched in February was largely based around urban centres and had a bias in favour of larger towns and cities. This new scheme will be national, enabling restaurants, tourism providers and local authorities to provide permanent outdoor dining areas which will help the hospitality sector during the months ahead but also long-term beyond the current pandemic situation.

“At the beginning of March, I met with a number of senior figures in Fáilte Ireland and relayed concerns to them that had been expressed to me by restaurateurs in Clare that they wouldn’t be able to derive any benefit from the scheme as it was.

“Fáilte Ireland assured me that they would have a further look at the scheme and I’m delighted by today’s news it’s to be expanded.

“Covid has shaken the bedrock of our hospitality sector and for the past 12 months it has only hung on with a thread but yet with continued supports, it could be among the first to see a bounce back as many people are already talking about how they will visit their local bar or restaurant when the country reopens.

“So, with the right supports in place we should look forward to a reasonably good summer but we have to ensure that the sector is supported until it returns to 2019 trading levels.”

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Annual South Clare Spring Clean returns on April 1st

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  • 7 locations will be targeted
  • All encouraged to get involved

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is pleased to announce that the annual South Clare Spring Clean will proceed this year, in a safe, socially distanced manner.

Volunteers of all ages are being asked to come forward and make themselves available on April 1st, to pick up litter and generally make the area look cleaner, tidier and more attractive for the residents.

“This is my 16th consecutive year organising springs cleans in the South Clare area,” said Deputy Crowe.

“They have, thankfully, been hugely successful in times gone by but this year because of the Covid-19 restrictions, it will be different.

“Nonetheless, I expect a large participation as usual as I know a great many of fantastic volunteers look forward to this day each year.

“The schedule will take in seven meeting points – we’ll begin at Westbury Church at 9:30am, Shannon Banks at 9:45 and Carraig Midhe at 10am.

“There’s two simultaneous starts in Meelick at 10:30am – one at The Tavern and the other at the community hall – then Parteen school at 10:45am and McMahon’s Bar in Ardnacrusha at 11am, so there’s plenty of scope for people to fall in wherever suits.

“For anybody that is in a position to help us out, I’m asking them to bring their own gloves and hand sanitisers while litter pickers and bags will be made available on the morning.

“Of course, we are still operating within a 5km limit on movement so if you are further out than that, you won’t be able to give us a hand this year unfortunately.

“All of the rubbish collected will be taken away and disposed of, thanks to Clare County Council and the Shannon Municipal District office and as per pervious, years An Taisce will be on board to help with the supply of bin bags and other materials involved in collection of rubbish.

“Over the years there has been a marked increase in illegally dumped materials right around the county but as always, rural areas bear the brunt of this.

“I have seen a spike in my own locality in South Clare in particular and it can be particularly frustrating to see larger items such as fridges and mattresses thrown into hedgerows when they can easily be recycled at any one of the various sites around the county.

“Over the years, these clean ups have exposed some more alarming items dumped in the countryside including the carcasses of dead horses, bags full of soiled nappies and so on.

“These are items that should be disposed of in a much safer, sanitary way and when this isn’t done, they pose a serious health and environmental risk.

“Sadly, the perpetrators don’t seem to care too much and while I wish these clean ups were not needed, it’s heartening to see that there are so many people out there who do, in fact, care about their community and want to see it looking its best so they participate in these events.

“During the clean, people are advised to either stay well apart and be by themselves or else remain in their own bubble to ensure social distancing is complied with and that we all stay safe. Please also bring your masks and any other PPE you feel you may need and I look forward to joining you on April 1st to give the place a proper cleaning!”

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EU vaccine travel cert provides a road back to international travel

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  • Hailed as lifeline to travel sector
  • Will take some time for benefits to be felt

 

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson for Tourism and Aviation Cathal Crowe has welcomed the confirmation that an EU Covid travel certification plan is being progressed.

The European Union executives have stated that the ‘digital green certificate’ will cover documents from people who have been vaccinated, people who have not been vaccinated but have documents of a negative test result or recovery from Covid, as well as children with test or recovery documents.

“I’m so glad that European Union nations are starting to coordinate a plan for the resumption of international travel,” said Deputy Crowe.

“This can’t happen soon enough. The aviation and tourism sectors are both on their knees and there is no doubt that these two sectors are the ones most ravaged by Covid-19.

“Unfortunately, they are also likely to be the two sectors to encounter the slowest recovery.

“There is much cause for hope, though, as Ireland and other EU countries ramp up their vaccination plans.

“As countries like Ireland start to vaccinate large numbers of the adult population, we need to look strategically at a resumption of international travel and this is where this certificate’s importance becomes all the more evident.

“While it may not be to everyone’s liking, for the next number of months, I envisage that those who have been vaccinated should be shown more leeway in terms of boarding flights and travelling overseas.

“At a recent Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting, I asked An Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for EU Affairs Thomas Byrne to lead this dialogue at an EU level.

“Minister Byrne, I know, has since spoken to number of his counterparts in Europe, with a view to having a safe return to international air travel.

“Airports already have a lot of existing infrastructure to screen passengers as they filter through the concourse – there are multiple security and passport checkpoints and this will add another layer of verification; that being of Covid vaccination.

“There will be some who will say that this is an impediment on their civil rights to move freely throughout the EU but we do also need to consider that Covid has taken away all normal rights and any small measure that can see a restoration of these needs to be expedited urgently.

“I share some of the concerns being articulated by those in aviation and tourisms that these provisional new travel cert plan may take a number of months to agree and implement and I don’t think we can wait that long.

“Without some certainty for the summer season, we risk seeing more volatility in the sector and as Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Tourism and Aviation, I’ll be using my voice to champion for a rapid progression of these plans at all levels.”

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Section of outdated piping serving Clare’s largest estate to be replaced

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  • 1km of pipe to be replaced
  • Works will be carried out on phased basis

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has welcomed confirmation from Irish Water that 1km of pipe mains will be replaced this year from Athlunkard Bridge, serving the Parteen/Westbury area.

The works are now to advance to design and will be carried out on a phased basis as part of the utility’s 2021 mains rehab programme.

“This stretch of mains is continuously bursting, causing hundreds of homes at each occasion to be left without water, so this is a most welcome announcement” said Deputy Crowe.

“In the days that follow an outage, they continue to experience low water pressure and some residents have even complained to me that their dishwasher and washing machine motors have burned out because of the poor water supply.

“In 2019, households in this locality endured 15 different water outages in the calendar year and for what is a largely urbanised environment, it frustrated people hugely that they had to bring buckets and canisters to a number of local points to fill these from a Clare County Council water tankard for cooking and basic hygiene needs.

“This was archaic, and it harked back to people having to draw water from a well, despite the area being so developed.

“That in itself is an indictment of how bad the water system is in the area.

“This pipe network, which receives its feed from a reservoir in Castletroy in Limerick, is a mish mash of cast iron pipes, asbestos pipes and modern plastic pipes.

“As is standard practice when a leak is detected and fixed, Irish Water turn on valves to allow the network of pipes to refill.

“Very often, this re-pressurising process results in further leaks with other sections of the network rupturing and this problem would cease if all of the pipe network was replaced with plastic sections, where repressuring problems don’t generally arise as they can cater for the increased levels of pressure.

“I’m relieved that this design work is underway and I am going to continue to engage with Irish Water to ensure that this project is prioritised in terms of on-site works.”

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