–                  156 new beds will be put in place across three hospitals from 2025-28

–                  Additional 42 in St John’s in Limerick between 2029-31

Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has welcomed confirmation that an additional 156 acute in-patient beds will be in place in Midwest hospitals by 2028 – crucially, with 48 of those situated in Ennis General Hospital.

University Hospital Limerick is set to receive an additional 84 beds in this timeframe, with 24 going to Nenagh Hospital – while further down the line, 42 beds are ringfenced for St John’s Hospital in Limerick between 2029 and 2031.

“This is hugely welcome news – particularly the fact that we now have confirmation that 48 of these beds will be put in place in Ennis General,” said Deputy Crowe.

“Ennis has a crucial role to play in helping to alleviate overcrowding in UHL – a point I have vociferously made to my colleagues, including Minister Stephen Donnelly, and the only way it can do this is by having additional capacity and an expanded scope of services.

“Today’s announcement follows two recent meetings held between myself, Friends of Ennis General Hospital and Minister Donnelly where we highlighted these very needs to him.

“I have long been outspoken in my belief that the political decision to downgrade the A&E in Ennis back in 2009, leaving only one Model 3 hospital in the Midwest, was a retrograde step that never resulted in us getting this promised ‘centre of excellence’.

“I hope that we continue to see capacity increased at our hospitals so that we can ensure that some reparations are made to help with the situation we currently find ourselves in.

“Today’s announcement isn’t happening overnight – the 156 beds committed by 2028 will start to be rolled out by March of next year, while the 42 for St John’s will commence in 2029 and be in place by 2031 – but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

“I’ll be pushing the Health Minister to prioritise these beds over the ones promised to other CHOs in the country, given the specific difficulties faced in our region.”

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–                  Approval in principle will issue on Wednesday

–                  Clon Road homes will be age friendly and disability friendly

Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has welcomed the announcement that 12 new age and disability friendly home are to be confirmed for Ennis this week.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will issue approval in principle on Wednesday for the 12 two-bed apartments on Clon Road, Ennis.

“This is a really welcome development for Ennis town,” said Deputy Crowe.

“My office is inundated each week with people seeking assistance in their quest for social housing.

“It’s often young couples and families looking for a home to call their own, but I’m also regularly contacted by elderly people who are empty nesters who can free up a larger home for a family or those who, because of various life situations, find themselves without a permanent home.

“Whilst it will take some time for these apartments to come on stream, I’m certain there will be high demand for them and I’m confident that they’ll only be the starting point for more housing provision for the elderly and disabled in our county.

“I’ve also been contacted by a number of community groups across Clare who have identified large buildings in their areas that could be suitable for supportive living for our county’s older population.

Deputy Crowe continued: “I think that Minister O’Brien and his department should also give positive consideration to these proposals.

“Many older people may be quite a distance off requiring nursing home care but they would much rather live in a community environment, where there are certain care supports available to them, and the type of projects that have been presented to me would very much tick all of these boxes.

“After 10 years of huge underinvestment, some very positive inroads are finally being made in terms of housing for our county and I very much look forward to further announcements in this regard from the government.”

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–        People should be encouraged to look at public transport

–        Lack of stops making it harder to use bus services

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland to reinstate phantom bus stops throughout Co. Clare.

“Over the years, TII has taken over full responsibility for bus routing and also determining where buses should stop,” said Deputy Crowe.

“In some locations, people stop their local bus service by simply standing at the side of the road and waving it down but in other areas the stops are far more formal with bus stop signage and shelters.

“I have noticed a trend in recent years whereby TII are insisting that buses should no longer stop at locations that don’t have signage and the most recent example I’ve come across is the community of Shannon Banks in Co. Clare where the 301 service operates every 30 minutes or so into Limerick City.

“This now won’t stop at the top of the estate when travelling in an outbound direction.

Crowe continued: “In this instance, I’ve had some success – following contact with TII, they’ve agreed to reinstate this stop officially and put up a new sign but there are other examples I can think of in the Cratloe and Sixmilebridge area where the stops have simply vanished.

“This is rather punitive and unfair to communities who see a bus shuttling along the road but unable to stop to pick them up.

“At a time when we are encouraging the population to leave the car at home and look at changes in how they travel, I think that we should be doing everything in our power to ensure that we’re making it as easy as possible for people to do so.”

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–        Enrolment figures in local primary schools show demand

–        Analysis will be undertaken

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling for the construction of a new secondary school in Sixmilebridge, to alleviate pressure on schools in the South Clare area where those leaving primary schools are struggling to attain a place in second level.

“I have asked Minister Norma Foley and officials in the building unit of the Department of Education to do an analysis of school enrolment in the South Clare area, with the possible view to opening a new secondary school in Sixmilebridge,” said Deputy Crowe.

“By my own calculations, I reckon there are upwards of 3,000 pupils currently enrolled in primary schools south of Newmarket-on-Fergus right down to the Clare border area and when these kids complete their eight years of primary school, they typically try to enrol in the two secondary schools in Shannon, St Joseph’s in Tulla and many closer to the Limerick border – such as Meelick, Cratloe, Parteen and Clonlara – apply for schools in Limerick City.

Crowe continued: “I know all too well from my 14 years teaching in Parteen NS, the challenges that 6^th Class pupils have in terms of enrolling in their secondary school of choice.

“They have to apply through a common application system in which they have to list their preferences across 17 secondary schools.

“Very often this works out perfectly and they get their school of choice, but I’ve also seen very difficult situations where a child living in South Clare is enrolled in schools as far away as Pallaskenry and Croom, in Co. Limerick.

“Sixmilebridge is no longer a village – it’s now a thriving town with a growing population and there are many towns in Clare of smaller size which already have a secondary school.

“At this time, my suggestion is just a concept, but I think we need to get an in-depth analysis of enrolment figures in primary schools and also the pathway these pupils follow in terms of moving on to secondary education.

“Whilst there has always been a difficulty in children enrolling in Limerick City schools, in recent years similar problems have been encountered in Clare secondary schools, with schools fully subscribed and many kids left waiting in a queue to see if a place frees up for them.

“Limerick has had two new secondary schools built, but the South Clare area has not – and I think the natural place to locate one would be somewhere near Sixmilebridge.

Crowe concluded: “The benefit would not just be for Sixmilebridge families but also their neighbouring communities of Quin, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Broadford, Clonlara, Meelick, Parteen and Shannon town itself.

“If the analysis that I receive back from the Department is strong and positive, I will pursue this matter much further and hold dialogue with other schools and stakeholders.

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• Changes will negatively impact suckler farmers
• Consultation needs to happen

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling on the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation to urgently suspend their recently announced reclassification of the Euro-Star beef breeding index to give beef farmers a fighting chance.

Speaking to ICBF representatives at the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee today, Deputy Crowe requested the suspension of the measure until they hold their stakeholder consultation forum in early spring period.

“It is abundantly obvious to me that the many stakeholders involved in this process feel that they have not been properly consulted so far and that the communication from the ICBF has left a lot to be desired,” said Deputy Crowe.

“Some of the breeding associations cite examples of indexes plummeting and it very much looks like the large-bodied animals have been the fall guy in this re-evaluation, with lighter animals climbing, in some instances, up the index scale.

“All of these changes mean only one thing for beef suckler farmers – a drop in prices.

“This will have a devastating impact on so many farming families who depend hugely on the income derived from cattle sales.

“In recent years, suckler farming has very much become the poor relation of dairy farming and we need to do everything we can to protect this vital sector of our economy.

“I am being inundated with calls from beef farmers throughout the county and indeed elsewhere in the country – and being a suckler farmer myself, with a herd of Hereford and Shorthorn cattle, I can absolutely empathise with their situation.

“I also find it illogical that members of the ICBF board signed off on these new evaluations given that they themselves represent farming organisations and the breeding sector.

“A row back has to happen, and I think the obvious thing to do now is to suspend all changes until proper stakeholder consultation begins – as promised – in the spring period.”

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