Galway Bay fm - News

Clifden back open for business as water supply restored

Clifden is back open for business, as water supply has been restored to homes and businesses.
There is still a boil water notice in place, but Councillor Eileen Mannion has said people will be relieved to learn supply has been coming back from this afternoon.
People in the town have been without water since Monday, due to a leak on the Clifden Regional Supply Scheme
A pipe has now been laid overground by crews, allowing the reservoir to be filled - and it's expected a normal supply will be restored to all by this evening
Councillor Mannion says it's a relief to all in the area, who have come together over the past week:

County Council auditing graveyards to assess accessibility improvements

Galway County Council is auditing graveyards across the county to ensure they're fully accessible. 
At a meeting this week, Councillor Andrew Reddington said many are not wheelchair friendly, and local committees cannot afford improvement works. 
He said they're doing excellent work at upkeep, but they receive far too little funding to be able to undertake works like gate and path widening. 
And Councillor Reddington was pleased to hear that an audit is underway. 

Galway West TD grills Taoiseach in Dáil over shortage of school bus drivers

Galway West TD Noel Grealish has grilled the Taoiseach in the Dáil over the ongoing shortage of school bus drivers.
He gave an example of more than 40 children attending St. Paul's in Oughterard, who are without a service since last October.
Deputy Grealish also outlined how private bus companies contracted by Bus Eireann are facing huge problems finding drivers.
And he argued that one of the main problems is that drivers have to retire at 70.
Speaking in response, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he'll be looking into the prospect of that limit being raised to 75.

Tony Canavan appointed Regional Executive Officer for the new HSE West and North West region

Hundreds of kids flock to Teddy Bear Hospital at University of Galway

UG Students Union to focus on environmental issues during Wasted Week

Mairead Farrell hits out at Taoiseach over "regret" comment on vulture funds

Galway West TD Mairead Farrell has hit out at the Taoiseach over comments he made on vulture funds bulk-buying homes. 
It's after Leo Varadkar said he regrets that vulture funds are "snapping up" family homes. 
But Sinn Fein Deputy Farrell was highly critical, saying surely he's the one person who has the complete power to actually do something about it. 

Uisce Eireann going ahead with "Plan B" this evening to solve water outages in Clifden

Uisce Eireann is going ahead with "Plan B" in Clifden this evening to solve water outages. 
Crews have had difficulty finding the leak behind the outage on the Clifden Regional Supply Scheme, which is ongoing since Monday. 
Tankers have been placed at various locations, but the water must be boiled before use
To support impacted customers, additional water supplies are now available at Tullavoheen Housing Estate, The Spire Housing Estate, Cúirt Cregg Housing Estate, Elm Tree House, Cluid Clifden, SuperValu and the local fire station. 
Alternative water supplies also continue to be available at the Clifden Water Treatment Plant, Clifden Mart carpark, Station House Hotel carpark, the old Courthouse, Clifden District Hospital and St. Anne’s Community Nursing Home. 
Councillor Eileen Mannion has been giving an update to David Nevin on what's happening at the moment.  

Uisce Eireann under fire over "scandalous" lack of communication on water issues across county

Uisce Eireann - formerly Irish Water - are under fire over a "scandalous" lack of communication on water issues across the county.
The matter was raised at a meeting of Galway County Council this week - initially due to outages in Carraroe, and an alleged complete lack of communication on the situation.
Other councillors from every corner of the county also chimed in, generally agreeing that it's extremely frustrating trying to get answers on behalf of constituents.
Ballinasloe Councillor Declan Geraghty didn't mince his words - describing Uisce Eireann as "absolutely useless" and the "greatest quango that was ever formed".
David Nevin has been speaking to Athenry/Oranmore Councillor David Collins about the situation. 

Demand for HAP rates to be increased for county towns

There's a demand for the rates of Housing Assistance Payment - or HAP - to be increased for county towns. 
At a meeting this week, it was highlighted that there's a difference of five thousand in the thresholds for Galway city and county. 
The city limit is €40 thousand, while the county limit is €35 thousand. 
Councillor Andrew Reddington argues the way things are going, there's very little difference between rents and costs in Galway City and towns like Headford. 
He also argues there needs to be more flexibility for people who are just very slightly above the threshold limit.