Galway Bay fm - News

Clubs are urged to apply for Sports Capital Grant funding as applications open tomorrow morning

Labour City Councillor Niall McNelis has urged sports clubs in the City and County to apply for funding under the Sports Capital Grant.
Applications will open tomorrow morning at 9am and will remain until Friday 8th September at 5pm.
Councillor McNelis said that sporting clubs and communities are struggling to keep pace with the amount of usage when it comes to facilities and should take time to review the Sports Capital Grant to see if they are eligible for much needed funding to improve facilities and amenities.
Speaking this afternoon, Councillor McNelis said that if we are serious about mental health, then sport needs to get as much encouragement as they can get.

Catherine Connolly criticises calculated move towards increased militarisation of EU

Catherine Connolly has renewed her criticism of an alleged calculated push towards an increasingly militarised EU. 
She referenced recent comments by President Michael D. Higgins, who warned Ireland is "drifting" towards NATO. 
But Galway West Deputy Connolly said she would find the word "choregraphed" more appropriate. 
She argued this is not a direct result of the war in Ukraine as it commonly stated, because it's been going on long before that conflict erupted. 
Deputy Connolly told the Dáil that attacks on our neutrality are not accidental, but part of a strategy.
 

Sean Canney says Government core planning strategy is ”nonsense”

The Government's so-called 'core strategy' on planning has been described as nonsense in the Dáil by local TD Sean Canney. 
Speaking to Tanáiste Micheal Martin, he pointed out it's glaringly obvious that the housing situation in this country is dysfunctional. 
But he said he takes particular issue with how county development plans, and local area plans, are being prepared and how lands are being zoned. 
Deputy Canney said they're following Government 'core policy' - or, in other words, "pure nonsense". 

Taoiseach backs Denis Naughten’s proposal to recruit out-of-hours staff for children’s disability services

The Taoiseach has backed local TD Denis Naughten's proposal to recruit out-of-hours staff for children's disability services.
The proposal from Deputy Naughten would see therapists recruited to work evenings and weekends.
The Roscommon/Galway Deputy told the Dail there are 800 vacancies across children's disability services in Ireland.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says it's vital we come up with new ways of doing things, and promised to bring the proposal to the HSE and Health Minister.
Deputy Naughten says flexibility in working hours has a number of benefits:

Fitzmaurice claims EPA coming out with ”bad reports all the time”

The Environmental Protection Agency is too-often coming out with "bad reports". 
That's according to local TD Michael Fitzmaurice, who was contributing to a Dáil debate on a recent EPA report on water quality. 
Deputy Fitzmaurice referenced a recent course case where the EPA could not stand over the facts it put into a report about bogs. 

Kerrane ”resents” automatic jump to cutting national herd for climate change

Local TD Claire Kerrane says she "resents" the fact there was an immediate and automatic jump to cutting the national herd. 
She told the Dáil farmers are ready, willing and able to act in regard to climate action - and they have protected our land for generations.
She accepted the challenge facing farmers is enormous, but said she believes agriculture will potentially be the only sector that will reach or come very close to reaching its targets.
Sinn Fein Deputy Kerrane argued there's a lack of a clear plan and said while Teagasc is doing excellent work, we're also falling behind on research. 
Deputy Kerrane says agriculture is the backbone of rural communities and farmers need a clear plan for a sustainable future. 

Noel Grealish demands state pension rise to 34% of average earnings

Galway West TD Noel Grealish is demanding that the state pension rise to 34 percent of average earnings within the next three years. 
Speaking in the Dáil, he referenced the Pension Promise Campaign meeting held at the Galmont Hotel this week. 
That meeting heard from many pensioners, who spoke of their struggles on the current rate, given the increases in the cost of living. 
It was pointed out that the Government itself committed to the 34 percent figure - but yet it remains at 28 percent. 
Speaking in response, Minister Heather Humphreys said there'll be a lot of demands coming up to the budget - but pensioners will be a priority. 

Concern as Mountbellew Lake dries up following gate failure

Galway County Council says everything that can be done, is being done, after Mountbellew Lake dried up. 
The man-made lake is located in the village and it's understood the incident is due to the failure of an old sluice gate. 
Local Councillor Michael Connolly says there's been a long-running need to upgrade the gate due to a number of issues. 
Galway County Council is now assessing the situation alongside state bodies like the OPW and Fisheries Ireland. 
Councillor Connolly says although there is limited wildlife impacted, there may be some harm done:

Discontent over spend of almost €200k on city council meetings over past 3 years

Galway City Council is set to continue renting hotel function rooms for monthly meetings at considerable cost for the forseeable future.
During the pandemic, the chamber at City Hall was deemed not fit for purpose due to significantly under-spec'd ventilation systems. 
Since then, almost €200 thousand has been spent on hotel function rooms - and the practice could continue for up to two more years. 
But many councillors argue that with COVID now behind us, it's past time to stop wasting money and return to the chamber. 
The matter went to a vote this week - with the majority of councillors voting to defer taking any action pending a report on the situation. 
Councillor John Connolly thinks it's all a waste of time and public money. 

Claims city council ”failing entire generation” over lack of sports facilities in city

Galway City Council is failing an "entire generation" of young people over an embarrassing and bewildering lack of progress on badly needed sports facilities. 
Councillor Mike Cubbard made the claim at this week's meeting  - during a discussion on long-awaited masterplans for a number of areas. 
They include Kingston in Knocknacarra and South Park, which have been in the pipeline for more than 7 years. 
They're essentially the blueprint for the future development of sports and amenity facilities in both areas, like playgrounds, sports pitches, and community centres. 
But Councillor Cubbard says the glacial rate of progress on these plans goes beyond a joke.