Clare Fm - Podcasts

The Chief Medical Officer has requested a Health Impact Assessment be carried out on proposed legislation which extends opening hours of pubs and nightclubs. Professor Breda Smyth has written to the Justice Minister Helen McEntee, urging her to give consideration to carrying out the assessment. It comes weeks after the Road Safety Authority expressed concerns the passage of the Sale of Alcohol Bill would lead to an increase in road deaths. The Bill would extend the opening hours of late bars to 2:30am, and nightclubs to 6am. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Maurice Walsh, Owner of Durty Nellys in Bunratty and Maedhbh Firmino da Silva Santos, Deputy Manager of Bushypark Addiction Treatment Centre. Picture (c) by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels via Canva

Michael O’Neill, who hails from Limerick, will be undertaking a charity cycle in County Clare next month (Saturday, 20th April). Michael, who now lives in the Banner County, is aiming to raise €11,500 for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. To learn more about the cycle and his reasons for taking it on, Michael joined Alan Morrissey on Wednesday's Morning Focus. To register & donate, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/oneill-industrial-charity-cycle-2024-tickets-846966849647?aff=oddtdtcreator.

An Bord Pleanála is facing calls to provide clarity on the decision date for upgrade works to the Newmarket-On-Fergus Wastewater Treatment Plant. Clare County Council had granted permission for Uisce Eireann to construct a new pumping station at the facility last October, but this was later appealed by Kilfenora Engineer, Michael Duffy on both planning and environmental grounds. An Bord Pleanála was due to make a decision on the matter by March 21st, but this is yet to happen. Newmarket-On-Fergus resident and Fianna Fáil local election candidate David Griffin says community development has been put on hold in the meantime.

Clare's Green senator has lambasted what she's described as an "insane" international trade deal which will threaten small farmers' livelihoods. The EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement, which is yet to be ratified by the Irish government, would see the removal of trade barriers between EU countries and Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, resulting in a €4 billion reduction in tariffs each year. If implemented, 99,000 tonnes of South America beef would enter the European Market each year and outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously stated his opposition to the deal in its current form. Inagh Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey says allowing South American beef to flood Europe would have a devastating effect on the Irish agricultural sector.

A total of 80,113 patients attended the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick last year. The figure is understood to be the highest in the country and is more than the combined total of patients seen at EDs in Sligo and Portincula University Hospital, which both serve the same region. Last year, over 25% of the patients seen at Doordaoyle's Emergency Department originated from county Clare. Kilkee Fianna Fáil Councillor and Regional Health Forum West member Cillian Murphy believes the case for a model three hospital in Ennis is now beyond debate.

It's claimed soaring mortgage interest rates are depleting Clare's second hand housing market. According to Daft.ie, the average price of a home here is now €256,174, representing an annual increase of 9%. Throughout Munster there were less than 2,850 houses for sale in March; the lowest amount on the market in seventeen years. Economist and Daft.ie Report Author Ronan Lyons has been telling Clare FM's Daragh Dolan the Government must particularly focus on boosting rental and social stocks to tackle the situation.

A Clare sergeant is warning of an imminent surge in Garda resignations unless steps are taking to address a morale crisis within the force. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors' annual conference continues in Mayo today, where the group will be addressing Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. Among the key issues to be discussed will be improving entry level pay and pension entitlements for new Gardaí, mandatory sentences for assaults on Gardaí, as well as tackling verbal abuse in the field and unnecessary desk work. Clare AGSI Rep Ennis Detective Sergeant Brian Howard says there is a recruitment crisis.

An Ennis retailer believes her industry has become "lawless" amid a surge in shop theft across Clare. New CSO figures have revealed a 49% rise in incidents relating to theft from shops in Clare with 567 such incidents recorded countywide last year. Ennis took the brunt of this theft spike with 635 offences of this nature having taken place there, while Shannon saw 74 and Killaloe recorded 60. Owner of Willow, Ennis and Chief Executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, Jean McCabe has been telling Clare FM's Seán Lyons a trend of anti-social behaviour in shops is compounding existing problems encountered by those working in retail.

It's claimed Clare schools are facing serious administration challenges to roll out the free school books scheme. Under the scheme, which is expected to be operational by September, over 210,000 students will receive free school books throughout junior cycle. Participating schools must get three quotes from booksellers from the Europe wide eTenders list and according to a new survey, just 36% of school principals are confident the scheme can be delivered in time. Brian O’Donoghue, Principal of Ennis Community College Principal says there is a lot of confusion surrounding the procurement process.

Méabh McDonnell, who is a children’s author, is gearing up for the release of her debut novel, Into The Witchwood'. To tell us more, she joined Alan Morrissey on Tuesday's Morning Focus.

It is time for another wonderful tale from the one and only Eddie Lenihan, which means it is time for Seanchaí Corner. Seanchaí Corner sees Eddie, the renowned author, storyteller, lecturer, and broadcaster, regaling us with a memorable story from his extensive collection of old Irish tales and fables. This week, Eddie tells us a strange tale about a boy who served in the First World War.

Consairtín 2024, the national concertina convention, will take place in Ennis from the 4th to the 7th of April, with an exciting live programme for all tastes. Ennis is an ideal venue for the event, with concertina playing being an integral part of traditional music life in the Banner County for centuries, where it is also currently thriving, To find out more about what we can expect from Consairtín 2024, Alan Morrissey was joined by Tim Collins and Francis Cunningham.

One of Ireland’s most beloved and respected musicians and songwriters, Davie Furey will be touring the country in support of the new record, with a visit to Glór in Ennis next month Saturday, 27th April. To tell us more, Davie Furey joined Alan Morrissey on Tuesday's Morning Focus.

To discuss the latest in the entertainment world, Alan Morrissey was joined by Clare FM’s Colum McGrath, on Tuesday’s Morning Focus. This week, Colum discussed Celebrity Big Brother, and the new Road House movie with Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor.

Viewers of Monday night’s episode of Crime Call on RTÉ will have seen the brutal killing of Clare woman Emer O’Loughlin featured as part of the broadcast. 23-year-old Emer was violently killed near the Clare-Galway border in 2005, with her remains found in the burned-out mobile home of her neighbour, John Griffin, in April of that year. On Tuesday's Morning Focus, Alan Morrissey was joined by Pamela O’Loughlin, Emer’s sister. Picture (c) Justice For Emer O'Loughlin Facebook Page

The Clare Garden Festival is due to take place towards the end of next month. Ahead of that, they are holding their Seed & Garden Share this coming weekend. The event, which hasn’t been run for five years, will be hosted at the Ennis Showgrounds. To find out more about the event, Alan Morrissey was joined by Carmen Cronin, show director of Clare Garden Festival.

Confidence is being expressed that operating hours at the Ennis Local Injury Unit will soon be expanded to a 24/7 service. It follows a meeting between the Friends of Ennis General Hospital and the new HSE MidWest Regional Health Executive Sandra Broderick surrounding measures to alleviate chronic overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick. HSE CEO Bernard Gloster has confirmed the organisation is awaiting sign-off from Cabinet to extend 24-hour operations to Medical Assessment Units at Ennis, Nenagh and St.Johns. Kilrush based Friends of Ennis Hospital Spokesperson Deirdre Culligan believes Ms.Broderick is building momentum towards enhancing the model two facilities.

Clare Oireachtas members are calling on the Taoiseach designate to make housing and healthcare his top priorities for the MidWest when he assumes office. It comes as Simon Harris has officially been coronated as leader of Fine Gael and is set to be elected the third Taoiseach of the 33rd Dáil in the coming weeks. The Dáil will be in session once again on April 9th when it will reconvene after the two-week Easter break. When it does, the Government is expected to vote unanimously in favour of new Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach designate Simon Harris taking the reins of the 33rd Dáil. Minister Harris sit down with outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar today, before meeting with the leaders of Fianna Fail and the Green Party later this week. The Minister for Further and Higher Education has announced his intentions to finish the coalition's term, stating that the current government must focus on what it can get done before a general election is called. As a former Minister for Health, Simon Harris has already fa

Uisce Éireann is being called upon to urgently improve communication in West Clare amid serious public safety concerns. A new report from the National Water Forum has found that 54% of people do not know where their drinking water comes from, while a further 26% don't know who to contact if they have an issue. It follows persistent water quality issues in the West Clare region in recent weeks, with burst pipes leading to reports of discolouration and foul odours. Cathaoirleach of the Kilrush Municipal District, Independent Councillor Ian Lynch claims a lack of engagement when remedial works are underway is compounding the problem.

Residents of Shannon are calling for the current anti-litter policy to be binned amid claims it's ineffective in preventing illegal rubbish disposal. It follows recent reports of persistent dumping in Shannon Town Park which is a recreational and biodiversity area in the heart of the industrial town. The four-hectare site with walkways, native trees and hedgerows known as Shannon Town Park was opened in 2019 with a €1.5 million investment. Located beside the Brú na Sionna apartments, the park is enjoyed by locals young and old and includes a bandstand, children's playground, basketball court, pump track as well as outdoor seating. Despite holding a Green Flag Award from An Taisce for the last few years, the site has been labelled a "litter blackspot" in recent times owing to reports of frequent illegal dumping around the park and its environs. Shannon native and Independent local election candidate Keith McNamara believes a key reason for the prevalence of rubbish in the park is the poor spread of bins.