Deputy Catherine Connolly said she has the most serious concerns in relation to the Government’s ongoing failure to reopen essential respite services in Galway City and County, which have been closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. She said it is completely unacceptable that people have been left for almost a year and a half without the crucial supports they, or their loved ones, so desperately need. It is particularly shocking, she said, when viewed in the context of the reopening of hospitality and the easing of other pandemic restrictions. Deputy Connolly said that she has consistently followed up on this matter in the Dáil over… Continue Reading
Outdoor drinking in Galway
Deputy Connolly said the Garda Commissioner was right to highlight the difficult position that Gardaí on the ground have been put in in relation to drinking in public areas. The difficulty has arisen directly from the government’s message that this was to be an outdoor summer. Notwithstanding this message, there was no preparation and or no anticipation of the challenges that this would pose. The bye-laws, which prohibit the consumption of alcohol in public places in Galway, were enacted only after a very long consultation process. A number of issues came to the fore during that consultation process including the impact of uncontrolled drinking on residential areas, and the lack… Continue Reading
Motion on Implementation of National Maternity Strategy
On Wednesday 2nd of June, Deputy Catherine Connolly will introduce a private member’s motion in the Dáil calling on the Government to urgently implement the National Maternity Strategy and to ensure that the National Maternity Hospital remains entirely within public ownership. Deputy Connolly has raised these issues on a number of occasions in the Dáil, highlighting that despite the fact that Ireland’s first ever National Maternity Strategy, “Creating a Better Future Together”, was launched in January 2016, very little progress has been made to-date on implementation. The February 2020 HIQA Overview Report, which was based on inspections of Ireland’s 19 maternity hospitals, highlighted a lack of clarity and leadership within… Continue Reading
Urgent government action needed on Shannon Airport
I, along with a group of Independent TDs from across the West of Ireland, have issued a joint statement calling on Government to ensure connectivity from North America and Heathrow to Shannon Airport, and to implement fully the recommendations of the Aviation Recovery Taskforce in support of economic recovery across the region. We are seeking a meeting with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport to impress upon them the urgency of the situation in the aviation sector and its effect across the entire economy. We will also seek to meet Aer Lingus, Ryanair and the Shannon Group to ascertain what Government actions are required to maintain connectivity at Shannon… Continue Reading
Clarification needed on when the islands are to reopen
I have received urgent representations from residents of each of the three Aran Islands expressing their concerns at the possibility of the islands opening sooner than mid-August. From the beginning of the outbreak, the government had clearly set out that the islands would not reopen until phase 5 on the 10th of August, 2020. Given the recent changes by the government, however, there is great uncertainty as to whether the 10th of August remains the date. Urgent clarification is needed from the government and from NPHET on when the islands can be safely reopened. I raised this matter with Seán Kyne at the meeting of the Covid committee last week.… Continue Reading
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