Galway West TD Catherine Connolly delivered an emotional speech in the Dáil this evening, adding her voice to those supporting the repeal of the Eighth Amendment by saying ‘it is time to trust women to make decisions’.

She began her nine-minute speech by painting a picture of the ‘eighties of secrets’, when the Eighth Amendment was brought in, citing cases in which the amendment has affected women’s lives from early in that decade right through to today.

“The Constitution was amended in the eighties, the eighties that gave us the case of Sheila Hodgers who died on the 19th of March prior to the referendum. We knew exactly what we were doing in this country when we passed the referendum. And she died two days after delivering her baby, premature. Her cancer treatment had been stopped by the hospital which claimed it would harm her pregnancy. She also was denied x-rays and pain relief.

“And so, when we passed that amendment, we passed it in an Ireland, as mentioned, of the Kerry Baby tribunal, or the beginning of that.

“We passed it in an Ireland where Anne Lovett died – at the end of this month- 33 years ago I think, on the 31st of January. It was the Ireland which sent Eileen Flynn from her position in a school in Wexford, simply because she loved somebody – a man who she subsequently married, had a further child with and raised his children.

“It was an eighties of the moving statues, it was the eighties of limited contraceptive[s]. It was the eighties where marital rape wasn’t recognised. It was the eighties where we had no divorce. Many many other things were absent,” she said.

An Ireland of secrets

“Most of all for me, as somebody who lived through that time as a young woman, it was the Ireland of the secrets, the Ireland of shame, the Ireland of mass emigration, the Ireland which told us if you step out of line and do something, you will be punished severely one way or another.

“And those secrets and that shame came to light and those secrets and that shame that was put by the pillars of society at the time both in the Church and out of the Church. And then subsequently we saw those pillars fall to the ground.

“We had the eighties of secrets which followed on from decades of secrets and which has continued, which previous speakers have said, right up to today.

“We still haven’t learned to be honest, straight and direct. We still haven’t learned and I’m glad you’re nodding your head Minister, in relation to that.”

Connolly thanked the committee and the ‘courageous women’ who she said brought the injustice to the Dáil’s attention repeatedly in the ‘most appalling of circumstances’.

She also mentioned many other cases through the years, including the Miss D Case in 2007, the X Case, the ’97 Case of a thirteen-year-old girl who went through ‘an appalling process for her to try to get a termination’.

“And then we have the D Case in 2006, fatal-foetal abnormality diagnosed, and a difficult process to get a termination,” she continued.

“In 2010 we have the ABC case and Miss C  suffering from cancer, pregnant with cancer. And we go forward to 2012 in my own city, Savita’s case. And again, an absolutely appalling lack of basic treatment.”

She said that the fact that they were putting more emphasis on a foetal heartbeat than on the treatment of obvious sepsis shouldn’t have happened, and made references to the Whelan Case and also Amanda Mellett.

“Over that period of time, we have been forced by very brave women, women whose health has suffered, women who have died.

“We have been forced by European Court judgments, we have been forced by United Nations committee who clearly told us that what we are doing to our women is inhuman, degrading and amounts to a certain torture.

Simply has to go

“I’m here tonight to proudly add my voice to say the Amendment has to go,” she said. “It simply has to go. It is time to trust women to make decisions.”

The Independent TD said her comments were being made in the context of the 100 year celebrations of when women got the right to vote – a limited right, she added – and 70 years after Noel Browne bravely but unsuccessfully tried to bring in his Mother and Child Comprehensive Scheme.

“And 70 years later, we have a very welcome report from the Oireachtas committee telling us that we simply have significant gaps in our maternity services. Significant gaps in so many areas of our maternity services.

“And so, we are excluding women from our health service in the 21st century, 70 years after Noel Browne’s gallant attempt.

“They are excluded from the health service in terms of getting a termination, in terms of going abroad in their thousands – you mention the figure, 3,265 – and they come back bleeding through airports. And we’re standing over that. And we’re excluding them from any follow-up treatment.

“And yes, we should cringe. I think we should collectively cringe that it has taken us this time and this much effort from vulnerable women who have had the courage in the most appalling circumstances, and also our colleagues, Deputy Clare Daly, Deputy Smith and all the other people who have tried – Mick Wallace – all of the Deputies who have brought or attempted to bring bills before this Dáil to deal with the matter in a humane way.

“It is time to treat this society as a secular society. And ironically, for those who are totally against abortion, and I fully respect their opinion, the best way to reduce the rate of abortion is to look at those countries which have a liberal regime and have a very low rate of abortion.

“That’s the most ironic, for me, fact in all of this,” she concluded.

Catherine Connolly TD has questioned the Minister of Rural and Community Affairs Michael Ring about the state of the dangerous Bothar Dhoirefhearta in Carraroe.

The exchange took place in the Dáil during Priority Questions.

Catherine Connolly TD asked the Minister when a decision is expected on the application received from Galway County Council in regard to funding for the road.

Wrong scheme

Minister Michael Ring said that the application was submitted under the wrong scheme.

“The local improvement scheme supports improvement works on private, non-public roads to improve access for people who live or work along these roads. I understand the project in question relates to a public road; it is, therefore, not eligible for support under the scheme,” he said.

The Galway West TD replied: “I am at a loss to understand what is going on. B’fhéidir go mbeidh an tAire Stáit, an Teachta Seán Kyne – the Minister’s colleague – in ann tuilleadh cabhrach a thabhairt.

“We have attended public meetings and I have followed all of the correspondence. I have a list of it in front of me.

“I understand we have already received the reply the Minister has given. I understand from more recent replies that the application is before the Department of Rural and Community Development. At this point what I want to hear is an acknowledgement that this cannot go on.

“This is a road i gcroílár na Gaeltachta.

Tá droch-chaoi ar an mbóthar agus tá sé baolach. It is dangerous and in the heart of the Gaeltacht. I ask for the Minister’s assistance in clarifying where the people of Carraroe can go with the application.

“They are going from Billy to Jack and back to Billy again, from the county council to the wrong Department and then another Department and all the time the condition of the road is worsening. Tá sé ag éirí i bhfad níos measa. Ag an bpointe seo, ar a laghad, I seek direction and a commitment to help the people living in the area to address their legitimate concerns.”

The Minister acknowledged Connolly’s frustration, saying that he was aware of the public meetings held about the condition of the road.

“I also know that the Deputy met the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, during the summer,” he explained. He also said that he would write to Minister Shane Ross in relation to the matter.

Catherine Connolly acknowledged this, however she said that there should be more communication between departments on these matters.

“I would have thought one Department communicated with another, as the Minister is now planning to do. Earlier there was a discussion between him and an Teachta Éamon Ó Cuív about the millions that had been refunded, yet here is a Gaeltacht community that is struggling to survive and, more importantly, be safe in using the road. At some stage there has to be communication between the two Departments. It is not happening in the absence of support from local Deputies. We have repeatedly attended public meetings and raised the matter.”

In light of the three weather warnings issued for Galway, the City Council has decided to close parts of the Salthill promenade.

In a statement, the council said: “TheOPW forecast was checked at 3pm on Tuesday 16th Jan. ‘18 and it indicates that high tides will not exceed 5.0 m C.D. in the coming days and therefore below the critical level of 5.6m.”

However, Met Éireann has issued an orange status wind warning for the county ahead of storm Fionn.

“As a precaution Galway City Council will close the Seapoint Promenade at Salthill from Grattan Rd. to the D’Arcy roundabout from 4pm on Tuesday 16th Jan. ’18.” Galway City Council added

Galway City Council said it will continue to monitor the weather over the coming days and review its response as appropriate.

A Galway TD has hit out at Minister Michael Ring and his Department of  Rural & Community Development for failing to spend all of the allocated budget of €163m last year.

Éamon Ó Cuív TD said he will be questioning the Minister in the Dáil this afternoon.

Despite a last minute spending spree towards the end of the year, €19m of allocated funds remained unspent.

“I will be questioning Minister Ring later this afternoon as to how such an underspend was allowed to happen.  There was over €11m, which should have been spent on infrastructure projects in rural areas as well as a further €8m which could have been used for day to day spending,” said Deputy Ó Cuív.

The Galway TD said that this does not come as a surprise.

“I had been forecasting throughout 2017, that there would be a very significant underspend by this Department as it was evident in the replies I was receiving from the Minister and his officials.  In fact, if it wasn’t for the late approval for the Local Improvement Scheme, which I had been requesting, the underspend would have been much more significant.

“It is absolutely imperative that the Minister lays out clearly, how he intends spending the money allocated to him this year, as well as the carryover of €7.7m in capital, being brought forward from 2017, fully and in good time.

“This Government repeatedly claims that it has not enough money to provide services and basic infrastructure, so it is difficult to understand how Minister Ring can fail to spend such a high percentage of the budget in any one year. This is particularly significant when this Department’s budget is by far the smallest budget of any of the government Departments.

“It once again highlights the fact that rural Ireland is not a priority for this government and that it is more interest in lip-service than action,” he added.

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh is calling on the Minister for Health and the National Ambulance Service to carry out an investigation into a delay in an ambulance being deployed, which put a Connemara toddler’s life at risk earlier this month.

The Independent senator explained: “An ambulance was called for a two year old child in the Carraroe area who was having difficulty breathing.

“The family were told it was on its way, but when it was delayed they decided to bring the child in a car to Galway to meet the ambulance on its way out.

“They were joined by a Garda escort in Spiddal and eventually met the ambulance coming on its way to meet them in Rahoon, just minutes from the hospital.

“I understand that the child had to be resuscitated at least twice on the way in to hospital and is very lucky to be alive. He has since made a recovery, but had complications in hospital.”

Senator Ó Clochartaigh, who quit Sinn Féin in early December 2017, said that this case raises very serious issues about the deployment of ambulances in the region.

“Why did it take so long in the case of this emergency for the ambulance to reach this child?” he asked. “It was in the region of an hour before they reached the child and would have been closer to two hours if the family had not acted themselves.”

He continued: “Why was the ambulance only in Rahoon by the time the family got to Galway? Where had it been deployed from and why was there no ambulance available from the station at Carraroe, minutes from the child’s home. I understand there was at least one ambulance vehicle at that station at the time and there may have been two.

“We also need to question the protocols being used when people make emergency calls. Surely people should be told where an ambulance is coming from and how long it is expected to take. If there are other emergency responders available locally, surely they should be deployed as well?

“It is my understanding that the Fire Brigade in Carraroe were available at the time and could have responded much more quickly. They have two Emergency Medical Technicians and 7 Emergency First Responders and the appropriate equipment on their team and the Coast Guard station, with its expertise, is only minutes away as well.

“Two other cases have been brought to my attention in the recent past in Connemara where the outcomes have not been as positive and where delays in ambulance deployment are thought to have been factors in negative outcomes. This is simply unacceptable.

“I am calling on the Minister of Health Simon Harris to investigate this case and to review the nature and protocols of the emergency services available in the Connemara and other areas in general, to ensure that this type of inefficiency does not lead to further near misses, or tragedies.

“The staff in our emergency services and first responders do incredible work in very difficult situations, but we must ensure that we are using all of the emergency resources to their optimum advantage to ensure the best outcomes for patients in emergencies in all cases. I do not believe that is the case at present.’

The richest person in Galway has been revealed after the Irish Independent published its ‘Rich List’ over the weekend.

The Comer brothers were revealed on the list as being Galway’s richest people once again, with an estimated net worth of €1.25bn, up 19% from 2017.

They sit at number 15 on the list, up one place from 2017.

The brothers, from Glenamaddy, made their money trading development sites and then by cracking the building game in Britain in the 1980s. They then cleared up property in Ireland after the crash.

The values of these sites and properties have risen, making the brothers the richest people from Galway.

Luke Comer (64), who is four years older than his brother Brian, lives in Monaco but returns to Ireland frequently.

Owner of Independent Media Denis O’Brien made the top ten, as did majority shareholder of Celtic FC Dermot Desmond.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary sits at 14 with an estimated net worth of €1.15bn.