Council votes to include 30km/h speed limits for schools in review

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January 10, 2023

galway daily news showcase 2023 galway businesses — Kerry Quinlan of Sketchico is among the businesses that will represent Galway at Showcase in the RDS later this month. Pic Orla Murray/Coalesce

Some of Galway’s best up-and-coming craft and design businesses will meet with buyers from across the world at a major international trade fair in Dublin this month.

Over 100 Irish companies will be part of the Local Enterprise Showcase at the 2023 Showcase event in the RDS, running from 22 to 24 January.

LEO Galway will be represented at the event by Irish Sock Society, Wild Atlantic Wicks, Sketchico, Catherine Dunne, Martha Begley – Galway Fairytales, Orla Culligan Ceramics and Fiona Concannon.

The event will open its doors to thousands of buyers from across the world, including Ireland, the UK, USA, mainland Europe, Asia and Africa, generating millions of euros of sales orders during the show.

Showcase is presented on behalf of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, with support from Enterprise Ireland.

Rosemary Steen, CEO of Design & Crafts Council Ireland, said they are greatly looking forward to the return of the fair.

“Showcase offers designers and makers the opportunity to not only meet and do business with buyers from Ireland, the UK, USA, mainland Europe and Asia, but also the chance to come together to celebrate the creativity, the impact and the importance of the heritage of the Irish craft and design sector globally,” said Ms Steen.

“With restrictions linked to the pandemic due to be fully lifted for Showcase 2023, we look forward to even more buyer attendance this year.”

Local Enterprise Showcase is one of several enterprise initiatives run by the Local Enterprise Offices across the year to foster entrepreneurship and help small businesses to start and grow.

Other events include Local Enterprise Week, National Women’s Enterprise Day, the National Enterprise Awards, the Student Enterprise Programme and the Local Enterprise Village as part of the National Ploughing Championships.

Weather warning in effect with spot flooding possible

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January 10, 2023

galway daily news Weather warning for heavy wind and rain to hit Galway

A status yellow weather warning for rain is now in effect in Galway and six other counties in the south-west.

Met Éireann says spells of rain today will be heavy at times and could lead to spot flooding.

The warning began at 3am on Tuesday morning, and will remain in place until 3pm.

Also included in the status yellow warning are Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford.

Highest temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees are forecast for today, and strong and gusty southerly winds will veer westerly later as the rain clears.

It will be cold and blustery tonight with clear spells and scattered showers, with the chance of isolated thunderstorms and hail.

Lowest temperatures will be between 2 and 6 degrees in fresh to strong west to south-west winds.

Galway punk legend in the running to represent Ireland at Eurovision

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January 10, 2023

galway daily news punk johnny rotten sex pistols tuam eurovision 2023

Punk legend John Lydon is in the running to represent Ireland at the Eurovision this year with his current band, Public Image Limited.

Lydon, whose father John Christopher was from Tuam, hopes to go to this year’s song contest with a song called Hawaii, which is a love letter to his wife Nora who is living with Alzheimer’s.

Public Image Limited will perform the song in a Late Late Show contest special on 3 February.

Like his father, Lydon’s mother Eileen from Cork immigrated to north London, and the outspoken singer holds an Irish passport.

The band, often shortened to ‘PiL’, says that Hawaii is “a pensive, personal yet universal love song that will resonate with many.”

Better known as Johnny Rotten during his Sex Pistol days, Lydon wrote of being Irish in London in his autobiography Rotten – No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs.

He said that Londoners had “no choice but to accept the Irish” because there were so many, “and we do blend in better than the Jamaicans.”

“When I was very young and going to school, I remember bricks thrown at me by English parents. We were the Irish scum. But it’s fun being scum, too,” he wrote.

He also said: “When my parents came over from Ireland they became intrinsically working-class English. [I am] proper London working-class.”

The other contestants hoping to represent Ireland at this year’s Eurovision are Donegal soul singer Leila Jane with Wild, rap duo K Muni & ND with Down in the Rain, singer-songwriter ADGY with Too Good for Your Love, and CONNOLLY with Midnight Summer Night.

Ways to Optimize Route Planning for your Vehicle Fleet

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Thomas O'Brien

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January 10, 2023

Planning the routes of your fleets can be one of the most challenging parts of the job. Lots of factors impact different routes, and fleet managers need to consider all of them before deciding where to send a driver.

Optimizing the process can make it less time-consuming, allowing you to focus on other activities at your business.

Keep an Eye on Driver Availability

Scheduling drivers according to their availability is one of the most important aspects of delivery management. Your dispatchers should understand when drivers are available and where they are at any given time.

One way you can keep an eye on where your drivers are is by using GPS fleet tracking tools. Tools that offer fleet tracking with GPS capabilities can help you manage drivers’ time in real-time.

Using route planning tools allows you to adjust schedules, allowing for better management and flexibility. The right tools allow dispatchers to optimize delivery schedules and switch up routes as needed.

Optimize Vehicle Usage

Before assigning any drivers to a specific route, look at each vehicle to see how much cargo space it has. This allows you to put that space to the best use.

When items are loaded, the ones that will be delivered first should be loaded last so they can be easily accessed. Try to group items together according to where they are going so it is easy to find them when the driver is at the destination.

If there are many destinations, make sure the driver knows what order to arrive at each of them. If the driver is picking up items, they should load them accordingly. This can make your business more ecofriendly over time by lowering emissions due to inefficient vehicle usage.

Use Planning Software

It’s important to know how all the vehicles operate because this will help you optimize overall efficiency. It can be difficult to plan a route that has multiple stops, and there are many factors that may impact how effective this is.

Weather, traffic patterns, and when the delivery needs to be made will all play a role. Sometimes, using route planning software can be helpful because it can take all these factors into consideration right away.

It also allows you to learn how to handle financial stress by streamlining costs and reducing idle time. Software allows you to automate the planning process to ensure more efficient delivery windows.

Communicate with Your Customers

It can be hard to keep customers in the loop about the status of their deliveries. Using route management software gives you updates in real-time so your customers can learn about the status of their deliveries.

This ensures that delivery times are accurate and reflect any changes to the estimated arrival time. Communicating with customers can be time-consuming but automating this task can make it more efficient.

And automation also ensures that customers get any necessary information before planning their activities. Automation can also reduce the number of phone calls needed to the support team.

You can set up the software, so alerts are sent to the contact information you have for each customer, whether that is phone or email. It allows your support team to handle more pressing issues.

New Galway office for engineering consultancy EDC as growth continues

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January 9, 2023

galway daily news EDC opens new galway office

Engineering consultancy EDC has announced the opening of a new office in Galway, which will become the company’s fourth office in Ireland.

The new office, located at Ballybrit, will be headed by Gerard Kirwan, Associate Director at EDC.

Over the past two years, the consultancy has experienced impressive growth, expanding its team to 100 people across six offices in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, London, Istanbul and now Galway.

This growth is reflected in EDC’s increased market share in Ireland and the UK, with staff numbers doubling from the start of 2021 to the end of 2022.

This trend is expected to continue, with an additional 25% increase in staff numbers by the end of 2023.

Commenting on the opening of the Galway office and the company’s continued growth, Richard O’Farrell, Managing Director of EDC, said: “As EDC celebrates 20 years in business in 2023, this expansion into Galway is another exciting step forward for the company, and sets the foundation for future growth across Ireland and beyond.”

He said that the expansion is testament to the incredible work the whole team delivers, and “this is driving us forward to realise new opportunities.”

O’Farrell said that the move into Galway aligns with the EDC’s growth strategy, which in recent years has also included the opening of a Limerick office to service the Mid-West of Ireland.

Gerard Kirwan, Associate Director at EDC, said that he is proud to head up EDC’s fourth Irish office.

“The decision to open an office in Galway strengthens our delivery capabilities and increases our ability to service our current and future clients and sectors.”

New hackney service announced for Carna

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January 9, 2023

galway daily news new hackney service in carna co. galway 2023 — Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD joined NTA CEO Anne Graham, right and Wendy Thompson, Director of Public Transport Regulation to launch a one-year pilot programme for a localised, specially licenced hackney service. Pic:Julien Behal Photography

Carna is one of 21 rural locations included in a new hackney service to help improve transport choices for those in rural Ireland.

The one-year Local Hackney Pilot aims to encourage new part-time local hackney services to operate in communities which could not support a full time taxi or hackney operation.

Applications to take part in the programme, launched today by Minister Eamon Ryan alongside the National Transport Authority, can be made at localhackney.ie

The pilot programme will roll out across 21 rural areas, stretching from Donegal to Cork.

All drivers will be licenced, insured and Garda vetted, and will be able to pick people up from their doors to drop them to where they want to go.

Announcing the pilot, Minister Eamon Ryan said that it responds to the reality of rural life in Ireland, connecting people from their doors to local towns, healthcare centres, the post-offices, or onto other transport stops and hubs.

“With this new pilot service, rural communities across Ireland will now be given the opportunity to have a part-time local area hackney service available to them,” he said.

“We will monitor it over the coming year and learn from it so that we can roll it out across many other areas. This Pilot is an important tenet of the Government’s National Sustainable Mobility Plan 2022-2025 and a key deliverable under Our Rural Future 2021-2025.”

Each successful applicant for the local hackney licence may be granted €6,000 as a subsidy to ordinary fares income, to run the service.

This grant is designed to contribute towards the fixed costs associated with providing this service.

It is payable by NTA over one year, in equal monthly instalments, where the service provider can show that the services are being used, and the local hackney service is of benefit to the community.

This special limited local licence is designed to ensure that existing taxi or hackney services already operating and providing appropriate service in any area are not displaced.

The local hackney, which exclusively operates on a pre-booked basis, may only pick up passengers within a designated area of 7 to 10 km from a chosen point, normally the residence of the licenced driver.

The drop-off point has no restrictions, with trips to healthcare facilities and transport hubs further afield anticipated.

Each local hackney service will be partnered with a local NTA Compliance Officer who will be a regular point of contact for any licensing or compliance queries.

The final acceptance date for applications for the Pilot is 28 February 2023.

However, each application will be assessed at the time of receipt. If the applicant in each area does not complete the licence process, NTA will assess the next applicant on the list.

Two separate licences are legally required to operate a local area hackney; a local area hackney vehicle licence issued by NTA for suitable, appropriately insured vehicles and a local area hackney driver licence issued by An Garda Síochana for a driver who has been successfully Garda vetted.

NTA will guide applicants through the process.

Retrofitting homes would reduce pressure on hospitals says local TD

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January 9, 2023

Galway Daily news Massive backlog after bone scanner at Portiuncula Hospital broken for 2 years

Prioritising the retrofitting of homes for people with chronic medical conditions would reduce pressures on health services and hospital beds, Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten has said.

He said that the measure would ease pressures on hospitals particularly during the winter months, when hospital overcrowding is at its worst.

The Independent TD pointed to research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine which found that retrofitting homes of people with chronic respiratory disease reduces their usage of GP, Emergency Departments and hospital services.

Deputy Naughten said that this is a significant outcome due to the fact that respiratory consultations made up 15% of all GP attendances before the pandemic.

“As a result any improvement in the health of people with chronic respiratory disease will help to ease pressure on our overwhelmed GP service right across the country.”

Deputy Naughten said that retrofitting homes could release up to 700 beds, which is equivalent to that of the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

Fairley, James Stewart

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January 9, 2023

Galway Daily news Woman (80s) dies following car crash two weeks ago

Fairley, James Stewart (Prof) BSc PhD DSc
2nd January 2023
Died suddenly at home.
Brother of Joe and David.
Service in St. Donard’s Parish Church, 2-10 Bloomfield Road, Belfast, BT5 5DU on Friday 13th January 2023 at 10.45am followed by burial in Dundonald Cemetery.

Family flowers only please.
Will be sadly missed by all his family.

University of Galway student features in new TG4 series

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January 9, 2023

galway daily news anna ní nualláin Un galway student — Anna Ní Nualláin

A fascinating new TG4 series Céim Chun Cinn will follow four students throughout an academic year to give a unique insight into the fun, pressures, joys and tribulations of university life in Ireland today.

One of the four students in the series, which starts on Thursday, is University of Galway student Anna Ní Nualláin who hails from Castlewellan in Co. Down.

Anna was brought up in the countryside, about 45 minutes from Belfast, but she has a strong connection with Belfast.

Her Dad, Stiofán, is a trade union worker in the city, and it was he who inspired her to take an interest in social issues and campaigning from a young age.

Anna has a particular interest in women’s rights and the environment, and says she does not remember at time when she was not on the streets demanding rights for workers, immigrants, refugees and the Irish language community.

Anna is also one of the main forces behind the #MiseFosta campaign, and she has a podcast with her friends in which they examine social issues every week.

Also in the series are Naoise Mac Gearailt at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Darragh Ó Caoimh at UCC, and UCD student Clodagh Ní Ghallchóir from Gaoth Dobhair.

The series begins on Thursday, 12 January 2023 at 8pm on TG4

Heavy rain forecast as weather warning issued

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January 9, 2023

Galway Daily weather Weather warning for heavy rain in Galway tonight

Galway is in for heavy rain on Tuesday, with Met Eireann issuing a status yellow weather warning for the county.

Spells of rain overnight and on Tuesday will be heavy at times, leading to spot flooding, the warning states.

The rain warning for Galway and all of Munster will be in effect from 3am until 3pm on Tuesday.

Galway is forecast to see a somewhat unsettled week according to Met Eireann, with more rain expected after Tuesday.

Monday will be dry but mostly overcast aside from some short sunny spells in the early afternoon.

Strong westerly winds will veer southerly and die down in strength as the day progresses. Highest temperatures today of 6 – 8 degrees, but getting considerable colder overnight.

Aside from the rain, which is expected to continue into the evening after the weather warning has expired, Tuesday will also be a blustery day.

Moderate to strong variable winds are expected throughout the day, though winds will be strongest in the morning.

Highest temperatures on Tuesday of 10 – 12 degrees, with overnight lows of 6 – 9 degrees, coldest inland.

Wednesday will be cold and damp, with showers of rain turning heavy at times, and strongest in the morning.

Average temperatures on Wednesday of 6 – 8 degrees, with moderate to strong southwesterly to westerly winds.

Plans for new Primary Care Centre in Galway City

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January 9, 2023

Galway Daily news Plans for Westside Primary Care Centre

Planning permission is being sought for a primary care centre, TUSLA building, and ambulance centre in Galway City.

Valley Healthcare Fund have made a planning application to the city council for this large scale healthcare and social services development on the Seamus Quirke Road.

The currently vacant site is part of the Westside District Centre, and zoned for ‘Enterprise, Light Industry, and Commercial’ use.

The development, on land opposite the Westside Playing Fields, will comprise a primary care centre between 6 and 9 storeys in height over basement level.

The primary care centre will contain two GPs proactices, a diagnostic superhub with X-Ray, MRI, and CT scanning capabilities, and Dea & Ultrasound facilties.

Other medical facilities will include Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Dental services, Community Mental Health and Day Hospital facilities.

There will also be a café and a pharmacy unit on the ground floor of the building, in the entrance area.

The developer also plans to build a four storey TUSLA building, and a single storey ambulance service deployment building, with three ambulance bays.

The TUALA building will provide facilities for the Child and Family Agency, including interview and access rooms, along with administrative offices.

There will be a basement level car park with 123 car parking spaces, along with 220 bicycle spaces at the basement and ground level.

Other work on site will involve a new access road and internal roads, along with landscaping green areas on the grounds.

A decision on this planning application is due from Galway City Council by February 14 of this year.

Sharp decline in road traffic deaths in Galway in 2022

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January 9, 2023

Galway Daily news National Slow Down Day traffic operation after road deaths

Galway saw a sharp drop in the number of road deaths last year, despite an overall increase in the number of traffic fatalities nationwide.

There were six people killed on the road in Galway in 2022, provisional figures show, compared with 12 the previous year.

Nationwide there was a 13% increase in the number of road fatalities in 2022, with 155 people killed in 149 crashes, compared with 137 deaths in 124 fatal road collisions in 2021.

The figures also indicate that the number of pedestrians killed in traffic collisions doubled last year, with 41 such deaths in 2022.

Ms. Liz O’Donnell, Chairperson of the RSA said, “The end of year road fatality figures for 2022 should serve as a reminder to us all of our shared responsibility to always be safety aware on our roads, and to pay special attention to motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians.”

“We simply must get back on track and reverse the increase in deaths. It means that all of us must accept greater responsibility when using the road and become custodians and champions for safety on the road.”

Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman that we must think of the families, friends, and communities impacted by deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

“We are committed to reversing this trend and will continue to work with all agencies and ensure we play our part in delivering the government Road Safety Strategy and measures needed to make our roads safer.”

Despite a decrease in the number of drivers killed (60, -10), drivers still accounted for the highest proportion of fatalities at 39%.

Provisional figures show that there were 1,292 serious injuries resulting from crashes up to December 29, 2022, compared to 1,342 up to the same period in 2021.

Cork (13), Dublin (13) and Limerick (10) were the counties that recorded the highest number of deaths.

Where it was possible to establish the use of a seatbelt or not among drivers and passengers killed, a total of 19% were found not to have been wearing a seatbelt.

Assistant Commissioner Hillman said that last year saw An Garda Síochána continue their focus on lifesaver offences of speeding, mobile phone use, seatbelt offences and driving while intoxicated.

“All of these behaviours are leading factors in reducing serious injury and death on our roads.”

There were almost 200,000 people in the country caught speeding last year, along with more than 5,800 not wearing a seatbelt, over 18,200 caught using their phone, and 9,100 driving while drink or on drugs.

Galway sees multiple improvements in latest IBAL Litter Survey

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January 9, 2023

Galway daily news Galway sees multiple improvements in latest IBAL Litter Survey

Ballybane and Ballinasloe have both seen significant improvements in the latest Irish Businesses Against Litter Survey.

Galway City Centre has also maintained its place as one of the cleanest inner city areas in the country, behind only Waterford City.

Ballinasloe is the cleanest town in Galway, tied at 13th place on the rankings, a significant jump since the previous survey last summer.

Galway City Centre was the only other area in the county deemed ‘Clean to European Norms’, bit had fallen two places to 19th on the list.

Galway Inner City Ballybane saw a significant improvement in its placing, being named ‘Littered’ in the latest survey.

It had previously been a ‘Seriously Littered’ blackspot, one of just two in the country along with Drogheda.

Overall, The final litter survey of 2022 by business group Irish Business Against Litter has shown a significant rise in the numbers of areas deemed clean across Ireland.

Three quarters of the 40 cities and towns surveyed were clean, compared to just over half this time last year.

“The results reflect a pattern of improvement since the peak of the Covid pandemic, when litter levels soared, especially in cities,” said IBAL’s Conor Horgan.

“In particular we are seeing local authorities concentrate their efforts on ridding areas of heavily littered sites.”

“We have no reason to believe this improvement will not be sustained. Cleanliness is a virtuous circle: clean streets beget clean streets, inspiring a pride and consciousness of the environment among people.”

IBAL has argued that the results of the survey bolster the case for a deposit return scheme, as plastic bottles and cans continue to be a major source of litter.

“Based on this data the scheme is sorely needed and stands to rid our streets of a significant amount of litter. The same applies to the proposed coffee cup levy,” commented Conor Horgan.

While there was a fall in the prevalence of coffee cups, they were still found in 25% of sites surveyed.

However the most common form of litter remains cigarette butts, with IBAL welcoming the news that cigarette companies will now have to contribute to the cost of cleaning up.

Latest figures show increase in homelessness in Galway

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January 8, 2023

Galway Daily news Galway City Council has announced plans for a social housing development of 84 apartments and houses in Knocknacarra.

The number of people homeless in Galway has increased again in the latest figures from the Department of Housing.

In November of 2022, there were 265 homeless adults in Galway City and County, up from 250 the previous month.

Across Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon, there were 104 families living in emergency accommodation in November, three more then the previous month.

Those families had a total of 225 children, and 60 of those families only had a single parent.

Nationwide there were 8,048 homeless adults in November, a monthly increase of almost 100 people.

There were a total of 1,616 families with 3,494 child dependents without a proper home.

Repairs to burst mains in Athenry to continue into Sunday night

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January 8, 2023

Galway Daily news Moycullen water outage

Work is underway to restore the water supply to Athenry following a burst water main reported earlier today.

Páirc Na Rí, Cúil Dáibhí, Cáislean Rí, Árd Esker, Garraí Glas and surrounding areas in Athenry may experience water outages while repairs are taking place.

Irish Water reported the burst mains shortly before midday on Sunday.

Repair works are currently scheduled to continue until 11pm on Sunday night.

It may take some time after that before people see their full water supply restored.

Search for missing man stood down after body found

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January 8, 2023

The search for a man missing in Galway City has been stood down following the discovery of a body.

Gardai made an appeal to the public for help locating David Barrett (35), who had been missing since Friday evening.

However, that search has been stood down following the discovery of a man’s body in Galway City last night.

Gardai thanked the public for their assistance in this matter.

Met Eireann issues weather warning for thunderstorms and hail

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January 7, 2023

Galway Daily weather Status Orange thunderstorm warning in effect for Galway

Galway can expect to see some thunderstorms and hail showers this evening, with a weather warning in effect until Saturday night.

The status yellow thunderstorm warning for Galway, Mayo, Clare, and Kerry will be in effect until 9pm tonight.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms with the chance of hail may lead to spot flooding and hazardous driving conditions in that time.

A separate weather warning for heavy winds is also in effect for Galway today, and will remain in place until 8am on Sunday.

Southerly winds, veering southwesterly, will be very strong and gusty, especially near coasts with localised wave overtopping possible.

Poor weather is expected to persist throughout the weekend and into next week, with more rain, heavy at time, forecast by Met Eireann for the coming days.

33 drink and drug drivers caught over Christmas period in Galway

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January 7, 2023

Galway Daily news 33 Almost 200 people arrested for drug and drunk driving over Bank Holiday weekend

There were 33 people in Galway arrested for driving while drunk or on drugs over the course of December in the Garda road safety operation.

The Christmas and New Year Road Safety Campaign commenced on 1st December 2022 and concluded on January 3.

An Garda Síochána conducted an information led operation which targeted the four life saver offences of intoxicated driving, speeding, use of mobile phone while driving and non-wearing of seatbelts.

These offence types were targeted as evidence shows they are the key contributors to causing fatal and serious injury road traffic collisions.

Throughout the campaign 7405 checkpoints were conducted nationwide.

Between 1st December 2022 and the 3rd of January 2023:

745 people were arrested for Driving Under the Influence, 136 of whom were arrested on suspicion of Drug Driving
256 seatbelt offences were detected
932 drivers were detected using their mobile phones
4,704 speeding offences were detected and
4,829 road traffic collisions were reported to An Garda Síochána

Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said, “In December 2022 sadly 16 people lost their lives on Irish roads. We are committed to reversing the trend in deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”

“In 2023 we will continue to work with all agencies to ensure we play our part in making our roads safer and delivering the Governmental Road Safety Strategy.”

“I would appeal to all road users to consider their actions and behaviours on the roads. We all share the road space and therefore there it is a shared responsibility for making our roads safer”.

“I would ask all road users to work with us to reduce serious injury and fatal road traffic collisions by adhering to the rules of the road and adapting their behaviour to suit road and environmental conditions”.

Garda appeal for man missing from Galway City

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January 7, 2023