University Hospital Galway has the most patients waiting for a bed in the State again today, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.
There are 55 people on trolleys today at the hospital, 14 more than University Hospital Limerick which is the second most overcrowded.
Yesterday there were 57 people on trolleys at UHG.
A total of 676 patients waited for a bed during the month of November at UHG, the third highest number in the State.
County Board Chairman Pat Kearney said that the audit showed that there has been vert little oversight of financial policies in Galway GAA.
Mazars conducted an audit of the Galway GAA at the behest of Croke Park, the results of which were presented to club delegates on Tuesday night.
The report does not mention any Galway GAA officer by name, or put a figure to money that may have been mishandled.
The Irish Examiner reports that Pat Kearney said there was no evidence of malpractice, but continuous poor practices.
For the report Mazars looked at ticketing processes, gates processes, credit cards, treasury management, financial control and sponsorship issues.
Mr Kearney said the County Board was told they need to improve on their working procedures going forward.
The report recommended the creation of a full-time position of operations manager to be filled by someone with a background in finance to manage this €5 million a year juggernaut.
Mr Kearney has suggested that the position of secretary, until recently filled by John Hynes, could be downgraded to a voluntary role.
The pay for that job could then be diverted to a new operations manager, whom he hopes to appoint in the spring of 2019.
Delegates from 62 of Galway’s 81 clubs were in attendance at the meeting on Tuesday, and Kearney admits that people were disappointed with what they heard.
The executive committee met on Wednesday night to prepare a detailed statement on the findings of the audit which will be delivered at next Monday’s convention.
Next week’s will also see the county’s finances for this year outlined, which are expected to be positive.
Pieta House is a national charity which provides support for people having suicidal thoughts or who are self-harming.
As a non-profit they need the support of charitable donations, including the annual Wren Run taking place in Woodford this Christmas.
This charity run is being co-organised by Pieta House and local sports clubs.
It’s a great family event to take part in over the holidays for people of all ages and skill levels, with all routes dog and buggy friendly.
There are two courses for runners to choose from. The 3km track at Tommy Larkins GAA Club, and the 6km track at the club and along forest trails.
Runners can enter as individuals, a family of two adults and their kids, or a team of up to seven people.
Anyone who takes part will be automatically entered into a monster raffle with incredible prizes including a meal for 2 at Nevin Maguires’ MacNean House, a stay at the wonderful Armada Hotel in Spanish Point, a monthly Meal Plan from Clean Cut Meals and more.
Register as a team and in addition to the raffle, you’ll be in with a chance to win a set of 15 jerseys for your club or team.
Proceeds from the run will be split fifty-fifty between Pieta House and Davitts Camogie Club / Tommy Larkins GAA Club.
The clubs plan to use their share of the proceeds to support community well being initiatives in east Galway.
The run will start at 11am on December 26 at Tommy Larkins GAA Park, with registration open from 9:30-10:40am.
Anyone who’s interested in burning off those Christmas dinner calories while supporting a great cause can register online for the Pieta House Wren Run here.
The average cost of rent in Galway city was €1,187 per month in the third quarter of this year according to the latest report from the Residential Tenancies Board.
This is second only to Dublin where the average rent now stands at €1,680, and above the national average of €1,122.
The cost of renting in Galway city has risen by more than 10% since Q2 2018 according to the RTB, with a €115.
Cork fell to third place on the table with average rents of €1,172, up by €114 in the last quarter.
Out in the county costs are slightly lower, with the average cost to rent now standing at €1,1,04.
But it has seen a similar level of increase, with prices going up 10% since Q2 2018.
Meanwhile, as rents have continued to increase the number of landlords has dropped drastically by 1,778 since 2015.
According to the RTB, the number of people in the rental market has also dropped with 8,829 fewer people renting than three years ago.
Director of the Residential Tenancies Board Rosalind Carroll said the declining number of landlords was of “deep concern”.
“If we are to meet demand and ensure a well-functioning rental sector, then we need more landlords and different types of landlords to offer market options.”
“With many landlords leaving, it is increasing strain and pressure and this must be addressed,” she said.
There is some indication that the rent pressure zones are beginning to have an effect according to report, as the rate of price increases declines.
The year-on-year price increase for existing tenancies (5.4%) has been significantly lower than that for new renters (8%).
However both of those figures are still sitting well above the 4% a year cap mandated by the rent pressure zone.
This shows that more needs to be done to enforce existing rules on the rental market to get spiraling prices under control.
“It will be important that the new legislation coming into effect in 2019, equips the RTB with sufficient powers to investigate and apply sanctions where there are contraventions to the rent restrictions in Rent Pressure Zones and that these powers can be implemented effectively,” Rosalind Carroll said.
An election will not be held in 2019, Fianna Fáil has confirmed, so that Ireland can avoid the kind of political chaos seen in London in recent times.
As the Brexit saga rolls on, the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said that his party is willing to extend the guarantee that the government will be able to operate throughout 2019.
He said that political uncertainty is not in the national interest while the chaos in London continues, and that an election will be held in early in 2020.
In the Dáil today, Micheál Martin said: “Fianna Fáil is determined that the political chaos we see in London will not be allowed to spread in Ireland.
“We simply do not believe that the national interest could in any way be served by taking up to four months next year to schedule and hold an election campaign and then form a government.
“With business and communities already fearful about the impact of Brexit, and with Ireland manifestly not ready for many of the many of the potential outcomes, how could it possibly be in the national interest to have extended political uncertainty next year?
“This is why Fianna Fáil will extend a guarantee that the government will be able to operate throughout 2019, and this will allow the introduction of any emergency legislation and budgets as well as the full end of year budget and associated legislation.
“This will in turn allow the holding of an election early in the following year.”
However, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described this decision as ‘astonishing’ as the party did not achieve ‘one additional thing’, while one Fianna Fáíl TD said that there is some disquiet in the parliamentary party about the decision.
Meanwhile in London, Theresa May faces a vote of no confidence from her own party as her Brexit deal, which the EU has said is not renegotiable, is not expected to have the support of the majority of MPs.
They are finalists in a video competition celebrating the centenary of women first winning the right to vote.
Students from schools around the country were invited to produce a video on the theme of ‘Politics Needs Women’ and submit it for consideration.
Entries from 16 schools have been shortlisted, and a winner will be announced at a conference in the Convention Centre in Dublin this Friday.
The winning team will travel to New York next March to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which is being chaired by Ireland.
In addition to the competition entrants, pupils from Pobalscoil na Tríonóide in Youghal will perform speeches delivered in the Houses of Parliament at the time of the debate on the right of women to vote.
The schools shortlisted for the competition are:
On top of the competition, other events at the conference will include a conversation with former Uachtarán na hÉireann Mary McAleese, and panel discussions with many leading women in Irish politics.
There will also be a performance of some of the prison letters of Constance Markiewicz’s, one of the great figures in the history of Irish politics and feminism.
Tá deontas suas le €13,200 ceadaithe ag an Aire Stáit Kyne do Choiste Pháirc an Chathánaaigh chun lomaire féir a cheannach chun an pháirc a choimeád gearrtha.
D’fhógair Sean Kyne T.D., Príomh-Aoire an Rialtais agus Aire Stáit don Ghaeilge, don Ghaeltacht agus do na hOileáin, inniu 12 Nollaig, go bhfuil deontas suas le €13,200 ceadaithe aige chun an pháirc ar an gCeathrú Rua a choimeád gearrtha.
“Tá an-áthas orm an deontas seo a cheadú don choiste gníomhach seo,” a dúirt an tAire Stáit Kyne.
“Tá áiseanna spóirt den scoth ar fáil ag Páirc an Chathánaigh agus iad ar fáil so na cumainn agus na scoileanna áitiúla ar fad. Tá súil agam go dtabharfaidh an maoiniú seo cúnamh dóibh chun an pháirc a choimeád i gcaoi mhaith.”
Is i gcomhréir leis an ngealltanas atá tugtha i leith an Chláir Tacaíochtaí Pobail agus Teanga faoi ghníomh 2.22 de Phlean Gníomhaíochta 2018-2022 an Rialtais don Ghaeilge, a seoladh i Meitheamh 2018, atá an deontas seo á cheadú.
Step testing will be carried out on water mains in the Ahascragh area from 10am on Thursday morning until 4pm on Friday afternoon.
Irish water says these leak detection works will disrupt the water supply to group water schemes in Cornamucklagh, Lowville, Castlegar West, Castlegar, Lisseygan and surrounding areas in Ahascragh.
Step testing is a method of detecting serious leaks within a water network.
It involves dividing the network into zones and shutting off valves, then recording the drop off in flow.
Where there is a disproportionately large drop off, that likely indicates you have a leak.
According to Irish Water, almost half of our pumped water is lost through leaks in the network.
The National Reduction Programme aims to save 166 million litres a day, enough to fill 66 Olympic swimming pools.
K King Construction have submitted a planning application for two 4-bed semi-detached houses, twenty two 3-bed semi-detached houses, three 3-bed terraced houses, and twelve 2-bed terraced houses.
The development at Summerfield, Claregalway would be accessed from the existing River Oaks estate, and include a communal open space.
A number of submissions were made to the county council, with River Oaks Residents Association objecting on the grounds that the increased traffic would be a health and safety concern.
Galway County Council made a request for further information on September 10 asking the developer to show that this will not impact any existing road scheme.
The council also required that a Road Safety Audit be carried a qualified engineer, taking vulnerable persons and heavy vehicles into consideration.
A response to this request for further information was submitted by the developer last week on December 4.
The Galway County Development Plan calls for the construction of 100 new homes in Claregalway by 2021.
As the housing development would be located within the gaeltacht area, a Linguistic Impact Statement has been prepared.
Eight of the proposed houses would be reserved for Irish speaking members of the community for a period of 15 years.
Under Part V planning requirements, four of the units have also been reserved for social or affordable housing.
Concerns were also expressed by River Oaks residents about increased flood risk, as they say no insurer will give flood insurance to existing homes in the area.
A Flood Risk screening assessment prepared by the developer says the entire site is in a Low Flood Risk zone.
The developer proposes building permeable pavements that will allow rainwater to seap through
A decision is due from Galway County Council on whether to allow the Claregalway development to go ahead by January 9.
Due to planning and scheduling issues, the competition ran some 12 months behind schedule.
The County Board decided to reschedule the competition for this October after failing to run it off last year.
Matches continued through November, and now the final will take place this Saturday, December 15.
Liam Mellows will face off against Turloughmore, with several members of Turloughmore’s squad also playing on the 2018 U21 side.
That side progressed last weekend to the A1 final fixed for Sunday, January 13.
The semi-finals of the 2018 U21 A hurling championship are also taking place this weekend, so it’s likely that won’t finish up until 2019.
The A tier aren’t the only one who missed out last year as the U21 B championship didn’t finish up until November 25.
Part of the reason for this overrun was a decision by the clubs not the start these competitions in the springtime, as had been the way before.
As we come towards the end of another year, the annual Google Year in Search results give us a unique snapshot of what caught the interest of Irish people over the past 12 months.
The FIFA World Cup was Ireland’s top-trending Google search for 2018, despite Ireland’s absence in the tournament, with arguably the greatest show on earth trending most strongly in our searches for 2018.
Staying with sports, the epic Ireland vs New Zealand match last month – which saw us overcome the world’s best team for the first time at home – was our 7th overall top trending search in this year (coming 2nd in sports searches overall).
Our musical tastes were reflected in the appearance of Avicii as our second top-trending topic for 2018.
The electronic dance musician sadly passed away in April of this year, and his popularity on this island was reflected in our increased Googling of his name at that time.
Dolores O’Riordan, the Irish icon and former lead singer of The Cranberries, was another musical notary that also passed too early this year – she was our 5th top-trending Google search in 2018.
Finally, the perennial curiosity that is Eurovision was our 6th top-trending musical topic overall, driven no doubt by Ireland’s first appearance in the final for five years.
Ireland’s ambivalent approach to healthy eating was reflected in our food-related searches this year: searches for healthy “Operation Transformation” recipes were closely followed by our less healthy interest in cake recipes.
Perhaps guilty feelings lead to “healthy dinner recipes” coming 3rd in the rankings, before cravings set in again with “bread recipes” occupying 4th spot.
Interestingly, “vegan recipes” made a welcome appearance in Google’s top trending search list for the first time, as more and more people move away from consuming animal products in their daily lives.
Politically, we were inspired to ask “how to register to vote” (1st in the “how to…” list) as well as “what is blasphemy?”, “what is the backstop?” and “what is the 8th amendment?” (1st, 3rd & 5th in the “what is…?” list” respectively).
But the seriousness of politics this year was mitigated by our love for escapist films, with the musical melodrama A Star Is Born taking top spot in the movie rankings, and also registering as the only movie to appear in the overall top ten list.
Comic book adaptations take four of the top ten movie spots, hinting at a juggernaut of a trend that doesn’t show signs of slowing, with musicals occupying three spots and drama/thrillers rounding off the list, including the Irish Famine-based movie Black 47 in fourth spot.
Finally, former actress and now new Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, made an unsurprising appearance in the top list this year, coming in at third place, while Google’s “How to…?” list gives an interesting insight into the minutiae of our lives in Ireland over the past year.
We asked “how to build an igloo” and “how to bleed radiators” in response to February’s Beast from the East, but also “how to get rid of fruit flies” during the summer’s heatwave.
The perennial “how to lose weight” was in third spot and our tech worries centred around “how to get old snapchat back” and “how to turn off automatic updates” … perhaps, in terms of technology at least, the Irish have shown that we don’t like change?
| Overall Searches | Recipes | |
| 1 | World Cup | Operation Transformation Recipes |
| 2 | Avicii | Cake Recipes |
| 3 | Meghan Markle | Healthy Dinner Recipes |
| 4 | Paddy Jackson | Bread Recipes |
| 5 | Dolores O’Riordan | Weight Watchers Recipes |
| 6 | Eurovision | Vegan Recipes |
| 7 | Ireland vs New Zealand | Mince Recipes |
| 8 | A Star is Born | Apple Recipes |
| 9 | Cheltenham | Ireland AM Recipes |
| 10 | Stan Lee | Salmon Recipes |
| How to…? | Sporting events | |
| 1 | How to Register to Vote | World Cup |
| 2 | How to Build an Igloo | Ireland v New Zealand |
| 3 | How to Lose Weight | Cheltenham |
| 4 | How to Make Eggs | Ryder Cup |
| 5 | How to Get Old Snapchat Back | Masters 2018 |
| 6 | How to Turn Off Automatic Updates | Grand National |
| 7 | How to Tie a Tie | McGregor v Khabib |
| 8 | How to Claim Tax Back | Wimbledon |
| 9 | How to Bleed Radiators | 6 Nations |
| 10 | How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies | PGA Championships |
| Movies | What is…? | |
| 1 | A Star is Born | What is Blasphemy? |
| 2 | Black Panther | What is Bitcoin? |
| 3 | Bohemian Rhapsody | What is the Backstop? |
| 4 | Black 47 | What is the Met Gala? |
| 5 | Deadpool 2 | What is the 8th Amendment? |
| 6 | The Greatest showman | What is GDPR? |
| 7 | Avengers Infinity War | What is Sepsis? |
| 8 | A Quiet Place | What is 8D Audio? |
| 9 | Venom | What is Ligma? |
| 10 | All the Money in the World | What is an Exit Poll? |
Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental visited Galway yesterday to speak to students in Portumna Community School.
Mr Reichental recently published a new book for children aged 10 and over, to give young readers an understanding of life at the time of the Holocaust.
Minister Ciaran Cannon said that he was pleased to learn that that students and staff from Portumna Community School had the opportunity to meet with the Holocaust survivor and to listen to his story.
The Fine Gael TD explained: “Mr Reichental lost 35 family members in the Holocaust and is himself a survivor.
“He has devoted great time to visiting schools and colleges throughout Europe telling his story and warning of the dangers of racism.
“I am also interested to note that Mr Reichental has recently published a new book for children aged 10 and over, entitled “Tomi” to give young readers an understanding of life at the time of the Holocaust.
“I wish to commend all associated with arranging Mr Reichental`s visit to Portumna Community School which was a great honour for students.”
‘A review into the optional nature of History under the new Framework for Junior Cycle was recently announced and this event in Portumna not only brought history alive for students but also gave them hugely valuable perspectives’.
Inné an 11ú Nollaig a d’fhógair Seán Kyne T.D, Príomh-Aoire an Rialtais agus Aire Stáit don Ghaeilge, don Ghaeltacht agus do na hOileáin, go bhfuil deontas suas le €15,079 ceadaithe aige do Spraoi Mara chun bád sábháilteachta a cheannach.
Tá an deontas seo ceadaithe do Spraoi Mara le bád sábháilteachta a cheannach chun cur ar a gcumas cur leis na cúrsaí farraige a bhíonn ar bun acu i gCeantar na nOileán, ar an gCeathrú Rua agus ar fud Chonamara.
Leis an mbád nua seo, a bheidh feistithe go speisialta do chathaoireacha rothaí, beidh ar chumas na heagraíochta freastal ar dhaoine a bhfuil riachtanais speisialta acu.
Cuireann Spraoi Mara cúrsaí cadhcála agus snorclála ar fáil do pháistí, do dhéagóirí agus do dhaoine fásta araon, chomh maith le campaí samhraidh a reáchtáil trí mheán na Gaeilge.
Tá an fhoireann cáilithe don chúram agus déantar na himeachtaí uile a reáchtáil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Cuirtear béim ar champaí uisce don aos óg agus dírítear isteach ar bhunscoileanna, iarbhunscoileanna agus ar institiúidí tríú leibhéal.
Cuirtear oiliúint ar fáil do na rannpháirtithe trí scileanna cadhcála agus sábhála a theagasc trí mheán na Gaeilge. Eagraítear cúrsaí/campaí le linn an tsamhraidh agus, go dtí seo, d’éirigh go maith leo.
“Is cúis áthais dom a bheith ábalta maoiniú a cheadú don eagraíocht seo,” a dúirt an tAire Stáit Kyne.
“Tá sé iontach tábhachtach go mbeidh deis ag daoine an leas is fearr is féidir a bhaint as na hacmhainní nádúrtha atá ina dtimpeall.
“Beidh Spraoi Mara anois ábalta cur lena gcúrsaí do dhaoine áitiúla agus do thurasóirí agus é sin a dhéanamh ar an dóigh is sábháilte is féidir.”
A new extension to a school on the Aran Islands has been nominated for the Mies Award 2019, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of architecture.
The extension to Coláiste Naomh Éinne on Inis Mór was nominated by a panel of independent experts from across Europe along with other buildings completed in the last two years.
The winner will be announced in Barcelona on 7 May 2019.
The project was commissioned by Galway Roscommon Education & Training Board to provide a new art classroom for Coláiste Naomh Éinne.
However, with careful site planning the building goes much further.
It activates a neglected space at the back of the school to create a welcoming courtyard, two regulation handball courts, and a large sheltered seating area.
This new project will allow the school to host handball tournaments, summer courses, night classes, and exhibitions.
As part of the Mies Award 2019, the design for the Aran Islands project will be disseminated worldwide through exhibitions and publications.
After receiving funding from the Department of Education and Skills, the school appointed Galway-based Paul Dillon Architects as their preferred architect for this project.
Speaking of the nomination, Paul Dillon said: “We are delighted for the school, the local community and all involved in the design and construction.
“Using minimal funds this school building is now an example of the social, cultural and economic benefits of sustainable growth in small communities throughout Europe”.
Chrissie Treacy (75) was killed in April when she was struck by an agricultural vehicle on her family farm in Boula, Portumna.
Gardaí conducted extensive examinations of potential crimes scenes and interviewed many witnesses at the time.
Yesterday, a man in his 50s was arrested in connection with her death and detained at Loughrea garda station overnight.
He is being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardaí to detain him for up to 24 hours, excluding rest times, without charging him.
The Irish Independent reports that the man was well known to Ms Treacy, and was originally one of the witnesses they interviewed.
A file for the Director of Public Prosecutions is understood to be nearing completion by the officers leading the investigation.
One line of inquiry pursued was to understand if Ms Treacy had been in conflict with any of the people she had close relations with in the time before her death.
On April 27 Ms Treacy, who lived alone on her family farm, was found fatally injured having been struck by a teleporter.
Emergency services were called to the scene and she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
The scene was preserved for examinations by the State Pathologist and Garda Technical Bureau.
Parish priest Fr Michael Byrnes was also called to the scene that day.
He told the Irish Independent that this tragedy has had a profound impact on the local community.
He described Chrissie Treacy as a “warm, hard working lady, who was well known”, one whose passing has left people in the area deeply saddened.
The Pope sent a short three paragraph letter to Minister Zappone in November that was revealed recently where he expressed his “prayerful solidarity” with the people dealing with this the tragedy of the Mother and Baby Home
However the letter made no mention of a contribution by the Church to the cost of exhuming the 796 children buried at the former Mother and Baby Home.
Minister Zappone wrote a letter to Pope Francis in the summer when he was in Ireland urging him to make a substantial voluntary contribution to show the church was accepting responsibility for its role.
The Taoiseach was answering a question from Labour Leader Brendan Howlin in the Dáil.
He said that Minister Zappone “has engaged with the religious order that operated and owned the Tuam home and it has agreed to make a financial contribution towards the excavation.”
The Bon Secours Order has offered to contribute €2.5 million to the cost of the excavation, which could run as high as €13 million.
Taoiseach Varadkar added that the Bon Secours order is cooperating with the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation.
Researchers from the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway are implementing the RiskAquaSoil project.
This project aims to identify the greatest risks to soil and water in agricultural areas from climate change and develop a comprehensive plan to manage them.
Agriculture in the Atlantic Area is at high risk from climate change with increased intensity and frequency of storms, drought and flooding.
This has led to huge uncertainty about how out food systems will cope as the blows of climate change keep falling.
The principle aim of RiskAquaSoil is to alert society to the fact that climate disasters can and will happen during our lifetime.
The project invites local communities from Carna to Andalucia to make use of the solutions which are already out there to address the harmful risks to their livelihoods.
Dr Sinead Mellet of the School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway said, “The RiskAquaSoil project will contribute to a better coordination for the detection, risk management and recovery for rural areas, maritime and terrestrial areas.
“Especially for agricultural purposes that are mainly associated to climate change and natural hazards but also to human pressure.”
“Climatic changes are slow on average, but at the extremes they seem to be becoming more frequent.
“This slowly changing average prevents us changing proactively and we end up reacting after disasters, such as recent fires in Greece and the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia.”
This integral plan will entail three stages linked to three specific objectives:
Early warning and diagnosis: testing new low-cost remote methods to measure and forecast the local impact of different meteorological phenomena.
The data provided by these will provide better early warning systems for extreme weather events in rural agricultural areas.
Implementation and adaptation: developing several pilot actions in agricultural lands that will permit better soil and water management.
These will take into account the risks associated with climate change, such as flood risk maps and soil erosion risk solutions.
It will also include pilot actions in maritime areas such as soil erosion management, small storm catchment and farm management practices.
Capacity building and dissemination: training and commitment of local communities and farmers for increasing capacity building, information and cooperation in risk management and damage compensation systems.
According to previous research carried out by Dr Mellet, farmers are not proactively seeking out knowledge about climate change unless it’s required by regulations, a customer request, or is economically beneficial.
Sinead Nee, research assistant on the project revealed that farmers in Ireland are concerned about severe weather events, and the effects on their farm.
They also found that the majority of farmers are willing to adapt compulsory measures that will help their farm survive climate change.
The application was submitted with Galway City Council on Tuesday after an extensive design process and public consultation.
This massive development project will raise the capacity at the stadium to 12,000 and deliver state of the art training facilities.
CEO of Connacht Rugby Willie Ruane said they’ve been pleased with the reaction from the public consultation.
“Since the public announcement of the project in early October we have received widespread support from the public and elected representatives for the development of the stadium and delivery of a high performance training centre.”
“Our public consultation has also allowed us to really engage with local residents and address issues or observations that they raised,” he added.
This development was made possible by an agreement between the Irish Greyhound Board and the freehold owners of the Sportsground, the Galway Agricultural and Sports Society.
Their shared vision for the future of the site has ensured that Connacht Rugby fixtures will continue to be enjoyed at the sportsground.
The submission coincides with the official launch of the Government’s Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund which opened last week.
The Sportsground redevelopment will cost in the region of €30 million and the allocation of public funds is an essential component to the delivery of the project.
Willia Ruane said that they’ve already got their foot in the door on securing government support for the project.
“We have already presented an outline of the project to members of the Oireachtas including the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who has been supportive of the development and of its strategic benefits to the entire region.”
“The scheme outline sets out the need for regional distribution of the fund along with the need to develop multi use facilities, making the Sportsground an ideal location for development.”
The public consultation was carried out in conjunction with technical advisers, TOBIN Consulting Engineers and Chapman Architects.
It involved a stadium composition survey, briefings to elected officials, setting up a dedicated address for submission, individual and group meetings with residents, a public meeting in the Connacht Hotel in October, and an extensive media campaign.
The Ballybrit headquartered company is developing a catheter based device to treat acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).
ADHF can result in a build up of fluid in the body of patients suffering heart failure, causing difficulty breathing, fatigue, and swelling of the body.
This must be tackled as congestion is one pf the leading causes of ADHF patients being readmitted to hospital.
Complete decongestion is difficult to achieve with current ADHF treatments, which focus on removal of excess fluid from the vascular system.
WhiteSwell is taking a different approach, using their device to remove fluid from connective tissue all over the body that’s outside the vascular system.
Currently there is no effective treatment to directly remove excess fluid from lung and other connective tissues.
To bring this product to completion, the medtech company raised $30 million in an investment round led by RA Capital Management and an InCube Ventures syndicate
CEO Eamon Brady said “This financing is an important milestone that will enable us to tackle an enormous clinical problem that affects millions of families.”
Whiteswell was founded in 2014 by its Chief Technology Officer Yaacov Nitzan, and has its Briarhill Business Park in Ballybrit.
There are also company branches in Nitzan’s native Israel and Palo Alto, California.
“WhiteSwell’s mission is aligned with our goal of helping to advance more cost-effective and impactful healthcare outcomes, said Andrew Levin, Managing Director at RA Capital.
“We are excited about the game-changing potential of WhiteSwell’s technology to benefit patients with ADHF and reduce costs.”
WhiteSwell is currently conducting an early feasibility study at clinical sites in the U.S., Israel and Europe for their minimally invasive technique.
Andrew Farquharson, Managing Director and Co-founder of InCube Ventures said this was a disruptive breakthrough in an area of medicine that has become stagnant.
He added that they look forward to working with WhiteSwell “To deliver a compelling new therapy for ADHF, and we see the potential for it to become a blockbuster medtech product.”
The housing development will consist of ten 4-bed semi-detached houses, two 3-bed semi-detached houses, and eight 3-bed terraced houses.
There would also be a four/five storey apartment block with four 1-bed apartments, eleven 2-bed apartments, and two 3-bed apartments.
Renaissance Property Ltd submitted an application for this development with the city council on June 26.
Twenty eight submission were made by members of the public concerned about this housing development.
Council planners said the main concerns expressed were about the increased traffic congestion it would bring to the area, inadequate car parking, and the loss of mature trees.
The site will be accessed from the existing distributor road which provides entrance and exit to the neighbouring estates.
The developers were required to re-locate the attenuation system so as not to dame age the high-quality mature trees at the south west corner of the site.
Galway City Council gave permission for the housing development to go ahead with 25 separate conditions attached.
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