Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway’s theatre companies have been recognised as a leading force in Irish theatre after receiving nominations in almost every category of The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards.
The Druid Theatre swept the board, receiving 9 nominations across 13 categories, while the Galway Arts Festival also made a strong showing with 4 nominations.
DruidShakespeare, a Druid Theatre production of Richard II, Henry IV: Parts one and two, and Henry V, is an overwhelming tour-de-force in this years Irish Times Theatre Award nominations.
The ambitious play, co-produced with Lincoln Center Festival, has secured the Druid Theatre a Best Production nomination.
The director of DruidShakespeare, Garry Hynes, has also received a nomination for Best Director for her work on the project.
Derbhle Crotty and Aisling O’ Sullivan were also both nominated for Best Actress for their roles in the prestigious production.
Cathy Belton is also up for the title of Best Actress for her role in the Galway International Arts Festival production of Frank McGuiness’s play The Match Box.
The Druid Theatre secured yet another nomination in the Best Actor category, with Marty Rea up for an award for his performance in DruidShakespeare.
His co-actor Rory Nolan has also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the Druid Theatre production.
In the Best New Play category, Amy Conroy’s ‘Luck Just Kissed You Hello’, co-produced by Galway International Arts Festival, has received a nomination.
Vying for the same title is ‘The Match Box’ by Frank McGuiness, also produced by Galway International Arts Festival.
The Druid Theatre continued it’s sweep across the board, receiving nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Set Design and Best Sound Design for DruidShakespeare.
The Druid Theatre and Galway International Arts Festival were both nominated for the Judge’s special award – The Druid Theatre for its success in creating a true ensemble, and the Arts Festival for it’s consistently supportive role in independent theatre.
The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards will take place at the National Concert Hall in Dublin on March the 6th.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – The Transport Minister has clarified his position on the proposed Western Rail Trail from Athenry to Collooney in Sligo.
Opponents of the route have long argued for the retention of the decaying rail track, believing that it’s preservation is essential for any future use.
They argue that the proposed greenway should be developed alongside the line in order to protect the rail track – and not on it as planned.
The debate stems from a statement made by the Minister that his department is supportive of the Greenway – provided the integrity of the line is safeguarded in the event of future use.
Minister Pascal Donohoe has now confirmed that the condition referred to the integrity of the route itself – and not the rail tracks themselves.
He’s confirmed that little or none of the existing tracks or sleepers would be of any value in the event of the rail line being re-opened.
Brendan Quinn of the Western Rail Trail is hopeful that plans for the proposed Greenway can now move ahead.

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Galway Bay Fm newsroom-Work will begin in the coming days on the final stage of road safety works at cemetery cross in Athenry.
The junction layout and cemetery entrance were changed last year for safety reasons.
Funding has now been allocated by Galway County Council to complete the work, and resurface the new parking area.
Cllr Peter Feeney says the area will be much safer for motorists and pedestrians

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The developer of a crematorium in County Galway says that 1,000 funerals from the West of Ireland have gone to Dublin for cremation over the past year.

Kevin Tuohy of BKT Construction hopes to alleviate the trauma for families in the future by having his planned crematorium for Ballinasloe up and running early this year.

Planning permission was granted for the development which is represent an investment of some €3.5 million in the town.

The new crematorium will be constructed at Garbally Demesne and will be the first of its kind in the West of Ireland.

The old Ballinasloe Town Council granted permission to Mr Tuohy of BKT Construction, Conicare, Clostoken for a single-storey crematorium on a greenfield site close to the N6 on the Galway side of the town.

At present people along the western seaboard have to use crematoriums in Cork or Dublin, so the facility is being viewed as being much needed.

The Ballinasloe facility comprises a reflection room, ceremony room, cremator and other ancillary rooms and services as well as a memorial garden and is subject to 14 conditions being complied with.

Mr. Tuohy said that he conducted a survey of 135 funeral directors in the West of Ireland and discovered that around 1,000 bodies were sent from the region for cremation in Dublin.

It will be a major investment in the town of Ballinasloe as well as creating a number of jobs. It will also take pressure off some rural graveyards which are struggling with space at the moment.

Kevin Tuohy told The Connacht Tribune that the crematorium would be up and running next year at the latest.

He had already received inquiries from undertakers from Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare about the facilities that he will be providing.

There was opposition to the development on the grounds that it would devalue property in the vicinity.

There was even a submission which suggested that the poor oral health in the elderly population would result in toxic omissions.

Those opposed to the development said that dangerous emissions from a crematorium could have a serious impact on local residents of Ballinasloe.

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An administrator who was unfairly dismissed from her job at a County Galway nursing home has been awarded €55,000 in compensation.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal, following two hearings, ruled that Oranmore Nursing Home wrongly dismissed one of its employees, Julie O’Sullivan, an administrator who had responsibility for payroll and finance. The hearings took place last year and the ruling was issued this week by the Labour Court.

In September 2012, a chartered accountant was hired by the nursing home on a consultancy basis to review the business, which was “struggling”.

During the review, the accountant found “irregularities” in relation to the claimant’s recorded hours of work and payments processed.

There were three systems in place for recording the hours worked, including a clock-in finger point system, a sign-in book and a roster system. He reviewed the system and investigated dates in 2012 and 2013.

After this process, the worker was issued with a letter on December 10 suspending her on full pay following the outcome of further investigation.

She was told of two issues: falsified timesheets on time-point system when she was absent from work and processed payroll to account for her being at work when she was on holidays.

The worker was asked to respond to the issues raised at a meeting on December 13. Further meetings took place in January and February, and she was dismissed for gross misconduct on February 19, 2014.

Patrick Keane, the owner, gave evidence the business was experiencing “serious financial problems”, which is why he hired the financial consultant, who brought concerns to him about the worker’s attendance at work and time sheets.

Mr Keane was of the view that all employees were required to clock in/sign in and clock out/sign out and he “found it incredible that the claimant had not done this as she was aware of the policy”. He met with the claimant and examined her written explanation as well as the evidence put forward by the consultant and decided to dismiss her.

Ms O’Sullivan, who lived in an apartment on site and was on-call as security for residents, had no disciplinary issues prior to receiving the December 10 letter. That day she was told of the investigation and was suspended.

She recalled how she had noticed some changes in work practices in early December including the removal of residents’ accounts from her responsibility. A notice appeared for all employees to clock in while previously the system was loosely observed, she said.

The system required the manual correcting of the clock-in system to provide for breaks and leave. The claimant was conscious that the system was open to error and had raised this as an issue but no changes were made. Her role involved manually entering hours on the system for all employees by using the rosters and time sheets. This information was then transferred to the payroll system. When entering times on the system the claimant was responsible for calculating and adjusting times taking into account breaks. This ensured employees were paid for the hours worked.

She said she never premeditated entering times on her clock when she was not in the workplace. She provided the nursing home with her own personal diary to support her case, and it hasn’t been returned.

In order to prove her attendance at work on the dates in dispute, the claimant requested that CCTV and cash receipt books could be checked but this was not done, the tribunal heard. When she attended the office to examine the books she established proof that she had made a lodgement on January 2 which was one of the dates she was accused of not attending work.

She said the appeal of her dismissal was not independent and the appeal officer was a personal friend of the owners.

The tribunal ruled that the nursing home had “failed to provide convincing evidence of the claimant’s non-attendance at work on the dates disputed.”

It ruled that the nursing home conceded at the hearing that she was in attendance at work on January 2 and 4, after she provided proof that she was in the workplace on those dates.

It expressed concern that minutes of meetings held with the worker were not taken and was “particularly concerned” that “no independent appeal was offered to the claimant initially although an appeal was eventually offered.”

It ruled she was unfairly dismissed and awarded €55,000 in compensation.

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Gardaí are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry into an assault and robbery of a Polish family at their home in North Galway last week.

Although very little by way of cash or goods was taken in the raid, Gardai are concerned that the tenant in the house was assaulted by three assailants.

The man only suffered minor injuries in the incident after he was accosted by three men – also of Polish origin – as he returned to his rented house at Parkwest, Clonberne on the Tuesday evening of January 5.

At around 7.30 that evening, as the man returned to his house along with his partner and two young children, he was confronted by the gang of three men.

The two young children and woman are not understood to have been assaulted in the incident but the man was roughed up by the gang and was verbally abused.

Weapons of some description – but not firearms – were being carried by the gang members who undertook a quick search of the house before leaving after a few minutes.

Detectives are trying to establish what the motivation behind the crime was, given that very little was taken in the course of the incident.

Gardai have appealed for anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the Clonberne area between 7pm and 8pm on the Tuesday evening of January 5 last to make contact with them at Tuam Garda Station on 093-70840.

Two of the gang were of thin build and about 5’7” to 5’9” tall while the third was of more muscular build and was also taller than the other two.

It is not known whether the victims of the incident were known to the gang who left the scene shortly after the man was roughed up. All three gang members spoke with strong Polish accents.

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Over 7,600 patients were treated on trolleys in Galway’s public hospitals during 2015, according to figures released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

Portiuncula had its highest ever number of patients treated on trolleys at 1,100, while University Hospital Galway had 6,514, just marginally lower than the highest figure of 6,544 in 2011. That’s 7,614 in total.

And that has led Sinn Féin’s Roscommon/Galway election candidate, Claire Kerrane, to slam the Government for ‘failing spectacularly to keep its promise to end the trolley crisis’.

Ms Kerrane’s comments coincide with her party’s publication of a Private Member’s motion on the crisis in hospital emergency departments, which will be debated on and voted on in the Dáíl this week.

“The figures released by the INMO are a damning indictment of this Government – they reveal that 92,998 people were cared for on hospital trolleys across this state in 2015 – the highest ever number recorded during the Trolley Watch Campaign, which began in 2006.

“This is completely unacceptable – anyone who is not committed to ending this scandal once and for all is not fit to be elected to office.

“Our motion calls for the recruitment of front line staff, the provision of additional funding to the Fair Deal Scheme, the provision of additional nursing home beds, a significant increase to home help and homecare packages and the establishment of an Emergency Department Taskforce on a permanent basis,” she added.

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Galway Bay Fm newsroom-
More time has been given to build a housing and hotel complex in Oranmore.
The current planning permission for the residential and commercial development at Oranhill was due to expire.
However, the County Council has given an extension of planning permission until December 2020.
The Oranhill development involves the completion of the Oranmore distributor road and its connection to the roundabout on the N18.
It would have 161 homes and 2 commercial units aswell as community meeting rooms.
The development also proposes a 44-bedroom hotel with a leisure centre.
Roykeel Limited now has 5 more years to complete the houses and hotel at Oranhill.

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Galway bay Fm newsroom-Former Government Press Secretary PJ Mara will be laid to rest in Co. Galway today.
The 73 year old – who was known for his work as advisor to the former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey – passed away in hospital on Friday following a long illness.
Mara also served as Government Press Secretary for Fianna Fail.
He will be laid to rest beside his wife Breda at Mount Cross Cemetery in Kinvara at 3 o’clock this afternoon.

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Galway Bay Fm newsroom-It’s being claimed that the National Parks and Wildlife Service is to blame for the severe flooding experienced across Galway in recent weeks.
That was the view expressed by a large number of Councillors at a special sitting of Galway County Council to discuss the situation across the county.
Councillor Michael Connolly said that it’s abundantly clear what the problems are and how they can be solved – but the NPWS is a major barrier to making progress.
He told the chamber that while he served on the Shannon Basin Advisory Council, massive relief works earmarked for Meelick were stopped over one species of fish.
Councillor Moegie Maher said that over 700 families have been affected by the recent floods – and the NPWS have to take a large share of the blame.
Councillor Michael Fahy suggested that the emergency channel dug from Cahermore to Kinvara to relieve floodwater should be continued back – and said it was far more important than the ‘bats and the bees’.
Councillor Jimmy McClearn remarked that it was ironic that the flooding had destroyed more wildlife in a matter of weeks than any relief action undertaken in over 20 years.
Fellow Councillor Tom Welby agreed, and said that the state body was totally unaccountable and had to be ‘brought to task’.
Councillor Michael Connolly says the situation means vital measures are hitting a brick wall.

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Last ditch talks are being held with the former operator of Galway Airport, which turned away the Coastguard and now offers no refuelling facility for rescue aircraft since a lease expired in December.

City Councillor Niall McNelis (Lab) said several planes were turned away, they were not allowed to refuel and the Coastguard was refused permission to land.

He was speaking at a meeting of Galway City Council in City Hall.

Cllr Padraig Conneely (FG) said the lease was allowed to expire, even though Galway City and County Councils – joint owners since the commercial airlines had pulled out following the withdrawal of State subsidies – had passed motions calling on both bodies to extend the lease arrangements with Carnmore Aviation for a minimum of 11 months.

Chief Executive of Galway City Council Brendan McGrath said he had held discussions with Carnmore Aviation Ltd on December 21 and had afterwards received correspondence from the company.

“The discussions have the capacity to go either way but they are ongoing,” he informed councillors at the meeting.

When the lease expired on December 15, the aviation licence also came to an end, which had allowed for the sale of fuel.

Mr McGrath said he wanted to remind councillors that the facility had only operated with large Government grants.

At a previous meeting, Chief Executive of Galway County Council Kevin Kelly said it was costing both councils about €115,000 to have a private company operating the facility. At the expiration of the lease, the councils indicated a willingness to enter a new agreement for 11 months but on the basis the local authorities would break even.

It was confirmed this week that security alone was running up a bill of €2,000 – that would be downgraded to CCTV monitoring with some onsite visits.

Carnmore Aviation Ltd had an Irish Aviation Authority Licence to operate an aerodrome and an IAA licence to dispense fuel to the Coastguard, Air Corps and private jets, which mainly ferried executives from the multinationals based in Galway.

A feasibility study commissioned by the councils recommended turning the site into a film studio, sports/leisure facility and a renewable energy

Currently, Galway Flying Club are operating from the airport, paying €10,900 for a year-long lease.

Cllr McNelis asked that the runway be maintained as “it was important to not let it go.”

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Galway bay fm newsr0om – Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organistion at University Hospital Galway have condemned management for not sharing a report on a review of the Emergency Department.
The nurses sought the review through the Workplace Relations Commission.
It included an examination of all work practices to identify areas that need improvement.
It’s understood a ‘draft’ report was received by HSE management in December last year, however a copy has not been furnished to nurses, despite requests.
The INMO is now calling for the immediate release of the details of the review of the A&E at UHG.
INMO Industrial Relations Office, Clare Treacy says nurses should be given the report to help improve the emergency department conditions.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – Over 100 new jobs were created in Galway’s Gaeltacht during 2015.
Nationwide, Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies created 533 full-time equivalent jobs in 2015 – a net gain of 215 jobs and the highest net increase since 2005.
According to a review from Údarás, 131 of those jobs are in Connemara and represent a net gain of 44 jobs.
The review states that seven new enterprises were established during the year throughout the Galway Gaeltacht.
There are currently 2,879 full-time equivalent jobs in Údarás client companies in Galway’s Gaeltacht – a net increase of 44 jobs on the figure for 2014.
The review also says a number of new projects were approved last year which are expected to attract 6 million euro in investment and create over 35 new jobs.
Total employment in all Údarás client companies nationwide is 7,869 – with the largest increases last year taking place in the Galway and Donegal Gaeltacht areas.
The review adds that last year there was a decrease of 50% on the number of jobs lost in 2014.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – The construction of a new radiation oncology unit at University Hospital Galway has entered its second phase.
The development at the hospital campus in Newcastle involves the demolition of the existing Psychiatric Unit.
A 3-storey Radiation Oncology Centre will be built on-site, with a new pedestrian link connecting the existing ward block to the east of the planned centre and the existing Paediatric Unit.
It will also entail the reconfiguration of an existing public car park at UHG and the provision of a new patient car park with 38 parking spaces.
The second phase of enabling works is now underway, and the centre is expected to open in 2019.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – A city councillor is calling for special wheelchairs to be supplied at the city’s beaches during the summer months.
Councillor Mike Cubbard is urging the City Council to provide the all-terrain wheelchairs at Salthill, Silverstrand, Grattan and Ballyloughane.
He says that people with disabilities deserve greater comfort and access when visiting the city’s beaches.
The Independent councillor says that Wexford County Council has already introduced the measure, while other counties are currently considering proposals.
Councillor Cubbard says the City Council has a duty to ensure that public spaces and facilities are accessible to all:

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – Thirty two new jobs are set to be created in Athenry in the coming weeks with the establishment of a new social enterprise.
The positions are to be created by Amicitia, a socially inclusive enterprise that aims to offer more job opportunities to those with disabilities.
The new enterprise will be located at Old Church Street in the town and will serve as a demonstration house to show how people with disabilities can live independently.
The new center will also operate a call monitoring and drop-in service for the eldery, a community space, and a point of information on technology to assist service users.
Amicitia is set to move into the premises next month, with the service expected to be open to the public by March.
Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins says social enterprise plays a vital role in communities:

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – The Board of Management of Coláiste Baile Chláir will hear an appeal this evening regarding school places for children in the Corrandulla area.
A number of parents were informed last month that the secondary school can’t offer a place to their child due to a lack of places versus demand.
This is despite the pupils being within the catchment area for the school in Claregalway.
However DepartBment criteria favours applications from students living nearer the school.
A further appeal may be made to the Galway-Roscommon Education and Training Board and a final appeal to the Department of Education.
Local Councillor James Charity says the Department has to act to try and accommodate these pupils with school places or dual catchment status.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway-based research vessel The Celtic Explorer will spend most of the year at sea exploring the hidden depths of the ocean thanks to three million euro in funding.
It’ll join fellow research vessel The Celtic Voyager to spend 256 days at sea this year to allow researchers to carry out surveys to better our understanding of the ocean.
The state-owned boats are run by the Marine Institute in Oranmore, which is providing the three million euro in funding as part of its annual Ship-Time Programme.
The Celtic Explorer and Celtic Voyager will also be joined by the remotely operated Holland I which can dive to depths of up to 2 miles.
Research Vessel Manager Aodhan Fitzgerald says the funding will support a range of important research projects.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – A new political alliance is putting forward candidates to contest Galway West and Galway East in the upcoming general election.
The DDI-NCM alliance is a merger between Direct Democracy Ireland and the National Citizens Movement.
Ruairi O’ Neill will stand for election in Galway West, bring the total number of candidates in the five seat constituency to 20.
The 57 year old first-time candidate is a silversmith and jewellery designer by profession.
He says job creation in the west of Ireland is among his priorities.
Meanwhile, Aengus Melia from Tuam is putting his name forward for DDI-NCM in Galway East.
It brings the number of candidates contesting the three seat constituency to 9.
The 37 year old factory worker says it’s time to bring democracy to the people.

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Galway Bay fm newsroom – Oranmore-based children’s cancer charity ‘Hand in Hand’ is warning that it’s facing a funding crisis.
‘Hand in Hand’ was set up in 2006 to offer practical support to families who have a child undergoing cancer treatment, and survives solely on public donations.
Volunteers help by doing household chores in patients’ homes, allowing parents spend quality time with their child.
But the charity can no longer afford its running costs and says it may be forced to shut down.
Jennifer Carpenter is ‘Hand in Hand’s service manager – she says they got into financial difficulty when they tried to work with more people.

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