I pointed out that there would continue to be transmission of Covid-19 regardless of vaccinations and asked what was done and would be done by the Government to improve air filtration in light of Expert Group reports to the Department of Health in February and March.
Speaking on Clare FM I said important details still need to be ironed out in relation to the proposed transfer of Shannon Heritage sites to Clare County Council.
Calls are being made for a government commitment to short-term funding for the sites and for the council to stipulate that future coach contracts to tourist attraction would require an overnight stay in the county.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has received confirmation from the Department of Education that school transport refunds will be issued on a staged basis over the next six weeks.
Responding to a Parliamentary Question by Deputy McNamara on the matter, Minister Norma Foley confirmed that Bus Éireann will from today (30 June) commence issuing refunds to families who are due to receive a refund for the unused portion of their ticket for the period of school closures arising from public health measures/Covid-19 restrictions in the 2020/2021 school year.
Deputy McNamara, who first raised the issue of refunds with Minister Foley in Dáil Éireann on 3rd March has welcomed the news.
“This is the correct decision by the Department of Education as thousands of parents will have paid in advance for transport to schools which were shut through no fault of their own or the Minister,” he stated.
Deputy McNamara added, “The refund due for each primary school student is €31, with the figure rising to €108.50 per post primary school student. From today, families will receive an email from Bus Éireann if they are eligible for a refund. The refund will be automatically made to the bank card used to make the payment, or by cheque if a card wasn’t used. Bus Éireann says refunds will be issued to all entitled family account holders starting from 30th June until mid-August.”
In response to Deputy McNamara’s Parliamentary Question, Minister Foley confirmed, “School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.”
Further information is available from the Bus Éireann website at https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=710.
€1.8 million in taxpayers money has already been wasted sitting in the Convention Centre. I today called for the Dáil to be returned to Leinster House.
The need for international peer review of NPHET’s modelling, recommended in the Covid-19 Response Committee Report of 8 October 2020, has never been starker.
The latest proposals from NPHET to restrict indoor hospitality to the vaccinated only are practically unworkable, legally dubious, and contrary to a decision already made by a democratically elected government.
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Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara has welcomed the news that the proposed transfer of Shannon Heritage’s portfolio of visitor attractions in County Clare from Shannon Group plc to Clare County Council is to be brought to Cabinet for approval this afternoon.
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As we watch thousands fill stadiums at the Euros it is ridiculous that only 200 supporters will be allowed to attend the Clare GAA V Kerry GAA Munster Football Championship Quarter Final at Fitzgerald Stadium this evening.
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Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says the announcement by Irish Water that construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in Liscannor is to begin shortly will bring significant social, economic and environmental benefits for the village and the wider Liscannor Bay area.
Read MoreIn Dáil Éireann today, Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara called on Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to change the income limits for eligibility for social housing to enable working families to apply in circumstances where obtaining a mortgage is beyond their reach.
During Priority Questions to the Minister, Deputy McNamara also highlighted the growing cost of construction materials and its subsequent impact on house building across County Clare.
Speaking on the issue of social housing, Deputy McNamara said the current assessment of housing applicants was overly restrictive.
“As the threshold is currently set in Clare, if two people in a household are working or even if just one person is working and is just a little over the minimum wage, those people are not entitled to go on the social housing list,” he explained. “Effectively, only people in receipt of social welfare can get social housing in Clare because of where the limits are set I have no problem with people in receipt of social welfare getting social housing but it should not be limited to that because it will cause ghettoisation of social housing, which nobody thinks is a good thing, and there is a disincentive to work, especially when it is low-paid work.”
“We need to look at those income thresholds for the sake of society and housing in Clare, to even get back to where we were in the 1980s,” Deputy McNamara informed the Dáil.
Meanwhile, Deputy McNamara also asked if the Department has consulted the construction sector regarding the growing impact on housing construction on the shortage and inflating cost of timber.
“House building is becoming increasingly expensive. There is huge material inflation, especially, but not just, in timber. This affects one-off builds, but it also affects the capacity of local authorities to deliver houses,” stated Deputy McNamara.
He added, “Small one-off builders and self-builders are important to the supply of housing in Ireland, particularly in rural areas. Accessing materials is increasingly difficult as the supply is drying up. A simple length of 4″ X 2″ was €8 last year and is now €13. One of the main builder’s suppliers in Clare is no longer stocking timber. Builders will not give quotes of more than a month’s duration because of inflation in the cost of supplies. I refer not just to timber, but to materials generally?”
“There is a lot of timber growing in Ireland and much of that is past the point of maturity. Many landowners across Clare are looking for felling licences. There is chaos in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, particularly in its forestry section. I would ask the Minister of State to speak with Senator Hackett, who is the Minister of State with responsibility for this, and tell her to get things moving,” stated Deputy McNamara.
Responding to Deputy McNamara about the rising cost of building materials, Minister O’Brien said, “There have been material increases in timber, plastics and metals, some of it Covid-related and some of it Suez-related and supply chain-related. This is being monitored by the Department’s market surveillance unit. The increases we are seeing could be temporary, but we are monitoring the situation. The Deputy asked if this has an effect on delivery. There is no question that it does.”
The income limits for eligibility for social housing need to be changed to enable working families to apply in circumstances where obtaining a mortgage is beyond their reach.
The meaning of the word “logjam” is now clear to builders and those building their own home. Forestry owners can’t get a felling licence so timber mills can’t get logs so builders can’t get timber so homes can’t be built. I asked Government to tackle this.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara is pledging his full support for the proposed development a world class visitor attraction at Ardnacrusha, Co. Clare.
Read MoreClare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says he is hopeful funding can be secured to upgrade a section of the popular riverbank walk in Shannon town, which has become impassable in recent months.
Read MoreI asked Junior Transport Minister Hildegarde Naughton why the medical advice being obtained by the Department of Transport is so clearly different from the medical advice being given to the European Commission and other member states.
It is a pity that the Dáil couldn’t have a proper debate on an appropriate response to the climate emergency.
I made a statement in the Dáil today on the ongoing CAP negotiations.
Given the establishment of another task force on Shannon and the failure to implement previous reports on aviation and on antigen testing, I asked the Taoiseach who’s running the country and for whose benefit.
NPHET’s confirmation that it hasn’t even discussed the Government-commissioned Report of the Covid Rapid Testing Group and its reluctance to accept the EU Commission’s common list of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests demonstrate an intent to maintain Ireland’s outlier position on international travel and antigen testing compared to other EU states.
Clare people were among thousands to descend on the capital yesterday in protest over what they say are inadequate state supports under the scheme.
Read MoreThe pandemic has negatively affected the international aircraft servicing sector, but the challenges faced by companies in Ireland have been compounded by the Irish Government’s outlier aviation policies.
In the Dáil this evening, I expressed my concern that the number of Clare homes compromised by Pyrite defective blocks is much greater than previously anticipated.
Read MoreI fear our borrowing levels are as unsustainable as our GDP, which is reliant on corporate tax structures that are being targeted by our EU and US allies.
I spoke against the Government’s bill to allow for the restrictions and lockdowns to be introduced until at least November with the possibility of a further extension thereafter.
The Government’s response to the pandemic has been blunderbuss and one of the few targeted measures is being removed. None of the Covid-19 Committee or Expert Panel recommendations regarding nursing homes and care of the elderly have been implemented.
Given the Government’s proposal to extend far reaching and extraordinary emergency pandemic powers, the least we could do is allow for it to be fully debated.
Speaking against Mandatory Hotel Quarantining today, I acknowledged the threat posed by variants. However, the current system does little to combat that threat.
I asked the Tánaiste to intervene to ensure the speedy appointment of a Chairperson to give strategic direction to Shannon Group, including its aviation and heritage businesses.
Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) in East Clare will fall off Ireland’s Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Sites unless Clare County Council pulls out the stops now, according to Deputy Michael McNamara.
Read MoreThe Department is seeking applications from Local Authorities, State Bodies, community organisations and individuals, for sites or properties of natural and/or cultural heritage which are considered to be of outstanding universal value, for inclusion on Ireland’s new Tentative List for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Read MoreBeef farmers are being screwed by processors who control the market, aided and abetted by Department of Agriculture practice and policy over the years.
Aer Lingus workers’ representatives told me how Government measures, like those introduced across the EU, could have prevented the closure of the airline’s cabin crew base at Shannon Airport.
I am voting against the proposed extension of emergency legislation because it allows for the restrictions to basic human rights and ordinary human activities to be rolled over indefinitely.
I will be voting in the Dáil against the proposal to further extend the extraordinary Government powers to shut down sections, or all , of our society and economy. The use and abuse of these powers has been particularly ruinous to our tourism and aviation sectors, including Shannon Airport.
The Aer Lingus announcement will cast serious doubts over the retention of early morning and late evening flights to Heathrow which are essential to business connectivity.
Disastrous news for Aer Lingus workers in Shannon Airport and the Mid-West region today. The pandemic has done huge damage to the aviation sector. The Irish government’s response to Covid has been unique in Europe at least, in making a bad situation worse.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has told Government that the proposed reopening of the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland must be accompanied by the resumption of transatlantic flights to and from Ireland.
Read MoreI told Foreign Minister Simon Coveney that planes that flew from Shannon to North America were now based in Manchester and explained why the proposed reopening of the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland must be accompanied by transatlantic flights to and from Ireland.
The Irish Government must use the UN system and its position on the Security Council to address the plight of Uighurs in China’s Xinjiang province and the systematic destruction of their culture.
No one measure will provide a magic bullet to the housing problem. We need to get people back living in the streets of our cities, towns and villages and local authorities building houses.
Increasing intensification has been the only option for Irish farmers for decades. It has suited some but not all. The Department of Agriculture needs to promote a broader range of options in food production.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says Doonbeg wastewater treatment plant has been selected for upgrade as part of Irish Water’s Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme.
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Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says Clare County Council and Irish Water have committed to fully restoring the road surface between Mullagh and Miltown Malbay following the completion of pipe laying works.
Read More140,000 workers in the Irish aviation sector cannot live on hope alone. An aviation recovery plan is urgently needed. I raised the matter with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar during Leader’s Questions today.
Pregnant women who receive €350 through the pandemic unemployment payment currently face a reduction to the maternity benefit of €245. Maternity benefit must be increased so that women are not financially penalised for giving birth.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara is accusing the Government of engaging in a “cynical PR exercise” by today announcing €6.3 million in funding for Shannon Airport, an announcement already made last November.
Read MoreHow can the Government defend a policy of mandatory hotel quarantine – to the European Commission or before the Courts – that it stated to be impossible to enforce here and not proportionate?
When a Government knowingly breaches citizens’ rights because it’s politically expedient to do so, it loses the moral authority to compel people to adhere to the measures it adopts.
Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara has said the proposed development of a 270km2 flagship floating offshore wind development project off the coast of counties Clare and Kerry could place Moneypoint at the centre of Ireland’s offshore energy strategy.
Read MoreClare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has criticised the Government’s Mandatory Hotel Quarantine strategy, which he described as “a half-baked exercise in optics” and a “flawed measure” in the context of an unchecked border with Northern Ireland and when the majority of persons arriving in the state whether by air, sea or over land are not tested for variants of Covid-19.
Read MoreRural Ireland needs more than vague plans without any funding or targets. “Our Rural Future” is a misnomer in the absence of the maintenance and development of services like broadband, banks, post offices and wastewater treatment.
I asked the Taoiseach if the Health Minister would correct the record of the Dáil where he wrongly said there is no penal provision relating to religious services.
Given that vaccine demand greatly exceeds current supply I questioned why the Government is prioritising people who, according to HIQA, the US CDC and scientists across the world, have an immunity from infection arising from having contracted and recovered from Covid (which can be verified with an antibody test).
A recruitment process for new staff and the expansion of the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) in Ennis Hospital is underway, according to Michael McNamara, T.D.
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Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says the commencement of work on a new ward extension to Raheen Community Hospital is “badly needed” and will restore confidence locally in East Clare around the future of the East Clare facility.
Read MoreOpposition parties complain about the obvious consequences of policies they advocate. Speaking on the Health (Amendment) Bill 2021 on 25th February, I warned that making Belfast Airport the busiest airport on the island would be only thing the Bill would achieve.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has received confirmation from Clare County Council that it will consider the provision of a pedestrian crossing in Ruan village.
Read MoreThe Government’s restriction of rights, including the right to freely practice one’s religion, in response to Covid is unparalleled in Europe, and puritanical in its willingness to impose great social and economic damage in pursuit of the unattainable ideal of Covid elimination.
Bank of Ireland informed me today it will continue to provide an ATM service in Kilkee after the local branch closes. I have asked bank officials to reconsider their decision to close the ATM in Miltown Malbay.
I am shocked to learn the Central Bank Governor did not request a meeting with the Bank of Ireland CEO following BOI’s notification to the Central Bank of its plans to close 88 branches, given its impact on banking on Ireland and banking services in the affected communities.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has received confirmation from the Bank of Ireland that it will continue to provide an ATM service in Kilkee after the local branch closes.
Read MoreThe State’s response to Covid-19 must be less about arbitrary interference with people’s fundamental rights, and more focused on promoting public health and trusting people.
Did Stephen Donnelly even read the regulations that he signed into law, which contained penal provisions relating to religious services? Now that priests are being fined, I am calling on him to correct the record of the Dáil.
The problem is not the Deputy Chief Medical Officer – public health doctors worldwide are advising caution. The problem is a “government” abdicating decision-making to its advisers and civil servants, pushed out for daily press conferences instead of developing options to feed into a real strategy.
Read MoreWe need a strategy to enable us to live with Covid.
Interview on RTÉ Primetime – Tuesday, 16 March 2020.
Ireland’s efforts to green global historic sites such as the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Pyramids of Giza for St Patrick’s Day is in marked contrast to “lacklustre efforts to win recognition for historic sites in our own country”, according to Deputy Michael McNamara.
Read MoreIreland’s efforts to green global historic sites such as the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Pyramids of Giza for St Patrick’s Day is in marked contrast to lacklustre efforts to win recognition for historic sites in our own country.
The Government must develop a nationwide strategy to bring derelict buildings in our towns and villages back into use.
We need to make sure that the powers proposed for the Land Development Agency cannot be abused.
Bank of Ireland has let down customers and communities across Clare and across Ireland.
The Government, supported by most of the Opposition, is strangling the aviation and tourism sector in this State, and driving business to Northern Ireland. We’re told the virus doesn’t recognise borders. Neither does the Government or most of the Opposition. Businesses have to.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has expressed “alarm” at new figures showing a significant increase in domestic abuse incidents across Ireland during 2020.
Read MoreYoung people will have to be allowed to congregate safely this summer unlike last. Equally, older people will be seeking to get back to living once they’re vaccinated.
I sought clarification from the Minister for Education Norma Foley about the text used on the Return to Educational Facility Parental Declaration Form that parents had to sign before their children returned to school.
I asked the Minister for Education if school transport ticket refunds will be issued to parents in light of the school closures.
I asked the Minister for Education if school transport ticket refunds will be issued to parents in light of the school closures.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara says Bank of Ireland’s decision to close its branches in Kilkee, Miltown Malbay and Tulla and at 85 other locations throughout the Republic of Ireland underpins the financial sector’s push towards online banking at the expense of many people in rural Ireland.
Read MoreClare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has requested the Government to ensure that accessibility is listed as one of the primary criteria in future contracts being tendered in relation to rural transport services.
Read MoreGlad to receive confirmation that the Government will examine the cost of the online “immersive Gaeltacht course” required by the Teaching Council.
Living with Covid cannot be reduced to a health versus wealth argument.
The Health (Amendment) Bill is being rushed to avoid scrutiny. We have been told that quarantine facilities will not be up and running for weeks regardless of whether the legislation is passed tomorrow or given more time for adequate scrutiny.
Read MoreWe now know the UK Government’s strategy for exiting lockdown. In Ireland, we only have vague aspirations and no criteria for reopening any part of normal society.
Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara has said the announcement by Clare County Council of plans to develop an Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) visitor centre in Mountshannon presents significant potential for the tourism sector and wider economy of East Clare.
Read MoreIn tandem the National Broadband Plan the Government needs to develop a strategy, in conjunction with existing telecom providers, to ensure they expand their broadband network.
Antigen testing will be a key tool when Ireland begins to reopen, and the EU Commission, EU Health Committee and U.S. CDC have already promoted the useful role of such testing.
Following the appointment and resignation yesterday of a Chair of Shannon Group plc, I asked the Agriculture Minister how it was deemed that the same candidate had the expertise required to be appointed to Bord Iascaigh Mhara (Irish Sea Fisheries Board) despite having no obvious background in fisheries.
I asked the Minister for Agriculture why the Beef Taskforce, a talking shop set up to end the beef protests in 2019, isn’t meeting.
fter the fiasco appointing a new Chair of Shannon Group, the Government must urgently appoint someone with the experience to provide strategic direction to its aviation, tourism and property businesses.
The incoming Chair of Shannon Group must immediately provide a strategy to develop Shannon Airport and aviation in the Midwest, as well as a strategy for the development of Shannon Heritage sites within or without the Group.
Government needs to plan for all eventualities because an indefinite lockdown throughout 2021 is not sustainable nor is any future return to lockdown.
