Day surgeries cancelled at Ennis Hospital
Again, surgeries cancelled in Ennis. Again, A+E in UHL dangerously overcrowded. When will this government ensure Ennis is resourced and utilised to alleviate pressure on Limerick?, I asked the Taoiseach.
McNamara Seeks Legislation To Address Dysfunction In The Rental Sector
Clare TD Michael McNamara is urging government to introduce legislation that combats “unscrupulous” landlords who rent out homes unfit for purpose as well as unscrupulous tenants who do not pay rent and “game the system.”
Read MoreIrish rental properties
The ability of unscrupulous landlords to rent out homes unfit for purpose, as well as unscrupulous tenants to not pay rent and game the system, needs to be addressed with legislation not platitudes.
Development of Communities Stunted by Lack of Wastewater Infrastructure
The continued absence of essential wastewater infrastructure in coastal communities such as Carrigaholt, Doolin and Spanish Point and across the State has been raised with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar by Independent TD Michael McNamara.
Wastewater Infrastructure in coastal communities
Developing wastewater infrastructure in unsewered settlements is neither the responsibility of local authorities nor Irish Water. Therefore, despite the environmental and economic necessity and a budget surplus, communities all over Ireland have little prospect of a resolution.
In the Dáil today, I raised the plight of Clare coastal communities such as Carrigaholt, Doolin, Spanish Point, Miltown Malbay and Quilty.
McNamara secures extra time for debate on Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bil
Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara has received a commitment from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dáil Eireann today that tomorrow’s (Wednesday) scheduled discussion of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill will be extended.
Bringing Families Back Living In Town Centres
Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara has suggested Ennis town centre as the focus of a government pilot project aimed at bringing buildings back into residential use.
Impasse At O’Briensbridge Stalls Landmark Tourism Project
Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara has urged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to directly intervene in an ongoing impasse involving a section of the preferred route for the Greenway project linking Limerick City with Scariff in East Clare.
EU procuring ammunition for Ukraine
The EU is close to agreeing to jointly procure ammunition for Ukraine. Ireland is one of the 25 of 27 EU member states to have confirmed its interest in participating.
Ennis Hospital
The Taoiseach agreed with me that capacity at Ennis Hospital has to be increased as part of the solution to overcrowding at UHL. Plans drawn up a decade ago for a new block at the back of Ennis need to be resurrected.
No new acute beds for Mid-West hospitals in 2023
No new acute beds will be opened in the Mid-West Region in 2023, according to figures released to Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara.
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HSE figures highlight “chronic underinvestment” in Mid West
Only 7 WTE (Fulltime /Whole-time Equivalent) healthcare professional positions in Acute Services were created at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) during 2022 despite UHL being the most overcrowded hospital in the country last year.
Read MoreTheatres at Ennis Hospital
I asked why two recently upgraded theatres at Ennis Hospital are currently not being used when there is significant waiting lists for procedures in the Mid West.
Ennis Hospital
The Taoiseach has admitted additional resources are required for Ennis Hospital. I will continue to pursue the Government to deliver.
Resourcing the Midwest health system
I attended a positive meeting about UHL yesterday with UL Hospitals Group management, the Health Minister, Taoiseach and fellow Oireachtas Midwest representatives. At long last, there was an acknowledgment that the Midwest hospital system is under-resourced compared to other regions of the State and that the Model 2 Hospitals, such as Ennis and Nenagh, are underutilised.
Overcrowding at UHL
Micheál Martin and his government failed the people of the Midwest by refusing to tackle the mounting problems at UHL. Leo Varadkar must now intervene.
I was shocked that the only proposal from the Government representative on today’s show was to call for mandatory face masks and “other restrictions”, and to call for young doctors and nurses to be forced to work in a chronically mismanaged health system.
Nomination of Taoiseach
On the election of the Taoiseach, I explained why I could not support the “new” government.
Shannon Heritage transfer
Government dithering on Clare County Council’s proposed takeover of Shannon Heritage is damaging to the assets there, staff morale and ultimately Clare tourism. A high-level person needs to be appointed by gov’t to bring decision makers in relevant Depts and national/local govt bodies together.
Maternity Benefit in Ireland
The low rate of Maternity Benefit in Ireland, which I raised today and previously in the Dáil, looks set to be increased substantially so that it will be linked to a woman’s pay before going on leave.
Wind energy
The Government needs to answer the questions that investors are asking in order to develop offshore wind energy in Ireland.
Jury is out on annual GP check – Tánaiste
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has questioned the benefits of annual GP checks.
Read MoreOne free GP visit per year
I suggested that the Government consider providing one free GP and dental visit to all instead of providing unlimited free GP visit cards to some and was told “the jury’s out” on the benefits.
UHL and Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach
The Tánaiste today accepted that UHL will require increased bed capacity and greater involvement from government to address the overcrowding crisis.
Bringing derelict properties back into use
Plans to help people to buy derelict properties to renovate and live in are welcome, but if not launched soon will be overtaken by an increase in construction costs.
Trinity professorship for Dr. Holohan
The creation of a new professorship especially for Dr. Holohan is not a secondment within the public service when he is leaving the public sector for Trinity, a private, well-endowed institution. This abuse of taxpayers’ money needs to be reconsidered.
Urgent Government intervention required to mitigate food price increases
Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara has told the Dáil today (Thursday, 24 February 2022) that urgent Government intervention is required to mitigate huge food price increases in the coming months.
Food price increases
Government needs to intervene now to mitigate huge food price increases in the coming months.
Moneypoint and Tarbert to operate “for many years to come” – Tánaiste
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar today has informed Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara that Moneypoint and Tarbert power stations may continue to operate “for many years to come” due to concerns over Ireland’s energy security.
McNamara pushes for tax-free bonus for qualifying frontline workers in Clare
Deputy Michael McNamara has requested the Government to enable employers to provide a €1,000 Covid bonus to qualifying employees without them or their employees incurring a tax liability.
Tax-free Bonus
I asked the Tánaiste if the Government will enable employers to provide a €1,000 Covid bonus to qualifying employees without them or their employees incurring a tax liability.
National Ambulance Service
Today I questioned Tanaiste Leo Varadkar about what is being done to increase capacity and response times in the National Ambulance Service. I raised the matter after an ambulance was sent 175km from a station in Connemara to a road traffic collision in Kilkee at the weekend.
Working from home with poor telecoms
Given the spin that the Budget would facilitate people working from home, I pointed out in the Dáil that a poor service from telecoms providers was a major obstacle and asked when the Government would tackle this.
McNamara seeks improved ventilation in schools as Tanaiste suggests antigen tests being considered
The Taoiseach says the Government is considering the introduction of antigen testing to primary and secondary school settings in the autumn.
Leo Varadkar was responding today to a Dáil question by Clare Independent TD Michael McNamara who asked if ventilation would be improved in school buildings over the summer holidays to reduce the spread of Covid in classrooms and to negate the need for classroom windows to be kept open during the autumn and winter months.
Questioning the Tánaiste, Deputy McNamara asked, “Over the course of the summer are we going to introduce ventilation works to schools or are we going to have children returning to schools wearing coats and wearing masks in poorly ventilated buildings and freezing in the middle of an Irish winter with the windows open?”
Deputy McNamara also raised the potential for using stand-alone HEPA (high-efficiency particulate absorbing) filter devices in classroom.
He added that an Expert Group on the Role of Ventilation in Reducing Transmission of COVID-19, set up by the Department of Health, said such devices “maybe useful in reducing airborne transmission in spaces with insufficient ventilation.”
In response, Leo Varadkar said the matter is under consideration by Government.
“We accept that schools will need better ventilation in September and October and the issue of CO2 monitors is part of that,” stated the Tánaiste.
He continued, “We have asked the Expert Group on Antigen Testing to advise us on applying antigen testing both to indoor hospitality and to schools when they reopen in September.”
Ventilation in schools
I asked the Tánaiste if ventilation will be improved in school buildings over the summer holidays.
Indoor air filtration
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.
Shannon Group chairperson
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.
Recovery Plan for Irish Aviation Sector
140,000 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.
Maternity benefit
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.
Tánaiste on Mandatory Hotel Quarantine
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.
McNamara critical of Government’s Mandatory Hotel Quarantine strategy
Clare 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.
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McNamara criticises Bank of Ireland 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 MoreBroadband network
In 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 in Ireland
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.
Nationwide eir outages ‘unacceptable’
The widespread network outages being experienced by eir customers across Ireland today are being branded as “unacceptable” by Clare Independent T.D. Michael McNamara.
Read MoreRapid antigen tests
The Government must expand the use of rapid antigen tests, which can detect when people with COVID-19 are infectious as opposed to the detection of persons who are no longer infectious.
Role of Vitamin D in the fight against Covid
I am glad to note that over the past fortnight the Tánaiste has appraised himself of the considerable scientific research concerning the benefits of Vitamin D in the fight against Covid. Hopefully, this will lead to the government following the example of other European states in providing Vitamin D supplementation to vulnerable persons.
Essential Workers and Foreign Travel
Essential workers who recently contracted Covid but have since recovered and are no longer infectious are being unnecessarily prevented from travelling, as I explained to the Tánaiste today.
Eir, service outages and customer service
I cannot say for sure that Irish telecoms providers have the worst customer service in the world. But, to paraphrase Brian Clough, they are in the top one.
Vitamin D supplements for vulnerable people
In light of the UK Government offering free vitamin D supplements to 2.7 million vulnerable people across England, I asked the Tánaiste if a similar initiative could be considered in Ireland.
Increased powers for ComReg
Good news for telecoms customers. Having pursued the matter for months, I welcome confirmation that additional powers to impose additional sanctions on service providers are on the way. The matter will go to Cabinet before Christmas with a view to passing legislation in February.
Banks refusing mortgages to persons employed under Wage Subsidy Scheme
Banks are refusing mortgages to persons employed under Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. Up to now, the Government has insisted that these were sustainable jobs, temporarily affected, but now it seems this is no longer the Government’s position. Many of these jobs are in sectors shut down by the Government.
Trolley on hospital corridor considered multi occupancy room (€813 charge per night)
I questioned the Tanaiste about why a trolley in a hospital corridor is considered to be a “multi occupancy room” and costs €813 per night.
Read MoreRegional COVID-19 restrictions
There is finally a growing acceptance in Government that a regional approach to COVID restrictions is now required, as I called for again today. Restrictions that affect sporting and family events, as well as small rural pubs must be proportionate to the risk posed. The risk of contracting COVID-19 in Clare, and much of rural Ireland, is clearly lower than it is in Dublin as borne out by the statistics and by science.
Driving Tests in Ireland
The livelihoods of many young people in rural Ireland are impacted by the current lack of driving tests, I explained to the Taoiseach today.
Testing of outbound transatlantic passengers at Shannon Airport
Addressing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dáil Éireann this afternoon, I proposed the testing of outbound passengers at Shannon Airport as a means to reopen the aviation gateway to North America. The economy of our region depends on Shannon.
Michael McNamara raising cost of COVID-19 swab tests
The cost of conducting COVID-19 tests in Ireland is €200 per person. This requires explanation given a virus swab test typically costs in the region of €25 per person.
West Clare water infrastructure
In the Dáil today, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar gave me his commitment that he would contact Irish Water to query water infrastructure upgrades for West Clare, parts of which have continue to experience regular water outages.
McNamara confirms resumption of angling activity from today
Clare T.D., Michael McNamara has confirmed that from today (Wednesday, 06 May 2020) anglers may fish in locations less than or equal to 5km from home.
Read MoreMcNamara requests restrictions on Mayfly Fishing to be lifted
It’s Mayfly season. Fishing on lakes and rivers across the country is a solitary activity enjoyed responsibly for generations. Any revised restrictions and their enforcement need to be proportionate.
Covid-19 restrictions
I asked the Taoiseach specific questions on how COVID-19 restrictions will be eased which the Government says will start on May 5th. The lack of answers concerns me.