Munster Express Online » Top Stories

Cuts, bloody cuts

John O' Connor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:49:03 +0000

Many staff members at Waterford Regional Hospital now fear the hospital will soon be unable to provide an acceptable level of medical and surgical treatment to the 500,000 people it serves across the South East region.

Cuts amounting to savings of €7m have already been announced for WRH this year but the overall plan is to implement savings of €14m for the 12-month period with details of the further cuts yet to be revealed.

Staff point out that, by the end of next month (February), there will be a shortfall of approximately 60 nurses working in WRH and, without the support framework provided by an adequate number of nurses, the hospital structure will crumble.

While the nursing situation is critical, there are also problems with the shortfall in physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers and speech therapists.

WRH is facing huge cutbacks that will see three of its eight operating theatres closed which will result in a 30 per cent drop in access for all surgeons, including orthopedics.

Reductions of 5 per cent in in-patients and 10 per cent in day-case admissions will result in 2000 day cases being cancelled. There will be a 20 per cent reduction in all new outpatients seeking treatment for all subspecialties.

For the public, it will mean longer waiting lists, longer hospital stay and delays in patient treatment.

Car parking charges will also increase to €4 for the first three-hours and €2 for each subsequent hour.

New team to tackle ghost estates

The Munster Express — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:12:06 +0000

Waterford County Council has set up an in-house ‘Unfinished Housing Estates’ team to deal specifically with unfinished ‘ghost’ housing estates across the county, a Council meeting heard in Dungarvan.

The new team will assist in the completion of housing developments and ensure a good living environment for residents as well as remedying some of the ongoing difficulties experienced by tenants on unfinished estates.

The Council has created a register of unfinished estates and has conducted assessments of developments with a view to preparing a detailed site resolution plan with developers, receivers and residents. A priority work programme is now in place for unfinished estates.

Work has already commenced on nine unfinished estates making buildings safe, connecting public lighting and providing footpaths.

Cllr Pat Daly (FF) proposed the taking-in-charge of the Clarinwood and Ballycarnane housing estates in Tramore which were to be declared public roads. The matter had taken a long time to finish.

Deputy Director of Services, Gabriel Hynes, said the Council received 73 requests to take estates in charge. It was hoped to take 12 in charge in the next months and a further 20 in 2012. It was slow progress.

Cllr Joe Conway (I) said the two Tramore estates were a credit to the residents and the developers.

The Council has agreed to re-examine safety issues arising from estates at Knocknagranagh and Ballinroad in Dungarvan.

Two arrested for aggravated burglary

Michelle Clancy — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:10:16 +0000

Two men have been arrested in connection with a series of recent aggravated burglaries at homes in St John’s Park and Cherrymount and at the Carry Out in Kilcohan and an armed robbery outside the Bank of Ireland in Lisduggan.

A 25-year-old local man was initially arrested in connection with the alleged incidents last Thursday. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and has since been released, pending a file to the DPP.

A second male, aged 23 and also from Waterford, was arrested at 10.25am on Monday in connection with the incidents. He was released without charge on Tuesday and a file is to be prepared and submitted to the DPP for direction.

Meanwhile another aggravated burglary took place in the city over the weekend, this time at a house in The Folly shortly after 8pm on Sunday. A lady answered a knock on her front door and was confronted by a youth in possession of a knife, who grabbed her arm and pushed his way into the house. The injured party called out for her husband and the man pushed the culprit out the door. Another youth was observed outside the house. Both youths fled.

In other crime news, householders are warned to be vigilant over the festive season as the frequency of home burglaries continues to rise across city estates.

The resident of a house at Shorewood, Ballinakill Downs returned home on Sunday evening to discover the property had been ransacked and some cash and a laptop taken.

A house at Spruce Terrace, Lisduggan was broken into overnight last Friday. The homeowner discovered that both a window in the front door and a rear window were broken. Two TVs were moved to the rear window, though nothing appears to be missing.

A resident at Priory Lawn, Ballybeg returned home shortly before 6pm on Friday to discover their house had been ransacked and some cash, a stereo and a VCR taken.

A staff member at O’Neill’s Sweet Shop on Lombard Street was threatened with a dirty syringe during an armed robbery last Thursday evening. A man in his late 20s or early 30s entered the shop shortly after 6.30pm and demanded money. The culprit was wearing a white baseball hat and a green short jacket.

A petrol bomb was thrown at a house in Ballybeg Park shortly after midnight last Friday night. The device rebounded off the front door and exploded in the front yard, causing minor damage. Nobody was injured in the incident.

A car parked outside a house in St Herblain Park was set alight at around 1.15am on Saturday. The injured party reported that a vehicle may have pulled up outside her house around the time of the incident.

The back passenger window of a car parked at Viewmount was smashed in the early hours of Monday morning and a blue and grey Makita Consaw taken and a cordless drill was taken from a car parked at Pearse Park over night on Friday night.

City Council ‘cut to the bone’

Peter Horgan — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:54:14 +0000

Waterford City Council passed the 2012 budget estimates for the City on Monday night, despite a significant drop in funding from central government to the local authority.

One positive highlight from the budget process is the reduction of off-street parking to €1 in the New Year to make city car parks attractive and convenient for those visiting and working in the city. Festival funding has also been maintained in order to further boost the focus on the retail sector within the city.

The ‘lousers’ who stole Baby Jesus

John O' Connor — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:44:59 +0000

Devout Christians were most upset this week when it emerged that vandals had stolen the statue of the Baby Jesus from the Nativity Crib outside the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Barronstrand Street. This was the first year that the crib was erected outside the Cathedral in the heart of the city centre and it attracted much favourable comment even from those not so religiously inclined.

Usually, the Infant Jesus would not be placed in the crib until Midnight Mass but such was the interest and favourable comment this year that Bishop William Lee consented to the statue being placed in the manger in the run up to Christmas Eve.

However, on Sunday night, the vandals struck and took away the Baby Jesus. “It was probably a drunken prank but those responsible don’t seem to realise how hurt and upset many people are,” said one of the volunteers at the crib where donations are being accepted for the Cathedral Renovation Fund.

“If somebody told the perpetrators that they had caused genuine upset to a lot of people they probably wouldn’t understand such is their indifference to people’s deep feelings,” said another volunteer.

However, most readers will probably concur with the passer-by who spoke to The Munster Express outside the Cathedral on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s only a mean-minded shower of lousers who would do such a thing,” he exclaimed. As we went to press on Tuesday night, Garda Sergeant Larry Langton of Ballybricken Station confirmed that the statue had been discovered in an apartment complex on the Park Road. The icon had been smashed into six or seven pieces and the remains were returned to Waterford City Council, added Sergeant Langton.

Employment Action Plan cannot be a false dawn

Kieran Foley — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:40:54 +0000

Action is what’s now required to back up the words in the latest Government jobs plan for the region. | Photo: Noel Browne

The eagerly anticipated action plan for addressing unemployment in the south east was finally revealed on December 2nd.

Following the loss of almost 600 jobs at Talk Talk in September, the need for an effective strategy had become worryingly clear.

The ‘South East Employment Action Plan: Spotlight on the South East’ was announced by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.

Revealing the details of the plan, Minister Bruton said: “The south east region has persistently had higher than average levels of unemployment compared to the rest of the country. On top of that, it has fared disproportionately badly over the years of the recent economic collapse.”

St. Caimin’s too strong for St. Angela’s

Matt Keane — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:52:14 +0000

Ellie Cooney (St.Angela's) powers her way towards the opposition goal as St.Caimin's Niamh Hassett tries to keep up with her. Photo: Noel Browne

St Angela’s (Waterford) 0; St Caimin’s (Shannon) 3

St Angela’s bowed out of the girls’ under 14 schools Munster Cup at the RSC last week when they came up against a strong and more experienced St Caimin’s team from Shannon.

The Waterford school did have chances during the course of the game, but it was the Shannonsiders who took their opportunities and that was the main difference between the two teams.

The visiting side had a stronger strike force and two of their front runners, Dorah King and Sarah O’Neill did the damage with the St Caimin’s goals.

The Sweet & Lowdown: Brian ‘Juckey’ Collins

Michelle Clancy — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:25:27 +0000

Brian ‘Juckey’ Collins’ name has become with synonymous with musical theatre in the city: from stage-managing some of the most memorable shows of recent years to having the audience in the stitches playing such comic roles as Lar in Paul Barry’s The Glass. Having first become involved with theatre in the 80s with Tops of the Town, he’s won awards for his work with Flaggy Lane Productions and now spends a considerable amount of his time working with the next generation of Waterford’s theatre practitioners. But his greatest theatrical moment to date is actually one of his earliest.

“One particular highlight for me over the years was to perform on stage with my late father Archie in the Waterford Crystal Tops show, which reached the televised final in 1986 and 1987.

Dunnes clashes with Ferrybank developer

Michelle Clancy — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:07:04 +0000

Dunnes Stores has disputed an arbitrator’s instruction for the retailer to pay almost €20 million to a construction company in relation to the long-awaited Ferrybank Shopping Centre.

The €100 million, mixed-use centre was originally scheduled to open for business in September, 2008. However, the opening did not go ahead because of differences between the development company and Dunnes.

urt on Monday, Holtglen Ltd sought to fast-track the hearing of the Dunnes’ challenge and also indicated it intends to bring its own proceedings for an order enforcing the arbitrator’s award.

WIT Junior Choir performs on Late Late Toy Show

The Munster Express — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:58:37 +0000

Members of the WIT Junior Choir which performed on the Late Late Show’s Annual Toy Show on Friday night last. Photo: Kyran O’Brien/KOBPIX

The WIT Junior Choir performed on the Late Late Toy Show last Friday – the first Waterford group to perform on the Toy Show since the Mount Sion Silver Band in 1986.

The WIT Junior Choir, which comprises 59 children aged between nine and thirteen, is a combination of the Waterford Larks and the Waterford Boy Singers. These choirs are part of the award-winning Choral Programme in WIT’s Music School which

offers a progressive system of six choirs, catering for almost 200 singers aged from five to eighteen. The singers are drawn from 25 different schools throughout the South East region, including Waterford City and County, Co. Kilkenny and Co. Wexford.