On today’s Morning Focus John Cooke featured a special report on employment and industry in Shannon. On Friday – the Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he expects up to 12 hundred new jobs to be created in Co. Clare in the next year with the announcement of new management structures for Shannon airport and its surrounding industrial estates. Minister Noonan was speaking at the launch of WIPRO, a new financial support company which has taken on 180 staff formerly employed by the Lloyds Banking Group in East Park Shannon. Clare FM’s John Cooke was in Shannon to visit the industrial estates and factories in and around the Airport and the Free Zone – where he spoke to Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy – who’s also in business in Shannon. With up to 10,000 people from Clare Limerick and beyond travelling to and from work in Shannon every day – it’s still our major hub of employment and hopes are high that it will recover to become an even bigger success in the coming years.
Damien Gleeson is the President of Shannon Chamber of Commerce. Shannon Chamber has called on the Government to pay particular attention to the cost of doing business in Ireland when formulating Budget 2013. With companies stringently cutting internal operating costs to survive the harsh economic climate, thus demonstrating their commitment to keeping jobs in Ireland, Shannon Chamber has requested the Government to address local government reform as a means of reducing the burden of local authority charges on business.
In its pre-Budget 2013 submission to Government, Shannon Chamber has recommended that a three percent annual target for current spending reduction be set for all local authorities, and that incentives be provided to local authorities to make further savings and drive greater efficiencies.
Garda Brendan Keane of Ennis Garda Station joined the show for this week’s Garda Focus. Gardai in Ennis are appealing for information following a fatal road crash on the outskirts of Ennis. A woman in her twenties died while her mother was injured after their car hit the central median on the northbound lane of the M 18 at Ballyline near the Barefield exit shortly before four o’clock yesterday afternoon. They had been returning home to Athenry in County Galway when the single vehicle collision happened. You can contact Ennis Garda Station on 065 6848100
Maureen Mulvihill is the Head of Health Promotion with the Irish Heart Foundation. She spoke to John Cooke about how the Irish Heart Foundation has announced its pre-budget proposal for a 20% price hike on sugar sweetened drinks to help tackle obesity in Irish children and young people. According to the national charity fighting heart disease and stroke, sugar sweetened drinks have ‘no nutritional value’ and just one small glass can equal 20% of a child’s sugar intake. The latest announcement follows public reports of government plans to apply a 10% sugar tax to such drinks, which the Irish Heart Foundation says is ‘not enough’.
Ann Cronin, a mother of one from Ennis and a former Independent Candidate in the General Election 2011 joined the show to discuss how she organised a special vigil in Ennis on Saturday evening in memory of Savita Halappananvar. The gathering took place at the square in Ennis at 5pm after the 31 year old dentist died last month of blood poisoning in University College Hospital Galway after suffering a miscarriage – her husband says she was repeatedly refused a medical termination. The HSE says it expects details of its inquiry into her death to be announced in a matter of days and that an international expert in obstetrics and gynaecology has been identified to join the inquiry team. Ann Cronin says the people of Clare wanted to show their support for the Halappananvar family.
John Murphy, our resident bird and wildlife expert and member of the Clare branch of Birdwatch Ireland was in studio for his weekly feature on all things related to nature. He answered your bird and wildlife queries.
If you’d like to contact Morning Focus please email [email protected] or text the show – Clare FM followed by your message and name to 53030
