Morning Focus opened with a look at the mysterious reappearance fo General Election posters in place across Clare. While the election is by now (almost) a distant memory, it seems there are still some of the Clare candidates beaming down from lamposts around the county. Posters for a number of hopefuls in last February's election have mysteriously re-appeared at locations around the county.
The deadline for removing posters was March 4, and any candidate with posters up after that date faces a €150 litter fine for every poster. Gavin spoke with Cllr Mary Howard, of FG who was a GE16 candidate
More than half of nurses polled for a new report on community nursing say they were unable to provide full as much care as they would have liked, in their previous working week.
According to the research carried out for the Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation, the problem was particularly noticeable in relation to health promotion in older people.
March was the worst on record for the number of patients on trolleys in emergency departments, and experts say community nursing deficits are contributing to this.
New research shows that they are so overworked, they are missing out on opportunities to care for their patients.
Gavin was joined by Dr Amanda Phelan of UCD.
Morning Focus then turned to the issue of the deportation of migrants from Greece back to Turkey. Eamonn Meehan, Director of Trocaire (from Kilmaley), joined Gavin to discuss the issue.
Public concern at plans to close the road through Kilmaley appear to have persuaded the County Council and the developers of a windfarm in the area to row back – to some extent – on plans to close the road for a prolonged period.
More than 500 submissions were received on proposals to close the road for a number of months to facilitate the laying of a cable to connect the windfarm at Slieve Callan to the national grid.
Works had been due to get underway last Monday, but this hasn't happened. Neither has the council indicated a revised date, as yet.
There are also plans for a community fund to benefit a number of local organisations. Gavin was joined by Laurence O'Brien, the owner of two shops in Kilmaley, one of which includes the local post office, is concerned that his business could have to close as works get underway.
Tail backs on the Kilrush Road in Ennis were discussed by former Mayor of Ennis, Micky Guilfoyle. Mr Guilfoyle called for better signage on works being carried out by Irish Water on sections of the Clare Road.
More than half of the people killed in crashes because of worn or faulty tyres were young drivers aged under 24.
A new report from the Road Safety Authority has found that 71 people died because of defective tyres in the four years to 2012, and it’s launched a campaign to urge all drivers to check them regularly.
The highest proportion of defective tyres were in Donegal at 18 per cent, followed by Cork, Kerry and Wexford – all at 9 per cent. Gavin spoke with Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs, AA.
Morning Focus returned to the issue of road closures to facilitate the laying of cable from the Slieve Callan windfarm. Gavin was joined on the line by Padraic Howard a stakeholder in the project and former Chairman of West Clare Renewable Energy.
Frankie Coote, Clare County Dog Warden, urged dog owners to keep their animals under control, following an incident in Ennis.
A public consultation on bye-laws for Doolin Pier has just ended. Among the submissions from local people is a proposal to introduce a 'badge' system, whereby they can use parking facilities at the pier free-of-charge. Gavin spoke with Eugene Garrihy of Doolin Ferries & Doolin Tourism
Meditation and exercise help beat depression
A prominent Clare psychiatrist John Hillery joined Gavin on the subject of depression and natural methods of coping with it. He told Gavin he's given his backing for a revolutionary approach to helping people suffering from deprssion.
Dr. John Hillery's comments come after new research found that a combination of meditation and exercise is good for a person's mental health.
Researchers at Rutgers University in the US found a marked reduction in depressive symptoms in those who tried this, even in people who were clinically depressed. Dr. Hillery believes this shows the need for the medical system to think outside the box, as is already happening elsewhere.
Thousands of Paris Metro users are to be treated to a little vision of Co. Clare for the next few weeks.
Tourism Ireland have teamed up with one of France's leading travel agents – Go Voyages – for a billboard campaign featuring images from along the Wild Atlantic Way, including the Cliffs of Moher.
France is one of Ireland's top tourism markets delivering 505,000 visitors last year, an 11% rise on 2014.
Tourism Ireland ran a similar campaign last year and Elmagh Killeen the organisation's manager for Southern Europe, says Clare is ideally placed to capitalised on the French market.
Gavin was joined by Elmagh Killeen, Tourism Ireland Manager for Southern Europe and by Katherine Webster, Director Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience.
