One of Clare’s recently elected TDs has branded Clare’s exclusion from a proposed investment of the Apple tax windfall as ‘a kick in the teeth’.
It follows a letter penned to the Taoiseach from Limerick Mayor, John Moran, related to the spending of the Apple tax windfall which omitted the Banner county from receiving any investment.
The country’s first directly elected mayor identified industrial activities in the province were the driving force behind the €14 billion euro windfall and appealed for over half of the total to be reinvested in Munster.
He recommended that €3.5 billion should be allocated to Cork, €2 billion to Waterford, €1 billion be awarded to Galway and €2 billion to Limerick.
The letter did not include Clare, despite the county being home to one of the largest industrial zones in the country.
Tulla Fianna Fail TD, Timmy Dooley, says Moran is ‘a controversial character’ and claims Ireland would fall behind if funding was allocated solely based on where income was generated.
Clare’s Sinn Fein TD says the lack of Clare inclusion was ‘a kick in the teeth’ and again highlighted another model three hospital in the Midwest as where investment should be directed.
As restrictions on visitors are currently in place at the regions main hospital due to high numbers of patients with influenza, legacy issues with the facility are coming to the fore again.
Shannon Deputy, Donna McGettigan, says she is disappointed by the recurrence of the same issue annually.
She says despite the welcome addition of extra beds to the hospital, the only solution to the situation is the construction of an additional hospital.
