This article is from page 20 of the 2006-06-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
A GORT community group made a presentation on their achievements and work to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, when he dropped in on them, while on a visit to Galway at the weekend.
Mr Ahern came to Gort to meet with GRACE (Gort Regional Alliance for Community and Environment).
GRACE is an umbrella association for 22 established and newly formed groups in the Gort region. The group is celebrating a number of successes lately, including its recent campaign to have a second entrance/exit to the town of Gort, off the new N18 Dual carriageway.
The Taoiseach met with delegates from all the GRACE groups and was presented with a Brazilian t-shirt by the Brazilian Association.
GRACE made a powerpoint presentation to the Taoiseach, outlining the various community development projects that they were currently undertaking.
Earlier in the week, a delegation from GRACE made a presentation on Water and Sewage in the town to Environment Minister Dick Roche, when he visited the town.
Dr Niamh Clune, Chair and Coordinator of GRACE, said they “were absolutely delighted to have Minister Roche and the Taoiseach visit Gort in one week. We were very impressed that the Taoiseach showed such interest in what we are trying to do, and are extremely grateful to him for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit us here in Gort. We also really felt that Minister Roche listened to our concerns about the water and the sewage and that these serious issues will be addressed in the near future.”
Paddy Grealish, of Grealish Glynn Associates, made a presentation on the issue of sewage, and Coley Roche from the Chamber of Commerce put forward the arguments on the issue of the town’s water.
Junior Minister Noel Treacy was also thanked for the success of the road campaign.
“We must also especially thank Colin Joyce, Parliamentary Assistant to Joe Callahan, who has been working closely with GRACE on a number of different projects. He helped arrange for GRACE to meet with Minister Dick Roche and the Taoiseach,” said Dr Clune.
The Taoiseach visited Gort after he had officially opened the Marine Institute’s new purpose-built facility at Oranmore.
The building has state-of-the-art research facilities for the science institute which is responsible for advising the Government on the status of fish stocks.