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Continuing our review of stories we brought you in 2018, here’s the news from July…
• THE month started with members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) working in the Emergency Department (ED) at University Hospital Kerry holding a lunchtime protest.
The protest was to highlight their grave concern with regard to the continuing overcrowding of the ED with admitted patients awaiting transfer to appropriate beds in the Wards.
The INMO says unlike other Hospitals, UHK did not get any additional nurses to care for patients being accommodated on the ED corridor, even though there has been an average of 17 admitted patients accommodated in the Department daily.
• THERE was good news on the jobs front with Fexco announcing they were to create 175 new jobs at their headquarters in Killorglin over the next three years.
The jobs will be in the areas of information and communication technology, software development and sales and will be primarily based in Killorglin.
• Meanwhile, Tralee people were invited to apply for 80 new jobs where they can work from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
Tralee Chamber Alliance in partnership with Staffline for Amazon announced they were looking for 80 candidates to fill customer service roles in Kerry.
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• AROUND 7,000 people set off on the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle with a brave young man from Killarney among those cheering them on at the start.
Ian O’Connell, who sustained life-changing injuries when he fell from his bike in August 2017, was there with his family to watch the cyclists take the challenge and many of them are taking part in his name. Also seeing them off were Mayor of Kerry, Cllr Norma Foley, and Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne.
• IT was announced that the annual Christie Hennessy music celebration would take place in Tralee.
The event, which has taken place in Tralee since 2011, was provisionally booked for the INEC in Killarney for October, but after talks with the organiser, it was been confirmed for the Ashe Hotel again in November 2.
• KERRY County Council published the draft masterplan for the development of Tralee Town Centre West and the Island of Geese site in the town.
The completion of the draft masterplan represented another significant step forward in the process and follows the demolition and clearance of the 2.3-acre site which was donated to the people of Tralee by Kerry Group in 2014.
Some of the potential uses for the area listed in the Masterplan included public housing, offices, retail, incubator units, start-up companies, public services offices, restaurants/cafes, community use, film/arts space, healthcare uses, green path/playground, amenity space for events/theatre and a museum.
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• DICK Spring encouraged the people and business community of Tralee to buy in to Tralee Chamber Alliance’s plans for the future of the town, at the launch of the new Tralee brand at Siamsa Tire this afternoon.
The former Tánaiste was announced as the Business Development Ambassador for Kerry’s capital town at the event.
Created by the business community of Tralee for everyone in Tralee, the Brand will showcase the town with a vibrant image and strengthen its case when attracting investment, promoting tourism and help position Tralee as the integral business, technology and retail hub of Kerry.
• CONCERNED residents in the Lohercannan/Whitehall area of Tralee met with public representatives about drug dealing in one of the most beautiful parts of the town.
Deputy Michael Healy Rae and Cllr Sam Locke met with a number of residents who told them there has been heightened activity over June and July in the Lock Gates area and they have seen dealers openly selling drugs in broad daylight at the scenic spot.
• Kerry senior footballers saw their All-Ireland championship hopes hang by a thread after losing to Galway in Croke Park and needing a late David Clifford goal against Monaghan to secure a draw in Clones.
They would need to beat Kildare in Killarney and hope Galway beat Monaghan by enough in the final games to see them through to the semi-final.
• SEE Something, Say Something, a new public service initiative for Tralee was launched by Tralee Chamber Alliance in partnership with An Garda Síochána.
The project, the first of its kind in Ireland, is for members of the public who ‘see something’ that might need Garda intervention, to ‘say something’ by texting TRALEE and the incident details to 50555.
The free text message will be received by the sergeant on duty and it will be acted upon immediately by local Gardaí.
