Confidence has been expressed that a popular bus service serving Clare's county town has "turned a corner" following a problematic period. The operator of the service known as the 'green bus' has pledged to win back the respect and trust of Ennis passengers at a meeting with Ennis's elected representatives. Due to a sharp rise in buses turning up late, at capacity or not arriving at all in recent years, it's been a widely-held belief that the green bus has gone downhill. Dublin Coach's M7 Express Service operates daily and begins at Tralee, serving Ennis and Bunratty as well as locations such as Killarney, Limerick City and Kildare Village, before terminating in Dublin City Centre. To get to the bottom of the aforementioned issues as well as complaints relating to staff behaviour and inadequate bus maintenance, a February meeting of Ennis Municipal District heard Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard call for a briefing to be set up with Dublin Coach Representatives. At the briefing held this week with the Dublin Coach Regional General Manager, who joined the company last October, councillors heard that the service has "turned a corner" since January by expanding its fleet and hiring additional drivers. Frances Cahill says due to the recently-implemented changes, the green bus now has a "bright future". The company claims passenger numbers in Ennis have risen by 100% since the beginning of the year, while service delivery has increased by 96%. At the briefing, Frances Cahill apologised to the people of Ennis on behalf of the provider for issues she said were "unacceptable", and promised not to let passengers down going forward. Councillor Mary Howard is confident the green bus is on its way to returning to being the "great service" it once was.

Clare people are being urged to attend blood donation clinics in the county this week to prevent local hospitals from experiencing shortages during the hot spell. Clinics will be taking place tonight and tomorrow from ten to five until ten past eight at the West County Hotel in Ennis. It's expected over 65% of blood donations will go towards cancer treatments, while over 5% will support child births. Broadford-based Irish Blood Transfusion Service Donor Recruitment Executive Alex O'Connor says every donation will be crucial.

The initiative, which is in response to Crohn’s and Colitis Ireland’s (CCI) ongoing calls for greater accessibility to public restrooms, is set to make a significant impact in County Clare.

To find out more, Alan Morrissey was joined by Co-founder and Chair, Jan Strozer, and Hilary Tonge.

Photo(C): Canva

An innovative campaign to kickstart the 2025 tourism season in Clare takes place this April when locals and visitors to the county are offered free and half-price admission to a variety of attractions, sites and cultural events.

Clare County Council’s Tourism Department, in collaboration with the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum and local tourism attractions, is hosting the third annual ‘Be aTourist in Your Own County Clare’ initiative on Saturday, April 12 and Sunday, April 13.

To find out more about this, Alan Morrissey was joined by Chair of the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum, Seán Lally.

Photo(C): yktr from Getty Images via canva

Concerns Over Child Accessing Highly Dangerous Doonbeg Playground Construction Site

Concerns are being expressed over children gaining access to what is described as a highly dangerous playground construction site in Doonbeg.

To find out more, Alan Morrissey was joined by Colm Killeen, PRO of Doonbeg Playground Committee.

The new Ennistymon Rivers Festival will take place from the 4th - 6th May.

Marking exactly 2 years since the fish kill on the Ballymacraven river, this free, family-friendly festival, celebrates how the local community worked together to restore and protect this river.

The festival is designed for all ages and consists of a series of expert talks, engaging workshops, guided walks and kayaking trips along the river.

The Ennistymon Rivers Festival will ensure that the Inagh and Ballymacraven river that flow through North Clare and Ennistymon remain a symbol of home, life and community.

To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Kevin Nunan, Chairperson - Restore Ballymacraven River Association.

Photo(C): Ennistymon Town Facebook page, Text: Canva

Friday, 11th of April, 65 Roses Day will take place.

65 Roses Day is an annual fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CFI).

People in Clare are being urged to help Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CFI) meet its fundraising target of €300,000.

Volunteers across the country will be selling purple roses to support CFI, in Dunnes Stores branches, shopping centres and other participating outlets, including Ennis and Shannon.

To find out more, Alan Morrisesey was joined in-studio by Chair of the Clare CFI Branch, Deborah Kett.

Photo(C): Clare FM

The regulation of Airbnb-style rentals is expected to move a step closer next week.

It was expected Enterprise Minister Peter Burke would bring proposals on the Fáilte Ireland register to Cabinet on Tuesday morning.

The proposals would see the introduction of the long-promised Fáilte Ireland register.

The Government also intends to bring forward amendments to planning laws to effectively ban short term lets in areas with population of over 10,000.

This would mean Airbnbs are banned in cities and urban areas, but local authorities would have “flexibility” on green lighting them in rural tourism hotspots.

It is understood the register will be signed off by Cabinet next week now instead.

Tánaiste Simon Harris says it's one of the steps in tackling the housing crisis...

To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Miltown Malbay Airbnb host, Lorna Cahill.

Photo(C): leah from Leah P's Images via canva

Dublin Coach has apologised for what it's branded as "unacceptable" service delivery failures in Ennis. The company has met with Ennis Municipal District councillors this week following a recent call from Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard for a briefing to be held to address issues with the service including punctuality, capacity and "no-show" buses. It's understood that the provider has significantly boosted its fleet and staffing numbers in recent months, resulting in a 100% increase in passengers on the Ennis service since January and a 96% jump in service delivery across the same period. Dublin Coach Regional General Manager Frances Cahill is hopeful they can regain passengers' trust.

Over €12m worth of grants have been determined for pyrite affected homeowners in Clare. Since Clare's inclusion in the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme two years ago, there have been 134 local applications. Over 1,000 properties are believed to be impacted by Pyrite in this county, and a maximum grant of €462,000 is currently available for remediation or rebuilding works. Founder of the Clare Pyrite Action Group Dr Martina Cleary says for many homeowners, the scheme is financially unviable.