Gardaí are investigating a spate of burglaries in the city and county.

On Thursday night, the reception area of Kilronan Hostel on Inis Mór was burgled. A sum of cash was taken from the reception area of the hostel during the incident.

Gardaí in the city and county are also investigating three separate incidents which took place in Menlo, Tuam and Kinvara over the weekend.

Between 2am and 10am on Sunday, a house in Crestwood on the Coolagh Road in Menlo was broken into. Two childens’ bicycles were taken, and later recovered.

On the same night, a house in The Birches in Tuam was entered. An iPhone 7 plus was taken, along with some medication.

Between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, a shed at a house in Lisheeneenaun in Kinvara was broken into. A number of tools were taken including a strimmer and a chainsaw.

Garda are also investigating a fifth incident at Briarhill Shopping Centre.

Between Saturday and yesterday, a substantial amount of cash was taken from Fitness 35.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in any of these areas at the time of the incidents to contact them at 091-538000, or any Garda station.

On warm, sunny days, which we don’t see all that often, a few drinks in the Spanish Arch is the natural plan of action for many of us in the city.

A new on-the-spot €100 which was introduced last year threatened this, accompanied by increased checks by the Gardaí on people drinking in public.

Well this could all die down with gardaí saying that they might have to decrease the amount of checks carried out.

Galway’s Garda Chief said this week that the sustaining increased checks for public drinking in the Spanish Arch is under threat due to a lack of resources.

A lack of resources is a serious concern for the public, and should be addressed.

But the Garda Cheif did not mention the fact that disturbing peaceful drinkers on sunny days is in fact a waste of dwindling resources.

If an Garda Síochána are feeling the strain after years of cuts, then it seems bizarre that they would want to continue to throw away tax-payer’s money on tackling such ‘crimes’.

Speaking to a meeting of the Galway City Joint Policing Committee (JPC), Chief Superintendent Tom Curley of the Galway Garda Division said that he was unsure if the current increase in patrols was sustainable.

Since a clampdown on ‘bushing’ in the Spanish Arch began this season, gardaí have issued 60 fines – with those caught enjoying a can in the sun slapped on the wrist and given an unfair €100 fine.

However, Chief Supt Curley also said that an astonishing €15,000 has been forked out in overtime since March of this year.

“I have limited resources and I have to police the whole city and county,” he said.

He added that this was not a one-person job and it required a Sergeant and four to five gardaí to carry out the checks.

Chief Supt Curley said that public drinking increased the risk of accidental drowning. Surely there is a more cost-effective way of ensuring that doesn’t happen.

If the Gardaí are serious about public safety, some degree of lateral thinking is needed. Punishing people with fines and erecting sineage is quite clearly not going to work.

Galwegians have fallen below the national average for recycling, according to WEEE Ireland.

Although the average person in the county recycled 8.2 kilos of waste electrical and electronic equipment in 2016, which is above the European target of 8 kilos, it is still below the national average of 10 kilos.

But there was some positive news for 2016; Galway recycled 12 per cent more waste electrical goods than the previous year.

Compliance Manager at WEEE Ireland, Elizabeth O’Reilly says that while it may be tempting to put small electrical goods in the bin, they should be recycled.

The Discipline of Geography at NUI Galway will host a half-day symposium on ‘Extreme Weather Events: Physical and Social Impacts’ on Wednesday, 28 June.

Leading international and national scholars will participate in the event, which aims to improve the international scope of Irish climate change research to discuss research ideas and future projects.

The symposium is keen to encourage cross disciplinary dialogues to ignite new ideas for future research collaborations across NUI Galway and beyond, looking at research opportunities into the science and impacts of climate change to understand merging Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, Climate modelling, Engineering, and Coastal Geomorphology with Social Scientific research.

The event will provide postgraduate student research and networking opportunities for the next generation of climate scientists to exchange ideas and be exposed to state-of-the-art research.

Commenting on the event, Dr Eugene Farrell, Lecturer in Physical Geography at NUI Galway, said: “Ireland’s identity is intertwined with the coastal and marine environment and we need to engage in an interdisciplinary discourse to address the physical and social impacts of a changing climate.

“Truly innovative interdisciplinary research requires formal and informal discussions to assess the potential for future collaborative work. It is invaluable for post-graduate students to be included in these discussions providing them with the opportunity to participate in a scientific meeting.”

Dr Audrey Morley, Lecturer in the School of Geography and Archaeology at NUI Galway, said: “Ireland needs skilled personnel, who can advise on, organise and regulate an informed development of coastal, marine and climate resources and activities in Ireland, the European Union and worldwide. This conference will be part of the process of preparing and upskilling postgraduate students for that role.”

“The workshop will provide a forum within which students can interact directly with a range of national and international professional and expert practitioners and gain exposure to key experts, networks and important contacts in academia and beyond. This will enhance the reputation and profile of our students, their employability and future scholarly success, as well as their ability to contribute to creating change in a challenging contemporary society,” she added.

Éamon Ó Cuív TD has called for greater balance in dealing with EU habitat directives when planning much-needed infrastructure projects such as the N59 in Connemara.

The Galway West TD says that despite the cautious approach towards such works, this state has never been fined for breaching the habitat directive.

He argues too much weight is being given to environmental concerns at the expense of vital infrastructure projects essential to social and economic development.

The N59 in west Galway has stalled four years after upgrade works were first announced, and the deputy says the government are being far too cautious.

“The very fact that we’ve never been fined despite the fact that day after day we hear of the threat of fines as if they were imminent shows that we probably are erring too far on the side of caution,” Deputy Ó Cuív said.

“What I’m particularly talking about is when you’re balancing human need, human safety, and the need for basic infrastructure against protecting the environment.

“We need to ensure that there is a proper balance there and that the human requirements are also taken into account in a fair and balanced way,” he added.

Planning permission has been granted to a housing development in Knocknacarra.

The new development, to be built at Barna Road by Highgate Properties Limited, was given the go-ahead by the city council this week.

This will see the construction of 8 two-storey detached homes, including landscaping, a greenway and a new entrance at the site, known as Ashwood.

The development has been approved with 23 conditions.

Some of the conditions relate to boundary walls, where planners have placed restrictions on the height, type and finish of the walls.

The exact finish for the greenway is yet to be agreed, however this will be done before construction begins.

119 thousand euro will be given by the developer to public services in the area, as part of another condition attached to the granting of permission.

A woman in her 20’s has been airlifted to University Hospital Galway following a serious accident on Inis Mor.

The woman was attending the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series when the incident occurred.

Rescue 115 of Valentia Coastguard responded to reports of a serious incident shortly after 11 yesterday morning.

The woman, who is understood to have sustained critical injuries, was then taken to UHG by helicopter around lunchtime.

The Red Bull Cliff Diving event sees competitors jump from a 27m platform into ‘the Serpent’s Lair’ – the famous natural rectangular pool south of Dun Aengus.