Coming back for more

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Never one to shy away from a controversy or pushing for what he believed was right, Frank Durcan threw his hat back in the local political ring last week, putting himself forward for both Castlebar Town Council and Mayo County Council elections. Durcan, who stepped away from politics five years ago, is eager to get back into the to and fro of the political game and believes that politics in the county needs a serious shake up. “The country is going down the tubes, the system has been ripped off by our politicians and our bankers. In Mayo county council there are no two parties, there has been no opposition for the past five years. It's a cosy cartel, while they drew close on €1 million a year in expenses between them, which are legally entitled to them. But it’s immoral for the amount of work they do, unless you get honesty back into politics in this country it's going to only get worse and worse.”

Greens offer new voice for new challenges for Westport

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Fergus McAllister was selected by the Mayo Green Party to run as a candidate for the Westport Town Council election this June. McAllister says that he will concentrate his immediate attention on supporting local businesses so that closures can be staved off and jobs can be protected.

Time for change: Vote for the women

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

International Women’s Day, celebrated throughout the world on March 8, will soon be upon us. It was first nominated as a national holiday for women in 1908 to highlight a strike by New York women clothing workers against the sweatshop conditions in the factories. From its beginning it has been rooted in years of struggle and used as a rallying point to demand women’s rights and women’s suffrage. Here in Ireland, something we can be proud of is that in the First Dáil on January 21 1919, a woman, Constance Markievicz, was appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Labour. This was truly historic when you consider that Constance Markievicz was the first female cabinet minister in western Europe and that Irish women didn’t gain the right to vote until 1928.

Labour candidate calls on Government TDs to support public sector workers

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

As some of the public sector workers commence their industrial action against the proposed pension levy, and as others ballot their members to do likewise, Dr Bernie Courtney, Labour candidate in the Castlebar Town Council election calls for both Mayo Fianna Fáil TDs to push for a Government re-think on this unjust tax.

Unemployment figures not reflecting number of employers out of work

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Employers who are out of work and who have had to lay off staff, have no recourse to any social welfare benefit and are not included in the Live Register figures, according to Mayo Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony.

Finn vows to secure Brickens’ speed limits

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Claremorris election candidate Richard Finn this week called on Mayo County Council and the National Roads Authority to immediately install speed limits at the village of Brickens which has been the scene of many accidents.

Chambers announces his decision not to run in local elections

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Newport Fianna Fáil councillor Frank Chambers has announced that he will not be contesting the forthcoming Mayo County Council elections on June 5, despite having received the Fianna Fáil nomination for the Westport electoral area. Cllr Chambers made the announcement at a meeting of the Michael Kilroy Fianna Fáil Cumann.

€1 billion health cuts will lead to ward closures and job losses in Mayo

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Health service staff in Mayo have been rocked by this week’s announcement that €1 billion cuts will have to be made this year.

There will be job losses, ward closures and a reduction in beds at Mayo General Hospital as a result of the cutbacks in the health service.

Fifteen Mayo primary schools to lose teachers

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Seventeen teaching posts may be lost from 15 national schools throughout the county for this coming academic year, according to a provisional list issued by the Department of Education this week, which based its figures on pupil enrolment returns from schools and the operation of the staffing schedule.

‘Mature Vicky Pollard’ jailed for having over €1,600 worth of drugs for sale

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

A 45-year-old mother of two, who has been using cannabis for more than 30 years and was described by Judge Mary Devins as being a “mature Vicky Pollard”, was sentenced to jail for the unlawful possession of €1,699 worth of cannabis for the purpose of selling or supplying the drug to others.

Scottish man called Ballina passers-by ‘Free State ba***rds’

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

A 43-year-old intoxicated man who shouted obscenities at middle aged bypassers for no apparent reason, was convicted of two public order offences at Ballina District Court this week.

Preferred route selected for Ballyhaunis bypass

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

The preferred route for the N60/N83 Ballyhaunis outer bypass went on display earlier this week in the town. The chosen route for the bypass is a variation of Route C which was put on display earlier as one of five possible routes and was chosen as the most appropriate one following engineering, environmental, human, and economic assessments of each route option and a review of submissions received from the public on the routes. The designers of the route had to make a slight variation to the route to deal with concerns from the public and from environmental concerns following their investigations.

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