Facing a Fianna Fáil drubbing

Fri, May 01, 2009

There can be few jobs more unpalatable right now than being a Fianna Fáil election candidate - or even a Fianna Fáil canvasser - in the run up to June 5. The party is facing a drubbing at the polls. And whatever doorstep hostility has been there over the past two weeks, it will be nothing as compared to the anger when next month's pay cheque leaves Sean Citizen with a huge hole in what is available to him to pay his bills.

Mayo man to contest Athlone local election

Fri, May 01, 2009

Castlebar native Alan Shaw has put his name in the ring for the Town Council election in Athlone, Co Westmeath. Alan was born in Snugboro and is son of Matt and Kathleen Shaw.

Cribben aiming to promote Ballina from both chambers

Fri, May 01, 2009

“It’s been interesting, I’ve never canvassed for anyone else before never mind myself.” Sandra Cribben is well known for promoting Ballina from her position within Ballina Chamber, but the 38-year-old is hoping to take up residence in a different chamber after June. Cribben put her name forward for this year’s town council elections and hitched herself to the Fianna Fáil ticket in the town where she hopes to take over the seat being vacated by outgoing councillor Padraig Moore, who has decided to step down from the council at the end of this term.

Ring calls for more lenient approach to Farm Assist Scheme

Fri, May 01, 2009

A plea has been made to the Social Welfare Minister, Mary Hanafin, to adopt a more lenient approach to vetting applicants for the Farm Assist Scheme. It has come from the Fine Gael spokesperson on Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Michael Ring, who said farmers were being assisted on last year’s income which bears no comparison to their present financial position because of the economic downturn.

Speaking in the Dáil Deputy Michael Ring said: “Consider the position of farmers who will be seeking farm assist payments. A major milk producer contacted me some days ago and stated he had been producing milk for the past few years and was never on social welfare. He asked to be assessed for a farm assist payment and was told he would have to be assessed on last year’s income. Circumstances have changed in this country so fast that one should no longer carry out a means test based on last year’s income.

Fine Gael ‘ready and able’

Fri, May 01, 2009

During the launch in the Castlecourt Hotel last Friday of the three Westport area Fine Gael candidates running for the county election, Michael Ring TD told those present that it would not be long before Mayo has a taoiseach and perhaps a job for himself along the way.

East Mayo ready for count down

Fri, May 01, 2009

With the Local Elections only a couple of weeks away the candidates in each area are busy on the doorsteps putting themselves in front of the people again. With the redrawing of election boundaries causing consternation in a number of areas with areas swapping from one to another and Ballinrobe being extinguished as an electoral area in its own right, the Swinford area was one of the least affected with the transfer of Aghamore into its area from the newly expanded Claremorris area.

Unemployment records continue to be broken as new figures are released

Fri, May 01, 2009

New figures released by the Central Statistics Office this week reveal that unemployment levels continue to rise. There has been a massive 95 per cent increase in the number of people claiming unemployment assistance on the same period last year. Currently, nationally, there are a staggering 388,600 people claiming assistance, up from 188,800 on the corresponding period last year. This means that the unemployment rate has more than doubled from 5.5 per cent this time last year to 11.4 per cent at present.

Sinn Féin approached by both major parties

Fri, May 01, 2009

The prospect of Sinn Féin holding the balance of power in Mayo County Council after this June’s local election has seen the party been approached by both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to do a deal with them according to sitting Cllr Gerry Murray. Yesterday Sinn Féin launched their four candidates for the county council elections where the party hope to boost their numbers from their current solitary seat held by Cllr Murray, with Castlebar Town Cllr Therese Ruane running in the Castlebar area, Westport Town Councillor Dave Keating in the Westport area and Rose Conway Walsh who lost out on getting a seat in the last elections narrowly running again in the Belmullet area. The launch was also attend by party leader Gerry Adams and EU Election candidate Padraig MacLochlainn.

Toddler among victims as two more lives lost on Mayo’s roads

Fri, May 01, 2009

Following a horrific week of accidents on Mayo’s roads, two more lives were tragically lost in Ballyheane and Ballina on Thursday afternoon.

A man in his 50s died on the Castlebar to Ballinrobe Road in Ballyheane on Thursday when the vehicle he was driving left the road and crashed into a house at 12.25pm. No one was in the house at the time of the accident.

Windy and bendy gap a death trap

Fri, May 01, 2009

The road from Castlebar to Lahardane at the Windy Gap is a death trap according to Mayo County Council and Castlebar Town Council election candidate Cllr Blackie Gavin.

Harrington accused of dangerous driving while following Shell worker’s vehicle

Fri, May 01, 2009

Maura Harrington, Doohoma, faced two charges of dangerous driving at Ballina District Court on Tuesday after she was observed driving erratically — while she pursued a white transit van carrying 16 IRMS security workers who are employed on Shell’s Glengad site — through the townlands of Annaghmore and Ballinglen, Ballycastle.

Ballina councillors question work on disability plan

Fri, May 01, 2009

While welcoming a report on the disability strategic plan for Mayo County Council at their monthly meeting last week, a number of Ballina councillors raised concerns about the work being done outside public buildings in relation to disability issues in the town.

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