50,000 People Visit National Museum of Country Life
Ms. Carol Devereaux was the 50,000th visitor to the Museum of Country Life in Turlough since its opening in September. The museum has thrived since it started with record crowds in attendance and no evidence of a fall-off in numbers. It was awarded the Museum of the Year award for 2001. It is also the first national museum to be opened outside of Dublin.

Mayo gets almost €6m for rural water treatment
€5,650,000 has been given to Mayo for the upgrading of rural water treatment schemes. The allocated money will go to the provision of new schemes and upgrading works and also the provision of public water schemes in smaller towns and villages. It will go to group schemes with private sources in order to attempt to eliminate organic pollution.

Oral Hearing into Gas Terminal Begins Next Week
Next week an oral hearing is to take place into Mayo County Council's decision to grant planning permission to the Bellanboy Bridge Gas Terminal. The oral hearing is being held by An Bord Pleanala. Fifteen hectares out of one hundred and sixty five hectares will be occupied by the Bellanboy Bridge Terminal. The terminal will create many short-term and long-term job opportunities for the people of the area, and about fifty to sixty permanent jobs will result. It will also attract industry into the west and be a great boost to Mayo's economy. Enterprise Energy Ireland are hoping to have met the first gas deadline by 2003.