What it Says in the Castlebar and Mayo Papers

8th. of November 2000

Connaught Telegraph

The Mayo News

The Western People

£7 million Court upgrade on way, a front page story in The Connaught Telegraph this week.

A major court in County Mayo has been cancelled today, (Wednesday) because of inadequate facilities. This situation has occurred only a few times in the history of the Mayo Courts. Despite a heavy list of cases, Belmullet Court has been postponed until December 13th. Recent sittings of Belmullet Court have been held in Ballycroy because the required standard of accommodation is lacking at the regular venue. Unfortunately, the tiny courthouse building at Ballycroy also doesn't meet the demands of a modern judicial system. Now Judge Mary Devins, who made the original decision to move from Belmullet has decided to move out again. The 'moveable feast' which Belmullet Court has become in recent times, highlights the unsuitability of much of the court accommodation in Mayo at the moment. However, in an important development this week, the Courts Service announced that £7 million is to be spent on providing modern court facilities at major venues in Mayo. Plans have been completed for a major refurbishment, upgrading and extension of the courthouse in Castlebar. Planning permission is to be sought for the project shortly. In addition, major refurbishment and upgrading is to be carried out at the existing courthouses in Westport and Swinford. And aforementioned Belmullet is to have a new courthouse to replace the existing unsatisfactory accommodation. Pressure on the Courts Service to improve court accommodation in Mayo intensified in recent days when local authority representatives, who are members of the legal profession, held a press conference to support comments made by Judge Harvey Kenny at Westport Circuit Court last week. Castlebar Circuit Court trials have had to be held in Westport for months because of the poor condition of the county courthouse and neither was the alternative venue adequate.

Fisheries Board told to 'Back Off' in sewage protest is one of the leading articles in The Connaught Telegraph this week.

A major row has blown up over the decision of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board to object to a multi-million pounds development of town houses and apartments in Castlebar. The board appealed the ruling of the Local Urban Council to grant planning permission to Swinford-based firm, Rook Limited, for 54 houses, 19 apartments, a two-storey retail unit and 66 carparking spaces at the Old Hat Factory, Newport Road, because of overloading of the local sewage treatment plant. Mr. Vincent Roche, the board's chief executive officer, denied that the authority had launched a concerted campaign to slow down development of the county town due to the detrimental effect the overloading of the plant was having on the water quality and fishery resources of the Castlebar Rivers and Lough Cullen. "It is not our intention to stifle the growth of Castlebar. We want to ensure that sewerage treatment facilities are upgraded in the town to cope with this growth". At the moment, we are examining seven other major developments in Castlebar, including a 66-bedroom hotel. No decision has been made at this stage to object to them, but the relevant planning authorities are well aware of our concerns". Apart from the pressure being put on the existing system by homes and factories in the town, Mayo County Council is using the plant to treat thousands of tons of leachate per week from the Derrinumera dump near Newport. However the board's action could have serious implications for the development of Castlebar in the years ahead. Mr. Johnny Mee, Cathaoirleach of the Local Urban Council, came out strongly on the matter, ordering the North Western Fisheries Board to 'back off'. He said: "I believe fisheries boards have far too much of a say in the planning process, and that should not be the case. Castlebar Urban Council has always co-operated with the board in relation to protection of rivers and lakes in the area, and it is always our intention to do so." But I don't think going down the road of lodging planning appeals to major developments is the way forward. It could deter future investors from putting their money into Castlebar."

Cable television on the way in £1.5m. investment The Connaught Telegraph this week.

The cable television age is on the way to Castlebar. A contracting firm, Ashbourne Limited, has commenced work on the installation of a £1.5m. cabling system throughout the town. They were appointed by Chorus Communications, a Limerick-based multi-channel television company. The urban area is split into four zones for the purpose of carrying out the work. Significant progress has already been made on the first zone, the Newport Rd. and Pound Rd. area, and the work is expected to be completed by November 22nd. Full agreement, in relation to the restoration of footpaths and roads, was reached with the Local Urban Council before the work proceeded. Some traffic disruption will be caused during the course of the work, but it is hoped it will be minimal. A team of 35 engineers and outdoor staff are employed in Castlebar as part of the project which is expected to provide piped television to 1,850 homes in the town by Christmas. Chorus Communications has a package of 21 T.V. channels, which include terrestrial and digital, for a cost of around £20 per month. Subscribers are offered free telephone rental which represents a saving of £12 per month. Up to 64 channels can be provided at an additional cost. The pictures are beamed into Castlebar via a satellite unit located at the ESB headquarters in Charles Street. Chorus Communications also has plans to provide an internet service to their customers in Castlebar.

'Second best' no longer acceptable - HarkinThe Mayo News this week.

Council for the West Chairperson, Marian Harkin, has become the first of what may well be a plethora of Independent candidates in the West, gearing up for the next General Election. With speculation growing that Mayo will field at least one Independent candidate in the next Dáil outing, Ms. Harkin has announced that she will stand as an Independent in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency. Announcing her decision to run as an Independent, she said that the constituency of Sligo-Leitrim was in many ways a microcosm of the West of Ireland, a large urban centre, smaller towns and villages and rural areas. She strongly supported a balance of development between urban and rural areas and would press for measures which would advance the core agriculture industry. Ms. Harkin said that rural communities sustained by a healthy agriculture and accessible sustainable off-farm employment, must be facilitated in a planned and effective way which would see people able to live and work in their own areas should they choose to do so. "We must no longer accept the traditional 'second best will do for the West' syndrome which has informed Government policy since the State was formed".

New sources of income needed for CRC FMThe Mayo News.

Community Radio Castlebar has operated successfully for the past five years, but if it is to develop beyond its present capacity it will have to find new sources of income. This is one of the points made by Company Secretary, Mr. Pat Stanton in his report to the annual general meeting of the company which will take place on Thursday night. "At some point in the near future, serious consideration will have to be given to proposals which might increase revenue", he said. Pointing out that the station enjoyed a growing number of listeners, Mr. Stanton said that over the past five years of broadcasting it had established itself as part of the media infrastructure in the county and had been highlighting a number of critical issues within the community. The station had no major debts and had a great deal of goodwill from the general community in Castlebar. Throughout the year, CRC had broadcast a total of 68 hours of programming each week". In partnership with the Information Age Town Committee CRC's programmes are now broadcast world-wide over the web. This is a very significant development for CRC, especially as very few local stations have the capacity to broadcast throughout the world". Mr. Stanton said that CRC had already submitted an expression of interest to the IRTC on behalf of a number of interested parties who may eventually form a consortium to seek a commercial radio licence for the Mayo region". CRC intends to be involved in this consortium with a view to providing facilities and services to the new station", he said.

County Manager proposes £20 hike in refuse charges The Mayo News this week.

The cost of domestic refuse charges in Mayo is set to soar again with Co. Manager, Mr. Des Mahon, proposing a £20 annual increase for the disposal of household waste. The increase, if accepted by councillors, will raise domestic refuse charges from £120 to £140 per annum, an increase of over 15%. Charges for the disposal of waste at landfill sites are also likely to soar with Mr. Mahon proposing a 60% increase from £35 per tonne to £55 per tonne. Mr. Mahon has also proposed a 5% hike- the maximum allowed- in the county rates for commercial and industrial property. This increase would raise the rates from their current level of £49.13 in the pound, to £51.59 in the pound. The proposed increases in refuse charges and commercial/industrial rates will obviously be the two most contentious issues with the councillors. While the members may not accept the hikes as proposed by the County Manager, at the Estimates meeting next Monday, the 13th. of November, some increases in the county rates and refuse charges appear to be inevitable.

Fianna Fail county councillors step up campaign to keep breast clinic The Western People this week.

The 16 Fianna Fail members of Mayo County Council have added to the pressure on Health Minister Micheál Martin to maintain and develop the Breast Cancer Clinic at Mayo General Hospital. The Minister is expected to decide the fate of the service, which is used by one thousand Mayo women annually, within the next few weeks. A report commissioned By the Government has advocated the setting up of three centres of excellence for the treatment of Breast Cancer and it is feared that the Castlebar unit will be transferred to an upgraded facility in Galway. Opposition to the proposal was clearly outlined to An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern in the past fortnight when he visited the county. Protesting women greeted the Taoiseach at each venue to make their views known. Now further pressure is being applied to the Minister by the 16 Fianna Fail councillors who have issued a statement, informing the people of Mayo, that "We are not accepting any downgrading of the cancer treatment services at Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar".

Sinn Féin to run Mayo Dáil candidate The Western People this Tuesday.

Sinn Féin have selected Árd Chomhairle (National Executive) member Vincent Wood as the party's Mayo candidate to contest the next General Election. Thirty-seven year old Wood, who lives at Clogher, Claremorris, has been Sinn Féin's Árd Chomhairle member for the past two years. He is a member of the party's regional leadership and was director of elections during last year's local authority elections. According to a Sinn Féin statement, he has been a tireless supporter of the peace process and of the Sinn Féin leadership. He said Sinn Féin are the only 32-county party and were the party that could deliver change.

Number of salmon caught on Moy last season rises by 9% The Western People this week.

The bountiful Moy produced a total rod and line catch of 6,335 salmon this year, an increase of nine per cent on last year's record catch of 5,830. The average rod and line catch on the Moy system over the past five years was 7,564 salmon. According to the North Western Regional Fisheries Board this is an excellent catch by any standards and unequalled by few, if any, rivers in Europe.

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