What it Says in the Castlebar and Mayo Papers

April 11th, 2001

Connaught Telegraph

The Mayo News

The Western People

Bev takes independent stance The Connaught Telegraph this week.

The future of Beverly Cooper-Flynn as a member of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party has taken a dramatic twist. Internal efforts to remove the whip from the Castlebar T.D., as a direct result of the outcome of her failed High Court libel action against RTE, Charlie Bird and farmer Charles Howard, were put on hold by a surprise development. The 34-year-old Deputy issued an appeal to high-ranking party officials, yesterday (Tuesday) not to make any decision about her position within Fianna Fail 'until due process took its course'. She wrote to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Party, Dr. Rory O'Hanlon and the Government Chief Whip, Mr. Seamus Brennan, indicating that she has not yet made a final decision on whether or not to appeal the High Court libel ruling. In her first public statement since the High Court costs decision last Wednesday, Ms. Cooper-Flynn said the consultations with her legal team were ongoing and a final decision had not been taken. "The Taoiseach stated that I was entitled to take time to consider my position. I understand the Taoiseach's statement to mean that I am allowed the opportunity to consider the matter of an appeal with my legal representatives." Meanwhile, there is growing speculation that in the event of her appeal not being successful, Beverly will stand as an Independent Fianna Fail candidate in the next general election in the Mayo constituency. It is understood that part of the arrangement involves Fianna Fail not selecting a candidate to stand against her in Castlebar in return for her support in the next government.

Gas terminal delayed by peat extraction predicament The Connaught Telegraph this week.

A decision by Mayo County Council on whether to grant planning permission to Enterprise Oil for a major gas terminal at Ballinaboy, Glenamoy has been put back for at least a month as company technical experts address the tricky problem of how they will dispose of half a million tonnes of liquid peat without damaging the environment. Enterprise Oil have moved machinery and personnel to the Glenamoy area to carry out tests on the hydrological behaviour of such a huge mass of water-saturated peat once it is disturbed and gains momentum. Fears of major silting into local waterways have been raised by objectors and Mayo County Council has sought clarification on this and other issues from the energy company. Ms. Karen Cahill, spokesperson for Enterprise Oil, says the company is trying to address the issues raised and will be getting back to the authority 'in the next couple of weeks'. Ms. Cahill explained that the company was expecting to be in a position to award contracts for the project towards the end of this month but work would not start until planning permission had been received.

Stand-up clash over pop concert proposal The Connaught Telegraph this week.

Two members of Castlebar Urban Council clashed over proposals by the local Mitchels G.A.A to stage pop concerts at McHale Park in the town. Fianna Fail's Mr. Blackie Gavin and Mr. Michael Kilcoyne of the Labour party were involved in a stand-up row over the matter. Mr. Kilcoyne voiced strong opposition to the concerts, for which the club has permission from the council. He said it was unfair on the residents of the area and their feelings should be taken into consideration. He felt the G.A.A. had sufficient funds and did not have to hold fundraising events like concerts. However, Mr Gavin disagreed. He said if concerts were properly managed, they would be a success and there was no need for Mr. Kilcoyne or the residents to be concerned. He added the Mitchels did a lot of work for the young people of Castlebar and money raised through staging the concert would be invested back into the club. "U2 have played the world over without any problems. Why should there be problems if they come to Castlebar?" he added.

Five Mayo towns are set to get major facelifts The Mayo News this week.

Five Mayo towns, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Claremorris, Foxford and Newport, are set to get major facelifts following EU approval of town renewal incentives. The Town Renewal Scheme had been approved by the Government last July, but while residential incentives were cleared to proceed, commercial and industrial incentives required clearance from Brussels and this has now been granted. The scheme is based on tax relief for restoring the physical fabric of small towns and the work involved will give a very welcome boost to the economies of the five towns involved.

Footpaths and green areas in appalling state after cable-laying works The Mayo News.

A statement by a council official claiming that Castlebar Town had been restored to its former glory following the horrific uprooting of roads, footpaths and green areas by a company laying TV cables around the town, has been challenged by local councillors. Speaking at Castlebar UDC last week Cllr. Pat King said, "I find it very hard to believe that an official would say that this town has been restored to its former state. There are tracks running through the green area on St. Bridget's Crescent, footpaths have lumps of tar on them, people have been promised full restoration since last October but this has certainly not happened." Town Clerk, John Condon recalled that a resolution had been passed by Castlebar UDC councillors that all restoration works would be completed by 28th February last. He continued "Most of it was done. At present we are preparing a 'snag' report. We are inspecting every bit that was disturbed and areas that were dug up and we are preparing a list of what has to be rectified."

The ' Rocky Road to Dublin' The Mayo News this week.

The main road from Westport to Dublin, especially the section which passes through Roscommon, has been described by the President of Westport Chamber of Commerce, Dr Oliver Whyte, as an absolute disgrace. He told the annual meeting of the Chamber that the road was in such dire state that it was seriously impeding access to the West, was militating against Western development and was an indictment of Government, local authorities and the National Roads Authority.

Udaras denounces Eircom's broadband body blow The Western People this week.

The withdrawal of Eircom from a Government-funded programme to provide fibre optic and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technologies to the Border, Midlands and Western regions has caused concern in the region. On Monday Udaras na Gaeltachta expressed 'grave concern' at the reports that Eircom is to pull out of the plan and said they had highlighted many times in the past the major telecommunications infrastructure deficiencies in the regions. It said the deficiencies have to be addressed before regions such as the Gaeltacht can begin to benefit from the job-creation opportunities associated with modern service-based enterprises. The Udaras statement said further delays or inequities in the provision of a telecommunications infrastructure would further impede the job creation efforts of Udaras na Gaeltachta and agencies in other affected areas, particularly in the provision of much needed employment opportunities to stem the outflow of graduates and educated young people in the area.

Aldi to open Ballina store after clearing planning hurdle The Western People this Tuesday.

Planning permission has been granted, following an appeal to An Bord Pleanala, for the construction of a large supermarket at Bury Street, in Ballina. The German supermarket chain, Aldi, are believed to be the prospective tenants for the new development. The supermarket complex will comprise 1240 square metres of floor space and incorporate up to 115 car-parking spaces. Welcoming An Bord Pleanala's ruling on the appeal, Mr. Padraig Brogan, Acting Town Clerk, Ballina UDC, pointed out that their sanction for the supermarket proposal is just one of a number of very positive indicators for Ballina.

Crowley is rising star in Castlebar Fianna Fail The Western People this week.

Fianna Fail minds in Mayo are now being concentrated in the event that the Party's National Executive should move to de-select Beverley Flynn. And in Castlebar terms that means one thing … who is best placed to secure a place at the cabinet table? Over the years, Castlebar has become used to a voice at the top table. Aidan Crowley, who secured election to Castlebar U.D.C at his first attempt in 1999, is seen by a growing number of people as a new voice for the party in the county town. Crowley has superb credentials, is extremely capable, highly articulate and above all is a good listener. His career has spanned the world of broadcasting and the legal profession. Whether or not the party is willing to give him the chance remains to be seen. He will face stiff opposition from a number of potential clients, especially Al McDonnell who could muster a considerable amount of delegate votes and who would fancy his chances of picking up a big central Mayo vote. Whatever happens it will be an interesting few weeks for Fianna Fail in Mayo.

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