Northern Standard Thursday 12th February p.1

My front page story in this week’s Northern Standard Thursday 12th February including a brief interview I got with Enda Kenny as he was leaving the Monaghan Education Campus after the official opening. He was already an hour behind schedule, heading for Virginia in County Cavan, but provided me with a few good quotes about how important a day it was for Monaghan, and the impact of the new Campus and 200 new jobs at Combilift would be ‘phenomenal’.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny unveiling plaque at Monaghan Institute with Director Dr Fiona McGrath, Cllr Padraig McNally & Joe McGrath, Chair CMETB (left) and CEO CMETB Martin O’Brien, Heather Humphreys TD & Michael Moriarty ETBI Photo: © Michael Fisher

“This was a wonderful day for Monaghan, according to the Taoiseach, putting the county back on top. Speaking to the Northern Standard after a major jobs announcement by Combilift and the official opening of the Monaghan Education Campus, Enda Kenny T.D. praised what was going on in both locations and said the impact of the two developments would be phenomenal.

It was all about the future, he said. He said the mix of sport, learning, community and culture at the Education Campus would yield benefits not only for the schools, but also for the community, town and county. He welcomed the news that Combilift is planning to link in with Monaghan Institute to develop a new apprenticeship course for educating mechanics and said this was how industry would be able to diversify and create sustainable jobs nationwide.

Mr Kenny also confirmed that the government is still committed to contributing €50 million towards the development of the N2/A5 road scheme from the border towards Letterkenny and Derry, half of the amount this year and the remainder next year.”

Taoiseach Opens New Education Campus: Northern Standard 12/02/15 p.1

Opening of Monaghan Institute: Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD unveils plaque in the main entrance hall.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny unveiling plaque at Monaghan Institute with Director Dr Fiona McGrath, Cllr Padraig McNally, Sean Conlan TD & Brendan Smith TD (left) and CEO CMETB Martin O’Brien, Heather Humphreys TD, Caoimghín Ó Caoláin TD, Matt Carthy MEP & Joe McGrath, Chair CMETB (right) Photo: © Michael Fisher