COUNCILLORS SAY BRUTON ‘SNUBBED’ THEM

CATHAOIRLEACH SAYS COUNCILLORS WERE SNUBBED OVER JOBS FORUM IN CARRICKMACROSS 

Michael Fisher  Northern Standard  Thursday 30th April p.1

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton T.D. with Martin O'Briend CEO Cavan Monaghan ETB in one of the workshops at the Carrickmacross jobs forum Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton T.D. with Martin O’Briend CEO Cavan Monaghan ETB in one of the workshops at the Carrickmacross jobs forum Photo: © Michael Fisher

Monaghan Councillors especially Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District members have been snubbed by the Department of Jobs, according to the County Council Cathaoirleach, Councillor Padraig McNally (Fianna Fáil). He was addressing the April meeting of the District Council in Carrickmacross on Monday.

Three government Ministers, Richard Bruton and Ged Nash (Labour), with Heather Humphreys T.D. (centre), and two other Fine Gael Cavan/Monaghan TDs including Joe O'Reilly T.D. (right) attended the regional Action Plan for Jobs in Carrickmacross   Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Three government Ministers, Richard Bruton and Ged Nash (Labour), with Heather Humphreys T.D. (centre), and two other Fine Gael Cavan/Monaghan TDs including Joe O’Reilly T.D. (right) attended the regional Action Plan for Jobs in Carrickmacross Photo: © Michael Fisher

He expressed his disappointment and frustration that he had not been invited to a regional jobs forum held at the Nuremore Hotel and attended by three government Ministers, including the Jobs Minister Richard Bruton T.D. and Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and local T.D., Heather Humphreys.

Minister Heather Humphreys T.D. and Minister Ged Nash T.D. at the Carrickmacross jobs forum Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Minister Heather Humphreys T.D. and Minister Ged Nash T.D. at the Carrickmacross jobs forum Photo: © Michael Fisher

Councillor McNally told the meeting that if there had been a Fine Gael Cathaoirleach of the County Council then that person would have been there, but on this occasion, local representatives had been snubbed. We like to be contacted about such events, he said, and it was very easy to forget that hey were there.

Cathaoirleach of Monaghan County Council, Councillor Padraig McNally  Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Cathaoirleach of Monaghan County Council, Councillor Padraig McNally Photo: © Michael Fisher

He proposed that the Municipal District wrote to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. saying that in future they should invite elected representatives from Carrickmacross. He said there was not one person present at the jobs forum who could report back directly to the workforce at the Bose factory. It is due to close at the end of next month, with the loss of 140 jobs.

Cathaoirleach of Carrickmacross Castleblayney Municipal District, Councillor Jackie Crowe  Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Cathaoirleach of Carrickmacross Castleblayney Municipal District, Councillor Jackie Crowe Photo: © Michael Fisher

The Cathaoirleach of the Municipal District, Councillor Jackie Crowe (Sinn Féin) agreed that the elected local representatives had been snubbed. He seconded the motion. He said they had had no notification whatsoever about the meeting. It showed that the organisers had no time for them. He was disappointed that even the County Council Cathaoirleach had not been invited. It was not the first time that they had been snubbed and they should express their anger as a Municipal District.  It was agreed by the six Councillors present “That this Council writes to Minister Richard Bruton T.D. expressing our disappointment that neither the Muncipal District chairman or the county chairman were invited to the jobs meeting held in the Nuremore Hotel recently”.

Monaghan Councillor Colm Carthy from Carrickmacross  Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Monaghan Councillor Colm Carthy from Carrickmacross Photo: © Michael Fisher

Councillor Colm Carthy (Sinn Féin) said that last month the District had agreed to write to Minister Bruton to request an update on the Bose facility and asking him if he would confirm where he was on organising a replacement for the jobs and employment in the Carrickmacross plant. The Council received a standard letter in reply from a Private Secretary, stating that the correspondence would be brought to the Minister’s attention “at the earliest opportunity”. Councillor Carthy, a former Bose employee, said he was concerned that no elected members had been invited to the jobs meeting held locally. It was a matter of grave concern, as the facility would be closing shortly. He said it had come as a surprise to him that Minister Bruton had visited the area.

COUNCILLORS DEFEND LIBRARY SERVICE

Carrickmacross-Castleblayney MD Councillors PJ O'Hanlon, Aidan Campbell, Colm Carthy and Padraig McNally Photo © Michael Fisher

Carrickmacross-Castleblayney MD Councillors PJ O’Hanlon, Aidan Campbell, Colm Carthy and Padraig McNally Photo © Michael Fisher

COUNCILLORS OPPOSE PLANS TO CHANGE LIBRARY SERVICE  

Michael Fisher

Moves to amalgamate library services in Monaghan and Cavan by the appointment of a joint librarian will be strongly opposed by Councillors in the Carrickmacross and Castleblayney area. A meeting of the Municipal District Council on Monday discussed a submission received by a Ballybay resident and member of the local library, who expressed her concerns over the issue. She said there was a real fear among members that if the proposal goes ahead then smaller libraries like the one in Ballybay would close. The library service is important to local communities on many levels, she told Councillors, and she asked them to contact Minister Alan Kelly to get him and his department to abolish the proposed amalgamation.

Cllr Padraig McNally (FF) Photo © Michael Fisher

Cllr Padraig McNally (FF) Photo © Michael Fisher

Councillor Padraig McNally said they had been told the only proposal was to share the County Librarian between the two counties. But he said they did not need such a change as they already had a good system in place. He proposed that the District strongly objected to any amalgamation. This was the thin end of the wedge and next thing they would be looking at the fire service, he said. The county had already been stripped of so many services.

Cllr PJ O'Hanlon (FF) Photo: © Michael Fisher

Cllr PJ O’Hanlon (FF) Photo: © Michael Fisher

Councillor PJ O’Hanlon said this was the start of another service being taken away from the county. Councillor McNally proposed and his party colleague Councillor O’Hanlon seconded a motion:

“That this Municipal District rejects any amalgamation of our library services. Monaghan has a proud record of providing library services and does not need to be linked with any other counties or regions”. It was passed unanimously.

Cllr Noel Keelan (SF)  Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Cllr Noel Keelan (SF) Photo: © Michael Fisher

Councillor Noel Keelan said ‘amalgamation’ was another word for cuts and proposed a motion: “That this District Council writes to the Minister, Mr Alan Kelly T.D., requesting that the proposed amalgamation does not proceed, given how important the Library Service is to the people”. Councillor Colm Carthy seconded and this motion was also agreed.

Cllr Jackie Crowe (SF), Cathaoirleach Carrickmacross=Castleblayney Municipal District Council  Photo:  © Michael Fisher

Cllr Jackie Crowe (SF), Cathaoirleach Carrickmacross=Castleblayney Municipal District Council Photo: © Michael Fisher

Cathaoirleach Councillor Jackie Crowe said they were all absolutely opposed to any amalgamation.

Northern Standard

                                                                        The Northern Standard

A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

Proposed Narrow Water Bridge

Proposed Narrow Water Bridge

First things first. If you came here looking for a commentary on the Allied advance in the Second World War and battles such as the bridge at Arnhem, then you will be disappointed. I am sorry if I misled you. But the title seemed appropriate for the ongoing controversy over the proposed bridge at Narrow Water at the head of Carlingford Lough. They have been talking about the project since 1976 when the East Border Region committee was formed by ten councils on both sides of the border, years before the Anglo-Irish agreement or the Good Friday agreement.

The proposed structure would link County Down just beyond Narrow Water Castle with the opposite side of the shore near Omeath in County Louth. The project eventually received planning permission and the prospect of EU funding of €17.4m last year. This green light was welcomed by the East Border Region Committee Chair, Councillor Jackie Crowe, a Sinn Féin member from Monaghan.

Proposed Bridge

Proposed Bridge

The approved scheme is for a single carriageway cable-stayed bridge across Carlingford Lough, which will be able to open to enable tall ships, leisure craft and other marine vessels access to Victoria Lock and the Albert Basin in Newry. The total length of the scheme is 620m while the towers have a height of 90m and 37m respectively. The design is by Roughan O’Donovan Consulting Engineers, who were also responsible for the new Boyne Bridge on the M1 near Drogheda.In his statement welcoming the project on 24th October 2012, Councillor Crowe is quoted as saying that the proposed bridge was:-

a genuinely symbolic cross border project providing the first bridge linking Ireland and Northern Ireland and will provide a momentous tourism and economic catalyst for the whole of the region. The Bridge development will provide much needed jobs in the construction sector in the short term and will undoubtedly enhance the tourism potential of the region as it acts as a gateway to the Mournes and Cooley Mountains”.

And I thought Sinn Féin always referred to the island of “Ireland” as a 32-county entity……but perhaps this was a statement drawn up by someone else. It also seems to contain an error often repeated by others that this is the first such cross-border bridge. Surely Councillor Crowe has heard of the projects successfully pursued with the Irish government by his party colleagues in Monaghan to get two small cross-border bridges rebuilt which the British Army had blocked in the early 1970s? Annaghroe and Knockaginny bridges across the River Blackwater connected Glaslough in County Monaghan and Caledon in County Tyrone and were re-opened in October 2010 by the then Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, whose colleague in government Dermot Ahern was very supportive of the Narrow Water project as a Louth TD and Minister for Justice.

It seems the progress of the Narrow Water project, described by its promoters as “iconic” and “histooric”, is not going to be as smooth as they hoped. Is it a bridge too far for unionists? Last November the First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson requested an investigation into the decision to grant EU funding. He rejected a claim by the SDLP MP for South Down Margaret Ritchie that he wanted money channelled away from North-South infrastructure schemes towards community projects involving former loyalist paramilitaries. The following month, Finance Minister Sammy Wilson told the Assembly there was a “political smell” about the application for funding. He questioned the speed with which the Stormont Environment Minister, Alex Attwood of the SDLP, had granted planning permission for the bridge.

Margaret Ritchie MP

Margaret Ritchie MP

Now Margaret Ritchie has accused Sammy Wilson of dragging his feet and hiding behind other government departments when it comes to approving funding for the project. She quoted Mr Wilson’s argument that he could not approve the outstanding £2m for the Narrow Water Bridge until the Department of Regional Development had prepared a Roads Order. Ms Ritchie said she had now received confirmation from the Department for Regional Development that it is currently preparing the draft Roads Order, which is expected to published next month. But according to the Minister Danny Kennedy, she said, the formal making of the Order will not happen until the Department for Finance approves the business case.

Ms Ritchie said this response clearly states that the Minister for Finance can make the decision to approve the Narrow Water Bridge funding now and that this decision is not held back by the work of the Department of Regional Development, despite claims to the contrary. She said if it remained the case that Sammy Wilson is not prepared to approve the funding then the First and Deputy First Ministers must ensure a decision is taken without further delay, in the interests of the wider community and the tourism industry in the Mourne area and throughout the island. Furthermore as this is an important North-South economic development project there is now a clear need for the direct intervention of the British and Irish Governments to ensure that this project faces no more unnecessary delay, she added.

The MP has taken a keen interest in the project since her involvement with the East Border Region Committee as a Councillor in 1985. She paid tribute to people such as her predecessor Eddie McGrady, Jim McCart, Donal O’Tierney and Barney Carr, who she said had never faltered from their belief in the bridge and who had shaped the economic debate for it and kept the project alive during very difficult political times in the North.

Narrow Water project

Narrow Water project