Gardaí and Revenue officers have seized €740,000 worth of cannabis discovered in a truck arriving at Rosslare Europort from mainland Europe.
Gardaí intercepted a truck arriving at Rosslare Port on Friday afternoon. A follow-up search revealed 37kg of cannabis herb wrapped in plastic with an estimated street value of €740,000.
Seized at Rosslare Europort
A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested at the scene and was being held for questioning at Wexford Garda Station on Friday night. He is being held under Section two of Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act which allows for him to be detained for up to seven days.
The seizure was the result of a joint operation in Wexford carried out by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and the Revenue Customs Service.
The investigation related to “serious organised criminal activity”, the Garda said in a statement on Friday night.
A busy week so far for the Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard Unit with call out’s on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Thursday at 3.34pm the Unit were tasked following a request from National Emergency Operations Centre with a person who had fallen from a cliff just south of Courtown and sustained a leg injury.
Once the casualty was located it was established that extraction via land was too difficult, so Rescue 117 was called in to assist and the casualty was winched onboard. The pitch at the Riverchapel Community Complex was prepared as a landing zone for the helicopter and the casualty was transferred to an awaiting ambulance where they were transferred to hospital for further care.
The unit were stood down and returned to base and prepare for the next callout!
RESCUE HELICOPTER 117
On Wednesday at 6.02pm the Unit were tasked to an object in the water at Saleen beach, just below Tara Hill, and following an investigation it turned out to be a large piece of timber.
This was a call with good intentions as the caller was unsure what it was; it is always better to make the call and have the item investigated to be sure. The unit was stood down and returned to base.
Remember if you see someone in difficulty on or near the water, dial 112/999 and ask for the Coast Guard.
Cllr Jim Moore, (Fine Gael), was elected Cathaoirleach of Rosslare Municipal District Council at this morning’s annual general meeting held at Wexford County Council Headquarters.
CLLR JIM MOORE, Cathaoirleach Rosslare Municipal District Council(Pic; Fine Gael.ie)
Tributes were paid to the outgoing Cathaoirleach Cllr Frank Staples, (Fine Gael), and thanks were expressed to him for his dedicated service to the role.
Cllr Moore, who has been a member of Wexford County Council since 2009 and was Cathaoirleach in 2010, said he is humbled by the support of his fellow members who elected him to the Rosslare district role.
Cllr Jim Codd, (Aontu), elected to Wexford County Council for the first time in 2019 is the new Leas-Cathaoirleach.
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, the longest bridge in Ireland, has been awarded the 2021 International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) Outstanding Structure Award.
Part of the country’s strategic N25 New Ross Bypass PPP, the win marks the first time an Irish project has secured the prestigious global award for the most remarkable, innovative and creative structures.
BAM Ireland CEO Theo Cullinane commented; “We are delighted that the bridge has been internationally recognised for its engineering excellence and are we are enormously proud to have built such an iconic structure. Congratulations to Tadhg Lucey (COO BAM Civil) and all the project team for their exceptional hard work in delivering this outstanding piece of infrastructure.”
Recognised under the ‘Bridge or Other Infrastructures’ category, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge has pushed the boundaries for the span of concrete extrados bridges.
Constructed by the BAM Dragados JV, the outstanding structure, Ireland’s longest bridge at 887m in length, holds other records: at 230m each, its two main spans are the longest post-tensioned concrete spans in the world.
The side spans over dry land on both sides of the River Barrow were built using a scaffold and a wing form traveller. The main spans were built using the balanced cantilever method. At its maximum length from the central pier, the west span cantilevered 140m over the river.
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy global award-winning bridge over the River Barrow between Wexford and Kilkenny south of New Ross.
The Outstanding Structure Award recognises the innovative teamwork of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Wexford and Kilkenny County Councils, contractors BAM and Dragados, the designers Arup and Carlos Fernandez Casado (CFC), and technical advisors for the scheme Mott MacDonald.
The 36m high, 887m long bridge crosses the River Barrow south of New Ross between Wexford and Kilkenny and forms a major part €230 million N25 New Ross Bypass PPP which has greatly improved connectivity in the South East of the country and reduced travel times on the strategic Cork to Rosslare corridor.
The Administrative Offices of Rosslare Municipal District have been officially opened by District Cathaoirleach, Cllr Frank Staples, alongside the Chief Executive of Wexford County Council, Mr Tom Enright and other members and staff of the Rosslare Municipal District in a small, socially distanced ceremony.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Frank Staples said; “I am proud to officially open the new office today and I am delighted to see dedicated facilities in place to allow the administrative staff and elected members to provide the best possible service for the citizens of the Rosslare District.”
Chief Executive Mr Tom Enright, added; “It is important to have an established office space for each of the five Districts in the county and while the delivery of the office for Rosslare district was delayed by public health measures over the last year, the preparatory work undertaken by the staff to ensure construction works could be completed as quickly as possible following a relaxation of the restrictions is to be commended.”
Pictured at the official opening of Rosslare Municipal District Offices (left to right); Cllr Ger Carthy, Chairman Wexford County Council, Dean Waters, Staff Officer, Rosslare Municipal District, Nóirín Cummins, District Manager, Rosslare Municipal District, Cllr Frank Staples, Chairman Rosslare Municipal District, Tom Enright, Chief Executive Officer, Wexford County Council, Cllr Jim Codd, Annette O’ Neill, Rosslare District Director, Mark Collins, District Engineer, and Chris Bailey, Clerical Officer, Rosslare Municipal District.
The official opening of the office marks a significant milestone for the new Municipal District, formally established in 2019. The dedicated Municipal District Office is located in County Hall, Carriglawn, Wexford, and will be the focal point for facilitating and enabling the administration and elected members of the Rosslare Municipal in the delivery of the programmes and objectives for the district.
The eagerly anticipated Kilanerin Vaccination Centre opened its doors today and activity got off to a good start in the community centre where ten vaccination booths have been created for the Covid-19 HSE programme.
KILANERIN VACCINATION CENTRE opened for the Covid-19 vaccination programme today.
The new centre has the capacity to offer 1,200 vaccinations a day, operating 8am to 8pm and catering mostly for those in the south Wicklow and north Wexford catchment area.
Local contractors have improved the car parking area while electrics and plumbing have been installed.
When the announcement was made a few weeks back, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly praised the work done by the HSE in finding the new location. He said: “An immense amount of work has gone into finding suitable premises for the vaccination centre which was not an easy thing to do as there are a lot of criteria that have to be met. I had asked the HSE that they make it a matter of urgency to find somewhere suitable which after a lot of hard work they have now done. Kilanerin is ideal for people in the area to get to.”
Minister for Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue invited producer organisations and industry representatives involved in today’s Dublin protest to a meeting this afternoon.
In a statement, Mr McConalogue said that he and the Government “stand with our fishers” and welcome engagement with them, and that he recognised “the challenges facing the industry because of Brexit and the pandemic.”
A dozen fishing vessels sailed from Kilmore Quay yesterday and joined fishermen from Donegal, Galway, Louth, Dublin, Waterford and Cork taking part in a protest involving 55 trawlers gathered at the entrance of Dublin Port this morning.
The children and grandchildren of some of the fishermen taking part in the protest delivered a letter to Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the National Convention Centre, where the Dáil is sitting.
The protest is in response to quotas cuts, the impact of Brexit and the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The Irish fishing industry is worth over €1 billion to the Irish economy and employs 16,000 people. Following Brexit, the national quota was cut by 15%, seriously impacting jobs and livelihoods in the industry.
Lack of “level playing field” under the EU Common Fisheries Policy is destroying the Irish fishing industry and coastal communities. An Taoiseach was told Government is failing to defend Irish rights and is destroying coastal communities.
Fishermen have also raised concerns in response to a recent EU ruling that states fish need to be weighed on piers, which they state could lower the quality of the catch and create logistical difficulties.
Fishing vessels resting in Kilmore Quay(Pic; WexfordLocal.com)
Cllr Jim Moore, who has given active support to the local fishing industry since 1989, opinioned two main problems to WexfordLocal.com “EU management and the share of the quotas is problematic,” said Cllr Moore, who added; “We need to be managing our affairs better because we got into this business because of weigh on the pier policy and that is mismanagement.”
Fish is transported by road to the Dublin markets daily starting at Kilmore Quay and collecting catches at Rosslare, Wexford, Cahore, Courtown, Arklow and other coastal centres in Co. Wicklow.
On May 26th last around 50 boats from the coastal areas Kilmore Quay to Dingle sailed through the night and assembled at Roche’s Point at 7am before the public awareness flotilla of boats sailed up the River Lee to Cork City to highlight the huge strain on the fishing industry and delivered a plea for help at An Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s constituency office.
Rosslare Harbour Village Park and Gardens have been recognised by the Wexford Gardens Trail as worthy of being included in the guide of visitor attractions in the county. The Secret Garden is no longer secret!
It is great that Rosslare Harbour can now boast the distinction of being a member of both the Wexford Walking Trail and the Wexford Gardens Trail. Over 21,000 people have visited the Cliff Walk so far this year and it is planned to grow increasing numbers of visitors to the area to enjoy this new experience.
Michael Delaney, Chairman of Rosslare Harbour Development Group and also Chairman of Wexford Walking Trails told WexfordLocal.com ; “The whole area of the Gardens is four and a half acres. It is quite an extensive piece of property. It is a plantation of Scots Pines. The Village Park and Gardens is composed of five different areas – the Memorial Park, the Sensory Garden, Peter’s Garden, Seamus’s Garden and the Landfill Garden – now it is part of the Wexford Garden’s Trail.”
This is testimony to the great work begun by Seamus Kirwan and Peter McCormack and continued from humble beginnings by the volunteers of the Environment Group with the support of local Tús workers.
The new visitor experience at Rosslare Harbour is attracting strong media attention. Mid Week Voices on South East Radio with Dan Walsh will air interviews recorded recently on location on tonight’s (Wednesday) programme starting at 8pm.
Tracks and Trails programme also visited the Village Park and Gardens and this programme hosted by Pól Ó Conghaile, travel writer with the Irish Independent, will feature on RTE 1 at 7.30 on Friday night.
AUDIO ADDITION – Michael Delaney talks to Dan Walsh about the Rosslare Harbour Village Park and Gardens.
Don’t miss either programme!! Check out Wexfordtrails.ie to access both trails.
Enniscorthy-born world class showjumping rider Bertram Allen will represent Wexford and Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics.
BERTRAM ALLEN in action ( Pic; Kaitlyn Karssen)
The official selection of the athlete and horse combinations for both the Showjumping and Eventing disciplines at the Tokyo Olympics will be made by the Olympic Federation of Ireland in the coming days, but WexfordLocal.com can confirm that nominations include Bertram Allen with Pacino Amiro (ISH) – 2012 gelding by Pacino (BWP) out of Carnone Dancing Queen (ISH) by NC Amiro (AES). Breeder: Simon Scott, Co. Donegal. Owner: Aiden McGrory.
Bertram Allen told WexfordLocal.com; “I am most grateful to be nominated to represent Team Ireland at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer together with my team-mates Cian O’Connor, Darragh Kenny, Shane Sweetnam and Michael Duffy. To compete for my country on the Olympic stage is a tremendous honour for me! “I am also incredibly proud of my Irish bred partner Pacino Amiro, who has kept on getting better and better this season to reach the highest level despite his young age!
Wexford County Council have purchased three acres of prime development land in Rosslare Harbour which incorporates a site for a much needed and long-awaited purpose-built community facility, playground, car parking and associated works. The news was announced today by Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Ger Carthy.
CLLR GER CARTHY Cathaoirleach Wexford County Council
“This will deliver, through the co-operation of Wexford County Council, the Rosslare Harbour Kilrane Village Development Team and local community groups the enhancement of the area’s rich social, cultural, sporting, and maritime traditions,” said Cllr Carthy, who added; “This progressive project will serve as a catalyst for vast improvements in the community of Rosslare Harbour and Kilrane for the years ahead.”
VERONA MURPHY TD
The announcement has also been warmly welcomed by Independent TD Verona Murphy who complimented everyone involved at a local level and to Wexford County Council for their ongoing work and commitment.
“I continue to fight hard at national level to secure additional funding to allow for the further development of Rosslare Europort to unlock the incredible potential of the area which has been neglected now for decades,” said Deputy Murphy, who added; “Confidence and investment in Rosslare Europort will bring confidence and investment to the environs of the port and this announcement is only the start.”
The lands adjacent to the site announced today are currently the subject of advanced negotiations, co-ordinated by Wexford County Council with a view to the delivery of a healthcare facility, which has the potential for the establishment of a €1.5 million investment in healthcare.
These exciting developments come against the backdrop of last week’s announcement relating to the granting of full planning permission on the nearby former Great Southern Hotel site, where a 95-bed nursing home and 25 independent living units are to be constructed.
WexfordLocal.com 