The Revenue Commissioners announced on Thursday it has formally commissioned a new, state of the art, mobile x-ray container scanner.
ROSSLARE EUROPORT (File Pic)
The new scanner cost €2.16 million and was part-funded by a grant of €1.73 million from the European Anti-Fraud Agency, OLAF, under its Hercule III Programme. Revenue Commissioner and Director General of Customs, Mr Gerry Harrahill, expressed the thanks of the Revenue Board to OLAF for their financial support in the acquisition of the new scanner.
The new scanner proved its worth when it was first deployed in Rosslare Europort earlier this year. It is a vital resource in Revenue’s strategy to target fiscal fraud, fuel fraud and the supply of illicit drugs and tobacco products, with a view to disrupting the supply chain, seizing the illicit products and prosecuting those responsible.
The Nuctech MT1213DE high energy mobile x-ray container scanner replaces an older scanner that had reached the end of its operational lifespan. It was selected following a competitive tendering process and is expected to operate until at least 2030.
You can’t beat activity and fun in the fresh air! Min Ryan Park, Wexford, was a wonderful place to be this morning with children and families enjoying themselves in the hot summer sun in the play area, others taking in the walking trails, and the launch of a wellbeing map by children for children WexfordGreat Places and Spaces by the Minister for Older People and Mental Health Mary Butler TD adding to the magic of the great outdoors.
Alice Doyle, Chairperson of Wexford Mental Health Association, acted as master of ceremonies at the socially distance outdoor ceremony, and said Wexford Great Places and Spaces is a wonderful publication and the brainchild of Paula Lowney. “It is the voice of children and the work of children for children by children, and Wexford Mental Health is proud of the project,” she added.
Minister Butler congratulated everyone associated with “a hugely original approach and it was driven on so well by Wexford Mental Health Association and their partners in Mental Health Ireland and I want to compliment the community and the volunteers because this could never happen without the volunteers and the endless hours that people put in.”
Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy, Cathaoirleach Wexford County Council said she was delighted to support the project and she was armed with compliments! “The engagement in the project was outstanding. 22 schools and outreach programmes participated in the project resulting in a total of 889 creative responses from primary school aged from across Co. Wexford,” stated Cllr Murphy.
Mayor of Wexford, Cllr Garry Laffan praised “a child friendly, wonderful and colourful publication through the eyes of our children” and he complimented the Wexford Mental Health Association on a splendid product.
Paula Lowney spoke about the idea for the publication and how it developed and stated that the Project gave an opportunity from primary school aged children from all over Co. Wexford to share their Great Places and Spaces that has had a positive impact on their wellbeing.
Minister for Older People and Mental Health Mary Butler TD, Mayor of Wexford Cllr Garry Laffan, and Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy pictured with other public representatives and friends and guests of Wexford Mental Health Association at the launch of Wexford Great Places and Spaces in Min Ryan Park, Wexford, this morning.
There were further praise and acknowledgement of success from Martin Rogan, CEO Mental Health Ireland and Dr Dervla Howley, Head of Health and Wellbeing in the South-East.
The attendance included Minister James Browne, Deputies Verona Murphy and Johnny Mythen, Senator Malcolm Byrne, Cllrs George Lawlor, Leonard Kelly, Tom Forde and Maura Bell, Tom Enright, CEO Wexford County Council and volunteers and friends of Wexford Mental Health Association.
Thanks was expressed to the Wexford Mental Health Project team of Paula Lowney, Niall Ó Muirí, Theresa Goff, Lorraine Cleere, Conor Ryan and the teachers and schools, and, especially the children, who participated in the Project and helped bring it to fruition.
The launch concluded with a poetry reading by Chloe Goff, composed by the children, and carried the message; “We hope that you find by using our map that Wexford has great places that can capture your heart.”
The booklet is a guide and a map for families and carers to support and encourage outdoor activities and play in the wonderful natural environments of Co. Wexford. Copies of the WexfordGreat Places and Spaces Project – Wellbeing Map for children by children will be available to the public, free of charge, through the libraries and schools in the coming weeks and months.
AUDIO ADDITION ; Minister Mary Butler in full praise for the Wexford Great Places and Spaces Project which she launched in Wexford today.
The scene at Ferrycarrig Bridge this morning. (Pic; An Garda Siochána).
Gardai are investigating a serious incident in which a cyclist was knocked from his bicycle and the vehicle involved failed to remain at the scene. The incident happened shortly after 7am today at Ferrycarrig Bridge, on the outskirts of Wexford town.
The vehicle involved is described a white/silver Ford Fiesta or similar.
Gardai have confirmed that the cyclist suffered no serious injuries, however, this incident could have had much worse consequences.
Gardai are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have information toassist their investigation to make contact at Wexford Garda Station at 053 9165200.
Funding to the tune of €319,000 has been announced for several connected hubs across Wexford under the Connected Hubs Scheme to enable them to enhance and add capacity to their remote working infrastructure and to assist hubs to deal with COVID related challenges.
€64,789.00 goes to Kilanerin Community Centre to upgrade existing remote working capacity, develop privacy pods and own door office spaces. The centre currently operates a remote hub (KCC Workspace) with hi-speed fibre broadband at Kilanerin Community Centre. Currently the shared community workspace consists of 10 dedicated workstations, 1 Private office and 1 Breakout / Meeting Room.
€36,890.00 for 61 North, Wexford town, to improve the existing facility through a general upgrade and modernisation, including improving security and access, improving accessibility, enhancing the internal and external aesthetics of the building.
€217,350 granted to Wexford County Council to upgrade nine Broadband Connection Points across the county. Each hub will be upgraded to provide an underlying physical network infrastructure as well as fitted with necessary fixtures and fittings – Askamore Childcare Centre, Ballyroebuck Hall, Raheen Family Resource Centre, Hook Head Lighthouse, Marshalstown GAA Club, Ballyfad Community Centre, St Mary’s GAA Club, Stella Maris Community Centre, Kilmore Quay and Wexford Swimming Pool.
PAUL KEHOE TD
News of the funding is welcomed by Deputy Paul Kehoe who told WexfordLocal.com; “One of the positives to take out of the last year and a half is that there has been an increased shift to working from home and OurRuralFuture recognises hubs as ideal locations for people to work remotely, as well as acting as key economic assets for towns and villages.
“We have an opportunity now to design our rural towns and villages to support a better work life balance for many people and to provide greater job opportunities outside of the cities.
“The investment announced today will provide an increased number of families and individuals with the option to live and work in our rural communities. Remote working from hubs and Broadband Connection Points benefitting from this funding will also support local economies and assist in reducing our carbon emissions,” concluded Deputy Kehoe.
Three fishermen were rescued after their vessel suffered engine failure and drifted onto a sandbank close to the ‘bar’ in Wexford Harbour on Monday.
After the vessel suffered engine failure the anchor snapped allowing the vessel to drift onto the sandbank.
Wexford RNLI Lifeboat (File Picture)
Wexford RNLI Lifeboat launched at 3.30pm on Monday and navigated through sandbanks on a falling tide to the vessel. As attempts to refloat the vessel failed at that time, the crew took one fisherman onboard.
At 1.33am on Tuesday morning both Wexford and Rosslare Harbour managed to work together to tow the crew and their vessel to safety.
Wexford and Rosslare Harbour RNLI Lifeboats were involved in a joint operation and the crew, and their stricken vessel were towed to safety.
During the last Covid-19 lockdown Wexford Libraries launched the ‘Keep Well Photo Competition’ and the people of Wexford were asked to take photos that showed who or what was helping them. The organisers were looking for images that would lift our spirits and the photos could include people, places and activities if they were taken somewhere in Co. Wexford.
There were 318 entries. These were shortlisted to 20 and the top 3 were voted on by the public. Three judges were then engaged to place these in order. The judges were Paul Finnegan, Chair Visit Wexford, Dr. Denise Rogers Acting Principal Psychology Manager, Wexford Mental Health Services, HSE and Philip Knight, Wexford Local Authorities Photographic Society. The judges put the photos in the following order:
THE WINNER;Tintern With a Twist by DANIEL STENNING
First place: Tintern with a Twist by Daniel. Stenning. Daniel Stenning, who lives in Taghmon, was delighted to win first prize with his striking photo Tintern with a Twist. He said; “The picture I took was just a spur of the moment thing, my brother and I were out on our kayaks. As we travelled under the bridge in Tintern, I noticed the shape of the small arch was the same shape as the front of the kayak. I took a few different shots but did not know if I had taken a good one. I checked later that evening and luckily, I had one that had the right shape to it. I was delighted to get into the top three nominations, and even more so that I was chosen as the winner.”
SECOND PLACE;Sunrise by Patricia Murphy
Second place: Sunrise by Patricia Murphy. Patricia Murphy, who won second place with her photo Sunrise, lives in Oulart, and is a paediatric nurse in Wexford General Hospital. She was driving home after night duty and notice the amazing colours in the sky. She pulled over at Ferrybank and captured her beautiful photo.
THIRD PLACE; Otter Pups by JOHN NUNN
Third place:Otter Pups by John Nunn. John Nunn, who came third with his captivating photo Otter Pups, has lived in Kilmore Quay for 32 years. John was aware of adult otters in the locality, but he had never been lucky enough to see otter pups. He said; “It was a case of being in the right place at the right time and I was fortunate to be able to frame them with the Saltee Islands in the background.”
They were presented with their prizes by Barbara-Anne Murphy, Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council and County Librarian Eileen Morrissey on Thursday evening in Wexford Branch Library. The winners won fabulous Taste Wexford Hampers and Taste Wexford Boxes.
A contentious failed motion that stated; “We remove the permission for jet ski’s from Courtown bye-laws in line with other beaches in the county.” was defeated by 5 votes to 4 at the June meeting of Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council and the issue surfaced again today and once more emotions went skywards at the meeting held with Microsoft Teams in line with Covid-19 protocols and guidelines.
Cllr Diarmuid Devereux reminded the members that the issue of the jet ski’s in Courtown was discussed at the last meeting, but he was of the impression that things had not improved a whole lot and it continues to be a major problem! There are health and safety issues. “I believe we have to revisit it. We just cannot ignore the problem. Put that on the agenda for another day,” he added and was supported by Cllr Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin.
Cllr Joe Sullivan said he was down there (Courtown) at the weekend and he observed jet ski’s in action and there was no one from Wexford County Council to police the water and no Gardaí and then he infuriated some members of the chamber when he criticised the Kilmuckridge members for voting ‘en bloc’ to oppose jet ski’s in the Gorey district when the motion came before the June meeting.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Pip Breen was having none of it and he said there was more jet ski’s launched at Cahore than there was in Courtown! “To push the problem up to Cahore is not fair on Cahore, nor is it fair on Courtown. This is a problem that must be dealt with countrywide. They are a scourge countrywide, not just in Courtown.”
Cllr Mary Farrell objected to Cllr Sullivan’s comments. “Nobody is in favour of jet ski’s but we have to remember that not everyone who has a jet ski is a thug! (shouting broke out much of the conversation was lost). Cllr Farrell suggested that what needs to happen is to put something in place that solves the problem for everybody and she quoted a sign she saw from another County Council;
“Personal watercraft e.g. Jet ski’s and recreational craft, speedboats are prohibited from being launched into or operated in these waters or off this beach for a distance of 300 metres seaward from the mean low water mark as shown,”and Cllr Farrell said this means they can’t be launched or operated within 300 metres and anyone who is being genuine and cautious about what they do will go out to the 300 metres and operate in a safe and risk free manner.
Director of Services, Amanda Byrne suggested bringing Captain Phil Murphy, Wexford County Council Harbour Master to the September meeting and bring the Gardaí in as well. “When Capt. Murphy met with the Gardaí after the July meeting he was able to point out powers that they really didn’t realise they had. A person standing there with a jet ski – that is not a crime in any sense of the word, but where there is bad behaviour or abuse of the system that needs to be reported. It will be interesting to see the number of incident reports that have come to the attention of the Gardaí.
She added that Capt. Murphy will have the data from the users found lifting the barrier and a history to bring to the next meeting.
Cllr Willie Kavanagh repeated a comment he made at the previous meeting that he was in favour of accommodating everyone to enjoy the water – it is there for everyone to enjoy – in a safe manner.
Cllr Andrew Bolger agreed that there is a problem in Courtown. Cllr Donal Kenny also contributed.
Jet Ski’s in action at Courtown Harbour on Tuesday evening.
Cllr Sullivan concluded that the roads are there for everybody and the water is there for everybody, and if you misbehave on the road you get put off the road and if you misbehave on the water – you can’t get put off the water and Cllr Sullivan alleged that jet ski’s are ‘banned from everywhere bar Courtown’. An Cathaoirleach and Cllr Sullivan ended up disagreeing as to the legality of jet ski’s – the issue rolls on and meanwhile the waters around Courtown are alive to the sound of jet ski’s watched by large numbers enjoying their day visit or staycation.
Gardaí from the Wexford Divisional Roads Policing Unit stopped a car travelling at 155 kph on the M11 last night. Gardaí searched the car and seized €2,800 worth of cocaine. The driver gave a false name and address. Gardaí discovered he was disqualified from driving and had no insurance cover The driver was arrested and the car seized.
With a high-temperature weather advisory issued across the country, Irish Water is continuing to urge the public to conserve water to ensure a consistent supply for all during this busy time. Demand for drinking water has increased very significantly in many supplies across Wexford.
At the same time, due to the dry weather and high temperatures, water source levels are dropping. Irish Water, together with Wexford County Councils, is working hard to maintain supplies.
Niall O’Riordan, Irish Water’s Operations Lead for Wexford said: “The current extra demand, combined with reduced capacity, is not sustainable across Wexford. We are appealing to everyone to be mindful of this and reduce water consumption as much as possible.
“All supplies across the county are seeing increased demand. Night time restrictions will again be in place in Enniscorthy tonight between 11pm and 6am. It is anticipated that these restrictions will need to be implemented each night this week due to the high demand.
SAVE WEXFORD WATER
“The households, farms and businesses served by public water supplies across Wexford are asked to reduce water usage as much as possible. Schemes under the most pressure at present include the Enniscorthy Scheme, Sow Regional Scheme (serving Castlebridge, Curracloe, Crossabeg, Blackwater), Fardystown Scheme (serving Rosslare, Kilmore, Kilrane), Wexford Town Scheme, South Regional Scheme (serving Duncannon, Arthurstown, Ballyhack, Wellington Bridge, Carrick on Bannow and Ballycullane), Kilmuckridge Scheme, Gorey/Courtown Scheme (Ballymoney, Tara Hill in particular).
“Everyone can contribute and the combination of effort will greatly help our ability to provide a continuous water supply to all. There is guidance and tips for conserving water available on www.water.ie/conservation.”
Small changes can have a significant impact, for example:
– Take a shorter shower and save up to 10 litres of water per minute
– Fix dripping taps or leaking toilets in your home
– When brushing your teeth or shaving, turn off the tap and save up to 6 litres of water per minute
– Save and reuse water collected from baths, showers, and hand basins in the garden
– Avoid using paddling pools
– In the garden use a rose head watering can instead of a hose and aim for the roots
– If you need to wash your car, use a bucket and sponge instead of a hose
– Report any leaks to Irish Water at 1800 278 278.
Irish Water is continuing to see significant levels of domestic and commercial demand for water as temperatures remain high and the public are asked to take some simple measures to conserve water in their homes, businesses and on farms.
Irish Water has been carefully monitoring all its raw water sources, that is the water from lakes, rivers, springs and ground sources that feed our water treatment plants. As rivers, lakes and groundwater levels reduce through the summer and autumn period, there is less water available for supply, while at the same time the warmer weather gives rise to increased water demands for domestic, agricultural and leisure uses.
With the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public are reminded to adhere to public health and HSE advice, and handwashing and hygiene remain critically important.
Further water conservation information is available on the Irish Water website www.water.ie/conservation
Enniscorthy is getting a well-deserved street cleaning treatment on Rafter Street, Court Street, Church Street, Castle Street and a small portion of Weafer Street and Main Street members were informed by Acting District Manager Bernie Quigley at the July meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council held today under strict Covid-19 protocols and guidelines at Kilcannon Garden Centre on the Old Dublin Road.
RAFTER STREET, ENNISCORTHY
The cleaning operation, which will take four days, has already begun and during the meeting Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy pointed out that “if outdoor dining is permitted it is only fair that a clean environment be presented for the public using the streets.”
Slaney Street is getting 150 umbrellas covering approximately 15 metres next week. Due to works commencing in Slaney Street under the Historic Towns Initiative it is not possible to install as many as previous years, but some colourful days are imminent.
In other news, the Council has agreed to the installation of water fountains at Bunclody, Bree, The Promenade, Enniscorthy, the 21 Steps, Templeshannon, and Doyle’s Corner, The Duffry, Enniscorthy. It is hoped to order the fountains in mid-August.
Plans are afoot to resurface the entire 3km riverside walking trail by the River Slaney, and resurface a track around the Urrin River, a 600-metre loop, up to St. John’s Bridge, that would allow wheelchairs and disabled users access around the Urrin footbridge. The grant allocation is €200,000.
Update on the Enniscorthy Technology Park is that steel erection will commence on Monday, July 26th and the project is on course for completion in May 2022.
So, many worthwhile projects in the pipeline that will make Enniscorthy town and district a better place.
WexfordLocal.com 