Gorey Town Park; “Are we stopped at €2.76m?”

By Dan Walsh

There were robust exchanges concerning the delay in completing Gorey Town Park and the escalating cost of the project when members assembled electronically for the March meeting of Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council held by Microsoft Teams within the Covid-19 guidelines last Tuesday.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Joe Sullivan, who described the situation as ‘a mini-children’s hospital debacle’ pointed out that it was never the intention to hold anybody to the €1.2 million first mooted in 2016, but he added “in 2018 it went up to €1.8 million; in 2019; €2.3 million; 2021, €2.76 million”, and he noted an upward trajectory and was concerned at “where is it going to stop?”

“We are €1 million over-shooting the runway at this stage. Are we stopped at €2.76m?,” said Cllr Sullivan, who added; “Everybody is getting tired at this stage. We only lost from the 27th of March to the 18th of May – that was the official Level 5 lockdown for the construction industry. And work didn’t close again until the 8th of January.”

Cllr Pip Breen said it was anticipated that the Town Park would be completed in October and were assured that planting would be done before the weather broke, but what was promised was not delivered.

Cllr Diarmuid Devereux recalled a chat about an invitation for the CEO to come to a meeting to discuss issues, like the Town Park, He questioned if correspondence had been received and if there is a date set for a meeting with the CEO?

Cllr Devereux felt that some accountability was necessary and an explanation as to how a project escalates from 2019, or a bit further back, by €1 million in a town with a population of less than 10,000 people!

Plans for Gorey District Park are displayed at the entrance. (File Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

Cllr Devereux reminded members that there were issues around the original tender. “This project is about footpaths, open top soil, planting and a pretty limited number of structures, none of which are formidable.”

“If you take it that there are only around 2,000 families in the 10,000 people in Gorey and only a limited number of people will use this park on a limited basis – the cost per person per population of Gorey – shows that the figures are completely off the scale,” concluded Cllr Devereux, who stated that the people of Gorey needs to know what is happening!

Cllr Fionntán Ó’Suilleabháin said that it is a fact that in this country lots of big contracts is seen as public money – easy money – you basically name your price. “That has been the culture in the country with local authorities. We saw it with Courtown Pier Works, the Market House – the initial figure compared to the present figure, there is a massive difference – and there is no reason that the planting in the Town Park could not be going ahead right now!

Cllr Andrew Bolger agreed with his fellow councillors on the Town Park. “If we as county councillors ask for something extra out of Wexford County Council we are told ‘it is not budgeted for’, which we accept, but if a contract is signed at €1.2 million that is allowed to reach €2.7 million of taxpayer’s money it is very disheartening and the councillors frustrations in relation to this project are justified. “We must have accountability on these contracts because we are going to continue to waste taxpayer’s money when all we are trying to do is to give local people somewhere to go for a stroll and use the amenities for something they have already paid through their LPT (Local Property Tax),” concluded Cllr Bolger.

Cllr Donal Kenny agreed with the members. “Over €18 million came down from Dublin to Wexford last week to be divided up and there wasn’t a penny of it came back across the River Slaney,” he added.

Cllr Sullivan summed up the depth of feelings amongst members regards Gorey Town Park. “When you bring it down to layman’s language it is a case of; Start when you like. Finish when you like. Do what you like and charge what you like. Have we a start date, a finish date, a cost, the variable budget – have we all those things in writing from our contractor?

“We need to be told what is going on,” said Cllr Sullivan, while Cllr Mary Farrell agreed that there are many questions that need to be answered.

Cigarettes seized at Rosslare Europort

By Dan Walsh

Revenue officers at Rosslare Europort seized approximately 13,400 cigarettes and 830 grams of tobacco following the search of a Czech registered van at the Wexford port yesterday (Monday).

The illicit cigarettes branded ‘Benson & Hedges Option’, ‘Rothmans’, ‘L&M Red’, ‘L&M Blue’ and tobacco branded ‘Drum’, have an estimated retail value of over €10,000, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of approximately €7,932.

The illegal cigarettes were discovered when Revenue officers stopped and searched a Czech registered van that had disembarked a ferry from Dunkirk, France. The search, which was carried out with the assistance of Revenue’s mobile x-ray scanner, led to the discovery of the cigarettes concealed within the load.

A Czech national in his 40’s was questioned. Investigations are ongoing.

The seizure is part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting smuggling and the shadow economy. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on Confidential Phone Number 1800 295 295.

Danger in four Wexford water supplies

By Dan Walsh

Pesticide exceedances have been detected in the public drinking water supply in four water supply areas in Co. Wexford across 2019 and 2020. The exceedance was detected as part of Irish Water’s public water supply monitoring programme.

The River Sow passing through beautiful Edenvale.

The Clonroche, Davidstown, South Regional Supply Scheme and Wexford Town water supply were the supply areas that showed exceedances across 2019 and 2020. Irish Water is asking users of any herbicide or pesticide products in the River Sow at Edenvale, Coolree Reservoir and the Owenduff River as well as users in the Clonroche and Davidstown catchment to consider the vulnerability of the water supplies to pesticide contamination and the importance of this supply to the local homes and businesses in the community.

Pat Duggan, Irish Water’s Regional Drinking Water Compliance Specialist said: “In Co. Wexford, the exceedance of the drinking water regulations for MCPA, Bentazone, Glyphosate, 2,4-D, Metaldehyde and Triclopyr was dedicated in four drinking water supplies. There were seven detections in 2019 and nine in 2020 across those water supply areas. While our consultation with the HSE has concluded that the levels seen do not represent a threat to public health, it is however undesirable and therefore imperative that users of pesticides are mindful of best practice when using herbicides or pesticides and seek out alternatives.”

36% of households have no rubbish bin!

By Dan Walsh

It is a staggering statistic, but 36% of households have no rubbish disposal bins, and at Monday’s monthly meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council held with Microsoft Teams in compliance with Covid-19 protocol, members were shocked at the findings and wondered what can be done to extinguish the unacceptable scourge of littering and illegal dumping.

A commissioned analysis of bin usage in housing estates in Enniscorthy and Bunclody at undisclosed locations concluded that 36% of houses in the areas surveyed do not have a refuse bin!

“That is a huge amount that is not going into the rubbish collection system,” said District Manager, Ger Mackey, who added; “In one case on the Kiltealy road we collected 36 bags of rubbish – half a ton of litter from that road – and possibly you could pick a similar amount from the New Ross road out towards Clonroche. It is a minority who are offending, but we have seven staff working here in town and 60% of their time is spent picking up rubbish and dog fouling and they would be more productively employed making Enniscorthy better.”

Cathaoirleach Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy described as “shocking” the District Manager’s observation that 60% of the Council staff in Enniscorthy are picking up other people’s rubbish and dealing with dog fouling. “The local authority is expected to clean up after 36% of people who refuse to get bins. “That is absolutely shocking,” she concluded.

Cllr John O’Rourke recalled a trend in Enniscorthy and Ferns of people stockpiling rubbish in their back gardens that created rat infestation problems. “Neighbours are stockpiling and don’t have a bin. This is a crazy carry on”, he added.

Cllr Jackser Owens said he was baffled at the figure – 36% don’t have bins – and asked the District Manager; “do you know who these people are? He replied, ‘yes’ and Cllr Owens queried “can we write to these people and ask them where their rubbish go?” Cllr Owens said that “everywhere you go you see bags on the roads. This is not good enough. Everybody should have a bin. It is as simple as that and they should subscribe to the service like everybody else.”

ENNISCORTHY

Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan said they have taken “the carrot and the stick approach” to disposal of rubbish and “nothing seems to be working” a system that works needs to be devised and she said “if 36% of people in a housing estate haven’t got bins they should be pursued, bring them to the courts, and what funding is spent on cleaning up after people that can’t take responsibility for themselves – it’s just beyond a joke at this stage!

Cllr Aidan Browne referred to the 36% figure as “shocking” and he recalled recently reporting a housing estate issue and he complimented the District Manager on attempting to find out who has or has not bins and “he is trying to get it cleaned up” and he suggested “outside the box” thinking was necessary such as signage and education through the schools as a way forward.

Cllr Cathal Byrne recalled that last year 22 people were convicted in the courts for illegal dumping, and he believed they should “be named and be shamed” and he felt that might be a role for the media!

Director of Services Carolyne Godkin summed up by agreeing with the members and admitting that she could not add much to the debate. “It is utterly disgraceful and unfortunately there is a portion of society that will only respond to enforcement and that means that we have to tackle individual households – over 50,000 household across the county – and it only takes a small portion of those households to create a disproportionate impact in terms of dumping on our estates and our roadways.”

Ms Godkin added that the waste disposal bye-laws require householders to demonstrate how they dispose of their waste. “We can’t force people to get a bin, but they have to be able to demonstrate how they dispose of their refuse in an appropriate manner,” she concluded.

€18.4m to progress Trinity Wharf

By Dan Walsh

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, has announced €74 million for the South-East under ‘Call 2’ of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and Trinity Wharf in Wexford town is included with welcome funding of €18.4 million.

An artist’s impression of Trinity Wharf in Wexford. Image wexfordcoco.ie

The 10-acre Trinity Wharf project is central to Wexford County Council’s ambitious plans to attract foreign direct investment and high-quality employment opportunities to County Wexford. With overall project investment estimated at €120 million, including €26 million of public investment, the huge regeneration project is central to the long-term regeneration and enhancement of Wexford town and environs by creating a new urban quarter for the south of Wexford town with new links to the Crescent and town centre area.

Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Ger Carthy described the funding announcement as “a truly significant milestone in Wexford’s economic development. “It means that Wexford County Council’s ambition to develop Trinity Wharf as a multi-use regeneration project of regional scale has now become a reality,” he added.

Mayor of Wexford Cllr Leonard Kelly said; “Regeneration projects such as Trinity Wharf are all about making these areas more attractive places in which to live, work, visit and invest.” 

Chief Executive of Wexford County Council Mr. Tom Enright described Trinity Wharf as one of the most exciting and ambitious economic developments projects ever proposed in the county. “Trinity Wharf is an example of how the local authority has taken a diverse set of needs, including economic, social and recreational and integrated these into a progressive, modern, fit-for-purpose multi-use development project that can transform the economic and social landscape of County Wexford” said Mr. Enright.

The Council acquired the site in 2016 and prepared a masterplan and preliminary designs for the creation of a high-quality mixed-use development of modern office space, hotel accommodation, multi-storey carparking, a landmark cultural and events multi-use building together with dozens of residential units, a new marina and a boardwalk linking Trinity Wharf to Paul Quay and the Crescent.

Good day for Wexford ‘points’ stables

By Dan Walsh

With no point-to-point racing due to Civid-19 restrictions Horse Racing Ireland secured a small number of point-to-point bumpers and when the first day’s action was run at Punchestown this afternoon, there was plenty of Wexford success.

BARRY O’NEILL had a double at Punchestown today.

Colin Bowe and Barry O’Neill won both races for four-year-old geldings with the favourites, Ernest Gray (5/2 jt-fav) and Last Quarter (7/4 fav) for owners Milestone Partnership and John Brennan. Both are for sale.

There were two races for five-year-old geldings and both brought victory to Wexford stables. Jet Of Magic scored by four lengths for Denis Murphy, Ballyboy Stables, The Ballagh, with Jamie Codd up, while the father and son team of Liam Kenny (handler) and James Kenny (rider) from Craanford enjoyed a one and three quarter lengths success with Green Vault (14/1). The winning owner is the Kennys neighbour Gavin Kinch.

And the five and six-years-old geldings race brought about a second win on the day for Jamie Codd aboard Wall of Fame (5/6 fav.) for Meath handler Denise Foster.

A point-to-point bumper card is scheduled for Bettyville Park on Saturday, March 20th where plenty of local interest will be on display. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 protocols no spectators are permitted to attend at this time.

Contracts signed for Arthurstown plant

By Dan Walsh

Irish Water and Wexford County Council has signed contracts with the Sisk Group to begin works on the new wastewater plant in Arthurstown also serving the areas of Ballyhack and Duncannon providing wastewater treatment for the equivalent of almost 1,875 people. 

CLLR MICHAEL WHELAN

Chairman of New Ross Municipal District, Cllr Michael Whelan warmly welcomed the news of the contract signing with the Sisk Group stating; “I have been looking forward to this day for a long time and, I would like to thank all concerned with its delivery.”

The project will see Irish Water investing €12.8m resolving an issue that has been problematic for the area for many years. 
New Ross District Director for Wexford County Council, Eamonn Hore stated that “the works when completed will bring great benefits to the villages and surrounding areas in terms of environmental improvements, water quality, development, tourism and investment.”
One of Wexford’s most iconic landmarks and tourism attractions is Hook Head and 50,000 visitors flock to this ancient lighthouse each year.  

Centre Manager Lorraine Waters said; “Hook lighthouse is delighted to hear its partnering villages at Duncannon, Arthurstown and Ballyhack have had the contracts signed for their new wastewater treatment plant, as all our areas are striving to go green and become more eco-friendly this is indeed good news, especially in a time where we are now hoping to, in the coming years increase our visitor capacity to our beautiful county.”

Séamus Glynn, Irish Water’s Regional Delivery Lead said; “This is such a beautiful part of the country and to think that the equivalent of 1,500 wheelie bins of raw sewage was flowing into the Barrow, Nore, Suir estuary every day is extremely disappointing. The size and scale of the challenge of raw sewage discharging into our water ways is well documented, however, the good news is that Irish Water has a plan to get to grips with this and with this project, we will eliminate that practice in this area and go a long way to not only supporting social and economic development but to protect our marine life in the years to come too.” 

Site investigation and clearance work will begin shortly with the main works to follow in the coming months, with the project due to be completed in 2023. The treatment plant will support social and economic development in these areas of Wexford and will also safeguard marine life.

Fatal workplace incident at Caim

A man in his 40’s has died following a workplace incident at a grain stores premises at Caim, near Enniscorthy, at 9.50 am this morning.

The man was struck by a loader.

The deceased has been a long-term employee of the company and is from the locality.

Separate investigations are being carried out by An Garda Siochana and the Health Safety Authority.

Hail the ‘greening’ ports of France

By Dan Walsh

While many public buildings in towns across County Wexford are turning ‘green’ on St. Patrick’s Day WexfordLocal.com has learned that Dunkirk and other ports in France serving traffic from Rosslare Europort are set to greet the ships with a ‘green’ welcome!

France and Ireland have a long historical relationship with many from Wexford fighting on the streets of France during the Revolution of 1789. In return, France sent forces to Ireland for the 1798 Insurrection; some arrived late and some went to the wrong location. However, they did go to the effort of making the voyage!

ROSSLARE EUROPORT is a busy port these days!

Senator Malcolm Byrne has praised Tourism Ireland’s initiative in greening the French ports and urged businesses in Wexford as well as the country generally attracting more French visitors coming out of the pandemic.

“Brexit makes it more difficult for French people to travel to England. We have to ensure that the French know how welcoming Wexford and Ireland can be,” added Senator Byrne.

While we await the full list of Wexford public buildings turning ‘green’ for the national holiday with the celebrations completely axed for the second successive year due to Covid-19 wouldn’t it be nice if a ‘green twinning’ were to light up Rosslare Europort and both ports would go ‘green’! On the other hand, would anybody notice?

Maria’s novel in the shadow of Covid-19

By Dan Walsh

A new novel from Maria Nolan entitled The Shadow of the Hill was launched on World Book Day, but due to Covid-19 restrictions there was no place for a conventional launch and faced with difficulty in marketing the work, but the book is published and should be readily available in paperback shortly.

The Shadow of the Hill is set amongst the history and heritage of the author’s native place at the turn of the 20th century and follows the fortunes of the McDonald family and their thirteen children through everyday living, but also the impact of more international events from the past such as the Boer War, the Wexford Lockout, the Great War and the local events of the 1916 Rising.

MARIA NOLAN whose debut novel The Shadow of the Hill has just been published.

The author said; “It is part of who we are. The blood and bone of our ancestors flowed into our river and seeped into our soil. It is what we eat and drink here in Enniscorthy and it will never let us forget.”

Maria Nolan is heavily involved in local happenings related to the culture and history of Enniscorthy, theatrical events and a member of the local re-enactors group who are an integral part of commemoration and pageantry almost nationwide for a number of years now. She is a regular contributor to the local free newspaper Slaney News.

Maria’s latest work has won praise from many literary sources including top writers like Carmel Harrington and Sheila Forsey. The unique cover design on The Shadow of the Hill is the work of local artist Larry Dunne.

“It was a very exciting day for me as my debut novel and is published as an eBook on Amazon Kindle but the paperback version is on its way and will be available shortly in Eason’s (formerly Byrne’s) in Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford and at Red Books in St. Peter’s Square, Wexford,” Maria told WexfordLocal.com

AUDIO ADDITION ; MARIA NOLAN talks to DAN WALSH about her novel The Shadow of the Hill.