WexfordLocal.com

Call for income review for housing applicants

By Dan Walsh

A Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District councillor will appeal on behalf of families to the Department and Minister for Housing to review social housing income thresholds in County Wexford and across Ireland on behalf of several families.

Cllr Joe Sullivan, who is also current Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, explained the plan to WexfordLocal.com.

“I would call on the Department of Housing to consider doing one of two things. Raise income thresholds for social housing annually in accordance with inflation or create an appeals procedure whereby applicants whom are €2,000 or less over the threshold can appeal to an independent office outlining their circumstances.

“As I am familiar with the system and the thresholds in County Wexford, I will outline the current rates as the apply. All bands are net of tax deductions. I have checked the inflation figures since the last increase in January 2023 and find that it is running at approximately 9.2% over the period January 2023 to December 2025.

Cllr Sullivan continued; “While I do agree that the Department of Housing and the Government have to keep tight constraints on housing income thresholds and cannot allow a situation to develop where the system would be overwhelmed by housing applicants due to the higher income bands, I am satisfied that the current income bands are not fit for purpose, and the current guillotine style effect of enforcing them

“Perhaps an appeals system could be put in place or similar facility? I will now outline severe with officials not having any discretion owning to circumstances to allow people onto the housing list who are slightly let’s say up to €2,000 over the limit where they can justify it due to their circumstances. three case studies where I believe the system is not working for applicants;

Case Study 1. One adult with one child currently earning €1,800 pa over the income threshold. The adult is in full time employment 66kms from her home which requires her to travel 132kms round trip per day. There is no public transport available to her. She enjoys her work and no similar work is available to her in her immediate home area. The €1,800 she is over the threshold goes in diesel for her car along with the same again to get her to work every year. Her only way to get under the threshold is to cut her work hours, and that is counter productive in my opinion.

Case Study 2. One adult two children who was on the housing list. This person who works in the health care sector was at the time on the housing list. During the Covid pandemic she been young and healthy accrued some overtime hours which put her over the threshold and after five years on the housing list was removed. Having lost her time on the housing list she is now trying to get back on it and finds herself working less hours to remain under the income threshold, again counter productive in my opinion.

Case Study 3. Couple four children all under ten years of age mother at home raising children father working lowlow-income job. Living in rented accommodation receiving HAP payment finding it extremely difficult to live on existing income father willing and able to do extra hours working but cannot as the would put him over the income threshold, again caught in income trap.

Cllr Sullivan notes that, as demonstrated by the three cases above, each individual could improve their lifestyle and better support their families if the income thresholds and related criteria were slightly relaxed or adjusted.

In summary, Cllr Sullivan acknowledges the excellent efforts of Wexford County Council’s Housing Section and Minister for Housing James Browne TD. He stated that this press release is not a criticism but rather an appeal representing a group of people he interacts with daily, whose voices he believes deserve to be heard.

Ballycrystal treble for Donnchadh Doyle

**Got The Memo was winner of the gelding’s maiden race and poses in the Ballycrystal winners enclosure with the groom, rider Brian Lawless, handler Donnchadh Doyle and his children, Donie and Edie**. (Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

By Dan Walsh at Ballycrystal races

Local handler Donnchadh Doyle’s stables were the one to follow at the Ballinagore Harriers point-to-point today where he saddled three of the six winners. There were also doubles for riders Rob James and Brian Lawless.
The Monbeg Syndicate treble began with Cosmic Connection coming home three lengths to the good in the maiden race for five-year-old geldings and L’Aurige was never headed in the maiden race for five-year-olds and upwards where only two of the five runners completed the course. Both winners were ridden by Rob James.
Donnchadh Doyle’s treble was completed when Got The Memo scored by two and a half lengths in the maiden race for six-year-olds and upwards geldings completing a double for Wicklow rider Brian Lawless.
Lawless, who is new to the training ranks, earlier won the maiden race for six-year-olds and upwards mares on Johnny’s Bell as a rider and trainer by five and a half lengths.
The maiden race for five-year-old mares was won by the champion Colin Bowe/Barry O’Neill team with Jukebox Bess taking the winners’ purse with four lengths to spare.
The remaining race on the card – the Winners of Two – was a close affair with last week’s Tinahely winner Lord Desart winning by a neck for the Tipperary team of Sam Curling and Daniel Hyde with Denis Murphy’s Empire Soldier (Shane Walsh Kehoe) coming second.
It was a fine day’s racing after the fog disappeared.
43 of the 67 entries turned up, which is a good percentage. The track was in great condition, and the crowd was one of the largest seen at a point-to-point for some time.

Lions Club exhibition at Arts Centre

Pictured at the Wexford Lions Club Exhibition at Wexford Arts Centre were (left to right); Sheila Kissane, Award Winner; Emily O’Rourke, President Wexford Lions Club and Elizabeth Whyte, Executive Director Wexford Arts Centre. (Pic; *WexfordLocal.com*)

By Dan Walsh at Wexford Arts Centre

The annual Wexford Lions Club exhibition was officially opened by guest adjudicator and fine art painter Oonagh Latchford in Wexford Arts Centre this afternoon.

It was an occasion of celebration for local talent and offers a platform for artists who are at various stages of their careers as well as those with an interest in art who wish to see their work realised within a gallery context.

As a result of the tremendous success of last years and the remarkably high-quality work achieved received, the theme for the 2016 Lions Club exhibition has remained entirely open.

The open brief allows the participants the freedom to create exciting and original work, and to tell their own stories. These stories or experiences can be related through a varied range of subjects such as urban and rural narratives, abstraction and even pure imagination.

The annual Lions Club exhibition can be seen in the upper and lower galleries of Wexford Arts Centre until Thursday, February 5^th. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

Gorey Gardaí seeking assistance

**GOREY GARDA STATION** (File Pic; WexfordLocal.com)

Gardaí in Gorey are seeking the assistance of the public in identifying the driver of a 181-registered Mercedes involved in a collision with a pedestrian.

The incident occurred on Friday, 16 January 2026 at approximately 2.40pm, near St. Joseph’s Primary School, in the Creagh area of Gorey, Co. Wexford.

The pedestrian was crossing the road at the time and required medical treatment following the collision. The vehicle involved did not stop at the scene.

Anyone who witnessed this incident, has dashcam footage, or has any information that may assist Gardaí is asked to contact Gorey Garda Station on 053 943 0690 or Garda Confidential on 1800 666 111.

Ballycrystal races on Sunday

By Dan Walsh

The Ballinagore Harriers point-to-point takes place at Ballycrystal, near Kiltealy, on Sunday. The first race is at 12.30pm and 65 entries have been received for the six-race card.

The going for Sunday is described as “yielding to soft, soft in places.”

The weather forecast is for 7-8mm of rain from tonight (Friday) into Saturday. Dry on Saturday evening to raceday on Sunday.

The organisers are confident of a competitive afternoon’s action and would appreciate a good-sized crowd.

Wexford archive recordings freely available

By Dan Walsh

**WEXFORD LIBRARY** (File Pic; *WexfordLocal.com*)

Wexford Library and Archive have uploaded four collections of oral recordings to Digital Repository of Ireland: County Wexford Oral History Project, Memories of 1916, Memories of World War 1 and Southend Maritime Heritage Oral History Project.

These recordings are freely available for all to listen to or download from home or any remote location.

Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Joe Sullivan said; “I’m delighted that Wexford Library and Archive Service are making this resource available to the public. The recordings show how different life in Wexford was for our previous generations of ancestors. I’m confident they will be a rich asset to researchers and family members.”

At the beginning of 2025, Wexford Library and Archive Service became a member of the Digital Repository of Ireland. The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) is a certified trustworthy digital repository that provides long-term preservation and access to Ireland’s social and cultural digital data.

The organisation is funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) via the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Wexford Library and Archive Service links in with a growing number of local authority archives who have become members of DRI.

Wexford Library and Archive Service Wexford Library Service continues to collect oral history recordings and will upload more recordings and other resources to DRI in the future.

RTÉ Sunday Mass broadcasts outsourced

By Dan Walsh

**ST. AIDAN’S CATHEDRAL, Enniscorthy.** (File Pic; *WexfordLocal.com*)

RTÉ will broadcast all Sunday Mass and worship transmissions directly from churches, marking a significant move away from studio-based broadcasting to parish church locations and worship settings.

The new broadcasts will be produced by independent production company, Scratch Films, led by documentary filmmaker Liam McGrath, who has been awarded the RTÉ contract for Sunday worship broadcasting for the next three years.

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, who serves as chair of the Bishops’ Council for Communications, welcomed the development, stating, “We welcome RTÉ’s decision to transmit live worship from parishes across the island – this is something which we have been encouraging for a number of years.

While we are very grateful for past broadcasts of worship from the RTÉ studio, we believe that sharing the celebration of Mass directly from parishes and from our many beautiful and historic churches will provide a richer and more authentic experience for all concerned.”

Wexford welcomes new trad weekend

**At the launch of WexfordTrad Weekend in County Hall, Wexford.**

By Dan Walsh

Wexford town will host the first-ever WexTrad Weekend over the St. Brigid’s Bank Holiday, featuring various Irish cultural events throughout the area from Thursday, January 29th to Bank Holiday Monday, February 2nd.

Supported by Wexford County Council, as a Fleadh legacy project, and is additionally supported by Wexford Credit Union, Wexford Town Vintners, The Talbot Hotel and Crown Live.

The festival will include a programme of concerts, presentations, a free indoor multi-group stage and a late-night Festival Club.

The opening event will revive a traditional Wexford Mummers Ball, featuring displays by mummers’ groups from around the county and dancing to a lively House Ceilí Band.

Additionally, over the weekend, associated events are being run by partner arts bodies, such as the National Opera House, Wexford Arts Centre and Eclectic Avenue.

Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann will run a series of Comhaltas-led events over the same weekend, to include instrument workshops with renowned national musicians, youth events, family events and a set dancing ceilí with The Legacy Ceilí Band.

Another exciting parallel event taking place over that weekend will be the Smithwick’s trad trail, which will be held in over twenty pubs and hotels in Wexford town featuring will featuring lively pub sessions of Irish traditional music, rousing ballad performances, and superb gigs by live bands.

More details will emerge closer to the event. WexTrad events tickets are available at Wexford Arts Centre.

Let’s talk about St. Senan’s Hospital

**The former St. Senan’s Hospital (1868-2013) at Enniscorthy.** (Pic; *WexfordLocal.com*)

By Dan Walsh

A panel exhibition discussion titled Walls of Containment takes place in the Presentation Arts Centre, Enniscorthy, on Friday at 7.30pm. It is a free event, all are welcome, but booking is required.

The subject for discussion is the immense building work involved in the building of asylums across the island of Ireland, the state’s ability to deliver these structures, the function of the buildings, the use of the structures then, and now, and their subsequent dereliction and demise.

Featured are artist David Killeen, author Patrick Quinlan, and Research Fellow in the School of Philosophy at UCD Dervla McManus and special guests GKMP Architects who are currently redeveloping St. Senan’s Hospital in Enniscorthy.

**DAVID KILLEEN (photographer) LISA BYRNE and CAT MAHER at the opening of the *Walls of Containment* exhibition at the Presentation Arts Centre, Enniscorthy.** (Pic; *Presentation Arts Centre*).

This panel discussion is in response to the current exhibition of photography by David Killeen, which documents twenty-one psychiatric hospitals across the Republic of Ireland. Constructed between 1814 and 1922, they represent one of the largest public programmes ever undertaken in Ireland.

Big focus will be on St. Senan’s Hospital where the first patients arrived in April 1868, and admissions ceased in February 2011. Closure came in 2013.

This exhibition is a conversation about the immense building work involved in the building of the ‘asylums’.

This exhibition and panel discussion is part of the First Fortnight, the annual Mental Health Arts and Culture Festival.

CCTV may not be the solution to illegal dumping?

**No rubbish in sight on the entrance to Enniscorthy on the south side.** (File Pic; *WexfordLocal.com*)

By Dan Walsh at Wexford County Council monthly meeting

Wexford County Council Environment Section recently held a public consultation seeking to use cameras (CCTV) for the sole purpose of preventing litter and illegal dumping and the enforcement of the Litter Pollution Act, 1997, and the Waste Management Act, 1996.

The issue was raised at today’s Wexford County Council meeting, chaired by Cllr Joe Sullivan in Carricklawn, Wexford.

Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy noted that the report was approved last November and again asked when the CCTV for illegal dumping would be operational.

Social media showed widespread dumping at Brownswood near Enniscorthy last weekend.

Submissions to the report proposed CCTV sites at Turret Rocks and Esmonde Road, Enniscorthy and calls for “The proposed use of CCTV for 24 hours per day” and added; “Environment staff currently carry out hours of patrols.”

It was also proposed to use CCTV to cover dog fouling in Wexford town, Bring Banks and “on-call and out of hours patrols for environmental staff in tandem with the use of CCTV.

Cllr Jim Codd said there were “trailer loads of rubbish at the old railway station in Bridgetown,” and he added that “you could get a suite of furniture any day in the week.”

Wexford town-based Cllr Biddy Walsh recently was amazed at the amount of dumping on the way to Taghmon. “I couldn’t believe it. It (rubbish) was everywhere,” she gasped!

Cllr John Fleming said CCTV will solve very few problems. “Do it the old-fashioned way, go through the rubbish and bring the evidence before the courts,” he suggested.

Director of Services Eamonn Hore told the members that the Council cannot ‘name and shame’, but he emphasised it is not all “doom and gloom” and pointed out that districts were “getting gold, silver and bronze medals” in the recent National Tidy Towns’ awards and had improved their markings in the IBAL awards.

County Secretary Michael Drea said the GDPR data surrounding CCTV is very detailed and must be legally compliant to progress to a final option.

Cllr Jim Codd returned to the discussion and asked about road signs to say that cameras were on the road. The public must be informed that cameras are present. He complimented community groups picking up litter.