In a nutshell, Councillor Conway predicts that the proposed savings will be outweighed by redundancies and costs, many of which are hidden at present, and, in the end, the huge exercise will be more trouble than it is worth.

He said he had served as a local government representative in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg for four years from 2006 and reform was never far from the lips of representatives from all 47 member countries.

However, they all agreed on two things. Such reform was notoriously challenging and that organisations needing reform might well be incapable of reforming themselves. There was also the danger of perverting the basic twin rationale of local government, the promotion of greater citizen engagement in the conduct of their own affairs and the development of local leadership skills for the future of the country and its people.

Councillor Conway may, or may not, be correct in his appraisal of the situation but, either way, the proposed merger of the two Tipperary councils is already causing friction and battle-lines are being drawn in the sand.

The Chairman of South Tipperary County Council, Councillor Michael Fitzgerald, is insisting that the new headquarters must be based in Clonmel while, up north, Minister of State, Alan Kelly, is equally adamant that Nenagh must be the new seat of unified power. A Department spokesperson said no decision had been taken on the location other than that a new headquarters in a central location was not on the cards. Waterford city or Dungarvan anyone?

The Fine Gael presidential candidate, Gay Mitchell, was campaigning in the wider Fermoy area on Saturday last where he met with local media and visited a number of communities before greeting and meeting members of the public at a local market. “Hello, I’m Gay,” said Mr Mitchell to a carpet salesman who shook him warmly by the hand and replied in a beautifully pronounced Cork accent: “Yerrah, it’s yourself! Mr Gay Norris, you’re very welcome to Mitchelstown!”

It seems an anomaly has been uncovered regarding the issuing of fines from speed vans at two locations. Apparently, the fines were issued stating incorrect postal addresses for the locations of the vans.

Local people say a speed van is a common presence on the road close to Galway Airport where motorists are ‘sitting ducks’ because it is a wide stretch where the speed limit is just 60 km/h. Drivers caught speeding there were issued with notices saying they had been detected at Kiltullagh, Claregalway, when the correct address should be Kiltullagh, Oranmore. Consequently, according to local legal eagles, the fines can be successfully appealed by the motorists who were nabbed by the privately operated speed detectors. The same situation applies to a second location on the N11 between Tuam and Galway where fines were also issued from an incorrect postal address.

Hand-made coffins

At least one of Waterford’s undertakers is offering a new coffin service at present that appears to be very successful

This time last year, carpenter Kevin Shiel from Kilmore in County Wexford was sitting in his kitchen showroom with little or nothing to do. He had some quality wood at his disposal so, on a whim, he made a hand-built, quality coffin and it looked so good he decided to use up the wood by making another. Then, just because he had them, he offered one each to two local undertakers and before he got home that night they were on the phone looking for more.

Despite being more expensive than the mass-produced caskets, people went for them straight away when offered a choice by the undertakers. Kevin still builds kitchens when the orders come through but he is also operating a thriving and profitable business servicing the needs of seven undertakers in Wexford and Waterford.

The sting in the tail came when he told his mother about his new line of business expecting that she might be apprehensive. To his surprise, she was delighted and informed him that his grandfather, a Mr Griffin who lived in the West Cork village of Goleen, close to Mizen Head, was a carpenter who had built coffins all his working life. The phrase, ‘What comes around, goes around’, came to mind!

His time wasn’t up!

There was one lucky holidaymaker whom Ballybunion was relieved to see the back of last week and let’s hope he doesn’t make Tramore his next port of call!

On the Wednesday, a young man in his early 20s from Cork city was rescued from the sea off the Kerry resort’s Long Strand. All the emergency services swept into action but, luckily for the holidaymaker, his plight was spotted by other beach users and he had been pulled from the sea by time the rescue personnel arrived.

Unfortunately, on the Saturday, three days later, the same man had to be rescued again – this time he fell 100ft into the sea from the high cliffs overlooking the Ladies Beach.

Lifeguards took the unconscious man from the water onto the beach from where he was winched up to the Shannon-based rescue helicopter that quickly whisked him off to Kerry General Hospital.

The victim’s survival after such a drop was described as ‘miraculous’ by one of the emergency personnel who said it appeared that a combination of water and soft sand saved his life.

Angry, mystery blonde

According to reports, a mystery, blonde woman in a Mercedes car caused quite a sensation for our South East neighbours in the middle of Carlow town one morning last week.

The incident occurred sometime between 9.30 and 10am and passers-by were amazed to see the attractive woman in a gold-coloured Mercedes repeatedly ramming a Toyota Corolla. The Corolla was struck so many times it was moved a distance of about 14 feet and pushed up onto a footpath before the woman sped away. According to the daughter of the man who owns the Toyota, the car is probably a write-off and the entire bizarre incident was a nightmare for him.

No explanation has been offered for the incident but the Toyota owner’s daughter is quoted as saying her father ‘always parked there’ which suggests that the woman in the Mercedes might have been boxed in by the smaller car. Gardai are making enquiries!

A dancing car!

A moving car of a different kind was witness by some Waterford people on holiday in Achill Island last week. Tourists and residents alike could only watch in awe as a mini-tornado ripped through the village of Keel. Lots of damage was done to property and they all observed an unoccupied car ‘dancing on the road’ as the wind swirled through the village at about 7pm on the Saturday night.

A man missing!

The following incident did not occur in Waterford so no complaints from my friends in the City Council, please! People in a certain estate were bemused to see two men working their way up and down the streets. One would dig a hole and his companion would immediately fill it back in again. They did this so often and so diligently that people couldn’t help but admire their hard work but everybody was puzzled as to what they were actually doing.

In the end, a retired man who had the time to follow their progress for over an hour approached the pair. He complimented them on their efforts but wondered why they were digging holes and then filling them in again. “It’s like this , boss,” replied one of the men, “our mate who usually plants the trees is sick today so we’re carrying on without him!”

Deputy Wallace, as many people know, is the driving force behind Wexford Youths Football Club in the Airtricty National League and he spent over €6m of his own money building the club’s home ground, Ferrycarrig Park. However, to his dismay, he learned last week that the proposed Oylegate to Rosslare motorway will go right through it.

The average number of daily toilet flushes in a family home is fourteen. Most homes have two toilets and, as the Uisce Bagga saves a litre of water on every flush, each home could save 5,000 litres each year. Apart from the conservation aspect, people are being reminded that water charges are imminent so the process could also save a considerable amount of money in utility bills.

Always money for the right property

In this column some months ago, I wrote about the last, privately-owned, working lighthouse in Ireland. It was up for sale at the time and it has now been sold for €300,000.

The Duncannon North Lighthouse has an interesting history because it was built in 1834 and originally stood at the entrance to Cork Harbour before being dismantled, stone by stone, and reassembled at Duncannon in County Wexford. The seller was a Londoner who purchased the property from the Commissioners of Lights twenty years ago for £100,000.

Auctioneer, Ann Carton of PN O’Gorman in New Ross, revealed that there were genuine enquiries from all over the world before the property was sold at auction last week. The new owner of the protected structure is an Irish national living abroad who intends to use it as a holiday home. It just goes to show that there is always money out there for the right property.

Getting tough on illegal waste sites

The European Commission is putting increased pressure on the authorities in this country to stamp out illegal and unlicensed sites that deal in scrap/waste. Consequently there was a major dawn raid on a large, 5-acres site on the outskirts of Limerick city last week.

Senior officers from the gardai, customs, revenue and officials from the city and county councils, backed up by a large force of gardai, descended on the site on the Ballysimon Road at 6.30am. They took away scrap metal worth tens of thousands of euro and also seized trucks, cars, engine parts and unlicensed horses and dogs. About 30 people live on the site and one man was arrested for the non payment of fines imposed by the courts.

County Director of Services, Gerry Behan, said a lucrative international trade in metal, engines and car-parts existed and there were many legitimate facilities that complied with planning conditions and met strict criteria at great expense but that was not the case regarding the site in question.

Rows on land and sea

All is not sweetness and light on several fronts in County Kerry at present where there are a couple of disputes that would surely have caught the attention of the late, great John B Keane.

Dispute No 1 involves a row between two landowners on Fenit Island that ended up in Tralee Circuit Court. The court heard that, at the heart of the bitter row, is a ‘Fort Knox’ style fence erected by the landowners around their properties. However, one of the owners claims the fence has blocked him from accessing a neighbour’s farm through a right of way.

On a wider front, hundreds of people have protested about the entire question of fencing on the island. Locals and visitors say they now have limited access for walking on the island while the owners insist they are entitled to put fences around their property. According to local reports, Kerry county manager, Tom Curran, is currently facilitating negotiations between the protestors and the landowners.

Meanwhile, in West Kerry, a price-war has broken out between two ferry companies operating between Dun Chaoin and the Great Blasket Island. Apparently, there was an agreement between the two companies to operate their businesses on a fair-share basis but that went by the wayside when one of the operators reduced his return fare to the island to €5 from €20. His competitor says he cannot match that price and therefore will be forced out of business. A third ferry company which also began operating out of Dun Chaoin this year is not involved in the so-called price war.

The wrong approach

Two friends were drinking at the Golf Club one night last week when one sighed loudly and said he had better go home. Why so sad, asked his friend noticing his glum expression. “Well,” said his pal, “things are not going too well at home at present. No matter how quiet I am, the wife always wakes up any night I’m late and gives out stink about the time I spend playing golf and the fact that I go for a few drinks afterwards.”

“That’s because you’re doing it all wrong,” said his friend. “What I do is rev the car in the driveway, bang the doors as hard as I can and whistle loudly as I climb the stairs. Then I climb into bed, cheerfully tap the wife on the shoulder and ask her if she’s awake. You know what? She never is.”

Angry hen owners

Hen owners all over the country are angry about new regulations that require all owners to be licensed even if they have only one bird!

The regulations apply to everybody but rural based people are particularly angry about the situation because there is a great tradition here of people keeping a small number of hens in their back gardens to provide eggs for their own tables.

A department of Agriculture spokesperson said regulations were being tightened in a bid to combat dangerous diseases such as Avian Flu and it was in everybody’s interest to battle against such infections. However, many people are not impressed declaring that common sense has gone out the window with regulations that are too heavy handed.

“There has never been any evidence of damage being done to a human being by free-range eggs, it’s in the factories that the potential problems arise,” said one embittered hen owner.

The multi-million business that is First Holy Communions

There were new calls this week for an end to the element of a child’s First Holy Communion that has become a cash extravaganza of enormous proportions.

Both The Church and the Department of Education are being urged to introduce compulsory regulations that would seriously reduce the cost for parents as, for many families, loans for First Holy Communions were the first steps into a spiral of debt.

The cost of the day can average out at €1,000 per child and Ulster Bank has estimated that, countrywide, 60,000 youngsters received the Sacrament this year and that, between them, they made €30m in contributions of which about €13m was salted away in saving accounts.

Overall, the First Holy Communion industry creates an annual spend of about €57m, according to the financial experts. Nobody can stop parents spending money they don’t have on things they don’t need but many people strongly believe that schools and the Church could play a bigger part in decreasing the pressure.

Drug addicts saving up to go abroad

Disturbing reports last week that drug addicts living in this county are now saving up to have treatment in England such is the inadequacy of our local services. The startling claim was made by a representative of the Merchants Quay Drugs Project who asked not to be named.

According to the Project member, one of the biggest problems facing addicts was access to treatment centres and many were saving up to travel to England for treatment. It seems that addicts here can access methadone but, in England, an alternative called Subsutex is available which is much easier to detox from.

Another professional who works in the area of drug addiction said she could not understand why methadone was being used as a long-term tool to fight addiction. She criticised the fact that some rehabilitation centres insisted on patients being free of drugs before they were accepted. “It’s like telling an alcoholic that they will receive treatment but only after they have giving up drink,” she said.

The woman also stated that drug education should be available in primary schools as she had come across children as young as 10 and 11 who were already experimenting with illegal substances. It is certainly food for worrying thought.

A hard tune to be learned

An officer on one of the Tall Ships in Waterford port last week had only been married for three weeks before he had to return to duty. The happy couple made arrangements that the wife would fly into Waterford Regional Airport and meet up with her husband when the ship berthed for the Tall Ships Festival.

They spent ages kissing goodbye on the dockside and the wife confided to her new husband that she was a bit worried as there were lots of beautiful, female cadets on board his ship. “There will be lots of temptation put in your way,” she said tearfully.

“My darling, I am head over heels in love with you and I wouldn’t dream of even looking at another girl,” her husband said earnestly. “Well,” she said with a smile, ”to keep you company on those long, lonely nights, I’ve bought you a harmonica which you can learn to play while you are away.”

Last Thursday, a month to the day since they parted, his Tall Ship sailed into Waterford and he was thrilled to see his wife waving frantically from her bedroom window in The Granville Hotel.

Once all the business of berthing the vessel was complete, the dashing young naval officer made his way quickly to the Granville where his wife was waiting to greet him with open arms. “I’ve missed you so much, my darling, I can’t wait to get you into bed and make mad, passionate love,” he gushed.

“Me neither,” said his wife, “but first, let’s see how well you got on with that harmonica.”

‘Two Centuries of Tall Ships in Waterford – a photographic voyage’ is a superb production and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Written and assembled by Bill and Andrew, it is published by The Rectory Press, Portlaw, in association with the Waterford Civic Trust. It is a quality publication crammed with over 100 wonderful photographs of beautiful vessels and Waterford that most people will not have seen before. Every home in Waterford city and county should have one of these beautiful books to pass on to future generations and I would guess that any Waterford person living abroad would be nothing less than ecstatic to receive a copy as a gift. This is truly a book to be treasured. Available at The Book Centre for €20.

A Guide to the Waterford Coast

Another wonderful book published just in time for the Tall Ships is ‘A Guide to the Waterford Coast’ by Declan McGrath. It is lavishly illustrated with many fine photographs of the impressive Waterford coastline and what can be seen there. Printed locally by Intacta Print, the book is very informative and colourful. There are chapters on Geology and Climate, Flora and Fauna, Archaeology and all the Maritime Facilities to be found dotted along the coast. Changes to the Waterford coast and the importance and future of the coast are described in some detail. There is a comprehensive section on all the beaches, coves and coastal walks of the county and a chapter of useful information will be of benefit to anyone visiting our glorious coastline.

Also, most of the coastal placenames are included, in English and in Irish, and their meaning and location where known. Also available at The Book Centre for €20.

Cars that vanish in the night!

News last week that banks and finance houses are now repossessing cars from outside people’s homes in the middle of the night. The matter came to light when a motorist reported his car stolen to the gardai only to find out that it had been repossessed. He said he had paid off all but €4,000 on a €30,000 loan and had missed just one payment.

A garda spokesperson confirmed that that they were notified prior to repossessions and that vehicles were regularly taken in such a manner.

Unclaimed Lotto win

Someone, somewhere, is sitting on a quarter of a million euro that they obviously don’t know about. A Lotto prize of €250,000, won by a ticket purchased in Jim Short’s Convenience Store in Coolgreany, County Wexford, on Easter Saturday last, is still unclaimed. Easter Saturday fell on April 23rd this year so time is running out for the holder of the winning ticket.

Local people point out that an Under-10 Camogie Blitz was held in the Sports Field that day so the winner could well have been a visitor to the village.

So, did you take or accompany an Under-10 camogie team to Wexford on Easter Saturday and did you buy a Lotto ticket in the local store? Good luck.

A master mariner’s secret to success

Once upon a time there was a famous sea captain. This captain was very successful at what he did and, for many years, he guided Tall Ships all over the world.

Never did stormy seas or pirates get the best of him. He was admired by his crew and fellow captains. However, there was one thing different about this captain. Every morning he went through a strange ritual. He would lock himself in his captain’s quarters and open a small safe. In the safe was an envelope with a piece of paper inside. He would stare at the paper for a minute before locking it up again. Then he would go about his daily duties.

For years this went on and his crew became very curious. Was it a treasure map? Was it a letter from a long lost love? Everyone speculated about the contents of the strange envelope.

One day the captain died at sea. After laying the captain’s body to rest, the first officer led the entire crew into the captain’s quarters. He opened the safe, got the envelope, opened it and turned pale before he showed the paper to the others. On the paper was the following instruction. ‘Don’t forget, Port is on your left and Starboard is on your right.’

A Prayer for boat owners

May there always be water under your boat,

May she always be seaworthy, ever afloat

May the bilge pump be certain to work night and day

May the compass and charts always show the safe way

May you find gentle harbour as every day ends

May you lower your anchor amidst peace and good friends

May your outboard be saved after hitting that rock

May your bow be rebuilt after ramming that dock

May you never be injured or anyway hurt

May you someday owe less than the damn boat is worth

So, congratulations to all those who stood up and voiced their opinions but congratulations also to the Oxigen management who were reasonable, fair and gracious in the way they dealt with the situation. They didn’t wade in with a mixture of bluster and blather as some lesser companies would have done. They weighed up the situation and immediately recognised and bowed to public opinion and withdrew their planning application.

Oxigen’s enlightened attitude should be an example to all and, if that is an indication of the way they go about their business, then I’m not surprised that they are a successful, progressive company.

City and County

Councils likely to be merged

Last year, a Local Government Committee set up by the then Fianna Fail/Green Party Coalition recommended that a number of city and county councils should merge, including Waterford City Council and Waterford County Council. There was fierce opposition at the time but the matter was placed on the back-burner in the face of the nation’s financial crisis.

However, if the way the wind is blowing in Limerick is anything to go by, we could now be experiencing the last, separate city and county authorities. Apparently, Environment Minisster Phil Hogan was all set to recommend to the cabinet last week that Limerick City and Limerick County Council be merged into one body with savings of about €20m. At present there are 43 councillors on both bodies but Minister Hogan believes they can get rid of about 12 to 15 of those.

As things turned out, the matter was deferred and not put to cabinet because Limerick-based Minister, Michael Noonan, was in the United States on business.

If Minister Hogan intends to merge the two main Limerick local authorities then he will almost certainly do the same in Waterford and elsewhere. Any new, merged authority cannot be set up until 2014 when the lives of the current councils expire. But, in the meantime, Implementation Committees are likely to be set up to commence the process of merging the different bodies. Expect much weeping and gnashing of teeth!

The bitter-sweet sound of street buskers

Members of the public have always had different attitudes to buskers and street entertainers. Some people love them, others are indifferent but, to some, they are the devil incarnate sent to drive them to distraction. Last week, Galway City Council adopted new bylaws that will make it an offence for buskers and street performers to make noise after 10pm in winter and after 11pm during the summer months.

But not everybody is happy. Many people feel that the Council has not gone far enough and have asked that new bylaws be introduced to deal with daytime situations. A number of Councillors expressed concern that musicians were using amplification during the day which caused a huge nuisance to office and shop workers. One politician said he was in Galway city on a recent Saturday and the noise from the amplification was so annoying it made him go home early. Office and shop workers complain bitterly that they are being driven mad by buskers who seem to have only one tune!

The Council’s Director of Services, Kevin Swift, said the local authority had examined byelaws in other cities and decided that the simplest thing was to prohibit performances between certain periods. He acknowledged that submissions received while the new regulations were being drafted did show that there was a huge concern about amplification.

A true-blue, rock’n’roll bride

There was a big wedding in the Tower Hotel last week involving a very interesting out of town couple. The bride was a famous ‘rock chick’ who had already been married three times and the groom was a millionaire undertaker and taxi company owner.

Music was provided by Dylan and Amanda Bible, Dick and Dave and Brass and Co and the rich and famous enjoyed themselves enormously as they celebrated into the small hours.

In her speech, after the meal, the bride acknowledged that she had been married three times previously. “My first husband was a millionaire, my second was a circus ringmaster, my third was a clergyman and now my new, and hopefully my last, husband is an undertaker,” she confided to her guests. “You certainly picked an odd bunch,” heckled somebody from the back of the room to gales of laughter.

“Ahha,” cried the bride, “you forget that I live by the creed of rock’n’roll so my choice of husbands was actually very predictable. One for the money, two for

the show, three to get ready and four to go!”

“The people of Wexford want, demand and are going to get the highest standards of healthcare,” said Minister Howlin as he announced a €20 million investment in Wexford General Hospital. Minister Hogan made similar comments when he announced that €13m had been ring-fenced for capital developments at St Luke’s.

Certainly, nobody will begrudge the money to Kilkenny and Wexford but it does underline once again how important it is to have a voice at the cabinet table. I haven’t the slightest doubt that if Deputies Hogan and Howlin were not senior ministers, both hospitals would still be whistling for their money in these difficult times.

And I’ll make another prediction now that I would be very confident about. If the Fine Gael/Labour coalition lasts its full term, one way or another, there will be a Third level campus in Kilkenny before it goes out of office. It might be connected to WIT, CIT, or both, but I’m told Phil Hogan is determined to make it happen and he is a very determined man when he puts his mind to something.

Former Fianna Fail minister, Martin Cullen, had plenty of detractors and critics in Waterford when he was in office but many of them are only now realising just how much he achieved for the city and county. For a start, we wouldn’t have the outer ring road and neither would we have the dual carriageway from Waterford to Dublin. In fact, right up to the very end, Martin Cullen had to battle at the cabinet table against powerful voices who felt that a dual carriageway was unnecessary and that ‘a new, two-lane road would do’. For the time being, it would appear that we in Waterford are back to hoping for crumbs from the big table.

Speed cameras are waste of time, said Judge

It emerged last week that Judge Mary O’Halloran considers speed cameras to be a waste of time. She was speaking at Listowel District Court where a list of 19 speeding prosecutions failed. Nine were withdrawn by the State and the other ten were thrown out. Most of the prosecutions resulted from a speed-trap at Billeragh on the Listowel to Tralee road. According to a court report, some cases suffered from a lack of sufficient evidence and the apparent non-postage of speeding offence notifications.

“We seem to have a great knack in this country of inventing systems that don’t work,” said Judge O’Halloran. “All these prosecutions are doing is clogging up the court’s time and the revenue generated is zilch,” she added.

The foolproof system was the old way when gardai wrote out tickets on the side of the road and kept their own copy which gave them their evidence there and then, insisted Judge O’Halloran.

Is there really a shortage of priests in Ireland?

Fr Michael Commane is a Dominican priest who has spent much of his career teaching and writing and he says that every time he hears about a so-called shortage of priests, he shakes his head in disbelief because he doesn’t accept there is a shortage of priests at all.

For a start, he claims that the manpower available in parishes is almost certainly not being used to best effect although he accepts that most priests are hardworking and dedicated. But, he points out, there are many priests in religious communities throughout the country who are underused.

And no matter how eager or willing they might be to serve in communities, members of religious orders must be invited by diocesan bishops if they want to work in parishes. Unfortunately, says Fr Commane, from what he knows, there is little if any serious dialogue on a national level between bishops and the various congregations and orders.

Speaking purely in the Dominican context, he said his Order had priories around Ireland that could easily be involved in formal parochial work and he was aware of many men who would relish that role and be excellent at it. Such work was already being carried out with success by Dominicans in Tallaght, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, he pointed out.

So, says Fr Commane, new thinking is needed and, before the idea of a ‘shortage of priests’ in Ireland takes further hold, bishops, diocesan priests and religious congregations should come together to discuss the real manpower issues within the Irish Catholic Church. “There are extraordinary people working at the coalface of the Irish church at present and, with a mix of faith, hope and courage, great things could happen within it,” insists Fr Commane.

Raising hell!

There is only one thing worse than letting your future wife down and that is letting your future wife down in public! Last weekend, newly-weds to be, Thomas and Annie, were attending the required pre-marriage course and the priest was stressing to all the couples how important it was to identify and appreciate the things that were really special to their partners.

“For instance,” said the priest turning to Thomas, “can you name and describe Annie’s favourite flower?”

Thomas beamed widely, delighted that he hadn’t been caught out by some really hard question. “It’s Odlums, isn’t it, love,” he said cheerfully as he put his arm around his future wife’s shoulder for good effect.

The priest said he had never before heard such foul language from a young woman. She would have to curb her temper and, if she wanted to get married, she would have to come back and finish the course.

The writer points out that the Roman Catholic Church’s current, harsh policy is unfairly ruining the reputations of innocent priests. For decades, Church authorities allowed the lives of countless young people to be destroyed because they ignored the problem of child abusers and, in some instances, the activity of the abusers was covered up. But, says the newspaper, in an absolute reversal of natural justice, a priest is now presumed guilty, removed from his post and left to fight to clear his name with his identity catapulted straight to the centre of public attention.

Even if an allegation proves to be utterly false, the priest still suffers the public humiliation of having to step down from his post and the restoration of his reputation is virtually impossible.

This policy, says The Wexford People, is reckless in the extreme and is as wrong and damaging to ordinary priests as the previous cover-up policy was for the victims of abuse. A dark shadow hangs over every single priest who could wake up any morning to hear that they have to leave their post because of some historical, unsubstantiated allegation. It is time, insists the writer, to consign this crazy and brutal policy to the bin before even more lives are scarred.

I’m told the reaction to the editorial in Wexford and further afield has been very positive and supportive and I’m not surprised because people are basically very fair-minded. The abuse of children is a terrible thing but it is also a dreadful crime to be publicly accused of if you are innocent. It does seem that the current Church policy is very harsh.

Interesting news for wheelchair users

There is news this week that will certainly appeal to, and maybe even excite, wheelchair users and their families all over the country.

For the most part, wheelchair users can only look on as their able-bodied friends enjoy the sea but the Brothers of Charity in West Clare, in association with the Loophead Tourism Group, have acquired the first ever Deming beach wheelchair to be used in this country. It was designed in the United States by Mike Deming for his wife, Karen, who had been a keen surfer until a car accident caused her to be a quadriplegic.

The chair proved to be a huge success in the United States and the Brothers of Charity have now acquired one and it will be available, free of charge, during the peak summer season on the beach at Kilkee. Local residents donated €1,700 towards the cost of the chair and, next year, it is hoped to purchase a special hoist to ensure that people unable to complete a ‘self-transfer’ will also be able to use the chair and enjoy the experience of entering the waves.

I suspect that when news of the Deming beach chair gets around, it won’t be long before we see it appearing on Waterford beaches.

Chinese invaders on the way

There has been a rather strange story going the rounds in the Midlands area for almost two years about a huge Chinese ‘invasion’. Reports said a massive European Trade Hub for Chinese products and services was to be established in Athlone. In other words, China would set up a permanent trade display on the outskirts of the town and potential customers would be flown in from all over Europe to view the products.

The master-plan investment would cost €1.4 billion, create 9,000 jobs and attract 1.5 million visitors to the town each year.

And now, it looks like the story is the Real McCoy and things really will happen.

On Friday last, a planning application in respect of the first phase of the project was lodged by Athlone Business Park Ltd. The directors are named as Aidan Kelly and Michael O’Sullivan and the former Roscommon County Manager, John Tiernan, is fronting the company as chief executive.

Mr Tierney the project was not a fanciful dream, pointing out that no less than 70 professionals had been involved in the costly task of preparing the planning application. He said if planning permission was forthcoming, it was hoped that the first phase would be up and running by 2014 or early 2015 and, if the preliminary phases were successful, the entire project should be operational within seven to ten years of opening the first phase.

A tight squeeze

Mike and Tess hadn’t been getting on for quite some time and part of the ongoing nastiness between them was Mike’s constant smart remarks that were always barbed and personal. One day while Tess was loading up the washing machine, Mike gave her a slap on the bottom. “If you firmed that up, you might be able to get rid of all those terrible tracksuit bottoms you wear,” he said cruelly.

It was the last straw for Tess. She turned around and caught his private parts in a vice-like grip. She waited until the tears poured down Mike’s face before declaring: “If you firmed this up, I could also get rid of the milkman and the postman.” Ouch!