STILL A CHANCE TO SAVE 250 JOBS

With 250 jobs under threat at Cappoquin Chickens, there is renewed hope in the air this week as it is understood that the company is in negotiations with another possible buyer.

A couple of weeks ago Cappoquin Chickens announced that the company would close at the end of October with a massive loss of jobs after failing to secure a buyer. It has now emerged that the company is negotiating with a leading supermarket chain and two individuals, who are interested in purchasing the company.

“I hope someone is going to buy it, because the loss of 250 jobs would be a disaster,” a concerned Bernard Leddy, Lismore’s Deputy Mayor told The Avondhu.

It is expected that the outcome of the current negotiations will be known by the end of the week.

MITCHELSTOWN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION MEET NEW DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Recently appointed business development manager Paul Swift was officially introduced to members of the Mitchelstown Business Association at a breakfast meeting last Wednesday, October 1.

The well attended meeting, held in The Firgrove Hotel, gave Mr Swift the opportunity to outline his ideas for the region to local business people.

“It not only gave members the opportunity to meet Paul but also to interact with the Mitchelstown Forum,” Tony Lewis of the business association said.

“It was a successful and well attended affair and will set the template for further meetings by the Mitchelstown Business Association.”

Mr Lewis also revealed that the next breakfast meeting, to be held on Wednesday, October 15, will be a presentation and reflection on the implications of the Government’s budget, due the day before and is bound to be of interest to local business people.

FINE GAEL NOMINATES CANDIDATES

Fine Gael nominated its candidates for the Fermoy Town Council elections of June 2009 at a party convention that enjoyed a big attendance at The Grand Hotel, Fermoy last Friday.

Three candidates, former councillor Pat O’Brien, former president of Young Fine Gael and member of the national executive Patrick O’Driscoll and current councillor Aileen Pyne were nominated to stand in next year’s elections.

Anthony Barry, chairman of the Fermoy Branch Fine Gael, opened the proceedings before handing over to Killian O’Sullivan from Midleton, who read the list of nominations received by the constituency secretary.

The candidates, having previously been proposed and seconded, addressed the meeting, and later, each candidate signed the Fine Gael party pledge.

The meeting concluded after speeches by Deputy David Stanton, Colm Burke, MEP for Ireland South and organiser Michael Finucane.

GOVERNMENT AGENCY FAILS TO BRING INVESTORS TO FERMOY OR MITCHELSTOWN

The Industrial Development Agency has yet to bring any potential investors to the towns of Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Mallow this year sparking concerns that the North Cork region is being left behind in terms of industrial development.

The disclosure comes following parliamentary questions put to Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan by Cork East Labour TD Sean Sherlock.

“The IDA needs to rethink its strategy towards encouraging local indigenous industry,” Deputy Sherlock told The Avondhu.

“We have an over dependence on foreign direct investment which is not sustainable in the medium term.”

“I have been informed by the agency that to date in 2008, there have been no site visits by potential investors to either Mallow, Mitchelstown or Fermoy,” Tanaiste Coughlan said in reply to Deputy Sherlock’s parliamentary question on government initiatives being undertaken to attract new enterprises to the region. The Tanaiste’s written reply went on to defend the IDA’s work in North Cork.

“Through its network of overseas offices, the agency is marketing the North Cork region which includes the towns of Mallow, Kanturk, Charleville, Newmarket, Millstreet, Fermoy and Mitchelstown to prospective investors across the full range of IDA targeted sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, information and communications technologies (ICT) and internationally traded services.”

However Deputy Sherlock feels the IDA needs to redefine its approach to developing industry.

“The key is to unblock the impasse for entrepreneurs to get a foothold in the engineering and light industrial sector,” the Labour spokesman for food and agriculture concluded, “The IDA needs to start talking to these people.”

AMBITIOUS VILLAGE PLAN LAUNCHED IN KILBEHENNY

Following months of consultation, meetings and ideas, the Kilbehenny Village Plan was officially launched in the community centre last Tuesday, September 30.

Hailed as “a class act” by attending Cork county councillors Kevin O’Keeffe and Liam O’Doherty, the plan details the method of development for Kilbehenny as outlined by the village’s inhabitants.

Featuring the social, economic and infrastructural wish list for the future of the village, the detailed report covers aspects such as residential planning, water treatment and aesthetic works to Kilbehenny’s appearance.

Moss Fitzgerald of the Kilbehenny Community Council cited the new by-pass, opened two months ago, as the driving inspiration for the village to take the opportunity to influence change.

He noted the remarkable achievement the village has made in the two years since it has entered the Tidy Towns competition, with Kilbehenny the only village or town in County Limerick to be credited with an Endeavour Award for their efforts.

Katherine Larkin of specialist town development group, New Ground Planning, oversaw the ambitious project, and was full of praise for the commitment to improving the village shown by locals, adding that over 80 people in the area had contributed to the plan.

“This village is small, but it more than makes up for its size in the level of interest shown in community activities here,” she told the assembled crowd during her presentation at the launch, adding that Mr Fitzgerald, along with Carmel English and Pat Dalton, were a credit to their locality in their unending dedication to the project.

Ms Larkin added that the village is not bound nor should feel compelled to stick precisely to the plan.

“See it more as a bag of ideas for you to dip into when you see fit,” she explained.

Ann Doherty of Ballyhoura Failte, who funded the process, congratulated all concerned, as did Jim O’Callaghan and Padraig Moore, engineers with Limerick and Cork County Councils respectively, the latter indicating that the report would be fed into the Cork authority’s Local Area Plan, due to be drawn up next year.

Cllrs O’Keeffe and O’Doherty vowed to work hard for the village in moving forward plans for a water treatment plant for the area, with Cllr O’Keeffe highlighting the significant resources that go into the ‘unseen’ underground infrastructural development that takes place throughout towns and villages across the country.

Local priest Fr. Dick Kelly had the honour of officially launching the plan, standing in for chairman of Limerick County Council John Gallahue, who was unable to attend. Fr Kelly asked that an emphasis be put on protecting local heritage such as the old graveyard.

“Let the future know that the past was there,” he said as he launched the plan.

Fianna Fail Limerick West TD Niall Collins missed the official launch due to the ongoing financial crisis and last Tuesday’s late night debate in the Dail but took the opportunity to welcome the new plan.

“I would like to congratulate the community council on the initiative they have shown,” Deputy Collins told The Avondhu. “This goes a long way towards promoting and enhancing the sustainable development and heritage status of Kilbehenny.”

Due to the cost of reproducing the extensive and detailed plan, copies are available for consultation purposes only at the community centre and school.

Digital copies can be emailed on request or hard copies ordered from the community centre at a cost of €10.

SHOCK AS LOCAL SCHOOLS MISS OUT ON BUILDING FUNDS

The announcement of Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe’s school building and refurbishment programme has been met with anger and surprise by two local schools that have failed to secure funding.

Minister O’Keeffe’s announcement details the establishment of five new schools and the refurbishment or extension of a further 15 others across the country.

However, despite high profile protests from both Kilfinane and Glenville National Schools, neither has made the cut for government funding.

“Many people in the village were very surprised to hear we didn’t get the funding,” Sonia Sheehan, secretary of the Kilfinane Concerned Parents’ Action Group said this week.

“A lot of parents are unhappy about the omission. Our chairman has told us that the minister has given his assurances that we are on the list for the first quarter of 2009, and while we would have obviously preferred to get the funding this time around, we are willing to take the minister at his word."

Should funding be approved in 2009 it will mark the centenary of the last refurbishment of Kilfinane National School in 1909. It is now over 9 years since a report by the Department of Education deemed the facilities at the school “unsuitable” for children.

The school, which still relies on outdoor toilet facilities for its pupils, was described as ‘not belonging to the 20th century, never mind the 21st’ by visiting Labour leader Eamon Gilmore TD last February.

Last June saw parents remove their children from classes in protest at the delays in funding a new building for the village, one year after a new 6 teacher school, on a donated site was granted planning permission.

The tendering process was delayed until after the previous government budget, after which it was given the go ahead before being delayed once again as the schools building programme went under further review.

“Obviously we are very disappointed,” Glenville National School principal Michael O’Donnell said this week when it was revealed the East Cork school would also miss out on the latest school building and refurbishment programme.

“Of course there are other schools in different situations but while schools in Kildare and Meath seem to have done well this time around, I would question if they really are in a worse situation than we are at this moment in time”.

Mr O’Donnell revealed that the school has more pupils than ever before and with the current count of 137 children attending Glenville, the school is fast approaching the threshold at which they will be entitled to a new teacher.

“What happens then?” Mr O’Donnell asked. “We are getting more and more pupils but there is no change to the building. It was overcrowded last year, it will be more overcrowded this year.”

The school will not take any further protest action until after a proposed meeting with the minister which is currently being brokered by local TDs and is expected to take place after the budget.

There was an angry reaction last May when the board of management of Glenville NS were told that the development of a new school building was “at an early stage” despite promising the project could commence “immediately” nearly two years ago.

The well publicised plight of pupils at the school came to attention in the Dail last April when media coverage highlighted that children were being taught in a converted bathroom due to space shortages in the damp school.