D-DAY FOR DAIRYGOLD COMMITTEE MEMBERS

D-Day has arrived for two Dairygold committee members who have been removed from the regional committee at the Co-op, writes Brian Moore.

P.J English from Clogheen and Dermot O’Connell from Mallow were ordered to resign from the board of Cork Marts or face being fired from the regional committee at Dairygold as the co-op have accused them of a conflict of interest.

This week both men received letters from Dairygold stating that as they have not resigned or made known their intentions to resign from the board of CCM, they are now no longer regional committee members and would no longer be entitled to attend meetings of this board.

Speaking to The Avondhu Mr. English said, “ I am determined to fight this decision and am again consulting with my solicitor. They say we have a conflict of interest because of our involvement with CCM/Dovea AI. At our Dairygold regional meetings we have never discussed the business of Munster AI and the same goes for Dovea at our meetings in Cork Marts.

"It is our opinion that we are being sidelined from the Dairygold region because we ask too many questions. I have read the Dairygold rule book and I believe that we are in no way in a conflict of interest.”

BELT TIGHTENING THE ORDER OF THE DAY FOR SPORTS CLUBS

The ripples of economic turmoil extend all the way out to the end of the pool. This is clearly seen in the effect the downturn is having on sports clubs.

GAA clubs and indeed all sporting organisations are having to adjust to the reality of making do with less. Having dined out on financial plenty for a number of years the new regime is taking a bit of getting used to.

While treasurers up and down the country monitor cash flow a more pressing issue is the number of players who are finding themselves out of gainful employment.

In the overall scheme of things, kicking a ball around the field doesn’t rate very highly when you have trouble paying bills.

BROUGHT HOME

The severity of the situation was brought home to many with the media coverage surrounding Mattie Forde’s plight.

A footballing legend in his native Wexford the All-Star recently revealed the impact losing his job as a carpenter had on his personal and family life. It also exploded the myth about the ability of the GAA ‘to look after’ their top players.

Jobs are being lost right across the board and the GAA is not immune. In keeping with the times players are now much more conscious about seeking time off.

Worryingly from a GAA perspective, employers are thinking long and hard about employing players, especially those on inter-county duty – knowing their on field commitments will necessitate long periods away from their work place.

LOCAL CLUBS

Outside of the inter-county scene the story is much the same. The common denominator seems to be the fall out from the collapse of the building sector.

The fact that so many players, officials and supporters were tied up in this sector meant a ready supply of finance for golf classics, race nights and the myriad of activities clubs engage in to raise cash.

Clubs who had been upping the ante in recent years paying coaches, managers, physiotherapists, doctors and other back room staff are having to cry halt.

Along with all these ‘extras’ clubs have to contend with increased ESB charges, metered water, spiralling insurance, affiliation fees (€1,000 per team in County Cork), medical bills, field maintenance costs in addition to supplying hurleys, sliothars and footballs.

The days of flying ‘Johnny’ back for the final are very definitely over.

STILL INVESTING

Despite the recession many clubs are continuing to invest in their facilities and considerable resources have gone in to upgrading pitches, installing flood lights, building new dressing rooms and generally improving facilities. The argument is that this is vital work and there’s never an ideal time to engage in such projects.

Galtee Gaels in South Limerick are one such club. Having spent months planning their development they are pressing ahead with a venture that when complete will see their facilities on a par with other successful clubs in the county.

Club officers say the local community has been exceptionally supportive but are conscious that there is a tipping point when it comes to looking for money.

Castletownroche in North Cork, a predominantly hurling club, have spent €450,000 in the last 4 years improving their grounds. The end product is impressive and they are confident that in time this level of investment will be viewed as money well spent.

CASH INJECTION

And it’s not a case of there being no money in circulation, Watergrasshill Hurling Club recently completed negotiations with meat processing giant, Kepak and local pharmacy, Moynihan’s which has meant a significant cash injection for the club.

Many businesses, big and small, want to be as helpful as possible and are prepared to go the extra mile to do their bit for the cause. Rest assured the games will go on and recession or no recession great pride will be taken in pulling on the club jersey.

The big difference is that these jerseys may have to be held on to longer, the team’s weekend away may have to be curtailed, physiotherapy bills may have to be scrutinised a bit closer, sliothars that end up in the long grass may have to be recovered – in other words a bit of old fashioned belt tightening.

NORTH CORK ‘A LEADING LIGHT’ IN DRUGS WAR

North Cork communities are ‘the leading light’ in fighting drug dealing and abuse according to gardai who were on hand to launch the latest joint initiative aimed at tackling the antisocial issue.

Gardai, support groups, publicans and public officials were all present as the ‘Fermoy Says No To Drugs’ campaign was officially launched in The Grand Hotel last Thursday, April 30 in time for the May bank holiday weekend.

As part of the campaign, messages in English and Polish on beer mats detailing the harmful effects and the risks associated with cannabis, ecstasy, alcohol and cocaine have been circulated to pubs in the area.

Contact details for the local community drugs worker in Fermoy, and the Polish-speaking addiction counselor service based in Arbour House, St. Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork City are also included on the beer mats, while publicans in Fermoy have agreed to display posters on illicit drugs in their venues.

“What this campaign demonstrates is that publicans in Fermoy do care, they do want to tackle drug and alcohol misuse,” Aoife Ni Chonchuir, Health Promotion Department with the Health Service Executive said.

“What the publicans are saying loud and clear is that drug use and drug dealing will not be tolerated in Fermoy and that alcohol misuse will not be tolerated in Fermoy and that is a message that will be loud and clear to punters frequenting pubs and clubs in the Fermoy region.”

Superintendent Tom Myers of Fermoy gardai said that there was a 10% increase in drug detection locally in 2008 compared to 2007, and while the majority of detections were what are described as ‘soft’ drugs, his experiences have seen users move on from the substances towards harder drugs such as heroin.

“We have to have a multi-agency approach, the gardai cannot do this on their own,” Superintendent Myers told guests at the launch, adding that law enforcement needs help from vintners, parents, the Department of Education, local representatives and the media in countering drug use and dealing in the community. Martina Munnelly, project worker with the Fermoy Community Drugs Initiative agreed with Superintendent Myers.

“It really needs to be a collaborative approach, it’s not just people like my self or Aoife, it is the community as well, everyone has a role to play and this campaign really highlights that,” she said.

Liam Clancy spoke at the launch on behalf of the publicans of Fermoy.

“As publicans ourselves we can’t turn a blind eye, we have to be aware,” he said. “We can’t say that ‘well they’re not in our bar’, they are. We just have to be aware.”

Andrew Geary, community garda in Fermoy said the town sets an example that the rest of Cork follows. “Fermoy has shown a leading light to the rest of Cork. Since I have come here I have reiterated it time and time again, there’s a fantastic community spirit in Cork North and particularly in the Fermoy Mitchelstown area. We are very lucky as gardai to be policing this area,” Garda Geary said.

“The community of Fermoy comes forward to the plate time and time again and puts themselves forward as an example for the rest of the county to follow,” he added, praising the attitude and co-operation of the publicans in the town.

The various public representatives present also added their approval to the scheme, which was rolled out in North Cork pubs in the last week.

For more information or advice contact Martina Munnelly of the Fermoy Community Drugs Initiative on (086) 6096874.

CORCORAN HOPEFUL OF FERMOY SEAT FOR FIANNA FAIL

Fianna Fail candidate for Fermoy Olive Corcoran has spoken out against the formation of pacts within the town council and the awarding of expenses for councillors as she launches her bid for election this June.

“If the people of Fermoy choose to vote for me I will not be involved in any pacts with other councillors, I am capable of working with everybody of every political persuasion,” she said.

“I do not subscribe to the thinking that you necessarily attract the best by offering huge incomes and perks, and it does not always follow that the highest qualified deliver the goods. Nowadays in politics there seems to be an extra allowance for every committee on which one sits. Why does nobody ever say it is part of the same job? This also applies at town and county council level.

"Councillors should give up these extra allowances. Let us remember that these monies come out of the pockets of the working person, the young person, the business people. No wonder some of our businesses are in trouble. A percentage of rates no doubt goes to cover councillors expenses for sitting on these committees,” Olive explained.

Despite the party scoring low in the latest opinion polls, Olive believes that there are benefits in working with Fianna Fail.

“Although I have little interest in party politics, here is where being a member of a political party is an advantage. One has a direct line to government and decision making. This is why I did not stand as an independent candidate,” she said.

Of the numerous issues she cites, Olive believes that the erection of more pedestrian lights in the town are needed at certain junctures.

“There are at least two areas in Fermoy that need a ‘green man,’ one is beside the post office. Some traffic fails to stop at the flashing beacon when pedestrians step out, causing many near misses and parked cars near the crossing obstruct the view of oncoming traffic.

"The other is outside the Cope Foundation, Duntaheen. It beggars belief that the residents of Cope are not facilitated in every way to enable them to go to their courses in Colaiste an Chraoibhin. There is a crossing at every school in the town, why should Cope Foundation be different? I will be working further on this,” she added.

She also said that she would campaign for concessions for single parents and look to reduce school costs if elected.

OBJECTORS ACCUSED OF ‘HOLDING TOWN TO RANSOM’ AT SHIPTON MEETING

Those who filed objections to the €100million retail development on the Cork Mart site in Fermoy have been accused of ‘holding the town to ransom’ at a meeting of the town council last week. Mayor Tadhg O’Donovan called the special meeting to discuss the fall-out from An Bord Pleanala’s decision to deny the Shipton Group planning permission on the €22.5million site, with five of the nine elected representatives attending the meeting.

“With the exception of Cllr (Michael) Hanley who makes his apologies for not being able to be here we have had no other indication on whether or not other councillors would be attending,” Mayor O’Donovan said, “Given the importance of the issue that is disappointing and to say otherwise would be disingenuous in the extreme.”

The councillors present expressed their concern at the reception they have received from people in the town who believe that elected officials had a role in the planning rejection.

“People are coming up to us saying ‘you shot this down’,” Cllr Tim Carey said, “Are they aware of the eleven business people who objected to the development? Are these objectors afraid of competition in the town?”

“If the biggest business people in the town object to it straight away of course An Bord Pleanala are going to reject it,” he added.

“One sector of the town should not be able to hold the whole town to ransom,” Cllr William Hughes agreed, while Cllr John Murphy said the development could have benefited the entire region.

“This would have brought more shoppers to the town and there would be a knock-on effect for the entire hinterland, if only businesses could see the positives in the development,” he said.

Mayor O’Donovan challenged Cllr Hughes’ claims that there was ‘no practical reason’ as to why the rejection was made, adding that ‘the people of the town deserve answers,’ an argument that Mayor O’Donovan did not agree with, highlighting the ruling made by An Bord Pleanala.

In its decision the planning body said that the retail centre would be contrary to the planning and development of the town centre, challenge the vitality and viability of the existing businesses in the centre of Fermoy, negatively impact on the image and view of the area and would provide a flooding risk to the location.

“It was a dark day for Fermoy when the town planners said no and it was a darker day for the town when An Bord Pleanala said no,” Cllr Aileen Pyne, who praised Mayor O’Donovan’s actions in addressing the matter, said. Cllr Pyne added that, in her canvassing for Cork County Council, she meets people from the wider area who say the development is needed.

“Some people are not seeing the whole picture. This development could be like a magnet, there would be a positive knock-on effect for the town,” she said. The councillors present voted in favour of writing to the Shipton Group expressing the council’s disappointment in the planning decision and will seek a meeting with the developers on the future of the project.

HANLEY CALLS FOR RESPONSIBLE ATTITUDE TO FERMOY DEVELOPMENT

Fermoy town councillor, Michael Hanley has claimed that it is ‘seriously irresponsible’ of councillors to ignore the advice of qualified officials with regards to issues of planning permission.

Speaking in the wake of An Bord Pleanala’s decision to refuse planning permission for the €100million Shipton Group retail development on the Fermoy Cork Mart site, Cllr Hanley said that lessons from the town’s history must be heeded for future development.

Cllr Hanley said that one such example was on MacCurtain St, where the commercial life of the area ‘died’ when Riordan’s supermarket moved from the street to its current location next to Town Hall.

“I want to put the record quite straight; I am totally in favour and would fully support without equivocation a nice shopping centre for the town on the Cork Marts site, but I would not support something that is completely over the top,” Cllr Hanley told The Avondhu.

“What we are dealing with here is a proposal that was equal in size to Mahon. People must ask the question as to how can Fermoy take on board a proposal the size of Mahon on that site? Where there is no escape out of the town except the traffic from the north, south and west all going down either through the Square, Patrick St and O’Neill-Crowley Quay and all this has to come back up again.

"That is, on top of the major existing businesses down there, a question that needs to be answered by the public,” the businessman, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting of the town council on the matter, said.

“There has been an indirect attack made by councillors on the management and planners. To me they do a job on our behalf, we don’t always agree with some of the things they do and we can all point to certain places where we have serious questions on our minds as to why such and such a thing was done.

"But on the very big, serious issues like this, the planners have exercised grave concern for the future of other shops in the town,” Cllr Hanley said of the criticism planners have faced due to the decision.

“This is the kind of serious irresponsibility coming from fellows who are only determined to stay in power at any cost and don’t care because they are only feeding a certain philosophy, that we’ll give people whatever they want. You cannot give people whatever they want; we have classic proof of that now in terms of where the country is gone. Remember the voters have to accept a certain level of responsibility for what has gone on through the years, they vote for the politicians,” he added.

Cllr Hanley said he had no problem admitting he was one of a number of businesspeople who made observations regarding the development in relation to the size of the development and repeated his call for a shopping centre ‘that fitted Fermoy and not the other way around.’

He also questioned why the same expediency in addressing the Shipton development was not afforded to the Lawton Group when its proposal for a hotel in Fermoy was first denied planning permission.