Monthly Archives: February 2006

Letterkenny Cathedral Car Park

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Following on from yesterday’s Derry People Donegal News front page story, there was a discussion today on Highland Radio about Letterkenny Town Council’s decision to erect a Celtic Cross at the Cathedral Car Park, which would also feature an image of Pope John Paul II. This decision is being questioned, as the Car Park is also outside the local Church of Ireland Church, and a Presbyterian Parish Hall (Trinity Hall).

I was not at the meeting when this decision was taking (I attended at the start, but had to leave as the meeting took place during my exams), but the minutes are available here on this website Scroll down to “MONUMENT – CATHEDRAL CAR PARK”, 5 points from the very end. I have also spoken to many other councillors and officials about this, and have spoken on Highland this morning about the issue.

This decision was taken shortly after the death of Pope John Paul II, and was intended to mark his contribution to life in modern Ireland. That said, I also respect the position that this image may cause offence in such a public position, and support the idea that we should be erecting a piece to show our shared history, and the common parts of our cultures.

I have proposed that we arrange a meeting between representatives of the council, and all the parties in the Cathedral Car Park, to discuss this issue and seek a resolution. I hope to arrange this for early next week.

As I said on Highland Radio today, I would particularly like to thank Rev Stuart Wright for his response to this issue. Rev Wright has always been very approachable, and he has dealt with this issue in a very proactive and measured way.

If you have any comments or questions about this issue, please either post them here or get in contact with me directly.

Update (Feb 28th 2006): An innacurate report in today’s Donegal Democrat claims that I have “confirmed” that the Pope’s image will be removed from the cross. This is not true; I confirmed that I will be meeting members of the clergy and outlined that it would be possible to replace the middle section, on which the Pope’s image currently is. The council will decide on this issue on March 8th. I’d also like to highlight that it was never the intention of the council for the Pope’s image to appear on the cross. There has been a substantial breakdown in communication on this issue, one which we are moving to address as quickly as possible.

Update (March 3rd 2006): This story is close to being resolved. At the next council meeting (Wednesday March 8th) I will be proposing that we replace the section with Pope John Paul’s image with a section done similar to the rest of the Cross, and that the image of Pope John Paul be donated to the Catholic Diocese of Raphoe. I am confident this will be accepted by the members; I have discussed it with representatives of the Catholic Church, Church of Ireland and Trinity Presbyterian Church, and they all accept the proposal. The story has been featured on Radio on Highland, BBC Radio Foyle, BBC Radio Ulster, RTE Radio 1 and in many of Ireland’s national papers. We’ve moved to resolve this situation as quickly as possible, and I hope it will be finalised next week.

The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform

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I tuned into an interesting debate on the Shaun Doherty Show today, discussing the position of the “undocumented” Irish in America. One caller, from Donegal now living in Boston, detailed how her life in America, without a Green Card, has changed drastically since the tightening of the security-net in America after 9/11.

This is a huge issue which effects members most families in Donegal, and has done for generations. It also raises important questions for those of us here in modern Ireland; we call for greater rights for undocumented (or Illegal, if that’s what you want to call them) workers in America, while the tensions between Irish and immigrant workers here in Ireland continue to deepen.

As part of the campaign in support of the McCain/Kennedy Bill, which seeks to regularise the circumstances of undocumented Irish in America, an organisation called The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform is organising a large rally in Washington on March 8th.

Cllr Dessie Larkin and I hope to meet with representatives of this group when we travel to the USA in March, for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Philadelphia and New York. The support of public representatives in Ireland for this campaign is vital; both to help the Irish in America, and to learn important lessons for the future of Ireland from the experiences of the USA.

Urban Architecture?

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Urban Architecture Spittelau Incinerator, Vienna, Austria
Spittelau Incinerator, Vienna, Austria Spittelau Incinerator, Vienna, Austria Spittelau Incinerator, Vienna, Austria
Click any of the photos to enlarge

I encountered this building recently. It’s quite surprising on first appearances, but gets even more surprising when you find out what function the building actually serves. It’s reminiscent of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

So here’s what we’ll do: First person to tell me what this building is will win a prize. It’s a simple prize: I’ll send you 10euro (to a PayPal account).

Answers in the comments below, and I’ll contact the winner (so be sure to include your email!).

Update: Congrats to Brian Hamilton, who was the first respondent and had the correct answer.

The Building is the Spittelau Incinerator, in Vienna, Austria. It’s located bang in the centre of the city, and is one of two incinerators in the metropolitan area. More information on the “fernwarme” (as it is known) is available in english here, and the plant is lauded by the UN here (no. 86).

And now to the real reason for this post. What does this mean, particularly with reference to Ireland? Is this a way of making a potentially controversial public building into less of a problem, or is the design and decoration simply a way of papering over the bigger cracks that the incineration system brings with it?

This is an important question for Ireland- an Incinerator has been approved at Poolbeg in Co Cork, and another is proposed (but widely opposed) for Ringsend in Co Dublin. There is likely to be more proposed around the country (at this stage, none has been proposed on any basis for Co Donegal). There is a need for debate on the issue. The Austrians are very proud of their environmental record, and see incineration as an integral part of their waste management strategy. Is it possible this can be the same for Ireland, or is it unacceptable?

Please leave your comments below, or get in contact with me directly.

Update – Feb 20th 2006

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An update on some recent points, and addressing some new points:

  • Once again, we are seeing reports of another tragic accident in Donegal, this time resulting in the deaths of 5 Eastern Europeans following an accident near Buncrana. More info in this Highland Radio article.
  • As reported in the Donegal News this week, the council have once again had their case seeking an injunction against an illegal encampment at Kiltoy adjourned. This is hugely disappointing; the case has been before a court on a number of occasions since last autumn but has been adjourned every time. The case is now due to be heard on March 1st.
  • Letterkenny Town Council has passed our revised development contribution scheme. The Town Council has followed the same charges as the County Council.
  • Residents in the Lismonaghan and Leck areas of Letterkenny have again had to suffer prolonged water outages. For the first time, Council engineers have blamed the shortages on a lack of supply, rather than infrastructural difficulties as on previous occasions. I’ve called for an urgent meeting of the Town Council with Senior Engineers, to put in place a plan to deal with this critical issue.
  • My post on Toireasa Ferris has quickly become the most visited item on the site. My thanks to all those who have read, and commented. If you have anything to say, feel free to add it.

If you have any questions, queries or comments, you can either contact me or leave your comment below.

Mayor of Kerry vs Pat Kenny

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A quick post in relation to the Mayor of Kerry, Toireasa Ferris, and her appearance on the Late Late Show on Friday night. No, I’m not discussing her wardrobe; that was only a minor issue compared to the bulk of what happened, and I support Toireasa’s points on the matter in today’s press. Any paper that attacks her on her wardrobe shows a lack of ability to deal with the real issues of the interview and is simply going for cheap headlines.

A bit of background: Toireasa is the 26-year-old Mayor of Kerry, and daughter of Sinn Fein TD (and convicted IRA terrorist) Martin Ferris. She was on the Late Late show on Friday to discuss her position as a young person in politics.

Toireasa is one of the people often mentioned when people talk about the number of young people in Sinn Fein. That’s a myth we can dispell immediately. Fianna Fail has more young members, runs more young candidates, and has more young elected representatives than any other party in Ireland, north or south.

The interview was fairly gentle, until Pat pushed Toireasa on her views on the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe. In a shocking piece of political-speak, straight from SF headquarters, Toireasa said she was “not authorised” to condemn the attack.

I couldn’t believe it. Yes, we need more young people in politics. Of course I’m going to support young people getting involved, particularly at a local council level. It is a credit to Toireasa that she has reached such a high position at such a young age. But, as young people, we should be there to stand up for what we believe in. I regularly speak out against Government policy, in public and in private. To say she was “not authorised” shows a shocking level of contempt for personal thought. Pat wasn’t asking for a SF line, he was looking for a personal opinion.

Either have some idealism and stand up for what you beleve in, or get out of politics. It’s that simple. If you cannot speak your mind as a young person, relatively new to politics, then you’re not going to be able to speak your mind in 5, 10 or more years time. Toireasa Ferris has all the hallmarks of the “new breed” of SF candidate- young, presentable, no previous convictions- but also shares the inability for independent thought.

No Councillor in Fianna Fail requires “authorisation” to say anything. That’s how democratic parties work. SF is (slowly) moving towards democratic politics (and performs well on councils across the country, including Letterkenny Town Council) but, as the saying goes, old habits die hard. One need only consider the case of Francie Molloy, Mayor of Dungannon, who was suspended from the party for straying from official policy.

So I’ll put my money where my mouth is. Here’s some things the Government have done that I think are wrong. The current situation at Letterkenny General Hospital is shocking, as is the failure to deal effectively with the needs of Cancer Patients in the North West. I’ve actively campaigned against Fianna Fail’s failure to organise in Northern Ireland. Funding for many schools still falls behind their needs, an example being St Eunan’s College. At tonight’s council meeting, I’ll be calling for Letterkenny to be included in the RAPID programme, which governemnt policy has excluded it from. There’s more than that, and I’m sure there will be more in the future.

Was I authorised to criticise the Government on any of those issues? Of course not. And I shouldn’t need to be. If Toiressa Ferris didn’t want to discuss those issues, that’s one point. But to say she “wasn’t authorised” shows how little individual thought is tolerated in SF.

This issue is being discussed robustly online here, here and here. The clip from the show should be available soon, I’ll update here when it is. Comments are open, if you have something to say.

Update: RTE have updated their Late Late Show archive, but have not included the interview with Toireasa Ferris. Thanks to everyone who has linked to this site; traffic has gone through the roof. I welcome all comments below.

o2 Ends Roaming Charges in Ireland

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Just read this article on RTE.ie

O2 to abolish roaming charges in the North

O2 will abolish roaming charges between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland for its 1.6 million customers from April. The company has also abolished roaming charges across the UK and Ireland for its business customers.

From April, roaming between here and the North will be scrapped on O2′s network for all its pre-pay and post-pay customers. These means that these customers will not be charged for calls they receive while roaming in Northern Ireland.
[...]

This is great news for people in Donegal, particularly those who live near the border and any of us who travel frequently. When I was studying in UU Magee in Derry roaming charges put my bill up hugely, and much the same happens whenever I travel near the border or into the North.

It is quite ironic that the strongest networks available in Donegal County Council’s HQ in Lifford are those coming from the North, leading to people sitting in the council chamber receiving “Welcome to the UK” texts. I have even received these texts while in Ballybofey, and on one occasion in Letterkenny.

This move is long overdue. It should have come when the Networks first merged. But, as the saying goes, better late than never. I only hope Vodafone will follow suit!

Update: Vodafone have now joined o2 in ending roaming charges for bill-pay users, from April 14th. It’s part of their Vodafone Passport programme

New Site Feature- Comments

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I’ve just added a new feature to this website.

Now, you can comment on the posts I put here, and the comments will be appended to the end of the post. This is a great way of developing a debate. Examples can be seen on many of the sites I visit, including SluggerOToole.com and iePolitics.

There’s a few important things to note. If you want to comment, click the link at the bottom of each post which says “Comment on this post”. There, you can leave your name, email and comment. Your email address won’t be displayed on the site. As this is new, I won’t be moderating the comments. This means that whatever you say will be added to the site immediately. I hope the system works- if it’s abused I’ll have to change it, but my experience so far has been that responses to this site have been well intentioned and well argued.

I’ve enabled comments for all the recent posts on the front of the site (including my post about the Council trip to the USA) and will enable it for posts from now on.