Update August 20th 2007
August 20th, 2007A few quick updates.
RTE is reporting that the Galway Water Situation has been resolved. The boil notice has been lifted, and water has been deemed safe to drink. As the article notes, 240 people officially suffered from Cryptosporidiosis, although the official figure is likely to be in the region of 5,000. The official figures were always too low; from personal experience, about two-thirds of the people I know in the Galway area suffered problems from the water over the last few months. Those who rang for medical help were given some basic advice, and told to ring back later if it didn’t clear in a few days. No real record was kept of how many people were suffering.
There are lessons to be learned here for all local authorities in the Country. We have met with the water engineers in Donegal County Council on a number of occasions to discuss the Galway outbreak (and those in Ennis, parts of Dublin and elsewhere). Donegal County Council must remain vigilant for the risk of this, or similar, problems in the water supply in Donegal. We must make sure all our water infrastructure is up to standard, and that every opportunity to improve that infrastructure is taken. This is happening; Councillors are regularly briefed on matters from the Water and Sanitary Services and, while things aren’t perfect, I do accept that everything that can be done to prevent problems like those in Galway is being done.
The new Letterkenny Sports and Leisure Complex is up and running. The Summer, and school holidays, have meant that it has been very busy every day. The vast majority of reports have been extremely positive, regarding both facilities and staffing. I’ve been using the gym fairly regularly, but haven’t had time to get into the pool (or on the Slides!) yet. The facilities are second to none; I have not seen a gym with as much equipment anywhere before.
The staff have been extremely supportive and helpful. I’m not in terrible shape, but I am not near as fit as I used to be. The Leisure Centre operates a free “Four Step” induction plan, which offers four free sessions with one of the instructors to assess your fitness level, set your goals and give a workout routine to help reach that. I’m about half-way through my programme, and can really feel it working. The new centre will be a massive benefit to the town, and it’s great to see so many local people making use of it.
The Letterkenny Community Based CCTV Scheme is nearly ready. The cameras are in place at most of the locations, and work on the networking and civil works for the programme is continuing. I’m delighted to have been heavily involved in this, as it has the potential to make a big impact for personal safety in the Town Centre. There have been proposals and efforts to get CCTV for Letterkenny in the past, but all have failed. This time, we worked together. The Gardai were there from the outset, the Chamber of Commerce (in particular Joanne Sweeney and Jason Black) have managed the application, tendering and installation process. The Town Council is putting up the match-funding (over E40,000), supporting the installation and will take over management of the system once it is in place. Donegal County Council has come on board in recent weeks to support the programme as well.
The system will be fully operational in the coming months.
Politically, I’d like to congratulate Briain O’Domhnaill on his nomination to the Senate. Briain is an extremely popular councillor, who polled a fantastic vote in the last local elections. He will be a real asset to Donegal in the Senate. Congratulations also Cecilia Keaveney on her succesful election to the senate on the Educational Panel.
It’s college applications time again. LYIT has added eight new degree courses - ranging from Early Childhood Education and Culinary Enterprise to Architectural Technology and Digital Forensics. LYIT is perhaps Letterkenny’s biggest asset; it employs hundreds directly, brings around 3,000 students to the town every year, and has attracted major employers like Pramerica, Pacficare and Zeus to the town.
And finally, the Skate Park received it’s official opening on July 20th. Photos by Clive Wasson.
