Other News In Brief

Consultation On National Broadband Plan Mapping Exercise

The Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment is currently seeking submissions to the consultation on the conclusion of the broadband mapping exercise.

In addition to the likes of telecommunications operators, the Department would like to hear from individuals or retail service providers who are experiencing problems accessing or providing a high speed broadband service to homes or businesses.

Issues may include placing an order, getting connected, and/or getting the service a person has ordered.

Anyone with details of premises or locations that are experiencing these types of issues is urged to make a submission.

This consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 20 September 2019.

Further details are available online.

Call For Financial Supports For Beef Sector Workers

SIPTU has called on the Government to provide additional income supports for the thousands of workers now laid-off due to the ongoing beef crisis.

Up to 3,000 SIPTU members and their families are directly affected by the ongoing crisis at the beef plants.

SIPTU Organiser Terry Bryan, said: "We currently have thousands of workers laid off and this is causing massive hardship for their families across the country. These are families with bills to pay, children to feed and rent now due. Not all the workers who have been laid off will have automatic entitlement to Social Welfare payments because of the Work Permit System.

"We are calling on the Government to develop a fund that will provide income support to these workers and we insist that the beef processors, as a group, should contribute to this fund to off-set the real hardship their employees are now facing."

SIPTU Organiser, Denis Gormalley, said: "The crisis in the meat industry, which has resulted in protests and disruption at processing the plants across the country, now threatens the jobs of up to 3,000 of our members.

"Currently we have three thousand workers on temporary lay-off and there are ten thousand workers employed in the sector so the potential for this crisis to get a lot worse is very real. This not only affects the workers and their families directly, but also the local communities, small businesses and retailers."

Govt Urged To Honour Funding Pledge To Shannon Venue Project

The Fine Gael government has been urged to value their funding commitment to build a major civic centre in Shannon.

The Shannon Venue project has been in development for a number of years, with a voluntary group pulling out over funding issues last year.

In 2017, the government committed €5m to the project but more than two and a half years later this has not materialised.

Fianna Fáil General Election candidate for Clare, Cllr Cathal Crowe has called on Fine Gael to follow through with their commitment.

Cllr. Crowe commented: "The Shannon Venue is an important and much needed social and civic venture, which has been supported by local community for years. However, frustration has been growing for some time over the lack of progress at the site.

"Local Fine Gael TDs were quick to claim ownership of a €5m euro funding commitment from government in March 2017 but in recent months the party has been attacking me for questioning where the funding is and why it's been delayed for so long.

"Fine Gael has falsely accused me of calling for additional funding for the project. Let me be very clear – I am simply calling on Fine Gael to honour the commitment it made to the Shannon Venue back in 2017. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I will not apologise for continuing to draw attention to a much-needed project for our community. The time has come for Fine Gael to be honest with people in Clare and the Shannon region about whether they are genuinely committed to this venture."



(JG/CM)