Articles in the General News Category

Michael Fisher Eirgrid and ESB Networks along with their counterparts in the North sought procurement approval and funding from the utility regulators on both sides of the border prior to submitting a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for the North South Interconnector. This has emerged following a freedom of information request made by the anti-pylon group, the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign. NEPPC spokesperson Padraig O’Reilly claimed that EirGrid had failed to inform the Bord Pleanála inspectors during the eleven weeks public hearing in Carrickmacross in 2016 about the ...

– UNION AND POLITICIANS CALL FOR GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION The realignment of maternity services at Cavan General Hospital has prompted downgrading fears to be voiced by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and national political representatives in Cavan /Monaghan. Plans to merge the consultancy- operated maternity services at the hospital with the MLU or Midwifery Led Unit are understood to have commenced this week on foot of a recommendation from the governing RCSI Hospital Group. Fears have been expressed by the INMO that the midwifeled unit, one of only two in Ireland, ...

A MAJOR expansion of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme will help small and micro enterprises in Monaghan to get their business online, a Blayneybased Fine Gael councillor has said. Councillor Aidan Campbell said yesterday he is encouraging all suitable small businesses in Co. Monaghan to apply to help meet the ongoing trading challenges stemming from the COVID-19 crisis. Councillor Campbell said: “The expansion of this scheme is wonderful news for small businesses in Monaghan and all over Ireland. “Under the Scheme, small businesses can claim up to €5,000 in two ...

Comment Why is racism such an apparently widespread problem when virtually everyone in society would act with anger and outrage if it were suggested that they were racist? Questions like these are constantly debated but every so often something happens which brings the problem at their core to the forefront of public attention and discussion. Such an event occurred in Minnesota in the USA on May 25 when a 46-year-old African American man, George Floyd, died while being arrested. His alleged offence was the nonviolent one of tendering counterfeit money when ...

“One punter in Co Monaghan got their weekend off to a flying start with a stunning Lotto coup using just three lucky numbers,” bookmakers BoyleSports said this week. “The luck was shining on the anonymous customer when they placed a €10 bet on their online BoyleSports account on numbers 5, 11 and 17 all to come out in the EuroMillions main draw on Friday evening. “It didn’t take long for their optimism to pay off as all three numbers were revealed and the odds of 1,500/1 were smashed. “The run ...

Irish Water has confirmed that a National Water Conservation Order – commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban – will be in place from Tuesday June 9 until Tuesday July 21. “Four weeks ago, Irish Water urged the public to choose handwashing over power washing as domestic water usage increased as people stayed at home in response to the Covid-19 crisis,” a media release stated. “Now, the increased domestic demand and increase in commercial demand as businesses are reopening is being exacerbated by warm weather and the widespread emergence of ...

The lack of GP availability in parts of rural Ireland has prompted Sinn Féin TD for Cavan/Monaghan Pauline Tully to raise with minister for Education Joe McHugh TD in the Dáil issues around the training of medical students. Deputy Tully said she was deeply concerned at the evercontracting numbers of doctors in general practice across large swathes of rural Ireland, a situation she believed was likely to get worse given the age profile of many GPs currently in small town practices. Deputy Tully recently submitted a Parliamentary Question to the ...

Bus Éireann announced at the weekend that all their weekday services would return to their standard Monday-Friday frequency from Monday June 1 in response to the Government’s announcement of the commencement of the next phase of reopening society and business following coid- 19 restrictions. Since April 1 Bus Éireann’s weekday services have been operating to a reduced schedule. “The timetable change, which is being introduced in line with similar changes across other public transport operators, will add capacity to meet anticipated demand for customers who must make an essential trip,” ...

Lockdown has been hard for everyone and the women from Ballinode ICA have been busy on their sewing machines sewing scrubs. We have now completed 10 sets and soon they will be on their way to some of our frontline staff. Hoping everyone is keeping safe and well.

Sixth Year students from St. Louis Secondary School enjoyed a virtual graduation ceremony, with mass streamed from the Convent Chapel, to mark the end of their second-level education. This event replaced the customary in-school graduation night, due to the current Covid-19 restrictions. The mass was celebrated by Fr Stephen Joyce, with the liturgy prepared by the school’s Religion Department. Principal Margaret Conlon, welcomed the Sixth Years, their families and the members of the school community who were watching online. The thought-provoking theme of the mass was – “Be fearless in ...