Massive increase in Mayo Live Register

A wave of unemployment is sweeping through Mayo according to Labour's Cllr Keith Martin.  Cllr Martin says the Live Register Figures released on Friday July 4th point to a massive increase in unemployment throughout the county.

 

Among the worst hit are Westport with a 55.49% increase, Castlebar with a 58.14% increase, Ballinrobe with a 59.49% increase and Claremorris with an increase of over 65%.

 

The figures for Mayo are consistent with the national situation which show an increase in unemployment of 19,000 over May 2008 and a 67,000 increase over May 2007.

 

Cllr Martin says urgent action is required to alleviate the devastating impact that job losses were having on local communities in the west of Ireland.  Cllr Martin says the losses were not confined to bigger towns like Ballina with a 35% increase, as Achill was up 29%, Belmullet was up 23% and Swinford was up 45%.

 

"It is like a tide of unemployment is sweeping through our towns and villages and we in the west have some of the biggest increases.  It is a black day for Mayo but if action is not taken things could only get worse."

Adams premature on Convent Buildings

According to Labour's Cllr Keith Martin "Councillor Margaret Adams has been very premature in her public comments this week on Mid West Radio in calling for the council to acquire the convent buildings in Westport for the new Civic Offices."

Cllr Martin says "It is a bit disingenuous of Cllr Adams to infer by her comments that she is the driving force behind such a move when the truth is that all nine councillors have been involved in the issue for some time."

Cllr Martin says that over a month ago Westport Town Council instructed Town Manager Peter Hynes to investigate the possible purchase of the convent buildings and voted unanimously to put together a subcommittee to oversee the negotiations on the site.

"Westport Town Councillors also agreed to keep the negotiations confidential to allow management to conduct the negotiations out of the public arena. To my knowledge this is the situation today and I think it would be best if Cllr Adams refrained from making speculative comments on the radio on an issue that has already been discussed and agreed to by all councillors and was supposed to be confidential."

Letter to the editor

Dear Editor,

Mayo County Council propose to charge us all for the privilege of recycling at Derrinumera and Rathroeen and reverse their policy of allow recyclers free use of the two facilities.

How does this tie in the accepted local and national principle that the "polluter pays"?

The Polluter Pays Principle is a principle in environmental law where the polluting party pays for the damage done to the natural environment. Since 1996 this has been enshrined in our waste laws.

Currently Mayo County Council charges €5 a bag and €155 per tonne of waste received at the centres. Last year Derrinumera alone received 20,000 tonnes at €150 per tonne.

Mayo County Council also received funding totalling €128, 880 to support the operating costs of recycling facilities in November 2007. This funding was from the Environment Fund, which was established with the revenues obtained from the plastic bag levy introduced in March 2002 and the landfill levy introduced in July 2002.

Why is Mayo County Council not raising its waste fill charges to meet its running costs? Even a small increase would raise a huge amount of money.

Why is Mayo County Council setting out to generate revenue from recyclers?

If Mayo County Council proceeds with these charges they will only lead to an increase in fly tipping and backyard burning. The cost of living is now sky high and we have councillors and officials introducing another stealth tax on hard-pressed families.

I think recycling should be free and dumping should pay for the costs of both dumping and recycling.

I would appeal to your readers and especially the thousands of recyclers who use Derrinumera and Rathroeen amenity centres to contact their local councillor and Mayo County Council's, Director of Service, Mr Seamus Granaghan to protest at this move to punish recyclers.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Keith Martin

33 Pairc na Coille

Westport

Co. Mayo

086 0691182

Martin calls for support in saving rural post office campaign

Labour's Cllr Keith Martin has welcomed a new move by the Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) to save local post offices.  Over the last eight years over 500 post offices have been shut.

 

The campaign to save local post offices from closure was launched at a meeting this week organised by the Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) and attended by the Society of St Vincent de Paul, Irish Farmers Association, Age Action, Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Irish Rural Link and the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed.

 

Unlike the majority of EU countries, Ireland does not have specific minimum requirements in relation to post office network size and coverage.

 

Cllr Keith Martin says he is pledging his support to the campaign and has called for support for the campaign from Mayo's politicians. 

 

The IPU is calling for the Government and An Post to decide on what size, distribution and quality of network should be available to the public and to carry out any planned closures on a planned and voluntary basis.  The IPU is also calling for post offices to be computerised and adequately resourced and for a commitment from Government to the post office as the provider for the delivery of social welfare payments.

 

Cllr Martin concluded that "Rural dwellers face an increased decline in their quality of life if essential services such as rural post offices and garda barracks continue to close and if rural transport and broadband continue to fail to meet demand.  This campaign is the first step in reversing that decline and it should be supported 100%.  I have contacted An Post, the Minister and the IPU in support of the campaign."

 

             086 0691182

Tom Johnson Summer School

Vincent Browne addresses the Tom Johnson Summer School in Galway.

Recycling charges may breach EU law

Cllr Keith Martin says he believes proposals by Mayo County Council to introduce recycling charges Derrinumera and Rathroeen amenity centres are in breach of EU law by contravening the legal principle that the "polluter pays".

The Polluter Pays Principle is a principle in environmental law where the polluting party pays for the damage done to the natural environment.

Cllr Martin says "The Polluter Pays is a principle of environmental law, which was ratified in the Maastricht Treaty and the Polluter Pays principle was implemented into Irish law by the Waste Management Act 1996."

Recently Mayo County Council unveiled the proposals proposed charges during a meeting of the environmental policy and emergency services strategic policy committee of Mayo County Council.  The Chairperson of the environment strategic policy committee is Westport's Cllr Margaret Adams.

The charges proposed are €2 per car and €5 per van but currently, members of the public using Rathroeen and Derrinumera civic sites are only charged for bags of refuse going to landfill.

According to Cllr Martin ""Mayo County Council already charges private individuals and waste contractors for dumping waste at these centres and it is from these charges that the cost of these centres should be met not by squeezing those recyclers who use Derrinumera and Rathroeen amenity centres.

"The accepted principle in this area, locally and nationally, is that the polluter pays; not the recycler.  I believe that while Mayo County Council have a legal right under this principle to impose charges for waste they do not have any right to charge recyclers for recycling.

"The polluter should pay; the recycler should not, it's a simple as that.  The cost of living is now sky high and we have councillors and officials introducing another stealth tax on hard-pressed families.  It's a disgrace!"

 

086 0691182                       098 25747

Gold Mining Reply from Dept

Liz McManus TD, Labour's spokesperson on Natural Resources has received a response from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in relation to Gold Mining in Mayo.  Liz McManus took the issue up with the Dept in response to a request from Labour's Westport Councillor Keith Martin.

 

In a recent Parliamentary Question Deputy McManus asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position "regarding plans to open a tourism gold mine near Louisburgh, County Mayo and asked also if he would address fears that the plans cover an area that is a designated area for special conservation and that the tourism mine may be converted into a full scale mining operation."

 

In response, Minister of State Sean Power TD, confirmed that an application "for prospecting licences for gold and silver in respect of a number of areas in north Mayo was received in 2007.  A prospecting licence entitles the holder to explore the designated areas for mineral deposits and is under consideration.  

"Any application to mine would require a State Mining Facility from the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, which would be subject to a public consultation process.  Mining would also require planning permission from the local authority, which involves Environmental Impact Assessment.  An Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licence would also be required from the Environmental Protection Agency" concluded Minister of State Power.