O’Mahony welcomes new train arrival on Wednesday

The news was warmly welcomed by Deputy O’Mahony who said that the new service would meet a long awaited need for the people of Mayo. “My understanding is that the first of the new trains will go into service on Wednesday and from the following Wednesday, April 9th, the entire schedule will be serviced by the new trains. It’s great news for the people of Mayo who regularly use the train to travel to Dublin. For years, we have had to endure a service that was simply not good enough, particularly when the people living in the south and east of the country had an ultra modern service.

“Iarnrod Eireann have already announced that their new schedule from early next year will include extra trains on the Mayo to Dublin line and I believe, as do so many others, that an integral part of that new schedule should be an early bird service that would allow people do business in the capital at an early hour,” said Deputy O’Mahony.

O’Mahony to seek clarity from Justice Minister on Ridgepool Hotel plans

Fine Gael Mayo Deputy John O’Mahony has called for clarity from the Department of Justice on speculation that the Ridgepool Hotel in Ballina may be earmarked as a centre for asylum seekers. Deputy O’Mahony said there was legitimate local concern about the development and that he would question the Justice Minister on the subject upon the return of the Dáil.

“It is important that this situation is clarified because I believe that there are legitimate worries about the Ridgepool Hotel as a proposed location for such a centre. I am concerned that Ballina does not have the capacity to deal with this development and, if the plans are genuinely in train, then a rethink is required.

“Ballina has rightly been very accommodating towards asylum seekers in the past but the Ridgepool is the wrong location. It is my belief that every effort should be made to retain the hotel as a tourism facility, given its ideal location, which would benefit the local economy and the existing population.

“I have already written to the Justice Minister to seek clarification on whether this plan is a reality and, if so, what the rationale behind its location is. I will question the Minister directly when the Dáil returns and convey the legitimate concerns of the community.”

O’Mahony wants new Garda Station for Foxford

“The Gardai in Foxford do a wonderful job but in very trying circumstances. The condition of the station is just not acceptable and I’m now calling on the relevant authorities to sanction a new building for the town.

“Foxford is a fast developing town with an increasing population and along with a new station there is also a need for an extra garda to be appointed to the town. At the moment there is one sergeant and one garda serving the area but I’m also calling on the Garda Commissioner to appoint an extra member to cope with the growing demand in the town and surrounding area,” he said.

Government ignoring the people of Crossmolina – O’Mahony

“I asked a question in the Dáil about the flooding and when the OPW would be carrying out the work but I’m afraid the reply I received was totally unsatisfactory. I was told that in order to identify means of reducing the flood risk at Crossmolina it is necessary to carry out a detailed survey of the channel involved.
“The survey will be carried out by the Office of Public Works a soon as water levels permit, which is expected to be in late spring. If a scheme that is socially, economically and environmentally acceptable is identified funding will be put in place, subject to other demands on available resources.

“That reply was an insult to the people who had to endure the hardship they went through last December twelve months. It’s now over over fourteen months since Crossmolina was flooded and still we’re awaiting a survey to identify means of reducing the risk of future flooding.
“That length of time is just not good enough and it’s a terrible sleight on the people of Crossmolina who have been living in fear of more flooding for the past year. I can assure the people of Crossmolina that I’ll be monitoring this situation to ensure that the survey is carried this spring or else there is every chance that another year will pass by and nothing of any note will be done,” he said.

Note for editors: Reply by the Minister for Finance to a Parliamentary Question’s

QUESTION NOS: 176 & 177
DÁIL QUESTIONS addressed to the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Noel Ahern TD
by Deputy John O’Mahony
for WRITTEN ANSWER on Tuesday, 11th March, 2008.
* 176. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance when work by the Office of Public Works will be carried out in Crossmolina, County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- John O’Mahony TD
* 177. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the funding the Office of Public Works put in place in result of the flooding in Crossmolina in December 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- John O’Mahony TD
REPLY.
In order to identify means of reducing the flood risk at Crossmolina it is necessary to carry out a detailed survey of the channel involved. The survey will be carried out by the Office of Public Works a soon as water levels permit, which is expected to be in late Spring.

If a scheme that is socially, economically and environmentally acceptable is identified funding will be put in place, subject to other demands on available resources.

Another Blow to the People of Mayo on Cancer Services announcement- O’Mahony

“This was a politically led decision and if the political will was there the services could be retained at Mayo General. The cancer services at Mayo, Sligo and Letterkenny could work as satellites of Galway and that would allow them retain their present status. We are told today that chemotherapy will continue to be administered at Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar but the reality of that is that it will not be consultant led as they will have moved to Galway.

“Only a few weeks ago the head of the HSE on a visit to Mayo was describing the cancer services in Mayo as one of the best in the country but at the same time they are being closed down. It should never have come to this,” said Deputy O’Mahony.

“Some people have been quick to blame the consultants for this closure the one thing that needs to be remembered that this is a political decision not a medical one. The consultants and their teams working in the cancers services in Mayo General Hospital should be complemented for their excellence service that they continue to provide”

Speech by Deputy John O’Mahony during Dáil debate on Primary School funding

Speaking in Dáil Éireann on a Labour Party Private Members’ Motion on primary school funding, Fine Gael Mayo Deputy John O’Mahony said the motion coincided with a period when the emphasis for principals, teachers, boards of management and parents has switched from teaching and implementing new curricula to balancing the books, fund-raising or collecting thousands of supermarket tokens to obtain some piece of school equipment that should be provided by the Department.

“Free education is something we have been told we are getting since as far back as 1966, over 40 years ago. It has been proclaimed from the rooftops, and rightly so, that our education system is one of the best in the world and a major reason for the birth of the Celtic Tiger. Our teachers at all levels have been justifiably lauded for delivering this education system. One would have thought that a fair share of the proceeds of the same Celtic Tiger would continue to be reinvested in this education system so that we can continue to produce a highly skilled and qualified workforce.

“Sadly, the last few months have proved that the opposite is the case. The programme for Government last year promised to increase the numbers of primary teachers by at least 4,000.

“This, we were assured, would considerably reduce class sizes to a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:24 by 2010. More relevant to the issue of funding, we were told that the capitation grants for our primary schools would be doubled and that grants for support staff such as secretaries and caretakers would be increased significantly. Recent announcements have confirmed that all these promises have been reneged on. Because of these broken promises, class sizes will remain, at best, as large as ever, but will probably increase significantly.

“Listening to the Minister and the spokespersons on the opposite side of the House, I did not hear them contradict the assertion in last week’s The Irish Times that 140 schools would lose teachers and a further 200 would be unable to appoint new staff due to the Department’s abandonment of the commitment to reduce class sizes this year. Water charges, which will ultimately have to be paid by parents, have also been loaded onto schools. How can the Minister justify a primary school capitation grant of €178, compared to €331 per student at second level? Our primary schools and pupils need the same support as second level pupils. Figures suggest that it would cost an extra €70 million – surely only a drop in the ocean compared to the overall education budget – to bring the primary school capitation grant up to the same level as the secondary grant.

“All of these cutbacks have come at a time when many schools around the country have been waiting for over ten years to get approval for new school buildings. Many of these are now finding themselves further down the queue than they were a decade ago. In recent weeks I visited three schools in my constituency, on some occasions along with Deputies from the Government side. I witnessed at first hand overcrowding in Gaelscoil Uileog de Búrca in Claremorris, sewage overflowing in the playground of Midfield National School, and the burst boiler, leaking roof and rotting windows at St. Joseph’s National School, Bonniconlon.

“The Minister stated that special needs pupils are being looked after well. In one of the schools I visited, a special needs pupil was being taught in the corridor outside the principal’s office, looking out on to the road through a glass door through which all visitors to the school had to pass. The staff room is also the principal’s office and the secretary’s office. Until a couple of years ago when a little room for the purpose was provided by the local community, the delph from the lunch break had to be washed in the toilets. In addition, a student with disabilities had to be wheeled down the road to the local Catholic church to be changed. The restoration of the summer works scheme and a doubling of the capitation grant would not go anywhere near solving these schools’ long wait for new buildings, but it would provide some encouragement and allow them to cope with the increased running costs of these schools.

“Parents, principals and boards of management understand that funding will always be an issue in our schools, but the failure in last year’s Budget to deliver meaningful reform has infuriated all the partners in education. A plethora of surveys by many of the stakeholders clearly illustrates that the gap between the increasing costs and Departmental funding is getting wider. That gap can only be closed for so long by voluntary fund-raising. I strongly support this motion and call on the Minister to double the capitation grant with immediate effect. They should also be paid in time so that the mounting bills can be paid at the appropriate time and not many months late.”

Fine Gael National Press Office Press Release170 jobs boost for East Mayo as Charlestown site secured for Govt Dept offices – O’Mahony

Fine Gael Mayo Deputy John O’Mahony today (Tuesday) welcomed the announcement by the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs that they have secured a site in Charlestown for their new offices.

“This announcement is a welcome boost for the East Mayo town as it will add 170 much-needed jobs to the local economy.

“I am now calling for the project to be fast-tracked and for all concerned to work through the planning process swiftly. The project has been the subject of ongoing delays for so long it is essential that it progresses quickly now that a site has been secured.”

Growth in Mayo drug seizures should see Garda drugs unit increased – O’Mahony

Fine Gael Mayo Deputy John O’Mahony today (Wednesday) said that figures provided to him by the Justice Minister showed alarming increases in drug seizures in the Mayo Garda Division, particularly where cannabis and ecstasy where concerned. Deputy O’Mahony said that this should lead to increased numbers in the Garda Drugs Unit as the level of seizures may only be the tip of the iceberg.

“The Gardai are to be commended for their work on drug seizures but these hauls are alarming in reflecting the amount of drugs getting into County Mayo and the country as a whole. While the figures reveal varying seizures over the years since 2002 they show serious upward trends in 2006 and 2007 with an explosion in levels of cannabis and ecstasy seized. Ecstasy seizures alone increased almost ten-fold between 2006 and 2007. (see note below)

“Meanwhile the drugs unit in Mayo is made up of one Sergeant and three Gardai who are doing great work with the resources at their disposal. However, it is clear from the national perspective that drugs are widespread in modern Irish society so the seizures in Mayo may only be the tip of the iceberg. The Government needs to provide extra resources for the Gardai, Customs Officers and Community Policing. This is an important step in effectively tackling the drugs epidemic which wrecks so many lives.”

Note for editors: figures provided by the Minister for Justice in a Parliamentary Question reply are below

Garda Drug Seizures – Mayo Division 2002-2007
Drug 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Heroin 3.8 grms – - – - 0.2 grms
Cocaine 20 grms
42 grms 1.8 grms 12grms 0.07 grms 1.8 grms
Cannabis 469 grms 3.5 grms 12 grms 1.5 grms 13 grms 80 grms
Cannabis Resin 1,505 grms 1,674 grms 929 grms 868 grms 684 grms 1,106 grms
Ecstasy 3,969 tablets 404 tablets 941 tablets 650 tablets 616 tablets 878 tablets
* Statistics provided for 2007 are operational, provisional and may change