O’Mahony welcomes new accommodation at Bekan NS

The news of the provision of an 80 square meter classroom was confirmed to Deputy O’Mahony by Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keefe TD. Read more

Govt policy preventing adults from returning to education – O’Mahony

Mayo Fine Gael TD, John O’Mahony, is calling for the immediate reversal of Government policy on adults seeking to return to education. Noting that adults currently seeking to return to education must be six months out of work and in receipt of social welfare, Deputy O’Mahony described the policy as ‘ridiculous and outdated’. Read more

O’Mahony calls for media ban on leaving cert results

“The media appear to have become obsessed with the Leaving Cert in the past few years. Every August you read about the brilliant students who achieved maximum points in their exam but no one is ever told about the students at the opposite end of the scale. While it is a wonderful achievement for all who gain high points and is just reward for their dedication others may have worked just as hard to maximise their talents even though the achieve lower points. “I don’t believe it’s doing young people any favours whatsoever by comparing them with their peers at such an early age. Imagine being 17 and you have just struggled through the exam and did the best possible but all you read and hear about is your classmate who received 500 points. There are different reasons why people do well in exams and they’re not all about how intelligent a person is. There are social factors involved and it’s time that the media adopted a more restrained approach to it”, he said.

O’Mahony calls for a fair deal for school bus operators

Deputy O’Mahony made the point while the operators have not received any increase in their fees, the cost to families who send their children to school by bus has increased. “I’m calling on the Department of Education to sanction an increase for the Bus Operators.

The costs involved in maintaining a bus and the rising costs in fuel are continually on the rise and it’s getting very difficult for operators to continue in business. The Department has increased the cost to parents for their bus tickets but no increase has been agreed for the operators. It’s something that has to be addressed,” he said.

O’Mahony welcomes new development at Swinford Hospital

Deputy O’Mahony has been informed that funding is available for the project and the closing dates for tenders for the work is mid-September. “This is a most welcome development for Swinford District Hospital and the refurbishment and modernisation of the building will be of huge benefit to both patients and staff.

“Swinford Hospital serves a large area and provides a vital service for the community. The staff that work there are superb people and they deserve to have the best of facilities available to them to work in and provide a quality service to the people under their care. This is a good news story all round and I warmly welcome it,” he said.

Statement by John O’ Mahony TD, on the death of JJ O’Hara

“Two characteristics stood out in JJ personality, firstly his ability to put enormous effort into his work and secondly to refuse to take “NO” for a answer in pursuit of his efforts for his community”

“He knew no bounds in hs vision for the Admiral Browne project and I recall, only a few short weeks ago on a walkabout in his beloved Foxford, the passion with which he articulated the needs of the community and his hopes for his native place.

“He was truly a man of the people for the people.

“To his wife Bernie, sons John & Mark, daughters Louise & Lisa and his extended family I offer my deepest sympathy.”

 

Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasail

O’Mahony congratulates leaving cert students

“The Leaving Cert is a major event in the life of people who go through the school system and I want to congratulate all who completed the exam. For some students, just sitting the exam was an achievement and I think it’s important that we highlight those students as well as the high achieving academic students.

“While the exam is important it must be remembered that it’s just one step along the way in life. There is something for everyone after school and we should not lose sight of that,” he said. Deputy O’Mahony also called on students to celebrate sensibly. “We don’t want to read about excessive revelry in the papers tomorrow so my hope would be that students don’t go over the top in celebrating their results.”

O’Mahony concerned at large number of Under 25’s on live register.

“The figure has jumped from 1,031 to 1, 573 within the space of twelve months and that’s something for everyone to be concerned about. I don’t think it’s something that can be explained away by ‘taking the seasonal factors into account’ because the same seasonal factors applied last year but this year there’s been a dramatic increase in young people signing on. It’s something for us all to be concerned about and I believe we all need to apply ourselves to see the reasons for this increase and what can be done about it. At this stage I think the last thing we need is another task force, as we all know the issues. We have two Government TDs here in the county and I believe it’s up to them to apply the necessary pressure to see that we get our fair share of new jobs in Mayo,” he said.

In relation to the figures governing the entire work force in Mayo, Deputy O’Mahony said they made it patently clear that Government policy on job creation for Mayo was simply not working. “Take Westport for example, a town that’s supposed to be thriving, yet since this time last there’s been an increase of 52% in the numbers of people signing on the Live Register. It’s the same trend throughout the county with the smallest increase being in Belmullet at 11%. The figures don’t need any spinning whatsoever. Government policy is simply not working and until we see a greater concerted effort at tackling the issues here in Mayo, there will not be any significant decrease in the numbers signing on,” he said

Investment needed at our beaches – O’Mahony

“I’m aware that there are facilities available at some of our beaches but I believe that we could make our beaches a whole lot more attractive to people by investing in outdoor showers and some changing units. I’m not looking for state of the art facilities; just something basic that would create a much more welcoming environment for users.

“We don’t have a Mediterranean climate here so when people come out of the sea after, say surfing, they may well have to change in cold and wet conditions. If there was a shower for them to wash off all the sand and a place to change into dry clothes, the whole experience would be much more welcoming and they’d be anxious to return, ” he said. Deputy O’Mahony, who is also the Fine Gael spokesperson for Sport, said he hoped that the council would consider taking his request on board for the 2009 summer season.

O’Mahony disappointed with drop in grant aid for sports clubs in Mayo

“Everyone with an interest in sport will warmly welcome any investment but it is very disappointing to see that there has been a reduction in grant aid to the tune of €1.2m compared to last year. I know of a number of clubs who are very disappointed this week at not having received any grant aid despite ticking all the appropriate boxes in their applications. Those clubs, which are anxious to carry out developments, will now have to wait at least another twelve months before they can apply again. It’s very disappointing,” he said.

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