Connacht Tribune
Axe hangs over Galway Bord na Mona workers
Around 70 Bord na Mona workers in Galway should know within the next six weeks whether they are to lose their jobs as part of the State company’s plan to end peat cutting in almost a quarter of their bogs.
Bord na Mona has announced that it is to begin consultations with unions about a voluntary redundancy scheme, with 150 jobs expected to be lost before Easter next year.
A source in the power and fuel company said they had not yet decided which of the 17 bogs – out of the 62 mainly across the Midlands – would close. Harvesting at the remaining 45 is expected to stop by 2025.
Derryfada in Ballyforan on the Galway/Roscommon border was one of those being considered.
“We have to get into discussions with the unions. There could be a ballpark of 60-70 employees working in Galway. We will have a better idea in the next six weeks,” he told the Connacht Tribune.
“Some of the workers will be retirees or close to retirement age. It has yet to be decided where is the location of those workers affected but the figure of 850 job losses is nowhere near accurate. The reduction is to prepare for the co-firing of our peat stations so we need to cut back production of peat. You’re talking 140/150 workers out of 1,000 working on the bogs.”
Galway-Roscommon Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice said those who lose their jobs on the bogs have “as good as zero” prospects of finding other work locally.
“The average age of the employees is 55 and all the stats tell you it’s nearly impossible for that age group to get another job,” he stated.
“A lot of these lads are also farming and the fear is they’ll have to move away as farming will no longer be sustainable for them.
“What should happen is these guys be given the opportunity to do rehabilitate the bogs, which would give them 10 years’ work at least. They’re doing it in Attymon. It’s for carbon sequestration so that Ireland can be a real good country for climate change.”
Peat is currently burned in three power stations – Edenderry in Co Offaly, run by Bord na Mona, can burn peat and biomass fuel. Two ESB plants in Shannonbridge, Co Offaly, and Lanesborough, Co Longford have yet to be converted for renewable biomass fuel, which is regarded as carbon neutral.
It is widely expected that those applications will be lodged by the ESB in the next month, according to the senior employee.
Some 40% of the biomass fuel needed for the power plants is grown in Ireland mainly in the form of woodchips and the rest will have to be imported from as far away as Africa and Australia.
Bord na Mona are experimenting with growing other biomass crops such as willow and eucalyptus to ramp up the indigenous biomass industry.
Deputy Fitzmaurice, a peat contractor, said he understands that it’s not currently paying farmers to grow woodchip.
“There’s 3,000 acres being grown at the moment and 500 acres were put back into agriculture. It’s not adding up.
“We’ve gone mad if you ask me. It’s going to cost €60 million more to produce biomass as well as leaving people off and leaving ourselves more reliant on fuels outside the country.”
Marian Harkin, MEP for the Midlands North West, said the Bord na Mona workers who are made redundant could be eligible for assistance under the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).
She was the chief negotiator for the European Parliament for the setting up of the current EGF, which is help for workers who lose their jobs due to globalisation or an economic crisis.
“The priority right now is to concentrate on the workers who will be made redundant and to assess their needs and skills and preferences. Then the Department of Education and Skills must put together an application in conjunction with the workers themselves, and their representatives, that will provide the redundant workers with relevant training, upskilling or the possibility of grant aid towards starting up their own business.
“While the normal threshold for applying for the EGF is 500 redundancies, we in the European Parliament have included a measure whereby if the redundancies are less than 500 but will have a significant impact on the local or regional economy then an application can be made. This is most certainly the case in the midlands region for which the latest CSO employment statistics show a significantly higher unemployment rate than the rest of the country.”
She said Ireland had already made a number of successful applications under the 500 threshold including three separate applications for the SR Technics workers.
About 85 workers at the Littleton peat briquette plant in Co Tipperary run by Bord na Móna were made compulsorily redundant earlier this year in a deal negotiated by three unions ahead of the factory’s closure.
Departing staff got six weeks’ pay for every year worked with Bord na Móna, up to a total of 104 weeks – the legal minimum redundancy payment is two weeks for every year. The company agreed to top up their pension by four per cent a year and make other extra payments.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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