Regional

The National Roads Authority is to begin looking for backing for the Gort to Tuam motorway, it was announced this week. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, said on Tuesday the Government has approved a funding mechanism for multi-million euro road projects in Dublin and County Wicklow.Work is set to start next year on upgrading the Newlands Cross bottleneck on the main Dublin to Cork/Limerick road, while the N11 between Arklow and Rathnew will also be upgraded to four lanes. Funding of more than €100 million will be provided under a Public Private Partnership involving a significant contribution from the European Investment Bank and Bank of Ireland, in the first such arrangement for road projects for a number of years.Construction is to start next year on both projects and is due to be completed by 2014, at which stage the repayments will commence. Minister Varadkar said financing these projects is very welcome “at a time when PPP projects …

BALLYNACALLY’S Geraldine Kelly has recently returned from a trip to Ethiopia with the international children’s charity, Plan Ireland.While in East Africa, Geraldine witnessed first hand the impact emergency relief provided by the organisation is having on those affected by the current food crisis in the region.Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa region in general, came into focus earlier this year when there was widespread media coverage of the urgent food crisis and drought that took hold of the region. Plan Ireland is an international children’s charity with a substantial long-term presence in Ethiopia.Geraldine, who is director of the business consultancy Xi Ventures, has been a board member of Plan Ireland since 2008 and was keen to visit the region to see the work being done, especially in the areas of education, food security, energy projects and microfinance.“Plan Ireland has been working on the ground in Ethiopia since 1974, so we are firmly established there and our support of women and …

ONE of Kilrush’s most famous streets reopened for business on Saturday, following significant road works carried out over the last seven weeks. However, Moore Street and nearby Steward Street only reopened to traffic at 4.30pm on Tuesday.To mark the event on Saturday, a street party was held in Moore Street, bringing together current and former residents. The street, which was home to 125 businesses in the 1840s, has since become dilapidated, with only a handful of businesses remaining open. The poor state of the road, which was the responsibility of the NRA, also hindered the possibility of reinvigorating the street.Local town councillors have been campaigning for several years to upgrade the street. At this month’s meeting of Kilrush Town Council, members suggested that the street should be supported in its efforts to rejuvenate.Although businesses experienced a slow down while the street was closed to vehicular access, Councillor Marian McMahon Jones, who is a business person on the street, said the …

AN Ennis girl’s picture perfect relationship with her grandfather has been chosen as a winner in a nationwide photography competition.

Kilrush town manager Nora Kaye has described initial talks with Leader regarding the possibility of seeking funding to further develop the Vandeleur Walled Gardens in Kilrush as “very receptive and very encouraging”. The Leader Rural Development Programme’s main aim is to strengthen the rural economy and improve the quality of life in rural areas.

IT has been one of the longest running sagas in South Galway but the end seems to be in sight. Every day for years now, over 60,000 gallons of raw sewage has been discharged untreated into the bay at Kinvara, one of the most picturesque seaside towns in Ireland.

Corofin photographer, Kenneth O’Halloran has snapped up the top prize in a prestigious international competition.

THE Tulla Comhaltas Cultural Centre moves a step closer to reality this week with the announcement that the Cnoc na Gaoithe project has secured LEADER and private funding for phase one of its development project.