Louth Co Council invite grant applications for housing repairs and adaptations.

Louth County Council is inviting grant applications from those in the county who require assistance to make their home more suitable to accommodate a person with a disability and for people aged over 66 who require essential structural repairs.
Highest priority in assessing grant applications will be given to a person with a severe physical disability who is fully or mainly dependent on family or a carer(s). The works allowed under the Housing Adaptation Grant scheme include access ramps, downstairs toilet facilities, stair-lifts, accessible showers, wheelchair access and other necessary works.
Extensions may only be considered when all less costly and “fit for purpose” alternatives have been eliminated e.g. use of technology, reassignment of existing rooms, etc. Grants are means-tested with varying levels of funding available according to household income.
All Housing Adaption/Mobility Aids grants will be assessed by Louth County Council’s Occupational Therapist in an effort to use the available funding where it will have maximum impact.

Applicants are advised to ensure that their submissions are fully completed before being sent in.

Information and application form available at http://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Services/Housing/Grants/Housing-Adaptation-Grants-2014.pdf

Further information and application forms are available at www.louthcoco.ie or by calling (042) 9324271.

You may also contact my office at 042-9329052 or mary.moran@oir.ie if you need assistance with your application.

Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan To Provide Quality Education & Training Services

Labour Senator Mary Moran has welcomed the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan published this week by Minister Joan Burton and Minister Ruairí Quinn. This new implementation plan details how we will help to provide education, training and work opportunities for young people through 2015.

 The Youth Guarantee has long been a priority for myself and my colleagues in Government as the levels of youth unemployment, while down from last year, are still at an unacceptable level. The Youth Unemployment Implementation Plan places quality at its centre.
'I understand many people have had worries that the Youth Guarantee wouldn't be meaningful or just a 'window-dressing' but with the publishing of this implementation plan it is apparent that we are placing quality offers of employment, continued education, apprenticeship or traineeship within a short time of becoming employed at the fore.
'This targeted approach at young jobseekers will help to aid young people at a crucial point in their lives. The Youth Guarantee will build on existing programmes already in place along with new measures.
'I look forward to the implementation of the Youth Guarantee specifically in Co. Louth as we have unacceptable issues with youth unemployment. Institutes of technology like DkIT have been brilliant in working to equip young graduates for the jobs that are in demand and with the measures being taken in this implementation plan I believe we will be able to meet the employment demand currently out there and provide opportunities.
'It is crucial that we break the cycle of long-term unemployment and I believe that the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan will address employment issues at an early and crucial stage.'

Labour Senator Mary Moran has welcomed the commencement of Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 which will provide positive regulation of the teaching profession from Tuesday, 28 January 2014.

I strongly welcome the implementation of Section 30 along with my former colleagues in the teaching profession who have been calling for this for many years.

The implementation of Section 30 took place over many months after the signing of the Commencement Order on 1 November 2013 with teachers receiving multiple notifications to encourage registration with the Teaching Council. Over 87,000 teachers are now currently registered with only a small few yet to be registered.

'I believe that the commencement of Section 30 will provide a better educational system for our children and provider a stronger foundation for the Teaching Council in which to enhance the teaching profession.

'Since entering Government in 2011, Minister Ruairí Quinn and the Labour Party have endeavoured to fix the wrongs of previous administrations with a curtailed budget and have been successful in bringing true reform to the education sector. In my work as Spokesperson for Education and as a member of the Education Committee I have been involved in the continuous consultation on important educational matters such as Junior Cycle Reform and the Admissions to Schools Bill. The commencement of Section 30 is another milestone for education which is another step in the full regulation of teaching.'

St Brigids School Dundalk on a visit to Leinster House today

I was delighted to welcome staff and students from St Brigid's School Dundalk to Leinster House today. They enjoyed a very informative tour of the Dáil and Seanad and got a special mention from the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad. Later, while having some refreshments they were delighted to meet up with Ministers Ruairí Quinn, Joan Burton, Jan O Sullivan, Kathleen Lynch, Sean Sherlock, Brendan Howlin and Táinaiste Eamon Gilmore.
Just as they were about to board the bus I was delighted to introduce the students to Miriam Lord and Ursula Halligan.
A great day out for everyone! Cillian really enjoyed introducing his friends to all the familiar faces he has met in Leinster House over the past couple of years

 With Minister Ruairí Quinn

 With Ministers Joan Burton and Sean Sherlock

Minister Jan O Sullivan having a great chat with the students

Ministers Kathleen Lynch and Jan O Sullivan

Mary Cillian and Eamon Gilmore

Ursula Halligan and Miriam Lord dropped by for a photo

Local Authority Members Association Awards. Congratulations to Louth prizewinners.

At the recent LAMA awards Louth County Council, Dundalk Town Council and Blackrock Tidy Towns all picked up awards. Congratulations to everyone involved.

 

Best Energy Smart Initiative by a Local Authority

 sponsored by Codema

Coxes Demense Regeneration

Submitted by: Dundalk Town Council

 

Best Public Park

Blackrock Park, Co. Louth

Submitted by:  Blackrock Tidy Towns

Best Economic Partnership/Unit

Louth Economic Forum

Submitted by: Louth County Council

Council of the Year sponsored by IPB Insurance

Louth County Council

Submitted by: Louth County Council

 

 

Passport Service reminds you to check your passport

 

 The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is reminding Irish citizens to check their passports and lodge an early renewal application.

Last year, the Department issued 630,000 passports, more than half of which were processed over the summer period. Currently the passport service is receiving 8,000 applications a week, compared to 19,000 applications per week in July. Now is a good time to renew your passport if necessary and benefit from a shorter turn-around time. The Department recommends you use the Passport Express Service and the appointment system at the Dublin and Cork passport offices. The Express Service is a courier-type service operated by An Post exclusively for passports, with a turnaround time of ten working days. The Department also operates an appointments system for people who need a passport in fewer than ten days.
The Passport Service is working to make the application system as easy as possible for Irish citizens, who can help us by taking a few simple steps.

· Make sure you know where your passport is – don’t risk missing out on a holiday by waiting until the last moment to look for it.
· Know when your passport expires – check that your passport is valid for the duration of any planned travel. A small number of countries require a validity of 6 months from the date of your departure.
· Know when your child’s passport expires – a child’s passport has a shorter duration than an adult passport.
· Get a reminder – register now with the reminder service on our website www.dfa.ie to receive an email three months before your passport is due to expire.
· Bear in mind the processing time – Turnaround time is shorter in February than in July.

The Department offers regularly updated travel advice including visa requirements and local information from our Embassy network on the Department’s website – www.dfa.ie and over the phone at (01) 408 2000.”

A guide to How to Apply for a Passport, which takes Irish citizens through each step of their passport application and answers the most frequently asked questions, is available at www.dfa.ie.
On the website, you can also access a Passport reminder service and a Passport Tracking service to allow customers to track the status of their application.
A new appointment service is in operation at the Passport Office in Molesworth Street, for those travelling at short notice (within 3-10 working days). Customers not travelling within 3-10 working days should use Passport Express. Priority at public counters is given to those travelling at short notice and the fastest turnaround time for such applications is three working days.

Speaking in the Seanad on the need for a charity regulator and the anniversary of the murder of Garda Adrian Donohoe

Speaking yesterday in the Seanad on the Recognition of Irish Sign Languafe for the Deaf Community Bill 2013

Schools can save up to €1 million on electricity through centralised procurement unveiled by Minister Quinn

1,700 schools included in drive to cut energy costs by 10-15%
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., has urged schools to complete contracts aimed at significantly reducing their energy costs as soon as possible.

Some 1,700 schools across the country have been included in this new drive to cut electricity costs by between 10-15% per school. The savings that can be made are estimated to be in the region of €1 million overall.

Schools who are involved in the centralised electricity procurement competition are eligible for the savings. This initiative is being run by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) in cooperation with the Department of Education and Skills and school management bodies.

In order for schools to make the savings they need to return their completed contracts as soon as possible. So far around 1,000 schools have completed and returned their contracts.
Speaking at one of the schools in line to make these savings, Inchicore National School, Sarsfield Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, Minister Quinn urged schools who have not already done so to print, complete, sign and return their contracts to the OGP as soon as possible.

“This is a great opportunity for schools to make a significant saving on their electricity costs,” he said.
“Because of our economic situation, we have unfortunately had to ask all schools to do more with less – but through a very simple process of filling in and returning a form, schools will make large savings on energy costs and can use this money in other areas.”

The OGP recently sought tenders from electricity suppliers for the supply of electricity for over 1,700 schools. The rates that have now been secured through this tender process will reduce the cost of electricity to these schools substantially.
While overall savings are estimated at €1 million, some schools may be able to achieve higher savings particularly if they can change the loading on their electricity connection; this will be picked up during the analysis of schools electricity consumption data.
Schools that are not included in the current competition, and would like to be, can download a one page template that they need to complete from www.education.ie or can contact their school management body for further details.
This new initiative is in addition to the Energy in Education initiative developed to help schools manage energy costs which was first launched in October 2012.
Developed by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), in collaboration with the DES, the web-based initiative provides a vital service to help schools make energy savings requiring little or no capital expenditure. The tool helps to reduce the environmental impact of the school while also teaching students about good energy using behaviour.
To date SEAI has worked with more than 260 schools. Schools that have availed of the Assessment, Mentoring and Advice service have achieved an average 4-5% energy saving within three months, with an additional 6% further savings projected. Some schools achieved as much as 18% energy savings.
More information can be found at www.energyineducation.ie

The Minister concluded, “I welcome this interagency cooperation which is achieving significant savings for schools all over the country. This is a very practical example of how the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan is delivering real benefits to school communities.”

Special Needs Information Day 25Jan 2014 in St Mary's Drumcar

On Saturday 25January an information day will take place in the main hall in St Mary's Drumcar from 12 to 4pm. Organised by Gillian Smullen and the parents' association of St Mary's, they have invited a wide range of organisations and businesses to showcase new and exciting products and to provide information to everyone, parents and or professionals of exactly what is available to children and young adults with special needs.
Find out everything you need to know about the benefits of sensory toys, play therapy, assistance dogs, alternative therapies and a whole host of information from national organisations such as Brainwave, Special Olympics, Inclusion Ireland and much more!
Parents, professionals and of course children are all very welcome.

Free entry with ample car parking.
Contact Gillian Smullen   085-1080404

Speaking in the Seanad 21Jan on the CRC controversy

Launch of Ireland's Safest Young Driver Initiative

With Mayo Footballer Cillian O Connor and Micheál McKeown at the launch of Ireland's Safest Young Driver initiative.

Samaritans Ireland launch Impact Report

Samaritans Ireland launched their Impact Report 2012/2013 last month and I was delighted to attend the launch.

Photo shows Drogheda volunteers Brianne McHugh, David Hepburn, Ruth Gallagher with Senator Mary Moran

The Samaritans have been in operation for 60 years and their work had been expanding year on year to provide that vital service which people in distress need.

People can talk to the Samaritans any time they like, in their own way, about whatever’s getting to them. They don’t have to be suicidal to get in touch. The volunteers are ordinary people who keep conversations private. People can be themselves, whoever they are, however they feel, whatever life’s done to them.

Their vision is that fewer people die by suicide and they work to achieve this by making it their mission to alleviate emotional distress and reduce the incidence of suicidal feelings and suicidal behaviour. They do this by being available 24 hours a day to provide emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of emotional distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide: by reaching out to high-risk groups and communities to reduce the risk of suicide: by working with other organisations, agencies and experts to achieve their vision and by influencing public policy and raising awareness of the challenges of reducing suicide. There are 2,000 volunteers available at the end of the phone 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Recognising that the cost of phoning can be an issue the Samaritans have recently signed an agreement with Ireland’s main telecom providers (BT Ireland; eircom/Meteor; O2 ; Three; UPC; and Vodafone), to put in place a free-to-caller number for people needing someone to turn to. The number, 116 123 has been piloted since June in Dublin 8 and 12, and more recently in Waterford, Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary. The excellent, long-term news is that early in 2014, they are hoping to make this number free-to-callers right across the country. Meanwhile, it costs callers just six cent to phone Samaritans from an Irish landline or 33 cent from a mobile phone, irrespective of how long the call lasts.

Samaritans volunteers in Ireland gave 56,827 hours or 3.4 million minutes in listening time on the organisation’s helpline on the 12-month period from November 2012 – to October 2013. On average calls are four per cent longer than last year, at 14 minutes. The duration of night time calls have increased by over six per cent to 16 minutes. These are averages – calls can go on significantly longer. On average last year, there were six people taking to Samaritans at any time, round the clock, every single day. A Samaritan volunteer listens to a new call every two minutes and the majority of Samaritans listening occurs from 6pm to 6am.

If you need to get in touch with the Samaritans please call 1850 60 90 90

You can download the Impact Report on www.samaritans.org

DKIT and Dundalk FC launch student scholarship initiative

Delighted to meet Martin O Neill, Denis Cummins(DKIT president) Ciaran Bond (Dundalk FC club chairman) and Dundalk FC players at FAI headquarters today at the launch of the DKIT/Dundalk FC student scholarship initiative.

The scheme is aimed at those CAO candidates who wish to pursue a third level education whilst simultaneously pursuing a professional soccer playing career at the highest level in Ireland.
DkIT will offer a total of four soccer scholarships each year to both Leaving Certificate students and mature students.
A successful candidate’s performance will be assessed annually, under both academic and soccer performance criteria, across the duration of their academic programme. They will also assist as student ambassadors on college Open Days and in school recruitment initiatives as well as playing on the college teams.

With Martin O NeillDenis Cummins, Martin O Neill and Ciaran Bond

Senator Moran with Martin O Neill and Paddy Malone

 Martin O Neill with Dundalk FC players

Denis Cummins, Stephen Kenny(Manager Dundalk FC), Martin O Neill and Ciaran Bond

It's Cervical Cancer Prevention Week.

Women aged between 25 and 60 have been urged to go for free smear tests to prevent cervical cancer, as European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week is marked this week.

Each year, about 300 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 90 women die from the disease annually.

Dr Philip Davies, director general of the European Cervical Cancer Association, said Ireland’s CervicalCheck programme was one of the best cervical screening programmes in the world. 

 An electron micrograph of a cervical cancer cell. Each year about 300 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer in the Republic and more than 90 women die from the disease annually.

“Cervical cancer is the most preventable form of cancer. However, almost 30,000 European women die from this disease every year because they do not have access to high-quality cervical screening programmes,” he said. 

The CervicalCheck programme has provided more than 1.65 million free smear tests since it was launched in September 2008. Some 99 per cent of cervical cancer cases are caused by persistent infection of certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection. A HPV school vaccination programme was introduced in Ireland in 2010in a bid to tackle the virus.

For more information see www.cervicalcheck.ie.

Early-Bird €25 Online application deadline is 5.15 today for CAO

Jan 20th at 5.15pm        Closing date for the CAO Early Bird  online application.
                                      Cost of €25.

IF YOU MISS THIS DEADLINE YOU CAN APPLY EITHER ONLINE OR BY PAPER BEFORE FEB 1ST AND IT WILL COST YOU €40

HSE clinical psychologists to provide free antenatal class in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital

The HSE's primary care psychology service in Co Louth is inviting new parents, pregnant women, partners and family members to attend a free class on Monday 27th Jan 2014 from 6-7.30pm in St Theresa's building, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Drogheda. The class will provide an insight into the important elements of helping babies develop lifelong physical and emotional health.

(Access to St Theresa's building is via Hardman's Gardens beside the Lourdes Church).

New Oireachtas Smartphone App free from the App store.

 This App provides contact details of all TDs and Senators along with details regarding constituencies; details as to what is happening in the Dáil, Seanad and Oireachtas Committees and allows the user to follow the business live on video or audio streams. The user can also keep updated on all news from the Houses of the Oireachtas with links to a full listing of press releases and tweets.

In this digital age, 75% of all Irish web and social media activity in now mobile. The App will allow members of the public to access all public Oireachtas sittings. Up to now these could be accessed through the  oireachtas website on www.oireachtas.ie but the App will be much easier to navigate. It is available, free, on iTunes and Android.

The delivery of this App on budget and on time is also very good news.

€40 million in sports capital funding. Online applications open on Fri 17th Jan

Applications open this Friday, Jan 17th for the 2014 Sports Capital Programme which this year will allocate €40million to local sports clubs to improve and develop facilities such as changing rooms, pitches and floodlights, as well as improving funding for regional facilities.
All sports clubs considering applying or re-applying for funding through this programme should know that there has been a fundamental change to the application process for 2014. The application process for grants will now be carried out through a new online registration system.
Applicants must register online by 7 February 2014, and the deadline for applications is 28 February 2014.
This new process will be quicker and easier then before for sports club and I would encourage any clubs requiring assistance to contact my office.
Local clubs who are interested in applying should consult the Department of Sport's online guide to registration, available at: www.dttas.ie/sport/english/sports-capital-programme.'

New working group on Junior Cycle Reform to meet for the first time on Friday 17 Jan

The  announcement that a new working group on Junior Cycle Reform will meet for the first time this coming Friday, 17 January 2014 is very welcome.
 
The working group is comprised of many important stakeholders, including teacher unions the ASTI and TUI, management bodies, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the Department of Education and Skills, and, very importantly, parents.
 
I have supported Minister Quinn in his actions to reform the current Junior Cycle and greatly support the inclusion of parents in the new working group, due to meet Friday.
 
Through my work on the Education Committee, many groups and individuals have agreed that we need to reform the Junior Cycle, but the way in which we do that has been up for debate for many months. By setting up this new working group, representatives from all of the above groups will be able to come together, air their concerns and have those concerns addressed.
Minister Quinn has committed to the reform of the Junior Cycle and to consultation with all of the relevant partners. He has made it clear that this reform will be phased in from this year over several years, and will allow schools, teachers, and students the time to adjust to such changes.

Co Louth schools represent the wee county in style at the Young Scientist Exhibiton 2014

I was delighted to visit the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in the RDS on Thursday last. I met up with many students from Co Louth and thoroughly enjoyed hearing about their projects. I was very impressed by the standard of all the work presented and great credit is due not only to the students but to their teachers who guide and encourage them in their work.

Aoife McDonnell from St Louis Secondary School Dundalk with her project on Lipoprotein Lipase and it's activity in bovine milk.

Conor Ryan, Stephen Woods and Stephen Lynch from Bush Post-Primary School who scooped the Irish Patents Office Special Award, a Highly Commended and a Display Award for their project on "Mooboots".

Mohammad Beshr and Tiernan McGurk from De la Salle College Dundalk with their project on the extraction of caffeine from beverages.

Alex Cahill and Shane McQuillan from De la Salle College Dundalk with their project on the prevalence of racism and sectarianism in the border region.

Cian Murphy and Ronan O Shea from De la Salle College Dundalk who presented a project on Creating a Seal for Food Products.

Ellie Loughran from Our Lady's College Drogheda with "Spiral Patterns in tree cones in Ireland".

Ellen Edwards and Eimear Magee from St Louis Secondary School Dundalk who developed a game, Invaders and Defenders, about viruses and bacteria.

Do looks matter? In the case of food, that's what Irene McDonnell and Miriam Mulholland from St Oliver's Community College Drogheda wanted to find out.

Kayleigh Brady, Roisin Keating and Nicola Belton from Bush Post-Primary School with their project "Virtual Stoning - a new trend in social media sites"

Does your caffeine intake affect your sleep pattern? Yes it does if you are under 30! That's according to St Louis Secondary School students Caoimhe Kerley, Melissa Lawrence and Ciara McQuillan.

Megan Crilly and Dara Goss from St Vincent's Secondary School Dundalk with their project on the effects of Yoga on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate.

Aoife Begley from St Vincent's Secondary School with her project on Slip or Non-Slip Tiles which was awarded a Highly Commended in the Chemical/ Physical/Mathematical Sciences category.

Home Brewers Beware! Aiveen O Callaghan, Alibhin Sally and Grainne Smyth looked at the effect of hot press temperature variation and bottle storage conditions on variations in alcohol concentration.  They were awarded a Highly Commended in the Chemical/Physical/Mathematical Sciences Category.

Congratulations also to Sarah Begley from St Vincent's Secondary School who achieved a Display Award for her project entitled "Does restless leg syndrome really exist"?

Launch of Samaritans Ireland Impact Report

I was pleased to attend the launch of Samaritans Ireland Impact Report 2012 / 2013 in Dublin on 18th December. The report documented that Samaritans Ireland received more calls from midnight to 6am than at any other time during the day over the past year.
If you are interested in reading the findings of the report, a copy can be found at the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/pojdlew.

I was delighted to meet some volunteers from Drogheda Samaritans Brianne McHugh, David Hepburn and Ruth Gallagher on the day.

Time to tackle that CAO form

It's that time of year again when Leaving Cert students begin to turn their minds to the CAO application form.
Some important dates for the coming weeks:

Jan 20th at 5.15pm        Closing date for the CAO Early Bird  online application.
                                      Cost of €25.
                                      After the February 1st deadline this increases to €40.

Also the final date for the standard early €115 fee for the HPAT aptitude test. For this you need a CAO number which you get by CAO application. You can register for HPAT until Feb 1st by paying a late fee of  €70 in addition to the €115. HPAT tests will take place around the country on Sat. March 1st. You must apply online for HPAT as they do not accept  paper applications.

Feb 1st at 5.15pm           Standard closing date for normal CAO applications for first year

undergraduate places. Restricted application courses must be listed on CAO form by this date.

When you register with CAO, you will receive a CAO identification number which will allow you to return to your application anytime, to list or amend course choices until the initial closing date of Feb 1st.

Some helpful resources on the web:
www.cao.ie
www.examinations.ie ( for exam information, sample papers, marking schemes and chief examiners' reports)
www.qualifax.ie (for course information)
www.careersportal.ie (for advice on careers and courses)