Work on Culvert adjacent to Harvey Normans and resurfacing of road

I met a lady whilst canvassing last night and she was disgusted that she had to replace a tyre on her car due to bad surface from Kinsale Road Roundabout to lights at Woodies. Again, Im glad to be able to tell her that the Engineer sent road staff up there this morning to try and minimise the damage.  She also informed me that funding has been allocated and work will commence later this year on replacing the culvert/screen adjacent to Harvey Normans, as this area has been the subject to bad flooding last year.

Water leak on Grange Road

Im happy to advise residents, who brought this matter to my attention over the last few days while I was canvassing, that engineers have assured me they will be on site either tonight or tomorrow to address the matter.

WOMEN FOR ELECTION – INSPIRE PROGRAMME

Women for Election is a non-partisan organisation whose vision is of an Ireland with
balanced participation of women and men in political life. Our mission is to inspire and
equip women to succeed in politics. Women for Election o!ers a tailored training and
support programme to women seeking to enter public life; and provides and facilitates
a cross-party network of political women, committed to equal representation of women
and men in Irish politics.
Women for Election provides a selection of programmes and supports to inspire, equip
and inform women to enter politics. Our ‘inspire’ programme is a one-day programme
designed to provide an introduction to political life for interested women, focusing on
campaigns, communications, and con”dence.
Communications
???? De-mystify the media and provide participants with clarity about how to access the
media and appropriate level of media for their campaign
???? Provide an introduction to the basic media tools candidates will need for their
campaign (press release, key messages for interview, soundbite etc)
???? Provide basic rules for message development and interview preparation
???? Provide a framework for participants in developing their campaign
communications plan
???? Leave participants with a sense of what to do next to get started
Campaigns
???? De-mystify political campaigning
???? Outline di!erent kinds of political campaigns and build awareness of di!erent skills
and tools required (e.g. winning at party selection level vs. winning at election)
???? Provide overview of key elements required to design, build and deliver a robust
election campaign
???? Provide some basic planning tools for participants in starting to plan a campaign
???? Leave participants with a sense of what to do next to get started
‘INSPIRE’ programme
Confidence/resilience
???????????? Identify the nature of the con”dence barrier and how it a!ects women in political life
???????????? Explore the elements of women’s leadership and connect them to participants
personal experiences
???????????? Connect participants with experienced political actors to learn from their
individual experiences in building con”dence and resilience
???????????? Provide participants with some practical tools for planning, prioritising and
personal decision-making, which will facilitate their political life
???????????? Provide participants with some basic tools for building and strengthening their
personal resilience
???????????? Leave participants with a sense that running for political o#ce is something that
they can do
Who should participate on the ‘inspire’ programme?
The ‘Inspire’ programme is open to all women with an interest in politics or public life. It
is speci”cally targeted at:
???????????? Women who have an interest in becoming more politically involved – as a
campaigner or as a candidate – and who may consider putting themselves
forward for election in the future
???????????? Women with leadership potential outside of politics – in business, trade unions,
or the community and voluntary sector – that seek to in$uence politics or may
consider politics as a future avenue in their career
Programme Dates 2012:
28th April: Dublin
26th May: Cork
16th June: Galway
7th July: Dublin
Programmes in Sligo, Limerick, Athlone
and Donegal coming up….
Cost:
€99 per
participant
Supported by

Chill for Chernobyl Pampering Weekend 18th – 20th May.

“Chill for Chernobyl”

On the 18th – 20th May The Greater Chernobyl Cause will host  a fundraising event “Chill  For  Chernobyl” at Paul St Shopping Centre  in  aid  of  the  residents  of  the  Semipalatinsk care  home  in  Kazakhstan,  also  known as  “the  forgotten  hospital”.

“Chill  For  Chernobyl”  is  a  marathon  weekend  of  pampering  which  will  be  provided  Beauty  Therapists from Cork City and county who will donate their time. Therapies  will include  body  and  back  massages,  Indian  head  massages,  hot  and  cold  massages,  microdermabrasion, kinesiology, manicures, nail art  and  make overs. There  will  also  be  a  number  of  energy  healing  programmes  including  reiki,  bio  energy  and  energy  balancing.  For  the  more  adventurous  there  will  also  be  tarot  and  angel  card  reading  and  palmistry. There will also be a hair blow dry bar running in operation for the weekend. The varied  range  of  therapies  will  cost  between  €10-€30 euro however  any  extra  donations  would be much appreciated.

We are also appealing for beauticians, hairdressers and massage therapists to please give some time for Chill for Chernobyl on the weekend 18th – 20th May.

Funds  raised  from  “Chill  for  Chernobyl  2012”  will  be  used  to  help  transform  the  lives  of  the  residents  in  the  Semipalatinsk  care  home which is  located  in  the  northern  city  of  Semipalatinsk,  Kazakhstan.  This  is  both  a  care  home  for  the  chronically  disabled  along  with  a  hospital  for  those  who  are  chronically  ill some whom are  in  the  last  stages  of their  life. Before  the  Greater  Chernobyl  Cause  began  to  support  these  people the  residents  were  deprived  of  essential  medical  supplies,  proper  bedding  and  basic  food.  Under  their  beds cooking  pots  served  as  makeshift  bedpans  as  filthy  toilets  carried  too  much of a  risk  of  disease.  4  cents  per  day  was  all  that  could  be  allocated  to  provide  food  for  each  of  the  40  patients.  The  Greater  Chernobyl  Cause  has  provided  basic  assistance  with  regard  to  diet  and  the  essentials  of  physical  comfort  but  this  is  not  enough.  The  Semipalatinsk  care  home  is  not  fit  for  its  purpose  and  needs  to  be  rebuilt.   With  the  help  and  support  of  the  general  public The  Greater  Chernobyl  Cause  are now in the process of building a new home.  Land  has  been  given  free  of  charge  and  construction  has  already  begun.  However, €170,000 must now be raised to complete the project.  “Every adult deserves a healthy life.  Help  us  to  give  the  adults  of  Kazakhstan  the  healthy  lives  they  deserve.

Paul St Shopping Centre have kindly supplied the unit, Aidan and Ciara of Salon Shop Cork Kinsale Road Cork are sponsoring all equipment Other supporters include Orla O Keeffe Angel Beauty Salon, Josephs Hair salon, Toni Briones Kinesiology’s, various beauty therapists and hairdressers, Cork Builders, Mc Mahons Water St, Recent Dragons Den winner Paul O Connell, Mc Donnell Paints and Cork Probationary Services. We are extremely grateful to all who have volunteered their time and services. We look forward to welcoming everybody all at Chill for Chernobyl from 18th – 20th May at Paul St Shopping Centre. No bookings necessary but if you wish to do so please call me on 087 9536133…. concluded Fiona Corcoran CEO Greater Chernobyl Cause Unit 4 Southside Industrial Estate Togher Cork

VARIOUS SUPPORTS FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

THE BEACON INITIATIVE IS A PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN THE COUNTY ENTERPRISE BOARDS,
CORK COUNTY COUNCIL, AND THE RUBICON CENTRE @ CIT.
The aim of this event is to outline the various supports available
to companies which may help to nurture and foster business
development and business growth in the region.
For further information on how the Beacon Initiative
can be of benefit to your business, contact;
Padraig O’Sullivan,
The Rubicon Centre,
CIT Campus, Cork
Tel (021) 4928905
Email beacon@rubiconcentre.ie
Areas to be covered include;
? Support for Business Start-Ups
? Access to Research & Development Opportunities
? Student Placements / Projects
Venue: Carrigaline Court Hotel
Date: Monday 21 st May
Time: 8.30am
THIS INITIATIVE IS FUNDED BY CORK COUNTY
COUNCILS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND

IGNITE: Sparking future Entrepreneurs!

Very often I attend functions as part of my job as local councillor and recently it was my pleasure to bump into Mike McGrath  CEO of  www.supply.ie  (a new online quotation system which is aimed at saving Cork Businesses money and simplify the procurement process by sourcing great local suppliers with competitive quotes.

As supply.ie is currently being piloted around Printing, it is completely FREE to use. Plus, all new customers to the website can win a lovely new Apple iPad. All you have to do is use supply.ie to source print providers and provide feedback afterwards in the form of a quick survey.  Mike, in turn, told me of an innovative programme run by Ignite UCC and which will surely be a great help to any budding entrepreneurs out there.  I am hearing from different sources lately of businesses who are bulling to get going but are finding it difficult to obtain 10 or 20% funding before the financial sector will give them a look in.  From what Im hearing we need to steer such funding to appropriate sectors that can deliver jobs in the short to medium term.
Visit:  www.supply.ie

UCC Graduate Business Innovation Centre.

IGNITE’s key objectives are to:

• Create jobs and contribute to economic recovery
• Focus on talented higher education graduates across all disciplines
• Facilitate graduates in developing a business, product or service
• Strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship nationally

Ignite UCC graduate Business Innovation Centre is delivered by UCC and its primary funders are Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Cork County & City Enterprise Boards and Bank of Ireland.  Ignite is also supported by Bord Gais, EMC, the UCC Food Industry Partnership Board, ICGEE (International Centre for Graduate Education in Micro & Nano Engineering) and INSPIRE (Integrated Nano Science Platform for Ireland)at Tyndall National Institute, the National Software Centre, CorkBIC, Cork Chamber, PFH and IBS.

Fashion Show to raise fund for Senior Helpline: Aideen Bodkin & Tina Gates Author of One Foot in Front of the Other

I have been asked through mutual friends to publicise this event and am glad to do whatever I can.    I have written a few articles recently in relation to the way we view ‘age’ and how we can plan to improve the environment to keep health as we age.  I am also hoping to get representatives of Age Action, Care & Repair and Senior Helpline to meet together after the fashion show to discuss how we can work together with the local authority and other agencies to move the agenda forward.

The organisation that runs Senior Helpine is called Third Age their website is www.thirdageireland.ie and you can go onto their facebook page and share the upcoming event that we are organising to raise awareness of Senior Helpline in Cork and also raise funds. €20 provides 40 calls for Senior Helpline.

Senior Help Line is a national confidential telephone help line for older people provided by trained older volunteers. Senior Help Line is the only such peer service in Ireland, and one of the few in the world.  It is a national programme of Third Age, a voluntary organisation, and a registered charity, with over 1,000 volunteers throughout Ireland. Third Age promotes the value of older people in local communities through its many programmes and services.

Senior Help Line received over 10,000 calls from older people last year. Many were from lonely, worried, depressed older people, and all received a helpful and supportive response.

Recently Esther Rantzen was over as she is taking the Irish model and setting up Senior Helpline UK you will read all about her visit on the third age website.

As mentioned Anne Dempsey who runs Senior Helpline will be down and saying a few words on the night so we could arrange a meeting the following morning to discuss some of the ideas  you just spoke to me on the phone.

THE GRID PROJECT

A major new Electricity Project called the Grid Link Project has been launched on behalf of EirGrid.

This project is a proposed upgrade of the electricity grid in the south and east of Ireland through the development of a new 400 kV power line linking Leinster and Munster.

There will be a public Open Information Day in Midleton on 2^nd May 2012 @ 8.00pm in Midleton Park Hotel.

Also, the EirGrid Midleton Information Centre will be open every Monday from 12 noon to 6pm @ Oikoseen House, Castleredmond (on the Bailick road), Midleton.

For more information, please contact:

T: 1890422122

E: gridlink@eirgrid.com

A: The Grid Link Project Manager, EirGrid, P.O. Box 12213, Glenageary, Co Dublin.

W: www.eirgridprojects.com/gridlink

Cork Lower Harbour Sewerage Scheme Constructions Stage Budget 83.75M

 Proposed Scheme:

The Cork Lower Harbour SS includes the existing population/industrial centres ofCobh, Carrigaline (including Crosshaven), Passage West/Monkstown (including Glenbrook & Raffeen) and Ringaskiddy (including Shanbally & Coolmore). The population (based on the 2006 census) of the area is estimated to be 34,500 persons. The initial loading on the Waste Water Treatment Plant is estimated to be 50,000 population equivalent increasing to 80,000 by 2035.
Continue reading »

Bins for Dog Waste

Recently when I was walking on Hop Island/Passage West walkway residents stopped me to berate the council for not having dog waste bins and we again discussed the matter at divisional meeting.  I queried how there was an appropriate bin for dog waste and yet despite numerous request for same in Douglas and Rochestown over the last seven years not one was installed. Council did say that there was a health & safety problem with personnel collecting the waste and the large trucks were not equipped to collect the waste either.  These excuses wont stand up to scrutiny. Continue reading »