In the context of the new Bathing Water Regulations 2008 (SI No. 79 of 2008), the EPA will continue to encourage local authorities to identify additional bathing areas in the coming years.

The quality of Ireland’s bathing waters remains good, with 97% of designated bathing sites meeting the EU Mandatory standards. This is according to findings released today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their report entitled The Quality of Bathing Water in Ireland – A Report for the Year 2007. Whilst compliance with the minimum EU Mandatory Standards remained the same as in 2006, there was, however, a decrease in the number of bathing areas complying with the stricter EU Guide values. This was due, in general, to the higher than usual rainfall that occurred during the 2007 bathing season, which would have the effect of, among other things, causing increased discharges that would impact on bathing areas.

Regulations are to be introduced by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to prohibit the spread of wild rhubarb, which has taken over large areas of Achill.

Gunnera tinctoria (more commonly known as wild rhubarb or giant rhubarb) is a large herbaceous plant that forms dense colonies that shade out and suppress native vegetation. It is a vigorous seeder and also has the ability to spread vegetatively. The matter has been of concern for several years and local Dáil Deputy Michael Ring questioned the Department on their plans to tackle the menace.

Now the Assistant Director of the National Park and Wildlife Service Mr Gerry Leckey has outlined the Department’s campaign to control the spread of the plant. He stated: “In 2006, a two-year MSc project was initiated to investigate measures for the control of Gunnera on Achill Island. The project is funded by Mayo County Council and by this department through the Biodiversity Fund, which is administered by the Heritage Council.

“Under Section 52(6)(a) of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended), the Department has the power to make regulations prohibiting the possession or introduction of any species of wild flora which may be detrimental to native species. It is intended to make regulations under this section in 2008, and to provide for a short lead-in, after which possession or introduction of Gunnera will be prohibited. While it is recognised that the plant is already in the wild, the purpose is to prevent its future dispersal through garden centres for use around ponds and wet areas, from which it may escape or be released into the wild.”

Dep Ring said he welcomed the initiative to control the spread of wild rhubarb. “I would urge the Department to ensure there is a sensible approach taken which would involve the co-operation of the authorities in ridding Achill of this plant.”

This prestigous prize was awarded to Achill Tourism for their promotion of the Irish language in their business.

Kathleen English accepted the award on behalf of the committee and staff. The manager of Achill Tourism Stephen Corrigian said that this was a major achievement fot the organisation and thanked Comhlacht Forbartha Áitiúil Acla and Údarás na Gaeltachta for their sponsorship.

Ireland’s Achill island, cautioning them against pseudo-religious organizations and sects running the site where a sizeable number of Filipino tourists have visited.

Tuam Archbishop Michael Neary of the Irish Bishops’ Conference wrote to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in early March, saying that the House of Prayer had neither the approval nor the confidence of Irish diocesan authorities.

The so-called House of Prayer was founded in 1993 by Christina Gallagher, who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary and to have been given messages by her in 1988. She also claimed to have received the stigmata, or marks that appear on a person’s body in the same places as those on Jesus Christ’s body when he was nailed to the Cross.

The Irish Bishops’ Conference has been informing other Catholic bishops’ conferences worldwide that Gallagher’s activities do not have the consent of the Catholic Church.

The congregation has called on other prelates to caution their flocks against Gallagher and her organization, which continues to attract thousands of people to its weekly novenas.

The Scoil Damhnait student was presented with the first copy of the anthology which includes his work, by the best-selling Irish author Oisin McGann at a presentation ceremony in Achill last week.

More than 3,000 entries were submitted from 600 schools and Gareth’s story was the only one from Ireland which was chosen to be included in the anthology of stories to be published for World Book Day on March 6.

Members of the Belmullet/ Achill Electoral Area Committee have been advised that the eagerly anticipated new bridge, which was to have been completed by June 1 next, will not now be ready before the end of next September.

Mr Michael Mongan, Senior Engineer, Mayo Co Council, said the contractor had been on site since September but had encountered construction difficulties. Progress on the bridge had been really slow until very recently.

He explained that the removal of overhead cabling has had to be carried out in consultation with the ESB. Is has proved difficult to achieve that to satisfaction. Negotiations have been ongoing with the ESB and the job is now proceeding on a different basis. Work should now go ahead without further interruption.

The controversial House of Prayer has been disowned by the Catholic hierarchy and has no standing in the eyes of the Church.

In a hard-hitting statement, the Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary said the House of Prayer “has no Church approval and their work does not enjoy the confidence of the diocesan authorities”.

He said that celebration of the sacraments at the House of Prayer was not permitted.

The House of Prayer was founded on Achill Island by Mayo woman Christina Gallagher after she claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1988.

Mrs Gallagher claims to receive regular messages from the Virgin Mary and to suffer from unexplained stigmata.

However, Mrs Gallagher has become the focus of a number of reports in the Sunday World newspaper, which published details of her considerable wealth, her multi-million euro property portfolio, and use of luxury cars.

Firstly, know your environment. The beach at Keel, Achill, contains dangerous rip tides from its centre to the eastern end (under the Minaun Cliffs). Surfing should only take place in the western half of the beach waters. A prominent notice on the beach informs all sea users of the boundary of the dangerous waters. There is an extensive parking area, accessed by road, adjacent to the beach at Keel. A grassy ridge separates the beach from the car parking and offers some degree of privacy for surfers before and after their sessions.

Secondly, please practice good surfing etiquette. The sport has built up a series of informal ‘rules’ to avoid in-water collisions and to ensure that all surfers are able to enjoy the waves. One key convention among surfers is to respect the ‘line up’. The line up is an informal line of surfers awaiting their turn at a break. At Achill the beachbreak is quite long with no clear take off area, but surfers should still respect their fellow enthusiasts and not paddle directly into the area where a surfer is waiting their turn. The convention is that a surfer riding a wave has priority, and surfers paddling out should avoid a collision by heading for the whitewater or wide on the shoulder.

It seems Flynn has resorted to a game of silly buggers with Udaras na Gaeltachta after they withdrew their grants and set in motion legal procedings to reclaim money they have given him and his companies. In a twist and in an apparent act of retaliation the company has withheld workers wages because of “statements” Udarás has made to the media in relation to the matter.

The workers claim that they were moved to his other company Creditfix when they signed new contracts last year. When questioned by RTE’s liveline the entrepenaur unable to even provide the name of the companies he owned as they were “Gaelic”.

For the full interview with Pearse : http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2008/pc/pod-v-110308-47m19s-liveline.mp3

The company employs 108 people in this country, and recently laid-off some of its staff blaming the global credit crunch.

Earlier this year Contract 4 received an award from Udarus Na Gaeltachta for its contribution to the Gaeltacht.Udaras na Gaeltachta confirmed that it has paid a total of €3m in grant-aid to the three call centres but said the liability relating to these grants would be addressed in the coming months.

Donegal Udaras board member and Cllr David Alcorn said the board and executive is committed to finding replacement jobs.

He also said there was major dissatisfaction at the manner in which the company just closed without warning.