Donegal South West by-election candidates round-up

As polling day, November 25th, fast  candidates have been vocal on a number of issues. Below is a selection of some of the issues raised:
Donegal South West Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill today welcomed confirmation that following a meeting that both himself and Cllr Seamus O Domhnaill had with the Minister for Transport,  Noel Dempsey TD that €540,000 has been allocated from the National Roads Authority for the Road at Murroe Junction in Dunfanaghy towards Falcarragh.
Senator Ó Domhnaill said; “I warmly welcome this funding which will complete the upgrade works on the N56 from Dunfanaghy to Falcarragh and the works include resurfacing (Bitumen) and relining. “
“I am very pleased to have been in a position to ensure that this funding has been allocated and I understand that the work will begin on Monday 29th November and will be carried out by Mc Caffrey Contractors.”
Councillor Barry O’Neill raised the concerns for the fishing industry:
Speaking today (Tuesday) from Killybegs, Fine Gael bye-election candidate, Cllr. Barry O’Neill, reaffirmed his Party’s commitment, when in Government, to getting the fishing industry back on its feet by ending the criminalisation of fishermen for minor breaches.
“Ireland is completely out of step with all the other maritime jurisdictions in Europe as we rely exclusively on criminal sanctions for sea fisheries offences. This means fishermen are being criminally penalised for minor or technical violations which are dragged through the courts at great expense. This is having a seriously damaging affect on the fishing trade in places like Killybegs and the entire west of Donegal, with the industry at a standstill for much of the year because of the way fishermen are being treated.
Councillor Thomas Pringle also raised the issue of fishermen:
SW Donegal Independent Candidate Thomas Pringle is travelling to Brussels in December to meet with Fisheries Commissioner, Ms Maria Damanaki.  Pringle will travel as part of the international group Reclaim our Seas Alliance (ROSA)
The Independent has been working with ROSA – an alliance of fishing groups from the Republic of Ireland, North of Ireland, Scotland, England and France – for some time now on the issue of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The EU Commission is ‘reviewing’ the Common Fisheries Policy but ROSA members are proposing a strategy to halt the economic and social decline suffered by fishing communities caused by the CFP.   The new direction proposed gives Member States with an interest in particular fisheries areas the primacy of deciding the right policy for that area – by initiating a process immediately of repatriating control of policy, management and stocks to individual EU maritime member States.
ROSA contends the CFP has failed to support sustainability, match capacity with opportunity, establish clear and fair levels of compliance across the EU and has not engaged with the industry to improve policies.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement