Wicklow Voice 02-03-2021

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March 2, 2021

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‘Please find Esra’

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Unit 5, Idea House, Killarney Road Business Park, Bray

Sister’s plea on 10th anniversary of disappearance

“Please help us find Esra.”

That’s the plea from the heartbroken sister of Esra Uryun on the 10th anniversary of the young mum’s disappearance.

The 32-year-old mother-ofone went missing on February 23, 2011 after leaving her home in Clondalkin.

Her car was later found in a car park on Bray seafront.

Her sister, Berna Fidan, has travelled to Ireland from her home in the UK frequently over the past decade.

On each anniversary of Esra’s disappearance she has, along with other family members and

friends, placed posters along the promenade in the hope that they will encourage someone to get in touch with information.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Berna has not travelled to Ireland this year.

“I’m just devastated I couldn’t come over. Of all the years to not be able to make it over for the tenth year is really hard,” she told the Wicklow Voice. “I feel so heartbroken.

Every year I feel like I need to be there.”

Gardaí have told the family that they believe Esra died by suicide as the last signal from her phone was on Bray Head.

Her sister said the family does not believe this as her mother was due to arrive for a monthlong visit, and they had made a number of plans for the trip.

Esra disappeared when she left her home in Collinstown, just south of Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, at 7.15am.

London-born Esra’s car was

COVID-19 vaccinations are underway.

They’re already bringing hope to our communities.

As more people are vaccinated, this should help reduce the harm caused by COVID-19.

If you’re aged 85 or over, you will be offered a free COVID-19 vaccine next. This starts from 15th February 2021, continuing as vaccines are supplied to the HSE. You don’t need to register in advance. As soon as your vaccine is available, your GP will let you know.

After this group, people aged 80 and over, 75 and over, and 70 and over will be offered a vaccine in turn.

All vaccines are tested before they are approved for use in Ireland.

If you have questions about your COVID-19 vaccine, we have answers you can trust on hse.ie Or you can call HSElive on 1850 24 1850

Visit hse.ie

seen 35 minutes later entering a roundabout just four minutes from her home.

The car was next seen in Bray at 8.25am when it pulled into a car park on the seafront and quickly left before returning at 8.40am and parking in a blindspot.

Although the vehicle, a grey Renault Twingo, was captured on CCTV being driven towards in Bray, efforts to identify the driver have been unsuccessful because the footage is grainy.

If you have any information, contact Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Hidden Hearing’s Dolores Mullally at the launch of World Hearing Day which is on March 3 this year. Pic: Julien Behal

04|

March 2, 2021

education2021

75% of parents say teachers should get jab

A NEW survey has shown that 75% of parents think teachers should be higher on the prioritisation list for Covid vaccines; while 42% of parents think Norma Foley was to blame over the recent row to reopen schools for children with special needs.

Despite the blow caused by the withdrawal of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) from Leaving Certificate talks, the Department of Education hopes to continue discussions this week over the return of sixth-year students.

Once agreement has been reached, the focus of talks with unions will switch to a phased return for all students at primary and second level.

While the scale of reopening will be guided by public-health advice, there are hopes that a full return to school will be possible over a three-week period in March.

Responding to the impasse, parents voiced their opinions and fears in a survey carried out by iReach.

Some 53% of parents said they disagreed with the medical advice given by the HSE suggesting schools were a safe place to teach.

In the ‘row’ over re-opening schools to support children with special needs, 42% thought Norma Foley was to blame and 36% thought The Department of Education was to blame.

A staggering 75% believed teachers should be higher on

the prioritisation list for Covid vaccines.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly last month said “there are no moves at present” to revisit the priority vaccination groups to move teachers further up the list.

Mr Donnelly said this does not mean it would never happen, but for now the prioritisation would be staying with the first three cohorts — those in long-term residential care, the over 70s and healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, 26% said they would only feel safe to go to pubs and restaurants and other hospitality venues once the majority of the population have been given the Covid-19 vaccine.

Looking for a tutor?

School Is Easy is here to help you Advertorial As we battle to cope with the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 regulations, home-based learning has taken on a new importance.

Many parents who want their children to enjoy the benefits of one-to-one tuition are, nevertheless, nervous about having a stranger in their home or sending young students to a tuition centre.

School is Easy (SIE) can solve that problem.

We can offer one-to-one or group grinds for Primary, Junior Certificate or Leaving Certificate school students at a time that works for you and your family.

We offer the following subjects, from Primary to Secondary to Specialist Third Level courses: Irish/Gaelige, English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, German, Spanish, History, Geography, Business Studies, Economics, Design and Technology, Music, and Physical Education .

Going to university and dreading the college exams? No problem, we have skilled and experienced tutors to help every student.

We provide safe, online tutorials that are recorded so that your child can future reference any topic covered.

When you work with SIE, you will get nothing but the best.

All of our tutors have formal education, classroom experience and a passion for teaching.

For senior subjects we use college and university instructors with a Masters degree.

The choice is yours when it comes to the style of tutoring and our range of subjects is broad.

We don’t use generic tutoring lessons. We customise each programme based on the student’s needs, goals and capacity and we take care to match students with the right tutors.

We are easy to work with. We screen tutors for you. We identify learning deficiencies and we get results .

Our certified tutors will provide an initial assessment, if you need it, to ascertain your child’s requirements.

Call us today on 01 556 3553 to book a consulation.

We will be delighted to match you with a tutor.

See our ad on page 5

SciFest calls for entries from our young boffins Last year’s SciFest Champion, Caomhín O’Leary

STUDENTS interested in science, technology, engineering and maths have been called on to enter Ireland’s most inclusive second level STEM fair programme.

SciFest aims to give students of all abilities and backgrounds the opportunity to develop research, problem solving, critical thinking, and presentation skills.

Since its foundation in 2006, SciFest has grown from a single STEM fair of 170 stu-

dents to 99 STEM fairs with 10,000 students participating around the country.

The winner(s) of the SciFest National Final 2021 will be presented with a trophy and will represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2022 in the USA. At last year’s national final Caoimhín O’Leary, a fifthyear student from Ardscoil na Mara in Tramore, Co

Waterford, was named the SciFest SFI STEM Champion 2020, for the research and development of an innovative video analysis measurement system for rehabilitating patients after joint injury or joint surgery.

Caoimhín will represent Ireland at Regeneron ISEF in May. The deadline for receipt of entry forms is March 23.

For more information, visit: www.scifest.ie

March 2, 2021

|05

06 |

March 2, 2021

opinion&comment

The end is near - but we must stay alert Stephen Donnelly Minister For Health

I

t’s only a few weeks since Annie Lynch (pictured), the first person in the country to be vaccinated and a grandmother of ten, received her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Since then we have seen a rapid escalation in the vaccine rollout with the first of the over 85s being vaccinated last week.

Included in that group was my own grandmother, Fran, who is an astonishing 101-years-old.

Like many people across the country I have not seen her since the pandemic began and I like many others am counting down the days till I will be able to see her again.

I’ve spoken to GPs who say the atmosphere in their surgeries during the rollout has been electric.

Some have told me a day of vaccinating patients have been their best days in medicine.

On a recent visit to a GP surgery I watched one elderly woman break down in sheer relief after she was vaccinated.

I’ve also been told of one case where two elderly brothers who had not seen each other in

nearly a year met by accident as they were both called in by their GP to be vaccinated on the same morning.

In nursing homes, the joyful scenes amongst both the staff and the residents as vaccines are administered was a moment to treasure.

At the start of January I made a point of pushing the rollout of the vaccines in the nursing homes forward by a week because it was literally a matter of life and death.

Most of the country’s nursing homes have now been vaccinated which is a huge relief as they have borne the brunt of this pandemic.

Recently, we’ve announced 37 vaccine centres around the country which is simply another way of adding to our capac-

ity to administer the vaccine.

As well as the vaccine centres our GPs and Pharmacists are centres central players in the rollout.

I know people might feel like the vaccination programme is taking forever but we have one serious constraint- supply.

Unfortunately, we do not control the supply that we get into the country.

But what we do control is how quickly we get it into people’s arms once it is in the country.

And thanks to the unprecedented work done by the HSE in tandem with our frontline healthcare workers we are doing extremely well.

In fact, since the first vaccines started arriving, Ireland has consistently been amongst the best performers in the EU.

After a year of real stress and trauma for the country there is now for the first time real tangible hope on the horizon.

As of February 19, over 340,000 people have received the vaccine as either a first dose or a second dose.

This week the HSE expect to administer over 100,000 vaccines while from April the expectation is we will be able to vaccinate one million people a month.

In fact we are on track to have everyone over 70 vaccinated with both doses by mid-May. And it looks like we can look forward to more vaccines coming on stream.

In the past few days Johnson & Johnson applied to the European Medicines Agency seeking authorisation for its single-dose vaccine.

The EMA is expected to give a decision in mid-March which if approved would be a real ‘game-changer’.

The EU has also signed new contracts with both Moderna and Pfizer which will, it is hoped greatly increase supply.

I would add a note of caution that things can change sometimes without warning but even still there are really positive signs the early supply issues are being fixed.

On another positive note, at the time of writing the 14-day

incidence stands at 261.7 compared to 312.1 a week previous.

We are also seeing the number of hospitalisations stabilising and the positivity rate is decreasing.

But cases remain high – this week’s daily rates have been on a par with those seen last April.

The current numbers in hospital are still more than double seen at the peak of the October wave.

The key difference now is the so-called UK variant spreads far more easily, it is sixty per cent mare transmissible, than the variant which was circulating earlier in the pandemic.

In fact 90% of cases in Ireland are the B117 (British) variant.

If it gets into a household we are finding a third of your contacts are likely to test positive Covid-19.

Another red flag is we are noticing the number of close contacts creeping back up We have made huge progress but now is not the time to drop our guard.

The day when we will be through the worst of the pandemic is coming but for now, as difficult as it is, we just need to hold firm.

Until then please follow the public health guidelines as we look forward to a brighter future.

| 07

March 2, 2021

An introduction to the Codling Wind Park project Together with an excellent team of 40 people with expertise across a range of technical, environmental and social disciplines, we are currently in the early stages of planning what could be Ireland’s flagship offshore wind project. Throughout 2021 we will be undertaking a range of site investigation works and offshore surveys to help us prepare an environmental impact assessment of the proposed project. This will be in preparation for a planning application, which we hope to submit at the end of this year or early next year.

Dear community members, I would like to begin by introducing myself. My name is Arno Verbeek and I am Project Director for the Codling Wind Park project, a proposed offshore wind farm approximately 13km off the coast of Wicklow, between Greystones and Wicklow Town.

“It is important to us that you, the local communities, are involved in the project and help us to shape it.”

questions and provide your feedback to us, which is most important. Below you will find specific details on the timings and ways of accessing this engagement and consultation process.

Though nationally significant, Codling Wind Park will also be a local project and it is important to us that you, the local communities, are involved in it and help us to shape it.

This is the first of many opportunities you will have to see how our project is progressing and to share your feedback with us. As Covid-19 restrictions ease in the months ahead, we hope to return to face-to-face meetings and to also have physical exhibitions at a range of local venues. I look forward to meeting with many of you as part of these future engagements.

Codling Wind Park is at the start of its journey. I hope you will be part of this journey with us so that together we can create something that benefits Wicklow and Ireland for generations to come.

Codling Wind Park could provide enough locallyproduced, low-cost renewable electricity to power the equivalent of up to 1.2 million Irish homes.

This will make a significant contribution to the Irish Government’s commitment to generating 70 per cent of Ireland’s electricity from renewable energy by 2030. It will also go a long way towards enhancing Ireland’s energy security, by reducing our dependence on imported energy.

As we progress this work, we will be engaging regularly and openly with local communities and providing several opportunities for you to view our plans and provide feedback. I am writing this letter to you today to make you aware that the first of these opportunities is about to begin.

Virtual Codling Wind Park Exhibition

Codling Wind Park Webinars

Information Clinics

Accessible via the project website, www.codlingwindpark.ie, this online exhibition will contain a number of exhibition boards with information about different aspects of the project.

It will also contain some useful visuals, such as a map of the project site and early stage, indicative photomontages of the wind turbines from a range of coastal locations, and information for you to download and read at a later date. Finally – and most importantly – it will contain a feedback survey, through which you can provide us with your thoughts on the project to date.

During these two webinars, senior representatives of the project will provide a live online presentation of different aspects of the project. Those who attend will be able to submit questions via the chat box in the webinar and as many of these questions as possible will be answered during the live session.

We realise that having viewed the virtual exhibition, you may have some questions. To discuss these, members of the project team will be available for virtual calls with individuals and organisations between March 15 and March 27.

This will be live from Monday, March 1 and will run until Sunday, March 14.

Details on how to register are available on our website, www.codlingwindpark.ie.

For a four-week period starting on Monday, March 1, you will be able to learn more about the project, ask

The webinars will take place on the following dates: Tuesday March 9: 7–8pm Thursday March 11: 7–8pm

Yours faithfully,

Arno Verbeek Arno Verbeek Project Director Codling Wind Park

Appointments – including some in the evening and at the weekend – can be booked using our online calendar on www.codlingwindpark.ie.

To book by phone, call our Community Liaison Officer Liz Dillon on 087 101 1473.

generating a greener Ireland codlingwindpark.ie.

08 |

March 2, 2021

Householders could save €2,000 on energy bills

Over 24,000 households in Wicklow are missing out on savings of €2,000 in energy costs per year by failing to switch, a survey claims.

Those living in bungalows or detached homes across Ireland can benefit most by trading in their current supplier for a new one, according to the WeSwitchU.ie Index.

The index shows the gap between the cheapest and most expensive plans on the market — with a €2000 annual difference between some dual-fuel plans for these house types.

For semi-detached homes the index reveals savings of €800 for dual-fuel customers (€2,250 versus €1,450 per annum), and €620 for apartment or terracedhouse residents (€1,600 versus €980 per annum).

“Based on average consumption, the index clearly shows that many Wicklow households can potentially slice €2,000 off their bills from a premium annual cost of €5,000 to a net cost of €3,000 with the cheapest provider,” said Brendan Halpin, CEO of WeSwitchU.ie.

“There is huge inertia out there when it comes to switching providers.”

Have your say on new plan for Glendalough

A Visitor Experience and Management Masterplan for Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains National Park has been commissioned by Fáilte Ireland, The aim of the Masterplan is to improve the visitor experience in Co Wicklow and the consultant team, led

by Consarc Design Group, are asking the public for their input into the project.

Public consultation will run until March 12 and is being conducted with partners the Office of Public Works (OPW), National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Coillte along with the National Monuments Service and Wicklow County Council, Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this will mostly be facilitated through the Wicklow.ie Council Consultation website, with a series of Zoom virtual drop-in sessions with the consultant team, facilitated by the Paul Hogarth Company There will be:

COMHAIRLE CHONTAE CHILL MHANTÁIN WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons to form a panel from which future temporary/ permanent positions may be filled.

• TEMPORARY EXECUTIVE SOLICITOR REF: 13/2021 Salary €50,534 – €70,245 gross per annum (includes 2nd LSI).

• IS ANALYST DEVELOPER – GRADE VI REF: 14/2021 Salary €48,540 – €59,320 gross per annum (includes 2nd LSI).

CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF COMPLETED APPLICATION FORMS IS 12 NOON ON THURSDAY 18TH MARCH 2021 SHARP. Application Forms and further details may be obtained from Enterprise & Corporate Services at 0404 20159 or by emailing recruitment@wicklowcoco.ie and on the Wicklow County Council website www.wicklow.ie.

Wicklow County Council reserves the right to shortlist candidates in the manner it deems most appropriate.

Wicklow County Council is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

Lorraine Gallagher, Director of Services, Enterprise & Corporate Services, Wicklow County Council, County Buildings, Wicklow Phone: 0404 20159 Fax: 0404 20112 Email: recruitment@wicklowcoco.ie

• Zoom ‘drop in’ sessions with the consultant team from 4pm to 8pm on March 3 and 11. These events will be booked through Eventbrite and more sessions will be added to meet demand.

• A posted leaflet circulated to residents in Glendalough and Laragh with email question option.

• Website Consultation on Wicklow.ie • Survey Monkey Questionnaire All the agencies involved are very keen to get as much public input as possible and submissions can also be made to the following email address: wicklow@paulhogarth.com

COMHAIRLE CHONTAE CHILL MHANTÁIN WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL

VALUE YOUR VOTE! The 2021/2022 Register of Electors will come into force on Monday 15th February 2021.

Electors are strongly advised to check that they are registered to vote on www.checktheregister.ie.

If you are not on the Register, electors can apply to be included in the Supplement to the Register of Electors which will be published in the event of a Referendum/ Election as follows: RFA2 Form – Application for Inclusion in the Supplement to the Register of Electors (for electors not already registered or those who will have reached the age of 18 years before the date of any referendum/election).

RFA3 Form – Application for Inclusion in the Supplement to the Register of Electors (Change of Address) (for electors who have changed address since the publication of the Live Register between local electoral areas or to another county).

The above forms are available for download and printing from the above website or from www.wicklow.ie.

If any electors who are elderly or vulnerable and may not wish to visit a polling station they can apply for a Postal Vote using a PV1 Form available from the Franchise Department on request.

If electors have any queries please email: franchise@wicklowcoco.ie.

The Glendalough and Wicklow Mountains National Park Masterplan covers the full range of visitor attractions and activities available in the area, with a particular focus on active outdoor activities – primarily walking and cycling, and the visitor experience in the Glendalough valley.

There is evidence to suggest

€1.15m for retrofit of homes

Green Party Councillor Erika Doyle has welcomed the announcement that €1.15m will be allocated to under the Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Programme for Social Housing, with a target of 42 of social homes to be retrofitted in the area.

Cllr Doyle welcomed the investment to improved social housing in Wicklow as a key commitment in the Programme for Government: “This is just the beginning of the commitment the Green Party made to retrofit 500,000 homes across Ireland.

Retrofitting will reduce fuel costs and increase energy efficiency in homes.”

The Government has set a target of retrofitting reaching over 500,000 homes by 2030, of which it is expected that 36,500 will be local authority owned homes.

“Approximately 40% of Ireland’s energy-related carbon emissions come from buildings alone, making retrofitting key to achieving Ireland’s objective of reducing its carbon emissions by more than half.”

that the significant increase in participation in outdoor activities, triggered by the COVID-19 restrictions, will be a permanent feature and it is going a long way to replace the temporary loss in international visitors as a result of the pandemic.

Research, surveys and the ongoing consultation process have identified a number of issues in relation to outdoor activities which are mirrored across all types of visitor experience including: congestion at key sites, concerns over security, capacity and quality of car parking and visitor services, issues with local access, and erosion and degradation of the environment.

The proposed solutions to those issues include dispersal of visitors to a wider variety of sites throughout the county, improving the capacity and sustainability of the most popular sites, and improving car parking and visitor services provision across the area.

news in brief Labour Party webinar The Labour Party in the Wicklow Constituency are hosting a webinar on “Covid-19: one year on”.

Alan Kelly Party leader and Dr. Antony O’Connor Consultant in Tallaght hospital will speak about Covid-19 and they will be joined on the questions and answers panel by Dr John McManus GP in Bray.

Councillor Anne Ferris and Councillor Paul O’Brien will co-chair the event.

The webinar will be on March 3 at 7pm on the Wicklow Labour Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/wicklowlabour/

Community Biodiversity County Wicklow Partnership along with the Heritage office of Wicklow County Council are running a community biodiversity project in Wicklow and they would love to get as many people involved as possible.

For further information see their website: http://www. wicklowpartnership.ie/ wicklow-communitybiodiversity-training/

| 09

March 2, 2021

Shoreline to be jab hub in Covid battle

Shoreline Leisure Greystones is set to be used as a Covid Vaccination Centre.

Chief Executive Officer for Shoreline Leisure, Dominic Gunshenan, said he was delighted they were able to help in the fight against Covid.

“We are proud to assist the HSE in any way with the rollout of the Covid vaccination programme.”

Meanwhile, the Minster for Health has said he expects one million vaccines to be administered per month from April.

Writng in this newspaper (see page 14), Stephen Donnelly: “After a year of real stress and trauma for the country there is now for the first time real tangible hope on the horizon.”

The minister also announced an update to the Vaccine Allocation Strategy.

“Our Covid-19 Vaccination Programme has always been

built on fairness and to ensure that those with the highest risk of severe disease and death were prioritised for vaccines when supplies were limited, “ he said.

People aged between 16 and 69 who are at very high risk of developing severe Covid-19 have been moved up the list.

People aged 65 and older who live in long-term care facilities and frontline healthcare workers have already been vaccinated under the first two stages of the strategy announced on December 8 last year.

Under stage three, Ireland is currently vaccinating people aged 70 and older, starting with those aged 85 and older.

The provisional vaccine groups that were announced in December would have seen other healthcare workers vaccinated next, followed by people aged 65-69, key workers, and

then people aged 18-64 with certain medical conditions.

However, the updated strategy changes the allocation of vaccines in these stages.

The new fourth stage of the roll-out, which comes into effect after all those over the age of 70 are vaccinated, will see vaccines going to people aged 16 and 69 who are considered at very high risk of developing severe Covid-19.

This includes people in this age group who are severely immunocompromised, obese above a certain BMI, have uncontrolled diabetes, undergoing certain treatments for cancer, and/or are living with certain chronic illnesses.

It also includes people aged between 16 and 69 with certain chronic neurological conditions, certain inherited metabolic diseases, Down Syndrome, and sickle cell disease.

Back of the Shet: Team’s 60% say ball washes up on island mental

health impacted

It’s about the only action it’s getting during the pandemic ...

A football belonging to a local Wicklow soccer team has washed up in an un usual location in recent days ... the Shetlan Islands, which are located off the north coast of Britain and 170km from Scotland.

Ardmore Roevers posted a picture of its lost ball on their instagram page with the following message: “If anybody is heading to the lovely Shetland islands anytime soon, we’d be ever gratefully if you could pop

into local resident Mr D Brown and collect one of our rogue footballs after it seems to have made its way down the dargle river, up the Irish Sea and across the North Sea and somehow beached itself on the shores of the shetland island , to be fair after numerous training session and matches and the battling waters of the both the “Irish and North” Sea’s this @ precisionireland 290 Lite football still has a few kicks left in it ...

“Big shout out the shetland island local for sending on the picture!”

Almost six in 10 people feel their mental health and wellbeing has been negatively impacted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

That’s according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which published some of the results of the fifth round of their ‘Social impact of Covid-19 Survey’.

The CSO survey shows that nearly three-quarters (74.4%) of those aged 18-34 reported that their mental health has suffered significantly during the pandemic. Less than a third (32.4%) over the age of 70 said they felt the same.

Women were more likely to report that their mental health and wellbeing has been negatively affected.

More than six in 10 (62.4%) women said their mental health was impacted compared to just over half of men (51.7%).

More than two in five (41.7%) of people who responded described their overall life satisfaction as “low” – the highest percentage who said this during in any of the CSO’s surveys to date.

Trocaire donations at risk

Connla (7) and Liadh Fallon (5) at the launch of Trócaire’s annual Lenten Appeal with cutouts of children previously featured on a Trócaire Lent boxes - siblings Alex (7) and Joy Faith (6 ) featured in 2020 are from Kenya and Maya (10) featured in 2019 is a Syrian refugee. Pic: Mark Stedman Trócaire has warned that up to one-third of its annual donations have been put at risk after Covid-19 restrictions severely curtailed the distribution of Trócaire boxes this Lent.

The charity’s Lenten Appeal launched this week but social and travel restrictions, including school closures and the suspension of Masses, means that for the first time in almost 50 years many homes will be without Trócaire boxes this year.

While boxes are available to be picked-up at churches, there are up to 50% fewer

boxes in circulation.

Trócaire has asked supporters to pick-up Trócaire boxes from their local church if it is safe to do so, but otherwise to make their annual donation online at trocaire.org.

Trócaire raises approximately €8m each Lent, which amounts to roughly one-third of its annual donations.

“Supporters who are unable to get a box this year can still support our life-saving work by donating online at trocaire.org,” Trócaire CEO Caoimhe de Barra said:

“Lent is the engine that keeps our programmes going throughout the year.

“The people of the county always rally behind our campaign. While this year will be different, we hope the public will continue to support our life-saving work overseas.

“Our campaign this year focuses on people who are trapped in long-running wars, such as those affecting places such as South Sudan and Somalia. Generations of people in these countries have been forced to live through conflict. “

10 | WILDLIFE

with Justin Ivory

Wild Water

Marsh Marigold – a perfect plant for your pond (Photo Justin Ivory) One of the best things you can do for wildlife in your garden is to put in a pond.

The good news is you do not need a large garden or lots of space. Neither does it have to be a major or costly undertaking. Something as simple as rectangular basing or other waterproof container can make a perfect little pond submerged in the ground and filled with rainwater, some rocks, and native aquatic plants. In no time at all your mini-pond will soon attract frogs, newts, dragonflies, damselflies, and a whole horde of water mini-beasts. It will also provide a source of water for birds and mammals to drink and bathe in.

Ponds can be installed at any time of the year, but winter and early spring is the perfect time as you won’t have to wait long before the wildlife and biodiversity starts to appear.

As the saying goes – ‘Build it and they will come!’.

How do you build your minipond? Here are some simple steps: 1. Choose location. A position with some sunlight and shade is perfect.

2. Dig a hole to accommodate your container.

Remove sharp stones/objects from the bottom of the hole to prevent the container being punctured.

3. Add rocks and gravel to the bottom of the container to provide hiding places. Also use bricks, stones, bits of wood etc. to create a stepped/sloped effect so that birds can safely access the water without the risk of falling into deep water and drowning.

4. Next add some plants.

Oxygenating plants are essential. It is best to use native species. Hornwort and Watermilfoil are recommended.

Include two or three native marginal plants around the edge to give perches and cover to wildlife. Plants such as water forget-me-not, lesser spearwort and marsh marigold are good choices.

5. Fill up your pond with rainwater.

March 2, 2021

ninenottomiss book of the week

tv show of the week

HOROSCOPES

reality TV of the week

32 words for field

by Manchán Magan

Neven’s Irish Seafood Trails RTEPlayer,

meat eater new season Netflix

WE didn’t manage to beat the Inuit’s 50 words for snow, but Manchán Magan has done well to find 32 words for field in Irish. And for those among us whose connections not only with our language but with our rich and diverse ancient past have been severed, this is an eye-opening read. Magan does not set out to expose people’s ignorance — though again, he does that rather well — but rather tries to rekindle a passion for our language and heritage and in the hopes that we fall in love with it once more. And this he does rather well too. A book bristling with an eccentric infatuation that is impossible not to admire.

If you missed the final episode of this series, you can catch up on an exhausted Neven, who has managed to make meals out of fish that most people have never even heard of, as he heads off on a culinary road trip, visiting a Japanese restaurant in Co Galway and a food truck in Dunmore East, Co Waterford. He wraps up the series at Krem Gelateria in Co Mayo, where he meets the founder Graham Byrne, who explains how he creates new gelato recipes, and settles once and for all the difference between gelato and ice cream.

Anyone?

ANYONE who happened to champion the illfated ‘Veganuary’ campaign should look away now. Hiding might also be a good idea, as Steve Rinella — who describes himself as an outdoorsman, author and conservationist — is back to put food on his table and this time has his eye on mule deer, duck, wild turkey (not the bourbon), bear and moose, among anything else that crosses his path. The must-watch show for adventure lovers and hunting fanatics has been a huge success and is a bit of a blow for the vegan movement. But somehow ‘Veggie Eater’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.

family day of the week RECIPE of the week

series of the week

AriesStick to practical priorities with shared finances.

Ignore chaos, confusion and distractions. Secure the ground taken.

TaurusDon’t make assumptions about your partner. If you want to know something, ask. Keep an open mind.

You can get the inside story.

GeminiThe workload may seem intense. Focus carefully on the job at hand to reduce technical error. Stay in communication.

CancerRomance could flower, despite unexpected changes.

Look for opportunities for fun and find them. Enjoy excellent company.

LeoCompute expenses and monitor in real time to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Changes could disrupt the schedule.

ask about ireland www.askaboutireland.ie IF you have been driven around the bend and back again by the ‘home schooling’ scam, then fear not. We have the best answer yet to all those questions that kids ask and parents ignore, either because they genuinely don’t know or genuinely could not be bothered trying to formulate a comprehensible answer.

Askabout Ireland, in fairness does limit things to Ireland generally, but will get you half-way there most mornings. It is subdivided into age groups for school children, so you can easily filter the content and it’s not just limited to the school curriculum.

album of the week

february weeknight dinners www.delish.com/cooking/g26113854/februarydinners-recipes/ ie

Behind Her Eyes Netflix

DON’T you just love it when you find a cookery website with a section titled ‘Weeknight Dinners for February’, in February?

Because not only is February the most lost of all lost months, but in the second month of stage 3 lockdown, the ideas for dinner section of the kitchen is seriously depleted.

Feel free to pick through these finger-licking (has that phrase been banned now with the pandemic?) dishes yourself, but our favourite was the Crock-Pot Cube Steak cooked in a slow cooker and served up with mash.

SURE to be watched closely by Dad, Bono, Memphis Eve Sunny Day Hewson (did we get all that right?) stars in this domestic thriller which has been pulling in some top reviews.

It centres on Louise (Simona Brown) a mother who has made her son her world since her husband walked out. When she begins an affair with her new boss David (Tom Bateman) she’s drawn into an unlikely friendship with his wife Adele (Eve Hewson) and things go . . . well, the promo clip shows Adele, who appears to have a black eye, in the kitchen chopping little herbs with a big knife. That’s all we’re saying.

activity of the week

podcast of the week

VirgoUse your power responsibly.

Hold yourself to high standards. Keep your promises, standards and word. Integrity makes things work.

LibraDig into unexpected revelations. New facts dispel old fears. Study the latest developments. Present your findings to your network.

ScorpioTry a gentle approach with domestic matters. Someone in your family could use extra loving. List the problems to solve.

Sagittarius-

Step back and let a controversy sail on by. Clear out clutter. Clean your room.

Offer advice only if asked.

Plan for what’s ahead.

CapricornDon’t make assumptions or expensive promises. Confer with allies to get the inside scoop. Inspire others to succeed.

Now sit back and wait for the wildlife to come!

john carpenter Lost Themes III: Alive After Death

redline book festival www.redlinebookfestival.ie

desert island discs www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr ok.xml

With time you may get lots of tadpoles (Photo Justin Ivory)

ALTHOUGH he is renowned for some of the best horror movies of all time, John Carpenter in the early days had no budget for a composer so had to come up with soundtracks himself. He has been responsible for much of the horror genre’s most striking soundtrack work — as he said himself, fear is a multisensory experience. Lost Themes III embraces horror imagery with tracks like ‘Dripping Blood’, ‘Vampire’s Touch’, ‘The Dead Walk’, and ‘Carpathian Darkness’’ so you know what you’re getting.

Between the Red Lines is a spin-off series of events from the Red Line Book Festival, and brings you a brand-new programme of Irish voices. The programme is brought to you by organisers of The Red Line Book Festival and South Dublin Libraries and Arts. Events will take place over seven days, online, to coincide with the Ireland Reads campaign —- a new national day to celebrate reading.

Festival voices this year include Marita Conlon McKenna, Lisa Harding, journalist and writer, Manchán Mangan.

We all know the format by now: celebrities choose eight songs, a book and a luxury to take with them to a desert island. First broadcast in 1942, more than 3,000 episodes have been recorded and last year it was voted ‘Best radio programme of all time’. Given desert islands are not an option at this point in time, this is comfort listening at its finest and you’d be surprised who you might find choosing the discs. (Pictured is current host Laurene Laverne).

AquariusA professional goal is within sight. Focus and winning is a distinct possibility. Get your team on your side.

Prepare for a test.

PiscesA travel or study opportunity is worth investigating. Find out what’s involved. Look for answers to tough questions.

Contribute to a greater cause.

March 2, 2021

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COVID-19 OUTBREAK Don’#t forget to wash your hands

COVID-19 OUTBREAK Don’#t forget to wash your hands

March 2, 2021

An online vet for your pet Pestilence

to pests: Now flies are set to invade

PET owners in the county are being invited to a free webinar .

It will go live on Saturday, February 27 at 4pm. Small animal vet, Carol Doyle (pictured) will share her expertise on managing pet weight and well-being.

She will answer many of the commonly asked questions about dog or cat’s

diet, fitness and overall health. Participants are also invited to submit a pet-health question. You can join the webinar by signing up to Operation TransPAWmation, an initiative by Petmania.

Operation TransPAWmation is an eight-week health and wellbeing programme being run online with weekly updates, a food diary, exercise

and diet hints and tips plus weekly health-challenges to complete. Pets owners who compete in the weekly challenge and share their new skills on social media with the hashtag #PetmaniaOT will go into a weekly draw to win a Petmania gift-card.

To sign up for Operation TransPAWmation visit www. petmania.ie

Hoteliers in call for supports

Hotel and guesthouse owners are calling for an urgent review of business and employment supports for the hospitality sector following the announcement that it is unlikely to reopen before mid-summer.

They are also asking the Government to intervene with the banks to ensure that appropriate supports and engagement processes are in place for business owners and their team members until Covid-19 has been suppressed.

“Public health must always be the number one priority and we recognise the difficult balance the Government has to achieve,” a spokesperson said.

“However, if the all-important summer period is being eroded, additional supports are required now to safeguard businesses and the livelihoods they support until society reopens and the sector and wider tourism industry can recover.

“The news resulted in acute frustration and anxiety for many people.

“It wasn’t that long along ago that in the aftermath of the last financial crisis tourism was the number one sector in terms of job creation.”

Just are we are set to get over the Covid-19 pestilence, a warning has been issued to be on the look out for pests - in this case flies.

Rentokil, the pest control provider, is warning the public of the increased threat of flies, following a 19% increase in callouts for the insects over the last three months, when compared to the same period a year ago.

While flies are traditionally a warm-weather pest, cluster flies in particular can become an issue for home or business owners as these pests move inside during the cold-weather months to seek shelter.

The company also expects fly callouts to increase over the coming months as weather conditions become warmer.

The main threat which these insects pose is when they spread bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella, and campylobacter, which can lead to a range of illnesses in humans, one of the most common being diarrhoea.

The insects can spread these bacteria to humans when they come into contact with our food.

Richard Faulkner, Advanced Technical Field Consultant for

Rentokil said “Flies can pose the threat of contaminating food or spreading so it is important to ensure that all food in your premises is covered and stored correctly and not left out in the open.

“Additionally, these insects can pose an annoyance when found in swarms as their collective excrement can cause a stench and stain fabrics and walls.

“Additionally, their presence can pose the threat of violating food or hygiene regulations for businesses.

“In terms of guarding against these pests, the most effective methods to employ are fitting fly screens to doors and windows, and utilising an LED fly killer unit, such as the Lumnia LED fly killer !

Rentokil recommends to home or business owners who suspect that they have a fly infestation to identify the source of the infestation as a first step.

The company recommends checking around areas including doors, windows, electrical outlets, eaves, pipes, cable openings, and vents to help to determine if your property has a fly problem.

Smokers urged to kick the habit for good Smokers have been urged to kick the habit for good as health chiefs insist the benefits begin just 20 minutes after stubbing out the last cigarette.

HSE research shows 79% of smokers want to give up and the vast majority (83%) regret starting.

Ash Wednesday, February 17, was National No Smoking Day, prompting renewed efforts to quit - with the added incentive of 20-a-day smokers saving almost €5,000 a year.

“The benefits of quitting happen almost immediately, even 20 minutes after that last

cigarette,” said the Irish Heart Foundation’s Medical Director, Dr Angie Brown.

“Your blood pressure and pulse return to normal, while the risk of heart attack begins to fall just one day later.”

Smoking is a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

One in two smokers in Ireland will die of a tobacco-related disease and nearly 6,000 people in this country die each year from the effects of smoking.

Thousands more suffer from smoking-related diseases and second-hand smoking.

March 2, 2021

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March 2, 2021

opinion&comment

Sick saga of the world’s most expensive hospital

W

hen the idea of a new national children’s hospital was first mooted I was the father of young girls.

I sincerely hoped our family would never need its services but I was pleased, nevertheless, to learn of the plan, since the hospitals that catered for children were outdated and difficult to reach.

My daughters have children of their own now, two of them in their late teens, and still the hospital has not been built.

Two of those outdated hospitals continue to function in Dublin, providing a wonderful service against the odds. The third, in Harcourt Street, closed its doors in 1998, and transferred some of its services to Tallaght.

Michael Wolsey

If the opportunity had been taken then to base the entire National Children’s Hospital in Tallaght it would have been up and running years ago, in a location easily reached by road and public transport.

Instead, our planners and politicians continued to argue over the perfect site for their grandiose project before choosing a location beside the existing St James’s Hospital. It is more

central (for Dublin) than Tallaght, but that creates its own problems since traffic in the area can be very slow-moving.

It is well served by public transport - but that’s not much use to the parents of very sick children who are unlikely to be waiting for a tram or a train to get them to hospital.

In any case, the location has, as yet, no practical relevance since the hospital has not been built. Latest projections say it will not open until 2024. Since no other forecasts have proved correct, I have no confidence that this date will be achieved.

One thing I feel entirely confident about is that the final cost will be even greater than the €2bn now suggested. In fact I’m pretty sure the real costs already exceed €2bn since millions of euro have been wasted on consultants’ reports and draft planning applications which are not included in the reckoning.

Most histories of this sorry saga say it began in 1993 when a report from the Royal College of Physicians called for a new hospital.

But a decade before that there was talk of rebuilding and extending Crumlin Children’s Hospital. When that proved impractical, a developer offered land, free of charge, for a purpose-built replacement somewhere off the Nass dual carriageway. He even offered to build the structure without charge so long as he was allowed to put up a private hospital on the same site.

This offer was rejected as in some way unethical and, since then, at least three other offers of free sites have been rejected one at Swords, on the northside of Dublin, one at Sillogue, near Ballymun, and a third at the old Phoenix Park racecourse.

Having rejected the opportunity for a free hospital - a free

building, at least - politicians across several governments embarked on a process which will give us one of the most expensive hospitals in the world.

Let me put some context on this. In 1995 Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach, came back from Brussels with €8 billion for regional development. It was the largest single sum Ireland had ever seen and it revolutionised the country. It built roads, improved telecommunications and financed a huge amount of new infrastructure. It paid for the birth of the Celtic Tiger.

Albert was a shrewd businessman who knew the value of every cent. His successors, who do not, have contrived to spend a quarter of that magnificent sum on just one hospital - and the final bill isn’t in yet.

When work began on the St James’s site, that bill was put at some €900m, so it has more than doubled in five years.

The Chief Executive of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, David Gunning, told an Oireachtas committee that 700 claims by contractors for unbudgeted costs have been lodged, amounting to €300m.

Mr Gunning said this was an inordinately high number of claims but they were being “robustly defended”. That is not encouraging. If new legal costs are to be added to all the other expenses we may yet come to regard €2bn as a bargain basement figure.

The bill keeps rising, the timeline keeps expanding, and the same gallant, outdated hospitals keep protecting our children.

Thankfully, I never needed a children’s hospital for my daughters. I hope they can say the same about their children for I have no faith that the new hospital will be there to serve them.

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March 2, 2021

We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by

Freemans Jrn 10/02/1872

Freemans Jrn 18/02/1853

Irish Ind 4/02/1933

Irish Press 28/02/1934

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wicklowvoice.ie February 2, 2021