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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Full steam ahead for Fleadh Cheoil 2025 as Wexford aims to attract 700,000 visitors
Wexford People Today at 19:00 It was an altogether quiet affair this year as Wexford County Council hosted information evenings around Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann at its headquarters. Last year's information sessions, taking place in the backdrop of a local election campaign, proved a lot more contentious, even sparking a war of words between sitting councillors and election hopefuls. It also saw a much larger attendance, with the Wexford public not fully aware of what to expect from the town hosting the Fleadh. Following last year's meeting, some took to social media to call the planning of the massive event as 'a farce', expressing concerns that residents in the likes of Crossabeg and Castlebridge would be left stranded and that people would be unable to access GP and hospital services. However, such apprehensions seem to have fizzled in the wake of the success of last year's event and this year's information sessions saw only around 30 business owners and 15 town residents attend the information meeting over the course of a day at county hall. "I think in general, everyone was pretty happy with how things went last year," Chief Executive of Wexford County Council Eddie Taaffe said. "There were a few minor suggestions and tweaks put forward by those in attendance and we hope to address those in the weeks ahead.' According to garda estimates, a record-breaking 650,000 people from all over Ireland and the world attended last year's Fleadh Cheoil which was described by Ardstiúrthóir of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Labhrás Ó Murchú as 'one of the greatest Fleadhs of all time'. Mr Taaffe confirmed that organisers in Wexford are expecting this year's Fleadh to break attendance records once again. "Generally speaking, on the second year of a town hosting a Fleadh, you factor in an additional 10% in terms of attendance,' he said. 'With that in mind, we think we could push to around 700,000 people over the eight days this year.'
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Councils warn building 12,000 social homes a year not feasible without urgent support
Local authorities have said that the Government's target of delivering 12,000 social homes each year is 'simply not feasible' without urgent structural support. The association representing the management of all 31 county and city councils told the Oireachtas Committee on Housing on Tuesday that scaling up delivery would require more access to suitably zoned land, higher staffing levels in local authorities and more streamlined processes to ensure there were no unnecessary delays. Eddie Taaffe, chief executive of Wexford County Council , told the committee that local authorities have delivered 24,000 social homes since 2022. He said sustained financial support, upfront capital, and borrowing capacity to support cost-rental delivery would also be required. The chair of the association's housing committee said that local authorities held 560 land banks throughout the State, with capacity for 21,500 homes. However, he said that more than a quarter of those sites (28 per cent) could not proceed due to inadequate access to essential services such as water, wastewater, and electricity. READ MORE Several members of the committee, chaired by Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) pointed out that the land banks would only cover two years of the Government's Housing for All targets of 12,000 social homes a year. Mr Taaffe agreed with Eoin Ó Broin of Sinn Féin that councils would need to build their land banks. On staffing, he said that housing teams within local authorities were 'under severe strain' as staffing levels have not kept pace with significant additional remits and functions. The delivery of mixed tenure – combining social, affordable and cost rental homes – was critical, he said, as they supported balanced communities. He added that they should be complemented by access to schools, healthcare and public amenities. [ How much can I earn and still qualify for social housing? Opens in new window ] Elaine Leech, director of services for housing for South Dublin County Council, said Clonburris, a sustainably built neighbourhood of 9,000 units, was a good example of a high-density housing community, with a master plan that included all essential services and amenities such as schools, shops, parks, transport links and space. In his opening statement, Mr Taaffe also advocated more strategic use of modern methods of construction, especially 3D constructions, where the entire housing unit is wholly manufactured in the factory and then installed on site. Asked by Séamus McGrath (Fianna Fáil) about the level of voids (or vacant properties) in the local authority stock, Mr Taaffe said that often when a property returned to the council, it could have been the first time that work was done on the house or flat for 20 years. He instanced the need for a deep retrofit, rewiring, replumbing, boiler replacement and replacing a kitchen that might not have been changed for many years Having to do significant work on older housing stock meant that it took some time before it could be re-let.
Sunday World
19-05-2025
- Climate
- Sunday World
Wexford residents urged to stay indoors as crews battle massive wildfire throughout night
'We need to take the risk of gorse fires very dry conditions following the fine weather really posed a threat' Five fire crews remain at the scene of a fire on Tara Hill in Gorey, which started at approximately 3.45pm on Sunday afternoon. The fire crews, from Gorey, Bunclody, Arklow and Carnew are currently keeping the fire under control, with assistance from the landowners Coillte, an Garda Síochána and local farmers through the supply of water tankers, traffic control and the creation of fire breaks in the area. Furthermore, a drone has been deployed to monitor the overall situation. Overnight, seven fire crews from across County Wexford as well as Wicklow were on site battling the wildfire. Wexford County Council are now urging people living or working in the immediate area to remain indoors, close all doors and windows and switch off ventilation systems. Air quality monitoring, conducted by the Wexford County Council Environment team indicates that while Gorey is being impacted by smoke from the fires, the overall air quality is considered good, but is moving to fair quality. Other towns downwind such as Bunclody and Ferns, are being impacted to a lesser degree and air quality remains good. Seven fire crews battled the blaze on Tara Hill in Gorey overnight. As a precautionary measure, vulnerable customers in these areas including elderly adults, those with small babies and those with breathing conditions, should close doors and windows and switch off ventilation systems. A mist has started to fall in the Tara Hill area which should further assist in localising smoke and help to contain the fire even further. Seven fire crews battled the blaze on Tara Hill in Gorey overnight. News in 90 Seconds - May 19th Speaking on South East Radio, Chief Executive Eddie Taaffe thanked the firefighters for the 'long hours they've put in', as well as Chief Fire Officer Ray Murphy, Senior Officer Eddie Rossiter, and local residents who supplied additional water tankers. "We've very dry ground conditions there at the moment so we would ask people, it's very tempting to have barbeques out in open areas but be very vigilant because we have exceptional weather conditions at the moment. We might have a few showers today along the East Coast but those dry conditions will probably still prevail over the next number of days,' said Mr Taaffe. TD Malcolm Byrne also paid tribute to the fire crews, other emergency services and all the locals who bravely battled this dangerous situation. 'We need to take the risk of gorse fires very seriously. The dry conditions following the fine weather really posed a threat,' said Deputy Byrne.
Irish Independent
23-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wexford County Council looking at several potential uses for old New Ross courthouse building
Raised by recently independent councillor Michael Sheehan, Chief Executive of Wexford County Council Eddie Taaffe spoke of the potential that the building has. "We are looking at a number of options,' he said. 'There are a couple of aspects to this building. The courtroom is obviously that bit larger. It could potentially be used for different public events. Then there are offices at the back, so it could be a dual use building. "As you know, we've acquired the old pub building (The Bumblebee) beside it too, so it will form part of a bigger plan for the area.' The courthouse was purchased under the Building Acquisition Measure (BAM) funded under the Department of Rural and Community Development DRDC.
