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Irish Independent
22-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2025 food event features Wexford's best artisan producers
The Wexford Fleadh Artisan Food Hall runs from Wednesday, August 6 to Sunday, August 10 and will be open from 10am - 5.30pm daily during the forthcoming 2025 Fleadh Cheoil. This event is hosted by the Wexford Food Producers Network with support from Wexford County Council and Wexford Local Enterprise Office. The event is one of the many highlights planned during the forthcoming 2025 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. Speaking about the event Paul Kehoe, Chairperson, the Wexford Food Producers Network said: "Following the success of this event last year, we are delighted to present the Wexford Fleadh Artisan Food Hall again which is set in the unique backdrop of the Wexford Presbyterian Church on Anne Street, Wexford. "This special event provides us with a great opportunity to showcase our local award winning food producers, which is the best that Wexford has to offer. We encourage the local community and visitors to Wexford during the forthcoming 2025 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to come and meet our local Wexford food producers and taste their delicious produce. 'This event would not have been possible without the continued support of Wexford County Council and Wexford Local Enterprise Office. We would also like to thank the Wexford Presbyterian Church for allowing us to use this incredibly special setting for our event.' Last year the Wexford Presbyterian Church on Anne Street was brought back to life to host this particular event and since then has been used by multiple Wexford based community groups for meetings, training workshops and exhibitions. The Wexford Presbyterian community is delighted that the building will be used again once more as a host venue for the Wexford Fleadh Artisan Food Hall for this year's fleadh. World award winning jam and preserve company, Wexford Home Preserves is once again sponsoring the 'Wexford Home Preserves Jam Session Tent' adding to the appeal of the 2025 Fleadh Cheoil. Wexford Home Preserves is a founding member of the Wexford Food Producers Network. The alcohol-free Jam Session Tent was a new feature of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2024, facilitating teenagers and young people who wanted to come and play music in an alcohol-free setting. Located at Crescent Quay car park from Thursday, August 7 to Sunday, August 10, this is sure to be a hit. Further details can be found on The Strawberry Village located at the Bank of Ireland car park, features Wexford Food Producers again this year with their artisan food and beverage trucks. Greenhill Fruit Farm, All About Nectar, Killiane Castle Honey, Wexbury Irish Spirits, Bosca Capaill – Woodfired Pizza and The Crazy Vegetable will all be located there for the duration of the festival. The Wexford Food Producers Network provide a centralised member led and member representative organisation with a core remit to promote and support the business of Wexford food. The organisation has over fifty members who are Wexford based sole traders, SME's and large companies. Their continued aim is to support Wexford food producers, to build a sustainable food industry and to contribute significantly to the Irish economy on a local, regional, national and international level through the export markets. The Wexford Food Producers Network is recognised and supported by Wexford County Council, Wexford Local Enterprise Office and Wexford Local Development. The Wexford Food Producers Network engages with the Department of Agriculture, Food & The Marine and with national agencies Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Ornua –The Irish Dairy Board and Fáilte Ireland on various important issues for the Irish Food & Drinks sector.
Irish Independent
22-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wexford's finest award-winning producers to feature at artisan food hall during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
The Wexford Fleadh Artisan Food Hall runs from Wednesday, August 6 to Sunday, August 10 and will be open from 10am - 5.30pm daily during the forthcoming 2025 Fleadh Cheoil. This event is hosted by the Wexford Food Producers Network with support from Wexford County Council and Wexford Local Enterprise Office. The event is one of the many highlights planned during the forthcoming 2025 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. Speaking about the event Paul Kehoe, Chairperson, the Wexford Food Producers Network said: "Following the success of this event last year, we are delighted to present the Wexford Fleadh Artisan Food Hall again which is set in the unique backdrop of the Wexford Presbyterian Church on Anne Street, Wexford. "This special event provides us with a great opportunity to showcase our local award winning food producers, which is the best that Wexford has to offer. We encourage the local community and visitors to Wexford during the forthcoming 2025 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to come and meet our local Wexford food producers and taste their delicious produce. 'This event would not have been possible without the continued support of Wexford County Council and Wexford Local Enterprise Office. We would also like to thank the Wexford Presbyterian Church for allowing us to use this incredibly special setting for our event.' Last year the Wexford Presbyterian Church on Anne Street was brought back to life to host this particular event and since then has been used by multiple Wexford based community groups for meetings, training workshops and exhibitions. The Wexford Presbyterian community is delighted that the building will be used again once more as a host venue for the Wexford Fleadh Artisan Food Hall for this year's fleadh. World award winning jam and preserve company, Wexford Home Preserves is once again sponsoring the 'Wexford Home Preserves Jam Session Tent' adding to the appeal of the 2025 Fleadh Cheoil. Wexford Home Preserves is a founding member of the Wexford Food Producers Network. The alcohol-free Jam Session Tent was a new feature of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2024, facilitating teenagers and young people who wanted to come and play music in an alcohol-free setting. Located at Crescent Quay car park from Thursday, August 7 to Sunday, August 10, this is sure to be a hit. Further details can be found on The Strawberry Village located at the Bank of Ireland car park, features Wexford Food Producers again this year with their artisan food and beverage trucks. Greenhill Fruit Farm, All About Nectar, Killiane Castle Honey, Wexbury Irish Spirits, Bosca Capaill – Woodfired Pizza and The Crazy Vegetable will all be located there for the duration of the festival. The Wexford Food Producers Network provide a centralised member led and member representative organisation with a core remit to promote and support the business of Wexford food. The organisation has over fifty members who are Wexford based sole traders, SME's and large companies. Their continued aim is to support Wexford food producers, to build a sustainable food industry and to contribute significantly to the Irish economy on a local, regional, national and international level through the export markets. The Wexford Food Producers Network is recognised and supported by Wexford County Council, Wexford Local Enterprise Office and Wexford Local Development. The Wexford Food Producers Network engages with the Department of Agriculture, Food & The Marine and with national agencies Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Ornua –The Irish Dairy Board and Fáilte Ireland on various important issues for the Irish Food & Drinks sector.
The Journal
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
The Dáil schedule is broken and there appears to be no appetite from politicians to fix it
DID YOU KNOW that the Dáil only sits three days out of the week, with work on a Tuesday starting at 2pm. This results in government business and opposition questioning being crammed into a tight schedule, with late-night sittings almost always an inevitability. Just recently, the support staff who work in Leinster House said that they didn't get to leave work one night until 2am. Not only is this just not a great way to foster a nice workplace, it's not family-friendly and it also incurs costs in overtime and transport costs to get people home in the late-night hours. So why does Leinster House operate this way? Well, having Mondays and Fridays off is meant to allow politicians tend to their constituency work, while the late start on a Tuesday was also explained away as to allow TDs who live rural areas time enough to make the journey to Dublin. The Dáil also only sits 33 weeks of 52 in a year. On Thursday this week, the politicians went on holidays and won't be returning until mid-September. But in a time of great uncertainty and with widespread acknowledgements that we are living in the midst of a housing and cost-of-living crisis, not to mention looming global threats from US tariffs, is it okay for Leinster House to cram its work into a short work-week and to shut up shop for such an extended period of time over the summer months? Many would say it is not and there's a better, more functional way for our parliament to work. These observations are not new. In fact, for over a decade, there has been debate, recommendations and some tinkering around the edges to change things. But nothing has really ever stuck or improved things. Stretching out the working week On the back of the 2008 crash, politicians were feeling the heat from the public and pressure was on them to up their game and their workload, but it also meant stretching out the week. In 2011, it was agreed that that Dáil would meet more often and sit earlier in the day in what was viewed at the time as the most significant package of Dáil reforms in decades. The new rules meant that more TDs were required to sit in the Dáil chamber for the duration of debates, while the formula of sittings also be changed to allow for more daily topical debates. Advertisement It stretched-out the working week, with sittings adjourning earlier at night, but continuing into Friday mornings, initially on a once-a-month basis. Thursday's sittings also included a new session of Leaders' Questions, something that has stuck around since. At the time, Friday sittings were devoted entirely to allowing opposition parties and backbenchers introduce proposals for new laws. One of the key changes was also a reduction in the amount of recess time over Christmas, Easter and summer. Dáíl chamber Oireachtas / Flickr Oireachtas / Flickr / Flickr At the time, the then Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe told The Journal that the changes resulted in the Dáil sitting around 42% more than it did under the previous administration. He said the changes also allowed for more opportunities for legislation coming from the opposition side of the house to be debated in the Dáil. At the time, Niall Collins, who is now a government minister, was on the opposition benches as Fianna Fáil's justice spokesperson and was all for the Dáil being utilised more. Friday sittings He told The Journal in 2011 that the Dáil was not sitting nearly enough. Not only was he in favour of the Dáil sitting on a Friday, he said committees should also, stating: 'If we're going to have the Dáil sitting and the cost associated with it then we must have all aspects of it functioning and not just the optics.' He dismissed claims that it would costing a huge amount of money – some estimating at the time that it could cost around €90,000 for the Dáil to stay open on a Friday. Collins said such a claim was 'absolute rubbish', stating that the Dáil is open either way on a Friday. 'The only extra thing you are doing, you have the chamber open and a number of staff. These staff are in the building either way and the more you use a chamber the less it costs. That's the way I would put it,' he said. In the end, Friday sittings were done away with, along with any momentum to stretch out the Dáil working week. Fast forward ten years, to 2021, and the discussions around how to make Leinster House more functional and more family friendly were still going on. In 2021, the former Ceann Comhairle, Fianna Fáil's Seán Ó Fearghaíl published a report from the 'Forum on a Family Friendly and Inclusive Parliament'. Current politicians such as Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns and Minister of State Neale Richmond, sat on the forum, along with other experts and stakeholders. Related Reads Racism, doxxing and assaults among dozens of incidents of abuse of 2024 election candidates Late-night sitting hours One of the forum's priority recommendations included: 'Reduce long, late and unpredictable sitting weeks With immediate effect, Members and political parties and groups are to facilitate appropriate flexible working and remote working arrangements for their staff to address the long sitting hours, until other recommendations to eradicate long hours have been implemented.' It also called on the Houses of the Oireachtas Service to address areas where staff are working very long, late and unpredictable hours to serve sittings. The report also said that by the end of the 33rd Dáil term, or until a referendum to amend Article 15 can be held, the Houses of the Oireachtas to introduce hybrid sittings of some Dáil, Seanad and Committee business where Members can choose to participate in certain business remotely or to be physically present. By September 2022, Dáil voting blocks should be moved within the weekly schedule, so that it is taken in the afternoon, the report recommended. Votes continue to be held late on Wednesday night, with votes in the last week being held after 10pm. The September 2022 deadline was also given to ensure that the Dáil, Seanad and committees holidays align with school holidays at Easter, Halloween and Christmas, as set out in Department of Education circulars. This is something that largely does appear to be in place now, though there might be mixed views as to whether this is a good or bad idea. One of the biggest ideas to come from that forum in 2021 was the idea to have a second Dáil chamber in Leinster House. It was viewed as a possible way to make working hours more family-friendly for politicians through parallel sittings. The idea being that simultaneous Dáil debates and discussions around a bill could be going on but topical issues could be discussed at the same time in another location. O'Fearghail said at the time that it would allow more work to be put into the week without the anti-social and unacceptable hours. However, despite €3.7 million being put into fleshing out the project over a three-year period, the plans were shelved earlier this year amid concern about a public backlash. What has happened since? Nothing. It appears the push to make Leinster House a more functional, family-friendly workplace, is as dead in the water as the second chamber idea. Maybe in ten years time we'll have another report with ideas to look forward to. It can sit on the shelve with the others to gather dust. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
09-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wicklow and Wexford farmers invited to see solar energy in action at on-farm event
Part of a series of 'Solar In Action' events showcasing rooftop solar installations by IFA and Bord Gáis Energy that have delivered savings on working farms nationwide, the Wexford leg of the roadshow will take place on the farm of Paul Kehoe in Glasscarrig, Ballygarrett, on July 14 at 8 pm. Farmers attending will hear first-hand from those who have already installed rooftop solar, learning about their experience, costs, benefits, and practical insights into how it's working on their farms. Speakers from IFA and Bord Gáis Energy will also present details on the application process, TAMS, and the technology used by IFA and Bord Gáis Energy. The event series also highlights the support available to farmers through the TAMS 3 Solar Capital Investment Scheme, which offers grant aid of up to 60pc for eligible rooftop solar installations. 'Farmers are stepping up to the energy challenge and 'Solar In Action' shows the real, practical steps farms can take to cut costs and carbon,' IFA president Francie Gorman said. 'These are working farms, already producing their clean energy with IFA-Bord Gáis Energy rooftop systems – and the TAMS grant makes it even more accessible'. 'Rooftop solar power solutions are helping farmers reduce energy costs – saving up to €200,000 across the lifetime of a typical installation – while supporting the long-term sustainability of their farms,' Bord Gáis Energy's John Cussen added. 'The 'Solar In Action' roadshow gives farmers the chance to see the technology in action, hear from others already seeing the benefits, and speak with experts about how solar could work for their own farm. 'With strong demand across the agriculture sector, solar is the smart, future-focused choice for farms of all types and sizes.' The free event is open to all farmers. Register via
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Former Wexford TD appointed chairperson of Food Producers Network following retirement from politics
The Wexford Food Producers Network is a member representative and member-led body for Wexford's food and beverage production sector. With approximately 50 members ranging from sole traders, micro enterprises, small medium enterprises and to large exporters, their remit is to support the growth and development of Wexford's food production sector. The organisation supports Wexford food producers, to build a sustainable food industry which provides employment and contributes significantly to the Irish economy on a local, regional and national level. The Wexford Food Producers Network CLG is a non-for-profit organisation that is recognised and supported by Wexford County Council, Wexford Local Enterprise Office and Wexford Local Development. The organisation engages with national agencies Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Ornua –The Irish Dairy Board on the issues that are critical to assisting their member's businesses to grow. The food production sector in Wexford is one of the largest per county in Ireland. In 2024 the Food, Drink & Primary Production sector accounted for 40 per cent of all export sales by Irish-owned companies, directly supporting 165,000 jobs, or 6.5 per cent of total employment, predominantly in rural and coastal communities. This significant domestic economic footprint, including its export profile, reflects the natural comparative advantages of Irish production and a long agricultural tradition. Mr Kehoe announced his decision to not run in the 2024 General Election back in February 2024, citing social media abuse and wanting to spend more time with his family as his reasons for stepping down. He served as Minister of State at the Department of Defence from 2011 to 2020 and Government Chief Whip from 2011 to was appointed Chair of the Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in September 2020. On behalf of the organisation, Marketing Manager Stacey Williams highlighted Paul's distinguished career and heavy involvement within the county on all aspects as a huge advantage. "Originally hailing from Bree, Co Wexford, Paul Kehoe is a proud Wexford man who comes from both an agricultural and political background. He attended Kildalton Agricultural College, Co. Kilkenny remains active in the farming community to this day.' "Paul Kehoe has expressed his wish to contribute to the future development of Wexford's food production sector and he will be actively engaged in the future strategic development of the organisation going forward. He is looking forward to taking up the role to represent this important sector for Wexford,' she added.
