NEWS ROUND-UP
Join Sanctuary Runners in Cork City Marathon
The Sanctuary Runners are calling on the people of Sligo to take part in the world’s most culturally diverse relay team.
The group is aiming to enter a team of 1,000 people to take part virtually in this year’s Cork City Marathon.
The Sanctuary Runners was founded in 2018 to enable Irish residents to run along, and in solidarity with, asylum seekers and refugees in Direct Provision.
An Impact study carried out by the Sanctuary Runners in 2020 found that 82 % of those in Direct Provision who participated with the local Sanctuary Runner groups felt the evolving experience made them feel more welcome.
Sally Donnelly of the Sligo Sanctuary Runners is hoping that people in Sligo can do their bit to help an initiative which has been pivotal in breaking down barriers between those in Direct Provision and wider society over the last three years.
“There are now 26 Sanctuary Runner groups across Ireland with well over 3,000 regular participants, about of quarter of those being people currently living in Direct Provision and the rest from wider Irish society.”
“As our group here in Sligo grows we really want to throw out a warm welcome for everybody to join us. There is no fundraising involved and while for now we are running, jogging and walking virtually we hope to be able to come together in small pods at least in the weeks to come.”
The Cork City Marathon will take place on June 6. To register for the marathon, please email srcorkmarathon2021@gmail.com.
We spent less online – except for fast food
New data has shown that people in Sligo spent less online generally in the period January-March this year compared to Jan-March 2020. Altough in the same period Sligo had the second highest increase in spending on fast food.
The date from Revolut shows restrictions have had significantly differing impacts on spending in different areas of the country.
The new figures show that spending by Revolut customers increased in 17 counties. Dublin, Wicklow and Roscommon remained the same, but customers in counties Sligo, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Leitrim and Galway all showed spending fall year-on-year for the same period.
The data suggests that consumers have channelled much of their per-pandemic spending away from hospitality and tourism into other areas – including digital content and services, and spending in and around the home (eg DIY, garden care, new appliances and pets).
There was also significantly increased expenditure on groceries – up 28% nationally during this lockdown compared to January-March last year. And while that in the majority of counties online spending was greater than physical spending, in counties Donegal, Wexford, Cavan, Laois, Sligo and Leitrim, physical spending still accounted for 55% of all spending – meaning just 45% was carried out online.
The national average was 52% physical spending and 48% online.
Meanwhile, Revolut customers in Co. Louth saw the biggest lockdown increase on fast food spending (+24%), closely followed by counties Sligo and Limerick (+20%).
Women in Sport funding is welcomed
Minister for State at the Department of Health and local Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan has welcomed the allocation of programme funding and Women in Sport funding to both the Sligo and
Leitrim Sports Partnerships for 2021.
It is part of Sport Ireland’s €40 million investment into national governing bodies for sport (NGBs), high performance athlete support and to the network of Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) for 2021 announced last Thursday. Funding of €9.5million has been approved for the network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships, representing an increase of 15% on 2020 funding.
Minister Feighan said this increase in investment “provides an opportunity for Sport Ireland to support a locally led safe return to sport and to further build the capacity of LSPs, increasing their reach and impact across Ireland”. “Throughout 2020, Sligo and Leitrim Sports Partnership continued to help people get active in their communities by removing barriers to physical activity.
“They adapted quickly to the new ‘virtual’ landscape and rolled out a broad range of local and national initiatives targeted at all the different cohorts of people.
“This funding will help LSPs continue this work and ensure that everyone in our society has the opportunity to share in the enjoyment as well as the mental and physical health benefits of sport and physical activity.”
He also said that he was “very pleased we are once again providing ring-fenced funding for the Women in Sport programmes through the Local Sports Partnerships and in 2021 €19,200 will be provided to Sligo Sports Partnership and €10,000 to Leitrim Sports Partnership for this initiative”.
TD: Coroner system needs urgent reform
Sligo-Leitrim TD Martin Kenny has welcomed the publication of what he describes as a “damning” report into the coroners’ system which makes 52 recommendations for reform of a system “not fit for purpose”.
Deputy Kenny said that the study, called ‘Death Investigation, Coroners’ Inquests and the Rights of the Bereaved’ by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, “is a damning indictment of the coronial system”. “It is clear that the system is not fit for purpose and is in need of urgent reform. “Bereaved families deserve appropriate support and access to justice, instead this report warns that their trauma is being compounded by this inadequate system.” He said that many of the issues highlighted in this report were first exposed in the Department of Justice review 21 years ago.
He said: “It is inexcusable that two decades later families are experiencing the same failings.
“I note with concern a number of alarming issues highlighted about perceived closeness between the gardaí and coroners and the implications for perceived bias.
“I am also concerned by the issues the report raises around under-resourcing and lack of training. There is no standardised assessment of coroners and no adequate national system. At present there are 39 coroners’ districts and the operation of them varies widely. The right to know what caused the death and the circumstances of a loved one’s death should not depend on where in the state it takes place.”
He welcomed the report’s recommendation that legal aid should be provided to all families who request it at inquests.
“This is essential for full and fair access to justice and is a vital and topical issue for the long-suffering Stardust families who are still fighting for a proper inquest into their loved ones’ deaths.”
The Sinn Fein TD said that the Justice Minister must take urgent steps to address the extensive issues highlighted in this report.
“There can be no excuses for further delays. Bereaved families are entitled to fair treatment and justice.
“I will continue to push this issue with the Minister to ensure that the recommendations of this report are implemented and that this state complies with adequate human rights standards on the question of inquests and the functioning of the coronial system,” he said.
Sligo to benefit from free leak repairs
More Sligo householders can now benefit from Irish Water’s free leak repair service following approval by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to extend the scheme.
Irish Water said that the First Fix scheme is a key element of the national leakage reduction programme which is addressing the serious problem of leakage in Ireland’s water network.
The scheme provides customers with support in identifying and fixing leaks. Irish Water offers a free leak investigation and, when a potential leak has been identified, a free repair to a leak detected on an external supply pipe on the customer’s property.
The changes approved by the CRU this week will open the scheme to customers who were not included in the original scope, including those without a water meter. As a result up to 600,000 more customers nationwide will now be able to benefit from the service.
Since its introduction in 2015, the First Fix scheme has resulted in savings of 155 million litres of water every day, enough water to supply 450,000 homes a year. To date more than 87,000 investigations and 60,400 leak repairs have been completed.
Irish Water has said that following the completion of the CRU review of the scheme, they will work with the regulator and their partners to implement the recommended changes. Unmetered domestic customers can now avail of the scheme.
Domestic customers with usage above 213,000 litres per annum will be prioritised for leak investigation under the First Fix Scheme;
An internal stop valve is no longer needed for a customer to be eligible.
Some mixed-use customers will now be eligible. Properties with a shared service connection will now be eligible.
Customers no longer need to be registered with Irish Water to avail of the scheme. Full details of the scheme can be found at www.water. ie. Irish Water’s customer care helpline is 1850 278278.