Call for funding to renovate the Briery Gap
THE need to bridge a gap of around €1.5 million to renovate the Briery Gap Cultural Centre in Macroom, which has been closed since the May 2016 fire, was raised in the Dáil by Fianna Fáil Deputy Aindrias Moynihan.
While there are temporary measures in place to try to facilitate some services, he said there was a cultural void in the absence of the theatre and the cinema.
“I have raised this issue with the Minister previously,” he said.
“It is going to be expensive to redevelop the Briery Gap. There is significant local funding, with almost €1 million allocated by the Cork County Council, but national funding, however, has been very poor. It comes to only 6% of the overall cost of the redevelopment.”
In reply, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan said due to the exceptional circumstances in the case to which the Deputy referred, her Department was supportive of assisting with the reconstruction of this building.
“My Department offered to provide funding of up to €250,000 to Cork County Council, in principle, to assist with restoration and enhancement of the Briery Gap,” she said.
“That funding offer was dependent on clarity concerning all reinstatement issues, including the contribution from insurance, and subject to acceptance by the council of the conditions attached to this funding.”
Minister Madigan said she understood, however, that the Council’s reinstatement proposal is significantly more ambitious than the available finance and the local authority had been in ongoing engagement with officials in her department regarding the project and the funding shortfall.
The Council may also have other options open to it to close the funding gap.
“My department will maintain contact with council in this regard,” she said. “My grandfather was born outside of Macroom and it is a place close to my heart. However, We only have certain resources available to us,” she added.
Insurance costs closing down businesses
MANY businesses across the State say they will have to close because they are not able to get insurance cover, or operate without it, Fianna Fáil Deputy Michael Moynihan told the Dáil.
“Many fine words were spoken about a new unit being established within An Garda Síochána for the referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions of false or misleading claims brought before the courts,” he said.
“Has the Government met the Garda Commissioner to discuss the resources needed by An Garda Síochána to ensure the unit will be set up without further delay? While the Minister for Justice and Equality will say it is an operational matter for the Gardaí, should that give me the impression that the Government is not taking the matter seriously and refusing to take a hands-on approach to dealing with it?”
In response, Justice Minister Charles Flanagan said he could assure the House that he had raised it with the Gardaí at the highest level.
“I acknowledge the ongoing work being done to tackle fraud and fight white collar crime by the Garda National Economic Fraud Unit and assure the Deputy that I will continue to raise these issues with the Garda Commissioner and his team, albeit they are operational issues,” he said.
“An Garda Síochána is very conscious of the need to ensure every effort is made to fight fraud,” added the Minister.
Concern raised over storage of CCTV footage
CONCERNS over the storage of CCTV footage were raised in the Dáil by Fianna Fáil Deputy Michael Moynihan, who said the issue had been raised at a recent meeting of the community alert group in Kanturk.
“CCTV cameras were installed at considerable expense by the State in communities across the country,” he said.
“The meeting was about deterring crime and allowing people to feel safe in their own homes and communities but it now transpires that there is no home to store that CCTV footage. It cannot be stored with the local authority or the Department of Justice and Equality. The information is not available in a way that would help to ensure the system provides a suitable deterrent to crime for all communities but rural communities, in particular. In light of the fact that the Department funded much of the investment in these facilities, they seem to have been futile.”
Justice Minister Charles Flanagan said he would be happy to engage on a bilateral basis with the Deputy.
“There appears to be a form of misinterpretation or misunderstanding as to the operation of the scheme,” he said.
“A number of conditions that must be complied with have been laid down in legislation. I am not sure if the Deputy is adverting to any particular scheme. I suggest he may be but a number of applications have been successfully processed through my Department, and my officials are willing to assist in any way to ensure the conditions of the scheme are fully complied with and understood.”