PLUTONIUM HIDE & SEEK IN IRISH SEA

The Minister for Marine and Natural Resources, Michael Woods TD has been called on to do all in his power to ensure that the 90 kilos of plutonium unaccounted for in the Irish Sea is discovered as soon as possible.

Following revelations in a new report published this week by the British Ministry of Agriculture Fishery and Food, Councillor Michael Kennedy has urged Dr Woods, and all within his department, to make it a priority to liase with their British counterparts on this issue. The Plutonium which represents 40% of the 180 kilos dumped in the Irish Seas over the last four decades has gone missing.

"The Sellafield waste that lies in the Irish Sea poses a major threat to all of us living in Ireland, but particularly those on the Eastern coastline. It is a very worrying and indeed totally unacceptable situation that even the most senior authorities in the Nuclear industry have no idea whatsoever as to the whereabouts of this sizeable proportion of plutonium'' added Councillor Kennedy. Continuing he said "I am now calling on Minister Woods to fully appreciate the widespread concern among people living in areas that are potentially at risk of this nuclear waste. We cannot let these circumstances continue. The whereabouts of the missing nuclear waste must be determined without further delay, this is in everybody's interest".

When asked by South Dublin Life & Leisure Editor Alice Sheridan to comment on Councillor Kennedy's statement ,Joe Jacob, Minister with responsibility for Nuclear Safety, stated that he and the Government are opposed to all radioactivity discharges into the Irish Sea. " I have personally conveyed the concerns of the Irish Government and of the Irish people to my British counterpart and to the relevant British Authorities- as indeed successive Irish Governments have done in the past. I can assure the people of Ireland that I will not be satisfied until there is a complete cessation of discharges into the Irish Sea and indeed, ultimately, that Sellafield itself will be shut down"

"As regards the findings of the report in question, I have sought the advice of the Radiological Institute of Ireland who are responsible for advising my department and the Government on matters of this nature. The RPII do not consider that the unaccounted plutonium or americium present a hazard to Ireland, Furthermore, the RPII have, in this context, advised me of the scientific position in relation to this matter as follows":

"The UK Report compares the estimate of the amount of plutonium contained in the sediments of the sea bed with the total quantity discharged from Sellafield since 1952. It concluded that 36% of the plutonium discharged was detected, as well as 40% of a similarly behaved radionuclide, americium. It is recognised that there is a tendency for studies of this type to underestimate inventories. The uncertainties are very large and extremely difficult to estimate. The report does not provide quantitative estimates of uncertainties.

It is likely therefore, that the Irish Sea inventory of plutonium and americium has been underestimated. The report suggests that the main reasons for this underestimation relate to difficulties in making accurate assessments for sub-tidal sandy sediments and inter-tidal sediments. The RPII suggest that a substantial part of the unaccounted plutonium is probably located in the Eastern part of the Irish Sea. There is unlikely to be any substantial amounts of plutonium or americium located in the Wexford Slobs" said the Minister.

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NEW CHAIRPERSON APPOINTED TO SOUTHSIDE PARTNERSHIP

Mark Dorman, Marketing Manager of RHM Ireland and former chairperson of the Dublin Simon Community is the new chairperson of Southside Partnership the local development company in Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown Funded by the national government, FAS, and the Eastern Health Board, Mr Dorman replaces Marie Carroll as chairperson.

No stranger to voluntary and community service, Mark served on the board of the Simon Community for five years and has been an active member since 1985. "My involvement in the voluntary sector is motivated by my belief in the principles of social justice" stated Dorman at a recent partnership Board meeting "Providing a bed for the night is not an act of charity, we are simply ensuring people get what they are entitled to. By working together with state bodies, the voluntary sector, unions, employers and the community, social exclusion can be tackled."

"We are very excited by Mark Dorman's ability to lead our organisation in a strategic direction and to prepare for the next Local Development Programme in 2000 to 20006. He well understands the social issues we are addressing at the Partnership, plus he has an insight into how our organisation must function in the future.

Mark has already begun to become familiar with the Partnership's projects and programmes. Mark will join the Partnership's Advisory Committee on the establishment of the Irish Children's Museum and will visit local projects and meet with community leaders " says Neal Newman, Manager of the Partnership.

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FITZPATRICK'S APPOINT NEW GROUP MARKETING DIRECTOR

The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group who operate three hotels in Ireland, Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel Killiney, Fitzpatrick's Bunratty, and the Fitzpatrick Cork have recently appointed John Costigan as Group Marketing Director of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group. John joins Fitzpatricks from Fort James Ireland Ltd (formerly Jamont ) where he worked for the past nine years, most recently as Marketing Director within their European Division and prior to that he worked for the company in the U.K. and in Ireland. Before joining Fort James, he was marketing director of SmithKline Beecham Ireland Ltd.

Apart from the three Irish hotels the Fitzpatrick also have hotels in the U.S The Fitzpatrick Manhattan and the recently opened Fitzpatrick Grand Central.

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£20 MILLION STENA LYNX 111 FROM ROSSLARE TO FISHGUARD

From one picturesque port to another in double quick time, that's what the Stena Lynx111 promises and that's exactly what is delivered. On May 5th Mr Hugh Byrne, Minister of State at the Department of Marine & Natural Resources, inaugurated a new Stena Line Fast Ferry Craft on the Rosslare-Fishgurard route which will boost capacity on that route by an impressive 30%.

The Stena Lynx 111 is a 270 foot long wave-piercing catamaran with a passenger capacity of 620 while vehicle capacity is almost double at 145 vehicles. Fast is the operative word for this streamlined craft which with a service speed of nearly 40knots makes the crossing between Rosslare and Fishguard in 99minutes. Stena Lynx111 will work in tandem with Stena Line's luxury Superferry 'Koningin Beatrix' which is the largest ship in the Stena fleet and continues to make two round trips daily.

Speaking at the inauguration, Minister Hugh Byrne said " Stena Line was the first shipping company on the Irish Sea to introduce fast ferry technology for motorists back in 1993, and today operates the world's largest fast ferry, the Stena HSS, on its Dun Laoghaire - Holyhead route. In the past five years they have made a multi-million pound investment in Irish Sea travel, both in new port facilities ashore and at sea, with the introduction of both the 1,800 passenger capacity Koningin Beatrix and now the luxurious Stena Lynx 111.

In 1998 Stena grew all sectors of its markets on this route and with this success being built on in 1999, Stena Lynx 111 will be a flag ship towards achieving new goals. Fast ferries have helped to grow the tourism market substantially since their introduction and have underpinned Stena Lines reputation as the world's leading ferry company."

The Stena Lynx111 provides the Rosslare route with a superior fast craft for 1999. Stena Line also operate the world's largest fast ferries from Dun Laoghaire and Belfast and multi-purpose ferries from Dublin Port and Belfast offering customers the best choice of services travelling to the UK and onward to Europe.

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STEPHEN GARDNER MUSIC CLINICS FOR DALKEY, SHANKILL AND DUNDRUM LIBRARIES

Stephen Gardner will remain as Composer-in-Residence until the end of October 1999. The composer-in-residence scheme is joint funded by Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the Arts Council. The County Council also receives on-going support for this scheme from the Contemporary Music Centre.

A second piece of music has been commissioned by the Dun Laoghaire- Rathdown county council which will be written for one of Ireland's leading contemporary ensembles, ' The Crash Ensemble'. During the summer Gardner will also set up clinics in three of the councils libraries, where he will be available to meet with individuals and offer them guidance on composition and music theory. The clinics will take place in Dalkey, Shankill and Dundrum Libraries.

Stephen Gardner has written many works for both chamber ensembles and orchestras. His most recent work, Wallop, was performed by the NSOI at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. His latest work 'You Never Know What's Round The Corner', commissioned by Dun-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council was premiered by Concorde in the Church of Ireland, Monkstown on 21st April.

For details of the clinics contact the Arts Office, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Telephone 2054749.

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DALKEY PLAYERS SCOOP AWARD

Dalkey Players production of 'Translations' by Brian Friel has been chosen to go forward to the All-Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone. The production won qualifying festivals at Laois Drama Festival in Mountmellick, the Dublin Drama Festival in the Rupert Guinness Theatre and the Tipperary Drama Festival in Holycross and was runner-up at the Shercock Drama Festival Co.Cavan.

Margaret Dunne won Best Director at these festivals. Paul Stack, playing Yolland, won Best Actor Awards in Dublin and Rathangan and Best Supporting Actor at Shercock and Holy Cross. He won the Adjudicator's Award ( a scholarship to the D.L.I Summer School ) in Claregalway Festival. Mary Carroll, playing Maire, won best actress in Holycross. Maura Lavelle who plays Sarah was awarded a Certificate of Merit at Shercock Drama Festival.

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THE INTERNET MADE EASY

A special presentation on the importance of the internet as a development tool for small and medium sized businesses (SME's) was given to members of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Chamber of Commerce in Rochestown Lodge Hotel.

The presentation is part of a nationwide e-commerce project aimed at improving awareness among SME's of the potential of information and communication technologies as a business development tool. Called the Prism Project, the initiative is to be managed by the Chambers of Commerce with sponsorship from Telecom Eireann.

In supporting the project and in addition to providing funding, Telecom Eireann has deployed a number of staff to assist with a number of key activities, to help make this project the most successful e-commerce awareness and training project to date. Apart from jointly hosting Internet Information Evenings around the country, other activities include the provision of specialist technical expertise; assisting with project management and providing and installing ISDN lines in all of the participating Chambers of Commerce.

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C'MON EVERYBODY LET'S HAVE 'DUBLIN DAY'

Molly Malone is possibly the most famous fishmonger in history, her sad tale being told and retold in verse and song throughout the world. No football or rugby match, no seisune or sing-song would be complete without a rendition of 'Poor Molly Malone'

With this in mind Michael Merrigan has sent a plea to Dublin's Lord Mayor to honour the same lady by declaring June 13th Dublin Day. The bould Molly departed this mortal soil on June 13th 1969, a mere 29 years old, and in the words of the song 'she died of a fever and no one could save her, and that was the end of poor Molly Malone.' Now if Mr Merrigan Hon Secretary / Trustee of Dun Laoghaire Genealogical Society has his way the 300th anniversary of her death will be commemorated by 'Dublin Day'. The society is a registered charity in Ireland devoted to the promotion of the study of genealogy at home and overseas. It aims to restore and refurbish the Martello Tower at Seapoint, Co Dublin as a genealogical archive or 'Daonchartiann'. The society is calling on all 'Dubs' to lobby their county councillors to honour Molly Malone by making June 13th her day, how about it folks ?

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MEADOWS & BYRNE HOMESTORES SET TO OPEN IN THE PAVILION

Anyone who has visited Cork, Galway or Bunratty will recognise the name Meadows & Byrne Homestores. M&B Homestores retail a unique range of contemporary furniture, craft and home accessories to compliment today's busy lifestyles.

Freda Hayes, founder and Chief Executive stated that the group saw the Ferry Terminal, the attraction of the Piers, and the development of the proposed marina as key considerations in their decision to locate in the Pavilion. Ms Hayes stated that "the Pavilion will give our group a strategic location in the greater Dublin area enabling us to cater for our many Dublin based customers, who already purchase from M& B's catalogue". The store will front onto "The Metals" and will be diagonally opposite the DART station. It will comprise of some 12,000 sq ft of retail space and will include an M&B cafe.

The Pavilion Car Park, with over 300 spaces, was recently opened and the Municipal Theatre will be handed over to the County Council in July, with it's first production likely to open in late autumn. The public bar will also be ready for hand over in July. A total of 96 luxurious apartments in two blocks, including 8 penthouses, are being designed for a high degree of privacy, many with dual aspects and balconies on both sides. Conor Mc Cormick of Mc Cormick Estate Agents, joint agents with DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald on the Pavillion said, "This transaction undermines the strategic location of the Pavilion development and proves it's desirability as a retail destination."