LITTER LOUTS : WATCH OUT!

It's official ,not alone is the problem of litter being tackled in a very positove way by Dublin Corporation, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council have declared war on litter louts in the area. Launching the local campaign against litter An Cathaoirleach Richard Conroy said " Working in partnership with the local community, in any venture, is the way forward. However, as litter is one of the major environmental problems of our time and since combating it is proving to be such a difficult task, joint community partnership will be our key to success. We must not forget that as caretakers of the environment, we have a duty to our children and grandchildren to leave them a clean, healthy and enriched local environment."

The campaign, which is designed to capitalise on the great efforts made in last years campaign in which 39 residents groups participated, will focus on continuing and improving this community partnership. " When you consider the great progress being made by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in improving the delivery of a sustainable environment, for example, urban areas being revitalised, the quality and design of social housing being improved; water supply and wastewater treatment systems being modernised and extended; and try to balance this progress against the enormous demands, both human and financial, being made by the collection and disposal of litter, it is glaringly obvious why we must be unrelenting in the battle against litter" said Councillor Conroy. "8,500 tons of litter are swept up from the streets of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county each year at an estimated cost of £800,000, these are staggering figures" he continued.

Echoing the Councillor's statement, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Senator Joe Doyle recently launched a £1million offensive on litter in the city and suburbs. 20 litter wardens will be on the streets of the suburbs in the coming weeks. This is a huge increase from one full time and one part time litter warden two years ago. Dublin Corporation has also doubled the number of its 'Green Machines' and now has 30 of these machines that vacuum and brush the streets. 7 larger sweeper machines and 5 litter vans have been purchased in preparation for the 'War on Litter' as well as 4 'ride on ' sweeping machines for hard to get at sites where litter is blown about. "It's awful that we have to spend so much money cleaning up after people who should know better, but who continue to throw litter on the streets' said the Lord Mayor. " We are spending £11million every year on cleaning streets, said Councillor paddy Bourke, Chairman of the Finance Committee which spearheaded the war on litter. "This extra £1million initiative is due to the commitment of our elected representatives and the city's traders, who are supporting a 1% levy on commercial rates, specifically aimed at providing the extra resources for an assault on litter in the suburbs" said John Singleton, Cleansing Superintendent in Dublin Corporation. "It's the first time such an initiative has been taken and we intend to build on the success we've been having in the city centre."

Increased fines will also act as a deterrent Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council predict. The maximum fine for a litter offence or illegal dumping has been increased to £1,500 under the Litter Pollution Act. Costs and expenses can also be awarded against offenders. The on the spot fine for an offence is £25.

---

KITT APPOINTED F.F. DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS FOR EUROPE

The Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt T.D. has been appointed the Fianna Fail Director of Elections for the forthcoming European Elections to be held on June 11th.

Tom who previously held the position of Minister for European Affairs said " I am more than aware of the importance of these European Elections. As the role of the parliament strengthens and becomes increasingly relevant for the Irish people, we need a strong team to lead us. We have eight outstanding candidates from all over Ireland and we will work hard to take eight of the fifteen seats. Ireland has had a long and successful relationship with Europe. This has been seen recently in the referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty and also on the successful outcome to the Agenda 2,000 negotiations".

"In the limelight of the immediate challenges facing Europe it is essential that Ireland is represented at European Parliamentary level by an experienced Fianna Fail team," said Minister Kitt.

---

CRYSTAL CLEAR

Yet another sparkling addition this year to the Dun Laoghaire Song Contest is the provision of beautiful Waterford Crystal Trophies for the winners of the 1999 Dun Laoghaire Song Contest.

Included is the magnificent First Active Waterford Crystal Trophy, which will be presented to the overall winner and a First Active Waterford Crystal Bowl which will be presented to the runner-up.

A first prize of £3,000 will also be presented by I.M.R.O. to the composer of the winning song along with the production of 500 C.D's presented by Trend Studios. The runner-up prize in addition to the crystal bowl will also receive a cheque for £1,000. As a memento for qualifying, each finalist will receive a piece of engraved Waterford Crystal courtesy of First Active and from Stena Line a cheque for £100 plus a trip for a car and five passengers on the luxurious HSS ferry.

Winning a contest of this magnitude is a very exciting prospect for any songwriter. As well as attractive prize money, one of the most dynamic and successful publicists in the music business, Vivid Imaginations, will be happy to offer their expertise, their advice, and their contacts, thus ensuring that the winning song in the 1999 Dun Laoghaire Song Contest will receive extensive exposure and generous media attention.

The Contest takes place on Sunday 25th July in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, compered by RTE's Larry Gogan. Application forms can be had by sending a SAE to P.O. Box 5676 Dun Laoghaire. Closing date for return of Demos Fri. 7th May.1999.

---

ESAT DIGIFONE ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF MILLENNIUM LANDMARK INITIATIVE

Esat Digifone has announced the winners of the Esat Digifone Millennium Landmark competition which was launched last year to develop an innovative telecommunications structure for the year 2000 and beyond.

Supported by the Royal Institute of Architects, the competition was open to architects, engineers, designers, artists, and sculptors.

There were over thirty entries to the competition from Ireland, Europe and the USA and the overall winners were Collette Mc Garry and David Hunt of Hunt Mc Gary Architects who received a bursary of £6,000 with Richard Mark Hannay of Taynor O'Toole Architects winning second prize of £2,000.

The winning design is a 30metre high metallic structure made from a stainless steel stressed skin. Illustrating careful balance for an inverted structure the winning design offers an excellent engineering solution with the potential to illuminate internally and capitalise on the perforations of the main body.

Commenting on the initiative, Barry Maloney, Chief Executive of Esat Digifone, said; "We were delighted with the response to the competition and the very high standard of entries received. The arrival of the new Millennium is world wide milestone, we are delighted to be playing our part in the celebrations with the Esat Digifone Millennium Landmark. We are confident it will be extremely popular and will add to the overall national celebrations as we enter the new century."

---

COFFEY SAYS DELAY IN TV AERIAL FOR ELDERLY "DISGRACEFUL"

Councillor Betty Coffey has said she is "appalled" at the long delay in supplying a TV aerial to elderly residents at Kilbegnet Close, the Councils sheltered housing scheme in Dalkey for elderly people. "I find it extraordinary that a simple matter of a broken TV aerial which has been out of action since December 1998 could not have been settled in weeks" said the Councillor.

The cost of supplying this aerial is £800, however the Council decided to try and encourage the residents to have cablelink installed at a cost of £25 deposit and a monthly payment of approx. £9.60. On the surface it would seem a reasonable request from the County Council but it is a well documented fact that elderly people worry a great deal about bills popping through the letter box. In the light of this an additional bill for television is one that will undoubtedly worry a lot of these older citizens.

In the past two weeks says Councillor Coffey the County Council have in fact spoken to the residents of Kilbegnet Close regarding what type of aerial they would accept. "To date there is still no television aerial for these people. These elderly people have been without the TV since last December, this is just not good enough and I am taking the matter up with the Manager and hope that some sense will prevail. This is the only source of enjoyment many of our elderly residents have and it should have been treated with urgency" Councillor Coffey said.

---

SMALL COMPANIES LOSING OUT IN THE IT FIELD

In an address to members of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on the importance of the internet as a development tool for SME's, Mr Bart Weijermars, Telecom Eireann, said "there are almost 200,000 small and medium size enterprises (SME's) in Ireland, yet only 15% of these are using technology in a way that positively impacts on their bottom line.

In an effort to help redress this balance, Telecom Eireann, in association with the Irish Independent , is launching the Business Today Awards. The Awards which are the first of their kind in this country, will be presented each month during 1999 and will give recognition to companies who can demonstrate how innovative use of communications solutions has positively impacted on their business. Improvements in business performance can be reflected in a number of ways. For example, through increased sales, cost reductions or improved customer service.

Each monthly winner will be profiled in the Irish Independent, in addition to receiving a specially commissioned award and £1500. An overall Business Today Award will be presented to one of the 12 monthly winners at the end of the competition. Telecom Eireann is inviting nominations from Companies in Dublin for the Awards.

---

1999 YOUNG BUSINESS WRITER AWARDS FOR BRAY AND KILLINEY STUDENTS

The Young Business Writer Awards, sponsored by Bank of Ireland, gives third level and senior second level students an opportunity to hone their writing talents by preparing an article on one of a choice of subjects relevant to the world of business and economics.

Presenting the successful students with their awards recently was Mr Tom Kitt, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment. Among the winners were Darren Snow, a pupil from St Gerard's School Bray, Shane Kelly Presentation College Bray and Christina Hughes from St Joseph of Cluny Killiney.

Darren Snow took first prize in the Senior Second level with his article entitled 'As We approach full Monetary Union do the benefits for Ireland still look so good?' Darren's prize was a cheque for £750. Second prize in the same category went again to Bray, this time to Shane Kelly of Presentation College with his article 'The European Union has changed dramatically since the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Discuss' for which Shane received a prize of £400. In the Junior Second Level second prize went to Christina Hughes for her article on Bord Failte. Christina from St Joseph of Cluny received a prize of £250.