Our poor Ex, Ophelia!

You spend all your life preparing for the big moment. Practising and practising for all were worth. Constantly repeating the mantra “Correct practice makes perfect!” Growing and growing in size and power for that one spectacular entrance. You had “One chance, just one chance....” Your family and friends were watching expectantly. The media were gathered in ever increasing numbers.

Then, just as you started to approach Ireland, to become the first hurricane “On record”, those weather people downgraded you to an “Ex-hurricane” and changed your name to “Ex-Ophelia”!

Alas, we were still hit pretty hard - we all know the damage an angry “Ex” can do!

I spent early Monday morning clearing the last few wee bits and bobs in our walled garden. Hoping that this stoutly built barrier and our, luckily, North West facing aspect would be protected by the house. Well that was my thinking anyway. At the time of writing Ex-Ophelia was just starting to show her teeth and starting her relentless march into Waterford City.

There was the odd ping of debris, hitting the office window and trees were shedding leaves like no tomorrow. At least Winnie The Pooh would have been happy, “I don’t mind the leaves that are leaving. It is the leaves that are coming...” he famously said. Describing the avalanche of autumn leaves falling around his house. Come Tuesday morning, there will probably not be a tree in Ireland wearing any autumnal colours. Leaf blowers becoming redundant in Ireland this year, as Ex-Ophelia’s sorcery being supreme.

No doubt some brave and foolish souls, had ventured out to get that once in a lifetime, danger seeking selfie. Holding their camera phone tightly, to stop it being blowing away in the wind. Better still, trying to keep one of those ridiculous stick things steady, to frame the perfect storm. These selfish people put the lives of our emergency services at risk and getting that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter shot is not worth the jeopardy.

At least Ex-Ophelia has taken all our minds off a rather weak and non-eventful Dolly Mixture of a budget. Paschal “Use the Force Luke” Donohoe and his fearful leader Leo “Darth-Varadkar” had to cancel their budget road trip to the Sunny South East and Waterford City. Many had thought that, on this very voyage the dynamic duo would announce the loosening of the exchequer purse. Finally delivering, with no strings attached, the circa €61,000,000 for the infrastructural works, for our Strategic Development Zone, on the North Quays. Trust me, that auld rumour mill was working overtime last week.

 

Our Ex certainly put a BIG stop to that!!!

The Government cavalcade is simply going to drive right on past Waterford. No doubt heading off into the Wesht! Maybe they’ll find their way back to us on the return leg of the road trip? Och, how silly of me. I forgot they don’t have the satellite co-ordinates for Waterford City, do they?

In many ways, the story of ex-hurricane Ophelia could be a metaphor for Waterford City and County. The promise of something spectacular coming our way. The delivery of a game changing impact project for the whole population. A big announcement that will fix our economic woes.

We have waited and waited. There has been promise after promise broken. Deadline after deadline missed. Goal posts being moved at every single opportunity. Ministers and TDs ducking and diving, to avoid the eye of the storm. We always seem to end up with a downgrade. Something more palatable to the constituents of the people in power and yet little or no use to the people of Waterford.

It looks like we may well have to sit and wait for considerably more time, to encounter our first hurricane on record, to grace these shores.

Here’s some late, late good news to finish. Last weekend the magnificent Nationwide Team (with Brian and Suzie) were back in Waterford, filming a full programme with Waterford Camino Tours. The show will air in the spring of next year and will be hosted by the elegant Mary Kennedy. We really are so very lucky to have such support, for our City and County from this flagship RTE programme.

It’s “Oh So Quiet!”

“Sssh, sssh, it’s oh so quiet....sssh, sssh and so peaceful until...” are the words from the first verse of that wonderfully weird, Icelandic singer Bjork’s, 1995 song. A year I remember very, very well. This was the year I would marry an Irish lassie and through the fickle fate of fortune, ultimately end up living here, in Waterford City. Settling with my young family, in January 2001 and I have no intention of moving on.

My during my time to date in Waterford there have been a number of issues constantly courting media attention. Cementing Waterford City as the economic gateway to the South East. Delivering University status for the WIT and not may I add to this argument not a fudged “Technological” status. The full Scotch Bonnet chilli version, with ALL the associated kudos. More importantly, with the necessary funding bells and whistles. Giving our youth the very same third level opportunities to enrol at a REAL university, just like the other four cities in Ireland. A regional hospital which provides “Adequate” services for the half a million population in the region. Finally, our fare share of IDA Foreign Direct Investment into Waterford, to service our economy.

The recently published statistics, by the IDA themselves, detailing activity for 2017 are inexcusable and indefensible. Only “Four”, yes “4”, visits in the first six months of this year! Quite clearly we need to work harder on our visibility. Not only did our NHS mobile catheterisation laboratory struggle to find us, but the IDA is now having trouble pinpointing Waterford on an Ordnance Survey map.

If Ireland Inc’s economic recovery is “Well underway”, according to Leo, it’s incomprehensible that Waterford has received only 0.016% of total potential FDI visits. Why is our Government Minister and absent TD, not screaming and shouting about this s*”@e statistic?

My calculator actually coughed with embarrassment, when trying to work out such a low, low percentage! No matter how much spin you put on this figure, it must indisputably show that Waterford is being ignored and quite literally wiped off the map, in terms of REAL regional development.

Yet, it is against this myopic back drop, we are seeing Local Property Tax to be increased by 2.5 % in 2018. The suggested proposal was 10%!!!! Commercial Rates will likely face a significant increase, in the forthcoming final Council budgetary meetings. Where are the people living who are making theses decision on our behalf? Are they living in such a cosseted, cocooned financial bubble that increases are irrelevant, given their own financial circumstances? 

Last week I wrote about the Council’s very own Indecon Report. This delivered an irrefutable argument for central exchequer funding, for our Strategic Development Zone on the North Quays. This report outlined just how tough our current economic circumstances are. When you add in the lack of IDA interest in Waterford, is it any wonder that our fragile economic recovery is miles behind the rest of Ireland? It cannot come as any surprise, that we have some of the lowest disposable incomes of any of the regions.

Yet, we constantly allow others to take more and more of our hard earned cash from our pockets, without as much as a whimper!

Lots of people are shocked and annoyed about having to pay more LPT and many have told me this is the case. Has anyone actually contacted their local Councillor and asked them “Why my LPT is going up?” “What is the increase actually paying for?” I am sure we would all, albeit reluctantly, pay a little bit more if this would ensure better services, better roads, better footpaths etc. Is that what this increase is essentially paying for? Are there not indications that all these budgetary lines are remaining the same, as in 2017?

 

Last week, we also saw the release of the much lauded National Planning Framework document, showing many new key performance indicators for Waterford. Regrettably, the language used, is once again far too vague on delivery. I for one, won’t be holding my breath, awaiting these miracles, for I’d surely suffocate!

Our perplexing ability, not to question so many of these issues, ensures that we will continue to remain on the bottom rung of the funding ladder.

What if your Local Property Tax was to go up?

“Well boi”, it’s that time of year once again!

Behind the closed, locked doors of City Hall and Dungarvan Civic Offices, our 32 Councillors will be, should be, fiddling with their calculators. (This is not a euphemism!) They’re deciding the Waterford City and County budget for 2018. But just what might this mean for you, the reader?

The actual process of passing and approving a “Balanced budget” is rather strange. As there is so much of the Executives’ budget that is quite literally “Untouchable”. In fact our Councillors can only change, alter or influence a rather small percentage of a much larger circa €130,000,000 budget. With the Lansdowne-Haddington-kick-the-can-down-the-Road agreements coming on stream, we could see pressure being heaped on our Council to contribute more to budgetary areas. Expected pay and pension increases that may not actually be covered by additional, supplementary central exchequer grants/funds. This of course means you and I have to pay for this.

You might recall, that our local news and media, covered many column inches, giving lots of radio snippets, about just how there could be absolutely NO Local Property Tax (LPT) or Commercial Rates increases for 2017. The Councillors agreed that the timing was NOT right!

What has changed in our economic outlook that makes increase charges to LPT and Commercial Rates, a very realistic possibility for 2018?

Look at highly regarded reports, such as the WIT “South East Economic Monitor” and more recently the Council’s very own, Indecon “Economic Cost Benefit Appraisal of the Waterford City Urban Renewal Scheme”. The Indecon document is the actual report, commissioned by the Council, submitted to Government for circa €61,000,000 of exchequer funding. Income that would make possible the alteration to infrastructural groundwork. Which in turn, would allow Saudi Arabia’s Fawaz Alhokair Group, to build on our Strategic Development Zone, on the North Quays.

Both of these reports detail and outline, in no uncertain terms, Waterford City/County and the wider South East region have some way to go, to catch up on the rest of the country’s “Green shoots of recovery”. In fact the gulf, excuse the pun, between some of the economic indicators is, in truth, quite jaw dropping. Disposable income, percentage of the population at risk of poverty, labour force participation rates, unemployment rates, third level attainment....and more besides, make for some incredibly grim reading.

But then we all know that the South East has been neglected by successive Governments for year, after year, after year.

The statistics produced, make an exceptionally compelling and concrete case for Government support for the Alhokair Group’s plans for the North Quays. I do hope that this money is forthcoming from this current Government. Kick starting a REAL recovery in Waterford and the wider South East region. One would also hope that any infrastructural funding would find its way to Waterford. Much, much faster than our rented, National Health Service mobile catheterisation laboratory did! (It has arrived! But then again you would know this, due to the “Trumpeting”, by a few on social media).

Oh and we must remember that with a local council election scheduled for 2019, next year is realistically, the only opportunity that our 32 brave men and women have, to impose punitive increases. Increases on both our LPT and that other easily reached cash cow, Commercial Rates. After all who would want to be imposing unpopular increases, when disproportionate door knocking is already pencilled into the diary?

Any increase, no matter how small, will affect our particularly local economy. Businesses and households are already extraordinarily tight for money, facing continued huge increases in car insurance, rising back to school costs, a spiralling cost of living, fuel expenses for both car and home inflating. Business overheads are also rising disproportionately, thus not reflecting where Waterford’s economy presently sits. The previously mentioned reports, back up just how tight we ALL are for money and disposable income is as rare as hen’s teeth.

What are we to do if increases are imposed by our elected 32 for 2018? Simply ask them directly;

“Why should I be paying more?” Above all, it’s imperative you take an interest in what your Councillors are doing for you and Waterford.

Our catheterisation laboratory is still “Missing In Action!”

As the temperature dropped, quite dramatically in the last couple of days, we left the Summer behind and Autumn began to colour our lives. Not before one last hurrah in Waterford City. Our Harvest Festival celebrated “All things foodie” in this South East region.

The Terra Madre Slow Cook Festival organised, by amongst others Donal Lehane and Donald Sutherland (not the actor), was looking to expand, develop and “Grow to the next level”. I was CEO of Waterford Chamber of Commerce at the time and remember this festival’s origins. I jumped at the chance to bring this fledgling festival under our wing, help nurture it, allowing it to mature into the festival we love and recognise today.

A suitable committee was formed, with great support from Waterford Council. Harvest Festival stretched almost the length of our waterfront quay. One kilometre of food offerings, stalls, entertainment, educational classes, GIY conferences and even a petting zoo. The very best of our region, the “Breadbasket” of Ireland. It was a huge, roaring success, if you can recall and the finest in my opinion. Bringing enormous numbers of people to Waterford City, looking to sample or discover something new, to titillate their taste buds.

It is not only the Harvest Festival that has been a “Last of the Summer Wine” distraction. There were plenty of other events taking place, in and around our county to entertain us.

There has been a diversity of sporting achievements. Our magnificent young (youngish Mr “Brick” Walsh) hurlers’ odyssey to Croke Park and of course Waterford FC chasing promotion back to their rightful place in a Premier League. Lots of charity fundraising events such as the Donal O’Connor Memorial Cycle, the De La Salle GAA annual fundraiser, then last weekend I “Chased a Duck” all over County Waterford!!!!!

We have read more and more Census 2016 information telling us, here in Waterford, what we already knew! Our unemployment is still proportionately far too high, when compared to the national average. Third level uptake is ridiculously low. We don’t use public transport and our disposable income is one of the lowest in Ireland.

The promised North Quay Strategic Development Zone project is still according to our Council Executive, on stream. Waterford Council has now applied for the €60-70,000,000 funding needed to kick-start this “Once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity!” We are also reading through social media spinners, that this twin-development game changer will bring untold opportunities to Waterford. There has even been talk of a cable car type gondola, across the River Suir and up to the old hotel site on the hill. Just how we will get adequate visitor numbers, to sustain such a development economically, is yet to be teased out or convince a bank to lend a developer the money!

All of the above are just some of the headline grabbers, which have been a welcomed distraction for our holidaying TDs. Whilst we have been “Enjoying ourselves” the pressure to deliver some very key pieces of infrastructure, has de-escalated.

Yes, we were fittingly reminded of what we are missing, by our “Gentleman” hurling manager. In Derek McGarth’s Monday homecoming speech, he talked about the City and County’s urgent need for a catheterisation laboratory and a university. Our Minister was within earshot, sharing the same stage with our successful hurlers!

Governments are skilled experts in constantly kicking cans down the road. Our missing catheterisation laboratory was promised far too long ago and yet still no sign of its arrival. I live within a stone’s throw of UHW, passing it every single day of the week. I hope like so many others, one day soon I will see this now mythical unit, appear in its grounds, opening its doors to reduce much needed patient waiting lists.

The sense of urgency for Waterford seems all but lost on our representatives. Surely during their long summer recess, they should have been getting together? Formulating a proactive, real-time plan, to loosen Exchequer pursue strings, before the next budget.

Collectively, we must ask them just what have they been doing, whilst away from the Dáil, to ensure the delivery of the catheterisation laboratory?

It would appear that our promised, part-time laboratory is not the only thing “Missing In Action”, in Waterford.

Who remembers THAT letter? “What letter?” I hear you cry!

In May last year, I wrote about a certain Neville Chamberlain’s political faux pas, which defined his office as Prime Minister of “Blighty”. On the 30^th September 1938, after a meeting with Chancellor Adolf Hitler, Chamberlain returned to England, via Heston Airport. He exited his “Corporate jet” waving a letter from his now BFF, announcing that there would be, “Peace for our time.”

Chamberlain, in those few brief minutes, was claiming that he had singlehandedly stopped the prospect of Armageddon. He had prevented World War II.

Scroll forward just under twelve months, to the 1^st September 1939, which we now recognise as the “Official start date” of WWII. For all Chamberlain’s letter waving and pontificating, there was no substance to Chancellor Hitler’s letter. In fact we now know, that the letter was used to stall for time, to allowing Germany to build even bigger military forces. More disturbingly, this hand typed A4 piece of embossed paper, meant that the European powers could “Legitimately” stand back, empowering Germany to make some significant land grabs.

Recorded history is a great reference point and I would advocate that we all every now and again, dip into it to see the journey we have taken.

On 6^th May 2016 we, particularly in Waterford, became very excited about a similar piece of correspondence. A letter from the then Minister of Finance, Michael Noonan TD, was waved to us, by our own Junior Minister Halligan. This declared that a second Catheterisation Laboratory had now been signed, sealed and delivered for Waterford and the wider South East. The funding and building of the second laboratory was cast in stone. Written into that mythological document, “The Programme for Government”. Fine Gael, supported by a few Independent TDs, would construct our Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

We should have been very wary of such claims and promises. History has taught us to be cautious of people waving letters. But then again we somehow choose to learn so very little from our immediate past.

“Subject to a favourable recommendation from an independent clinical review of the needs of the region....” in the first paragraph of the Minister’s letter. This should have set alarm bells ringing. We were told that this review was merely a formality. Boy were we sold a banana boat with no paddle!

14 months later and we are in reality, no further forward. We’ve yet to see foundations being dug to build a Catheterisation Laboratory. This would give us access to the very basic rights to appropriate emergency care.

The political fudge, to appease the Waterford/SE hordes, was to provide a mobile laboratory. This too was also given lots and lots of PR spin. Yet many, many weeks have passed since this unit was supposed to find its way to Waterford, for the month of June. We are led to believe that September is now the promised landing date for this unit – maybe we should club together and buy Minister Harris a sat nav?

What is for sure is that Fine Gael, with its Independent Alliance support foundations, could sign off on the procurement, build and delivery of a Catheterisation Laboratory for Waterford and the South East, at the stroke of a pen! Far too many do not see Waterford and the SE as a priority, certainly Leo and Simon don’t.

There is, in all honesty, NO need for people to be asking for other parties to threaten this and threaten that, if the lab is not delivered. Let’s face it, the opposition parties are only interested in getting into power and not bringing down a Government. Asking the people to vote at another GE is not on the cards. There is NO appetite for this type of political revolt. Anyway, we only have two opposition TDs in Waterford, so in the Number’s Game, we’re zero/zilch!

OUR issue is that we need politicians who are prepared to box clever, whilst driving OUR agenda. We need people in power, representing us, who can forge alliances and work the dark, dingy corridors of power in the Dail.

OUR Political talent pool is just too small to make any real difference. Maybe next time around?

Selling sand to the Arabs!

The good news, gossip and social media diatribe about the significant €300 million property investment, by the Al Hokair group from Saudi Arabia, started to trickle through various media channels early last week. By Tuesday morning the local and some national media sources (not unsurprisingly in limited column inches!) sources began reporting about this “Game changer” for Waterford City, County and the wider South East region.

Behind the heavily fortified closed doors of City Hall, our 32 Councillors were given first sight of this far eastern promise, by the Council CEO Michael Walsh. Refreshment must have been provided for this late evening session, which had all the potential to drive the City out of Division One and straight back into the Premier League. No need for any more relegation battles. Surely this €300 million, in one fell swoop, would regain our position as the fourth City of Ireland?

Our 32 Councillors unanimously passed a motion, allowing the CEO to engage further with the Al Hokair group, on behalf of the City and County.

As an aside, I read one or two funny remarks on social media, asking if “All” the Councillors had backed the plan, after many a post stating the word “Unanimously”! There were also some very strange comments, completely off topic and you often have to wonder if people are actually reading the same posts?

The devil is always in the detail, with any contractual negotiation. I have no doubt that the shrewd, wealthy business people of Saudi have ALL their ducks lined up and know that a proposal, for a multi-million Euro investment into Waterford City, would be grasped with both hands and feet, for that matter. This is one gift horse, whose teeth do not have to be inspected, or do they?

Waterford City has to be seen as a prime location for investment for all manner of reasons. The main one being, that the price of land and property is just so much cheaper than any other City. Just look at RTE selling circa 9 acres of land, in D4, with a guide price of €75 million. The likely outcome is that these few golden acres will realise much, much more than the €75 million guide, as property prices are once again ballooning in all corners of the Capital (Let’s hope we don’t see another prick bursting said balloon!). The North Quays and Michael Street are a mere fraction of this price, so why would you look elsewhere?

In addition to the cost of land being very “Cheap” in Waterford, the relatively low cost of housing also reflects the current economic climate. Yes, we do get so much more for our money down here on the South East coast and this has to be a significant attractor, when tempting the likes of 1,221,887,632 Saudi Riyals to Waterford.

Let us face facts. Property developers invest in projects to make substantial sums of money and Al Hokair will be investing in Waterford, because they see a future return on their million Euro investment. The potential has always been there. It is just that we have not been able to persuade someone to speculate to this level before in Waterford.

What is for sure, is that this investment will make others aware that Waterford and the wider South East region have REAL potential.

 

As Dublin smothers in increasing housing and rental costs, regions such as Waterford, must be an attractive alternative option. Appropriate infrastructural investment, by Government, needs to be accelerated. It was great to see Minister Coveney, down here pedalling his bike on the Greenway. However, he needs to guarantee and deliver money for this City, to ensure that we are a viable alternative to Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Governments’ record on this is not great for Waterford, so we will need to keep the pressure on, to make sure they finally deliver.

“Selling sand to the Arabs”, was a phrase often trumpeted to me when I worked at Wembley Arena. The venue was the MUST play indoor arena for any musical act.

Wouldn’t it be great if in the next few years Waterford became such an easy sell?

Imagine ALL the people!

“No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.”

On Saturday last, we all marched, once again, for the very basic of welfare state rights. Better cardiac care, serviced by University Hospital Waterford.

I would estimate that around circa 6,000 took part in the march and I noted, perhaps for the first time on such an occasion, that there were significant numbers of “Older people” taking part. This was the silver generation getting out and voting with their feet. Something that Government should be very wary of, as this generation has real teeth (well some do)!

The social media pages have been awash with TDs’, posting pictures to let their adoring hordes know that they marched for us. With perhaps the exception of one, who has made it very clear that he will stand by his man. The youthful Minister Harris and that now infamous Herity report? A report that was given such precise “Terms of reference”, it would have been impossible to have had a different outcome.

Whilst, three quarters of the Waterford brigade were out in force, there appeared to be very little political support from our other sister counties. This is the root of our poor showing on this issue.

The national media and Government, see this as Waterford’s problem and NOT the South Easts’ problem. It suits the trolls working the corridors of power, to go out of their way to ignore so called one horse town issues. “LOOK! We are running a country.” Is that Waterford we hear moaning once again?

A Government so full of really quite clever, bright people, greedily working the system to massage their parish pump egos. We are very poor at this type of politics. It would suit our neighbours to have muted colleagues sharing a county boundary.

Unfortunately, we witnessed on Saturday little or no support from our nearest neighbours. Our fellow citizens, who are without doubt far worse off in terms of the Blues and Twos travel time, to Cork or Dublin. Swathes of Wexford are significantly over the “You’ve got 90 minutes or you might be dead”, life saving window. Yet, there seems to be absolutely little or no concern shown whatsoever?

The local newspapers across Wexford, Tipp and Kilkenny, will probably carry very very few column inches on the march. Some are just too concerned and preoccupied, with portraying Waterford Council, as acting like Adolf ‘H’ whilst attempting a 1939 style “Land grab”, than the health of a substantial proportion of their readership. They don’t see this as a regional issue. It’s as if the message is just not getting out to the people in these affected areas.

The people across the South East have for years and years, not been treated equally. There is no brotherhood of man. We pay the same taxes and yet we are constantly left short changed. Institutionalised discrimination towards Waterford appears to be a tsunami that cannot be stopped unless we have the support of those around us. Yet, getting that support will prove harder than finding a set of hen’s teeth. In fact, I fear it might be easier for us to seek out and discover, the whereabouts of the Holy Grail!

Our part-time catheterisation laboratory is of course welcome good news. Yet we have to accept the absence of no concrete plans as to when this life saving unit might arrive. Even more importantly, start operating. No one knows what those hours of operation might be? We don’t know how long it will be in situ? Will we even have sufficient extra staff to allow it to be operated efficiently? These open ended questions are just De Rigueur for Waterford. I can assure you this wouldn’t happen in Cork, Dublin or Limerick!

 

So, how do we move forward on this prickly issue? The campaign needs the urgent and fast mobilisation from the people across the region. For sure we all know that!

But here is the hard part. Is there truthfully the appetite for those people to get involved? Where are the voices asking, “We’ve got 90 minutes or we might be dead!!!!” 

All I want for Christmas!

If you have not written your Santa letter by now, you will be no doubt be waking up, on the morning of Sunday 25^th December, with the very real possibility that the bundle of presents under the tree are either not appropriate or are completely useless for you. That is of course assuming that you have been good during 2016. You therefore have been omitted from the naughty list and are due a visit from Santa in the first place.

Assuming that the majority of us are on the nice list, then we will receive some wonderfully thoughtful presents. We will no doubt be filled with the joy that giving presents also brings. We often forget that giving presents and gifts are equally important, if not more important, than the gifts we receive and this is often overlooked during the festive period.

I will no doubt wake up on Sunday morning and after saying “Happy Christmas” to the fairy on top of our tree, who this year is celebrating her 19^th year in the Garland household, hopefully I’ll find the requested pair of socks and maybe one of the more unusual bottles of Scottish malt under the tree.

As we get older the number of presents under the tree, the number of presents secretly hidden in the tree, behind sparkly tinsel and twinkly lights, diminish year by year. Even the number of cards we now post and receive, lessens each year – we are social media carders now! It is not that Christmas becomes less important as we mature, it is just that our family circumstances change, alter and we adapt to that transformation.

So what should we wish for when we look at what Waterford would ask from Santa?

I do hope, that those with the power and influence, to deliver for Waterford in 2017, have posted their letters in time for us not to be disappointed come early Sunday morning. If I had the influence to write and deliver that letter to Santa, here is what I would have asked for – not a very big list.

The Government is telling us the country is on the up and Ministers are stuffing their own constituency stockings with this extra cash. I would ask for €10 million to invest in UHW’s cardiology unit. Only circa €2.5 million needed to build the unit and circa €7.5 million to staff the unit for the next two to three years. Once it is up and running, the lives it will save, will justify all running costs.

Another €20 million to finally deliver and create a University for Waterford and the South East, including all the bells and whistles needed to attract students and increased research funding. Not a fudged, pressure delivered, hotchpotch multi-campus minestrone soup of an organisation, as being proposed by those in power. But a REAL University based and administered in Waterford City, which would clearly benefit the whole of the South East.

€25 million to develop our SDZ North Quay and Port, to drive a whole new tourism market for Waterford and the South East. If we could develop these two vital pieces of the City’s infrastructure, we could place Waterford City at the very heart of the “Ireland’s Ancient East” tourism project. Making Waterford City the 3-4 night destination stopover, which would be the anchor for exploring the whole of the South East.

Only €55 million and none of it would be in loans. This would go an awfully long way to redress the lack of focused investment in Waterford and the South East. We are at the moment seeing our hospital, our infrastructure and our third level education establishment, being ever so slowly dismantled and methodically stripped. If we are not careful these three essential pieces of infrastructure will disappear for good.

 

If we do not have strong political and public representation, fighting for every Euro of the Government investment pie, we will remain the City which always receives a present, that has been given to us as an afterthought.

Happy Christmas, hope you have been good! Happy St.Andrew’s Day as well. 

Take a bow Billy McCarthy, RIP – 1954 to 2016.

The final curtain call.

It is with a very heavy heart, that I heard on Sunday the 20^th November, of the passing of Billy McCarthy, broadcaster on Deise AM, at WLR FM. After a very short illness Billy passed away at University Hospital Waterford.

I first met Billy when I was appointed as CEO of Waterford Chamber and I have to say that there are very few people who you meet in this world, who you instantly take a shine to. There are even fewer people that you genuinely know would be there for you in a crisis, if called upon. Billy was one of those rare people.

He managed to come into your car, living room and kitchen when on the radio. His broadcasts were so personal, you almost felt like he was sitting right next to you and sharing a cup of tea with you, in the comfort of your own home. There are very few who had this magical gift and there can be no doubt that Billy was one of the very best that Ireland and Waterford has ever produced.

Testament to his talent, can be seen in the many thousands of social media messages written over the last few days. Everyone has a very personal message for Billy’s passing and a story that touched their heart.

The UK had Terry, Dublin has Joe and Waterford had Billy.

He really was that good and I for one, have met so many people who instantly smile when you mention what Billy meant to them. I wonder just how many people are able to do that in life let alone in death.

Evidently, Billy was born to be Waterford’s “People’s Champion” and he took to this challenge with gusto, verve and a determination. He had no fear in tearing strips off our representatives for not doing enough for his beloved City and County. He chased for answers like the proverbial dog with a bone. If he could not get hold of the said politician, he was not frightened to let his adoring listeners know that they were hiding! No stone would be unturned in him trying to get the right solutions his Waterford listeners deserved.

Yet, for the next programme segment he would become sympathetic, caring and empathetic. He could switch in an instant and make that transition so seamlessly we just never noticed. The mark of this man was that he did everything so well, for the pure benefit of the listeners.

He was of course, supported by so many professional WLR FM colleagues. In particular Jennifer Long, who produced Billy’s shows. This deadly duo created so many broadcasting moments and memories you could literally fill several hundreds of newspapers with their in depth investigative journalism. I am sure that the whole WLR/Beat team will miss Billy dearly.

For me, Billy’s laugh will be one of his defining memories. A laugh that was instantly recognisable and infectious.

I an era when so much of our lives are played out on social media, every morning, Billy managed to speak regularly to over 20,000 listeners on a daily basis. His listening figures were astonishing and enormous, bearing in mind the many ways open to us in getting our news.

Young and old would tune in every morning at 10 am, to Deise AM, to join Billy in talking about all matters current, regional, national and local. Billy’s passing will leave a huge void in so many of our lives and he will be impossible to replace.

Our radios will be much quieter from now on and yet none of us who knew Billy will forget his radio tones. He lived through a changing Ireland. Seeing and campaigning for the marriage equality referendum, which was so close to his heart.

Our thoughts are with Des and his family through this very difficult time.

Yes, we will miss you Billy McCarthy, but you will never be forgotten. Each and every one of your friends, colleagues and listeners will always remember the moment you touched their hearts.

RIP Billy McCarthy – 1954 to 2016. 

Thanks to The Donald – we all became Political Commentators last week!

There were probably more words written on last week’s US Presidential election, since records began. Just when those records began no one knows. But rest assured 8^th November 2016 will go down in the annals of history, when every person with access to social media, was suddenly to become a qualified Political Commentator!

As soon as the election results started trickling through, from around 02:00 on the 9^th November, it became very clear that things were not going Hillary’s way. The Donald started securing more and more Electoral College votes. Was he to be the latest political force to rubbish and poo poo ALL the highly paid, soon to be extinct pollsters – oh yes he was!

When The Donald finally crossed the whitewash, the social media backlash started. All and sundry suddenly became interested in politics. But not Irish politics, the politics of the United States of America. For some unexpected reason this became everyone’s raison d'etre. Well, on the plus side, this did, thankfully, signal the end of “Brexit Bashing”, but not unfortunately, the end of Mr Farage, who now seems to be Donald’s Bestie UK politician.

Social Media, all of a sudden, had people believing that they were Jeremy Paxman, Andrew Neil, The Dimbleby brothers....the list was endless. We even had the conspiracy theorists somehow inextricably linking the 9^th of November with the 11^th of September - just because they share the same day and month digits, in an abbreviated calendar! Now, I am no believer in conspiracy theories at the best of times, but lads, come on, get a life!

In the cold light of day only around 55% of US citizen voted in the election. That meant that there were over one hundred million, that’s 100,000,000, eligible voters, who simply did not bother to go out and vote. That is voter apathy on an enormous scale. You have to wonder just why nobody actually twigged to the fact, that there were so many latent votes to be secured. By somehow relating to this enormous legion, forgotten in all the poles and predictions, either side could have ensured a landslide victory.

Now, the common thread on Social Media, was that The Donald somehow encouraged all manner of lunatic, numpty, fringe voters to carry him to the magical 270 Electoral College votes, required to win. He secured over 60,000,000 votes and surely not all of these voters are the uneducated loonies the media painted? A similar sentiment has been suggested at the “leave” voters in Brexit. But the truth be told, is that so many are just missing the point.

After years and years of obnoxious and elite political rule, the “normal people” on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, were simply sick and tired of politicians NOT listening, to the very people who employ them. Protest voting will become the norm in the next few years across many European countries and if Governments wish to stop this happening again, then they MUST listen to the disenchanted, disillusioned voters. Not listening will increasingly generate these types of election results.

The Donald mobilised and capitalised on so many people, who wished to stick two fingers up to their Government and give them more than just a bloody nose. They wanted to say “HEY, we are here and you are NOT listening to us, so accept the consequences of your continued indifference!”

Perhaps, we in Waterford and across the South East could learn a thing or two from the lack of concern, shown by our national politicians. We need to remember that TDs are elected to work for us and not the other way around. We do appear to be very accepting of poor performance and yet this infertility for Waterford has just been rewarded with a €5,000 pay increase.

I only wish, that those who have turned to politics in the last few weeks, would channel that energy and passion towards our Waterford problems. Just imagine the fear that we could engender by striking at the heart of Government, if we could marshal the voters across the whole South East!

Shhhh – have we all gone too quiet!!

I am quite sure that the powers that be, in their Dublin bastion, know that all political momentum has a lifespan!

Sooner or later the drive, enthusiasm and determination, initiated maybe by an awkward political question, will dissipate and in no time at all we will have moved on to another issue. This is undoubtedly what seems to be happening with our Waterford problems.

We have yet to secure our place, metaphorically speaking, as the awkward elephant in the corner of each and every parliamentary meeting room.

Our sheer revulsion at the shenanigans, currently going on in the Department of Health and the HSE, around the life and death issues in University Hospital Waterford, seem to be falling on too many deaf ears.

On this subject there is absolutely no doubt, that in the halls of power, we have no voice. The issue of a 90 minute drive to a safe operating table, is clearly being lost. All subject matters cardiac, for the South East, are seen purely as Waterford’s problems. There has been no expansion of the issue, to include the wider region.

I can guarantee that there have been very few column inches, if any, in the likes of Tipperary, Wexford, Gorey, Kilkenny... and so on. Dublin know this, from their TDs on the ground and as they feel no pressure, from their own electorate, they are doing very little to come up with the right solution. The whole matter around UHW needs to become THE political hot potato for the South East region. TDs across Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary etc need to fear for their cosy political armchairs in Dublin. They need to be aware that the very people who put them in the Dáil, want cardiac cover that will save their lives, if called upon.

 

There will be many who do not wish to see this issue become politicised. Well it has gone down that route and now, a truly regional voice needs to sing as one. Each and every TD across the region needs to act our behalf.

The stark reality is, that if you suffer a heart attack and have to be transported by an ambulance to Cork or Dublin, you have a 90 minute window or you die!

Maybe this is the message we need to get out to the people of Wexford, Tipperary, Kilkenny...and so on. A few years ago, when there was the very real threat of Rescue 117 being moved from Waterford, people power across the whole South East region secured the service at Waterford Airport. The message was simple – be rescued by the 117 crew, out of Waterford airport, or you drown!

People were galvanised by this messaging. It was stark, brutal, simple and to the point. Everyone understood what was needed and TDs feared for their seats, if the service was not secured for the South East region. People power won this argument as a regional and not a Waterford issue.

Are we seeing the very same weak messaging, regarding the University status for WIT/Carlow, the airport runway extension, the money for the SDZ on the north quay and so on? I would say “YES!” We have not yet stimulated the latent “People Power,” that argument is clearly simmering away underneath the surface.

How we unlock this, is the key to the region getting what every other region has, namely – adequate cardiac cover, a university, real regional investment, IDA driven FDI (not just visits) and real political influence.

We seem to be rather diffident when asking for what is ultimately, the same as every other citizen in Ireland. Do we not all pay the same taxes? Do we not all contribute equally to our societal environment? Well as far as I am aware we do.

We are very poor about shouting in a positive manner here in Waterford. We must be prepared to work as a region to deliver for everyone.

Sometimes in life, you have to be prepared to shout louder than those around you. To do this you need to be equipped to stand on the parapet. 

Just where is OUR money???

We have heard many a local radio news snippet, over recent months and read countless column inches in our local newspapers, about the millions of Euros promised for Waterford’s infrastructural projects. These projects were to be “game changers” that would bring some parity to the complete lack of “regional investment” over countless numbers of years.

Yet, we are now, how many weeks on, from the last General Election and can anyone honestly says we have received a €1 towards these so called “game changers”? So many political representatives indicated that these would bankroll Waterford’s economic future.

The North Quay, where work seems to have literally ground to a halt. Due, I am sure, to engineering concerns around weight loadings on the old, frail and fragile “piles” that are precariously holding up the hundreds of tons of rubble. This whole area has been designated as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), which is good news and I recall that €30 million had been promised and earmarked, by FG, to develop the site and link it directly to the City Centre. That was over 16 months ago!

Has any of this money actually been drawn down, excuse the banking terminology and allocated to Waterford Council to start this much needed regeneration process? I don’t recall hearing or seeing any big media fanfare announcing that the “cash” had been lodged into the Council coffers. Therefore I have to assume that NO money has yet been received for the SDZ to start and ultimately flourish.

This same sad story can be repeated at the Airport. We were promised many Euros to develop that runway, allowing larger jets access to Waterford and the 500,000 people of South East region. But, once again, not one cent of this appears to have come our way. In fact we are now being told that money is available for everything else, but the essential runway extension!

In the meantime, the people of the South East are discovering that Dublin is now much, much closer and easier to reach. The M9 has not a traffic light in sight and with the Newlands Cross flyover, the journey time to Dublin is more than manageable and predictable. The east coast N11/M11 route from Wexford is also to a large extent quicker than days of old and when the New Ross second bridge comes on stream, we will have a choice of two very fast direct routes to Dublin.

I also imagine that the business case for a consistent, less than two hour drive from Dublin to Waterford, is now working against us. Many FDI investors have far longer commute times to work! So the case for a regional airport in the south east diminishes even further. This assumption seems to carry some weight when we review the fact that only circa 6 FDI visits have taken place in Waterford this year! We seem once again to be on the road to becoming a less attractive alternative to many other cities and regions.

There is the ongoing debacle around UHW – no need to regurgitate the shambolic mess that some have created here.

So, these three are examples of promises that have not materialised. Money that had been “earmarked” for Waterford and yet none, nil, nada, zilch, seems to have been paid to us, to start our economic recovery and get our City and region booming once again!

On foot of the non-delivery of these funds, we are hearing far too many of our political representatives scoring points against each other. Rather than working out just where this alternative money might come from, they spin the “if we were in Government line”.

Why do other political regions deliver actual real infrastructure investment? Surely, all politicians have the same access to identical Civil Servants, who might just be able to point them in the right direction, explaining how to loosen the purse strings.

We are systematically being downgraded and this will continue unless we see the promised Euros coming our way to stem the tide.

Sadly, we appear to have too many King Cnuts (more commonly know as Canute).

“Are we there yet?”

“Are we there yet?” are the very words that we all fear, here in Waterford and the South East, when directly related to ambulance transfer times for cardiac patients.

These are the dreaded four words that no wife, husband, father, mother, brother, sister, grandmother or grandfather will every wish to ask, when accompanying a loved one, unfortunate enough to need cardiac care outside the Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm window available in University Hospital Waterford.

If you have not experienced the anxiety of this horrifying journey, and I have not, to Cork or Dublin, in the back of an ambulance, then none of us can understand the stress of knowing that the clock is ticking ever so slowly to and, more than likely, beyond that 90 minute safety window.

The simple fact is that getting to Cork and Dublin, even with the blues and twos, will in truth take longer than 90 minutes. One simple hold up, one unaccounted for set of road works, a sporting weekend, a car crash or simply hitting rush hour traffic, will eat into this safety time zone. No matter what spin is put on this by Minister Harris or other Government Ministers it would be a miracle if that 90 minute window, could ever be achieved in the real the world.

Perhaps, the Minister has never driven to Cork along the N25? It is at best an o.k. road and at worst full of bottlenecks, eating into any journey time. The road does not allow for consistent travel and therefore we cannot rely on time to getting to our sister Cork hospital for coronary care within the golden timeframe.

Going to Dublin now has a much better dependable journey time, up the M9 motorway. That is until you hit the outskirts of Dublin. Once again you are in the hands of the traffic gods and getting into the heart of Dublin can be hit or miss. Even if you are in the back of an ambulance, when every second counts, it is still a time gamble.

24th September 2016

Our Minister is adamant that he is “not for turning”, a modern day Mrs Thatcher perhaps. He has been at pains to let everyone know that the Herity Report, with all its flaws, will be taken as Gospel. The people in this South East region will forever be playing traffic roulette in the back of an ambulance.

I recall meeting Minister Harris, on a number of occasions, in his previous role with reference to his old portfolio, which included responsibility for national Government tendering. Thankfully, he listened to our reasoned and sound arguments to make changes, to allow local businesses to compete with multi-national companies and he did implement change on this basis. So we can take some encouragement from this. He is sometimes willing to listen.

As I have said many times, perhaps we have gone about this in the wrong way! Look at our Teflon neighbour, Mr Lowry, getting ALL that he wanted, in terms of local health care provision for Tipperary. We would not have heard about this, only that we started looking at what other “Government Independents” were getting for helping Enda come back into power. Mr Lowry went about his business quietly, methodically and ultimately delivered “exactly what it said on the tin” of his election manifesto.

Hook & Browne?

Have we been too naive in fighting this battle in the glare of the national media? Quite simply we have given the likes of Messer Hook and Browne the opportunity to use a substantial baseball bat, to bash Waterford once again. They are collectively laughing at us from their Dublin Towers. But rest assured if they were unfortunate enough to have to endure a 90 minute life or death journey in the back of an ambulance then their mindset would change in an instant.

We marched once again in monsoon like conditions, at the weekend, and received breviloquent RTE coverage. Where now for the Waterford and the South East?

What is guaranteed is that it will take more than 90 minutes to fix this dilemma.

Lashings of Ginger Beer!

I was lucky enough to return to the local airwaves last weekend and appear on the panel of WLR’s Maria McCann’s Sunday review show, known as “The Week”. My fellow panel guests were Brain Swift and Tadgh Williams. I also brought, to share, some salted caramel cookies, which appear to have been a favourite of Maria’s – future guests please take note!

Some say I have the perfect face for radio! What I do know, is that not only do I appear to sound like Shrek on the radio, with my retreating hairline I am beginning to look, well facially at least, like the big green ogre as well!

The review of news from the week that was, was lively, direct, straight talking, humorous (I hope) and expertly directed, as usual, by our host Maria. During the review we discussed many topics and subjects. Naturally we also talked politics.

A challenge was laid down to our four sitting TDs and our newest Senator – our very own “Famous Five!”

The Famous Five were of course a series of children’s adventure books, written by Enid Blyton. The Five in question being Julian, Anne, Dick, George and of course George’s dog, known as Timmy.

These Five would get together in the County of Dorset. Every summer holiday recess, upon returning from their various boarding schools dotted around the country. Embarking on many an unlikely adventure in the twenty plus books penned by the author. No matter what difficult challenges lay ahead, these Five would inevitably succeed and do what was necessary to “get the job or task done!” There was no second guessing, they just rolled up their sleeves and literally got stuck in. With a vim and vigour that would put most adults to shame.

Their adventures would later make our silver screens in the mid eighties as a Channel Four spoof series, from “The Comic Strip Presents”. Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Peter Richardson would play the lead roles. This tongue in cheek homage to the original stories would parody Blyton’s books and in a cruel twist of modernisation they added racism to the children’s characters, sexisms and even managing to incorporate some extremely right-wing political views!

With our continued regional position at the top of the third tier of Ireland’s economic recovery, supported by the recent quarterly figures, showing a rather alarming 12.5% unemployment rate across the South East region. Radical thinking is needed in order to drag Waterford, kicking and screaming, and the wider south east region out of the malaise that we find ourselves in.

It was with this background, that the panel on Sunday’s radio show came up with the novel idea that perhaps, just perhaps, we could ask “Our Famous Five” to come together and champion the three, four or five key economic issues/drivers for Waterford, and the wider region?

To do this they would have to ditch the dinosaur party politics that have failed us and come to the table, to work together, for the betterment of the City, County and ultimately the wider geographical region. A region that has once again been left short of a full Ministerial Portfolio, from the cabinet shuffle and therefore we will still be feeding off the occasional crumb thrown to us from the top table!

This type of giant step political thought needs bravehearts and committed political resolve to barter a better deal for the very electorate that put an “X” on the ballot paper way back in late February.

Richardson, Saunders, Edmondson & French.

I would happily facilitate and take the chair at this meeting. In my capacity as Chair of the Waterford Business Group, with no political affiliations or, being apolitical in this instance. When we see other regional TDs banding together and racing ahead of Waterford and the south east, we need “Our Famous Five” to step up to the plate and I am happy to help get this ball rolling!

“A clown needn't be the same out of the ring as he has to be when he's in it.” Enid Blyton.

Is the excitement building?

The Waterford media was awash last week with various General Election candidates finally launching their campaigns, media profiles in our excellent local newspapers and of course the promise of some robust debating in a series of US styled pre-election public, or invitation only, debates.

Of course we will never really know what we are getting with the new untested candidates and all we can hope for is that their rhetoric will deliver in the Ronseal way – “It does exactly what it says on the tin.”

But I am not sure if these new candidates will ever get the chance to deliver on their promises as they will have an enormous, almost gargantuan, task of uprooting the existing established sitting TD’s.

It would appear that with the exception of maybe one TD change the people of Waterford may well have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. After all we are seeing, albeit exceedingly small, green shoots of recovery across the South East and this in turn can only benefit Waterford. 

When push comes to shove and you have a pencil in your hand, with the ballot paper in front of you, are you really going to vote for a political sea change that could in all likelihood make the hard earned Euro in your pocket worth less with the reckless tick of a ballot paper box?

Off and running.

I would hazard a guess that people will vote for some form of stability and a better the devil you know attitude. It may well materialise that we do not see wholesale changes in the political map and we will end up with many of the same faces returning to Dublin. Real political change takes an awful lot longer than the full term of a Government and new political parties take even longer to establish and gain suitable foundations to build an organisation that can challenge the norm.

Our “Frontier Ministers” have been recently waxing lyrically about Waterford’s strength as part of a growing SE economy and being at the very heart of a multi-campus “Technological University”, which now appears to be back on the radar just in time for GE16. I have no doubt that we will continue to hear about how working together is a sound economic plan for Waterford and the SE but in reality we are still very much a fractured region with very little in the way of a one direction plan.

Yes, working collectively as region is the only way forward but the half hearted efforts to date have seen the erosion of our hospital services, a nibbling away at our third level institution, boundary arguments that could have filled the plot of a wild west cowboy movie and the general lack of urgency on a gateway status have all hindered the delivery of a meaningful recovery across the SE.

In last week’s column I stated some statistics around the Gross Added Value (GAV) of jobs in the SE and the GAV figure is extraordinarily low and this must surely be of concern to all the registered voters in Waterford and across the whole of the SE.

If we cannot attract significant high end investment to Waterford at this moment in time when, as we are continually being told, we are an exceptional region for investment, then what will happen if we allow the continued erosion of our third level education establishment, the continued reduction in our hospital services and the public bickering on boundary issues.

We could and will continue to be a PR nightmare if these types of issues are not fixed with a cohesive and sustainable plan.

So, should we be excited about the upcoming GE16? Yes we should and we must do our bit to ask the hard questions and engage with the Politics, because that is just what we are not expected to do.

I guarantee that a few tough questions on the doorstep will either make or break any canvasser and it will probably be a surprise that you asked in the first place. Try it!