News

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Monaghan County Council

Emergency Cover arrangements for the Christmas period

The Offices of Monaghan County Council including the offices of the Municipal District of Carrickmacross-Castleblayney, Municipal District of Ballybay-Clones, Municipal District of Monaghan will be closed on Thursday, 23 December 2021 at 4.00 pm and will re-open on Tuesday, 04 January 2022 at 9:15 am.

The Motor Taxation Office at Market Street, Monaghan will close to the public on Thursday, 23 December 2021 at 1.00 pm and will re-open to the public on Tuesday, 04 January 2022.

In emergency cases only, the following number may be contacted:

1800 121 121

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Community Activities Fund 2022

Funding of €265,142 has been awarded for County Monaghan for the Community Activities Fund under the Community Enhancement Programme.  The fund will be administered by Monaghan Local Community Development Committee (LCDC).  The Community Activities Fund (CAF) is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development.  the scheme was launched at national level by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien TD.

The Community Activities Fund will support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with their non-pay running/operating costs, as well as funding to carry out necessary repairs and improvements to their facilities and purchase equipment. The scheme does not provide funding for the pay or employment of staff.

• Any not-for-profit community or voluntary group can apply to this Fund

• Commercial organisations, individuals and for-profit organisations are not eligible for assistance

Notes:

Requests for assistance usually exceed the funds available. The Programme is likely to be oversubscribed.  Therefore, all applications fulfilling the conditions may not be successful or may be granted a lesser amount than applied for.

Applications will be evaluated by the LCDC to ensure eligibility and consistency with the Local Economic and Community Plan 2016-2021 (LECP) which can be viewed at the following link https://monaghan.ie/communitydevelopment/local-economic-and-community-plan-lecp/

Applications must be made online

Guidelines are available at monaghan.ie/communitydevelopment/category/grantsfunding-schemes/

This is also the location of the online portal, where the application must be submitted

This is an online application process only and hard copy application forms will not be accepted.

Closing date for receipt of completed online applications is 5.00 p.m. Monday 31^st January 2022  

At this time, the online portal will close and it will not be possible to submit further applications

For any queries please email: communitygrants@monaghancoco.ie 

The Minister for Transport and the Minister for Infrastructure NI have jointly launched a consultation, inviting interested parties to provide submissions on the future of rail on the island of Ireland as part of an All-Island Strategic Rail Review. The Review will consider how the rail network on the island of Ireland can improve to promote sustainable connectivity into, and between, the major cities,  as well as enhancing regional accessibility and supporting balanced regional development. Details of the review and the broader policy context of the project are available via https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/61e8b-all-island-strategic-rail-review/

Interested stakeholders and the wider public are encouraged to get involved and make their submissions by completing a short form on www.strategicrailreview.com before the 21^st January 2022.

It is easy to fall asleep while your cigarette is still burning. Never smoke in bed. Use proper non-combustible ashtrays. Fully extinguish cigarettes and allow to cool before disposal. Add water to used ashtrays for that extra fire safety

Monaghan County Council has just completed its implementation of the Wifi4EU network across County Monaghan. This project delivers internal and external wifi in 36 public buildings, recreational spaces and community centres throughout the county. The project will allow members of the public to access public wifi throughout these locations. It is hoped that the installation of high speed broadband in these facilities will also allow community groups to facilitate online meetings and to run computer courses within their community centres.

The project -which had a capital cost of €120,000- was financed jointly by Dept. Rural & Community Development and by Wifi4EU. In all 36 sites throughout the county have been connected with high speed broadband. This has facilitated the installation of 56 wifi access points in total. These sites were chosen following an application process from community groups and other interested parties. Monaghan County Council will finance the running & maintenance costs for the network for the next three years as part of the Wifi4EU programme.

The complete Wifi network was installed by Network & Infrastructure Support Ltd. Based in County Offaly, N.I.S. has been in business for over 20 years and specialises in the delivery of IT and networking  services to schools, businesses and the public sector. N.I.S. have been Cisco Meraki partners and Microsoft gold partners for some years and have established an excellent reputation for the completion of networking and wifi projects throughout the Midlands and the North East.

The Wifi network features state of the art Cisco Meraki Wifi 6 equipment which allows faster browsing and streaming services. Meraki networks also feature a number of advanced security features including web content filtering to protect users from unwelcome content. This can all be managed through a single dashboard. The delivery of broadband services to these sites was completed by multiple Telecoms operators including Vodafone, Eir and Imagine broadband. The use of different operators meant that the fastest available solution was installed in each of the sites.

Cathaoirleach Aidan Campbell commented: “At a time when fundraising capacity is limited, this project has enabled communities throughout the county to gain access to high speed broadband and to safe, secure wifi in locations throughout the county. It will empower citizens of all ages to access broadband services, to participate in digital training, complete farm applications and to engage in remote working in locations which can support video calling and video conferencing.”

This project was delivered by Broadband Officer, John McArdle, on behalf of Monaghan County Council.

Pictured are Aidan Campbell, Cathaoirleach Monaghan County Council; Gerry Buckley, CE of N.I.S., Wifi installation company; John McArdle, Broadband Officer, Monaghan County Council.

Wifi4EU Locations

Ardaghey Community Centre

Ballybay Church Hall

Ballybay Library

Ballybay Playpark Wifi

Carrickasedge Community Centre

Carrickmacross Workhouse

Carrickroe Community Centre

Cassandra Hand Centre

Castleblayney Gate Lodge Meeting rooms

Clones Canal Stores

Clontibret Community Centre

Cloughvalley Playpark Public Wifi

Doohamlet Community Centre

Drum Protestant Hall

Emyvale Community Centre

Glaslough  Oakland Centre

Glaslough Village

Greenan’s Cross Centre

Inniskeen Community Centre

Íontas Theatre & Gallery, Castleblayney

Lisdoonan Hall

Lough Egish Community Centre

Market House, Monaghan

Newbliss Acorn Centre

Newbliss Union Hall

Oram Community Hall

Patrick Kavanagh Centre

Peacelink Clones

Scotshouse Community Centre

Scotstown Community Centre

Sean McDermotts GAA Complex

Sliabh Beagh Hotel, Knockatallon

Smithboro Community Centre

St Michael’s Hall, Donaghmoyne

Tydavnet Community Centre

Tyholland Community Centre

In the event of emergency or urgent maintenance repairs arising over the Christmas period when the offices are closed (24^th December 2021 to 4^th January 2022) you may contact the Emergency/Out of Hours numbers detailed below to report the damage.

The contact details are as follows:-

Service	Telephone Number
Monaghan County Council	1800 121 121
Irish Water	1890 278 278
Fire Service Telephone Number	999/112

 

Normal services will resume on Tuesday 4^th January 2021.

Tenants can contact Housing Section on 047 30515 from Mon-Fri between 9:15am to 17:15pm to report any maintenance issue as normal.

Make sure your chimney or stove flue is professionally cleaned twice a year. If installing a solid fuel appliance use an approved registered installer. Always place a spark guard in front of open fires when unattended.

Batteries present a fire risk when over-charged, short-circuited, submerged in water or if damaged. Never place waste batteries in your household bins. Waste batteries can be disposed of at your local civic amenity site free of charge.

Switch off all lights & decorations last thing at night. Even lights & decorations need a break. Never overload plugs or extension leads as this causes overheating and possibly a fire. Buy and use electrical products that are CE marked.

Are your old Christmas Lights still safe? Poorly stored, old electrical decorations can cause unnecessary hazards at this time of year. LED lights operating at extra low voltage with minimal heat output is recommended.