An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been criticised for the dropping of transport projects in the West and North West while he was Transport Minister.

New documents reveal that an intervention by Leo Varadkar resulted in the dropping of the application to the EU for the funding of projects including the Western Rail Corridor.

Matt Carthy MEP said that this was further evidence that Fine Gael has no vision for rural Ireland.

He called for a full review of all Government applications for EU funding considering the obvious prejudice towards rural regions displayed by the Department of Transport and successive government Ministers.

Matt Carthy said: “The reports regarding Leo Varadkar’s intervention on the western rail corridor and other projects along the western arc simply proves that there is a coordinated approach within the Department of Transport to impoverish this region of funding.

“Any person looking at a TEN-T map of Ireland will clearly see the prejudice.

“Community groups have been lobbying for decades for the re-opening of the western rail corridor which is lying in disrepair from Galway to Sligo.  Not only would this transport link provide vital services for rural dwellers to commute or access services in bigger towns, but it would also contribute to bringing tourism to the region and encourage job creation in a number of sectors”.

The Mayor of Galway City, Cllr. Pearce Flannery has reminded people in the city that the closing date for this year’s Mayor’s Awards is 10^th April 2018.

The Mayor is urging people to get nominating and to celebrate the fantastic work of volunteers across the spectrum of community life in the city.

This is the 15^th year that the Awards have been celebrated and Cllr. Flannery called on  Galway people to make it the best ever.

Nominations are invited to acknowledge the contribution made in Galway City by either individual volunteers or organisations.

The closing date for nominations is 10^th April 2018 and nomination forms are available from City Hall, the libraries in the city and to download from www.galwaycity.ie

The eight individual Mayor’s Awards are:

• Arts, Culture, Heritage & Cúrsaí Gaeilge Award
• Residents & Local Areas Award
• Community Service & Social Inclusion Award
• Older Volunteer of the Year Award
• Environmental Sustainability Award

• Sports Volunteer of the Year Award
• Children and Youth Support Award
• Young Volunteer of the Year

In addition Mayor Flannery will present the Galway City Council Volunteer of the Year Award to one deserving recipient.

Each of the Award winners will receive a unique, commissioned Galway Crystal trophy and a payment of €500. All nominees will receive a specially designed certificate at the Awards ceremony to be held in May in the Galmont Hotel.

The Fourth Undergraduate Research Conference was held recently at NUI Galway, which focused on a range of research topics including technology, transportation, environment, disability, law, advances in medicine and tourism.

The 2018 Undergraduate Research Conference aimed to engage students and staff in a collaborative multidisciplinary research environment, promoting vital research skills in presentation and communication.

Conference organiser, Lorraine Tansey, Institute for Lifecourse and Society, said: “The multi-disciplinary space is an important opportunity for our students who learn their specific course content in silos. At the conference students are getting a feel for what life will be like as alumni, working, volunteering and being in a world where we need work together from across the subject boundaries to tackle real life problems.”

Students from across all disciplines participated and spoke and shared with students. Keynote speaker, Áine Gallagher from ‘Bright Club’ shared how comedy and research can combine to engage non-specialists with a variety of topic areas.

Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice-President for Research at NUI Galway supports undergraduate engagement: “Undergraduate research is the pedagogy for the 21st century – all students should learn through inquiry and research. The ecology of a university depends on a deep and abiding understanding that inquiry, investigation and discovery are at the heart of the university. Research plays a very big role in identifying opportunities and solving problems that our society and planet faces.”

Professor Joshi, added: “As a research-led university, undergraduate students are a vital part of the research community and we are delighted to nurture their enthusiasm for research through a variety of student programmes. Students are gaining valuable research skills like communication, presentation, and teamwork as they share in small groups and hear from keynote speakers.”

“It was just torture,” said Arnette Lyons, describing her experience traveling to the UK for a termination to a large crowd at the launch of Galway’s Together for Yes campaign.

Lyons – from pro-choice group Terminations For Medical Reasons – was one of four guest speakers at the event, which took place yesterday evening at the Harbour Hotel.

NUI Galway law professor Eoin Daly gave a legal perspective on the “historic mistake” that was the Eighth Amendment to Ireland’s Constitution.

Dr. Michael Creed also spoke about the medical side to abortion, outlining the many ways that the eighth amendment prevents medical professionals from keeping their oath to do no harm. Dr. Creed is a member of Doctors for Choice.

Lyons found out at the twelve-week scan of her third pregnancy six years ago that the baby – already named Skye – had a fatal condition.

“She had so much wrong with her on the scan that the obstetrician there and then told us that she wasn’t going to live. Automatically I suppose I thought that something was going to be done there and then…only to be told that there was absolutely nothing that could be done for me, or my husband, or my family. I was so shocked. I had never realised that the Eighth Amendment had such an effect, even when your baby was going to inevitably die.

“I suppose when you’ve been given the news that your baby’s going to die, it’s the worst possible news ever. And then on top of it to be told your only option is to carry your baby possibly to full term, or to travel to the UK for a termination – I was just so shocked.

“And at a time when I suppose we should have been grieving for little Skye, it was all logistics. It was all about how to get to England, where to go, what to do. No information from anybody. I actually thought that I was the only one that this ever happened to.

I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was just like torture.”

The Together for Yes campaign seeks a Yes vote in the referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment which is due to be held at the end of May.

Among the many attendees filling the room were Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton, who commented:

“There’s a fantastic turnout here, and really good speakers from the medical point of view, from the legal side, and then from the personal experiences of women. So I think it’s very well run, and I think if we had more of this engagement right throughout the country, and get the facts out there, again from the medical and the legal perspective as well as womens’ personal experiences. I think it’s a very good approach to this campaign.”

Finally, national Together for Yes campaign’s Orla O’Connor spoke about the goals of the campaign and the importance of the referendum, which is due to be held in late May.

“I think it was a really brilliant launch,” she said. “It was fantastic to see so many people here for the launch of Galway Together for Yes and you can really feel the energy in the room.

“I think it was very inspiring and particularly as well  hearing Arnette Lyons talking about the experience of having to travel, because that is so much of what the campaign is about, it’s about the stories and experiences of women so that we tell people what the reality of abortion is actually like and of having to travel and facing that stress and trauma.”

Michelle Gavin, a longtime Galway resident but originally from Westport, was in attendance.

“It was good to get a variety of insights. Legal insight, medical insight, campaign insight and then the actual lived experience insight. One of the my favourite elements of the campaign has been the In Her Shoes – which is the stories of women who’ve had a choice, they’ve not always chosen abortion but had the choice whether to do it or not,” Michelle said.

Galway East TD Sean Canney has urged householders struggling to pay fuel bills to avail of improvements to the Warmer Homes Scheme.

The scheme, which aims to help all those living in fuel poverty, is being extended to cover major energy efficiency upgrades, including external wall insulation, renewable heating systems and replacement windows.

The initial scheme offered grants for home improvements such as attic insulation, draught proofing, low energy light bulbs, cavity wall insulation and lagging jackets.

“This is an opportunity for everyone who needs help making their homes more energy efficient to get financial support,” said Sean Canney TD.

“I would urge anyone who feels they may be qualified to apply.”

People are deemed to be in fuel poverty if they spend more than 10% of their household income on energy bills.