The guidelines were been drawn up at the request of the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan TD and his colleagues Minister Dara Calleary TD and Minister Martin Mansergh TD.

“New guidelines have now been issued by the Department of Finance to ensure that SMEs are not unfairly hindered in competing for public contracts,” explained Minister Calleary.

“Until now, small firms have found it tough to complete in the public procurement process and this has been an issue that I have been actively working on with my colleagues the Minister Brian Lenihan TD and Minister Martin Mansergh TD.”

“Under the new guidelines issued this week, all advertised contracts up to €250,000 for works and €125,000 for supplies and general services must now be open to all potential tenderers without a prequalification process.

“This will make it a lot easier for local, small firms to tender for works such as the summer works scheme, which provides a lot of work around the county.

“The threshold for advertising supplies and general services on the Government’s public procurement website www.etenders.gov.ie has also been halved from €50,000 to €25,000.”

“The guidelines have been changed prohibiting public bodies from making those who wish to enter public competitions pay to do so. The new rules will also get rid of more red tape for SME’s as a tenderer will only have to submit the necessary documentation when they are close to being awarded a contract.

“This will reduce the amount of paperwork involved in submitting tenders, considerably easing the administrative burden on businesses bidding for public contracts.

“These new rules make it easier and less costly to tender for public contracts. They reduce the burden on SMEs whilst at the same time they still ensure the best value for money for the taxpayer. I am hopeful that this will level the playing field for Mayo companies and open up more doors for them to win Government contracts.

“I accept that there are still some anomalies with some larger contracts but I am working with my colleagues to ensure that these are dealt with as soon as possible,” concluded Minister Dara Calleary TD.

News of the funding was confirmed by local Fianna Fáil T.D. and Minister of State Dara Calleary.

“I am very pleased now that the Minister has responded favourably to my representations of behalf of the school management”, he said.

“Funding has now been confirmed for a new Technical Graphics Room. The Building Unit of the Department will be contact with the school authorities shortly in relation to the exact amount of funding approved,” concluded Minister Calleary.

Minister Calleary welcomed the allocation, saying that it will be used by the local authority to help it with expenditure on sewerage treatment plans and sampling and licensing costs associated with water services.

“The allocation of this additional funding to Mayo County Council is very welcome. It will help the Council in its work and contribute towards the Government’s aim of achieving the highest standards in water and wastewater treatment for the people of Mayo,” he said.

The funding was allocated to the airport by the Department of Transport after it submitted a funding application earlier this year.

Minister Calleary welcomed the allocation of the funding and congratulated Ireland West Airport Knock on its continued success.

“Ireland West Airport Knock has continued to thrive despite the very difficult conditions in the last year and their efforts really are to be commended.

“The amount received under the subvention scheme this year is less than some other regional airports, but that is a reflection of the success of the airport. This funding is allocated by the Government to assist regional airports with losses, and because Ireland West Airport Knock is achieving such commercial success on its own, it is not in need of as much assistance under this particular scheme.

“The fact that they expect their passenger numbers this year to be close to the 2009 levels despite the serious ash disruptions earlier his year is testament to the success of the operation.

“I was very happy to welcome the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keeffe TD to the airport a few weeks ago to launch a report into the feasibility for establishing an enterprise park in the area of the airport. This project has great potential for creating jobs in Mayo and I am working with the Minister and the airport authorities to ensure that every opportunity is explored to make this enterprise park a reality,” concluded Minister Dara Calleary TD.

 The funding was secured by local Minister of State Dara Calleary T.D. who made the announcement this week.

“The Water Services Section of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government have informed me that €1.2 million is being made available immediately to Mayo County Council towards the rehabilitation of the Wherrew Rising Main with works to initially focus on the Ballina WSS / RWSS.

This is the area between Ballina and Crossmolina where up to 20 water leakages and disruptions have been detected in recent months,” said Minister Calleary.

“Rehabilitation of the Wherrew Rising Main will be conducted by direct local authority labour and will commence immediately which is extremely positive news for the area.

I wish to pay tribute to Director of Services Paddy Mahon and Brian O’Reilly of the Water Services Section of Mayo County Council for their contribution to securing this funding,” added Minister Calleary.

“I am very pleased to announce that the Major School Building Project at Our Lady’s Secondary School has been approved to proceed to apply for Planning Permission, Fire Certificate and Disability Access Certificate,” said Minister Calleary.

“I have been vigorously pursuing this project since being elected in 2007 and only last May accompanied the Minister for Education and Skills Mary Coughlan T.D. on a tour of the school premises. I am delighted that my ongoing representation on behalf of the management, staff and students of the school has now been rewarded.”

“The Major School Building Project at Our Lady’s will consist of a 2,659 metre squared extension to include the provision of general classrooms, science laboratory, home economics laboratory, language laboratory, and assembly hall.

It will also involve the refurbishment of a section of the existing school structure,” he explained.

“Contingency Funding and Summer Works Funding has already been secured for Our Lady’s this year, but this is the most significant investment in the school. I will now continue to pursue the project to construction phase without delay,” concluded Minister Calleary.

The announcement was made by Tesco this morning. Seven new stores are to be opened across the country, creating 688 new jobs.

Minister Calleary said the 90 jobs would come as good news in the town.

“This is a significant jobs announcement for the greater Swinford area and I know that it will come as good news to many people.”

“Work has already started on the new Tesco store on the Old Swinford Mart site and it’s expected that it will open at the start of next year.

“I know that the opening of a store like Tesco can cause challenges to local, traditional businesses but I’m a firm believer that a rising tide lifts all boats. I am very hopeful that other retailers in Swinford will rise to the challenge and that this development will give the whole town a very welcome boost,” he said.

“Mayo has a growing reputation for the production of high quality food. The sector provides a significant amount of jobs in the county and the firms involved are now being invited to apply for Innovation Vouchers, valued up to €5,000, which can in turn be used to effectively buy expertise from colleges across the country.”

“The vouchers can be used by the companies to use researchers to help develop new products, to improve existing production or other processes. It will help companies to overcome some of the business and technology challenges theyare currently facing.”

“It is important that the voucher scheme is wide ranging so that as many local companies as possible can avail of it. The scheme does include beverages, bakery, animal food producers, horticulture, poultry, as well as seafood, dairy and other foods.”

“The vouchers are being made available over the next six weeks. Mayo firms can apply for their vouchers at www.innovationvouchers.ie or by contacting Pat O’Brien at Enterprise Ireland on 01 7272766.

“I would urge all local food firms to take time out and examine if they are eligible for support, and if they are eligible, to apply at an early date”, concluded Minister Dara Calleary TD.

News of the funding was confirmed by local Fianna Fáil T.D. and Minister of State Dara Calleary.

“A number of weeks ago I accompanied An Tánáiste and Minister for Education and Skills Mary Coughlan on a visit to St. Mary’s so that she could see for herself the great need for additional accommodation on the site.

I am very pleased now that the Minister has responded favourably to my representations of behalf of the school management”, he said.

“Funding has now been confirmed for three 49 m2 Mainstream Classrooms, one 16 m2 Resource Room and one 20 m2 Toilet Suite. The Building Unit of the Department will be contact with the school authorities shortly in relation to the exact amount of funding approved,” concluded Minister Calleary.

The Fianna Fáil T.D. for Mayo said, “ I am delighted that the Minister for Education and Skills Mary Coughlan T.D. has responded quickly and favourably to my representations on behalf of the school management.

Work can now proceed on the provision of a ramp at the school to provide Disabled Access.”

The funding has been made available from the Department’s Contingency Fund 2010.