Declan McAleer
A Private Members Bill proposing the reinstatement of support payments for Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) in Northern Ireland has received more than 1,000 responses.
Sinn Féin MLA Declan McAleer, who drafted the ANC Bill, has said the level of response was “clear evidence” of the need to restore the support payment for hill farmers and those who farm on severely disadvantaged land.
McAleer said: “The public consultation ended last week and at the close of play there were 965 people who took part. I have continued to receive responses since then and the total has now surpassed 1,000 which is very significant, especially during the Covid-19 restrictions.
Fifteen new jobs are to be created in Fermanagh following the announcement that three companies are investing over £1million in the local area. Three early stage Fermanagh SME’s - Avrio Environmental Management Ltd, PTG HK Ltd and Gmooth Construction Ltd - are creating the new jobs in the local area. Meeting with the companies via Zoom to hear more about the investments, Invest Northern Ireland CEO, Kevin Holland said: “It was a pleasure to meet with Avrio, PTG HK Ltd and Gmooth Construction today. We actively support SME’s as a strong core of our economy with 90 per cent of Invest NI offers made to SME businesses. It was wonderful to hear how Invest NI’s Western regional team is helping these early stage businesses to thrive. Mentorship is a crucial part of an entrepreneur’s growth and development and our Western Regional team has been successful in building strategic partnerships with these companies. The three companies are making innovation-focused investm
Dundalk artist Adrienne Finnerty has work on show in The Drawing Box, a touring exhibition curated by Diane Henshaw, the arts officer for Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, which is now on view virtually from the Galway Arts Centre.
Adrienne, who is now based in Barna, Co Galway, was instrumental in getting the exhibition to the City of the Tribes, after it opened in December in Fermanagh and before it travels to global venues.
The Drawing Box Facebook group was created in 2012 by John Crabtree, Andrew Crane, Patil Rajendra, and Diane Henshaw, with the idea of linking Irish and International artists who had an interest in contemporary drawing and global networking.