Dundalk “booming” again due to euro’s fall in value against sterling

Paddy Malone insists Dundalk is “booming” again for the first time in years

Local businesses have been reporting a mini-boom in recent weeks due to the decline in the value of the euro.

Tens of thousands of shoppers have been pouring south of the border from the North to avail of the current strength of sterling compared to the euro.

Dundalk has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the fact that a pound is now roughly equal to €1.32 with some currency experts predicting the euro could fall further in the coming months.

Dundalk Chamber of Commerce PRO Paddy Malone told The Irish Independent today that the town was “booming” again for the first time in years.

“A couple of years ago finding a northern-registered car in a car park in Dundalk was like finding hen’s teeth,” he said.

“Now it’s a completely different story.

“Added to that, shoppers aren’t going north any more, they’re staying at home,” he said.

The rise of sterling is good news for cross-border workers who work in the North but live south of the border, giving them an equivalent 15% pay rise over the past two years.

However, it is bad news for workers going the other way with an effective pay cut for people paid in euro and living in the North.

Dundalk reveal season ticket prices for 2014 season

Dundalk FC last night released their season ticket prices for next season.

Purchasing a season ticket will offer savings for supporters, working out as the equivalent of seeing at least six, and possibly seven, home games for free.

Prices are as follows:

ALLOCATED STAND
Adult	€250      (Saving of at least €110)
OAP/Full-Time Third Level Student	€200      (Saving of at least €96)
GENERAL STAND ADMISSION
Adult	€200      (Saving of at least €120)
OAP/Full-Time Third Level Student	€160      (Saving of at least €80)
GROUND ADMISSION
Adult	€160      (Saving of at least €80)
OAP/Full-Time Third Level Student	€150
SECNDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (Age 13-17)
Ground	€75         (Saving of at least €85)
Stand	€125      (Saving of at least €115)
PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (12 and Under)
Ground	Free to members of the Junior Supporters Club
Stand	€50

The tickets will be on sale from next Tuesday from Oriel Park or the club’s stall in the Marshes Shopping Centre. An installment plan is also available where you can pay off the cost of your season ticket before the start of the season.

Meanwhile, the club has also announced an increase in the cost of general admission to Oriel Park for next season. The new pricing structure is as follows:

General Stand Admission
Adult	€20
Concession (OAP/Full Time 3rd Level/Second Level)	€15
Ground Admission
Adult	€15
Concession (OAP/Full Time 3rd Level/Second Level)	€10
Juvenile (Primary School 12 or Under without Free Season Ticket)	€5

Related articles

• Dundalk FC offering free season tickets for primary school children (talkofthetown.ie)

Day for Down Syndrome coming to The Spirit Store

Down Syndrome Ireland will be hosting an event called ‘A Day for Down Syndrome’ in the Spirit Store on Sunday November 3^rd.

This fundraising event is a family fun day with face painting, balloon modelling, children’s films and much more from 2.30pm that day.

That night there will be an ‘Artists for Down Syndrome” event from 8pm with local musicians such as Finnian Kelleher, Stewart Agnew, James Humston and Keenan Copas performing.

Admission to the family fun day is €5 per child or €10 for a family, with tickets for the music that night €10.

Tickets are available from The Spirit Store, www.spiritstore.ie or from McAteer’s Food House in Clanbrassil Street.

Dundalk councillors could be set for compensation of up to €16,000 if they fail to get re-elected

Long-serving members of Dundalk Town Council could be set for parachute payments of up to €16,000 when the council is abolished next year.

The Local Government Bill to scrap all 80 town councils nationwide and reduce the number of councillors from 1,627 to 949 was published yesterday by Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan.

Those who lose their seats will be compensated but it is still hoped that €45 million can be saved by reducing the number of local authorities from 114 to 31.

Under the new proposals there will also be a public register of payments, expenses and allowances paid to councillors for attending conferences and other events.

A system of municipal districts throughout each county will replace the 80 town councils. However, members who do not get re-elected will be entitled to payouts for losing their positions. The same rules will apply to those currently serving on the likes of Ardee Town Council and Drogheda Borough Council.

Amounts are expected to average almost €4,000 for town councillors, according to the Department of the Environment, but exact compensation payments will depend on the number of years served and the position. The limit is €16,000 for 20 years’ service.

Dundalk IT conclude purchase of JJB complex

An artist’s impression of how the new facility will look

After months of negotiations, Dundalk IT have been given the green light to proceed with the purchase of the former JJB Soccerdome and Ice Dome at Dundalk Retail Park.

The purchase has been in the pipeline for some time, with students even voting on the matter as far back as last December. They will now face an additional levy of €125 a year as a result of the purchase.

The finance committee of the college met yesterday to conclude the deal.

It is understood that the centre will be privately operated and a public tender will be issued in the coming weeks to find a management team to run the facility.

The JJB complex, features up to a dozen indoor football pitches, a fully equipped commerical gym including a swimming pool, an ice rink, a bar, a coffee shop in addition to the first floor retail area.

Some of the pitches will be converted into badminton and basketball courts, while the gym would be available to the entire student population, in addition to members of the public on a fee paying basis.

A shuttle bus will operate between the college and the new facility every 15 minutes and the current gym in DKIT will then be turned into an elite gym for all elite athletes including more lifting platforms for Olympic lifting.

In addition to the existing services on offer, it is hoped to further develop the building for other sports and societies, for example, an indoor 100m track for athletics will be proposed.

The centre may also be used for conferring, concerts and conferences and there is the potential for the ice dome to re-open although this would be further down the line if it were to happen.

Around 30 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the purchase.

Tom to visit Dundalk on Tuesday as part of 300km charity run

Ultra-runner Tom McGrath

Ultra-runner Tom McGrath will be coming through Dundalk on Tuesday as part of a 300km charity run for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin.

Tom’s run will be started by Senator Eamon Coghlan at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin on Monday morning, and from there he will run to Navan and then on to Dundalk before he moves on to Carrickmacross and various other towns around the country.

Tom is expected to be arriving in Market Square around 5.30pm and he will be carrying the Olympic Torch from last year’s Olympic Games in London.

To help Tom raise additional funds later that evening a bring a bag/buy a bag charity event will be held in McGeough’s Bar in Roden Place.

Ladies are asked to donate their favourite handbags to be sold on for sums ranging from €5 to €25.

Anyone who cannot attend can also leave their bags in to the Tourist Office at the Market Square before Tuesday.

McGrath, originally from Fermanagh, but a US resident since the early 70s, made it into the Guinness Book of Records in August 1977 when he ran 3,046 miles unsupported across the continent, from New York to San Francisco, in 53 days and seven minutes.

He averaged a phenomenal 57 miles a day – five miles more than two marathons – and held the trans-continental record for three years.

In 1983 he came home to Ireland and ran 630 miles around the island in a week, while for three consecutive years in the early 90s, ran a 1,000-mile solo run each year for paediatric cancer charities in the US, each run taking an average of 15 days.

Asked why he was taking on this challenge, Tom replied: “When I finish these daily runs my body is weak, my muscles are sore, and I am really tired but I know after some rest I can do this again tomorrow. Some of these sick children will never be able to walk again, never mind run, so that’s what drives me to take on this challenge to make a difference for sick children.”

“For over a year now the hospital have been putting a huge effort into raising funds. They are nearly there with a total of €6m raised but they still need to raise a further €2m, and I wanted to play my part in that,” he concluded.

Almost a third of people in Louth have yet to pay the household charge

As the deadline for the payment of the new Local Property Tax looms on Tuesday May 28^th, new figures from the Department of the Environment have shown that almost a third of people in Co Louth have still to pay last year’s household charge.

Just 68.64% of those liable for the €100 charge have paid up to date. That is the second worst compliance rate in the country after Donegal at 65.8% and well below the national average of 76%.

An estimated 1.23 million homes have either paid or registered for the charge to date but that means €38.7m is still outstanding in payments.

Outstanding household charge liabilities will be increased to €200 from July 1^st and will become a local property tax liability collectable by the Revenue Commissioners.