O’Dowd loses junior minister position

Fergus O’Dowd

Louth TD Fergus O’Dowd has this afternoon lost his position as a junior minister following a reshuffle by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The Drogheda man had held the position of Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources and Environment, Community & Local Govt, with responsibility for the NewEra Project. However, that role has now been made largely defunct with Paudie Coffey taking up the post at the Department of the Environment and Joe McHugh in Communications

Both will have slightly differing responsibilities to that of their Fine Gael colleague though.

As revealed last week, fellow Louth TD Ged Nash of the Labour Party was confirmed in the super-junior role which sits at Cabinet and takes charge of issues relating to small business and collective bargaining.

Committee to meet about Narrow Water Bridge

An artist’s impression of the Narrow Water Bridge

The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement tomorrow meets with business leaders from both sides of the border to consider how best to advance the Narrow Water Bridge project.

The Warrenpoint and Dundalk Chambers of Commerce are expected to outline the tourism and business potential of the project for their respective towns.

“Our Committee has offered its full support for the project as a strategic cross-border investment, with the potential to bring significant economic dividends to the region. In October, we warmly welcomed the announcement the Special EU Programmes Body approved significant funding for the bridge. The Committee remains hopeful that a pathway can be found to securing the outstanding funding for the project,” said Committee Chairman Joe McHugh.

“Tomorrow, we will have the opportunity to hear from business leaders on both sides of the border, who have been at the vanguard of the longstanding campaign for the bridge. In difficult economic times, the construction phase has the potential to provide a significant local stimulus, and the bridge itself would be an important addition to the region’s burgeoning tourist sector around Carlingford Lough.”

Previously: Bridge over troubled waters could be in doubt