Minister to lobby for cut in VAT rate amid local restaurant closuresIn the wake of the closure of two popular cafes in Athlone this weekend, local Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has confirmed that he will advocate for a cut in the VAT rate for the hospitality sector in forthcoming budget negotiations. The Coffee Haven name is set to disappear from the local business landscape, as the Magliocco family have confirmed that the re-opened premises will bear the new name of 'Spanners Cafe.' The VAT rate for tourism and hospitality was cut from 13.5% to 9% during the pandemic to protect businesses affected by public health restrictions. Minister Burke has pledged to work towards securing a cut in the VAT rate, and said it will form part of his submission to the Department of Finance ahead of budget negotiations. The Minister added that he would be advocating for a cut in the VAT rate both at Cabinet and to the Minister for Finance.

29 Jun 2024| 03:46am ISTExploring the symbolism associated with Saints Peter and PaulThe feast of Saints Peter and Paul is celebrated in Goa with great religious fervor and cultural significance. It is difficult to think of two men more different from each other in history and vocation than St Peter and St Paul were. On that date, in 67 AD, St Peter and St Paul were martyred in Rome during the persecutions ordered by the emperorNero against the Christians. Both these saints, Peter and Paul are draped in layers of symbolism when represented in sacred art. Many images’ pair St Peter with St Paul.

'Athlone wasn’t my first choice, but it turned out to be the perfect fit’Ahead of the CAO closing on July 1, third-level student David Hughes from Kilmaine, Co. Mayo, looks back on his CAO experience. When filling out his CAO form, TUS Athlone wasn’t his first choice, but it turned out to be the perfect fit. Athlone provided the right balance of social and academic life for me,” he explains. “I worked as the main strength and conditioning coach with the Mayo senior hurlers and academy teams. Looking back, David feels TUS Athlone was the right choice.

– GreenerThe Green Party includes six missions in this section described as being in pursuit of a sustainable and compassionate future. The missions include making it easier and cheaper to reduce energy consumption with pledges to push for community ownership of all sustainable energy infrastructure and investment in solar, wind and other renewable technologies coupled with incentives to make these sources more efficient and accessible. Party leader Mal O’Hara (right) and deputy leader Lesley Veronica (seated left) during the manifesto launch at the Show Some Love Greenhouse centre in Belfast (Rebecca Black/PA)The party also pledges to work to make green transport more accessible, to restore and protect green space, protect natural resources, support a more sustainable and secure food supply chain and protect animals. – CleanerThe Green Party pledges in a joint effort with its sister parties across the UK and Ireland to tackle greenhouse gas emissions by making clean, renewable energy more efficient and accessible. – FairerThe Green Party pledges to work for a fairer society, seeking to reform taxation to ensure those with the most pay their fair share.

The committee adjourned this afternoon after the Labour Court invited Aer Lingus managers and the union to attend the meeting. It is understood that the Fórsa disputes committee had not made a decision regarding industrial action as the invitation was received before the meeting, and adjourned. Allied Pilots, which represents the 16,000 pilots at American Airlines, is among those to offer its “steadfast” support for the Aer Lingus pilots. The US-based Airline Pilots’ Association, the umbrella group representing 78,000 pilots at 41 IS and Canadian airlines, has also backed the pilots at the Irish carrier. “Aer Lingus management needs to reach a fair and equitable agreement with them now!” he said in an online post.

High Court reportersThe High Court has approved the Irish will of a late US-based priest after a subsequent American will raised an issue about whether his Irish property had been left to his two cousins. The cousins brought a High Court application, with the American lawyer who drew up the US will as respondent, seeking to have the Irish will declared valid. The court heard the priest made the Irish will in August 2001 and appointed three members of the cousins' family as executors. The cousins, in their court application, said they had a very close relationship with the priest and often discussed farming matters with him. His US attorney had also expressed surprise that there was any Irish land, the judge said.

Ger Rogers PhotoNew high-end pizza restaurant opens in TullamorePrevious Next Image 1 of 2 PHOTOS: Ger Rogers Ger Rogers Photographer Image 2 of 2 . Ger Rogers Photo Ger Rogers PhotographerA former post office in O'Connor Square in Tullamore, which was built in 1909, has been transformed into a new high-end pizza restaurant. David McKane of The Small Town Pizza Co. has said it was a priority when opening the restaurant to preserve the historic character of the building, which is a protected structure. It was time to bite the bullet and see if we could do it as a business.” The first Small Town Pizza Co restaurant was opened in Adare, Co. His background as a chef in 5-star restaurants around Ireland means that McKane prides his restaurant on their “interesting flavour combinations” and believes that their “high-end pizzas with a bit of a twist” is their USP that sets them apart from takeaway pizza businesses.

Qween will be performing at the Edenderry Festival which takes place throughout this weekend at Edenderry GAA Grounds. Weekend music festival gets underway in EdenderryEdenderry GAA Grounds is set to be transformed into a spectacular Big Top Circus Marquee this weekend for one of the hottest events of the summer - Edenderry Music Festival - which kicks off today Friday, June 28 and concludes on Sunday. Tickets are available to purchase online right up to the close of the festival, but organisers are advising advance purchase to avoid disappointment See Ticketstop.ie for tickets from €15 for day tickets and weekend tickets are also available. Their performance will be followed by the Qween Tribute, which promises to be an electrifying homage to the legendary band Queen. Edenderry Festival 2024 is proudly sponsored by SSE Renewables and Offaly County Council Rural Development LEADER Programme.

Westmeath Ladies feature in latest episode of behind the scenes documentaryEpisode Two of AIG and Ladies Gaelic Football Associations’ Behind The Scenes Documentary ‘Making It Happen’ is now live on AIG Ireland’s YouTube channel. The series provides detailed training and match footage along with in-depth interviews from players and management of Westmeath (Intermediate), Cork (Senior), and Carlow (Junior) LGFA teams. Produced by Future Proof Media, the series follows the above-mentioned teams' journeys throughout the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship showcasing the effort and emotion that players and management go through when representing their county at the highest level. While episode one focused on the provincial championships, episode two now focuses on the All-Ireland series where counties battle it out to qualify from their group and edge one step closer to playing in Croke Park and pursuing their All-Ireland dreams. I look forward to watching the series unfold and following the fortunes of these three counties throughout the TG4 All-Ireland Championship season.”YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIGie

WORK at the site likely to take up to two years. Photo: Ray RyanExcavation of Mother and Baby site may begin in New YearResidents will be consultedEXCAVATION works at the site of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home are expected to begin early in the New Year. Tenders are now being sought that will enable premlinary works to be carried out at the site on the Dublin Road. Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam Daniel Mac Sweeney told The Tuam Herald that “all going well” these necessary surveys and technical investigations can start by September/October. He said if nothing unexpected is discovered, it’s anticipated that excavation works and the recovery of remains at the site could “hopefully” begin in January-February 2025.

Northern politicians clash on health, Stormont stability and Irish unity in TV debateBy Gráinne Ní Aodha and David Young, PANorthern Ireland politicians clashed on health service funding, the stability of Stormont and the merits of Irish unity in the second major TV debate of the Westminster election campaign. The opening exchanges of the BBC NI debate focused on the recent controversy around the allocation to health in this year’s Stormont budget. All other main parties of the Executive – Sinn Féin, DUP and Alliance – backed the spending plan, with the main opposition party, the SDLP, opposing it. Mr Hazzard said Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill was on the canvass trail while Mr Butler said UUP leader Doug Beattie had other diary commitments. Mr Hazzard said Sinn Féin had made “a commitment” to the people of Palestine to “be their voice in those places”.

Professor Paul Downes was interviewed by Claire Byrne on RTE'sToday with Claire Byrne radio show https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22408494/ on June 18th where he supported calls for extending the School Hot Meals Scheme to DEIS Secondary Schools as a key priority. His letter, with Rúaidhrí O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Council for Psychotherapy and Róisín Hickey, Principal Our Lady of Victories BNS Ballymun (on behalf of Ballymun Principals Network) was published in The Irish Times, as 'Letter of the Day', on June 25th https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/2024/06/25/school-based-counsellors-and-psychotherapists/ . It highlighted key priority needs for specialist emotional counsellors/therapists in DEIS secondary and primary schools.

This is my experience of the Badjao tribe. I was sitting in a Leaving Cert English class the first time I heard about the Badjao tribe. “Ahap subu” (Badjao for good morning) was the greeting my teacher opened class with that day. I first worked with the tribe last year, where I spent two weeks teaching in the school built by EMBRACE Badjao. The experience of the Badjao tribe is something that I struggle to unravel.

A review will take place on the use of counselling notes in sexual assault and rape court cases, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has confirmed. Currently, legal teams can request counselling notes for a victim of sexual abuse, which has long been an issue for survivors. The chairperson of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) Ann Marie Gill said during her nine years in the role, there were 129,000 contacts to the National Rape Crisis Helpline. Ann Marie Gill, Helen McEntee, and Rachel Morrogh at the launch of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s annual report. I am hugely concerned that there is a mental health crisis amongst survivors of sexual violence and that public mental health services are struggling with inadequate capacity.

The federal lawsuit filed by the family of a Greene County woman who died one day after a 911 operator declined to send an ambulance to her home is proceeding again after criminal charges against the dispatcher were withdrawn earlier this month. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak signed the order June 17 lifting the nearly two-year stay on the lawsuit filed by Kelly Titchenell against Greene County and several emergency officials in connection with the death of her mother, Diania Kronk. Titchenell filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pittsburgh in June 2022 just before the two-year statute of limitations expired. The completion of the criminal cases allowed for the lawsuit to proceed against Greene County, along with Price, Leathers and Policz. In his order, Hornak gave attorneys for both sides 10 days to meet and discuss possible resolutions for Titchenell’s lawsuit.