News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

Trade Union SIPTU has indicated that communication from the Health Service Executive (HSE) in advance of talks suggested that management was unlikely to retreat from its plan to terminate the contracts of 1,000 frontline staff in the HSE West region.

Failure of the Labour Relations Commission talks would result in a ballot of trade union members in seven days and strike action could take place in the two Galway hospitals within as little as a fortnight, according to a SIPTU spokesperson.

Union representatives described the seven-hour negotiations that took place last week as “very frustrating” and said that a consensus was unlikely to be reached upon the resumption of talks suggesting only political intervention from the highest level could prevent industrial action.

(Source:Galway News)

Kerry

A controversial project to reintroduce eagles to Killarney National Park is continuing, despite the illegal poisoning of some of the birds.

Nine white-tailed sea eaglets were released in the park and a further 13 will be let go next week from hillside cages overlooking the world-famous Lakes of Killarney.

So far, 64 white-tailed eagles have been released in Killarney, 14 of which have died including seven from poisoning.
This year, 11 protected birds of prey, including three kites, three white-tailed eagles, a golden eagle, three buzzards and a peregrine falcon, have been confirmed poisoned in the Republic.

The three white-tailed eagles were poisoned in a four-week period in the Beaufort area, near Killarney.

(Source:Irish Times)

Kildare

NEWBRIDGE native and former professional athlete Karen Shinkins had a narrow escape in the past week when a small plane being piloted by her husband crashed into the side of a mountain.

Karen, who lives with husband Paul Doyle in Atlanta, later admitted that she was “hysterical” as the plane went into a nosedive and Paul was forced to make an emergency landing in Virginia.

In the event, the Cessna 172 plane came to rest at the foot of the steep hillside, having just missed striking a fence.
Karen, daughter of TJ and Christine Shinkins from Blackberry Lane, Newbridge, represented Ireland at the Sydney Olympics and subsequently turned professional but has since retired from professional athletics.

Boston-born Paul is a top-ranking athletics agent who represents many prominent world-class athletes including Ireland’s Derval O’Rourke. He was on his way to a business meeting, accompanied by Karen, when the plane ran into difficulties, encountering an unexpected rainstorm.

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Nster.com