MITCHELSTOWN LEISURE CENTRE

Dear Editor,

I refer to last week’s Avondhu and the articles regarding the Mitchelstown Leisure Centre. While any information to the public is welcome, I think it highly partisan of the leisure centre committee to publish selective and partisan financial information about its preferred option and none on the other option, when it has the relevant information on both.

Piecemeal and partisan publication in this way underlines the need for a public presentation of the pros and cons of both sites where the information presented can be fully tested. Those with influence with the leisure centre committee should encourage it to do so now. If the information extruded so far is representative of what we, the long suffering public, can expect from the committee who, it is accepted, have spent a lot of time on the project, it does demand close scrutiny.

If a comparable leisure centre and extensive offices and other works for the county council in Bandon will cost no more than €11million, then the figure of €9million suggested for the Mitchelstown Leisure Centre alone, and backed by nothing more than a thumb in the air, would seem to be a significant over estimate, suiting those who would support one project over the other.

An estimated €0.3million of the public’s money has been invested in the Canon’s field site and the company should preserve the investment by applying now to extend the time before the planning permission runs out in June. If it fails to do so it runs the risk of losing its investment and having no site with planning permission.

I am in the group who have no strong view of where the centre should be built, but I am also of the view that the public should have full and accurate information, should not be misled and should have its say in the important decisions concerning the project. If the company/committee was set up as a community project, it should be responsible to the public it claims to represent and on whose behalf it purports to act.

What is required is a full costing and full cost benefit analysis on both options and not merely financial information on the company itself, prepared and presented by an independent person(s). Provide the information, hold the plebiscite and get on with it.

Yours faithfully,
Kevin T Finn, King’s Square, Mitchelstown

VOTE ‘NO’ TO THE LISBON TREATY

Dear Editor,

As a mother and grandmother I read the secular press with a common sense of deciphering what is true or false. When I read The Irish Catholic paper I expect only the truth. I could not believe my eyes when I read Michael Kelly’s column.

The heading stated ‘The Pope Supports Treaty’. When The Irish Catholic misquotes the Pope for political reasons I find it unbelievable. How can we now believe anything from this Catholic paper. I am told Michael Kelly is a Fianna Fail activist and as such, we now know where his writings are coming from.

Our Pope has said the EU will flourish only if it is built on solid cultural and moral foundations of common values drawn from our history and our traditions. The Holy Father does not endorse this Lisbon Treaty or the EU Constitution, as it was known before two countries voted it down. That was to be the end of an EU Constitution until our political elite came up with a renaming to fool the little people of Europe.

This EU Constitution will enslave our children and grandchildren and it is up to us, the Irish people who won their freedom hard, to stand up and ‘shine a light’ by saying no to this godless and undemocratic constitution.

Don’t believe our politicians – they are lining their own pockets both at home and abroad at our expense. Don’t throw away our freedom – come out and vote 'no'.

Mairead Scannell,
St Martin’s, Dublin Road, Fermoy

FACTS ON THE LEISURE CENTRE

Dear Sir,

I thought I had finished with all this debate regarding the proposed leisure centre. We are all quite aware that the leisure centre is a limited company and we all understand what that stands for, but morally (in accordance with morals) we are talking about public money here.

On The Avondhu last week I read ‘the gospel according to Mr Ben Lynch’ about the lack of involvement and support from M.C.C. with regard to the leisure complex. As a loyal disciple I feel honour bound to correct the information given: With regard to the money paid for Harringtons’ and Canon’s fields, nobody expected to get them free, but either sites would not have been put up for sale or available had not a delegation of members of the community (including members of Mitchelstown Community Council) got together and put their proposal to the Harrington family and consequently on to Canon Tim O’Leary.

Bear in mind that both parties would not have given this prime property had it not been for the parish and for the people of Mitchelstown. That is a fact, and it can be verified in a letter written to The Avondhu by the Harrington family.

All the members of M.C.C. past and present bought and sold tickets and supported the leisure committee all those years for five solid years, every week door to door and did the count for the draw. We supported the committee, as we should. Community council members were hugely involved, especially the late Sean McCarthy and Hillary Connolly (R.I.P.). Both did trojan work to get this project off the ground. John Sherlock and Jim Keane have been with this project since day one up until 2007 when Jim Keane felt he had to resign.

I have been an elected member of M.C.C. for over eleven years and an officer for seven. For the first three years during the period of Bill Power as chairperson, I was secretary and I never missed a meeting. There was always a report from the leisure complex on the agenda. They may have not been up to date as was the case more often than not, so it is not true to say the community council had no input. We were always a part of it.

To conclude, you the people of Mitchelstown, wanted and demanded the right to know what was happening regarding the leisure centre. We the elected members of the community council got all the information for you, a public meeting, all the update for all to see in The Avondhu. Have we opened Pandora’s box?

Now we have another venue and that’s where we are at this moment, the mart site or the Canon’s field. We, as the elected members of M.C.C. feel as it’s your (the public’s) money that we and other organisations collected, you should have the right to decide where you want your pool built. That is what we are fighting for and we would be delighted to have the leisure committee agree with us on this very important issue.

People of Mitchelstown, come forward and have your say. This will be your opportunity to decide what you want and have this long-awaited project brought to fruition. I would like to give a last comment. As all believers of the faithful do when in doubt, look up the scrolls.

The information is in our M.C.C. ledger - days and dates, all in perfect record. If the leisure committee would like to check, we have nothing to hide.

Delia O’Shea Tobin,
Middle Parish, Mitchelstown