Relief as "very eventful" battle looms

AFTER enduring weeks of the phoney war, a strong sense of relief greeted the official launch of the general election contest, nowhere more so than in The Midland Tribune which predicted a "very eventful" battle.

Setting the scene, its editorial warned the main protagonists of paying too much heed to early opinion polls, as "who knows what events are likely to unfold over the next three weeks which will sway people's opinions and change their minds. That is all part of the beauty and excitement of an election campaign."

The Kerryman gleefully predicted "a full blooded and perhaps even - dirty political contest", listing as key tissues the peace process, the EMU, and domestic social problems.

Another issue, which refuses to go away, is the Hepatitis C scandal and here The Kerryman challenged the Government parties to answer a number of lingering questions raised by the family of the late Brigid McCole. The Government should "do the right thing" and put the end to the family's suffering, it said.

"The Government - Taoiseach, Tanaiste, the lot - must explain legal postures taken in the McCole case. They must explicitly recognise and accept the gross injustice and error in the handling of the issue - and then, they must make a profound apology."

There was a warning for any candidate thinking of skimping on constituency duties in The Wexford People with strong criticism of the poor turnout at a recent ISPCC public meeting.

"The invitation said 10.30 a.m. but by 11.15 ... none of the Wexford Dail candidates had turned up," it reported. Many would have sympathy with the organiser who complained that most of the local candidates "couldn't give a straight answer when asked whether they could make it".

The Government's eve of election National Lottery allocations to local deputies seem to be reaping rewards with front page treatment in The Anglo Celt of a £100,000 grant aid decision for a new swimming pool and leisure centre in Bailieboro.

The good news was announced by Fine Gael TD Andrew Boylan, who said he succeeded in achieving the funding after "repeated representations" to the Minister for State with responsibility for sport, Mr Bernard Allen, and the Taoiseach.

DEFLECTOR groups in Galway and Mayo are threatening to bring the multichannel row to a head in the run up to the election by switching back on British TV services, according the The Connacht Tribune. The issue is reportedly still "red hot" in the region, despite Government assurances that a solution is near.

Political parties which put up campaign posters before the election date was announced can count themselves lucky they did not come across a very zealous official" of the kind described in The Limerick Leader. The official in question, a representative of the County Council, made "a dawn raid" on posters advertising a garden fete in Dooradoyle.

"They went up on the poles between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.," said one of the fundraisers, "but came down from about 6.30 the following morning." There was no permission for the posters, said a County Council officer who warned: "they could be a danger or distraction to road users".

Water has been a thorny issue with residents of Nenagh in recent days, The Guardian reported. Not water rates but the "milky white" appearance of the water supply to house holds in the area.

However, the county council was quick to assure worried readers that the colouring posed no threat to health. It was caused by an increase in water pressure, otherwise known as "air in train" and that when left to settle for a few minutes the water would appear clear.

Unclear is how the outlook for the tourism industry could be described, judging by contrasting front page stories from the south and west. The Southern Star brought news of a record tourism year in the Cork/Kerry area, while The Connacht Tribune reported a recent slump in tourist bookings.

In The Longford News, there was an angry reaction to a new tourism guide which describes Ballymahon as a "dull village" containing "seedy bars". The town is just one of many which was on the receiving end of what might be considered "insulting critiques", it reported.

Indeed, the international guide proceeded to label Longford as "a market town that has little to offer", and Mullingar as "a raucous wheeling and dealing provincial capital, constantly choked with traffic".

Councillors in Letterkenny are also concerned about the bad name their town has been getting in recent times, according to The Donegal Democrat. A majority of councillors on the Urban District Council, it reported, have backed moves to discuss all future "security" matters in private rather than at public meetings attended by the local media.

Concern was expressed that media reports of incidents in the town had attracted adverse publicity which "could even contribute to devaluing property values". Another councillor bemoaned that families are now afraid to let their children go into the town. Letterkenny is "not that violent", he maintained.