Reports about the plight of immigrants coming here to work are attracting attention in the regional newspapers. This week the Meath Chronicle reveals that there are "more than 2,000 migrant workers employed in County Meath and some of them, according to the union SIPTU, are being `unfairly treated compared to their Irish counterparts'".
The paper reports that the chairman of the Meath Trades Council, Mr Anton McCabe, became "involved in the lives of these workers about 14 months ago". He pointed out that "there are many good employers in the region" but there is "a major and very blatant level of exploitation by some".
Another minority group grabs the attention of the editorial writer in the Mayo News. Under a headline which says: "The shame of our treatment of Travellers" the writer says: "The grim picture is one of increased discrimination against Travellers at official, community and individual level and the perception that, of late, Travellers have found a voice, that they are beginning to count for something in Irish life is shown to have little basis in reality".
The same paper gives front-page coverage to a Mayo couple who won more than £2 million in the National Lottery. The paper carries a photograph of the couple, John and Martina Moran, from Bohea, Liscarney with their baby daughter Rachel and the cheque for £2,115,473. The state of the health service is a lively topic in the regional papers. The Westmeath Examiner, in its editorial, quotes Mr John Monaghan of the St Vincent de Paul Society as describing the Government's stated strategy of delivering a healthcare system based on equity, quality and accountability as a comprehensive failure. Adequate healthcare, he is quoted as saying, "is available only to those who can pay for it".
HEALTH and safety in the home and on the roads and workplace attract the attention of the Westmeath Independent. The editorial writer says: "The ever-increasing number of motor vehicles and the escalation in the incidence of violence, as well as the craze for speed and for risking driving with alcohol intake, should bring home to all of us that all too many in society show irresponsibility to an unacceptable degree. That means that the safety and punitive measures for breaches have to be constantly updated".
The same paper is concerned about the threat of redundancies among the 1,200 employees at the Ericsson plant in Athlone. In a front-page report it says: "It is believed that up to 200 jobs at the Athlone firm, mainly contract workers, could be lost as the company looks to cut costs by over £2 billion this year".
Down the page is the better news that "Elan Corporation is planning to expand and redevelop at their base in Monksland, Athlone, in a plan which is certain to include new employment opportunities".
The Waterford News and Star leads its front page with the headline: "Major drive is on to attract new industry". The report says: "Waterford will take centre stage at a key meeting when the city will be marketed to some of the leading international names in the financial services sector".
The Western People has similar mixed news about employment in the area. On page one, the paper says "there was much optimism at a press conference at Knock International Airport when it was announced that up to 2,000 jobs could be created at an adjoining state-of-the-art business park within the next five years".
But it also reports: "Volex, the Castlebar-based company which manufactures computer cable assembly systems, shocked workers with 146 job lay-offs. The company has said that when there is an upturn in the market it will look to re-employ those who lost their jobs".
There is positive news in the Limerick Leader which reports on its front page that "Shannon Development is to create a huge business park to give new life to west Limerick". The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, is "well disposed" to the idea.
THE Leinster Express reports that "any attempts by Bord na Mona to develop [Abbeyleix Bog] will be met with serious opposition". The threat comes from the Abbeyleix Residents for Environmental Action.
The Fermanagh Herald reports that former US president Mr Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary will visit Enniskillen as they travel from Dublin to Derry next month. The report says: "It is still uncertain whether or not the ex-president will accept an invitation to Roslea from where his maternal ancestors (the Cassidys) are reputed to have emigrated to America in the late eighteenth century."
Several papers report acts of vandalism. The worst case was in Longford where the Longford News reports: "The windows of the entire fleet of ambulances at Longford Ambulance Station were smashed by vandals, rendering the vehicles inoperable".
The Sligo Champion reports that there is "a bitter battle brewing in Fianna Fail over who will be Sligo's new mayor next July, with two of the party's councillors going head-to-head.
"Fianna Fail is assured of providing Sligo's next mayor but their biggest difficulty will be resolving the wrangle between the councillors, Mr Jude Devins and Mr Tommy Cummins, who are both adamant that they should be the nominee."