Laois County Council Hereby Notifies that the use of
TEMPORARY TRAFFIC LIGHTS and STOP-GO BOARD
At the following location:
N77 Portlaoise Road, Abbeyleix between the Heritage House and the Fire Station
BETWEEN the following dates :
Monday 22/5/17 08:00-19:00 Thursday 25/5/17 08:00-19:00
Observations (if any) should be emailed to kkennedy@dunnebros.ie;
wwilkinson@laoiscoco.ie and copy squinn@laoiscoco.ie & rglynn@laoiscoco.ie
From 15 May 2017
Irish Water is now your contact point for all water and wastewater connections.
Please note that existing Laois County Council application forms will no longer be accepted by Irish Water or Laois County Council after this date.
Visit www.water.ie/connections for application forms and further information.
Funding has been announced for the conservation of protected structures in Laois, and nationally. Two schemes, administered by Laois County Council on behalf of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Rural, Regional and Gaeltacht Affairs will bring almost €150,000 in funding to 15 properties right across the county. A wide range of building types in Laois will benefit from funding this year, including thatched houses, old mills, churches, modest homes, and large country houses. Typical works to be funded under the scheme include roof repairs, structural consolidation and measures to ensure weather tightness.
Welcoming the funding announcement, John Mulholland, Chief Executive of Laois County Council said “Laois County Council is delighted to be involved in running these schemes, which bring a significant benefit to both the building owners, and the heritage of the county. This funding is also important as a support the construction sector in the region, particularly the specialist conservation skills involved in maintaining and repairing these buildings. I am particularly pleased to see funding allocated to two prominent buildings in the historic core of Portlaoise, which was the focus of the recently published Vision Statement. Building on the medieval core of the town will be an important element of developing a vibrant future for Portlaoise”.
Details of funding for Laois are below:
Grant allocations 2017 Laois – Built Heritage Investment Scheme
Grant allocations 2017 Laois – Structures at Risk Fund
At national level, €3.5 million is being made available under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme and €1.3 million is being made available under the Structures at Risk Fund to allow for the conservation and repair of protected structures across the country. Minister Heather Humphreys said: “This investment will support the conservation of our heritage buildings and jobs in the conservation sector right across the country. The €4.8 million investment will leverage a further €11 million in private sector funds and will stimulate labour-intensive projects nationwide.
“Ireland’s heritage buildings and protected structures are a vital part of the infrastructure of our villages, towns, and cities. The Action Plan for Rural Development recognises the importance of investing in built heritage as a tool for rural regeneration and the economic recovery is allowing me to increase the level of funding available. Investing in our built heritage is not just good for the individual properties concerned, but can also provide a real boost to job creation in the construction, conservation and tourism sectors “.
Details of projects funded nationally under each scheme are at the website of the Department for Arts, Heritage, Rural, Regional and Gaeltacht Affairs.
A HUGE thanks to everyone who came along to the Laois Business Awards on Friday night at the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel making our inaugural event a massive success! It was great to see so many thriving businesses and entrepreneurs coming together to celebrate their achievements and acknowledge the ‘Best of Laois’!!
Thanks to our Partners, Allied Irish Bank and Laois Nationalist for all of their hard work, commitment, support and guidance over the past few months, without whom we could not have put this event together, and of course all of our sponsors who so generously contributed:
Category Sponsors – AIB, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland, SIRO Ireland, Killaree Lighting Services, Total Highway Maintenance, Dan Morrissey & Company – Plazamont Ltd., Michael Lyng Motors, Institute of Technology Carlow, Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board, Local Enterprise Office Laois.
Sponsors – Portlaoise Heritage Hotel, Thomas Kelly & Sons, Dunne Brothers Ltd, Gaynor Miller, Killeen civil engineering, Kilgallen & Partners, Manor Stone Garden Centre, Powerpoint Engineering Ltd & Portlaoise Stone Centre Limited.
A special thanks to: The Management and Staff of the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel for their excellent service and hospitality, the wonderfully talented young harpists of Music Generation Laois, All Event Productions – Kildare for their stunning set, sound, lighting and visuals, Graphedia for their design & branding and our charismatic and witty MC, Marty Whelan RTÉ lyric fm for being an excellant host. Special thanks also to Lawlor Video Memories and Michael Scully Photography for capturing the event. Our speakers, Tom Mulhall, An Cathaoirleach, John Mulholland, Chief Executive, Laois County Council, Deirdre Cleary, Head of Banking, Allied Irish Banks Laois Offaly & Kildare and our special guest speaker, John Moran of RHH International for taking time out of his busy schedule to deliver a truly encouraging and inspirational speech. THE LOLS for keeping us dancing until the early hours!!!
Finally, congratulations to all our winners on the night and equally to all the runners up, all of whom were so gracious and supportive! The judges had a very tough task in choosing the winners as the calibre of finalists was so high so you should all be so proud of your accomplishments and contributions to this wonderful County of ours!!
Business Support Unit (BSU), Laois County Council in association with Local Enterprise Office
Tidy Towns groups in Laois are being urged to enter a special award in the National Tidy Towns competition which promotes the protection of pollinators.
Irish bees and other pollinators contribute €35 million a year to the Irish economy by pollinating our plants, trees and vegetables. They are under serious threat for survival because they don’t have enough food to eat or places to live. In response to this, in 2016 Local Authority Heritage Officers and Biodiversity Officers, in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, launched a new Tidy Towns “Let’s Get Buzzing- Local Authority Pollinator Award”. This Special Award encourages Tidy Towns groups to support the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan by making their communities more pollinator-friendly. There is an attractive prize fund of €9,000.
Ann-Marie Kelly, Tidy Towns Co-ordinator with Laois County Council said “We hosted various events to promote the role of pollinators over the last few months and these were well attended. It is clear there is a huge interest in making Laois more pollinator friendly. The interest shown by our Tidy Towns committees illustrates their ongoing commitment to enhancing our natural environment. My colleagues and I are very happy to help groups become more pollinator friendly and build on our joint commitment on an annual basis.”
There was a great response to the award in 2016 with 58 Tidy Towns groups taking part. Monaghan Tidy Towns, national winner in the large town category, turned their town into an urban orchard, by encouraging residents to plant pollinator friendly fruit trees.
“Most pollinator actions are not costly or too complicated” explained Catherine Casey, Heritage Officer with Laois County Council. “They can range from simply changing the grass mowing regime, to planting pollinator friendly trees and shrubs, or raising awareness by promoting the Junior All-Ireland Pollinator Plan to youth groups and schools. Local communities can lead the way in creating an Ireland where pollinators can thrive”
The National Biodiversity Data Centre has produced practical guidelines to help communities and Tidy Towns groups to take action. The guidelines and other useful resources can be downloaded here.
The closing date for the award is 25th May 2017. Details and application forms are available to download below:
TT_Pollinator_Award_application_2017 or contact Catherine Casey, Laois Heritage Officer.
Laois County Council is delighted to be associated with the Laois Business Awards 2017 which are all about recognising and celebrating the best in business in Co. Laois. A huge congratulations to all those that entered on this occasion, we received over 200 nominations from all corners of the county, making our first year of the awards a great success. The quality of applications received shows huge commitment, drive and passion for enterprise in the County. We wish our 28 finalists the very best of luck and look forward to meeting you at our awards ceremony on the 28th April. For those of that were not shortlisted, we wish you continued success and support as your businesses develop and grow.
| Tourism & Hospitality Award | Coolanowle Country House & Organic Farm | Bob’s Bar – Durrow | Tynan’s Restaurant @ The Storeyard | |
| Retail Excellence Award | Fisherman’s Thatched Inn | Breslin’s Supervalue Rathdowney | Heidi Higgins | |
| Agri Business of the Year Award | Stradbally Farm Services | Dunmasc Genetics | Coolanowle Organics Ltd | |
| Innovation in Business Award | Cyc-Lok Ltd | Midland Steel Supplies Ltd | Irish Polymer Extrusions Ltd | |
| Exporter of the Year Award | Laois Sawmills Ltd | Midland Steel Supplies Ltd | Walker Recycling Services Ltd | |
| E-Commerce Award | Kelly Lou Cakes | The Costume Shop.ie | Wall Stickers for Kids Ltd | |
| Environmental Award | Groundforce | Killeen Civil Engineering | C.J. Sheerin Ltd | |
| SME Business of the Year Award | Laois Sawmills Ltd | G’s Gourmet Jams | Aidan O’Connell & Associates Ltd | |
| Entrepreneur of the Year Award | Aubren Ltd | Ortus Managed IT & Cloud | Breslin’s Supervalu Rathdowney | G’s Gourmet Jams |
Tickets to the awards event on 28th April in the Heritage Hotel Portlaoise are now on sale. Tickets are available online at www.localenterprise.ie/laois
For more information about the awards, check out :http://www.laois.ie/departments/business-and-economic-development/laois-business-awards/
A Vision for Portlaoise – A Strategy for a Better Town Centre has been prepared by the Commissioned Consultants GVA et al which provides a proposed strategy, interventions, and policies including the following:
Laois County Council wishes to announce a new grant scheme as part of the Creative Ireland Programme 2017-2022. The scheme will provide financial support to local and community groups, artistic and creative practitioners, event organisers and those involved in creative activities and projects, to encourage cultural participation throughout Laois. Download application form here
Laois 2017 Creative Ireland Grants Application Form
The level of grant assistance for any one project will range from €500 to €2,500.
Open to not-for-profit organizations, local community groups, arts, heritage and cultural groups, venues and societies. All applications received will be assessed based on an agreed selection criteria. The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 28th April 2017 before 4pm.
Details and application forms available from: The Arts Office, Laois County Council, Áras an Chontae, Portlaoise, Co. Laois. T: 057 8664033 E: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie W: www.laois.ie.
Arts Officer
The Heritage Offices of Laois and Offaly County Councils, with the support of Creative Ireland, wish to commission up to two artists to explore and present aspects of the pollinators of Ireland through art.
This is a multi-disciplinary commission and applications are invited from professional visual artists, film makers, musicians, writers, theatre practitioners choreographers, dance makers, new media and more. Applicants can submit a proposal to work in one or both counties. Each county project has a commission value of €10,000.
The project brief for this commission of an original art work for Laois and Offaly is now available. The closing date for receipt of proposals from artists is 12th May 2017.
Over one third of Irish bees species are under threat of extinction, having suffered reductions in habitat, including safe places to nest and food sources. In response to this, the All Ireland Pollinator Plan was published in 2015, with actions under five key objectives to deliver conservation for pollinators. The objectives are:
The Pollinator Plan has succeeded bringing together a wide range of groups related to government, farming, communities and business, to work for pollinators. This public art project aims to further raise awareness of the importance of pollinators by engaging with communities in a creative way to explore and deepen understanding of the importance of pollinators in our lives.
More information on the All Ireland Pollinator Plan is here.
This project is funded through the Creative Ireland Programme in Laois and Offaly.
Local artist Tom Joyce will exhibit his work ‘The Beauty of Water’ in Mountmellick Gallery from Tuesday 4th April to Thusrday 27th April. Tom will also host a coffee morning for members of the public on Thursday 6th April from 10:30-11:30am in Mountmellick Library. All are welcome.
We are delighted to announce that 28 companies have been short-listed for the Laois Business Awards 2017.
Having received over 200 nominations, It was a difficult decision making process but the judging panel have now shortlisted an outstanding selection of local businesses to go forward to the next stage of the awards.
Chief Executive, John Mulholland has said “A huge congratulations to all those that entered on this occasion, we received over 200 nominations from all corners of the county, making our first year of the awards a great success. The quality of applications received shows huge commitment, drive and passion for enterprise in the County. “
All applicants are being notified this week by Laois County Council, with the short-listed companies being announced in the Laois Nationalist on Tuesday 4th April.
The overall winners will be announced at the Business Awards Dinner on Friday 28th April 2017. Hosted by RTÉ broadcaster, Marty Whelan, the dinner and awards ceremony will see leading Laois business people gather for the event at the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise to celebrate excellence in enterprise across the county. Guests can look forward to a drinks reception and dinner followed by dancing at the newly refurbished venue. Tickets for the Laois Business Award ceremony are available from tomorrow -€40 online at www.localenterprise.ie/laois or by contacting Jason Ritchie at Laois County Council 05786 64077
Read more http://www.laois.ie/departments/business-and-economic-development/laois-business-awards/
