Ballivor hoping to set up FAS scheme

Representatives of local groups in Ballivor met with FAS last week in the hope of establishing a new FAS training scheme in the village. While there is currently a successful scheme in place with the Giggles Childcare Centre, community representatives are campaigning for a separate, broader scheme to also be set up. Last week, Sean Faulkner, chairperson of Ballivor Community Council, Della Loughlin from the Ballivor Horse Show committee, James Kelly, chairperson of the local GAA club and Cllr Tracy McElhinney met with represenatives of FAS in Navan. Cllr McElhinney said the meeting had been "very positive". She said they are going to work on designing a plan for the village and get all the local groups in involved to see what they would like to see done. They will then go to FAS with this plan with a view to getting a scheme up and running. "We had a FAS scheme years ago and we want something like that in place. Neighbouring parishes have schemes and not only would it help with employment it would also help improve the look of the village. There is a childcare scheme at Giggles and that is ideal for women, but we would also like a broader scheme that would appeal to the local men as well," said Cllr McElhinney. Possible projects around the village include St Kinneth's Church, Killnaconnigan Graveyard, the tidy towns, the community centre and the GAA, explained Cllr McElhinney. Meath County Council Chairman William Carey is also supporting the moves for a new scheme to be set up in Ballivor. He said: "There is a need for a new FAS scheme in Ballivor. I recently met members of the community council who pointed out that there as a lot of suitable training work in the area that could be undertaken if a scheme was organised, such as the restoration of Killnaconnigan Graveyard and several other walls and buildings." Cllr Carey added that he has asked the help of Meath County Council to try and reorganise a FAS Scheme in the area.