The Wee Paper, Buncrana (2025)

19/10/2025

A Bad Article

Heather Humphreys was welcomed to Buncrana as a government minister in July 2022 to officially open Swan Park. I approached her after her speech and gave her my "Shopping List" on behalf of Buncrana. She took my leaflet and said, "I will look into them for you". I never heard from her again.

I am bringing this up again because she is looking for your vote on Friday.

My view is that she was asked to support Buncrana in 2022, and she did nothing for Buncrana.

I think it is only fair that we should do nothing for her now.

The contract is clear:

You do nothing for us, and we do nothing for you.

Tony Grant, October 2025

17/10/2025

Government at WAR

Our government in Dublin gathered all its forces and slammed the door in the faces of the people of Donegal by casting aside every word that Charles Ward put forward in his proposal, which was supported by the entire opposition.

The government crossed the line by crushing any reform of the existing pathetic grant scheme to rescue the victims of the DCB debacle.

In the past, Donegal people thought that they were the “Forgotten County”; they need to think again because this behaviour by the government during the week doubles down on that bad attitude and is more like a “Declaration of War” on the people of Donegal because they are refusing to fix an injustice of their making.

They are saying loud and clear, to the people of Donegal: “Get Lost” – “Shove OFF” – “We Don’t Care” – “You are NOT important to us.” - “Dirt on our shoes”

They stood idly by and watched Defective Concrete Blocks being produced for use in home building. They introduced a “Light Touch Regulation” policy that turned a “blind eye” to the misuse and abuse of defective materials used for profit against the people of Donegal.

The government solution was to introduce a 5% Concrete Levy, which increased the burden on the victims even more as they struggled to rebuild their homes.

The entire opposition used the Dail, as a democratic means to solve the problem and the door was slammed in their face. By doing that, they slammed the door in the faces of the people of Donegal.

Whatever way you look at it:

This is a S**T government, a government at WAR with the people.

Tony Grant, October 2025

14/10/2025

Rated €0

The dreaded Local Property Tax is upon us again as winter approaches; all property owners are faced with putting a value on their property for the purpose of paying the LPT.

Some help can be found online: cso residential property price index

Many of us in Donegal have the added headache of owning a home that is effected with the dreaded “Mica” DCB. In truth, many of us can say that our homes are valueless in their present form and can not be sold on.

Many of us are looking out our windows at other homes on our street being demolished, wondering when our turn will come and how much we will be out of pocket, if and when we get the government grant to rebuild.

It is unfair that people have to wait until the test turns up “positive” before they are exempt from paying the LPT. When they can’t sell and they can see the cracks spreading by the month.

Contrast this with residents from across the border who bought a home in Donegal and now find themselves with “Mica” and combined with other issues apply to return to N.I. and apply for public housing, the value of their home in Donegal is down-valued to €0 to facilitate this.

I think that anyone paying their LPT should write a letter to Revenue explaining this to them and state that “they are making this payment under protest and that they would be seeking a refund when they get a “positive” diagnosis on their home.

Our TD’s and Councillors should be working on this issue, but instead Donegal County Council voted to raise the tax to its maximum value possible under the law.

That is the type of support home owners are getting from our local public representatives.

Tony Grant, October 2025

11/10/2025

Post-Election View

They reach up to the sky
Two tall red chimneys
Viewed across the lough
A landmark, two-finger-like gesture to the world
Still standing, though now a ghostly habitat
Echoes of a busy workplace
A town’s youth lured to early pay packets
Disregarding education to join a roaring Celtic
Tiger workforce
Energising a town in a new Ireland
Birds sing cheerily from neglected shrubbery
Brand name signage visible form afar
An ideal place where a new change could
happen!
To energise a people
If vision be allowed, above collapsing
monetary gains
And small town, small mindedness
Two fingers to the world it would say
A town still alive.

Mary Caldwell, June 2009

03/10/2025

Quarry on up Fahan Hill

Above you can see an article published in “The Inish Times” on a proposal from Joy Beard of 100% Redress Party to carry out a new, full and transparent audit of every quarry in the country.”

On the surface, this sounds like a great proposal, BUT it may take 20years for the testing to reach Donegal, the location where the testing is most needed.

The proposal should have read “to carry out a new, full and transport audit of every quarry in Donegal”

If the proposal to test the entire country is to go ahead, the government will make sure that the last county to be tested will be Donegal, and that will take many years.

In the past, I worked as a civil servant in the capacity as a technician in one of the test Centres in Dublin. It worked in such a way that anyone could turn up with a product for testing, we were not pro-active, going out looking for samples to test, but we tested the product for free, as a service to the public, when it was brought to us. The Minister of the Department had full control of the support we gave to industry. I believe that is the same today.

Joy Beard should have withdrawn the proposal if she had to include the whole country in order to get the support of FF, FG and SF to get the proposal passed. It lost all of its intended power when it includes the whole country.

Final Thought:

This type of testing should be ongoing as part of the industry's normal regulation. It should not be up to County Councils to plead with the government to carry out testing now and again when they are pressurised to do so.

This is called “ Light Touch Regulation” and it brought the country to its knees in the recent past and was responsible for the “Economic Crash”

Donegal is still struggling to recover from “The Crash” because it is being held back by the “Mica” DCB fiasco, while other parts of Ireland, including Dublin, are back to full recovery.

Tony Grant, October 2025

29/09/2025

GHOSTED

We make no apology to anyone for confronting the difficult issues locally in Inishowen as the "Local Papers" continue with the "nice stuff".

One of these topics is the "Mica" DCB fiasco, which we have written about for years.

We clashed with the now-defunct organisation Mica Action Group (MAG) because they resisted our suggestions that they should become a membership representative group, like the IFA, democratic and transparent. We urged them that this would enhance their power when negotiating with government.

They avoided us like the plague, and look now where they are.

Likewise, the people who came to replace them are repeating the exact same performance.

100% Redress Party got people elected to DCC and the Dail, and not once did they engage with us on social media or through The Wee Paper; they are running scared of us because we push them to work harder and smarter.

Charles Ward has been working on roads, tourism and fisheries and has gone quiet on the issue that he was elected to work on.

Likewise, the 100% Redress councillors voted to increase the Local Property Tax to its maximum, this being an issue with people living in homes with defective blocks. Recently, Joy Beard has been working for other groups in Buncrana, while she is silent on the very issue that she was elected to solve.

I voted No 1 to support Joy and Charles to get them elected, and I am bitterly disappointed with their performance, because it appears to me that they are positioning themselves for re-election ( like the rest of them) instead of working with the victims to get the job done.

Tony Grant, September 2025

27/09/2025

www.theii.com

Gone are the days of the IDA Advance Factory, never to be seen again, as it has been replaced by the Digital Hub.
We have one right here on our doorstep, in Buncrana, in the form of Inishowen Innovation, which is open for business and waiting for you to visit them.
Many of us living here in the town and beyond can benefit from getting to know about what is going on within the walls of this building.
From school leavers to seasoned business people, sole traders and companies can use this place as their second home to survive and to thrive. The choice is yours.
I had occasion to visit it with a problem that I had with my website, and after half an hour, I rushed out the door to get home to make the changes to enhance my online presence, which is still making a difference today.
This place was built with taxpayers' money, for the benefit of taxpayers, so I don't understand why it is not being used by more people.
There was a comment made by a user of the place, on Facebook, recently, that the place was "at capacity". This could not be further from the truth. I expect this person wanted to keep it quiet that the place is open to all, and that he and his friends could have unhindered access for themselves.
My advice to the people of Buncrana is to "Use it and Make it your own" and not be put off by these online comments to the contrary.
It is here for us all to use, not for an exclusive few.
Tony Grant, September 2025

24/09/2025

BROKEN

EU Defective Blocks (made in Ireland)

Ireland is breaking the following EU Directives:

1. The Concrete Products Directive.

2. The Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The Irish government has deliberately set out to deny the people of Ireland equal rights as other citizens living in the EU by denying their officials permission to measure pyrrhotite in concrete blocks. If they can’t measure it, they can deny its existence, and this means the EU Directive won’t apply to them and they won’t have to compensate the victims.
This is a mean-spirited, underhanded way of trying to wriggle out of their responsibility to undo a wrong that continues to bleed energy out of the people affected, the victims.

The EU has opened infringement proceedings against Ireland for its failure to implement the EU Concrete Products Directive.
That could take years to work it’s way through the bureaucracy of the EU, especially if the Irish government decides to fight it all the way.

The directive is very specific in allowing the limits of minerals such as mica, pyrite, and pyrrhotite in concrete blocks.

Away from the politics of Defective Blocks, what about the health of people living in these crumbling homes? The effects of the mould can not be understated. It affects the growth, learning ability and energy of the people living inside.
They are weakened and are less able to fight for their rights, so we must join in with our support whenever we can and be a voice for them.

Thanks to Ming Flanagan in the EU and Charles Ward in the Dail for keeping up the good fight.

Tony Grant, September 2025

20/09/2025

Report on Culture Night

Sometimes art is at the forefront of change in society; in this case, it was the spoken word or words in The Protestant Hall on Friday night that were ushering in a fresh new thinking into Buncrana, it was as if a new wind had blown up the Swilly and breezed into the Hall, but no it was nothing like that, that was happening, it was more real.

Vin was masterful in his understanding of his thinking and his own history as he read from his book of poems, which was published earlier this year. It was raw and honest.

I heard a young woman describe feminine energy in her poem as I have never heard it described before. It was revealing.

I heard a man describe in his poem the workman's hands of his father-in-law as he lay in the coffin, as a final tribute to his craftsmanship.

I heard an intelligent view of the town from a woman of razor-sharp observation in her poem.

It was all very cathartic and energetic; this was indeed a moment and a place where people felt free to express their deepest thoughts and aspirations. I believe this new openness and willingness to publicly express ourselves will usher in a better community.

All of the performers did us a great service in our journey of life.

(I have been given permission by the authors to reprint some of the poems here in The Wee Paper in the near future.)

Tony Grant, September 2025

19/09/2025

Parent

In the looking glass of life
you see your own reflection
Sometimes it is the essence that challenges you to question.
You have sold yourself to a destiny
that has stolen your dreams
Now you cry the tears of failure
Life is never what it seems

Standing at a crossroads
You are startled by indecision
Can you make the leap of faith
Or wallow in your emptiness
Screaming for salvation

You are the ship that does not sail
Your anchor is the hopelessness
that squanders you illusions

I am not here to make your dreams come through
I am here to witness

Nmar, September 2025

16/09/2025

Budding Artist

Here is budding artist that takes a challenging view of perceived norms.

Ben Kings has insight and uses his spectacular vision to create.

Noel King, September 2025

14/09/2025

1k Following Us

The Wee Paper is delighted to announce that 1k people are now following our stories on Facebook.

Congratulations to Margaret Mcguigan on becoming our one thousandth follower.

Thank you to ALL our followers for taking the time and interest to follow The Wee Paper.

We are encouraged by your support, and we would love to print some of your stories in return.

Contact us by email: [email protected]

Tony Grant, September 2025

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