'Wake up' and solve Mullingar’s traffic problems, says Glynn

(Above) Cllr Ken Glynn.

Westmeath County Council needs to the “wake up” and resolve the ongoing traffic problems in the centre of Mullingar, according to Cllr Ken Glynn.

In his final speech as cathaoirleach before he handed over the chain of office to his Fianna Fáil colleague Cllr Frankie Keena from Athlone, Cllr Glynn urged the council’s executive to address “the ongoing issues with the smart traffic light system which has failed to deliver on its promise of a smarter and progressive flow of traffic through the town of Mullingar”.

“Ongoing denials to make the necessary major changes to resolve this issue is of concern to me and to many people who live in and around our great town. I urge those who fail to recognise the issue to wake up to the reality, it’s not working and let’s resolve it now rather than drag it out any further.”

Looking back over the last 12 months, Cllr Glynn said that it had been a “strange” and “difficult” year and paid tribute to frontline workers and council staff for their “tireless work”.

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Cllr Glynn said that their had been “many highlights” over the last 12 months.

“Only last week a number of housing schemes opened throughout the county and the virtual sod turned in Ennell Court.

“The ongoing delivery of housing in our county but specifically in Mullingar will also be a priority for me and I will continue to pursue this on behalf of the people who elected me.

“The Green Kilometre initiative has proved to be an outstanding success and its launch resulted in an appearance on live TV to discuss the scheme, which was one of many great initiatives launched by our environmental section.

“Another great initiative was the Look for Local campaign, which offered a reminder of the importance of shopping local something that is hugely important right now given the difficult times that local business has endured. The Grow IT initiative in our library service has also been a success and I was delighted to visit our libraries in both Mullingar and Athlone during the year.

“I was delighted to visit the new Civil Defence facility ahead of their distribution of more than 1000 care packs plus hampers around the county to many elderly, isolated or vulnerable members of our community.

“The completion and opening of Holy Family Primary School, formally known as Curraghmore school, was a welcome development, as is the current public consultation regarding Columb Barracks, a facility I hope which will stay steeped within the community and for the community.”

On the economic front, Cllr Glynn said that the recent announcement of 60 jobs in the National Science Park on Dublin Road followed by last week’s news that Lidl was undertaking a €75m expansion of its Mullingar depot have been a “huge boost to the town and county”.

“I hope more announcements like this will follow and I commend Minister Troy as Minister for Trade Promotion for his work in this field.”

Cllr Glynn thanked the outgoing leas cathaoirleach Cllr Vinny McCormack, the council’s executive and its outdoor and indoor staff for their support over the year. He also thanked his fellow councillors and his Fianna Fáil colleagues, in particular, for giving him the “ultimate honour” of serving as cathaoirleach.