Smyth presses for action on decarbonisation strategy

Green Party councillor Hazel Smyth has urged the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District to press forward with creation of a decarbonisation strategy for Mullingar.

The town was in June selected as a pilot decarbonisation zone for Westmeath and at the September meeting of the district, Cllr Smyth said she understood this meant the district needed to have implementation plans prepared by the end of this year.

“With that kind of timeline in mind, it does seem as though we’re really starting to cut it a bit tight,” Cllr Smyth stated.

The official written response from the executive stated that confirmation of the selection of Mullingar was still awaited from the Department of Environment Climate and Communications, and also awaited is the release of guideline documents on the implementation of potential measures from the department.

Director of services Deirdre Reilly said that left Westmeath in the same position as every other local authority.

“So,” she stated, “implementation measures can’t be drawn up until we have guidance from the department.”

Cllr Smyth responded that while she accepted that was the position, she also felt the council should start proactively looking for that guidance.

Cllr Denis Leonard agreed: “I feel if we wait for the department all the time to come to us, the floodwaters will rise to our ankles, I mean at the end of the day, this is a ticking time bomb regardless what anybody thinks, and we need to react sooner rather than later.”