Jones wants street lighting improvements at Delvin, Raharney and Archerstown

Cllr David Jones was left deeply disappointed after the several requests he made for public lighting at locations across north Westmeath, citing safety concerns for pedestrians and schoolchildren, were turned down at a meeting of the Municipal district of Mullingar Kinnegad.

The council’s transportation section advised that it is not in a position to extend public lighting at present, citing the need to invest first in existing infrastructure, including LED lanterns and repairs to wiring.

Extensions to the network will be considered once that work is completed.

Cllr Jones requested that three new lights be included in the 2026 estimates for Castletown Court housing estate in Delvin, where residents have raised concerns about poor visibility.

“I had a phone call this morning complaining how dark it is. It used to be a council estate before a lot of people purchased the houses, but there are still a number of local authority houses that are quite dark; one light that was in it is gone now,” Cllr Jones said.

He explained that the reason he asked that provision of the lights be included in the estimates is because he fears it will not be included in the Public Lighting Energy Efficiency Project (PLEEP) plan for a long time yet.

“This is one of our own council estates… It needs lights, and that’s why I asked for the 2026 estimates for it to be included,” he said.

Cllr Jones also called for lighting at Archerstown graveyard and at Weirs Lawnmowers in Raharney, where children board school buses in the dark, along with a safe pedestrian crossing to the national school and church-side footpath.

“Hopefully, again, we can have one light included in next year’s estimates, because one light would do an awful lot of work there,” he said.

Director of services Deirdre Reilly explained the constraints to the meeting. “Public lighting doesn’t go under our district estimates. It is a council-wide issue in respect to budgeting. That’s why you’re getting the same answer from Transportation each time — we are not investing in new lights, we have to continue with the upgrade of existing lights,” she said.

Cllr Jones pointed to recent improvements, including new lights on Ballyhealy Hill in Delvin, which he described as “long overdue”.

Cllr Niall Gaffney added support for Cllr Jones, noting the issue has been raised repeatedly. “Public lighting has been on every agenda, every single agenda for the full council, and we are constantly calling to find out where we are. There’s a serious case for getting each place done once and for all.

"We need to upgrade what’s there, upgrade the wiring - it’s long overdue. We’re trying to fill gaps, but the reality is we need to do the whole village,” he said.

Cllr Jones also raised concerns about the PLEEP plan, asking for an update on its progress.

Ms Reilly said she could not provide a current completion figure but would request a follow-up from the relevant director.