News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Limerick

Mungret residents are seeking an urgent meeting with Limerick County Council over what they maintain has been a 20-year record of neglect of their village.

Mungret Community Alert, a group formed two months ago, is highlighting traffic dangers, flooding, a lack of footpaths, poor lighting and other issues.

And the local group is also looking for assurances that the upgrade of sewerage and foul water scheme - for which over €2 million was allocated by John Gormley last year - will go ahead. Over 90 people attended the inaugural meeting of Mungret Community Alert a few weeks ago.

Nigel Mercier, chairman, said residents had looked on enviously at the vast resources invested by the County Council in neighboring Raheen over the years.

“We had been told during the boom that a comprehensive local area plan was in place for Mungret and while that looked very good it was contingent on money from private builders,” Mr Mercier said, explaining that infrastructural deficits in the village were meant to have been paid for through development levies applied as a condition of planning permission.

“Now that is obviously not going to be done until we have the next boom, if we ever have one. A lot of work has been done in Dooradoyle and Raheen but nothing has been done in Mungret for 20 years,” he said.

Over €2 million was allocated by the Department of the Environment to upgrade the sewerage system in Mungret, where most people rely on septic tanks.
(Source: Limerick Leader)

Longford

With a 25 percent increase in the rise of copper thefts in Co Longford over the past 12 months and a noted increase in the stealing of livestock and machinery from farms, gardaí in Longford have issued a warning this week for people to exercise extra vigilance on their properties, to report any “suspicious activity” to gardaí and to ensure that locks on gates, sheds, homes and commercial buildings are secure at all times.

Superintendent Denis Shields, Longford Garda Station, said that the rise in rural thefts was widespread across the county and he advised members of the public to avoid business dealings with people “whom they did not know” as there is currently a scam in operation which encourages deposit paying for goods or services and when the money is handed over the dealer subsequently “disappears”.

Outlining the rise in rural crime, Supt Shields said suspicious activity should be reported to gardaí immediately. CCTV has also assisted gardaí with their inquires over the past number of months, so if it is possible to install CCTV, then it should be installed.”
(Source: Longford Leader)

Louth

Dundalk Town Council have won the Sustainable Environment award at the recent Chambers Ireland Excellance in Local Government Awards.

Sponsored by The European Recycling Platform Dundalk Town Council were joint winners for their work through the Navvy Bank Biodiversity and Awareness Project.

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Nster.com