Taoiseach hears about issues that matter to people of Longford

Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Colm Murray met with An Taoiseach and Fine Gael Party Leader, Leo Varadkar, in Government Buildings last week.

The Taoiseach, along with all of his senior Ministers, met with the thirteen Fine Gael councillors who have recently been elected as the first citizen of their county.

Cllr Murray outlined his main priorities for his term.

“I want to secure infrastructural investment for Longford, such as continued funding for the N4 upgrade, upgrades to the N55, increased services on our rail line and securing further investment in and giving direction to regeneration projects throughout our county, particularly our county town.

“I will focus on building ties with the industrial and enterprise sector to encourage more investment in Longford, to ensure a supply of high quality jobs and to make Longford an attractive place to live and work from.

Cavan woman claims her health has been damaged by continuous loud noise from neighbouring manufacturing facility

“Key among these will be the work to secure an advanced IDA facility in the county. Companies operating in Longford are already showing that this is a place they can thrive in – for example Abbott Diagnostics, Avery Dennison (which was a Longford start-up).

“I want to see accelerated investment in housing in county Longford, not just in social housing, but in affordable housing schemes too. Part of the issue with our current housing shortage is the complexity of the regulatory side of building as well as the gap between the price of construction and the market value of housing.”

PICTURES | Longford commemoration marks centenary of the end of the Civil War

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said, “I had a good two-hour meeting with Cllr Murray in Government Buildings on Tuesday evening to discuss the issues that matter to the people of Longford. The meeting gave Cllr Murray the opportunity to raise these issues directly with me and I committed to work on them.”

Murray invokes spirit of JFK as he takes over as Longford County Council Cathaoirleach

The newly elected Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Colm Murray, invoked the spirit of former US President John F Kennedy in his maiden address to his fellow councillors following his successful election last Thursday afternoon.

Mr Varadkar said the need for more funding this year for local and regional road maintenance, a top up allocation for the Local Improvement Scheme and, in the coming years, funding to advance new road projects that are delayed, the urgent need to service much more land for housing were also raised at the meeting.

On energy security and climate, the Taoiseach heard about the need to increase aid to farmers, schools, community buildings and businesses to install solar panels and become energy efficient.

Mr Varadkar concluded, “I look forward to working with Cllr Murray and visiting Longford during his term as Cathaoirleach.”