Warnock says Longford "should get precedence over all other towns" as Christmas lights debate rumbles on

The official switching on ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 26 at 5pm at the Longford Courthouse.

Environment Minister and Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan recently suggested councils might not switch on their Christmas lights in cities and towns to conserve electricity.

The issue was raised at a meeting of Longford Municipal District members by Cllr Peggy Nolan who asked the Executive about the plans for for the lighting up of the festive season.

Replying to the query Director of Services, John Brannigan, said, “We have to curtail the levels of electricity we use as an organisation. We have to lead by example. There will be a reduction in the amount of time the lights are on, but we will endeavour to minimise the impact this will have.

“We will review that with our Climate Action Team. We will then let you know what hours it will be operated from, but it will be somewhat curtailed,” Mr Brannigan told the members.

The war in Ukraine is creating an energy crisis for all of Europe as Russia has restricted supply.

Over the past number of months, energy providers such as Bord Gáis and SSE Airtricity have been announcing more and more price hikes.

The latest increases announced by both companies will take effect at the start of October with SSE Airtricity’s average prices rising by 39% for gas and 35.4% for electricity.

Councillor Gerry Warnock emphasised the importance of the Christmas lights, describing them as “a morale booster” for people in the town: “While I do appreciate we all have to do our bit to curtail energy consumption, I would suggest going down the route of reduced time.

"We want a punchy Christmas lights for the people of Longford. Longford is the premium town in the county. It's the seat of office and it should get precedence over all other towns when it comes to Christmas lights.”