'Huge blow': Longford senator critical of omission of €2m amphitheatre project from funding
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Senator Joe Flaherty says the omission of the €2m amphitheatre project for Lanesboro from the Just Transition funding is a ‘huge blow’
SENATOR Joe Flaherty has hit out at the omission of the €2m amphitheatre project for Lanesboro from the €3.6m Just Transition funding.
He commented: “Obviously welcoming today’s announcement on funding but with a new round of Just Transition funding in 2027, it has to be more targeted and needs to firstly address the areas affected.”
He explained that Council staff can only deal with the guidelines issued to them and added: “I don’t think anybody ever thought that Just Transition funding would be about retrofitting Council offices. It said on the tin, it was to rebuild a community that was literally shut down overnight.”
The Senator commended the work which went into the applications by the team at Longford County Council. He explained: “Their flagship project submitted was funding for the ambitious €2m amphitheatre in Lanesboro. It hasn’t featured in the funding announcement and this is a huge blow as Lanesboro, more than any other location, is paying the price for an escalation in our decarbonisation plans.”
The Longford Senator has also questioned the reasoning for spending €2.6m on retrofitting the Council offices and Longford Library.
He said: “The approved projects include €2.6m for retrofitting the Council offices and the County library. That’s great but doesn’t directly benefit Lanesboro. And furthermore, we shouldn’t be retrofitting either building – we should be moving the County Council offices into the old shopping centre and also including a state of the art library there as well. To spend €2.6m of funding on two totally unsuitable buildings is crazy.”
The Longford Senator said it is evident the Department have dropped the ball on this.
“Their reply on the amphitheatre’s omission was that it breached competition rules! A quick call to the Council could have addressed this. I have contacted the Dept this afternoon and we are convening a meeting with officials and the team at Longford County Council to save this important project.”