Longford unfinished estates team honoured

Its members were honoured in Tallin, Estonia last week with an EU Good Practice Award, owing to its pioneering process of problem resolution that's hoped can now be replicated in other towns and cities across Europe.
In accepting the award on Wednesday last in the Estonian capital which currently hosts the EU Presidency, Patricia Shaughnessy of the Unfinished Estates team, said the accolade was one she and her colleagues were greatly honoured by.
They included Brian Ross and Regeneration Officer Lorraine O’Connor.
Ms Shaughnessy said the award was one she would accept with great humility on behalf of herself, the team, her County, the Council, the stakeholders but particularly on behalf of the residents of the many estates which had been left unfinished and devoid of the most basic of services.
It was through their positive involvement, she said, that the resolution process much lauded for its success became possible.
Ms Shaughnessy added the Unfinished Estates resolution process had meant two-thirds of the county's 128 unfinished estates were now completely finished and had been taken in charge by the Council.
The remaining estates are now the subject of site resolution programmes for their completion.
“We in Longford no longer feature as a black spot in the demographics of unfinished estates nationally whereby in the dark days of the economic recession we were the national black spot,” she added.
Ms Shaughnessy said if there was any overriding message what the events of the past week had shown was that Longford has a “can do” attitude and is very much “open for business.”