Call to fund our Tidy Towns groups

Joe McHugh TD, Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs and Richard Lennon, Supervalu presenting the Highly Commended Award to Hugh McColgan, Malin Tidy Towns at the High at the West & North West Regional Tidy Towns Presentations in the Silver Tassie Hotel, Letterkenny. Photo Clive Wasson

At the recent Inishowen Municipal District meeting in Carndonagh, Councillor Paul Canning asked John Gallagher, senior engineer with the Council’s environment section, to “get a mechanism in place” for funding the Tidy Towns groups who “do great work in the peninsula.”

He said: “This is something which needs to be placed high up on the agenda. We need to get the finances to help these groups who do fantastic work.”

Councillor Nicholas Crossan agreed, stating the tidy towns groups across the peninsula “do a huge amount of work every day.”

He said: “If they weren’t doing this work then it would be up to the Council to do it. These groups cannot be praised highly enough.”

Colr Rena Donaghey, a member of the Buncrana Tidy Towns Committee, said each group in Inishowen had increased their points in the National Tidy Towns awards in 2015. She noted how, a few years ago, there were only a “few” Tidy Towns groups in Inishowen but these were “growing all the time.”

She pointed out how all involved did so voluntarily and added that Donegal County Council did give the groups a lot of support but said more funding would be very beneficial to all. Mr Gallagher said the Council very much welcomed the work undertaken and said there were tidy towns grants, However, he added all points were noted.