Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is perfectly understandable for Louth Environmental Group to be frustrated, to say the least, that projects it has proposed have gone without funding when nearly half of the funding available was returned unspent. Could we seek clarity from the council as to why the proposal from the group was not successful or why the council did not deliver on the revenue scheme more generally and sent that amount of money back?

In its correspondence, the Louth Environmental Group states that it acquired the agreement and permission of the landowners some time ago but the county manager's response is that the issue was the failure of the community groups to secure the land required. The project had been ongoing for a good many years and had been included in the development plan since 1996. The council was therefore well aware that there was an eagerness to undertake the project.

In light of the return of that vast amount of money, we should seek clarity from the council and the county manager with particular regard to the points raised in the correspondence we received. It is not acceptable for the county manager to just say there was a failure to secure the land when the group has argued that it had been secured and that it was included in the development plan since 1996. One would imagine that, when the council got the funding, it would have jumped on it and proceeded with the project. Having been a councillor on Louth County Council, I would say there are questions to answer. If we could do that, it would be much appreciated.