Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The national Tidy Towns competition for 2006 is now under way. Approximately 650 towns and villages from across Ireland will participate this year. In addition to the main competition, this year also sees a special Tidy Towns initiative for primary schools and over 200 schools have registered. The results will be announced on 4 September at the national awards ceremony in Dublin Castle.

Almost 50 years after it was launched, the Tidy Towns competition continues to play an important role in improving the environment of our towns and villages and promoting active citizenship at all levels. The project has changed as necessary with the times and remains relevant to successive generations without altering its core value of sustainable development.

This year for instance, my Department has introduced a new category to highlight the importance of waste minimisation, one of the most challenging environmental issues facing us today. New prizes have been introduced to recognise the special situation of large towns and urban areas in our cities which have seen dramatic increases in population in recent years. These, with other minor changes, will continue to ensure that Tidy Towns applies to contemporary society as much as it did when it was first launched in 1958.

See this speech in context