Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this matter. First, I say very clearly tonight that it is absolutely my intention that we will have a Tidy Towns competition in 2021. The SuperValu Tidy Towns has been in existence since 1958, as Deputy Sherlock notes, and it has become an integral part of our culture over the intervening years. The competition continues to grow in popularity and in 2019, a record 924 entries were received. The competition was just ready to be launched earlier this year when Covid-19 arrived. Unfortunately, like many other events that we hold dear, the competition did not proceed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

This decision was taken in line with public health advice and in collaboration with the competition sponsor, SuperValu. This decision was made in April during the first period of severe restrictions, when essentially the advice to everybody was to stay at home. Many of our Tidy Towns volunteers and adjudicators were very limited in what they could do earlier in the year. However, as we have moved through different stages of living alongside the pandemic, the Tidy Towns volunteers have demonstrated that they can continue to do some of their activities while still following all of the necessary public health precautions.

My Department is in regular contact with the close to 1,000 Tidy Towns groups around the country and we are hearing of some wonderful projects and community-wide initiatives that have been delivered in recent months. Indeed, many of our Tidy Towns groups have also been instrumental in assisting with the community response to Covid-19. Many of the projects being delivered this year feature in the monthly Tidy Towns newsletter that the groups themselves contribute to and which my Department issues through our social media channels.

The interest in the newsletter demonstrates how popular the competition continues to be and the level of work that continues, even in the absence of a formal competition this year. As we look forward to next year, I assure the Deputy and the House that there will be a Tidy Towns competition in 2021. We may need to alter and adapt our approach to delivering the competition next year given the on-going constraints posed by Covid-19 but we can retain the ethos of the competition that has stood the test of time so well.

My Department is currently considering the format the competition could take next year, having regard to restrictions on gatherings at each of the five levels of the Government's Plan for Living with Covid-19 and the paramount need to protect the health and well-being of volunteers and adjudicators. The details of any changes in the competition will be shared with the Tidy Towns groups well in advance. I assure the Tidy Towns groups and the thousands of volunteers that my Department and the Government is absolutely committed to the Tidy Towns competition and we look forward to encouraging more towns and villages to join us in future years.

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