Council has to raise €5m to replace lights

Drogheda laneways need attention

LOUTH County Council will have to raise a €5million loan to cover the cost of replacing existing bulbs with energy saving LEDs in public lights throughout the county, it emerged at last week’s meeting of the local authority.

Director of Service Frank Pentony gave an overview of plans for the roll-out of a project to replace the existing bulbs of all public lights with LEDs.

The national project will cost €170 million and the start date for work to begin is the 4th quarter of 2020. He explained that Kilkenny County Council was the lead local authority for the project which will help ten councils in the region with their energy reduction targets.

Cllr Kevin Callan welcomed the plan saying it would result in energy savings as well as providing better visibility.

He wanted to know if a contractor will be appointed for all 10 counties or will

Louth County Council be appointing its own contractor.

He also asked if it was only the bulbs which are being replaced or if the ballast is being replaced as well saying he had got reports of LED lights ‘ blowing’ within a short time of the bulbs being replaced.

The new lights in Ardee are generally a lot brighter and he wondered if new lights will be put into dark areas. There were a lot of laneways in Drogheda which could do with lights.

Chief Executive Ms Joan Martin told him that there has been a ban on erecting new lights for a long time due to the cost. Public lighting made up a huge part of the Council’s budget and as they’d had no increase in the budget they were not in a position to put in new lights.

She said the project will require a substantial amount of capital funding and she will be looking to the council for approval to borrow €5million which they hope to claw back in time through savings in energy costs.

She also pointed out that the Council had put in LEDs bulbs in the public lighting in Moneymore in the early days of the drugs feud.

Mr Pentony said that there will be a single contractor appointed for region one and that will inform how region 2 goes.

He added that they will be replacing all of the heads and most of the columns so he didn’t envisage any problems with the lights blowing.