Just €50,000 to be spent on tackling climate change next year

WEXFORD County Council plans to spend just €50,000 to combat climate change and flooding in2020.

Although this is a significant increase on the sum it allocated at last year’s Budget meeting (€15,000) it still represents a tiny fraction of the €15,466,554 planned for Environmental Services next year.

Sinn Féin Councillor Tom Forde raised this issue at the meeting in Carricklawn enquiring as to how this money would be spent.

Director of Services John Carley said the figure allocated complied with the Council’s requirements and it continued to work across all departments to combat climate change.

Continuing the theme of underinvestment in the environment Cllr John Hegarty asked why the Council intended to spend less on recycling facilities operations next year (€920,153) than it had this (€955,890).

He was subsequently informed by Mr Carley that the Council felt the provision it had made for recycling was ‘sufficient’.

Cllr Hegarty then enquired about the landfill facility at Holmestown. ‘This is a cost that’s ongoing, have we looked at a proposal to remove what’s there? I don’t see us getting back the land anytime soon, how many years will it keep going for? We’re throwing good money after bad at the moment.’

Mr Carley said it would be possible to get a review of the costs involved at Holmestown, subject to commercial sensibilities.

Other environmental budget for 2020 include €1,660,000 for the operation of street cleaning services, €402,136 for the maintenance of burial grounds €3,552,609 for the operation of the Fire Brigade Service, and €999,885 on water quality, air and noise pollution.