Local Green Party councillor calls for Yes vote on Programme for Government

ABOVE: Cllr Louise Heavin. Photo: Ann Hennessy.

A local Green Party councillor has joined with colleagues to issue a call for a Yes vote on the Programme for Government.

Cllr Louise Heavin, a Green Party councillor on Westmeath County Council and the party's general election candidate for Longford/Westmeath earlier this year is among a group of 27 Green Party councillors and parliamentary party members who issued an open letter calling for a Yes vote.

“As Green Party Councillors and Parliamentary Party members based in the regions, we are voting YES for the Programme for Government ‘Our Shared Future’. We are asking Green Party members to do the same. We believe it will be hugely positive and transformative for rural Ireland,” the group says.

It says it is the first Programme for Government to address the climate challenge head on. Crucially, it is framed around the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to 2030, the blueprint for all actions on climate, biodiversity and addressing poverty, inequality and social exclusion.

The open letter says the Programme for Government contains a radical transformation in community and rural development, particularly post Covid.

“Our farmers, custodians of the land, will benefit from a €1.5 billion ring-fenced fund for diversification and environmentally/biodiversity friendly practices on their farms. This will be in addition to funding coming from the Common Agricultural Policy.

“Our rural towns will benefit from the ‘Town Centres First’ policy approach, modelling the scheme developed by the Scottish Government. This implements a strategic approach to town centre regeneration and brings back an expanded Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

“Vacant and derelict buildings will be brought back into use and promoted for residential occupancy. We look forward to sustainable regional cities, towns and villages where people will want to live, work and raise their families.

“Our working lives have changed due to Covid and this is reflected in the Programme for Government, which prioritises the rollout of broadband, and includes a facility for community owned broadband through the Blue Town Initiative. It commits to a network of digital hubs throughout the country which will allow for remote and flexible work practices.

“Our local communities will benefit from a new, enhanced LEADER Rural Development Programme, one of the key drivers of enterprise, biodiversity enhancement and social innovation in the rural economy.

“Ambitious plans for integrated rural transport will transform our quality of life. This will include the trebling of rural transport services, Park ‘n Ride for our regional cities, and huge investment in our regional bus and rail systems.

"Investment in renewable energy will benefit rural areas, and will provide people with the opportunity to sell power to the grid from next year. 500,000 homes will be retrofitted, starting with social housing, and ringfenced social welfare funding will support those at risk of fuel poverty.

A financial stimulus package will provide support for workers and regions most affected by the Covid crisis, the letter says.

All of these measures would mean “regional and rural regeneration, and a better quality of life and work-life balance for workers and families throughout the country."

The letter is also signed by Cllr Hazel Smyth from Mullingar, the other Green Party councillor on Westmeath County Council.