Athlone Mayor feels 'unheard' in local council chamber

Cllr Louise Heavin told her colleagues that she felt “unlistened to and unheard” in the chamber of Athlone Moate Municipal District during a debate on air pollution on Monday.

The Green Party representative, who is the current Mayor, made her remarks after she received no support from her council colleagues for a motion she tabled at the November meeting seeking urgent action to tackle an increase in air pollution in Athlone.

Having two family members with asthma, she said she had checked the air pollution figures for Athlone and noticed they had increased.

"You can see and smell the air pollution," she said, adding that it "directly affects the health of the people of Athlone" and needs to be addressed by the Environment Section of the council.

Cllr Aengus O'Rourke described Cllr Heavin's motion as “quite alarmist” and said it sends out “a very negative message” about Athlone.

“I haven't noticed any increase in air pollution, nor has anyone ever mentioned it to me either,” he added.

Four other elected members, Cllrs Paul Hogan, John Dolan, Tom Farrell and Liam McDaniel, also failed to support the motion, with Cllr Hogan claiming that Athlone has “the best air quality in Westmeath,” according to the latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Cllr Hogan was scathing of Cllr Heavin's motion, describing it as “lazy” and adding that it follows other policy ideas such as “the re-introduction of wolves into rural Ireland and growing boxes of lettuce on window sills.”

He told the meeting that the “cheapest form of fuel is turf and blocks” which he uses, and he said he has “no intention” of changing because he has turbary rights.

“As my wife says, we will cut it (turf) with a butter knife if we have to,” he stated.

“How else could I come into Athlone except by car, I'm not going to cycle into Athlone from Ballinahown on a bike, I can tell you that,” said Cllr John Dolan, who also said he “could not” support Cllr Heavin's motion.

The Finel Gael councillor told Cllr Heavin that if she went out for a walk in China ”you'd be struggling to breathe coming home”.

He also said that Environment Minister Eamon Ryan would have been “better off to say nothing about banning turf,” as his remarks had resulted in people “stocking up” on turf, and he had “never seen as much turf being cut”.

Cllrs Liam McDaniel and Tom Farrell also failed to support Cllr Heavin's motion, with the latter requesting her to withdraw it until such time as the public consultation process has taken place on the Climate Action Plan prepared by Westmeath County Council.

“It shouldn't be a 'them and us' scenario,” said Cllr Farrell who told the meeting that he knew people who “hadn't cut turf for five years and they started cutting it again last year,” after the Minister's remarks.

Cllr Heavin said she was not going to thank her council colleagues for their support “because I didn't get any,” and she added that she felt “unlistened to and unheard” in the council chamber.

She went on to say that she had done her research on the air quality in Athlone and had compared the figures.

“Nowhere in my motion did I mention burning turf, and I don't think we should be working against each other,” she said. “And it's a pity that people have turned what I was trying to say into an argument, as that was never my intention, now let's move on.”

Cllr Paul Hogan's motion was next on the agenda and he enquired as to whether Cllr Heavin, who was clearly emotional, needed “a few minutes to compose herself” to which she replied: “No.”