Longford's Energy Master Plan starts to take shape

Plans are afoot in Drumlish and Ballinamuck to roll out a pioneering new initiative aimed at easing the burden on cash strapped homes and businesses in the face of an unrelenting energy crisis.

 Around 20 committee members aligned to Drumlish Ballinamuck Area Development (Town Team) held a meeting in recent weeks with a view to developing an 'Energy Master Plan' for the wider parish.

 It  is the first of its type in  county Longford and is pertinent in the times that we live in, with the soaring cost of energy and heating materials - alongside an eve growing  climate crisis.

Annette Kane, who  was among those that  attended the meeting, said the event was just the first step in a broader initiative to meet the demands of everyday housin and environmental costs.

  “We had  a great turnout,” she said, saying there were in the region of 40 people in attendance on the night.

“It was fully funded by SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) and is what you would call a community master plan.”

Annette needs little introduction in terms of her own input in a community she holds especially dear to her heart.

A key mover and shaker behind the development of Drumlish Heritage and History Society, Annette has remained a central figure behind the ongoing successes enjoyed by Drumlish Tidy Towns.

She said this latest effort in instilling community spirit and togetherness, though promising, has yet to fully reach its full potential.

“It could be a low burner but businesses are interested and there are people that are doing stuff on their own,” she said.

“We hope that it develops into something really positive because we (committee) are not just talking the talk, but we are upskilling our knowledge.”

Part of that ongoing education Annette referred to will see her travel to Mount Lucas on Saturday to  take in a building retrofit training programme.

 “I am no expert on this and it was something that was two years in the making,” she added.

“This was two years or so in the making and is not something thatis done in a day.”

Those assertions come after it emerged plans to retrofit 500,000 homes are already "falling way, way short" of yearly targets, it has been claimed, as the body tasked with overseeing it admits "unprecedented times" are causing major delivery challenges.

This year, around 36,000 applications have been received by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) across all schemes, with around 28,800 homes being retrofitted.

Not that any of that appeared to bother Annette this week as she said: “The real work starts now.”