Louth Cathaoirleach meets Taoiseach

Louth County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Paula Butterly met with An Taoiseach and Fine Gael Party Leader, Leo Varadkar, in Government Buildings on Tuesday evening.

The Taoiseach, along with all of his senior Ministers, met with the 13 Fine Gael Councillors who have recently been elected as the first citizen of their county.

Councillor Butterly was elected as Cathaoirleach in June and outlined her main priorities for her term.

“I will continue to highlight issues regarding supports and resources for families, particularly for children with additional needs at Primary School level and improved accessibility to Home Services packages for older people.

“I will support and represent rural communities, including towns and villages, to secure additional resources and funding to enable them to grow and prepare for the future.

“I will work hard to promote initiatives such as the M1 Corridor and engage with key stakeholders to ensure that County Louth is front and centre when it comes to investment by businesses.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:

“I had a good two-hour meeting with Councillor Butterly in Government Buildings on Tuesday evening to discuss the issues that matter to the people of Louth.

“The meeting gave Councillor Butterly the opportunity to raise these issues directly with me.

“I committed to Councillor Butterly to work on these issues.

“The need for more funding this year for local and regional road maintenance, a top up allocation for the Local Improvement Scheme and, in the coming years, funding to advance new road projects that are delayed, the urgent need to service much more land for housing were raised at the meeting.

“On energy security and climate, they impressed on me the need to increase aid to farmers, schools, community buildings and businesses to install solar panels and become energy efficient.

“I look forward to working with Councillor Butterly and visiting Louth during her term as Cathaoirleach.”

Speaking to the Dundalk Democrat following her election, the Cathaoirleach said:

“It's a great honour to follow in the footsteps of such a great chair we had last year, Conor Keelan, and other predecessors.

“I look forward to working with all the members of the chamber, they've always been cooperative and collaborative, so I hope that continues in 2023/2024.”