Letterkenny Friends of the Earth ‘delighted’ to meet with Sinn Féin
Letterkenny Friends of the Earth Local Group now has a meeting scheduled with Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fáil TD.
Letterkenny Friends of the Earth Local Group held a meeting with local Sinn Féin Public Representatives.
The group contacted all Donegal TDs, asking to meet to discuss views, ideas and concerns about climate and the environment, with an initial focus on transport in the area.
Sinn Féin were the first to respond and representatives from the Friends of the Earth Local Group met with Councillor Gerry McMonagle and Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD.
The meeting involved discussions on the themes of addressing the climate, environmental and biodiversity crises, reducing the cost of living and improving quality of life, particularly regarding transport.
Some highlights were the talks on the deficits in electric vehicle public charging facilities in the area and the need for a feasibility study on connecting Letterkenny with Derry by rail. These were amongst a wide range of transport matters.
Also discussed were the need for implementation of the NTA Letterkenny Town Bus Plan, expansion, improvements, and reduced costs for public transport buses across the area, park and ride bus services on the main routes into Letterkenny, reducing the number of car journeys needed to and from schools, providing a proper public transport hub in Letterkenny, additional road bridges in Letterkenny, facilitating transfer of bus passengers to Letterkenny University Hospital facilities and the developments in the area of safe active travel routes.
“We were delighted to find that the Sinn Féin public representatives are very supportive of, knowledgeable about and are taking actions to help progress these transport issues through Donegal County Council and the National Parliament,” Jim Doherty, Coordinator of Letterkenny Area Friends of the Earth, said. “Cheaper, better, cleaner transport options in the area are wins for local people and for the climate, environment and biodiversity. To help strengthen this work, we would be thrilled if anyone interested in being involved with our group gets in touch with us at [email protected]. We also encourage interested people in the other four Donegal Municipal Districts to consider starting a group in their own area.”
Other topics touched on in the meeting were offshore wind farms, retrofitting of buildings for all, data centres, agriculture and wildlife corridors.
Friends of the Earth Ireland campaign on the system changes needed for a just world where people and nature thrive.
Current campaigns include Warmer Homes for All, Faster and Fairer Climate Action and a Data Centre Moratorium. Volunteers have formed a local Friends of the Earth group to support the national campaigns and work on local initiatives. The group focuses on the Letterkenny / Milford Municipal District, covering the area from Glenswilly to Fanad and Glenveagh
to Manorcunningham. There is a wide range of backgrounds of people in the group, with ages from teens to later years.
Letterkenny Friends of the Earth Local Group now has a meeting scheduled with Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fáil TD.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme