Candidate wants Castlebar voice on wind energy grant committee

"With two major Castlebar organisations really struggling for funding at the moment, I am calling for a county town councillor to be added to the committee charged with dispensing the major money coming from wind energy operations in County Mayo. "

That's according to independent candidate Harry Barrett.

Barrett maintains that Castlebar has done very poorly in terms of the distribution of this community benefits over the last few years and he points to the fact that Castlebar only received 14%, (€15,000) of the allocation for 2020 and 21.

In the same period Ballina 39% (€42,000)of the total for the category.

He continued: "The amounts being given to our towns are very very poor, but even then, I am totally dissatisfied at the way Castlebar has been treated by the distribution of this core funding.

"The county town only received €15,000 out of a possible €365,000 in that period.

"I am blaming this on the fact that there is no Castlebar councilllor on the committee that decides this distribution and this has to change.

"We have the Castlebar Tennis Club struggling to replace its roof and our Linenhall Arts Centre threatened with closure due to funding issues and now we read that Castlebar languishes behind every other town in the distribution of community benefits from this massive funding stream.

"I am calling on Mayo County Council to increase the fund again, to appoint a Castlebar councillor immediately to this committee and for monies in our category to be distributed on the basis of population.

"This will lead to a fairer outcome overall."

Barrett added: "Fair play to any area that has received funding, I have no problem with that, but I cannot stand by and allow Castlebar to be near the bottom of the funding stream.

"I believe the overall benefit has increased to €650,000.

"I believe this to be very mean in the context of the massive profits being generated from the biggest wind farms in the country using the largest wind turbine in Europe.

"I believe that this should be increased to €1 million immediately, and that monies in our category should be distributed based on town population.

"But this will not happen until Mayo County Council does the right thing.

"It needs to squeeze wind operators to increase the fund to €1 million.

"It needs to place a Castlebar-based councillor on the funding committee and it needs to divide the increased fund based on population for things to be fair and equitable. Any other way is just nonsense."