Athlone Deputy Mayor, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, has welcomed the decision to reopen the Council office at the civic centre to the public.
“For a number of weeks now I have been seeking the reopening of our public council offices. All relevant offices and buildings have been open to the public for several weeks now including the Post Office, Social Welfare, our Library and the Luan Gallery to name only a few - yet our main council public office remained closed.
“The public were dismayed during the month of July when they went to the council offices in Athlone to perhaps collect a form or drop off documents or make an appointment with a member of staff and they found the front door locked.
“In July, I wrote a strongly worded letter to the CEO of Westmeath County Council urging him to open the offices without further delay. I also raised the matter at a recent county council meeting and I was not surprised when I received a lot of calls from staff from the Athlone office supporting my calls to have the office reopened to the public.
“So, both the public and staff wanted a return to normal as soon as possible. I am pleased, that having called for a reopening, the office is now once again open to the public,” Cllr O’Rourke stated.
