Nessa Childers MEP hosted a County Kilkenny Tidy Towns’ delegation to the European Parliament in Brussels. The group travelled on Thursday October 6 and attended a briefing in the Parliament on Friday October 7.
Tidy Towns and Village volunteers from Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, Goresbridge, Inistioge, Ballyragget, and Gowran took part in the visit.
“I invited the Kilkenny delegation to Brussels to offer support to Tidy Towns committees in my constituency of Ireland East. Tidy Towns committees are a valuable and vital part of any town and village, and it is proven that quality of life, business, and tourism flourish when a town has a clean green image.”
The group was briefed on the working of the EU and in particular about EU finance, funding for volunteers, and Member States’ financial contributions. The group also discussed the septic tank licensing scheme and the EU Directive on Domestic Waste Water Schemes.
The group also highlighted the need for the EU to take a harder line on packaging, in particular plastic drink containers, and to introduce a money back scheme to reduce the amount of plastic bottle littering towns and villages throughout Kilkenny.
Nessa Childers said she intended to visit and consult with as many Tidy Towns committees in the constituency of Ireland East, and work at European level to support this special feature of Irish community life.
