Flynn hits out at 'populist nonsense' from Mayo politicians

A West Mayo councillor has hit out at what he called 'populist nonsense' from local and national politicians who questioned the cost of retrofitting council buildings.

Westport-based Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn made the comment at the Environment and Climate Change Strategic Policy Committee after hearing that Mayo County Council reduced its energy bill by 7 percent in 12 months and expects to experience further reductions when its buildings are retrofitted.

Mayo County Council decision to spend €2.5 million retrofitting Áras an Chontae was recently criticised by Aontú representatives, Paul Lawless TD and Cllr Deirdre Lawless who felt the money would be better spent elsewhere.

However, Cllr Flynn said that the reduction of 7 percent in the energy bill showed that retrofitting will save money and hit out at politicians who claim otherwise.

“It really annoys me when you hear national politicians going on the airwaves going on with the populist stuff about wasting money on this and the other. But you can see the difference it makes when you make an investment in retrofitting our buildings and upgrading our energy systems and making them more effective in terms of cost but also in terms of the carbon output,” he told the SPC meeting.

Members of the SPC were informed by Laura Dixon, Climate Change official with Mayo County Council that the council produces 148.5kw of solar energy across all their buildings and 50 percent of their diesel vehicles have now transitioned to HVO.

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“We have reduced our energy cost by 7 percent in a year so it is a really big achievement and a lot of thanks go to our energy team and organisation but a lot of this is down to smaller measures and better control and management of our energy,” she said.

Cllr Flynn added that these numbers speak for themselves and that if the council need to continue to make brave decisions they will see a difference going forward. 

“The populist stuff has been to go on the national airwaves and organise petitions and populist nonsense talking about how this money can be saved in so many different ways without actually looking at the overall picture. 

“I want to highlight that when you put money into the right places it can mean so much not just in terms of the environment but also in terms of the financials and these are investments for the long term. 

“We need to think that way and not simply have a narrow viewpoint that gains a few political points. It is not what is required, we need to make brave decisions that will really make a difference for this organisation going forward.”