Garreth McDaid was the Green Party’s candidate in Roscommon-South Leitrim in 2007 and in the Local Elections in Carrick on Shannon in 2009, and has been an active campaigner on environmental and planning issues in the Upper Shannon region for several years.

A native of County Donegal, Garreth has lived near Leitrim Village with his wife and family since 2004. Garreth is 37 years old and is self-employed as a freelance software developer and technology consultant.

Garreth’s local priorities are:

o a Rates Holiday for new businesses

“Over recent months, many people throughout the North West will have lost jobs and be thinking about starting their own businesses. One of the biggest burdens on new business is the rates charge they have to pay to their Local Authority.

If Leitrim were to announce a rates holiday for the first 2 years of any new business, not only would we encourage Leitrim residents to start new businesses, but we would also attract new businesses from surrounding counties and further afield.

Obviously, the Council’s budget needs to be carefully managed at this time, but if the measure were to attract businesses that would otherwise locate elsewhere, the effect would be to boost the Council’s revenues in year 3 and subsequent years.

The Council already maintains different rates structures in various parts of the County, so there is no reason why the same logic cannot be applied to new businesses.”

o better and more sustainable planning in County Leitrim

“For me, quality of life begins and ends with good planning. When we get planning wrong, everything else becomes a struggle, and decades of development can be lost to fixing the mistakes of the past.

I want Leitrim County Council to start thinking ahead, to start anticipating challenges that will arise not just 5 years from now, but 20 and even 50 years from now.”

o continued investment in water infrastructure across the county

“Leitrim County Council also have responsibility for our most important natural resource, our water. To date, protection of our drinking water sources, and investment in our water infrastructure, has been lacking.

This has been reversed by a Green Party Minister for the Environment, who has secured record funding for investment in water infrastructure and who has implemented a rigorous regime to ensure our water sources are protected.

We now need Green Party Councillors to ensure the benefits of these measures are seen on the ground.”

o the orderly and timely completion of housing estates

“Of all the environmental issues facing Leitrim County Council, unfinished housing estates is perhaps the most pressing.

Residents in estates across the county have been left in limbo as they wait for Leitrim County Council to unravel protracted legal issues with delinquent developers.

I want Leitrim County Council to come clean with residents, and establish a plan and system whereby people can be given an indication as to when the Council will step to take estates in charge.”

o the development of municipal sporting facilities

“Under age sport is a passion of mine, but it frustrates me greatly when I see children trying to train for sports like athletics in sports halls, and when soccer and rugby matches have to be called off because sub-standard pitches are water-logged.

Leitrim County Council has a duty to provide sports facilities for all sports clubs, and to assist volunteers in these clubs in their efforts to provide children with recreational services.

I will make development of municipal sports facilities a priority for Leitrim County Council.”

o real measures to tackle our litter problem

“In these very difficult economic times, we will come to depend on tourism as a key economic driver in this area. But it is extremely difficult to promote a tourism product when our roads and streets are lined with litter.

Leitrim County Council’s efforts in relation to litter management and prevention have not come up to the mark in recent years. This needs to change, and I will lead that change.”

o the development of our libraries

“I want to ensure that our library facilities are well-resourced and developed. The library in Carrick on Shannon is not of adequate size for a county town. I will ensure that the development of all library branches in the county receives the attention it deserves from the County Manager.”