Minister Pippa Hackett today gave a big ‘shout-out’ to Midland towns, Tullamore, Ballinakill and Abbeyleix. Using her ‘Order of Business’ speech to congratulate all three on making it into the recent Irish Times list of 20 Best places to live in Ireland, she said she had got a real thrill and sense of pride when she had seen them there.
‘It emphasised to me the need for us to take time every so often, to recognise, and celebrate, what we have’ she said.
Outlining the reasons she feels the towns in question are so special, Minister Hackett highlighted the pilot pedestrianisation and outdoor dining in Tullamore, the Heywood Gardens in the “town of the woods”, Ballinakill and the NeighbourWood project in Abbeyleix.
The Minister said we need more places where people feel connected and part of the community and claimed that the current Government’s Rural Future and Town Centres First policies will help that happen, through broadband and active travel infrastructure, and new job creation through the Just Transition Fund.