Litter problem on road into Moate highlighted

A litter problem from the speed limit sign along the Athlone Road to the M6 bridge approaching Moate is not helping the town and is leaving a bad taste, according to one local councillor.

Fine Gael's Tom Farrell called on the Athlone-Moate Municipal District to do a clean up of the area in a motion at the April meeting of the local authority, saying that it is a busy road with Clonmacnoise and Dún na Sí traffic and it needs to be tackled before the grass grows over the rubbish.

Mayor Cllr Vinny McCormack agreed that the area looks “dreadful” and he noted it's not just casual litter strewn there, but also bags of refuse. He said it would be great if the council could do the heavy lifting and then locals could take it on from there.

District Engineer Willie Ryan said the area merited attention and gave the go ahead for the area to be inspected and cleaned up by staff in the coming weeks.