Fears summer will bring renewed lake problems

Concern over how the use of Mullingar’s lakes is managed was raised separately by two councillors at the April meeting of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad.

Cllr Emily Wallace asked that the executive provide an update on the district’s Lake Strategy, while Cllr Andrew Duncan made a request at the same meeting that the district install CCTV at Ladestown.

To the Ladestown request, the reply stated that the county council’s environment section is currently compiling a list of litter blackspots in the county suitable for the erection of CCTV cameras and that it is intended to apply to the Anti Dumping Fund 2024 to target the highest priority locations for camera erection.

"The lakeside amenity areas including Ladestown will be appraised in conjunction with all other sites and, subject to a successful funding application, camera erection may follow," the response concluded.

Cllr Duncan said that every bank holiday, the council is left with clean-up problems at Ladestown. "The minute the weather picks up, we’re going to have a significant issue there," he warned, adding that over the Easter weekend, there had been a significant number of camp fires lit there.

The response to Cllr Wallace’s Lake Strategy query stated that the district and the environment section are preparing for the 2024 summer season.

"Additional resources will be provided at our lakes and amenity areas, in line with recent increases in their respective budgets," Cllr Wallace was informed.

Cllr Wallace was keen that a coordinated strategy be put in place for management of the lakes, particularly given Westmeath’s nickname, ‘The Lake County’.

"There is no action plan as to what should be done in relation to the use of the lakes – the fishing licences, the dumping, bin collection, patrols, dealing with gardaí if there’s an issue that arises, signage – the language of that signage, policing, the water quality, camping, swimming, and toilets," she said.

She also backed the use of CCTV at problem locations, and mentioned a number of potential funding sources: "We need to have a plan," she told officials. "We need to know what we’re going to do, and what we need at each location."

Support came from Cllr Aoife Davitt, who added that the lakes are in use all year round, not just winter.

She was particularly keen to see the use of CCTV authorised: "We waited so patiently for CCTV to be introduced. We waited for the ability to be able to enact it, to find these people," she said, adding that the council needed to be "hardcore" in its dealings with dumpers and those engaging in antisocial behaviour.

Cllr Andrew Duncan also strongly supported the call for creation of a lake strategy, as did Cllr Bill Collentine, who also felt that there was a need to install ramps at some of the lakes to stop speeding drivers, while Cllr Ken Glynn remarked that in the previous few days, he had been contacted in relation to motorists doing doughnuts and destroying the green area at Tudenham and Whitebridge Bay.

"One of our jewels is being destroyed by mindless thugs," he stated.

Cllr Mick Dollard said that signage needs to be erected at the lakes – and it needs to be in several languages, "because a lot of the problems that would be out there now are not being created by Irish people at all," he said.

Cllr Denis Leonard also believed CCTV was needed, and said it needed to be backed up by enforcement.

Director of services, Deirdre Reilly, said staff will prepare a plan for summer 2024 before the district’s next meeting. In addition, the byelaws need to be reviewed, she said, as there are a number of entrepreneurs interested in running activities there such as stand-up paddleboarding. Such activity is forbidden under the current byelaws.