Mayo Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Campbell calls for community volunteers

Published: 16 January, 2009

Sinn Féin councillor Noel Campbell addressed Castlebar Town Council for the last time last night. The council's January monthly meeting was Councillor Campbell's last meeting as his resignation comes in to effect.

After thanking the people of Castlebar for their support, Councillor Campbell took the opportunity at the meeting to encourage the people of Castlebar to become involved in voluntary work in the town.

He said: "We are all aware that Ireland is currently in recessionary times. Castlebar is pitted against other major towns and cities in Connacht for commerce and industry, tourism and exchequer funding. Our town is in competition to be more attractive to any of those sectors seeking a location or base. Despite its power being eroded by central government, the position of town councillor remains an important one in that regional competition but we must remind ourselves that the council is only one player.

"For Castlebar to remain a thriving centre, for this town to weather financial constraints, all it's inhabitants must play their part. Volunteer work within the community is said to be in drastic decline and sadly this is true to a point but without the people of Castlebar volunteering their time and energy many projects would not have been realised. Many creative and effective projects that have enhanced the attractiveness of Castlebar were achieved by the hands of volunteers.

"Politicians are regularly criticised for only appearing every five years at election time to gather votes only to disappear again. I'd be the first to agree that this does occur in some cases but it should not be used as an excuse for someone else to remain idle. Members of the public who are not already engaged in voluntary work but who are in a position do so must ask themselves where do they go every five years after they cast their vote. We all have a shared interest in the success of this town and while anyone putting their name forward for election should be commended, nine people will not achieve success on their own - voluntary groups are needed. I want to use this opportunity to ask the people of Castlebar to get involved in their community, to put a couple of hours aside a week which they can lend to a voluntary group. "