“For 15 years, Drogheda has campaigned for city status but our calls are falling on deaf ears. Maybe it’s time to look at why that is and whether there are other ways to get the same thing” Louth Green Party Candidate, Cllr. Marianne Butler, has said.

“The reasons why Drogheda hasn’t been designated a city are simple. The population of the town at around 44,000 just doesn’t hit the 50,000 required. Bringing parts of East Meath into Drogheda was examined as part of the Boundary Review but found to be impractical and complex.

There is also real local and political resistance to the idea in East Meath – people in the Royal County just don’t want to live in the Wee County” explained Cllr. Butler.

“We need to face facts. Instead of being honest, some candidates try to fob us off with promises of a “city manager” or a “deputy CEO”. Basically, another postman to deliver messages to Dundalk and Dublin. Others think that banging the table harder, or political horse-trading, will get a different result. It won’t.”

“But the Green Party have an alternative approach. We want to see the re-establishment of Drogheda Borough Council, we want to give every town with a population of 30,000 the option of a directly elected Mayor, and we want to invest in tackling urban decay, dereliction, and vacancy providing the funding to encourage people to live “in” towns, rather than just around them. The town’s population would soon hit 50,000 and city status would move from being impossible, to being inevitable” she explained.

“With a strong local authority, Drogheda would be on an even footing with Meath County Council when decisions are made that impact South Louth and East Meath. The town would be more visible in Dublin when funding decisions are made, and it would restore the pride robbed by Fine Gael and Labour in 2014, when they abolished one of the oldest Corporations in the Country. In time, it would be easier to “bolt-on” pieces of East Meath, if it makes sense” Cllr. Butler continued.

“This isn’t a gimmick. It’s national Green Party policy, contained in our Manifesto, and would also apply to Dundalk, Navan and other major towns that feel the same sense of neglect as Drogheda. We believe strong communities must be built bottom-up, and that local government is the gateway to our democracy, not a dumping ground for problems Dublin doesn’t want to deal with.”

“I believe this approach could provide a realistic pathway to return power, people, and pride to Drogheda. But I fear that if we keep asking for the same thing, in the same way, we will keep getting the same answer and Drogheda faces another lost decade” she concluded.