Abbeyleix win Silver in Entente Florale
Silver medal win for Abbyleix in the prestigious European Entente Florale Competition
The Minister for the Rural and Community Development, Mr. Michael Ring, T.D., has congratulated the town of Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, which won a Silver Medal Award last week at the European Entente Florale Competition.
The international Entente Florale competition aims to promote a greener and more pleasant environment in European towns and villages. The results of the European Entente Florale competition were announced at a special awards ceremony in Podčetrtek, Slovenia, on Friday 15th September.
Welcoming the award to Abbeyleix, Minister Ring said:
“Abbeyleix should be immensely proud of its achievement. Irish entrants to the Entente Florale competition always perform very well on the European stage. This stems from the great community spirit and involvement we have in Ireland’s Tidy Towns competition which has been running for nearly 60 years. The award to Abbeyleix is a testament to the work carried out by the TidyTowns committee and by Laois Co. Council.”
The Minister continued:
“Our towns and village are at the heart of rural Ireland. As Minister for Rural and Community Development, I recognise the importance of rejuvenating towns and villages in rural areas. Initiatives such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the CLÁR programme, which are funded by my Department, are designed to support economic and infrastructural improvements to rural towns and villages to make them more attractive places in which to live and work. I have already allocated €7 million in funding under the CLÁR programme this year and I will shortly be announcing successful projects under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
Entente Florale, with its special emphasis on the improvement of the quality of life for urban and rural communities in an environmentally sensitive way, echoes the philosophy in Ireland’s own SuperValu Tidy Towns Competition. Nine European countries participated in the competition, with Ireland once again performing very well against their European counterparts.
The entrants to the Entente Florale Competition are generally chosen from among the top performers in the relevant categories in national competitions. The competition is judged on all aspects of the towns and villages under inspection, from the quality of road surfaces to the colour schemes of houses and from the planting of open spaces to the standard of public amenities.
For more information on Entente Florale visit http://www.entente-florale.eu/
