Liam Grant, an Earth and Ocean Science graduate from Lahinch, will next week be co-opted as Green Party representative to Clare County Council.
Councillor Grant currently works as a vaccinator and firefighter in Ennistymon and is qualified as an Emergency Medical Technician and beach lifeguard.
Liam Grant said: “It is a great privilege and a very humbling experience to represent the Green Party in West and North Clare. As an Earth and Ocean Science graduate, I am very passionate about the environment, particularly when it comes to water. I want to put an end to beaches being closed in the county due to high levels of bacteria in the sea. We need to bring our water and wastewater infrastructure into the 21st century.”
“As the incoming Green Party Councillor, I look forward to working in tandem with Senator Róisín Garvey. Róisín has already done tremendous work in the area, and we share a similar vision for the future. With sea swimming becoming ever more popular I would like to see the development of tidal swimming pools, similar to that seen in Belmullet and Bundoran. Greenways have been incredibly successful in other parts of the country and Clare needs to catch up. The pandemic has shown us how great it is to exercise outdoors, and we need to invest in projects that encourage it.”
Senator Róisín Garvey, welcomed Cllr Grant as the new Green Party representative in her area.
She said: “It is great to see a young, local, community-minded person eager to take on the role of North Clare’s only Green councillor. I look forward to working with Liam as we do all we can to protect and support our community as we face into the many challenges our county faces around housing, water, transport and climate with respect to our rural and farming communities and to our strong tourism and SME sectors.”