A Laois County Councillor has called for increased support for breastfeeding facilities across the County, predominantly in urban areas.
Cllr Thomasina Connell raised the motion at the February meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District earlier this week.
Cllr Connell called on Laois County Council to “write to all shopping centres within the Portlaoise Municipal District to ascertain whether they have breast feeding facilities.”
The Fine Gael Cllr added that where such facilities are not provided, that the Council “request that a space be allocated.”
“I am alarmed by the severe lack of breastfeeding facilities in Portlaoise,” Cllr Connell said.
“It is essential that we make breastfeeding more welcome and more accessible in our urban areas.”
On a separate matter, Cllr Connell asked that the Portlaoise Municipal District introduce a Coffee Cup Deposit scheme “to eliminate single use takeaway coffee and tea cups.”
In raising the motion, Cllr Connell pointed out that Portlaoise is a designated Low Carbon Town of Portlaoise
“The Council must ensure that all coffee shops, cafes and hotels are contacted, and their agreement sought to work together in order to reduce the huge number of tonnes of rubbish from the local municipal waste network,” Cllr Connell said.
Fianna Fáil Cllr John Joe Fennelly supported the motion, saying the Council “need to educate people” on the matter.
Ms Suzanne Dempsey, Climate Action Officer said:
“Laois County Council previously commenced a 2Go Cup (Deposit Return) Pilot whereby the Council provided 400 cups to 6 café-type businesses in Portlaoise.
“Take-up levels for the Scheme are low, to date.
“There is an upcoming event by Killarney Coffee Cup Project on March 22. Cllr Connell has recently accepted an invitation to attend this event, along with Climate Action Co-Ordinator and Environmental Awareness Officer.
“It is hoped that they will use the learning from Killarney to approach businesses in Portlaoise as their support is crucial to the support of such an initiative.”
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