An Athlone councillor is calling on the local authority to re-evaluate the way in which community Christmas lights are funded across the area.
According to councillor Louise Heavin, the current system is wasting money in the long term, with community groups receiving small amounts of a general allocation.
It costs close to €40,000 to mount, power, maintain and remove Christmas lights in Athlone town each year alone.
Councillor Heavin is urging the local authority to implement a new system where one town or village each year would receive a significant grant to purchase good quality lights.
The Green Party councillor says that within a few years, each local community could have reliable efficient lights that would considerably lower upkeep costs each year:
