Sonairte - The National Ecology Centre is a local amenity located between the towns of Julianstown and Laytown in Co. Meath. Sonairte has been an intrinsic part of both communities since it’s founding in 1988 and is highly valued for its diversity of benefits in the areas of environmental education, family-friendly events, nature-connection, community activities, local organically grown food and local employment and is regularly used by families, individuals and groups in the locality.

The incredible benefits of natural amenities and community hubs like Sonairte have never before been such an important life-line for local community members as they have since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They provide all-important access to nature in an easy-to-socially-distance environment yet, despite efforts from active community members and local politicians, Sonairte remains disconnected from the local communities by a complete absence of public transport, even though the simple extension of the D1/D2 Laytown to Drogheda Bus Éireann service of only a further 4km from Laytown to Julianstown would solve this issue.

This is an unacceptable denial of basic public services to small rural communities, not only from the point-of-view of road-user safety and disability access, but also from an environmental stand-point. Ireland is already considered a laggard on the global stage when it comes to the environment and climate. With greenhouse gas emissions per capita greatly exceeding that of most of our European neighbours, and with a huge proportion those emissions coming from transport, it would be a logical step to invest in improving local public transport networks to reduce emissions in order to meet our climate obligations under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 and our legal requirements as an EU member state. This is especially relevant in rural areas where people are highly dependent on cars as their only means to get from A to B.

Please make a big difference today for our environment and local communities by signing and sharing this petition to let decision-makers know that there is significant public interest in connecting the villages of Laytown and Julianstown with Sonairte in order to ensure that the important environmental and community services it provides are accessible to all.