Three special awards categories in the National Tidy Towns Competition were presented for the first time this year. They included a Gum Litter Taskforce Award, a Notice Nature Biodiversity Award, and a Bilingual Society Award.
Minister for Environment John Gormley said he wanted to particularly commend the introduction of the new categories which he linked to the introduction last year of the Tidy Schools initiative.
The Minister is currently negotiating with the chewing gum industry on its contribution to the problem of waste gum and has said he may consider an environmental levy.
The Notice Nature Biodiversity award of €1,000 which was sponsored by the Parks and Wildlife Service of the Minister's own department was won by the Tidy Towns Committee in Mulranny, Co Mayo for a project on the biodiversity on the local dunes.
Six regional winners also received cheques for €1,000.
They were a Native Hedgerow project in Ballymun, Dublin; a Nature Conservation Project in Blackrock Co Dublin; a Biodiversity Awareness project in Ennis Co Clare; An Urban Biodiversity Project in Raphoe Co Donegal; a Wildlife Sanctuary Project in Clonmel Co Tipperary and the Ballinadigue Woodlands Project in Listowel Co Kerry.
The Gum Litter Taskforce Award was won by Carlow Tidy Towns Committee which received a cheque for €1,000. Regional winners included awareness programmes in Drangan, Co Tipperary; Sandycove Co Dublin and Ballymun Co Dublin.
The overall Bilingual Society Award was won by Westport in Co Mayo for a co-ordination and promotion campaign.
Other population category winners included Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, Athboy, Co Meath, and Ennis Co Clare, also for awareness and promotion campaigns.
Mr Gormley said the awards were intended to acknowledge and reward the efforts of those who strove to protect local biodiversity, eliminate chewing gum litter and and promote the use, "especially the visual use" of Irish.
He said he looked forward to seeing the initiatives "take off".
