Minister Darragh O'Brien feels a proposal to turn Athlone into a green city by 2040 has merit.
The Environment Minister says a Westmeath town has all it needs to graduate into Ireland's first Green City.
However Daragh O'Brien believes work remains to be done at county council level before the project can be realised.
The Ballymore Group, headed by Sean Mulryan, is looking to double Athlone's population, power it with 90 per cent renewable energy and expand the campus of TUS significantly by 2040.
Mr. Mulryan is calling on town councillors in both Westmeath and Roscommon to pursue state support for the project.
Minister O'Brien says the proposals brought forward so far are positive:
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