Concerns over crowding, sanitation, medical incidents and the number of people attending Electric Picnic were raised at Monday’s meeting of Laois County Council, with Councillors calling for issues from the 2026 festival to be examined ahead of next year’s event.
Independent Cllr Aisling Moran brought a detailed motion before the meeting calling for additional information to be sought from Festival Republic when the licence for Electric Picnic 2027 is being assessed.
Among the information requested were verified ticket sales and allocations to performers and vendors, numbers of campervans, caravans and tents, toilet and bin provision, injuries associated with reported crowd crushes, hospital transfers, drug overdoses and a breakdown of the number of children on site.
She also sought information on any undocumented attendees and called for the Council’s Public Events Committee to meet more regularly, including with organisers following the festival and before the following year’s licence is granted.
Responding on behalf of Laois County Council, Irene Delaney said the issues raised would be brought to Festival Republic’s attention and considered as part of the Council’s review of any future licence application.
She said the information requested would be discussed at an event debrief scheduled for October, with the minutes to be circulated to members of the Public Events Committee.
“The observations and issues arising from this event are assessed annually by the promoters and relevant agencies, with recommendations informing planning and operational arrangements for the subsequent year,” the response stated.
The Council added that it remained committed to ensuring Electric Picnic operated in a “safe and sustainable manner”, while balancing its economic, social and cultural benefits with public safety, residential amenity and environmental considerations.
Speaking at length on the motion, Cllr Moran stressed that she was not opposed to Electric Picnic and said she had attended almost every staging of the festival.
“All these festivals, EP, Forest Fest, Greenfields, Steam Rally, put Laois on the map. So this is not about getting rid of it. This is about health and safety,” she said.
However, she claimed Electric Picnic had become increasingly overcrowded and questioned whether the headline licensed attendance accurately reflected the total number of people actually on site when performers, vendors, staff, security, medical personnel and children were taken into account.
Cllr Moran also raised concerns about crowd density and referred to what she described as two serious crowd crushes during this year’s festival.
She argued that the Council needed to establish what maximum number of people could safely be accommodated within the areas accessible to festival-goers and have appropriate limits reflected in licensing conditions.
The Independent councillor also questioned whether the festival remained suitable for children, raising concerns about teenagers separating from accompanying adults and difficulties contacting people because of poor mobile phone coverage.
Sanitation was another significant concern, with Cllr Moran claiming there were problems with the condition and availability of toilets across the site.
“The dirt of the toilets, that’s not healthy either. And there’s people there with medical conditions that have to use those toilets,” she said.
She also raised issues surrounding signage, staff knowledge of the site, rubbish collection and accessibility during wet conditions. Moran said medical information relating to reported crowd incidents should be examined, along with available CCTV footage.
Despite the lengthy list of concerns, she reiterated that she wanted Electric Picnic to remain in Laois.
“I just want this to be a safe place for people to go,” she said.
The motion was seconded by Independent Cllr James Kelly, who said the concerns should not be interpreted as an attempt to drive the festival out of Laois.
“This is not a witch hunt to rush somebody or hunt somebody out of the county,” he said.
He said health and safety was his primary concern and called for the Public Events Committee to meet separately to discuss the issues before bringing them to festival organisers.
Independent Cllr Ben Brennan also supported the motion and recalled previous discussions involving Councillors about health and safety arrangements for the festival.
He expressed frustration that Councillors had not subsequently been involved to the extent he believed they should have been.
Labour Cllr Marie Tuohy stressed that her support was also not based on opposition to Electric Picnic. She said that after a number of years of the festival taking place in Laois, recurring problems should be identified and improved from one year to the next.
“We’re all making it very clear this isn’t an anti-Electric Picnic,” she said, while highlighting health and safety and infrastructure among the areas requiring attention.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald also highlighted reports from festival-goers about crowding and said the issues needed to be addressed before they became more serious.
“Every one of us here wants to see an Electric Picnic,” she said.
“It’s great for the county and it’s great for all the local people that can go to it. But what we want is better health and safety.”
Fianna Fáil Cllr Elva Kelly also supported the motion and questioned the family aspect of the event, saying she did not personally believe it was a family festival any longer.
She suggested that the arrangements surrounding younger children could be among the issues examined.
Concluding the discussion, Cllr Moran acknowledged the work undertaken by Council staff in dealing with such a large event but urged that the concerns raised by councillors be taken on board.
“We are known countrywide for our festivals and how welcoming we are,” she said.
“This is not criticism of that.”
She said the central issue remained health and safety and called for the matters raised to be addressed with organisers ahead of Electric Picnic 2027.
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