Special council meeting to discuss Brexit, road safety and hospital services

The elected members of Cavan County Council are set for showdown talks on a number of issues pertinent to the region to include the fallout of the UK’s ‘Brexit’ referendum vote, safety concerns on the N3 at Lisgrey and the future protection of Cavan General Hospital.

The special meeting has been scheduled in the Council chambers for Wednesday, July 27. Initially to discuss the ramifications of the ‘Leave’ vote on Co Cavan, the meeting saw the addition of two more topics of discussion this week.
At Monday’s monthly meeting, councillors supported a motion to add to the debate the much-campaigned-for road safety measures on the N3 between Lisgrey, as well as support for the staff and management at the local hospital.
In attendance will be the council’s own legal advisors, who will be quizzed on whether the authority is in a position to discharge responsibility for any accidents on the 1.55km of roadway to Virginia given that appeals for intervention to the National Roads Authority (NRA), now Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), have seemingly fallen on deaf ears.
Also invited to attend are local Oireachtas members and the region’s MEPs.
“I see it as a slight on the council, the members of the executive and staff if our motions are not being considered,” Fine Gael Councillor Paddy O’Reilly grumbled, angered by a response received from TII earlier this month turning down a request for a representative to attend a Council meeting.
The letter, received on the occasion, outlined that the N3 route was recently remarked under the National Road Delineation Programme and “designed from end to end by a competent team in accordance with the Traffic Signs Manual”.
It added that a National Speed Limit Review is currently underway and TII proposals in respect of national roads have been discussed with the council and will be put before members for consideration “in due course”.

‘One of the greatest insults’
Disgusted at the response received, it prompted Fianna Fáil’s Shane P O’Reilly to describe the letter’s contents as “possibly one of the greatest insults” for any council to have received.
Adding that there are those who “bite their tongue” for fear of funding cuts from the roads body, Cllr O’Reilly said: “I don’t care any more.”
Joined by fellow party member Philip Brady, who labelled the TII’s design team “incompetent more like”, he stated it was “glaringly obvious to anyone on that road that something needs to be done”.
As he had done in the past, Director of Services for Roads, Joe McLoughlin informed the meeting that the council is in the process of preparing an application for funding to TII for its Budget 2017 and it was hoped some of this could be converted to realigning the road instead.

Roadworks continue
With an average of 17,000 vehicles passing through Virginia daily, the meeting had earlier heard a defence by the executive of their contract agreement in respect of the €1.9m upgrade and realignment of bridge in the town, along with works at the N3/R178 Bailieborough Road junction.
Cllr P O’Reilly was once again highly critical of the contract procurement process, repeating that, had the documents been put before elected members, greater input in respect of any potential disruption to local business or traffic could have been ascertained.
The Council executive responded by informing the meeting that they are continuing to engage with the contractors, which could see both night and weekend work carried out on some elements of the project.

‘It ain’t happening’
With regards to Cavan General, and in light of reported recommendations of an unpublished report from the Trauma Steering Group, which suggests the removal of services locally, Cllr SP O’Reilly said that the facility was one of the most important in the region and deserved members’ support.
Asking how such recommendations could be implemented with overcrowding in Drogheda and ongoing threats with regard to Our Lady’s Navan, he said: “It ain’t happenin, and we won’t let it happen.”