Missing road sweeper

MYSTERY Council official agree to look into matter

Council officials have agreed to look into the mysterious disappearance of a road-sweeping machine purchased by Cootehill elected representatives nearly seven years ago.

The investment, made prior to the dissolution of the Town Council in 2014, was raised by Fine Gael’s Carmel Brady at the recent Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District meeting.

Members debated a motion, tabled by Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly, on the need for regular street cleaning in the district, when Cllr Brady queried the whereabouts of the machine.

“No one seems to know where it is,” Cllr Brady informed the virtually-held meeting.

She had earlier lambasted the current system whereby a street sweeper is employed on the town’s streets at a time when traffic is already parked up. “It’s a waste of a job,” she fumed.

Other councillors agreed that build-ups of silt from roadsides and cigarette butts led to drainways being blocked.

Cllr O’Reilly argued, if a schedule for road sweeping were put in place, arrangements could be made for cars to be moved and particular problematic areas to be addressed fully.

“Usually shop keepers keep the areas in front of their premises. That is not happening at the moment with shops being closed,” said Cllr O’Reilly, who suggested that dogs are being injured as a result of broken glass.

The motion was supported by Sinn Féin’s Paddy McDonald who questioned whether the council might invest in solar-powered bins.

The meeting was informed by senior engineer Alan Lyons that €50,000 a year was spent on road-sweeping in the district. He said to schedule road-sweeping would require resources from other areas within the council.