Cllrs rebuffed in salting routes change proposal

Councillors in the Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District area have been told in no uncertain terms that resources spent on additional salting routes will mean less money for fixing local roads.

Elected area members were informed that the local authority was already “operating at capacity” and, when the question was put whether cllrs wanted to divert such funds, their sheepish response led to an ardent defence of how the council chooses when and where to salt.

Fianna Fáil’s Aiden Fitzpatrick had asked if the council could explore the possibility of including the road from Lavey football pitch to Redhills and the road from Shercock to Laragh House on their salting route next winter.

The unseasonable request, given the present time of year, Cllr Fitzpatrick said, was done so in order to put the council on notice of the dire need along those roads, where the elevation reaches 823 foot above sea level and can become “impassable” following hard frost.

He accepted that yellow tubs of salt had been left at the base of the steepest routes, and paid credit to the locals who he’d witnessed out salting the roads.

The roads he specifically mentioned serve several local primary schools - Kill, Bunnoe, East Knockbride, and Clifferna - as well as a large number of significant industries - Carton Bros and McCabe Feeds and associated traffic.

“A lot of people travel that road,” said Cllr Fitzpatrick, who reported that there had been a “lot of fairly bad accidents last winter”.

He said there were cases where routes went untreated in Cavan but, when motorists crossed the county boundary into Monaghan, the roads were clear of frost. “Is there anyway to find more money?” he asked hopefully.

The motion was supported by chair of the meeting, Fine Gael’s Val Smith, and Carmel Brady who said: “It may be summer time now but winter is not far away.”

Senior Area Engineer Alan Lyons responded to the proposition. The council is committed to salting primary routes in the county, with regional roads a secondary consideration. He said discretionary funds were stretched as it was, and that drainage and potholes would see less funding if more was put into salting.

The motion also received support from Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly, who put in her own pitch for additional salting on the 100-metre stretch from Bailieborough Town to St Anne’s National School, as did Fianna Fail’s Clifford Kelly for Muff, Inniskeen and Carrickmacross roads near Kingscourt.

It was Director of Services for the MD, Paddy Connaughton, who put the position in the bluntest terms.

“Are any of the councillors willing to remove a salting route from the existing plan to accommodate?” he asked.

“I don’t think so Paddy,” replied Cllr Fitzpatrick, who remarked that he didn’t think the council were getting “value for money” when salting the roads when the surface was dry or above freezing.

“That’s unfair and I would hold our record for salting up against other councils quite high,” responded Mr Connaughton.

Mr Lyons added to the debate, explaining to councillors that there was a shared system, which reported weather data from two sites. However, while it can be an “inexact science”, it remained the best source of information under the circumstances.