Ryan has more interest in ‘south facing window boxes’ - Cllr
Minister given short road on LIS funding
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan is more interested in “south-facing window boxes” than the state of rural laneways. That was the view expressed by Cllr Shane P. O’Reilly at last Monday’s meeting of Cavan County Council.
On the other hand, there was enthusiastic praise of local TD, Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys, given her department’s recent allocation of over €370,000 to Cavan County Council to carry out improvement works under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).
The funding was announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development earlier this month but is expected to make little more than a dent in the 242 LIS applications currently on the council’s books. At the start of this year, there were an additional 128 laneways yet to be assessed.
Cavan received over €1.1 million in funding under the scheme last year - the county’s highest ever allocation.
It saw works carried out on 22 laneways in 2021. However, it is estimated that it would take over €11 million to set the list back to nought.
The disparaging comments about the leader of the Greens came on foot of a response to a letter sent to Minister Ryan’s office from Cavan County Council stating the case, in writing, for additional funding for private laneways and cul de sacs.
Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly said the reply from the minister’s office amounted to an “excuse not to fund” the Local Improvement Scheme through the Department of Transport.
Cathaoirleach Clifford Kelly considered it a “crazy position”, chipping in that, only for Minister Humphreys and her department “stepped into the breach”, the council would be facing a major concern with regards to funding LIS this year. “I don’t know what we’d do!”
Independent Shane P O’Reilly remarked that Minister Ryan simply “wasn’t on top of his brief” given the contents of the letter on LIS. “He hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about,” Cllr O’Reilly continued. “The minister needs to take a long look at himself as regards rural Ireland. He hasn’t a clue.”
‘Pittance’
While welcoming the funding from the Department for Rural and Community Development, he said it was a “pittance” in the overall context of what was required. “Fair play to her, she’s stepped up. All Minister Ryan seems to be interested in is Dublin and south-facing window boxes.”
Cllr Sarah O’Reilly (Aon) said that Minister Ryan could take a “lesson” from his front bench colleague Minister Humphreys. “She listens and she acts accordingly,” she praised, before adding her own opinion that Minister Ryan was “disingenuous”.
It was recommended by Fianna Fáil’s John Paul Feeley that the council write back to the department expressing that the response received, it was felt, was “entirely unacceptable”.
“It’s highly frustrating and difficult to explain to someone that it will be eight to 10 years to get a road done.”
Cllr T.P. O’Reilly agreed. He said it was a “ridiculous” situation in which councils found themselves in, and it was the Department of Transport’s remit to fix the roads in this country. “We’ll send a letter back and see what happens.”
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