‘Crisis point’ on Ballyduff roads

The condition of roads in the Ballyjamesduff electoral area drew the ire of councillors who said, following recent bouts of heavy snow and rain, the condition had reached "crisis point".

Speaking at a meeting of the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District last week, Cllr Shane P. O'Reilly said not enough resources are being dedicated to the area.

"There isn't enough outdoor workers or funding in the area. Recent attempts to fix roads are like a stitch in a garment that needs to be thrown out. We saw what happened after all of the recent heavy rain and snow in the county; potholes opened up all over the place. A lot of money needs to be spent doing a proper job on these roads."

He also suggested, while roads are an essential infrastructure in Cavan people's daily lives, they are being underfunded in favour of other less vital projects.

"This county is awash with money for greenways. We are spending huge amounts changing lightbulbs in colleges. People need proper roads to go about their daily business, whether it's going to work, going to college or bringing kids to school. But our roads are under serious pressure. John McGahern [senior executive engineer with Cavan County Council] and his team are doing their best to patch them up. But people are paying their taxes and are fed up about it."

Agreeing, Cllr Trevor Smith (FG) claimed there are now "potholes on roads that never had potholes before".

The sentiment was shared by his party colleague Cllr Winston Bennett.

The Ballinagh man said: "There were roads that were okay and, within 10 days, they had massive potholes on them."

Cllr Bennett also paid tribute to efforts of current staff trying to deal with the escalating problem, saying "the engineers are doing their best but more funding is needed".

Cllr T.P. O'Reilly (FG) said snow and rain had exposed pothole damage to roads and had caused them to open up, often immediately after they were fixed. He called on the Minister for Transport to "open his eyes on what is going on outside the Pale".

Fianna Fáil's Craig Lovett concurred, adding that "the people of Cavan are being treated like second class citizens, they are paying their taxes for everything but are getting no services in return".

The councillors unanimously backed Cllr Shane P. O'Reilly's motion to write to the Minister to seek urgent funding for repairs and remedial works on secondary roads.