Councillors 'lambasted' over park in Ballyjamesduff

Two Ballyjamesduff councillors have described how they were challenged by residents, concerned about the impact of a proposed new park in the town, who were unhappy with councillors’ handling of their complaints.

The issue arose during discussions arising from a motion by Fine Gael Councillor T.P. O’Reilly calling on Cavan County Council to take into consideration the impact of a proposed park on residents of Beechwood Avenue and The Grove.

Cllr O’Reilly said the motion followed a meeting he had with residents who had raised concerns in particular about access to the development. “They had raised certain issues with me, which I took back to council,” he said.

However, he said, some residents were disappointed that he had not raised their concerns directly at Municipal District level.

Pointing to the ongoing planning and public consultation process, Cllr O’Reilly said he has advised residents to make submissions to council and assured them that he had also reiterated their concerns to the local authority.

Despite that, Cllr O’Reilly said he received “a bit of backlash” from some residents over the matter, recounting the incident with some humour.

It even prompted him to check the electoral register to see if the individuals in question had even voted in the last election. “I would just say to any elected members here, before you’re asked to take on a big job or something, it’s no harm in that time to go back and just go through the election registers and see,” he jested.

Cllr Trevor Smith supported the motion and revealed he too had experienced criticism over the issue. He claimed to have been “lambasted on Facebook” and confronted in a local pub for allegedly not acting on residents’ behalf.

Cllr Smith also said he had advised those residents who contacted him to make a formal submission so their concerns are officially recorded and addressed.

“I got harassed one night in the pub by somebody who’s going to end my political career because I didn’t represent the views of a very small amount of people,” he said. Cllr Smith pointed out that “many people are in favour of the park” and it is his role to represent all interests.

Regardless, both Councillors said they hoped the concerns of residents in Beechwood Avenue and The Grove would be taken into consideration and addressed by the council.

Area engineer John McGahern assured that these would be discussed as per usual in planning processes.