Ballyconnell Playground Canal Danager.JPG

Waterways Ireland to meet over play area fence

Sean McMahon

 

A representative of Waterways Ireland is set to contact concerned parents in the Ballyconnell area about an exposed canal bank adjacent to a local playground.

The parents, who mounted a ‘yellow vest’ demonstration at the site last month and warned of a drowning tragedy waiting to happen, had highlighted the issue to European election candidate Brendan Smith. They want a fence erected as soon as possible in the interest of child safety.
Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith confirmed to The Anglo-Celt yesterday (Tuesday) that, following representatives by his office, the acting CEO of Waterways Ireland had informed him that his senior engineer will be in contact with parents shortly to discuss the matter and arrange a meeting. This meeting will take place in conjunction with the engineering department of Cavan County Council.
The spokesperson for the concerned parents group in Ballyconnell, Paula Donohoe, told The Anglo-Celt: “This is brilliant news. Now we need to expedite the meeting and the talks with Waterways Ireland and get the fence erected as soon as possible. We welcome the fact that both the county council and Waterways Ireland have been so amenable to meeting with us.”
She thanked Deputy Smith and Cllr Sean Smith for their hard work on the issue. Ms Donohoe also revealed that, since first highlighting the issue, a number of on-site inspections by local authority personnel had also taken place.