Drogheda deserves to be a city - not a Dublin commuter town
Dear Sir,
EVEN before the draft Ireland 2040 Plan was published, confirming that Government had once again ignored Drogheda, Ireland’s largest town, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar remarked in a Sunday newspaper article that “we want DART trains to pick up passengers from places like Leixlip, Drogheda and Clonsilla.”
Are we in Drogheda and East Meath prepared to accept this for our children and grandchildren ? To condemn them to long commutes by road and rail endured by their parents for education and employment ? Ask any family with a student or parent doing that at present and they’ll remind you of the huge financial, social and environmental cost that entails.
Will we get what we deserve ? Where’s the outrage that just as Martin Cullen and Fianna Fail ignored Drogheda in the previous National Spatial Plan, Eoghan Murphy and Fine Gael appear set to repeat the treachery – and at a time when Drogheda and East Meath’s case to be a major centre for investment as the capital of the North East could not be stronger, with a population equal to Waterford, coupled with unrivalled infrastructure and 80,000 people locally and 750,000 people within a 25 mile radius – unique among provincial towns.
At the launch of the National Planning Framework, Minister Simon Coveney stated that decisions would be evidence based – yet despite Drogheda’s compelling – evidence based - case to be the major national hub for investment and much needed job creation in the North East, it wasn’t even mentioned in the draft report.
Time is limited. Submissions can be made up to 12 noon on Friday, November 10th by emailing npf@housing.gov.ie. The draft plan can be accessed at www.ireland2040.ie.
Any individual, family, community, sports or business organisation that cares for the future of Drogheda has one last opportunity to exert their influence.