FUNDING BLACK HOLE FOR ROADS AND FOOTPATHS
WEXFORD councillors are writing to the Minister for Transport to seek additional funding for broken up footpaths across the district as a matter of urgency.
Cllr Ger Carthy highlighted the plight of residents of Tuskamore Avenue in Rosslare Harbour, describing the footpath and road in the estate as an ‘absolute disgrace’.
Cllr Carthy first raised the matter in 2014, adding that nothing has been done to improve the road and footpath since.
‘I don’t normally go down this road but I’m at my wits end about this. I’m calling on the roads and housing departments to address the serious health and safety issues in the estate,’ he said.
Calling for a timeframe for the works to be carried out, he said the estate is a lawyer’s dream as people could easily break their leg walking through it.
Having been presented with images of the broken up footpath by Cllr Carthy, engineer Sean Kavanagh said: ‘It seems to be in a very poor condition. As you are aware we have a very limited roads maintenance budget,’ adding that all works are looked at on a prioritisation basis.
‘It’s the same as potholes, unfortunately situations like this occur,’ Mr Kavanagh said.
Cllr Carthy reiterated that there is a health and safety issue in the estate, asking if the housing or the roads department is responsible for its upkeep.
Mr Kavanagh said the council targets areas with the highest footfall for works.
‘ That is in the town. we wouldn’t have adequate funding to bring all of the footpaths up to standard,’ he said.
Accusing council offciials of an urban versus rural bias, Cllr Carthy said there is an onus on the council to maintain estates.
‘If Wexford County Council doesn’t have enough money the people paying property tax, roads tax etc should be told that the council doesn’t have adequate funds to maintain its roads and houses.’
Director of Services Tony Larkin said: ‘I am perfectly happy to clearly and unequivocally state that the roads department does not have enough resources.
‘We are significantly underfunded and Wexford County Council has the highest volume of roads to maintain in the country.’
Mr Larkin said there is a constant, rolling prioritisation of roads jobs, adding that nobody is more frustrated by the declining state of the county’s roads than the roads engineers.
Mr Kavanagh appealed to councillors to respect the proper channels of communication and not ring people on the council’s road crews.
Cllr Carthy suggested that road crew members were instructed not to answer their phones to him, a claim which was not denied.
Having persisted with this line of questioning, Mr Larkin said: ‘It’s not the place of a councillor to ring the crews directly.’
Cllr Carthy replied: ‘So it is the case then, I can take it.’
‘I tell you councillor I can put it in place if you like. I don’t see why we have to take this on a downward spiral.
‘You and I know you are getting a very high level of service for your enquiries. If a call did not get answered on one particular time I regret and apologise to the member.
‘We just can’t keep the road infrastructure at the standard we would like,’ Mr Larkin said.
Cllr Davy Hynes said roads which were laid in Pinewood estate in Wexford two years ago are already breaking up.
‘Is the council going to make the contractor come back and do the work?’ he asked.
Mr Kavanagh said significant money has been spent doing emergency patching and restoring the conditions of the roads.
‘We have put in as much as possible into our urban area and that is where our priorities are focussed at the moment.’
Cllr Lisa McDonald said the local government model isn’t working.
‘ This applies across the board. Has the executive asked for more funding? I acknowledge the huge work done on Coolballow road,’ she said.
Cllr McDonald said there are competing interests between the rural and the urban.
‘I asked two months ago about a plan for footpaths as this is an urgent matter. The minister needs to be informed that funding for local authorities is not working and the grant is clearly not enough.’
Mr Larkin said he has visited a dozen estates where footpaths and the road surface is similar to Tuskamore Avenue over the past year. ‘ There is never enough money to do everything’ Cllr Tony Dempsey suggested that the council write to the Minister for Transport Shane Ross, which was unanimously accepted.
Cllr McDonald said council officials must be seen to be behind the call, adding that unless work is carried out in estates like Tuskamore Avenue numerous estates across the county will fall into wrack and ruin.
Mayor Frank Staples said in recent years there was a lot of spending on roads in rural areas, adding that this is possibly why Wexford town’s roads have been neglected somehwhat.
Describing the footpath on Newtown Road as ‘******* scandalous’, he said a 70-year-old man recently fell on the path.