Roads and homeless issue highlighted by snow and ice
THE ASSUMPTION that County Wexford did not receive any snow during the recent cold snap was firmly debunked by Bunclody councillor Barbara-Anne Murphy at the recent county council meeting.
Cllr Murphy pointed out that there had been ‘quite a bit’ of snow in North Wexford and she questioned the amount of salting and gritting that occurred on the inland, more minor roads. She also voiced her concern over how the council had approached the homeless situation, wondering if an outreach programme could be set up for those who were unable to present at their nearest council office.
There were, she said, a number of people in Bunclody who were unable to get to Enniscorthy Municipal District Office and subsequently ended living out in five inches of snow. Cllr Tony Walsh remarked that the council should not be waiting for storms to dictate its homeless policy.
Director of Services John Carley admitted that there probably were some roads that were not gritted. In relation to the homelessness issue, he said they had put out a note about arrangements through their usual channels and would be disappointed if that wasn’t adequate. He accepted that, in some cases, there was a language barrier. He said it was something they would discuss further.
Council CEO Tom Enright said they had identified 18 rough sleepers in the county
A snowy Parish Church in New Ross during the recent cold snap.
but he was not aware if they included those in Bunclody. He added that the council had tried to contact those people that they knew about.
In relation to the roads issue, Director of Services Eamonn Hore explained that the council had had a well thought out plan as regards salting and gritting, saying that main routes and busy roads were prioritised and as many local roads as possible were done after that. He said they had workmen on standby and out early in the mornings.
‘We gritted 350km of roads. Short of getting an army of people, we could not have done any more than we did and I want to compliment the staff for their work over the cold spell.’ Both Cllr Michael Sheehan and Cllr Malcolm Byrne echoed these compliments.