*Cllr PJ Kelly. Photograph: Martin Connolly
CLARE is to receive €2,079,722 as part of a nationwide extra allocation of €40m for repairs and improvement works on non-public rural roads and laneways under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys (FG) announced the funding this week in what is the highest allocation to date under the LIS. Only one herd number is now required for a valid application.
Mayor of Clare, Cllr Joe Cooney (FG) estimated that the county requires €13.5m to bring roads in Clare back up to standard, “it is scandalous and outrageous,” he said when criticising the infrastructure of the county’s roads.
At this month’s sitting of Clare County Council, Cllr PJ Kelly (FF) tabled a motion asking the Government to “quadruple the amount of annual grant given for the Local Improvement Scheme”. He stated, “I’m afraid politicians have surrendered to the civil service and there is nobody doing anything about it”.
During the meeting he put forward the case for rural Ireland, “we need to acknowledge that there are forgotten people out there,” he said of the diminishing services. Speaking to The Clare Echo following the confirmation of extra LIS funding, he quipped, “we are now the not-so forgotten people”.
Rural councillors have been left frustrated by the shortfall in funding to improve roads, he highlighted. “They pay their property and motor tax, they are left out in the cold because of the Government, they are the forgotten people, it is about time we take a stand and see that something be done”. The Lissycasey representative added, “I’ve nothing against greenways or greener ways but there seems to be loads of money for those things and not for our people”.
Having travelled the “hi-ways and byways” canvassing, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) stressed, “things need to happen now in a big way, one of the major problems is water on the road, the first thing we have to do is take care of the drainage, if we can do that then we have a good start made, for the LIS the money we’re getting is pittance to what we need”.
“Sometimes you wonder if rural Ireland is just not taken into account,” questioned Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF). “There is no doubt about it, it is peanuts what we’re getting for it, a lot more needs to be done, to do that we need revenue and a lot more of it”.
Herd numbers had been used as an excuse, Cllr Michael Begley (IND) noted. “Because of the number of houses granted permission, they moved over to housing and roads section, for that reason it appears these two herd numbers are an excuse to cut down on the amount of new allocations”.
Complaints from urban councillors were dismissed by Cllr Pat Burke (FG). “There’s hundreds of millions for greenways and there’s loads of money for Active Travel in urban areas yet I’ve heard Ennis councillors complaining about the bollards by St Flannan’s College while all the time rural areas suffer”.
Greenways were also referenced by Cllr Ian Lynch (IND). “There’s a huge anger out there, people are paying their way, their property tax and car tax but their car is getting destroyed”. He continued, “People are starting to turn against the Greenways, we need to make sure rural Ireland is protected”. He felt this move could be stemmed if services were better supported.
Roads in rural Ireland are “vitally important to everyday living,” Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) outlined. “I don’t know if it’s a Central Government or a Dublin thing but they just don’t get it, they don’t get how important local roads are to people, it affects quality of life, how you get to work or school”.
Support was voiced by Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) and Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) who pointed out that “a significant two thirds of the Ennis Municipal District are rural areas and have private roads”. Fellow Ennis representative, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) added, “We’ve seen the benefit of the scheme over the last number of years and the fact it facilitates people living in off the road”.
Also backing the call were Cllr PJ Ryan (IND), Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) and Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) who argued for a new look on the policy for funding road improvements.
