Achill Fianna Fáil councillor refuses to support roads programme for west Mayo roads

A WEST Mayo councillor has refused to support the roads programme in his area in protest at the lack of investment into regional and local roads.

Achill-based councillor Paul McNamara told the monthly meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District that he could not support adopting the 2025 Road Works Programme for the area due to the allocation.

A total of €40.5 million of funding was allocated to Mayo County Council for regional and local roads in Mayo which represents a 10 percent increase on last year's allocation.

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However, Cllr McNamara claimed that given the increased costs on material over the last four years, councillors have lost a full allocation of funding which he says has left regional and local roads in an atrocious state.

“It will be proposed and seconded and my phone will be hopping over the next few months about the state of the roads. At what point do we say this will not work? We have lost an allocation and down €40m over four years and that is the reality where we are today on the regional and local roads. A price increase of over 35 percent a year over four years is more than 100 percent and that is an allocation we are down.

“For me enough is enough. I am not happy with the roads programme. If my colleagues want to vote it through then that is a matter for them,” he said.

Earlier, Cllr McNamara had complained that the R319 which goes from Ballycroy cross in Mulranny to Dooagh on Achill Island has only received enough funding to repair between 800 to 900 metres per year.

“The R319 is about 35km long and all we can manage is about 800 metres per year. It is going to take us 35 years before we see the full upgrade of the R319 in Achill in my opinion because we only take out 800-900 metres a year. We will be half way through it in 15 years time when we would have to do it again, never mind try to do the other half,” he said.

The Fianna Fáil councillor said that without extra funding for the regional and local roads they will soon be in a state of total disrepair and at crisis point. He also criticised the Government for promoting the Wild Atlantic Way while failing to invest in the local roads which are part of it.

He was supported by his colleagues in the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District who complained that not enough funding was being allocated to regional and local roads.

Westport councillor Peter Flynn criticised the allocation of €230,000 to roads in Westport town saying that it highlighted the loss of the town council to Westport and that people were angry with the state of the road and footpaths.

Seamus Ó Mongáin, Head of the Municipal District told Cllr McNamara that by not adopting the roads programme, work on the roads would not go ahead. He also defended the allocation of funding for the R319 saying that all 35km were not in a poor condition.

Cllr McNamara responded that he drives the road every day and that parts of it would 'knock the teeth out of your mouth' as you travel along it.

Independent councillor John O'Malley agreed that the allocation was not enough but proposed the roads programme as rejecting it would not result in more funding. His proposal was seconded by Cllr Gerry Coyle.