Councillors demand better road infrastructure as Mayo road fatalities exceed 2023 figures

THE number of fatalities Mayo’s roads in 2024 has led to calls for improved safety on roads where such deaths have occurred.

The matter was discussed for over 45 minutes at the monthly meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District, taking up more than half of the meeting.

A total of 13 people have lost their lives on Mayo’s roads so far in 2024, the joint-highest total of all 26 counties alongside Co Cork. Twelve people were killed on Mayo’s roads in all of 2023.

Representatives from the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District expressed alarm at the number of road fatalities which have occurred in their area this year.

Concern was also raised about the inability of authorities to access data on collisions due to GDPR, with Cllr Damien Ryan branding it as ‘a load of nonsense’.

Cllr Ryan, who is Cathaoirleach of the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District, accused the authorities of ‘hiding behind regulation’ by citing GDPR.

“We don’t need the specifics of who is involved, but we certainly need the statistics, and those statistics speak for themselves, they inform us as regards to what’s happening,” the Fianna Fáil councillor stated.

His concerns were echoed by Ballyhaunis-based councillor Alma Gallagher, who called for ‘a thorough, fact-based approach’ to tackling road deaths.

Cllr Gallagher said it was ‘unbelievable that local authority road engineering teams were not able to view specific data on road collisions due to GDPR’.

“As councillors have what is called a reserved function in determining speed limits on some routes. How can we make an informed decision when such a vital piece of information is missing? We need to know the true underlying causes of accidents and deal with those,” the Fine Gael councillor said in a statement.

“We cannot just make an arbitrary conclusion as to what the cause is. We need to know the facts of each case, to propose informed changes, to make our roads safer.”

Many lamented the state of road infrastructure in Mayo, with Cllr Gerry Murray branding road infrastructure as ‘not fit for purpose’.

The Sinn Féin councillor cited comments from Mayo Coroner, Pat O’Connor, who highlighted prior recommendations made by him following inquests into road deaths on the N17 and N5.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Claire Byrne Show, Mr O’Connor acknowledged modifications that have been made to the N17 near Claremorris but said ‘little or nothing’ had been done to improve safety on the N5, where eight people have lost their lives in the past decade.

Citing a 2004 report, Cllr Murray said that a motorway running from Tuam to Sligo was needed to accommodate the increased traffic levels on the N17.

An upgrade of the N17 from Knock to Collooney is currently at route option selection phase.

Cllr Murray said that a new single-carriageway on the N17 was ‘totally not acceptable’.

“It seems to me what is coming down the road from Collooney to Charlestown is a similar blueprint that has been rolled out from Strokestown to Ballaghaderreen, which is 16 t-junctions and five roundabouts,” said Cllr Murray, citing the upgrade of the N5 from Scramoge to Ballaghaderreen.

“In the words of one retired local authority engineer who I met in the last few weeks, it’s a license to kill, number one, and number two, if you went to Europe for funding it would be turned down for funding on the grounds of road safety. That’s where we are at.”

Cllr O’Patsy O’Brien (Independent) claimed there was ‘a lack of political will’ to construct a motorway from Tuam to Sligo.

Cllr Adrian Forkan (Fianna Fáil) said he had been late for work 12 times in the past year due to accidents on the N5, describing it as ‘absolutely lethal’.

“There has been nearly a fatality on every junction on it,” the Kiltimagh-based councillor said.

In response to two motions tabled by Cllr Richard Finn, Mayo County Council said that the Claremorris Swinford Municipal District has been working with the council’s Head of Roads, Paul Dolan, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to identify safety works to take place on the N17 between Knock and the Galway border outside Ballindine.

“Discussions are underway with TII to secure funding and to agree the extent of these works. It is hoped that a package of works will be agreed shortly,” said Conrad Harley, Senior Executive Engineer with Mayo County Council.

Funding has also been received and works are due to commence shortly to replace concrete post and rail fencing just south of the new bridge at Lisduff. Negotiations are underway with adjacent landowners to maximise the extent of these works.