Council accused of being afraid to challenge the National Roads Authority (NRA)

The council has been accused of being afraid to challenge the National Roads Authority (NRA) in case the county would lose out on transport funding, writes Paul Neilan.

At Monday’s council meeting, Cllr Paddy O’Reilly (FG) raised the issue of the junction at Lisgrey on the N3 with another councillor saying there had been six fatalities along that stretch of road.
Cllr Paddy O’Reilly demanded that a special meeting with the NRA be arranged over the “most irresponsible” removal of the double white lines.
The Virginia man said that people had been “killed and maimed” at the junction and that the removal of the lines was “outrageous”.
He urged new County Manager Tommy Ryan to acquaint himself with a “very, very serious situation”, saying that he did not want to attend more “funerals and bedsides” because of it.
The Fine Gaeler said the area in question was only 230 metres long - he had measured it - and that it would “only take a gallon of paint to save lives and join up these broken lines”.
He demanded a meeting with an NRA representative and said the council should face up to those responsible.
Ballyconnell haulier Cllr Peter McVitty said he was on the road “every day of the week”, that the situation “beggars belief” and that those responsible should be named - “it’s just ridiculous”.
Fianna Fáil’s Shane P O’Reilly said there had been six fatalities on the road and that “not long ago someone was maimed for life”. He requested that the Whitegate junction be included in any meeting with the NRA.
“The very next day after the municipal district meeting a young lady had to be cut out of her car [at Whitegate],” he said.
Cllr Philip Brady said, while he agreed on both situations, that the broken line at Lisgrey was, in fact, a warning line.
He added that a lot of motorists “don’t know what a warning line is, though”.
Cllr Brady warned: “We see a big NRA safety campaign on slowing down but nothing about a warning line - there are going to be more fatalities and something needs to be done.”
Cllr Winston Bennett said that he was aware of someone who had “lost a limb” at the Lisgrey junction and said “anything that could be done should be done”.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Paddy Smith said that his colleague Paddy O’Reilly had long since highlighted the black spot and that had even once received a reply from the NRA that there were “not enough fatalities” for them to act.
“There’s double the national average,” said Cllr Paddy O’Reilly, who said that those affected should be invited to attend any NRA meeting.
Director of Services with the council Ger Finn said: “All we can do is send a request. We can put it to the NRA but they might say that they mightn’t have to respond.”
“If so, what are we all doing here?” asked Cllr Paddy O’Reilly. “Where does the buck stop? We need to get personnel in here not faceless individuals releasing statements without names on them,” he added.

'An insult’
Cllr Shane P O’Reilly said that a previous response from the NRA said “we do not have to meet with public representatives”, which he said was “an insult to any public forum”. He branded the NRA’s attitude “disgusting”, adding “we’ve taken enough”.
Director of Services Joe McLoughlin said that “depending on the scale of a project, the council depends on the NRA for policy and for funding”. He said that the engineers would “not disagree” with “many issues you’ve raised”.
Cllr P O’Reilly, however, wanted clarity on the official position of the council: “Does the county council not agree [with the NRA]?” he asked, adding that the council should “disassociate ourselves with the way the NRA has handled this”.
Mr Ryan said that the NRA was “ultimately responsible” for national roads but that the council was in “constant” discussions with the body and that they would be invited to meet on the matter.
“The county council is more concerned about money for projects and is over-riding safety,” accused Cllr Paddy O’Reilly. “Lives are at risk. People are taking their lives in their hands.”
Cllr Brady further asked: “Are the council afraid to stand up to the NRA? Is this what is happening because it seems to be what is happening?” He added that the council was being “held to ransom” and would risk funding if they were “after slating them in the media”.
Mr McLoughlin said that the council was in constant bargaining over routes within th eounty and had “considerable success” in the last 10 years, citing the N55, the Belturbet bypass, the Ballyconnell Relief Road as examples of projects all done by staff “in conjunction with the NRA”.
Cllr Paddy O’Reilly said the handling of the matter was “shallow” and asked the executive to keep in contact on the issue.