THE poor state of the roads in Newcastle West had Fine Gael councillor Liam Galvin all revved up at the monthly district meeting.
The Abbeyfeale man wanted to know what the district’s roads staff were using to fill potholes, claiming that many of them were in need of filling again within a fortnight. He hit out at area engineers for what he described as the “scandalous” condition of the local roads.
“The holes are filled and they are open again in a week or 10 days. They are falling asunder. How many emails have I sent about potholes?” he hit out.
Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Collins took the view that the district’s roads had been in a fair enough state before poor weather conditions “decimated” them. He voiced concerns about where money would now come from to get their roads back into a better condition.
“Would it warrant a request for extra funding from the Department to bring us back up to speed?” Cllr Collins asked the Council executive.
Senior executive engineer for the district, Ben Noonan, reminded him that they hadn’t yet received their 2026 allocations. However, he explained that while they waited for funding to arrive, they were preparing a roadworks scheme that would see roads rated in terms of condition.
Mr Noonan expressed his disappointment at Cllr Galvin’s comments, pointing out that his staff work extremely hard to patch up the roads over a huge road network.
“It’s not a case of picking X, Y, or Z. It is all done in a very analytical way, so we will prioritise the roads most in need of an upgrade. In regards the N21, applications have been made for funding but we have not received our allocations yet,” Mr Noonan explained.
Independent councillor Jerome Scanlan had earlier proposed that the Council carry out an audit of arterial roads within Newcastle West, taking the view that every road through the county town has major issues and asking to know what plans are in place to deal with subsidence on roads.
“We might not be getting our fair share and I would like our Director of Transport to come out to Newcastle West and see the state of our roads,” Cllr Scanlan insisted.
Director of Newcastle West Municipal District, Stephane Duclot, told councilors that the local authority’s Transport Director was well aware of the situation.
“We need our fair share,” Cllr Scanlan hit back.
Fine Gael councillor John Sheahan asked Council management if there was money available to fill the accumulation of potholes appearing over the winter months. He also wanted to know if the council roads staff do “reconnaissance” to check road conditions.
“I would like to compliment the team for the work they do, but I think we are on the reactive mode. When a call comes in, we fill the pothole. Are we proactively driving around to see if our roads are okay?” Cllr Sheahan inquired.
Mr Noonan said efficiency was the number one aim of roads staff.
“It is all planned in terms of investigating the roads with the most need. That’s how it operates,” he concluded.
– Local Democracy Reporting Scheme