Connacht Tribune

Construction work to start next year on Moycullen bypass

Published

4 years ago

October 21, 2018

A meeting of councillors of the Connemara Municipal District was told a contractor would be appointed for the construction of the long-awaited Moycullen bypass within twelve months.

Responding to a question from Cllr Niamh Byrne (FG), Senior Engineer with Galway County Council, Damien Mitchell, said they were working with a view to “starting work in quarter three of next year”.

This came as the local authority revealed an outline plan for road maintenance works across Connemara over the next three years.

According to Mr Mitchell, they were required to provide a plan based on the finance received last year – with extra works possible, should more funds become available.

“We have been asked to prepare plans on the 2018 figures – €13.2 million. Last year, we had the discretion to transfer 19 per cent from the €12 million road works project and the function of that was to help with the maintenance figure. In 2019, we won’t have the ability to do that and all money will have to remain within the restoration and improvement grant,” he said.

In all, this means that the Council anticipates spending just shy of €1.5 million on the maintenance Connemara roads every year, for the next three years.

Mr Mitchell said roads are assessed and those that require urgent attention have been prioritised.

In all, 30 roads in both North and South Connemara are listed as being prioritised for works, including the R336 road from Maam to Leenane, the L51033 at Claddaghduff, the R372 Bóthar Ros a’Mhíl and the L1321 Barna to Moycullen Road.

“I think it is a fairly balanced project across all the Municipal Districts. We’d love to have included more grants because we don’t feel it is sufficient.

“We looked for a lot of additional funding throughout 2018 but we haven’t been successful. If the funding goes up in 2019, then the project will change accordingly,” said Mr Mitchell.

Cllr Seosamh Ó Cualáin (Ind) said that although he had no doubt the areas listed needed to be done, there were areas that didn’t seem to be getting enough, such as the R340 Ard Mhór, Carna Road – set to have works in 2020 and 2021 to the value of €200,000.

He believed the volume of heavy goods vehicles travelling to and from Cill Chiaráin had seriously damaged the road.

“With overlaying, it seems to be the practice where you’re just overlaying the bumps and it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.

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Connacht Tribune

Opposition waits to see effect of fall-out to end of eviction ban

Published

2 days ago

March 23, 2023

Harry McGee

Senator Pauline O’Reilly...stern warning.

World of Politics with Harry McGee

An Opposition party is a bit like an invading army trying to surmount the defences of a seemingly impregnable fortress – constantly surveying the moat, the drawbridge, the doors and the battlements to spot any weakness.

For a Government party, the chink usually reveals itself when it tries to push through a deeply unpopular policy – like, for example, the decision to bring the eviction ban to a close at the end of March.

The Government’s thinking was that, by delaying the end of it, it was storing up problems for itself. The longer it left the measure in place, the bigger the queue of landlords who wished to sell up when the restrictions were lifted, triggering a huge number of evictions.

As it was, even ending the restriction now, according to campaigners such as Peter McVerry, was going to cause a “tsunami” of evictions.

Senior Coalition figures admitted that it was going to have an impact on homelessness in the short term.

As soon as the Government announced it was lifting the ban, there was a hue and cry from the Opposition.

Several back benchers in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael expressed concern but were brought around by assurances from senior Ministers that local authorities and approved housing bodies would be given the go-ahead to buy properties from landlords who were selling up and leaving tenants in situ.

However, if there are any upsides to the move, they will not become apparent for months at the very least, by which time there could be a big spike in the homelessness figures.

From the moment the decision was made, the Green Party TD for Dublin Central Neasa Hourigan signalled she opposed the move.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Connacht Tribune

Marine Park looks dead in the water

Published

2 days ago

March 23, 2023

Dara Bradley

An artist’s impression of the proposed Páirc na Mara complex in Cill Chiaráin.

Plans to develop a marine park in Conamara were dealt a major blow this week after An Bórd Pleanála refused to grant planning permission for the development.

Galway County Council had already rejected proposals by Údarás na Gaeltachta to develop Páirc na Mara on lands east of Cill Chiaráin village.

The regional authority responsible for economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht, appealed the decision to the planning appeals board but it too has refused to grant permission.

This latest decision blows a big hole in Údarás na Gaeltachta’s job creation plans for Conamara – its five-year employment strategy launched last year hinged on jobs growth from Páirc na Mara.

Reacting, in a statement to the Connacht Tribune, Údarás na Gaeltachta said it was awaiting ABP’s Inspector’s Report.

“This will help to inform how we proceed in the coming weeks. We remain committed to the Páirc na Mara project and to sustainable development and job creation in the Iorras Aithneach Gaeltacht area,” it added.

In a letter from ABP member, Chris McGarry, the Board gave two reasons for refusing the plan.

They related to the lack of information about the potential impacts of climate change; and the potential impact on water levels and the water supply in nearby water sources.

The proposal involved phase one of the continued development of a marine innovation park on a brownfield site of nine hectares, to include a number of marine-based industrial facilities and educational and applied research sites at Cill Chiaráin.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.

Connacht Tribune

Galway wrap up campaign with big victory in Mullingar

Published

2 days ago

March 23, 2023

Ivan Smyth

Galway defender Tiernan Killeen who was one of their goal scorers in Sunday's comprehensive National League win over Westmeath in Mullingar.

Galway 4-27

Westmeath 1-12

Ivan Smyth at Cusack Park

GALWAY hurlers fired in 2-8 without reply in the final 15 minutes of this National League tie as they secured a flattering 24-point victory over a gutsy but outclassed Westmeath outfit.

On Sunday, Conor Cooney looked sharp as he fired over five points from play for the second game running. Daithí Burke was solid once more at centre back and even though Westmeath moved Davy Glennon on him in the second half with the aim of dragging the Turloughmore man away from goal, Burke went about his business in a typically quiet and efficient manner.

With brothers Davy and Ronan Glennon facing off on opposite sides, this was a unique occasion for the pair. Davy did fire over a point but was starved of quality ball. From a Galway perspective, Padraic Mannion and TJ Brennan were the next best in defence as the pair both grabbed a point apiece. Evan Niland was reliable from the dead ball and when he moved out from the full forward line, he was more effective in linking the play.

Galway clearly possessed the superior stickmen and never trailed but after a promising start they faded out of the game, going 11 minutes without a score. They finished the first-half strong to see their lead increase from three points after 27 minutes to nine at the break. The third quarter was sloppy from a Galway perspective as they were outscored by six points to four in the first 20 minutes of the final period before the reinforcements arrived against a tiring Westmeath.

Galway then rattled in 3-9 and conceded just a solitary point thereafter with Declan McLoughlin and Jason Flynn grabbing goals before wing back Tiernan Killeen added another late on. After a poor start in Ennis seven days prior, Galway raced out of the blocks notching five points in as many minutes.

Cianan Fahy opened the scoring after eight seconds while Brian Concannon, Liam Collins, Niland (’65) and Conor Cooney gave Galway the ideal start. Cooney could have had a goal before arrowing over but Tommy Doyle produced a brave block, one which saw him retire injured moments later.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

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