Call for ban on sulky racing

In the aftermath of the Ballinasloe Fair, a call has been made for laws to be put in place to prevent Travellers engaging in sulky racing on public roads and housing estates.

It is claimed that they pose an unacceptable danger to both pedestrians and motorists and the practice should be banned.

And it was claimed at a meeting of the Ballinasloe Municipal District that there was no law to prevent sulky races along the public road.

A letter has now been sent to the Department of Transport asking that legislation be implemented to prevent this activity.

The matter was raised by District Chairman, Cllr. Michael Connolly who said that it was a huge problem, not alone in Ballinasloe but also in other parts of the county.

He said that it was happing in housing estates in Ballinasloe as well as on the public roads and described the activity as “a living danger to the public”.

“The Road Safety Authority spend much of their time warning motorists about their behaviour on the roads but there is nothing to combat this activity which highly dangerous.

“The Gardai have informed me that their hands are tied on the matter. They cannot prevent people from engaging in sulky racing on the public road which is absolutely madness”, Cllr. Connolly added.

During the Ballinasloe Fair there were a number of sulky races on the public roads and even through residential estates, which led to safety concerns among locals.

But Cllr. Dermot Connolly responded by saying that there were laws in place with regard to people who mistreat animals and suggested this as a possible way of stopping the races.

He also said that the owners of these horses should be asked to produce proper documentation for these animals. “We should use the laws that are there”, he suggested.

“This is a public safety issue”, replied Cllr. Michael Connolly. “Motorists and residents are put in danger because of these races and there is nothing that the Gardai can do about it”.

According to Cllr. Timmy Broderick there could be an industry created out of sulky racing and believed that it could be acceptable if it was run professionally.

“It might work if it was put in a controlled environment,” Cllr. Broderick said that suggested Galway Airport as a possible venue.