Connacht Tribune
€6.5m in unspent Connemara road money returned to State
Millions of euro earmarked for the N59 in Connemara have been lost – as the road from Oughterard to Clifden deteriorates by the day.
To date, a massive €6.5m has now been returned to the state coffers – unspent.
Because while this 50 kilometre stretch has been described as the worst of its kind in the country, environmental issues meant the money set aside by Transport Infrastructure Ireland could not be utilised.
The latest tranche to be returned to Dublin is almost €2.5m; that is from the allocation set aside for the Oughterard to Clifden road in 2016. It has emerged that only about €100,000 of this money was used; that was on studies and consultants.
Over €4m that was allocated the previous year for the start-up of the Oughterard to Maam Cross section of the road was also returned.
While permission was given for the Oughterard/Maam Cross section by An Bord Pleanála, a condition attached meant that the National Parks and Wildlife Service also had a deciding role in the process.
Galway County Council had to get clearance from the NPWS before work could begin on the 15 kilometres between Oughterard and Maam Cross. And while the go-ahead was given by An Bord Pleanála in 2013, there has been no agreement so far with the NPWS.
This week, N59 lobby leaders Josie Conneely and Seosamh Ó Cuaig described the situation now as “absurd and farcical”.
The N59 Action Campaign Group will meet Minister for Transport and Tourism, Shane Ross, in the coming weeks in order to press their case for a fast tracking of the Connemara road crux. This meeting has been arranged by Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh.
The N59 Action Group will request the Minister to facilitate some system of intervention to overcome the hold-ups and planning difficulties that have halted progress on the upgrade.
“This is an insult to the people of Connemara and a national scandal,” said Seosamh Ó Cuaig.
“People fought long and hard for better roads in Connemara; indeed people went to prison in previous decades over the issue. You would have to say what is happening now – with millions from Connemara going back to Dublin – is beyond the boundaries of reason,” he added.
The proposed upgrade between Clifden and Oughterard involved two separate projects. While the Oughterard to Maam Cross section was given the green light by An Bord Pleanála it has not crossed the NPWS environmental hurdle yet.
Meanwhile, the section between Clifden and Maam Cross was refused by An Bord Pleanála on a split decision. While the ruling accepted the need for an upgrade, that was overruled by concerns that Special Areas of Conservation would be negatively affected.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has announced an €800,000 allocation for the N59 between Oughterard and Clifden for 2017; that sum is substantially down on the sums of the past two years – which could not be spent.
While there was no detail on how this year’s allocation would be used it may go towards an “overlay” on part of the road from Oughterard toward Leam and Maam Cross.
N59 Action Campaign group chairman Josie Conneely warned that they ‘must be very watchful’of the overlay process.
“In the end that is little more than tar and chips and some filling in of valley’s in the road,” he said.
“The people of Connemara need and deserve more than that. We must have a guarantee that this work is a temporary measure and that the proper upgrade is carried out.
“We certainly will be highlighting that with Minister Ross as well as the section to Clifden and planning for the section north to Leenane – particularly the section west of Letterfrack,” he added.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
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.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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