This article is from page 22 of the 2008-10-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
DOCTORS who have been called to attend to the injured on a north Clare road have written to Clare County Council to have the road surface mended before anyone else is hurt.
The adjourned meeting of Clare County Council heard that a Baly- vaughan road which was recently re- paired after work was done to install amenities has been the scene of ac- cidents which have caused injury to people and damage to cars.
One cyclist had to be treated for in- juries at the scene by a local GP af- ter coming off his bike and a driver whose jeep overturned also had to have medical attention.
Cllr Martin Lafferty (Ind) tabled a motion asking what criteria the council uses to select contractors for water and sewerage schemes.
The finishing of the job in terms of reinstating road surfaces often leaves a lot to be desired, he said. “If you travel this road to Ballyvaughan you take your life in your hands,” he told
the meeting. “Why isn’t there more pressure put on individual contrac- tors to finish the job properly?”
Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) said that that the work on the road “was done in a prime tourist location. The state this road was left in for the summer won’t send visitors back with any good impression of the area.”
Cllr Tony O’Brien said the situation was “not confined to north Clare. We need a policy on what we look for in finishing roads after such work and we heed a strategy which involves
penalties. These people can’t just walk away from a job.”
Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald called for contractors who don’t do the job properly to be “fined, not put in to do another job for us.”
Mayor Madeleine ‘Taylor-Quinn (FG) said that the timing of the work “was terrible. It was done at the height of the tourist season when the roads into that area are at their busi- est.’ A number of councillors said they had seen letters from local GPs outlining the dangers of a badly sur-
faced road and the accidents they had been asked to attend in recent weeks on that stretch of road.
In reply to Cllr Lafferty’s motion, the Director of Services had outlined the full procedure used in selecting a contractor. A contractor is obliged to carry out “temporary restoration” during the course of the contract. A sum of money is provided in the con- tract for the final repairs to the road and this money can be spent by et- ther the council or the contractor to get the work done.