Efficiency of council work needs to be questioned

Dear sir - It was with an acute sense of exasperation and bewilderment that I finally felt compelled to bring to the fore an incident that occurred in Dunshaughlin, some two weeks ago. This desire was further compounded by the fact that I witnessed a strike being staged by over 200 Meath County Council outdoor workers today (12th August). I stared wide eyed at their audacity and my eyes widened further to discover that they were protesting against an introduction to a cut in their allowances and payments.   The incident in Dunshaughlin that I wish to highlight, is one that we as an Irish nation are all too familiar with. It is the manner in which the outdoor workers of Meath County Council deal with potholes on our roads. We have all complained and moaned amongst ourselves about the 'state of our roads' and the sloppy, haphazard methods of filling in the copious amount of potholes that seem to occur. Perhaps in those far flung days of the Celtic Tiger, this was something that we generally tolerated, even giggled at good naturedly, however in the midst of a merciless and relentless recession, one must ask themselves, if they should continue unheeded. For me, the final straw was when I noticed a convoy surround the entrance to the Courthouse in Dunshaughlin one afternoon. Having established that it was a group of outdoor workers from Meath County Council, I then counted seven men emerge from their various vehicles. They engaged in a brief discussion before taking their positions; one under a tree to lean heavily on his shovel; another exuberant pair occupied themselves in some boisterous tousling whilst the remaining men looked anywhere but at the task in hand. One man then deposited a small amount of tarmacadam into one of the larger potholes before going back to quickly mix some more. One of the other men (the one positioned under the tree) surged forward to smooth the deposit. Now when I say 'smooth', I use the term loosely. The first man then returns and deposits tarmacadam into another pothole; and so one would think, the pattern continued. One would think this you see, given the fact that there was about 15 potholes, some closely related to craters in fact. I was to be sorely disappointed however. Upon half filling the fifth of these crater-like holes, there was an arm raised to signal completion of their task. Almost as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone. I stared in unabashed amazement. Whilst barely unable to tear my eyes away from the shambles, I reached for my camera and captured something that we are so sadly accustomed to. The case here is undoubtedly a disgrace. The questions I asked myself over and over is, why were seven men employed to work together when two men were obviously enough to carry out the work? Why waste a miniscule amount of tarmacadam on an area that requires complete recovering? The haste with which they completed the job led me to believe that they must have a quota of ground to complete in the day. The sheer mismanagement and waste is something that we must start to question, loudly. This is our dwindling cash they are literally tossing away in such a careless and thoughtless way. Grumbling quietly amongst ourselves will not rectify this issue. We Irish are renowned for our dislike of publicly complaining but as our small island is propelled further and further into the gloomy depths of recession, it must surely be time to reach deep inside ourselves to find a voice that is actually entitled to be heard.   Yours, Lisa Carroll, Woodlands, Navan.