Cllrs vent anger over 'forgotten' East Meath

Standing orders were suspended at Monday's meeting of Meath County Council to discuss the county's response to the recent severe weather, with several councillors claiming that parts of rural Meath were forgotten about. Cllr Jimmy Cudden asked why side roads and footpaths in east Meath had been left until Saturday morning to be gritted and commented that no gritting lorry had crossed the N2 prior to the weekend. "I have often felt that Kentstown is the end of Meath and, if you ever needed proof, then you got it in the last three to four weeks," he said. Cllr Cudden added that one elderly man was being brought home from hospital by ambulance but the ambulance couldn't get to his house. Milk lorries were unable to get to many dairy farms, he added. Cllr Wayne Harding said the population in east Meath felt "badly let down". The roads were not on the gritting map because the coastal roads traditionally don't freeze, but this time they had, he said. Cllr Sirena Campbell said that 16,000 people had been trapped in an area and asked what could be done to ensure it doesn't happen again, while Cllr Eoin Holmes said the response time was "flawed" and it shouldn't have taken so long to get the roads cleared in east Meath. Ballivor and other parts of south Meath were also forgotten about, according to Cllr Tracy McElhinney, who compared the area to "the forgotten Atlantis under the sea". Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said roads in rural areas were not touched and they should have been gritted at least once in the 10-12 day period so that people could get out. "Over the three weeks, nothing was done to alleviate the problems for people in rural Meath," he said. Acting county manager Tadgh McDonnell pointed out that the council had managed to keep the motorway networks and national primary and secondary routes open so that people could travel on them. Director of infrastructure Eugene Cummins reiterated this and said the council had kept Meath open for business in the last week and allowed people to travel safely and economic activity to continue. He said the national road network did not come to a standstill and that Ireland was one of the most successful counties in the EU in keeping its road network open to traffic. Mr Cummins added there was no question that a lack of finance had thwarted its response in any way and there was adequate finances to do what had to be done. He thanked the outdoor staff for their hard work and pointed out that these were people who had suffered cutbacks to their salaries and allowances. Councillors unanimously praised the council's staff for the long hours they put and the work done to grit roads and keep water supplies going. Cllr Regina Doherty said the outdoor staff and frontline staff had "taken a hammering unnecessarily", adding that the gritting teams had not got home until 2am or 3am on Christmas Eve when everyone else was in bed. Director of environment Brendan McGrath said staff had shown a huge level of commitment and that the "hours they put in were phenomenal". Meath Civil Defence, who had more than 60 volunteers at eight centres in the county at the weekend, and the Army were also praised for their efforts. There were calls for a review to take place on the council's response to see where lessons could be learned if there was another severe cold spell, and councillors were told that a review would be carried out. Cllr Jim Holloway said they had to look forward and address the issues that needed to be addressed after the event, which had shown up "certain deficencies". Cllr Joe Reilly said that 50 people had slipped and injured themselves on footpaths in Navan on Christmas Eve and asked why structures were not put in place quicker. The Government and, in particular Minister John Gormley and Minister Noel Dempsey, came in for criticism for from Fine Gael and independent councillors. Cllrs Maria Murphy and Jim Holloway criticised the Government for the lack of a national plan and Cllr Ann Dillon Gallagher said it wasn't until Dublin came to a standsill that they realised the rest of the country was suffering. Cllr Seamus O'Neill said there was a lack of leadership and that Minister Dempsey had passed the buck to Minister Gormley. "Shame on Minister Dempsey being away in an emergency," he said. Several councillors had complaints about Meath County Council's communications and Cllr Jimmy Cudden agreed that communication left a "lot to be desired". Cllr Nick Killian said it was the worst council when it comes to being proactive with the media saying the council was always "reactive". He said the website was a disgrace and not up to speed.