M3 is another Meath folly

Dear sir - Back in 1791, Loyd Tower was constructed outside Kells. This tower built was built in the shape of a lighthouse and yet it was over 20 miles from the sea. There are various theories regarding the reason for its construction, which range from providing local employment in poor times, to providing the landed gentry with a lookout post to view the local hunt. Whichever theory is true, the tower is generally regarded as a folly. Now, over 200 years later, Meath has gained another folly in the shape of the M3 motorway, totally unnecessary, dual tolled, built in the middle of Ireland’s most historical valley and costing the tax payer billions of their hard earned euro. It has recently become known that traffic volumes on this motorway are way down (over 22 per cent) on the NRA’s expected level, and that the NRA in their “wisdom” signed a contract with the road builders to compensate them for any short comings in their expected revenue from tolling. Presumably this was done with the full backing of our Government and our locally elected representatives. The same local representatives who are now up in arms over these tolls and the possible repercussions in future local elections. Various groups both local, national and international opposed this road and were knocked back and criticised at every opportunity by Government, local TDs and others with vested interests. It is now obvious that they should have been listened to. With the downgrading of services in Navan Hospital, the banking scandal, our miserable health service, the FÁS scandal, our children attending school in damp rodent infested classrooms and now the prospect of a draconian budget, we deserve to be treated like fools. The fools which we are. Yours, Jimmy Rafter, Hill of Tara.