Bypass slane campaign questions meath county councils commitment to bypass

Furious members of the Bypass Slane campaign have questioned Meath County Council’s commitment to the bypass, following last week’s meeting between the council and Transport Minister, Pascal Donohoe.
They were angry that the council hadn’t produced the final version of the traffic management report carried out by Meath County Council in relation to Slane and the surrounding areas and expressed frustration that there were no senior council officials at the meeting.
“I personally believe Meath County Council has forgotten why we need this bypass - to keep the people of Slane safe and they would want to cop on and remember that,” said spokesperson, Michelle Power.
She said that she had been expecting to attend last Thursday’s neeting along with another member of the Bypass Slane campaign, but they were informed on Wednesday that they could not attend.
“While we were disappointed, we weren’t too upset, as we thought the Minister was going to receive the final report and that he would be pressed for funding for the project.
“Since then however, we learned the minister didn’t see the final report as it hasn’t been completed, despite the fact that the draft was presented to Meath County Council before Christmas.”
However, a spokesperson for Meath County Council said the Acting Director of Services for Transportation attended the meeting last Thursday and it was considered that this official was best placed to deal with the details of the scheme.
“A briefing was prepared for the Minister and a presentation of the analysis was made. Following the presentation, all questions were answered in a detailed manner. It was agreed to provide the final report to the Minister when available,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Power said the Bypass Campaign felt sidelined.
“Our contribution is not being regarded. We are wondering how seriously they are taking this. We knew the CEO just couldn’t be there, but there were no high level officials from the council at the meeting,” she said.
“When you see the way local people and councillors are working hard to progress the bypass and the council just seem to be sitting on the report, it is very frustrating.
“In fact if we had rolled up to Dublin for the meeting, we would have been embarrassed that the full information wasn’t available,
“It is ridiculous how long this report has taken. First it was delayed because of the toll holiday in November 2013 and the results of that weren’t available until March last year.
“We finally heard details of the report before Christmas, but it still hasn’t been finalised,” she said.
Meanwhile, Cllr Wayne Harding described the exclusion of the Laytown/Bettystown area members of Meath County Council from the meeting as very disappointing and not fully inclusive.
He said it had been made clear to him that councillors would not be attending, but he accepted that, as he believed members of the campaign would be there, but was shocked when they were told that day before they would not be attending.
Cllr Harding pointed out that Fine Gael councillor, Cllr Eugene Cassidy was present.  
Senator Thomas Byrne said he believed there was a distinct lack of common purpose between the County Council, the NRA and the Department of Transport. 
“I believe that if we are to progress to a new planning application, all three will have to work together.  My strong sense is that this is not happening.  The Department and the NRA do not appear to be fully briefed by Meath County Council. 
“It seems to me that there are very few lines of communications open between officials in the Council, the NRA and the Department.  To me, this is profoundly worrying.”
He demanded that Fine Gael representatives stop spinning about the Roads Bill bringing new hope for the Slane bypass. “The Roads Bill has been hanging around the Dail for over a year and isn’t likely to pass before the summer. The Government has shown no urgency in relation to it and, in any event, the pre planning procedures contained in the Roads Bill are likely to be extremely cumbersome.  The bill has yet to reach the Seanad and I will be thoroughly examining it when it does to make sure it’s fit for purpose,” he said.
Deputy Helen McEntee said that Cllr Cassidy had attended the meeting to discuss the proposed Navan Kingscourt Greenway.
She said she would bring the Minister for Transport to Slane this spring to discuss the Slane bypass project with local activists.
She said the Minister was presented with an analysis of the findings of a traffic management report carried out by Meath County Council in relation to Slane at last week’s meeting. The full Meath County Council report will be published very shortly.
“Minister Donohoe has assured me that he will come to Slane to meet with myself and the Slane Bypass group in Slane once he was gone through the report, which I expect Meath County Council to present to the Department of Transport in the next few days.
“The full traffic management report will be presented to the Minister and the NRA, and it will also be put on public display in the village very shortly. All interested parties will be given the opportunity to express views on the findings of the report. Transparency and full engagement with all parties will be crucial to the strength of this consultation process,” she said.
“The pace of this project is extremely slow and frustrating. A lot of work is being done by Meath County Council and other parties, but there is no time to waste. Like everyone else in the local community, I realise the importance of this project for residents and road users. Local activists, the community, motorists and commuters are to be complimented or being  patient with the process. I look forward to the publication of the long-awaited Meath County Council report, and to bringing Minister Donohoe to Slane shortly,” she said.