Offaly residents raise road safety concerns with Government Minister

A GROUP of local people from the Tullamore/Durrow met Minister of State at the Department of Transport and at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications Jack Chambers TD to explain to him the safety issues for the local people using the N52 road in and around the two crossroads in Durrow.

Following a previous meeting by Minister Eamon Ryan with Offaly County Council where representation was made by Cllr Tony McCormack on behalf of the local people who use this road daily, Minister Ryan explained that due to budgetary constraints, this road would not be built for at least another ten to 15 years.

Cllr McCormack said “unfortunately, the meeting we had with the Minister did not allow for discussion on the road, it only allowed us to pose questions and make statements and he answered three questions at once and we were not allowed to come back in, which made it hard to hammer home the safety concerns for road users.

“That’s why I asked Barry Cowen to arrange a meeting with Minister Chambers. He is chair of the road safety committee and is also Minister of State in the Department of Transport. I put together a group of local people who represented the community. We met with the Minister last week and were delighted with his response. We pushed home the safety issues that people using the road have on a daily basis. Minister Chambers, said that we would not get this road back on the road building plan for this year but that he would work hard with his colleagues in the Department of Transport and Barry Cowen TD to get it on next year’s list.”