Calls are flooding in to Galway county councillors on a daily basis regarding burst tyres and the dangerous conditions of the roads, with some motorists paying out more than €700 to repair damage caused by massive potholes.
The situation is now reaching crisis point, Oranmore Independent councillor Jim Cuddy told the Galway Advertiser yesterday. Describing the conditions of the roads in the many areas of the county as “atrocious” and “third-world” Cllr Cuddy is calling on the county manager, Martina Maloney, to take urgent action to deal with this serious situation by employing extra road staff immediately.
The recent severe cold weather snap resulted in huge crater-like potholes forming on roads throughout the city and county, however, Cllr Cuddy says that the problem has been compounded by the embargo on temporary staff.
“The roads are in an atrocious condition, some of the potholes are absolutely huge and cars are swerving to avoid them. Damage caused to vehicles is putting terrible expense on motorists, expenses that can be avoided, not to mention the fact that it is a danger to road users. There are an increasing number of calls coming in to me every day and I’ve been contacting the council with the list of complaints but they cannot give me a time for when the repair works can be done. I’ve been in contact with a man who burst three tyres and it cost him €700, another man rang me yesterday and he had to spend €500 on repairs caused by potholes. There are also a lot of gullies that are completely full with debris and need to be cleared but we need the staff to do this. The roads have never been as bad as they are now.
“There’s an acute shortage of road staff at the moment, in particular in the Oranmore electoral area. There is one provision under the Croke Park Agreement which allows for employment of seasonal staff. I am urging the county manager to go down this road immediately and hire some of the staff who had been let go as they already meet the health and safety requirements.
“I’ve written to the county manager to ask her to deal with the issue immediately, I am told it has been referred to the director of services and I expect an answer by the next county council meeting on February 28. The time for talking is gone, it is nearly a state of emergency, action is needed. I cannot let this go. People’s patience is running thin, it’s costing them money, and lives are at stake,” said Cllr Cuddy
