Achill based Fianna Fáil councillor, Paul McNamara, this week highlighted what he said was the disparity in funding for projects and services in his area compared to larger towns in the county.
Cllr McNamara told this month's meeting of the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District that: "It looks to me that it is easier to get money for multi-million projects rather than for the small ones that would cost a few thousand euro to do."
Outlining a number of issues that cropped up during the months of July and August during the height of the tourist season, the most serious being the failure of the water service on the island - which saw a do not consume notice being put in place for a number of weeks, Cllr McNamara told the meeting that: "The lack of investment in areas along the Wild Atlantic Way stuck out like a sore thumb. We had so many people come to the area for the first time, in particular from the east of the country.
"They expect basic infrastructure to work and when it was needed. It was a very challenging time for all when our water infrastructure failed at the height of the season.. Not even a boil water notice, it was a do not consume notice. Something like that should not happen. Our water treatment plant has been under pressure for years."
He continued outlining a number of other problems that he felt would cost a small amount of money to fix, but would have a massive influence on the island and its tourism industry.
"Even things like toilet facilities - on Keel Beach we had between 1,200 and 1,500 people visiting each day during the height of the season and we have two public toilets for the whole 3km stretch of the beach to use that, closed each day at 4.30pm.
"We had three camping sites that were booked out for weeks on end and no extra services provided for them, we saw a lot more camper vans than before and I welcome them all, but we need to have the services to provide to them.
"I see millions going into big towns with different projects and that is welcome, but we also need to see investment in the rural areas, it needs to be spread out.
"Every day I drive over the bridge out of Achill and I see the pier that is known locally as the Fish Co-Op and it is falling into the sea; the Keen Bay Discovery point - I've been asking about this for years and where is it, the Greenway into Achill is another. I know the rest of ye are sick of hearing me going on about it all the time but we need these things," said Cllr McNamara.
