Chair of the Westport Electoral Area committee, Fine Gael councillor John O’Malley, said that efficiency from outdoor staff fixing the roads needs to be shown and that management need to “crack the whip” on road staff who are wasting a lot of time when fixing roads which is “costing a mint”.
Cllr O’Malley said that council staff were working on a road near his area and it took them a day and a half to fill potholes, which “I could have filled with a wheelbarrow”. The councillor said that a lot of workers have “no conviction” in what they do, and there “is no common sense” in workers leaving a small section of road to fix before they go to lunch and then returning to fill it in.
His party colleague, Cllr Peter Flynn, said “personally I can’t complain”, however he knows that there is dissatisfaction among the public. Cllr Flynn said there is nothing worse than seeing wastage, especially in these times.
Senior executive engineer Padraig Philbin responded by saying that with “the extensive damage” on the roads it takes longer for the holes to be filled in, and that there are limited outdoor resources “over a huge road network”.
