Outspoken Independent Castlebar town councillor Frank Durcan this week hit out at the rejuvenation project currently under way in the town.
“It’s a hit and miss job, a Dads Army job,” he told the monthly meeting of the council. Cllr Durcan outlined a number of problems including the quality of the materials being used, the design of the kerbing, and the finish of some aspects including the 1798 monument at the Mall.
Cllr Durcan’s main complaint was against the quality of paving bricks used in the project. “It won’t last six months,” he declared. “It may be fine for a patio out the back of a house but not for a street, it will be worn in no time.
“This kind of brick is not being used in another town in Ireland on a project like this,” he added. This claim was later refuted by the Mayor, Cllr Ger Deere. “The same kind of brick was used in a project in Killarney five years ago and they have no problems with it since,” Cllr Deere said.
Cllr Durcan said the 1798 monument at the Mall was not finished properly and had sharp edges that would be a danger to pedestrians, especially children. However Mayor Deere defended the project again, telling Cllr Durcan that when complete there would not be any sharp edges.
Cllr Durcan also hit out at the new kerbing installed, suggesting it would potentially cause a number of car tyres to puncture. He was backed up by Labour Party councillor Harry Barrett who told the meeting he was in a car recently that clipped one of the new curbs, resulting in a punctured tyre. The council executive assured members this would not be an issue as the road surface would also be improved and replaced as part of the plan.
Cllr Durcan came in for criticism from a number of other councillors for painting the project in a negative light, with Cllr Eugene McCormack stating: “We are hearing a lot of negative things about this project but the majority of people in town are very positive about it.” Cllr Brendan Heneghan, who is a local business owner in the area of the project, added: “Overall the scheme is a credit and the people should be proud of it. We all had some reservations about the project, but we signed off on it as a council,” Cllr Therese Ruane said. “If there is a health and safety concern we’ll look at it, but we made the decision to go with this plan.”
