Extra machinery to clear snow and extra salt storage have been accrued with NRA funding in order to deal with the possibility of severe winter weather in the county, according to director of services Joe Beirne.
Members of the Belmullet Electoral Area meeting were informed on Tuesday that the Winter Services Maintenance Plan is already in place to deal with the winter season which runs until April 17.
This year extra machinery has been purchased from the NRA and the NRA has also given funding for a large salt barn in Castlebar — the other large salt depot is in Ballina. In the Belmullet area there is storage for salt in Belmullet, Achill, and Newport.
Additional weather stations have also been given funding by NRA in the location of the N5 Charlestown, N5 Westport, and N17 near the airport. These additional weather stations will assist the county’s duty engineer who analyses the forecast on a daily basis.
Last winter, a staggering 131 call outs were made, and 8,000 tonnes of salt was used. The year before there were 78 call outs, where the average of three to four thousand tonnes of salt were used.
There have been two call outs in the county so far, which happened last weekend, however salt was not dispersed in these cases.
The Mayo County Council website will have information available so that the public know where additional piles of grit are located and how to deal with emergency situations.
Councillor Rose Conway-Walsh said that local groups need to be informed of this winter plan and she asked that a printed copy be distributed to all community groups registered with the County Development Board, and said they should be asked to discuss it with their members and give feedback to their local council office.
Me Beirne said that the only guarantee given by Mayo County Council is that the “main arteries” of the county will be kept clear. “We could be planning for a situation which might not happen,” he added.
