Salt stocks in the county are being rationed as the NRA is now reducing salt stocks nationwide in the run up to Christmas.
Director of services for the Westport area, Joe Beirne, said at the Westport Electoral Area meeting on Monday that since last Thursday this request has been made, and there will be no salt deliveries to the county between now and Christmas.
Countywide, 150 to 200 tonnes of salt were being used a day, however, with rationing this will be cut back to around 50 tonnes per day and only national roads “will get some salt”. Mr Beirne said that there is also a commitment to make local stockpiles available.
The council has made a submission to the Minister for Environment for funding from the €15 million which has been made available to local authorities to deal with this extreme weather.
Councillor John O’Malley said that if the embargo is lifted in relation to removing sand from the seashore this could alleviate the problem. However the director of services said that this was looked at and that economically it was of no advantage. Mr Beirne stressed that it is illegal to take sand from the sea shore.
Cllr Peter Flynn said that apart from no salt, the bigger long term problem will be in relation to the condition of the roads after the thaw, as already large potholes are evident on the Westport to Castlebar road, and there will be no money to deal with such infrastructure damage.
