Ennis’s local representatives have described a cut to the area’s roads funding for this year as “unacceptable”.
Both the county town and Shannon will have less money to put towards roads maintenance in 2025, while the county’s other municipal districts have seen their level of funding increase.
Clare County Council has revealed that its total roads maintenance budget this year is €27.44 million which is up 12% on 2024.
The budget is supplemented by various Government funding streams, while a total of €3.21 million comes from the local authority’s own resources.
The increased funding is welcome given that newly-released figures show the county’s roads maintenance works have gone over budget by €2.42 million in the last three years, with 2024’s works alone going €1.48 million over budget.
While the Killaloe, Kilrush and Ennistymon municipal districts have each had their funding boosted this year, Ennis and Shannon’s allocation’s have been cut by 12% and 7%, respectively.
Clarecastle Sinn Féin Councillor Tommy Guilfoyle insists the Government should be giving local authorities’ more resources to bring their roads up to an acceptable standard.
You can listen to the full interview here:
A special meeting of Ennis Municipal District this week has heard Senior Engineer Cyril Feeney claim that due to construction inflation, the €3 million of the council’s own money put towards roads maintenance should in fact be closer to €6 million “to get the same buying power it had 10 years ago”.
Mayor of Ennis Fianna Fáil Councillor Clare Colleran-Molloy believes the level of funding the county town has been apportioned isn’t good enough and claims the “bread and butter issues” mustn’t fall by the wayside.
You can listen to the full interview here:
