Dominic Hannigan's blog

We held the AGM of the Ashbourne branch of the Labour Party on Thursday. The meeting was well attended and we talked about many local issues, including the proposed nursing home on Hunter’s Lane. At the meeting we elected the Chairman, secretary, treasurer and PRO of the branch. The branch is always looking for new members to get involved. If you would like to join then call my office at 01 835 3871 and we will sign you up!

One major concern for Ashbourne residents at the moment is the proposal for an industrial development in Ashbourne which would be served via the Race Hill Road. I agree with the local residents in Race Hill and in Tudor Grove – this access road is totally unsuitable for industrial traffic. I made that point to the residents who contacted me.

I also met with some Ashbourne residents and discussed the proposal. I also spoke to local councillor Niamh McGowan. Niamh lives very closeby (just off Hunter’s Lane). It’s clear that there is a depth of local dismay about the proposal. I am hopeful that the local planners will see sense and will reject the application. Not to do so would not only be a traffic nuisance, it could potentially be very dangerous to have trucks and the like travelling up and down this quiet residential road.

The issue of general road safety is also coming up a lot lately. Because of the recent atrocious weather the road surface in many parts of the county has been severely affected. For instance, the junction of Kilmoon Cross on the N2 has suffered significant rutting since Christmas. As a result you have to drive much slower than usual to avoid the potholes. I was driving home the other night from my Ashbourne office and was travelling particularly slowly to try and dodge them. Some other motorists don’t seem to worry about them – the bloke behind me decided to overtake me at speed. Maybe he can afford new tyres, or maybe my eyesight is getting worse, I don’t know! What’s clear is that more money is going to have to be found for repairs to our local road network. The current situation has to be improved on – a point I made in the Seanad during the week when I called on Minister Dempsey to make additional funding available for local councils to repair the roads.