asked the Minister for Local Government if he has yet made a decision on the appeal made by residents of the Barley Hill area, County Meath, against the closing of a road there; and, if so, the terms of his decision.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Meath Road Closure.
39.
I informed the Meath County Council on the 10th May last that I would be prepared to approve of an order made by them for the extinguishment of the public right of way over section of a county road in the Barley Hill area on receipt of an assurance that works had been carried out as follows:
(a) construction of turning circles on the culs-de-sac which would remain on Barley Hill road after closure of the section of road in question;
(b) improvement of Coolaballa lane on lines discussed by the Department's inspector with the county engineer;
(c) construction of an alternative access to a field owned by one of the objectors which would have been cut off by the closure of the road.
Details of the steps proposed to be taken to give effect to the foregoing decision were forwarded to my Department by the council on the 25th June and my Department's inspector has since been informed of new measures which are being considered to meet the wishes of the local residents. I hope to communicate with the council again on these matters in the near future.
Will the Minister agree he has not the whole say in this matter since it did come before Meath County Council? Is he aware it is proposed to substitute a four foot wide tarmacadam road, with steps alongside it, to replace the road which up to now has carried, and is capable of carrying, two lanes of traffic? Is he aware that the gradient of the proposed new road—if one could describe it as a road—is so steep that vehicles cannot use it? Would he consider this a solution to the problem?
This is one of the matters being discussed with the local residents and the county engineer at the moment. There will be certain changes and I think the Deputy can take it that the local residents' wishes will be met. I hope to have a decision on this fairly soon.
The Minister is as anxious as I am to see that the thing is properly done, but will he ensure that there will be no interference with the existing road until such time as a suitable alternative is provided for the people using the road?
The Deputy can be assured that whatever arrangements are arrived at will be satisfactory and will, as far as possible, meet the wishes of the local residents.