Frustrations as Minister delays Letterkenny visit - Donegal News

MINISTER for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, has not followed up on a request by Letterkenny councillors to visit the town.

The Minister was queried on the subject by Donegal TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn in the Dáil during the week.

Cllr Gerry McMonagle previously brought a motion to the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District meeting calling for Minister O’Brien to witness Letterkenny’s traffic problems and ongoing road network projects firsthand.

The Sinn Féin councillor also met in person with Minister O’Brien towards the end of last year, with the Minister then expressing interest in visiting.

Speaking to the Donegal News, Cllr McMonagle confirmed that the most recent correspondence from the Department stated that the Minister is not available to visit Letterkenny at this time.

“I spoke to him directly and invited him to come up,” said Cllr McMonagle.

“He said he would come up, but it would more likely be early January because they’re putting together the road funding programme and that was understandable.

“I’ll probably bring it back in again, that if he’s not able to come up that we would go down and meet in the Dáil and seek a meeting down there with him.”

Cllr McMonagle expressed concern at the possibility of the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network) Priority Route Improvement Project not starting until 2029, as reported in the Donegal News last week.

“The traffic is growing, the issue with us is that we haven’t got enough roads for the traffic,” he said.

“In 2009, we had a substantial issue with traffic and we brought in traffic management consultants. We got a pathway of sorts and set of proposals to try and address it.”

Cllr McMonagle has voiced his support for Active Travel projects that are ongoing in Letterkenny. Although he welcomes progress on the Southern Relief Road (Leck Road) and Northern Relief Road (Windyhall Road), he said more is needed to combat traffic in Letterkenny.

“We have had traffic congestion long before Active Travel, and we’ll have it after Active Travel unless we get the road infrastructure that we need,” he said.

“We still have the same amount of roads we had when this was a town of 6,000 people, with the exception of the Business Park Road and then the N56 Bonagee Road.

“We would need [the Minister] to come up and see for himself. Talk to the business people, talk to the elected members, talk to the community, hear what their suggestions are. But we need at least two, if not three bridges over the Swilly. We need a ring road around the town and we need the TEN-T, as soon as possible and not having to wait until 2029. It just isn’t acceptable.”

Cllr McMonagle said traffic is “the most pressing issue” in Letterkenny.

“All the policies are there in favour of Letterkenny, and what we are lacking is the political will to invest in our infrastructure and that’s what’s holding us back at the minute.”

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