Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to move on to active travel. The public often ask what active travel is. It is walking, cycling and wheeling, which I think means scooters. In 2022, €310 million was allocated for active travel and some good work has been done. There are a couple of issues, however. I am saying this to be helpful. Yesterday, I gave the example of €200,000 allocated for the Cork Road in Durrow. It was in the roads programme. I was pushing it and I know another local authority public representative was also pushing for it. Hey presto, it disappeared. Normally when we see something in the roads programme and we are being lobbied by local residents, we will say to them it is in the programme and if it is not done, the money will be rolled over through the council's multi-annual roads programme. However, this €200,000 disappeared.

I asked an engineer on the council what had happened. He said the delay resulted from the need to bring in a consultant to design the footpath and public lights. A clerk of works or anybody who has ever stood on a construction site could design it, never mind highly qualified engineers and technicians which the council has. I was told by the NTA that the design for the footpath and to put in streetlights at the Seandoire housing estate in Durrow had to be done by consultants. Is that the case? Was that at the NTA's insistence?