Lorraine Higgins (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister to make funds available to address a significant road safety issue at Ballydavid, Athenry, in County Galway. I have previously raised this ongoing issue both locally and nationally in the Seanad but to no avail. I cannot overemphasise how precarious the current situation is both for residents and motorists in the area. If the situation continues unchanged, it will only be a matter of time before more serious accidents occur.

In the past, there have been fatalities in this particular area. There are nine housing estates in the Ballydavid area with approximately 1,000 residents in total, including children. Incredibly, despite it being one of the larger populated areas in Athenry, residents from Ballydavid have no continuous footpath into the town centre. This begs serious questions about the original developments, as well as the planning for these estates and developers' contributions. Those contributions should be spent for the betterment of such areas.

The problem is compounded by the fact that residents are forced to use two roads, one of which is highly dangerous. There is also a wide railway bridge with a notorious bend, while the other one is a back road with another railway bridge. It is incredibly dangerous for road users. By any standards, they are less than ideal for pedestrians. The fact that so many people have no option but to use them daily to get to schools, churches or the middle of town, raises more serious road safety issues.

A comprehensive road safety plan is urgently needed for the residents of Ballydavid. Such infrastructure requires investment which is vital for the Athenry community. Residents should be able to walk safely to and from the centre of Athenry without risking their lives, all for the want of something as basic as a footpath.

I hate having to raise such issues in the Seanad but I am frustrated. I have contacted Galway County Council and have met with council officials on this matter. I have also raised it in the Seanad, yet the situation has remained unchanged for the last two years. I therefore implore the Minister to make funds available to rectify this situation and put something as basic as a footpath in the area so that pedestrians can walk safely to and from the town. Motorists would then not have to swerve to avoid pedestrians in that area.