Sceachs and beachs

A Chairde,

Councillor Ann O'Leary, Bantry should be commended for recently highlighting the very serious issue of the council not cutting the dykes of the roads of Co Cork when it seems all other elected local representatives

have gone into hiding . Despite the fact that Cork County Council are collecting §1.5 million a week in car tax, it is a disgrace that they have not yet cut the dykes.

The money is there and the hypocrisy of the council's arguments were highlighted when Denis O'Donovan TD was able to announce §120 million for various other council projects recently. When times were hard local government managed to maintain the dykes of the highways and byways of beautiful west Cork. The briars are nearly shaking hands across the roads all summer, and from a safety point of view for locals and tourists this has been a most dangerous and unsatisfactory situation, not to mention the damage being done to cars with briars and sceach bushes tearing their sides.

It is completely contradictory to have on the one hand so much emphasis on tidy towns competitions while at the same time leaving the roads of the townlands of our countryside fall into disrepair and neglect. The townlands of Ireland are an ancient part of our heritage and they are not going to go away whatever the council planners may wish.

It is indeed sending out a very bad messages of neglect and carelessness in particular to tourists who want to explore the beautifull scenery of this area but who are now putting their lifes in danger to do so especially when they don't have local knowledge of the twists and turns of the roads where visibility has been reduced by up to 100%.in some cases. The same criteria should be applied to our roads as they do when it comes to the testing of the roadworthiness of cars etc, the roads must also be worthy and safe to be driven on.

Donnchadh Ó Seaghdha,
PRO, Sinn Féin
Skibbereen
County Cork